The Color of Compromise | Book Review


Jemar Tisby’s The Color of Compromise is a difficult book to read. The difficulty does not result from a complex argument or dense prose, for the book’s argument is simply and straightforwardly made. Rather, the book is difficult to read because of its subject matter, namely, white Christian complicity with racism throughout American history. “Historically speaking,” Tisby writes, “when faced with the choice between racism and equality, the American church has tended to practice a complicit Christianity rather than a courageous Christianity. They chose comfort over constructive conflict and in so doing created and maintained a status quo of injustice.” Tisby … Continue reading The Color of Compromise | Book Review

America’s Pastor: Billy Graham (1918-2018)


The Rev. Billy Graham passed away this morning at his home in Montreat, North Carolina. For decades, Billy Graham was the face of evangelical Christianity, not merely in the United States, but around the world. His death is an occasion for mourning, but his life is an instructive example to Christian ministers today. In August 2015, I wrote the following book review of Grant Wacker’s excellent book, America’s Pastor: Billy Graham and the Shaping of a Nation. Rereading it more than two years later, it strikes me as a good summary of the lessons we can learn from the life and … Continue reading America’s Pastor: Billy Graham (1918-2018)

Review of ‘America’s Pastor: Billy Graham and the Shaping of a Nation’ by Grant Wacker


Grant Wacker, America’s Pastor: Billy Graham and the Shaping of a Nation (Cambridge, MA: Belknap, 2014). Hardcover | Kindle [NOTE: This review originally appeared in the spring 2015 issue of Enrichment.] America’s Pastor is not a conventional biography of Billy Graham. … Continue reading Review of ‘America’s Pastor: Billy Graham and the Shaping of a Nation’ by Grant Wacker

The World Wide Religious Web for Wednesday, January 4, 2012


REVIVAL WATCH: “Pentecostal Renewal Transforms Rwanda after Genocide.” A MORMON TAKE ON BAPTISM IN THE SPIRIT: “Choose a life of constant refinement.” LET’S HOPE NOT! OR HOPE SO? “The Next Billy Graham Might Be Drunk Right Now.” CAN A FALSE TEACHING BE FALSIFIED? “Scientologists in feud over leader.” Because he has strayed from the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard… ATHEIST REDUCTIONISTS, THAT IS: “Reductionists on Parade.” See also “Against Atheist Cant.” WOULD YOU RATHER CLIMB A HILL OR TAKE A N.A.P.? “Atheists Face Uphill Climb With New Political Party.” BECAUSE NOTHING RUINS SOMETHING LIKE POLITICS DOES: “Saving Happiness from Politics.” … Continue reading The World Wide Religious Web for Wednesday, January 4, 2012