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Trump and the Lukewarm

Despite the pleas of conservative Christian leaders, large numbers of self-identified evangelicals continue to vote for Trump. This is baffling for any number of reasons, the most damning of which is Trump’s admission that he never seeks God’s forgiveness. Recent data from the Wall Street . . . . Continue Reading »

On the Ground in Wheaton

The following remarks were among several friendly responses to Professor Miroslav Volf’s presentation, “Do Christians & Muslims Worship the Same God?” delivered at the Islamic Foundation of Villa Park, IL on Feb. 27, 2016. Caught up in national headlines about our presumed Islamophobia, we . . . . Continue Reading »

Evangelicals Won't Cave

Could the next Billy Graham be a married lesbian? In the year 2045, will Focus on the Family be “Focus on the Families,” broadcasting counsel to Evangelicals about how to manage jealousy in their polyamorous relationships? That’s the assumption among many—on the celebratory left as well . . . . Continue Reading »

The Benedict Option for Evangelicals

If American evangelicals are to succeed at Christian formation under the new cultural regime that the Supreme Court has just instituted in law, they must re-learn the Gospel of Christ as the word of an external authority worth loving, not the inner voice of their experience.  Continue Reading »

Radical Rupture

The Evangelical Origins of the Living Constitution
 by john w. compton
 harvard, 272 pages, $45 The Constitution has become something different than what it once was. It used to be an actual document, something written on paper, solid and unchanging. Now, according to American constitutional . . . . Continue Reading »

Hartford: A Reminiscence

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the 1975 “Hartford Appeal for Theological Affirmation.” Some of us who were signers have been quietly reminiscing about the project. One of my fellow participants wrote me about it recently, referring to “the ‘historic’(?) Hartford conclave.” Putting the “historic” in quotes with a parenthetical question mark rightly distanced the Appeal from any status as a major ecclesiastical document. The Appeal may show up in an occasional footnote these days, but its actual theological content is seldom recalled. Continue Reading »

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