Evidence

The post links to the author's article and shows its opening, which quotes Donald Trump saying he hates some of his enemies and always will. It recounts an interview in which Ross Douthat asked Trump whether he could feel love and forgiveness for people like James Comey and Nancy Pelosi if that were required to enter paradise. The author calls this a very poignant question; the visible excerpt ends with the start of Trump's answer and gives no further argument.

A short post warning Christians about movements within the faith that treat the world as enemies to be destroyed. It argues that the world should instead be seen as full of neighbors to be loved.

The post promotes the author's article on Christian reactions to the midterm elections. It argues that many professing Christians responded with outrage that contradicts the Jesus they claim to follow. It calls fears that elected Muslims will legislate Sharia law false and hateful. It also says Christian warnings about immigrants, LGBT people, and women's reproductive rights are lies and fear-mongering.

A short satirical post contrasting a view attributed to Christian nationalists, that women should lose the vote and be kept out of leadership, with a news headline reporting record numbers of women set to lead states and congressional districts. The author mocks the Christian nationalist position and presents women's electoral gains as a fitting rebuke to it.

A one-line election-day post about how citizens should act politically. It argues that voting, not physically storming the seat of government, is the proper way to challenge those in power.

In a short post responding to a quoted statement by Ken Paxton that Christianity will struggle to survive in the country if Christians don't vote, the author rejects that framing. He argues that believing Christianity can only be sustained with Republicans in power is a form of worshiping the Republican Party's power rather than God.

A short post responding to national election results. The author argues that the country has clearly rebuked Christian nationalism. He gives thanks to God and to his neighbors for that outcome.

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 election-day post addressed to believers. It argues that professing belief in heaven while voting in ways that bring suffering on others is hypocritical.

A single post arguing that many Americans have been deceived into fearing the wrong things. It contends that racism, misogyny, fascism, authoritarianism, corrupt billionaires, and cruelty are the real dangers, while diversity, equality, democracy, immigrants, the poor, and empathy have been wrongly cast as threats.

In a two-part election-day post, the author responds to a call to "vote according to Biblical values" by listing what he voted for. He holds that biblical values mean welcoming immigrants, helping the poor and hungry, providing healthcare, forgiving debts, caring for the planet, renouncing violence, and loving all neighbors. He also links to a prayer he wrote for the day.

In a short post, the author argues that calls to "vote according to Biblical values" are applied selectively. He holds that those urging such voting ignore scriptural teaching on welcoming immigrants, helping the poor and sick, forgiving debts, caring for the planet, renouncing violence, and loving neighbors. He presents these as biblical values that should also shape Christian voting.

This sermon, the first in a series on politics and faith, argues that political ideologies have become idols and a new religion in America. Drawing on Joshua Ryan Butler's Party Crashers, it describes four political 'religions'—progress, responsibility, identity, and security—each rooted in a good God-given value that becomes idolatrous when placed above God and then sacrifices people such as the unborn, the poor, and immigrants. It calls Christians not to pick a partisan side or retreat to the center but to Jesus' side, pointing to Jesus' prayer for unity, Paul's teaching on one body and the broken dividing wall, and politically opposed disciples united in Christ. It closes with a gospel invitation stressing salvation by grace rather than works and Jesus as the only way to the Father.

This sermon, the last in an election-season series called 'American Idols,' argues from Acts 17 and Philippians 2 that Jesus' gospel is political and creates an 'upside down kingdom' opposed to the world's ways. The preacher contends that hubris and hedonism have destroyed societies throughout history, and that in America they appear as the idols of exceptionalism and entertainment, the latter tied to the founders' 'pursuit of happiness.' Against these, Jesus models humility and holiness, and believers, as citizens of heaven whose allegiance is to King Jesus rather than the nation, are to live 'elect, not exceptional' and 'empowered, not entertained,' engaging the world without withdrawing from it. The sermon closes with an altar call stressing that salvation comes from surrendering to Christ's lordship, not from being good, American, or religious.

This sermon, the third in a series titled "American Idols," argues that Christians are citizens of heaven living as exiles in America and that national and political identities have become idols that divide the church. Drawing on John 3:16, Ephesians, Philippians, 1 Peter, and Jeremiah 29, the preacher contends that Jesus' message was political, that faith and politics are not separate, and that believers should neither disengage from society nor fit Jesus into partisan ideologies. He urges Christians to seek the welfare of their cities, pray for local leaders, and vote, while affirming America as a blessed nation and giving their ultimate allegiance to God. The sermon closes with an invitation to salvation by trusting Christ's finished work rather than national identity or good works.

