Perhaps you have seen this phrase on a bumper sticker. I occasionally see it on cars in the parking lot at Messiah University. Most of them say “JESUS (or GOD) IS NOT A REPUBLICAN” and then in smaller letters, “or […]
evangelical left
People of Praise and South Bend, Indiana
Over at Politico, Adam Wren writes about the relationship between People of Praise and the city of South Bend, Indiana. Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court has brought attention to this small Catholic community. Here is a taste […]
Name changes in American evangelicalism
The Southern Baptist Church now wants to be called “Great Commission Baptists” but none of the denomination’s seminaries will remove the word “Southern” from their names and churches have the right to reject the new name. Go figure. Sarah Pulliam […]
What is happening at *Sojourners*?
Aysha Khan at Religion News Service is reporting that the progressive Christian magazine Sojourners has replaced Jim Wallis as editor in chief and “announced a new policy of editorial independence from the organization’s advocacy work.” Wallis founded Sojourners and is President […]
Ron Sider: It is the “Hour of Decision” for White Evangelicals
Ron Sider is one of the most prominent voices of the evangelical center-left. Here is what he wrote last night at his blog: The video of a white policeman with his knee on the neck of a black man. As […]
The Pot-Smoking Dutch Calvinists Who Stopped “worshipping the Ph.D.” and Gave Their Students “guerrilla credentials.”
I don’t pretend to know much about Dutch Calvinism in America or the differences between Abraham Kuyper and Herman Dooyeweerd. (There are good books on the subject, I would start with the work of James D. Bratt). But I know […]
Remembering Donald Dayton
Theologian and church historian Donald W. Dayton has died. While I was a student at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School pursuing an M.A. in American church history, I read a lot of Dayton. As a young evangelical, I was passionate about […]
Ron Sider: “Bernie Sanders WOULD RE-ELECT Donald Trump!”
It is hard to argue with Ronald Sider‘s recent blog post. As many of you know, Sider is one of the founders and leaders of the evangelical left. (Although in this day and age his politics seem pretty moderate). Here […]
Randall Balmer on the “Other Evangelicals”
In his recent op-ed at the Concord Monitor, Dartmouth College scholar of American evangelicalism Randall Balmer reminds us that not all evangelicals were part of the 81% who supported Donald Trump in 2016. Here is a taste of “The Other […]
Jim Wallis: “Trump is operating in the spirit of the anti-Christ”
Jim Wallis, the progressive evangelical leader of Sojourners, recently said in an interview with Publishers Weekly that Donald Trump “is operating in the spirit of anti-Christ.” (Wallis was discussing the themes of his new book Christ in Crisis : Why We Need […]
Robb Ryerse: An Evangelical, Pro Gay Rights, Small Government, Medicare for All, Anti-Abortion, Anti-Confederate Monument, Pro Tax Reform, and Green Energy Republican Who Ran for Congress in 2018
Learn more here: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyWvVDU23RU&w=560&h=315] Ryerse is a graduate of Summit University (formerly Baptist Bible College) in Clarks Summit, PA and Biblical Theological Seminary in Hatfield, PA. Summit University has roots in the fundamentalist General Association of Regular Baptist Churches. […]
The Author’s Corner with David Kirkpatrick
David C. Kirkpatrick is Assistant Professor of Religion at James Madison University. This interview is based on his new book A Gospel for the Poor: Global Social Christianity and the Latin American Evangelical Left (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2019). JF: What […]
Thanks to Elizabeth Bruening for Reminding Buttigieg Fans that the Religious Left is Not New
Some of you may recall my recent post, “Pete Buttieig: What is All the Fuss About?” Here is a taste: [Buttigieg] seems to be following some pretty well-established progressive/liberal/Democratic Christian political candidates, including George McGovern, Jimmy Carter, Gary Hart, Jesse […]
Is Pete Buttigieg’s Religious Rhetoric Any Different Than the Rhetoric of the Christian Right?
Peter Wehner makes a pretty good case at The Atlantic. Here is a taste: ..And yet, precisely on the question of religion as an instrumental good, there is real cause for concern about Mayor Pete. His insistence that “Christian faith is going to point you […]
*In God We Trump*
This is the name of filmmaker Chris Maloney’s new documentary. Over at VOX, Tara Isabella Burton talks with Maloney. Here is a taste of the interview: Tara Isabella Burton So we’ve established that white evangelicals were willing to vote for […]
The “Court Evangelicals” in *The New York Times*
Check out Laurie Goodstein‘s piece on anti-Trump evangelicals at The New York Times. The article focuses on Shane Claiborne and the recent Red-Letter Revival in Lynchburg, but it also mentions our phrase “court evangelicals” and links to The Way of Improvement Leads […]
Jim Wallis on the Wheaton Consultation on Evangelicalism
John Kasich was invited, but did not attend. Mark Noll was there. So was Jim Wallis, the founder of Sojourners and one of the primary architects of the evangelical left. In his most recent piece at the Sojourners website, Wallis sees some […]
“We Need a Revival”
We linked to his “Photo Essay” on Wednesday. Today we want to call your attention to David Swartz‘s report from Liberty University and the Red Letter Revival. Swartz visited both this past weekend. Here is a taste of his piece […]
David Swartz’s Photo Essay of the Red Letter Revival in Lynchburg
Asbury University historian David Swartz not only covered the progressive evangelical Red Letter Revival event, but he also took a tour of Liberty University. Check out his photo essay at The Anxious Bench.
Did Jerry Falwell Jr. Prevent the Liberty University Student Newspaper from Covering the Lynchburg Revival?
Jack Jenkins is reporting that this is indeed what happened. Here is a taste of his piece at Religion News Service: Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. stifled an effort by the school’s newspaper to report on an event this […]