Christians should support democracy. This should not be a shocking statement. It should not even need to be said. U.S. Baptists, at least, used to be fairly clear about it. But today, it is becoming increasingly clear from looking around the world and at our own nation that Christians need to make a fresh case for […]
Conservative Christianity as a Threat to Democracy
My last column for BNG, “Covid Wars,” offered a lament over our divided nation. It did not propose solutions, only sorrow and grief. Of course, we must do better than that. We must try to understand how we got here and figure out what we can do about it, if anything. After my piece posted, I
Why the U.S. Is Uniquely Divided: Engaging a Scholar from New Zealand
I was talking with a senior Mercer University colleague yesterday about the divisions engulfing our nation over COVID vaccines and masks. Carl has served as a pastor, professor and politician. He’s a very wise man. I said: “Carl, two years ago, could you ever have imagined that we would be facing a situation like we are
COVID Wars: Lament over a Broken, Divided nation
There were no morally unambiguous options, no innocent choices, facing President Joe Biden when it came to deciding what to do about the 20-year U.S. military engagement in Afghanistan that has cost the lives of nearly 2,500 U.S. troops, 3,800 U.S. security contractors, 100,000 Afghan civilians, some number of allied NATO personnel (a detail that never seems to
On Afghanistan, There Were No Innocent Choices Available
I write this post on Aug. 6, the 76th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima, which destroyed that city and killed 70,000 to 80,000 people. Today, Aug. 9, is the anniversary of the day the U.S. bombed Nagasaki, killing between 40,000 and 80,000 people. The Japanese surrendered on Aug. 14, finally bringing an end
On this Anniversary of the Atomic Bomb, How Shall Christians Think about U.S. Foreign Policy?
A friend sent me this piece in Salon, posted under the provocative title, “How Evangelicals Abandoned Christianity and Became ‘Conservatives’ Instead.” I was not familiar with the author, Nathaniel Manderson, who identifies himself as an evangelical pastor trained at a conservative seminary but guided by liberal ideals. Manderson’s article basically argues that under the leadership of 40 years
On the Collapse of Christianity into Politics
It has been a wonderful relief to many of us to encounter the sheer normality of the Biden presidency, which is now six months old. This is a president who proposes actual policies to address obvious public needs, negotiates with both parties in Congress about the details, and uses social media only in the carefully bland
Love him or hate him, but at least Joe Biden has returned us to a ‘normal’ presidency; can it last?
Politics sometimes becomes religion for people. This is a fact. It is dangerous when politics becomes religion for people. This is my conviction. This phenomenon seems most likely to happen when a culturally established religion fades to become merely …
When politics becomes religion
When this column appears, it will be exactly one year since my last trip to the airport. One year since I lectured outside my own home or university. Just under one year since my Mercer classes went to Zoom for…
The post One year later: Some musings …
One year later: Some musings on post-COVID culture and social ethics
I drive back and forth from Atlanta to Macon every Tuesday and Thursday. That’s 190 miles round trip — plenty of time to listen to live coverage of Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial during this past week. Plenty of time…
The post Whatever happe…
Whatever happened to the white conservative American Christian Republican soul?