This sermon, the second in a series called "American Idols," argues that politics is fundamentally about authority. It holds that humans were made to bring order out of chaos in partnership with God, but they repeatedly trust earthly rulers instead, as Israel did in demanding a king. The preacher presents Jesus' announcement of a present kingdom, his exchange with Pilate, and the resurrection as revealing God's ultimate authority, and he describes the early church as submitting to hostile rulers while changing the world through love rather than political power. He urges Christians to vote but not to treat Trump, Harris, or any candidate as a savior, and he closes with a call to salvation by grace alone, defining repentance as a change of direction.

This is the staff page of Journey Church in Bend, Oregon, introducing its pastors, elders, and support staff. It presents a husband and wife as co-lead pastors and several women as pastors, and states the church's mission of leading people on a journey of transformation in Jesus and its belief that there is hope for everyone. Staff bios stress the life-changing power of Bible study, encountering God's manifest presence, being empowered by the Spirit, and living in one's beloved identity as a child of God.

This is the About page of Eagles' Wings Travel, a ministry that runs Christian pilgrimages to Israel. It holds that Jerusalem matters to every person on earth and that Christians should understand Christianity's Jewish roots and connect with Israel's past, present, and future. It names three biblical mandates: praying and working for peace in Jerusalem, renewing spiritual community, and fostering understanding across cultural divides. It presents Holy Land travel as life-changing and praises founder Robert Stearns as a respected global leader.

This is a church staff page introducing its pastoral team. It presents a husband and wife as co-lead pastors who followed God's leading to Central Oregon to help people find the life Jesus offers and to bring a genuine, relational style of leadership to the church. It lists women among its pastors, including as lead, student ministries, and worship pastors.

This is a church's 'Who We Are' page describing its mission of leading people on a journey of transformation in Jesus through knowing God, finding freedom in community, discovering God-given purpose, and serving. Its statement of faith affirms biblical inerrancy, the Trinity, the fall of humanity through Adam and Eve, the full deity and humanity of Christ, salvation by grace through faith rather than works, and eternal heaven and hell. It also sets out Pentecostal-charismatic distinctives, including Spirit baptism, continuing spiritual gifts, healing as part of the atonement, and God's will for believers' wholeness and success, including financially, and it defines marriage as between one man and one woman.

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.

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 post promotes a newsletter article titled "Remember The Dead," and the attached image shows its opening lines. The author describes the country as enduring hard days and offers prayers for peace and a better future as the midterm elections approach. He urges that, whatever the result, Christians keep speaking up for the voiceless, the poor, immigrants, and the marginalized.

Two pastors of Valley Bible Church discuss how Christians should respond to COVID-19 restrictions on worship in light of Scripture and the U.S. Constitution. They argue that all authority comes from God and that Christians must joyfully submit to government unless commanded to sin, while viewing fallen leaders with healthy skepticism and trusting God's providence. They hold that First Amendment religious liberty remains in force, urge respectful political engagement and peaceful protest over rebellion, and say conflicts between levels of authority call for discernment centered on gospel witness. They also criticize reliance on predictive models over empirical data, stress the human costs of lockdowns, describe giving as worship rather than seed money, and say the church declined government aid.

Written after George Floyd's death, this church article reflects on race and reconciliation from a biblical perspective. It calls Floyd's death inexcusable, acknowledges that many black Americans feel unsafe, and affirms that black lives matter, while arguing that race is not a real biological or biblical category because all humans descend from Adam. It rejects a Marxist, system-focused explanation of racial conflict in favor of sin and enmity in fallen human nature, and contends that no human or systemic remedy can pay sin's debt. It holds that Christ's atoning sacrifice is the only answer, uniting believers as one new humanity and calling Christians to repentance, defense of the wronged, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

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.

The post is a tribute to actor Patrick Stewart that quotes his character Captain Picard. Through the quote, the author affirms the warning that persecution such as the torture of heretics and the burning of witches is not safely in the past and can quickly return.

The post responds to a White House social media image of a sombrero-shaped jack-o'-lantern. The author calls the image racist and dehumanizing, meant to stoke fear and hatred toward others. He says the administration should be called neither Christian nor American, describing its leaders as white nationalists.

