We covered the sexual assault amicus brief controversy here and here for those who need to get up to speed. The disarray in the Southern Baptist Convention reached new “heights” this week, prompting one Virginia pastor to ask “who’s driving...
Albert Mohler
Bart Barber, the president of the Southern Baptist Convention, admits that his approval of the Kentucky sexual abuse amicus brief was a “mistake”
We covered this story yesterday. It doesn’t look for the Southern Baptist Convention, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, or SBTS president Albert Mohler. Here is Barber’s statement: Last week a reporter published a story about an amicus curia brief that the...
Rick Warren on the SBC’s Executive Committee & Albert Mohler’s seminary: “They have no intention of helping victims of the sexual abuse they covered up.”
Here is Jeremy Gray at Alabama.Com: The Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the Kentucky State Supreme Court arguing an expanded child abuse law should not allow claims to be brought against “non-perpetrators” such as religious organizations, the Louisville...
Evangelical pastor John MacArthur in 1998: “When a ruler is given to lies, he will accumulate around him people who can tolerate lying.”
Back in 2015 I started collecting quotes from Christian leaders who made bold statements about presidential character during the 1998 Clinton impeachment and then seemed to ignore their own principles when Donald Trump was running for president. I called attention...
Will evangelicals turn on Trump after his “Meet the Press” abortion comments?
The evangelicals and politics angle to the 2024 election just got more interesting! Essentially, Trump is throwing the pro-life movement under the bus. He and his team believe that they can win in 2024 with a more moderate pro-life view...
Southern Baptist pastor Linda Barnes Popham speaks out: “Why now?”
Everyone in the Southern Baptist world and beyond was talking this week about Rick Warren and Saddleback Church. But what about Linda Barnes Popham and Fern Creek Baptist Church? Fern Creek Baptist is in Louisville, Kentucky, the city that is...
Southern Baptists will not allow Rick Warren and Saddleback Church back into the fold
Here is Michelle Boorstein at The Washington Post: Thousands of Southern Baptists voted overwhelmingly to affirm the expulsion of Saddleback Church, the epitome for decades of a modern conservative evangelical megachurch, because Saddleback Pastor Rick Warren ordained women, Southern Baptist...
What happened on day 1 of the 2023 Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting?
Some of the best religion reporters in the business are in New Orleans this week. Here is what they have to say about what happened on the first day of the meeting. These tweets are (roughly) in chronological order (morning...
What does the Uganda anti-homosexuality law say? How are some American evangelicals responding?
As you may have heard, Uganda just passed an anti-homosexuality law. Here is a summary: Read the entire bill here. Here is Caleb Ecarma at Vanity Fair: Antigay sentiment in Uganda has climbed in recent years due in no small...
Pope Francis: “I think Benedict’s death was instrumentalized”
I recently read a blog post from Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, that used the death of Pope Benedict to score political points. Here is a taste of that post: Ratzinger was a great...
Is National Conservatism Christian?
Over at The Bulwark, historian Joshua Tait writes, “Christianity’s emphasis on forgiveness, suffering, the meek and poor runs totally counter to the tendencies of the New Right and National Conservatism. Here is a taste of his piece: Within National Conservative...
David French’s civic pluralism versus Al Mohler’s Christian nationalism
Last week, the Senate advanced the Respect for Marriage Act. The bill legalizes (“provides statutory authority” for) same-sex and interracial marriages. Here is a summary of the bill from Congress.Gov: Specifically, the bill repeals and replaces provisions that define, for...
Episode 49: Church Bouncers
A United Church of Christ television ad celebrating inclusion draws heat from the Christian Right. Episode 49: “Church Bouncers’” dropped today. Subscribers to Current at the Longshore level and above have access to new episodes of this narrative history podcast. Here is a teaser:...
Albert Mohler says he would vote for Kari Lake or Doug Mastriano and then tries to explain why he wouldn’t vote for a pro-life candidate who “could not uphold the Constitution.”
Yes, you read the headline correctly. Perhaps you are as confused as I am. Over at The New York Times, Astead Herndon, the son of a Christian pastor and the host of “The Run-Up” podcast, talks about evangelicals, Trumpism, and...
Albert Mohler is “taking names,” preparing for “war,” and telling evangelical voters that they are “unfaithful” Christians if they don’t vote GOP
He spoke last night at the Family Research Council’s Pray, Vote, Stand Summit in Atlanta: Watch: Recently Mohler said he was a Christian nationalist. Now we have him saying that anyone who doesn’t vote his way is an unfaithful Christian....
I didn’t know about the “men’s emporium”
More on the Albert Mohler’s distasteful “obituary” of evangelical activist Ronald Sider. Here is Mark Wingfield at Baptist News Global: Sider, as Fea explained, lived his life in an inner-city neighborhood of Philadelphia, cooked out of the More-With-Less-Cookbook, and wore used clothing...
Albert Mohler’s “Christian world view” was on full display in his ugly piece on the legacy of Ronald Sider
Albert Mohler, the president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, likes to talk about how he discerns current events through his “Christian world view.” Well, Mohler’s “Christian world view” was on full display yesterday in his reflection on...
On the Christian Right, some things never change
I am not ready yet to talk about my next book project, but I will share two things that struck me today as I was conducting research. The first story comes from December 2004. In the weeks following George W....
Albert Mohler: Christian nationalist
Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, recently interviewed Israeli philosopher Yoram Hazony on his podcast. Hazony is the author The Virtue of Nationalism (2018) and the more recent Conservatism: A Rediscovery. Watch: Some highlights: 7:50ff: Hazony defines a...
Albert Mohler responds to David Brooks’ essay on evangelical reformers
Writing at WORLD magazine, the latest imperial conquest of the fundamentalist fiefdom over which he presides, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president Albert Mohler has responded to David Brooks’s recent New York Times piece on evangelical dissenters. Let’s break it down:...