Read the entire letter here. Let’s break it down: Dobson: As I write this newsletter, voters across this nation are only a few short months away from the next general election. What an ominous time this is for our 244-year-old […]
confident pluralism
Engaging with the latest stuff on race and the founders coming from Liberty University’s Falkirk Center
Not all Christian colleges are the same. Some of you may recall a post in which I compared Messiah University to Liberty University. If you have a child considering a faith-based college I encourage you to read that post. Liberty […]
What Happened to the Moral Clarity of Some American Evangelicals Between 2016 and 2020?
Sarah Pulliam Bailey’s recent story at The Washington Post adds to what I posted about earlier this week (here and here). Here are some new things we learn from her piece: Mohler’s son-in-law is a Trump appointee in the State Department. […]
The Attacks on Samaritan’s Purse Reveal a Fundamental Misunderstanding of Evangelical Relief Work
As I wrote about yesterday, Franklin Graham’s organization Samaritan’s Purse has built a field hospital in Central Park to service coronavirus patients. Not everyone is happy about it. For example, Brad Hoylman, a New York state senator representing Manhattan, wants […]
John Inazu: “shutdown orders shouldn’t exempt religious gatherings, and those communities should comply”
John Inazu is a professor of law and religion at Washington University in St. Louis and the author of Confident Pluralism: Surviving and Thriving Through Deep Difference. Here is a taste of his recent piece at The Atlantic: What is a […]
John Inazu’s Advice for White Evangelicals
Inazu teaches law at Washington University in St. Louis. He is the author of Confident Pluralism: Surviving and Thriving Through Deep Difference and the forthcoming (with Tim Keller) Uncommon Ground: Living Faithfully in a World of Difference. Here is a taste of […]
Can Any of the Democratic Candidates Appeal to Evangelicals?
Here is a taste of my recently published piece at Religion News Service: Do the current Democratic candidates for president have any chance of winning evangelicals in November 2020? Probably not. Of the candidates left in the Democratic primary race, […]
Shirley Hoogstra of the CCCU Explains Fairness for All
Last week we introduced readers to the Fairness for All Act. Over at The Anxious Bench blog, historian Chris Gehrz has published his interview with Shirley Hoogstra, president of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU). The CCCU is […]
Thoughts on a Discouraging Weekend
I was on Fall Break this weekend and probably spent way too much time reading and watching the news, following the Values Voter Summit, and tweeting. With the exception of the beautiful central Pennsylvania weather, I leave the weekend pretty […]
Beto O’Rourke: Churches and Religious Institutions Should Lose Tax-Exempt Status If They “Oppose Same Sex Marriage”
Here is Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke on CNN last night: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR02Kf4wS_0&w=560&h=315] Every Democratic candidate for President of the United States should be asked this question. I have always appreciated Beto’s sense of conviction, but I hope he rethinks […]
Duke University Rejects Young Life
Universities like Duke claim to be bastions of free speech, inclusion, and pluralism, but they tend to define these commitments very narrowly. For example, the student government at Duke recently rejected Young Life‘s official status on campus because the Christian […]
What is Going on at the University of Iowa?
The administration of the University of Iowa does not want a Christian student group called Business Leaders in Christ (BLinC) on campus because they do not permit LGBT students to hold leadership positions. After de-registering BLinC as an official student […]
What Does the Trump Administration Mean by “Religious Freedom?”
At the State Department’s recent “Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions claimed that there is a “dangerous movement, undetected by many” that is “challenging and eroding our great tradition of religious freedom.” This “dangerous movement,” Sessions added, […]
John Inazu Still Believes in Confident Pluralism
Inazu is the Sally D. Danforth Distinguished Professor of Law & Religion at Washington University Law School. He is the author of Confident Pluralism: Surviving and Thriving Through Deep Difference. That book was published two years ago and Inazu continues to […]
What Happens When a Culture Warrior and a Confident Pluralist Exchange Tweets About Trump’s Border Wall?
Last week I did a post on evangelical theologian Wayne Grudem’s biblical defense of Donald Trump’s border wall. Here is what a couple of smart people tweeted about Grudem’s defense of the wall: I admire much of Wayne Grudem’s work. […]
What Looms on the Horizon for Christian Colleges?
Over at First Things, church historian Carl Trueman argues that Christian colleges need to prepare financially for a bleak future in a post-Christian age. He writes: The specific point of conflict is likely to be (once again) Title IX legislation that […]
“Pluralism and the Art of Disagreement”
Last week we wrote about Princeton University president Christopher Eisgruber’s criticism of the religious questions posed to federal judge nominee Amy Coney Barrett by Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Today we call your attention to Eisgruber’s speech at […]
The Nashville Statement is a Disaster
It is a disaster for all the reasons Chris Gehrz makes clear in his post today at The Pietist Schoolman. (I should add the title of this post is mine). The so-called “Nashville Statement” is indeed “theology for the […]
Confident Pluralism, Princeton Seminary, and Tim Keller
John Inazu, a law professor at Washington University and the author of Confident Pluralism: Surviving and Thriving Among Deep Differences, has weighed in on Princeton Theological Seminary’s decision to rescind the Kuyper Prize from evangelical Presbyterian minister Tim Keller. Get some background […]
Answering "Secular Purism" With "Religious Purism"
Alternative title for this post: “The heroes of Rod’s book are almost all monks.” David Brooks has reviewed Rod Dreher’s The Benedict Option. Here is a taste: Rod is pre-emptively surrendering when in fact some practical accommodation is entirely possible. […]