A short post expressing moral alarm at public speakers who use dehumanizing, fear-mongering rhetoric about whole groups of people. The author argues that the crowds who cheer such rhetoric are even more troubling than the speakers themselves.

The post points to what the author sees as an inconsistency among Christians who want the government to write biblical sexual ethics into national law but say caring for the poor is not the government's job. It contrasts the few verses on sexuality with what the author counts as more than 2,500 verses calling for generous use of wealth that prioritizes the poor. Through its scare quotes, it also implies that caring for the poor is properly part of the government's role.

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.

The post promotes the author's Substack article and shows its title and opening line. The author argues that the common claim that no leader has damaged Christianity in America more than Donald Trump misses the mark.

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.

This symposium at Indianapolis Theological Seminary opens with a promotion of the seminary's local, church-based training model, then features a lecture by Dane Ortlund on his book Gentle and Lowly. Ortlund argues that knowing Jesus as gentle and lowly in heart is the core of knowing him at all, defending this from Matthew 11 and Old Testament texts (Exodus 34, Isaiah 55 and 57, Lamentations 3, Hosea 11) and from Puritans such as Goodwin, Owen, Sibbes, and Bunyan. He maintains that God's mercy is more natural to him than judgment without denying wrath, hell, or divine simplicity, and distinguishes his view from liberal writers who downplay wrath. In Q&A he addresses preaching, besetting sin, assurance, spiritual disciplines, recommended Puritan books, and the church's need for a culture of grace alongside the doctrines of grace.

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.

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 short social media post about Christian voting. It argues that Christians should vote out of love for the most vulnerable rather than backing candidates who share their animosity toward certain people.

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 argues that what defines being American is commitment to being a nation of laws, and it draws on Lincoln's 1838 Lyceum address, which it praises and adopts: citizens should revere and obey the law, and mob action is never justified. It charges the current administration with disregarding process, Congress, and international law. It contends that Trump is no rival to Lincoln and that lawlessness rots national character. It denies that Lincoln's 'political religion' was Christian nationalism, notes that respect for law need not mean endorsing every law or opposing conscience, and closes by adopting Theodore Roosevelt's warning about politicians who promise to do wrong on voters' behalf.

The piece introduces John Fea's book on whether America was founded as a Christian nation, set against the rise of Christian nationalism. McKnight argues that Christian nationalism is more widespread among evangelicals than commentators admit, citing Matthew D. Taylor, Whitehead, Perry, and Gorski. He notes that members of the current administration claim a Christian founding and says a trained historian is needed to address these questions. He commends Fea's book as a clear, nuanced primer suitable for churches and libraries, and lists its ten chapter questions.

The text is a short liturgical prayer, or collect, addressed to God. It affirms that God has revealed his glory among the nations in Christ and asks God to preserve his merciful works so that the worldwide Church may persevere in steadfast faith. It closes with a Trinitarian confession that Christ lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit as one God forever.

A short seasonal roundup recommending five new books: Gorman on Paul's theology as lived rather than abstract, Jipp on leadership lessons from biblical tyrants, Edwards as an introduction to atonement theology, Keener on the historical reliability of the Gospels, and DeGroat on cultivating character. The author praises Keener's ability to write accessibly, unlike some academics. He also argues that the problem in church leadership is character rather than a lack of procedures or accountability structures.

This newsletter entry is a roundup of excerpts on several topics, with brief comments from the author. In his own voice he argues that gambling creates a fiercely resistant addiction, says ESPN should stop drawing money from gambling, and commends producer Nicole Noren for leaving the network over it. He labels as preposterous the claim by Christian nationalist podcasters that women lack agency and need a male covering, and he takes up Sandra Glahn's reply that Scripture presents women as judges, prophets, landowners, and business owners.

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.

A short social media post contrasting technological novelties with the author's preferred priorities. The author says he does not want flying cars, folding phones, or data centers. Instead he wants an end to mass shootings, healthcare for all, free and fair elections, a government free from Christian nationalism, and care for the planet and its people.

The post, an open letter to Christians, lists acts by the president, Hegseth, and the president's supporters: joking about bombed cities, a live-streamed execution, beating a woman at a rally, and chaining migrants. It argues that Christians who cheered these acts should ask whether they would have cheered Jesus' arrest and execution. It grounds this in Jesus' saying that what is done to the least of these is done to him.

