Scot McKnight

McKnight begins a chapter-by-chapter review of Bonnie Kristian's book defending evangelicalism against its cultural critics, focusing on its introduction and its definition of evangelicalism. He disputes her view that critics wrongly equate evangelicalism with Trump-supporting white evangelicals, her inclusion of the Black church, her claim of fuzzy boundaries, and her dismissal of abusive figures as fringe. He argues that evangelical gatekeepers do police belonging, that evangelical leaders should publicly criticize Trump, and that good churches and corrupted, abusive pastors both exist.

The author suggests that younger and former evangelicals raised in Republican homes are shifting toward the Democratic Party, driven by disillusionment with the evangelical-GOP alliance, Christian nationalism, racism, and policy concerns. He argues that evangelicalism has been harmed by political alignment and has lost its prophetic voice. He draws on Hauerwas, Carl Henry, Hunter, and Balmer to argue that Christians should not seek to coerce society through political power and that faith is better served from the margins.

The author reviews Scott Ellsworth's The Ground Breaking, a history of the 1921 Tulsa massacre and its aftermath, calling it the best history book he has read in a decade and urging it be required reading. He describes the massacre as a white mob atrocity against Black Tulsans that was then covered up, and praises historians for recovering it. He argues the story is central to telling the truth about America and calls for lament, restoration, reparations, and reconciliation.

Scot McKnight reviews the fifth chapter and overall argument of Bonnie Kristian's In Defense of Evangelicalism, focusing on Christian nationalism and noting turmoil at Christianity Today. He grants that some criticism of evangelicals is hyperbolic and that ordinary evangelicals are basically good, but argues that Christian nationalism is a real and widespread problem, that sociological research on it is credible, and that politics is about how much control is sought. He contends Kristian minimizes the problems produced by evangelical leadership's political theology, that critics' hyperbole is prophetic, and that evangelicalism needs a renewed kingdom-centered gospel vision, a generation of good works, and confession rather than defense.

This newsletter roundup opens with a reflection arguing that Jesus's core message was the present availability of the kingdom (empire) of God, which subverts human empires, their domination hierarchies, and authoritarian images of God, and that Jesus does not legitimize nation-states. It then excerpts pieces on fear, on translating 1 Corinthians 16:13, on turmoil at Christianity Today, and on Kregel's leadership, with the author suspecting multiple causes for Christianity Today's changes and lamenting its distance from the theological skill of Carl Henry and Kenneth Kantzer. It closes by sharing his co-author Tommy Phillips's guide to reading Romans in light of its small house-church audience.

A guest essay by Mike Glenn compares a friend's devotion to AA with the commitment of Christians, including the author, to following Jesus. Agreeing with the friend that AA does church better than the church, it argues that churches should be open and non-judgmental and should have mature members helping newcomers. It calls for frequent attendance, daily self-examination against the Sermon on the Mount, mentoring, and care for those who struggle. It traces Christian half-heartedness to the belief that discipleship is a matter of willpower rather than a recognition of one's powerlessness and need for help.

The text is a brief weekly preview from a newsletter. It announces upcoming posts: one on what makes an American "American," a fourth installment on Bonnie Kristian, a post on new books, and one on the central theme of the Book of Acts. It makes no argued claims.

The essay, by Mike Glenn, argues that real ordination happens when a local congregation recognizes and trusts someone's ministry, a process every pastor must undergo anew in each church. Glenn holds that congregations discern who walks with Christ, recognize informal leaders who are often unpaid and without office, and ordain people to different ministries according to their gifts. He contends that churches care whether a person loves Jesus rather than whether they are a man or a woman, citing a woman named Gayle who was recognized for her prayer ministry. He concludes that the local church, not denominations or institutions, ordains its leaders, and that others should heed what the church knows.

