Netflix’s Madalyn Murray O’Hair biopic explores the divisive legacy of one of the country’s most influential atheists. There’s something exhilarating about “playing devil’s advocate”—you get to poke holes, and you don’t have to mend any. Perhaps that’s why most of the combatants in the “culture war” spend more time railing against alleged evils (whether it’s …
Attempts to teach a ‘better’ understanding of the Trinity may do more harm than good. Rumors of the death of Trinitarianism, even rumors of its dearth, have been grossly exaggerated. This is not to ignore the problems, failures, errors, and weaknesses that sometimes attend it. We don’t need to suppress any evidence in order to …
A leading Nigerian theologian believes the real danger to Christianity in Africa is in the church. A good pickpocket works with a partner who will distract the “mark” while the pickpocket steals his wallet, camera, or passport. Sometimes the distraction will be an unwanted conversation, an aggressive sales pitch, or an “accidental” collision in a …
The latest research on good, evil, and infants. As far back as Aristotle, philosophers have assumed that the human mind at birth is a blank slate—tabula rasa. The articulated modern theory is generally attributed to John Locke, who argued that since people are born as a blank slate, they can author the content of their …
From Carter to Comey, the legacy of “Washington’s Favorite Theologian” endures. Nearly 50 years since his death, theologian Reinhold Niebuhr still routinely makes headlines. A high-profile documentary, An American Conscience: The Reinhold Niebuhr Story, debuted earlier this year. Recently deposed FBI director James Comey “almost certainly” used his name for his private Twitter account. Ten …
How the former FBI director’s interest in Reinhold Niebuhr shaped his approach to political power. Two months before he was fired, FBI director James Comey inadvertently revealed something about his theological leanings that may have pointed to his inevitable fallout with President Donald Trump. In March, Gizmodo reporter Ashley Feinberg followed a string of clues …
From rescues to legal reform, a faithful minority changed the country’s criminal landscape. Sek Saroeun first read the Bible at a Phnom Penh bar where young girls were illegally sold for sex. Hamburgers were $1.00, draft beers were $1.50, and bigger bills could get you a companion for the night. The Buddhist law student worked …
How the Southeast Asian country went from an underground church to a church-planting boom. Dozens of pastors crowded around Hun Sen with smartphones extended, snapping selfies to commemorate the Cambodian prime minister’s first-ever meeting with local Christians. The government session with 2,500 church leaders last summer was a significant gesture in an overwhelmingly Buddhist nation …
Prison Fellowship’s Craig DeRoche on the attorney general, America’s drug policy, and his organization’s unlikely partnerships. Since assuming office, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has shown little interest in expanding the efforts of his predecessors in curbing policies that criminal justice reform advocates blame for America’s high rates of mass incarceration. Instead, he’s doubled down, recently …
The Anglican priest, writer, and mother on how discovering grace invigorated her faith and ignited her calling. Long before Tish Harrison Warren entered the Anglican priesthood, she suspected that serving the church would be her calling. By her own admission, she was a “super churchy, super ‘good’ kid” growing up—the kind of person who, in …