The post charges that people who warn about sharia law are hypocritical, since they themselves pursue coercive policies in the name of Christianity. It lists live-streamed executions, book bans, barring journalists, eroding women's rights, rounding up people in the streets, and legislating the Bible in schools as examples. It treats these as wrong and as not genuinely Christian, and it treats the sharia warnings as unfounded.

The post notes that Advent begins on November 29th and promotes a daily Advent devotional the author recently wrote, which he says speaks to the present context. It links to where the devotional can be found and makes no argued theological, moral, or political claims.

A short post responding to mass shootings by recalling images of powerful officials wearing rifle-shaped lapel pins. The author says these officials claim to be pro-life, to protect children, and to follow Jesus while celebrating guns. He calls the church to confront what he describes as the sacrifice of children to the worship of guns by those in power.

A short post affirming the equal worth of every human life. The author says nothing will convince him that a person's life is worth less because of citizenship, religion, skin color, gender, or way of life.

The post shares a Substack article by the author about an incident at a Trump rally in Youngstown, Ohio. It reports that several men physically assaulted a woman while the crowd chanted "USA!".

In this newsletter post, a reply to a friend troubled that a close Christian friend backs Trump and JD Vance, the author draws on his father's partisanship and on Old Testament teaching. He argues that Christians should neither fuse with nor cut off politically opposed loved ones, but practice differentiation with humility. He also contends that the Bible commands love of foreigners, that nationalism and exceptionalism are dangerous, and that Trump's supporters have been duped.

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.

This is the third part of Scot McKnight's review of Kristin Kobes Du Mez's Live Laugh Love. He finishes summarizing the book's last chapters, covering the ideal 'smokin' hot' wife, performed femininity as a political act, and abuse cover-ups. He then defends the book against critics, argues that it tells a credible but partial story, and notes what it leaves out, such as complementarianism and ordinary evangelical women. He concludes that it has tapped a neglected Wesleyan-holiness stream of evangelicalism and exposed a deep segment of evangelical women.

Scot McKnight reviews and recommends Robert Chao Romero and Jeff Liou's book on Christianity and critical race theory. He argues that racism is systemic, that CRT is a needed tool for exposing it, and that Christians should drop their stereotypes of CRT. He adopts the book's claims that racism is rooted in human sinfulness, that communities of color have distinct cultural wealth, and that dismissing CRT amounts to privileged false peace.

McKnight previews Joash Thomas's book The Justice of Jesus, which criticizes white North American evangelicals for resisting social justice. He agrees with Thomas's definition of justice and his point that much of the Western church has put souls ahead of bodies, but thinks Thomas overstates that point. He accepts Thomas's claim that a colonizer's gospel shapes many churches, ties it to racism and slavery, and links the decline of social justice to MAGA-aligned churches and Project 2025. He also argues that injustice harms oppressors as well as the oppressed and that the charge of "woke" is a power grab.

In a short thread promoting a forthcoming book, the author argues that the present wave of deconstruction should not be condemned as evil. He holds that it is often a movement of the Spirit calling the church back to Jesus.

The author, reflecting on a recent SBC vote barring churches that let women function as pastors, argues that this restriction is a recent development and not Baptist tradition. She contends it is driven by power as well as theology, with echoes of the SBC's pro-slavery past, and says it inconsistently allows women to lead on the mission field. She reads Scripture, especially Phoebe and Romans 16, as showing women in ministry, and calls the church to ask whom God has called and equipped. She presents the freedom of women in the kingdom as the way of Jesus.

A brief post by Scot McKnight that quotes historian Jill Lepore on concealed carry. The quoted view holds that celebrating armed self-defense as citizenship, instead of mourning it as a failure of civil society, erodes civilian life. The post adds no commentary of its own, so it is recorded as sharing the quote's view.

McKnight argues that American evangelicalism has been unmasked as corrupt and has lost its social credibility through clergy abuse, complicity in racism, alignment with the Republican Party, and masculinist power-seeking. He commends works by Burge, Du Mez, Barr, and Byrd as exposing these problems, criticizes opposition to Critical Race Theory and the Southern Baptist Convention's leadership, and calls for a Jesus-shaped life of using power for others.

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.

The text is a republished excerpt from Heather Cox Richardson with no added commentary from the author. It reports that nine former CDC directors published an op-ed warning that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s policies, including firings, vaccine skepticism, and cuts to research, endanger public health. The author's only visible stance is sharing this account, recorded as a hedged endorsement of the source.

