This morning, Facebook put a “memory” in my timeline about a post I wrote three years ago to the date. God is not a Republican. Jesus is not a Democrat. The Holy Spirit is not a moderate. The Church is … Continue reading 5 Obvious But Oft-Ignored Theo-Political Truths
“In the turbulent aftermath of the crucifixion of Jesus, officers of the Roman Empire acquire intelligence of a pilgrim bearing an incendiary letter from a religious fanatic to insurrectionists in Corinth. The contents of this letter could bring down the … Continue reading A Man at Arms | Book Review
I host the weekly Influence Podcast. Below are the 35 conversations I hosted with a variety of Christian leaders this past year. For all episodes, visit InfluenceMagazine.com/Podcast. And if you’re looking for past years’ podcasts, here are the links: 2019 … Continue reading My Year in Podcasting | 2020
Many people who convert to Christianity nevertheless continue to believe and practice elements of the religions from which they have deconverted. The authors of Understanding Folk Religion describe the result as “two-tier” or “split-level” Christianity (15). Their book explains why the split … Continue reading Understanding Folk Religion | Book Review
Christianity was borne into a religiously plural cultural environment. It emerged from the womb of Judaism (that itself had multiple forms) into the world of polytheism, imperial cults, and mystery religions. This required Christians to make sense of their faith … Continue reading Encountering Religious Pluralism | Book Review
Gavin D’ Costa, Paul Knitter, and Daniel Strange compare and contrast three models of how Christianity relates to other world religions in their book Only One Way? D’ Costa is a Catholic theologian and outlines the formal position of the … Continue reading Only One Way? | Book Review
Chris Wright opens The Uniqueness of Christ by noting that “the supermarket mentality dominates popular thinking about religion” (12). This reduces religion to a “commodity” and a religionist to a “consumer” (13). Under this mentality, then, religion becomes a consumer … Continue reading The Uniqueness of Christ | Book Review
According to Pew Research Center, the percentage of Americans who say homosexuality should be approved by society grew from 46% in 1994 to 70% in 2017. Over the same period, the share who say it should be discouraged declined from … Continue reading When Someone You Love Is Gay | Influence Podcast
Welcome to the 200th episode of the Influence Podcast! I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Dr. Mark Noll about the rise and fall of … Continue reading The Rise and Fall of “Evangelical America” | Influence Podcast
When first published in 1992, Mark A. Noll’s A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada quickly established itself as one of the best, if not the best, treatments of the subject. The second edition of that book … Continue reading A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada | Book Reviewers
