In 2004, George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove said he was going to turn the presidential election into one between those who went to see the movie and those that did not. Episode 28: “How Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion of […]
James Dobson
Episode 27: “Evangelicals Get Passionate About the ‘The Passion of the Christ'”
Hollywood star Mel Gibson releases a movie about the last week of the life of Jesus and it opens a new front in the culture wars. Episode 27: “Evangelicals Get Passionate About the ‘The Passion of the Christ’” dropped last […]
Episode 25: “The Fight Has Just Begun”
The Christian Right responds to the Senate’s decision not to pursue a Federal Marriage Amendment Episode 25: “The Fight Has Just Begun” dropped last night. Subscribers to Current at the Longshore level and above receive this narrative history podcast. Here is a teaser: […]
Episode 24: “Let the People Speak”
The Senate debates and then votes on a Federal Marriage Amendment Episode 24: “Let the People Speak” dropped last night. Subscribers to Current at the Longshore level and above receive this narrative history podcast. Here is a teaser: Listen to Episodes 0, 1, […]
As academic historians debate historiography and Dunmore’s Proclamation, a book on “Marxism” by a Fox News commentator has sold 1 million copies
I mentioned this book today in my weekly feature at Current. While American historians are having debates over historiography and Dunmore’s Proclamation, Mark Levin sits atop The New York Times best-seller’s list. Here is the Simon & Schuster press release: […]
Episode 12: “Defending Traditional Marriage”
The Christian Right’s preemptive defense of marriage Episode 12: “Defending Traditional Marriage” dropped last night. Subscribers to Current at the Longshore level and above receive this narrative history podcast. Here is a teaser: Listen to Episodes 0, 1, and 2 here. If you like […]
Episode 10: “Karl Rove’s Christian Right”
What did George W. Bush’s evangelical base look like in 2004? Episode 10: “Karl Rove’s Christian Right” dropped last night. Subscribers to Current at the Longshore level and above receive this narrative history podcast. Here is a teaser: Listen to Episodes 0, 1, […]
Ah, the memories! Court evangelicals in their natural habitat
Jim Garlow, one of the lesser-known court evangelicals, shared this video today at his public Facebook page. The date was May 3, 2017. I see the following court evangelicals schmoozing with their political savior as the band plays “New York, […]
Evangelicals seem to be coming around on climate change
In 2007, Richard Cizik, then vice-president of the National Association of Evangelicals, came under attack from some prominent evangelicals for his opposition to global warming. Jerry Falwell Sr. described evangelicals concerned with climate change as “earthism worshippers.” James Dobson called […]
How evangelicals moved from Christian radio to Rush Limbaugh
Yesterday morning one of our readers wrote this on my Facebook page: “There was a generation of Christians who used to listen to Moody or Family Life radio all day, and sometime around 1990 they decided to listen to Rush […]
Obama’s 2006 speech on religion and public life is worth reading amid our current moment
This morning I read Senator Barack Obama’s 2006 keynote address to Call to Renewal, a conference sponsored by evangelical activist Jim Wallis and Sojourners. You can read the entire speech here, but I found this section of the speech compelling: […]
James Dobson on Biden’s election: “America and Western Civilization will never be the same.” (And other court evangelical news)
As I write, Washington D.C. is an armed camp. 25,000 National Guard members are ready to defend the U.S. Capitol during Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony on January 20. Meanwhile, people are still dying of COVID-19. Incoming President Joe Biden is […]
Everyone is discovering the court evangelicals!
The conservative pundits are outraged at what happened at Saturday’s Jericho March! David French is worried that too many evangelicals have fallen for conspiracy theories. Rod Dreher says we would be wrong to “blow off” the influence of these evangelicals […]
The court evangelicals continue to stand by Trump’s election fraud claims
Yesterday COVID-19 cases in the United States topped the 15 million mark. One of those cases is Trump election fraud lawyer and court evangelical Jenna Ellis. Joe Biden introduced his public health team. Donald Trump gave a COVID press conference, […]
The court evangelicals are now linked to yet another “national embarrassment”
Trump and his crack legal team are still claiming election fraud. On Saturday, U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Brann wrote, “One might expect that when seeking a startling outcome, a plaintiff would come formidably armed with compelling legal arguments and […]
In today’s court evangelical roundup we learn “the Left has always hated Thanksgiving”
It’s November 17, 2020. Election Day was two weeks ago. Let’s see how the court evangelicals are coping today with the Trump loss. Eric Metaxas is still pushing the conspiracy theory about Dominion voting machines and is complaining about losing […]
James Dobson: God “gave America a spiritual reprieve” in the Trump era
Court evangelical James Dobson wrote about the election in his monthly newsletter to followers. Notice that he writes in the past tense about the so-called Trump “era.” A few observations: The guy who once said Trump was a “baby Christian” […]
James Dobson in September 1998 vs. James Dobson in September 2020
Court evangelical James Dobson just released his monthly newsletter. It is worth comparing what Dobson said about presidential character in 1998 with what he is saying today about presidential character. Here is 1998 (italics mine): As it turns out, character […]
Court evangelical James Dobson invokes the Civil War in a letter to followers on the November elections
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 […]
Wednesday Night Court Evangelical Roundup
Since my last update, a few things have changed in court evangelical land. Neil Gorsuch, one of two Donald Trump Supreme Court nominees, has defended LGBTQ rights and has proven he may not be the best court evangelical ally when […]