Russell Moore emphasizes the importance of listening to Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical on artificial intelligence, highlighting the spiritual and existential implications of technology. He argues that humanity risk becoming machine-like under a technocratic paradigm, urging a deeper understanding of our nature as humans. … More Tech-Bros vs. Pope Leo on AI
In the past few weeks, the president has posted an Easter messagethat used profanity and threatened civilizational genocide, has issued threats to the pope, and has posted an AI-generated image of himself as Jesus. (He now says he was portraying himself as a doctor.) After all this, even some of the president’s supporters feel humiliated and angry. I think it’s worth asking what exactly is coming to light in this moment and whether it could disrupt a means-to-an-end cultural Christianity. … More Trump’s AI Jesus (Russell Moore)
Earlier this week, the president posted a profanity-laden Easter message promising that Iranians would be “living in Hell” if they did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz. After that, he threatened to wipe out “a whole civilization” in what would have been at best a war crime and at worst a genocide. We have crossed a scary threshold in American life. And in this flurry of words, there is one Christians especially should not miss: hell. … More All We’re Saying is Give Hell a Chance
Below Scot McKnight once again reiterates why I and so many colleagues find it increasingly difficult to use the name Evangelical and why I only rarely refer to our denomination’s full name when identifying my church tribe. Theologically, I still very much resonate with the classic definitions of Evangelical, but the word means something else entirely now. McKnight is blogging through Ryan Burge’s latest book. … More Idolatry in the Camp
Scot McKnight is walking through the encyclical by Pope Leo XIV, “Dilexi Te: Apostolic Exhortation on Love for the Poor.” The universal church can learn much from the thinking of the Roman Catholic Church on what the Bible demands pertaining to the poor. Unfortunately, these Biblical ideas have been branded “marxist” or “socialist” or “woke” or “anti-American” or worse in our day. … More Dilexi Te: On Love For the Poor
What we are witnessing is not merely a political failure. It is a spiritual crisis. Why isn’t every Christian in the United States asking with a broken heart, how has the church arrived here? It reveals how easily American Christianity is tempted to trade its witness and its integrity for proximity to wealth and power. We are watching faith be hollowed out and repurposed, not to follow Jesus, but to shield cruelty, excuse racism, and sanctify domination. … More National Prayer Breakfast: A Den of Thieves
Tripp Fuller, born and raised a Southern Baptist with a love for Jesus and the Bible, like many, has watched in disbelief as very same people who taught him that “character counts” have become the most willing to defend and rationalize the immoral behavior of Trump and his movement. If you want to make sense of how we got here, this is one of the clearest and well-researched presentations I have seen. … More The Moral Collapse of White Evangelicalism
On The Joe Rogan Experience last week, songwriter Bono laid out for Rogan the very human results of the Trump administration’s drastic spending cuts that will put an end to one government program that has actually worked: that of saving people in Africa from dying with AIDS. Rogan seemed convinced—even concerned. … More 1.6 Million Deaths
This sober undressing of some of the hidden realities behind our nation may offend, and if it rattles our bones to see this earthly nation critiqued by the Bible, that might indicate we have made it an idol. Revelation is an ‘apocalypse,’ and that word means to pull back the curtain on the uglier realities that prefer to stay hidden behind the shiny surface. Revelation is an invitation to political resistance, not End Times speculation. … More Babylon in America
This week’s featured conversation is from “The Good Faith Podcast.” Host Curtis Chang is joined by David French and Russell Moore to unpack what Trump’s agenda and executive actions demand from people of faith. From foreign policy chaos and attacks on democratic institutions to political fatigue and Christian witness, this conversation gets real about the cost of following Jesus in a divided America. … More The First 100 Days
Professor David Fitch reflects on life after Easter, emphasizing the struggle Christians face between the victory of Christ’s resurrection and the ongoing presence of evil in the world. He draws parallels with Marthe Cohn’s experiences during WWII, urging believers to actively participate in God’s reign and proclaim Jesus as the ultimate Lord amidst current chaos and challenges. … More Let Jesus Reign (David Fitch)
Our family tradition is to return from Good Friday service and observe an evening of darkness and shadows at home. We light candles and don’t use electricity. It’s a dark, somber night. But our culture doesn’t readily embrace silence and darkness. We run the other way from all that, just like we run away from the reality of death and grief. … More A Night of Shadows