Responding to Peter Wehner's critique of Trump's vengefulness, McKnight reads John 12 and Philippians 3 to argue that Christians become what they worship. He contends that political vindictiveness and the pursuit of election wins draw believers away from Christ, who shapes his worshipers toward grace, forgiveness, love, peace, and justice. He warns against worshiping power or the nation and urges Christians to protect the republic's ideals through speaking out and the virtues Wehner names.

A newsletter roundup in which McKnight opens by noting the confusion of the times and then highlights writings by others. He commends a Sunday School lesson on Obadiah applied to U.S. policy toward the vulnerable and immigrants, a pastor's reflections on the Johannine community and deconstruction, Timothy Snyder's description of Musk's actions as a coup, Paul Kingsnorth's critique of Christian civilisationism, and Skylar Ray's call to love through attention to local history.

Not reviewed yet.

For a U.S. election day, the author offers three prayers from the Book of Common Prayer as fitting prayers for Christians. He frames them as prayers for the nation's freedom, peace, justice, and forbearance under God's will, and for peace that requires wisdom and leads to God-like love. He also asks that candidates and winners serve all people rather than one party, ministering with wisdom, patience, and courage to the suffering, friendless, and needy.

A short newsletter preview lists the posts planned for the first week of November: an unnamed book the author calls the best he has read in a decade, prayers for Election Day, and two essays. The previews say that character matters more than culture, and culture more than strategies or skills. They also say that systematic theology has seductive powers.

The text quotes Revelation 7:9–12 from The Second Testament, rendering John's vision of a countless multiethnic crowd and the heavenly beings worshiping God and the Lamb before the throne. It offers no commentary or interpretation of the passage, so it states no claims of its own.

The newsletter is a roundup of personal news and excerpts from other writers: a golf match with the author's son, Pope Leo XIV's request for a mail ballot, incarcerated women graduating from Northwestern, Dictionary.com's word of the year, a profile of a death-penalty mitigation specialist, and a historian's reconsideration of Constantine. In his own voice the author mainly commends Daniel K. Williams' study of Christianity Today. That study ties the magazine's decline to the broader decline of midwestern evangelicalism rather than only to recent editorial decisions.

The essay, by pastor Mike Glenn, argues that people watch Christians' conduct long before they listen to their message, and that many respect Jesus but reject Christianity because of how Christians treat one another. It criticizes the constant negativity and public infighting in Christian media and argues that such conflict tells outsiders they would not be loved in church. As remedies, it urges following Matthew 18 to settle disputes privately, praying for one another instead of judging, and loving fellow believers as a witness to Jesus' love.

Scot McKnight lists the ten lessons of Joshua Jipp's book on the Bible's worst rulers, which he commends as timely and fitting for the current season in the United States. He presents, approvingly, Jipp's contrast between the way of Jesus and the way of Satan in leadership. Each tyrannical practice (exploitation, fear of outsiders, religious legitimation, disregard for truth, favoring elites, and others) is paired with a faithful alternative such as hospitality, sincere worship, and truth-telling.

The author contrasts Ronald Reagan with Donald Trump, focusing on Russia. Drawing on Reagan's 1982 Westminster speech against totalitarianism, he argues that Trump's alignment with Putin is disastrous and indefensible, that Reagan would have resisted it, and that the current administration is gripped by delusion and has closed the nation's borders. He recommends Timothy Snyder's book on Putin's Russia, calls Trump a political opportunist unlike Reagan, and holds up Al Gore's 2000 concession as a model against Trump's refusal to concede in 2020.

This is a short newsletter post previewing the week's scheduled posts. The topics are a comparison of Ronald Reagan with the current president's claim to be like him, focused on relations with Russia; how (not) to be a tyrant; a final post on Bonnie Kristian's new book; and a fresh look at the Pharisees. The post states no argued positions of its own.

The text is a weekly gospel reading of Matthew 22:34–46 in the author's own translation, The Second Testament, with no added commentary. Under the heading "his creed," the author presents the double command to love God and neighbor as the summary of the Law and the prophets. The reading also includes Jesus' question about how the Messiah can be both David's son and David's Lord.