HAPPY (BELATED) BIRTHDAY, BILLY! “Graham, America’s Most Famous Preacher, Turns 93.” _____ RELIGION & POLITICS: “Election 2012’s great religion divide.” Religious people cannot have it both ways: to assert that their faith really matters to their public engagement, and then to insist, when it’s convenient, that religion is a matter about which no one has a right to ask questions. Voters especially have a right to know how a candidate’s philosophical leanings shape his or her attitudes toward the religious freedom of unbelievers as well as believers. And here’s the hardest part: We all have to ask ourselves whether what … Continue reading The World Wide (Religious) Web for Monday, November 7, 2011

FAITH AND POLITICS: “Timothy Goeglein on Redemption after Plagiarism.” Timothy Goeglein was a special assistant to President George W. Bush. In 2008, he resigned after a reporter revealed that he had plagiarized several columns in an Indiana newspaper. In this interview, he talks about that experience, but he also answers the following question: Some complain that evangelicals have been too involved with the Republican Party in predictable ways. Are you concerned about that? I am. You had this rise of people like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell who helped bring a lot of people into public life, which I think … Continue reading The World Wide (Religious) Web for Friday, November 4, 2011

THE DANGER OF MIXING RELIGION & POLITICS: “Did the Religious Right Lose 10 Million Christians?” In the 1990s, a seismic shift occurred in religious America. During that period, the percentage of Americans who did not affiliate with any religion more than doubled. In the 1980s, about 7% of Americans reported being religiously unaffiliated, and by 2000, this was up to 14% (and has since increased to about 17%). To be clear, many of these religiously unaffiliated still believe in God, but they don’t associate with any particular religion or denomination. What happened, and why did it happen in the 1990s? … Continue reading The World Wide (Religious) Web for Thursday, November 3, 2011

JUSTIFICATION AND JUSTICE: “Mohler and Wallis Debate Justice and the Church.” Despite the clarity of the concerns (and the accuracy of each side’s worries), I left wondering whether the language of “integral” or “implications” for the relationship of social justice and the gospel is ultimately insufficient to capture the nuanced relationship between social justice and the unique, unrepeatable sacrifice that Christ made on our behalf. While (with Mohler) the gospel is clearly paramount within the New Testament, it is only intelligible when set against the failure of individuals and societies to act justly toward each other and God as described … Continue reading The World Wide (Religious) Web for Wednesday, November 2, 2011

HAPPY REFORMATION DAY! “Abandon the Reformation, Abandon the Gospel.” While many other challenges to Reformation theology could be identified, these two examples sufficiently demonstrate that Reformation theology continues to be at the center of discussion. Many younger evangelicals are embracing Reformation theology today. But the challenge we will face lies in how to defend Reformation theology to light of new ideologies that seek to undermine its credibility. I believe that the linchpin in the effort to defend and apply Reformation theology today can be found in the simple truth made so clear by Luther himself—namely, that the gospel itself is … Continue reading The World Wide (Religious) Web for Monday, October 31, 2011

YEAH, WHAT HE SAID: “It’s the Spirituality, Stupid: Vital Congregations Cultivate Personal Piety.” Even though research shows spiritually alive churches are the most likely to grow, the percentage of U.S. congregations reporting high spiritual vitality declined from 43 percent in 2005 to 28 percent in 2010, according to the latest Faith Communities Today survey. The drop was accompanied by a decline in the emphasis given to spiritual practices such as prayer and scripture reading across nearly all groups aside from white evangelicals and congregations with 1,000 or more attenders. The most notable slide occurred among white mainline Protestant denominations, which … Continue reading The World Wide (Religious) Web for Friday, October 28, 2011

RELIGIOUS POLITICAL AGNOSTICISM: “Why It’s Difficult to Derive Political Affiliation from the Bible.” I think it’s fine that people bring their religious convictions into their political decisions, as we should with every aspect of life.  However, I’ve become skeptical that there is any one “right” way of doing this.  Moreover, I’m uncomfortable with any message, either explicit or implicit, that suggests that “if you’re a Christian, you should be a _______ (fill in the political party).” At this point in my life, I would say I’m a political agnostic—I just don’t know if there is one, right way to politics. … Continue reading The World Wide (Religious) Web for Thursday, October 27, 2011

COMPETENT TURK WATCH: “When Baptists Voted for a Heretic.” The Baptist alliance with Thomas Jefferson helps illuminate recent controversies over Pastor Robert Jeffress’s negative comments about Mitt Romney’s Mormonism. It reminds us that there was a time when conservative Baptists were willing to support a presidential candidate whose personal beliefs starkly differed from their own. As of 1800, Jefferson was still fairly quiet about his religious skepticism. (After he retired from politics, it became clear that he did not believe in the divinity of Christ, the Trinity, or the miracles in the Bible, including Jesus’s resurrection.) But Jefferson had already … Continue reading The World Wide (Religious) Web for Wednesday, October 26, 2011

MINISTRYDIRECT.COM/LIVE: This afternoon at 2:00 p.m. (CST), I’m interviewing Kerry Clarensau, author of Love Revealed and director of Assemblies of God’s Women’s Ministries, on MinistryDirect.com/live. If you’d like to ask Clarensau questions about her book, women’s ministries, or women in ministry, email them to [email protected], tweet them using #MinistryDirect, or use the Facebook messaging on the live page. (You must be logged into to Facebook to use the messaging tool.) _____ DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU MEAN BY “IRRATIONAL”: “Are Evangelicals or University Professors More Irrational?” This Jew will take the evangelicals’ values and the evangelicals’ America over those of left-wing … Continue reading The World Wide (Religious) Web for Tuesday, October 25, 2011

ANOTHER REASON TO IGNORE IT: “Vatican’s economic statement will be way to the left of Wall Street financiers.” On Monday, the Vatican will release a document on the reform of the international financial system which will be to the left of every politician in the United States. It will be closer to views of the “Occupy Wall Street” movement than anyone in the U.S. Congress. It will call for the redistribution of wealth and the regulation of the world economy by international agencies. Not only will it be to the left of Barack Obama, it will be to the left … Continue reading The World Wide (Religious) Web for Monday, October 24, 2011