If I have socially withdrawing tendencies, it’s because I’m trying to survive life married to an incurable socialite who’s constantly dragging me into public. When we’re not out on the town, she’s welcoming the town into our home. Just this morning I asked what are evening plans are, and she said, “Not much…except Peter is inviting his entire basketball team to sleep over.” We have very different definitions of “not much.” Scot McKnight riffs today on Derek Thompson’s essay, “The Anti-Social Century.” … More Eating Alone
Scot McKnight reviews Drew Strait’s book advocating for a Christocentric hermeneutic to counter Christian nationalism in the U.S. Strait argues that many Christians misinterpret the Bible for ideological support, advocating instead for a Jesus-centered lens that emphasizes love and peace. This approach resists the spirals of violence pervasive in current narratives. … More Jesus is Our Counter Narrative
Today I’m sharing an editorial piece on the so-called cat-eaters of Springfield and a song by Jon Guerra that will pierce your heart and leave you in tears. The closing line is “Power has several prizes,
Handcuffs can come in all sizes,
Love has a million disguises,
But winning is simply not one.” … More Exotic Cat-Eaters and Christian Citizenship
A family I know and love was rattled recently to get a note from someone they considered a longtime friend suggesting that the family was going to hell. The cause for the impending brimstone was not that the family denied the faith, embraced some heresy, or adopted some unrepentant life of immorality. At issue was that the family did not support a presidential candidate.
… More To Hell With the Election (by Russell Moore)
A quote attributed to Cornel West sums up my feelings in this current political season, “I cannot be an optimist but I am a prisoner of hope.” I skipped watching the national debate, knowing that my social media feeds would be flooded with “highlights.” It turns out I didn’t miss much, and I spent the next several days afterward lamenting, with many others, that these two men were our only choices. … More A Prisoner of Hope
In this 4th of July episode of Theology in the Raw podcast (which was recorded on May 1st), Preston Sprinkle talks with Shane Claiborne about the conflict in Israel-Palestine, student protests on U.S. university campuses, and various things related to patriotism, nationalism, and the gospel. Good food for thought for Christians trying to keep their allegiances straight. … More Should Christians be Patriotic?
Somehow the church tends to pick up the idea that we’re supposed to win. That our place in the world is not one of suffering love, but victorious power. It’s so easy for the church to forget that Christ did not call us to rule but to serve. He called us, as Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it, to come and die. … More A Long Defeat … into Victory
We’re spending a few Sundays exploring the role of imagination in faith, prayer, and spiritual transformation drawing from a teaching series by Greg Boyd that has been very impactful in my life. We kicked things off with this sermon by Greg, and I invite you to watch it if you missed. … More Imagination and Transformation (Greg Boyd)
Russell Moore’s article discusses antisemitic chants at elite campuses, highlighting the danger of mob mentality and the importance of individual accountability. He emphasizes the need to reject hate and embrace love and community, drawing on Christian values of personal responsibility and the vision of unity in diversity. … More What Antisemetic Chants Tell Us
Recently a very popular pastor came under public attack, lost numerous speaking invitations, and had his radio program canceled. What was his sin? He counseled a grandmother to attend her trans grandchild’s wedding. The pastor himself is extremely conservative on matters of marriage and sexuality, and his theological position on these issues has not changed. … More Fundamentalism’s Folly (Skye Jethani)
My teacher riffs on one of my favorite Bonhoeffer books – a book that has helped keep me grounded in the fellowship of “cracked eikons” I’m blessed to serve and at the eucharistic table I’m privileged to attend. The third quotation near the bottom is emblazoned on my pastoral soul, my ecclesiological north star. … More Loving the Church That Is (S. McKnight)
This week’s lectionary reflection focuses on Exodus 20:1-17 and Psalm 19, outlining God’s laws and our relationship with them. It discusses different approaches to rules, emphasizing the importance of understanding and following them. Pastor Mike uses the metaphor of car maintenance to illustrate the benefits of adhering to God’s rules and the support they provide during life’s challenges. … More Rules and that New Car Smell
“With all the hostility coming toward Christians from secularism and progressive ideology,” he asked, “why not punch Left instead of Right?” Evangelicals “attacking our own side” on such matters will only cause unbelievers to hate us more and Christians to trust their leaders less. … More “Why Not Punch Left?” (Russell Moore)
Kingdom Harbor 