As Jeanie and I danced the night away in Atlanta on New Year’s Eve — yes, we actually did that, although I admit I ended up with a twisted knee, a sadly predictable outcome for a man of my rapidly advancing years — I was aware that the spirit of revelry in the room was not […]
We Face a Cultural Crisis, Not Just a Political One
In the Christian calendar, the new year begins with the first Sunday of Advent. That is the Sunday just past. Happy Christian New Year, everyone! If one is thinking in terms of the Christian calendar, then, the new year began on Dec. 3, 2023, and will end on Nov. 30, 2024. That means before the next
Devouring Beasts: Advent and the 2024 election
I spent the last weekend of October exploring the Old Town of Vilnius, Lithuania. I was in that grand 700-year-old city for speaking appearances and to visit friends. My dear wife, Jeanie, came with me. Tuesday, Oct. 31, was free, and Jeanie and I decided on different itineraries. She went exploring in Lithuania’s many historic Catholic
City of the Living, City of the Dead: From Vilnius to Israel/Palestine
This week, my new book, Defending Democracy from its Christian Enemies, officially releases. I am told that even before its release, it exceeded the publisher’s sales expectations for one full year. I am grateful for the high interest in the book. In this post, I want to review its main arguments. My thesis is that many
My argument in Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies
Everywhere I go, I meet a surging community of post-evangelicals. I would like to offer readers a few snapshots from half a year of travel. Little Rock, March 30: I speak to the annual NASW social workers conference in downtown. My topic: The struggle against religious-based harm to LGBTQ people.” In a very conservative region, with Sarah Huckabee next
One thing that has gone tragically wrong with American politics over the past eight years is that the electorate has admitted into the highest reaches of national life a man obviously lacking in the moral temperament, training and character required of a national leader. Just barely, this man became president. Somewhat less barely, after four chaotic
Erasmus Indicts Trump—and the USA
This week I begin my 31st year of full-time teaching in the field of Christian ethics. In this post I want to think aloud about the art and craft of teaching. I believe the magic in teaching — at least in the humanities — takes place when a decently gifted teacher works with motivated students to
Thoughts about the Art and Craft of Teaching
On June 2, soccer coach Kelsey Morrison was fired and immediately escorted from the campus of Geneva College, an evangelical school near Pittsburgh. Her offense was two posts on Instagram. In this exclusive interview with me for Baptist News Global, Coach Morrison tells her story. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. Q: So, Kelsey,
An Interview with Kelsey Morrison, Evangelical Academia’s Latest Homophobia Victim
I am reading the Roman statesman-philosopher Cicero these days. You might ask why in the world that dusty old personage should be occupying my thoughts. The answer is that, as part of the preparation of my new book on democracy, I am attempting to retrace the most significant lines of Western political thought. This month that
Lessons from Cicero on America’s 247th Birthday
For a long time, it was clear the white Christian Right in the United States was waging a war of reaction (sometimes open, sometimes clandestine) against just about every social, cultural and legal change that has taken place in our country since about, say, 1962. If we take the time horizon that far back, these changes would
The Christian Right Continues Its Futile but Dangerous War of Reaction