What Tony Perkins gets almost right and Jerry Falwell Jr. gets wrong. We at CT are reluctant to enter the political fray on most issues because they rarely touch on core causes or issues for us. But when fellow evangelicals start exegeting and applying Scripture in the public square, we think we have something to …
I almost distanced myself from the label years ago, but I’m glad I stayed. I readily understand recent concern about the label “evangelical” and why some people are uncomfortable with it, given some of its cultural associations. In fact, a few decades ago, I was ready to distance myself from the movement myself. My problem …
The recent New Testament dust-up between big-name scholars reminds us how hard—and important—Bible translation can be. Individual translations of the Bible have a long history in Western Christianity, stretching back to Jerome’s Latin translation, the Vulgate. Notable members of this auspicious tradition include William Tyndale, John Wycliffe, and Martin Luther. Much more recently, figures such …
The strength of human intellect also makes it fragile. This essay was the second place winner of the 2017 CT Science Writing Contest. The two most hair-raising moments I have ever had with my dad happened within 10 minutes of each other. A few years ago we were snorkeling with my two brothers off Santa …
How to stay informed about what’s important without wearing yourself down. “This is Your Brain on Trump TV,” is the title of a recent piece at The American Conservative published in between the president’s incendiary tweets about North Korea and his leaked disparaging remarks about those from African countries and Haiti. While the former comments …
Analogies between abortion and other “life issues” are shakier than we sometimes suppose. Spend enough time arguing against abortion, and you’re certain to deal with accusations of hypocrisy and inconsistency. If you were really pro-life, critics say, there are other, outside-the-womb causes you would champion just as ardently. In a 2004 interview with PBS host …
The African religious imagination already anticipates Christ. It’s ironic that as I crossed the Walt Whitman Bridge to attend an urban apologetics conference in Philadelphia I encountered the very religious pluralism that makes conferences such as these a necessity. As my weathered SUV pulled up to the stoplight, I could see the Marcus Garvey–inspired Pan-African …
A tribute to the legendary composer, singer, and pianist Edwin Hawkins. The first time I heard Edwin Hawkins and the Edwin Hawkins Singers’ “Oh Happy Day” was in June 1969 in base housing at Itazuke Air Base outside Fukuoka, Japan. Every day, I’d race home from school and turn on Armed Forces Radio to tune …
We agree: It’s a broken word describing broken people in a broken movement. It’s still Good News. Look, we get it. We’re frustrated, too. Have been for decades, but yes, it’s worse now. When pundits talk about “evangelicals,” they don’t mean what we mean. When pollsters count “evangelicals,” they usually don’t count how we count. …
I was welcomed by my future in-laws who were unwelcome in my own country. My future father-in-law perched on his knees, balancing a spoon of goo in the air and waiting for me to open my mouth. “Sarita, pro … bá … lo,” he encouraged. My Spanish was weak, but I knew he was saying …