Church Politics

This essay comes from the NPR series This I Believe, which features brief personal reflections from both famous and unknown Americans. The pieces that make up the series compel listeners to rethink not only what and how they have arrived at their beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

There is a war going on for the future of our country. Most people know that. What they may not know is that if Christians lose, the result won't merely be enduring public policy we disagree with, it will be a prison sentence for those who oppose it. We've all seen the attack coming. First the Supreme Court said kids can't pray in school. Then the Ten Commandments were ripped from the classrooms.

The Church in America is facing an identity crisis. Christian voters felt like they had the promise of representation several decades ago, but in the wake of the Trump presidency, it's not clear that evangelicals have gotten what they bargained for. The time has come for the Church to return to its true calling, to refuse oily political compromises and to reclaim a voice of power, of love, and of self-discipline. The Church is the bride of Christ, and it needs no other loyalties. Jesus Is Not King is a call for faithful Christians to navigate their way out of political turmoil and back into...

New York Times best-selling author Carl Anderson has gathered together many of his most thought-provoking speeches, articles, and essays that lay bare the facts of the state's unjustified restriction of religious beliefs. The power of his words makes it clear that if nothing is done now, there will continue to be more erosion of these special freedoms set forth by our Founding Fathers.

The Book of Revelation was written by Jesus himself, through the Apostle John, in approximately 90-95 AD. John wrote down notes and detailed world events that would happen in his future. Many of those events, including the Beast in Revelation 13, have already come to pass, and much of it is upon us today.

Be the assertion true, that insanity is the expecting of a different result; while perpetuating the same ideologies and behavior patterns, then insanity is the plight of black Americans, as well as those charged with their education and liberation. This form of insanity is marked by illiteracy, decadent neighborhoods, spiritual ineptitude and social and financial insufficiency. It is the chains that have been passed down from generation to generation irrespective of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Sampat Pal was married at twelve, essentially illiterate. Today she leads a vigilante group fighting for women's rights: the Pink Gang. When Sheelu was arrested for stealing from a powerful politician in the notoriously crooked region of Uttar Pradesh, she was sure that she would be forced to accept a prison sentence, not least because she had alleged that she had been assaulted by a man in the politician's household.

Liberalism puts its trust in civil discourse and rational argument. Today, its opponents enthusiastically flout these norms, making a show of defying so-called political correctness. In the Trump era and beyond, right-wing figures delight in sheer offensiveness. What is at stake in breaking the rules of civility to "own the libs"?

There is more to the senator's faith than the crises arising from his former pastor, Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. How could Obama attend for 20 years a church permeated by a defining spirit of anger toward white America? Stephen Mansfield explores Obama's religious faith without political or ideological bias. His basic premise is this: If a man's faith is sincere, then it is the most important thing about him.

What are Muslim issues? Is it only about triple talaq? Are Muslims truly nationalists? Or do they continue to remain just an other in India? While these questions intrigue us, we seldom debate to find pragmatic answers to these queries. Examining the everydayness of Muslims in contemporary India, Hilal Ahmed offers an evocative story of politics and Islam in India, which goes beyond the given narratives of Muslim victimhood and Islamic separation.

An examination of sex and the Bible by one of the leading biblical scholars in the United States. For several decades, Michael Coogan's introductory course on the Old Testament has been a perennial favorite among students at Harvard University. In God and Sex, Coogan examines one of the most controversial aspects of the Hebrew Scripture: What the Old Testament really says about sex, and how contemporary understanding of those writings is frequently misunderstood or misrepresented.

The hot topic of feminism has been well documented and debated in mainstream media and yet, as Christians we come to the conversation from a slightly different vantage point. For starters, we have the benefit of a personal relationship with our creator plus the ultimate handbook in the Bible to work out what is right and just when it comes to equality. So why do many Christians feel the Bible presents a barrier rather than a boost when it comes to championing equality between the sexes?

The old adage, "never discuss religion and politics", is roundly rejected in this incisive exploration of presidential history and religious faith. This newly updated 2016 edition of The Presidents & Their Faith is a fascinating and informative look at how all US presidents exercised their personal faith, exerted presidential power, and led a religiously diverse nation.

"I thought the nation was coming to an end", wrote Khushwant Singh, looking back on the violence of Partition that he was witness to over half a century ago. He believed then that he had seen the worst that India could do to herself. But after the violence in Gujarat in 2002, he felt that the worst, perhaps, is still to come. Analysing the anti-Sikh riots of 1984, the burning of Graham Staines and his children, the targeted killings by terrorists in Punjab and Kashmir, Singh confronts the absolute corruption of religion that has made us among the most brutal people on earth.

While Washington offers only the politics of blame and fear, Jim Wallis, the man who changed the conversation about faith and politics, has traveled the country and found a nation hungry for a politics of solutions and hope. He shows us that a revival is happening, as people of faith and moral conviction seek common ground for change.

We are living in a time of monumental change. Countless numbers of ordinary people, men and women from all walks of life, are joining forces to challenge the direction our national leaders are now taking us. Washington’s idea of change has failed, and most Americans are now frustrated, disappointed, and angry. The result is a long list of offenses, both perceived and real, that can easily set off a chain reaction that quickly becomes irreversible.

This is my story of how I became a Right Wing Fundamentalist Roman Catholic and of course a Republican. I eventually became politically incorrect, and finally at peace with my church and my politics.

How Would Jesus Vote? isn't intended to tell you which candidates to support; rather it offers you a Christ-centered understanding of the world to help you draw your own political conclusions. This election, don't cast an uninformed vote that fails to reflect your values. Instead, learn how to apply your faith and obedience to God to your ballot. This timely, helpful, and hopeful book will enable you to do just that.

From UFOs to the New World Order, the inside story of how conspiracy theories won over America. In November 2017, a serial climate change denier and anti-vaxxer was elected President of the United States. The rise of Donald Trump marked the beginning of a new American epoch: the age of the conspiracy theorist. Now, Anna Merlan goes undercover in America’s sprawling network of conspiracy theorists.

Writing in an engaging, accessible style, philosopher and lawyer Ronald A. Lindsay develops a tightly crafted argument for secularism - specifically, that in a religiously pluralistic society, a robust, thoroughgoing secularism is the only reliable means of preserving meaningful democracy and rights of conscience.