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Is Obama the Antichrist? Why Armageddon Stands Between the President and the Evangelical Vote

By Matthew Avery Sutton

…in the runaway success of Hal Lindsey’s The Late, Great Planet Earth, the best-selling nonfiction book of the 1970s. At the same time evangelicals, although scorning Hollywood, turned to modern technology to preach Armageddon. The result was the cult phenomenon A Thief in the Night, an Armageddon-themed film that popularized one of the first pop Christian hits, Larry Norman’s “I Wish We’d All Been Ready.” The movie scared countless teenagers (and…

Jeremiah Wright for President?

By Ira Chernus

…. Why, then, do we idolize the one black minister while criticizing, or at best remaining neutral about, the other? Is it because one is long dead while the other is very much alive? Or is it a matter of personalities and personal style, some ingratiating and others more irritating? If it is a matter of style, then that raises the question that may be most urgent this year: Do we really want our presidential elections (or any elections, for that m…

Trump In Colorado: When the “Facts” Are No Longer Checkable

By Paul Harvey

…at world. Any such claim is laughably unpersuasive, despite James Dobson’s best efforts. Rather, I mean “faith” not in any specifically theological sense, but more in the sense of the evidence of things not seen. (The “substance of things hoped for” is what Trump alone can provide, judging from his RNC address). Initially, this came in thinking about Trump’s RNC portrayal of an America in grave peril of mass death from drunk drivers who happen to…

Evangelicals to Gays: We Have Nothing For You

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…ever, divorce is a much trickier topic than that. Sometimes divorce is the best thing a couple can do for one another. Sometimes divorce is necessary because of abuse or other situations that make the relationship unhealthy for one or both partners. Divorce is often a necessity. Drawing a hard “no divorces” line dehumanizes people – it tells them that even if they make a mistake they must live with it – make the best of it – for the rest of their…

The Secret Life of Mormons: As Told by Prodigal Daughter, Novelist Judith Freeman

By Joanna Brooks

…always emphasized that we should tell faith-promoting stories and put the best spin on everything. I think the consequences of that can be devastating for individuals full of flaws and trying to reckon with their own stories. When I think about the girl I was—I was a thief, I was stealing things, I was having an affair—but in truth I was a very human, flawed, striving, seeking young woman. For a long time, I stole things in my life. And I really…

“We All We Got”: The Black Church As an Oasis in Baltimore’s Food Deserts

By Kasai Rex

…time to change churches. In Baltimore, symbolic gestures on the pulpit are best complemented by concrete actions in our streets. Their hands forced, some of Baltimore’s black churches have stepped up to meet this demand. Prayer walks have been held by congregations at the same Penn-North intersection where CNN and others incessantly broadcasted images of a torched CVS as if it were a dying human being. In warmer months, New Bethlehem Baptist Churc…

Blame Muscular Christianity for Driscoll Fiasco

By Hollis Phelps

…failure. Hence, in order to steer things back in the right direction, the best course of action is one of rebuke and, ultimately, removal, which is the course taken by Acts 29 and now Mars Hill Church—just as his critics have wanted. There’s of course something to that line of thought, but it seems too easy. Specifically, it puts all the focus on Driscoll and ignores the culture that produced him in the first place. Partly through the shrewd use…

“I’ll Pray For You”—Powerful or Pointless?

By Christine Wicker

…en, who directed Dallas’ Thanksgiving Square, to give me an example of the best prayer. Jesus had already directed Christians on how to pray, of course. Since, no one in Dallas, Texas, was going to challenge that. I was looking for second best. Elizabeth’s answer changed my entire framework for prayer. She said, “The name of God.” “And then?” I asked. “That’s it,” she said. “That’s all that’s needed.” Elizabeth’s answer made no sense to me until…

Satanists Want You to Respond to the Pandemic with Compassion. And Reason.

By Joseph Laycock

…the pandemic? Definitely the Fifth Tenet: Beliefs should conform to one’s best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one’s beliefs. We have to defer to scientists on this, especially the projection models of epidemiologists. We also have to reject conspiracy theories, including blaming the current crisis on the Obama administration. Any others? As we become frustrated over the respons…

The Top 10 (Non-Religious) Religious Films of 2017

By S. Brent Rodriguez Plate

…because of its first five minutes, but Wonder Woman continues some of the best of audio-visual storytelling, telling us why Hollywood is the most powerful mythmaker on planet earth today. 8) The Disaster Artist There’s little religion in this film, but James Franco’s quirky project points out the ways films are followed religiously, how they create their own worlds that people find meaning and purpose within. Tommy Wiseau is shown to be a fanat…