history
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White Supremacy and “the Ordinary Man:” Steve Bannon Is Not a “Populist”
Today The New York Times ran a story emblazoned with a headline that proclaimed Steve Bannon, the President-elect’s right hand man, a “populist.” A sub-heading near the end of the article adds detail to this portrait, describing him as one… Continue reading
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Between the Binary: Is “Effeminacy” Really an Issue in Evangelical Church Culture?
“They may be misplaced, forgotten, or misdirected, but in the heart of every man is a desperate desire for a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue.” – John Eldredge, Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of… Continue reading
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A Catholic Pope, A Protestant King, and Hope for God’s Impossible Future
One of the most incredible moments of Pope Francis’s stay here in the United States occurred when he selected Martin Luther King, Jr. as among the “greatest Americans”—but not just for the reason one might think. Yes, his decision to… Continue reading
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Confessing Our Vicious History: White Catholics and Violence Against Black Churches
Let us atone for the corporate sins of our past so that we may better diagnose the racial sins of our present. Let us honor black churches like Charleston Emanuel AME as true bearers of the gospel so that we… Continue reading
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Parisian Religious History: A Visit to Port-Royal
However, there are two little-known sites that I encourage anyone interested in French religious history to go see: the former convents of Port-Royal du Paris and Port-Royal des Champs. I’d like to use this blog post to explain why you… Continue reading
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A Truly Catholic Politics? A Response to Michael Baxter and William Cavanaugh
Baxter and Cavanaugh also implicitly contrast the unity secured by wholehearted and unsullied membership in the church with the inherently divisive and atomizing politics of the nation-state. In so doing, they celebrate a church that never existed. Continue reading
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History, Theology, and the Task of the Historical Theologian
What does it really mean to do historical theology? How does it relate to history? Or, how does it relate to the discipline of theology as a whole? Is the historical theologian merely an historian of theology? Or, is there… Continue reading
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What an Excellent Day for an Exorcism
I would like to take this fortieth anniversary to reflect a little on the role of gender in the understanding of possession, both as it is portrayed in popular culture (The Exorcist) and through history. Continue reading
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Martin Luther King, Jr. Was Not A Political Conservative
Some things to keep in mind on this fiftieth anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech, a day when everyone is claiming King as their ideological ally. 1) Martin Luther King was against imperialism and… Continue reading