McKnight reviews Maggie Doherty's book on the 'equivalents' at the Radcliffe Institute, which he treats as the birth of second wave feminism. He recommends it as history and as a guide to starting movements. He ties 1950s gender scripts to evangelical complementarianism, argues that women faced systemic barriers, and encourages readers to join the next stage of the fight for women.

McKnight reviews former pastor Jeff Mikels' book Evangelical Idolatry. He commends it as a candid account of pastors' failure to disciple congregations against Christian nationalism and conservative cultural idols. He agrees with Mikels' broader, Jesus-centered view of the gospel, in which Paul and Jesus preach the same good news, and he criticizes an evangelicalism that reduces Jesus to a role in a Reformation reading of Romans.

McKnight opens a series on Keas Keasler's book on Dallas Willard by recalling his own debt to Willard, especially The Divine Conspiracy. He adopts Keasler's summary of Willard as a practice-oriented theologian of the Christian life whose view of formation joins grace and effort and is inherently missional. He also holds that Willard's ecclesiology was thin, but says he may change his mind, and he calls Willard's focus on the person we become virtue ethics.

McKnight reviews chapter four of a book on Indigenous (Turtle Island) Bible interpretation, which links Indigenous experiences of ancestors, dreams, and visions to similar biblical themes. He praises the book while asking for more nuanced comparison of similarities and differences, and he agrees with its rejection of the view that Indigenous lifeways are inherently pagan. He argues that ancestry shapes identity, that Indigenous Christians inevitably blend biblical and native ancestry, and that all Christians are culturally embedded.

McKnight presents and largely endorses Jesse Nickel's book on Jesus and violence, taking from it that Jesus rejected violence and that peace, understood as wholeness and restoration, defines the kingdom. He reads the Sermon on the Mount's Beatitudes as descriptions of the people God blesses rather than as commands, and he qualifies Pennington's "flourishing" reading of blessing. He argues that Jesus' teaching on non-resistance calls for active, nonviolent, generous resistance to evil.

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.

McKnight reviews Warren Throckmorton's book The Christian Past That Wasn't, which debunks myths that America was founded as a Christian nation. He praises the book, dismisses David Barton's historical work, and presents an example of a misattributed Madison quote used to justify Louisiana's Ten Commandments law. He adopts Throckmorton's definition of Christian nationalism and concludes that American law does not support it.

The author warns against Christian list-making that sorts people into Good Guys and Bad Guys, citing Anne Lamott's remark about creating God in our own image. He reads Luke 6's Blesseds and Woes as people-group lists that reverse cultural approval, and says Jesus' one virtue is following him by loving God and others and caring for the poor and suffering. He closes by reversing Lamott: God is recreating us when we love those God loves.

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.

A guest essay on Scot McKnight's newsletter, with a physician's account from Minneapolis, responds to aggressive ICE enforcement. It argues that the enforcement is cruel, unjust, and at odds with Jesus' command to love, and that leaders who claim Christ while brutalizing others bear bad fruit. It urges Christians to respond with love, advocacy, prayer, service, and peaceful protest, citing the biblical call to love the foreigner.

This short newsletter post sets out Old Testament passages (Leviticus 19, Deuteronomy 27, Numbers 15) on how Israelites were to treat resident aliens, and the title stresses that the same law applies to both. It then reproduces a long political commentary by Heather Cox Richardson on FEMA, immigration enforcement spending, and Christian nationalism. The author adds no explicit comment of his own, so the only claim listed is the biblical teaching on immigrants.

Not reviewed yet.

A lecture and Q&A at a seminary counseling program, given by a Hagar Sisters volunteer and its executive director, on how churches and counselors should respond to domestic violence. It argues that abuse is about power and control, that churches often harm survivors by misusing Scripture on submission and headship, and that couples counseling is unsafe where abuse exists. It urges empowerment rather than pressure, training for pastors and leaders, and a reading of Genesis 3:16 and Ephesians 5 that rejects domination and affirms mutual submission and dignity.

A pastor's lecture at a seminary forum argues that Christians in a polarized political moment must locate the Jesus of the Bible rather than an edited Jesus shaped by conservative or progressive worldviews. Surveying Jesus's own political world, he argues that Jesus refused political kingship, showed no partiality to his nation, and disrupted every political strategy of the day, and that his disciples slowly overcame nationalism and zealotry. He offers "check engine lights" for detecting partisan distortion, and in Q&A discusses moderation, pastoral prudence, anxiety and fear in politics, and discipleship in war zones.