Curated topics for a disillusioned church
Talk of Christian nationalism has skyrocketed. In 2021 there were 200,000 tweets on Christian nationalism for the entire year, in just July of 2022 there were over 289,000 tweets on the term. Journalist Daniel Sillman provides a thorough, nuanced look at the word, from those that see it as a positive and those that see it as a negative, along with polling statistics and interviews of pastors, authors, and historians.
Russell Moore, former head of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, and director of the Public Theology Project at Christianity Today, shows that Christian Nationalism is a virulent flavor of secularism and cannot, as no secularism can, save the world, or even save an individual.
A question and answer article that presents the definitions and differences between patriotism, nationalism, Christianity, and Christian nationalism in addition to why Christian nationalism is a dangerous ideology.
From Hillsong's Carl Lentz to Liberty's Jerry Falwell Jr., including local scandals most of us never hear about, there has been no shortage of pastors, churches, and organizations that have been exposed using power and influence to cover up sexual misconduct, toxic work environments, and other assorted sins. In interviews with former Mars Hill church members, ex-evangelicals, pastors, journalists, authors, and all of those in between The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill tells the story of a church culture that drifted from being a church about Jesus to a church about the pastor.
Although the anti-critical race theory rhetoric didn't really begin in earnest until 2020 (hint: an election year), the groundwork was being laid back in 2018 by evangelicals on blogs, speeches, and sermons. Reporter Andre E. Johnson traces the roots and motivation of white evangelicalism becoming obsessed with opposing CRT.
Co-editor of Critical Race Theory: The Key Writings That Formed the Movement Gary Peller says that the vehement backlash against critical race theory makes is readily apparent why critical race theory is needed. Using simple, real world examples Peller details how CRT can help analyze social practices (policing, education) and how they are affected by racism.
Critical race theory is being used by many people as a weapon and many people are not taking the time to dig into what CRT actually is. Is critical race theory a tool that Christians can use? Absolutely. Is it a tool that Christians will use to direct church doctrine? No. As Christians we must be nuanced and distinct in our response to CRT.
Priest Tish Harrison Warren argues that the church's response to racism should be different then the worlds - we should be able to admit systemic racism while also moving past the guilt and shaming of others and ourselves. We love the both/and worldview of this article.
From the four gospels to Isaiah to Micah and more, the Bible paints a clear picture that Christians should pursue justice, not just with words, but with action. These actions can help repair the credibility of the church while helping marginalized groups in addition to serving as a witness to the power of the Gospel.
Professor and department head of sociology at the University of Illinois at Chicago Michael O. Emerson writes about Christians who get so caught up in social justice/injustice that they abandon Christianity. Emerson says that the means and the ends matter and that divorcing Jesus from justice ultimately leads to failure and frustration.
Sunday to Saturday 
You must be logged in to post a comment.