The Anxious Bench
@anxiousbench.bsky.social
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Group blog featuring faith, politics, and culture in view of American and global religious history.
Daniel K. Williams gives a parting gift to the Anxious Bench with his last column on the many ways he has shaped and been shaped by the Anxious Bench over his years as a columnist.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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My Farewell To The Anxious Bench
After five and a half years on the Anxious Bench, the time has come to say goodbye. Given my other writing commitments during the coming year (including
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/12/my-farewell-to-the-anxious-bench-2/
9 days ago
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Today at the Anxious Bench, Joey Cochran provides a detailed account of Jack’s (C. S. Lewis) war on Xmas in personal correspondence and public writing and how he reimagined Christmas and Father Christmas (Santa in the U.S.) for his Narnian audience.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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Jack's War On Xmas
To say Jack’s relationship with Xmas was tendentious is to understate it. Even in his youth, elements of the season niggled at him. He did not care for
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/12/jacks-war-on-xmas/
10 days ago
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"Lately I’ve decided that the greatest and possibly most insidious fiction peddled by holiday romance films is the triumph of the small business." Lisa Clark Diller on the subtle fictions of Christmas movies and true longings for community that they can enflame.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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The Economics Of Christmas Romance Movies
‘Tis the season for watching silly sappy movies about small town folks who work hard but haven’t made time for love in their lives until Christmas movies
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/11/the-economics-of-christmas-romance-movies/
29 days ago
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Today at the Anxious Bench, Lynneth Miller Renberg helps us enter into the sacred space of Trondenes Kirke, the northernmost surviving medieval church.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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Trondenes Kirke: The Northernmost Medieval Church
It’s a stunning stone church, painted white and towering over the surrounding landscape, with the sparkling waters of the fjord and snow-covered peaks of
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/11/trondenes-kirke-the-northernmost-medieval-church/
about 2 months ago
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What is happening in Chicago? Historian Joey Cochran documents some of the recent protests and talks about how Chicagoans have responded to Operation Midway Blitz.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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Everyday Evangelical Resistance For My Chicago Neighbors
Historians talk about the danger of presentist history. They rarely talk about what happens when presentist history is unavoidable.
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/10/everyday-evangelical-resistance-for-my-chicago-neighbors/
2 months ago
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What is going on in right-wing America? Historian Paul Yandle traces the similarities between dehumanizing Reconstruction-era rhetoric and the fear mongers of the new Right.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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"Nations Are Made By Men, Not Paper Constitutions"
For over ten years my colleague and friend Paul Yandle and I have been comparing southern history and contemporary politics. Unlike me, he is a
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/10/nations-are-made-by-men-not-paper-constitutions/
3 months ago
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How should pastors think about the rising threat of Christian nationalism? Ansley Quiros offers her reflections in response to the recent conference, "Pastoral Leadership in a Time of Christian Nationalism," held at Candler School of Theology last week.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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"Pastoral Leadership In A Time Of Christian Nationalism"
We hear much about Christian nationalism these days, and for good reason. Pastors, pundits, and presidents alike champion control and dominance as
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/10/pastoral-leadership-in-a-time-of-christian-nationalism/
3 months ago
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If you've seen the film SINNERS, you know how the stories of American history are woven into the the fabric of fantasy. But what about stories of Christianity? Today, Rev. Kevin Barron considers the relationship between faith and fantasy in SINNERS.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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Biblical And Christian Images In The Movie SINNERS
We have a guest blog today from my good friend Kevin Barron – more properly, the Rev. Kevin Barron, as he is an Episcopal priest. Like many of us, he has
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/10/biblical-and-christian-images-in-the-movie-sinners/
3 months ago
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"The Charlie Kirk Memorial turned out to be a blend of funeral, revival, and rally," writes Joey Cochran. "The three features of which had so much permeability that it was tough to discern where one began and the others ended."
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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The Charlie Kirk Memorial: A Funeral, A Revival, A Rally
On Sunday, September 21, 2025, thousands of people attended the Charlie Kirk Memorial at State Farm Stadium in Phoenix, Arizona. They gathered to pay
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/09/the-charlie-kirk-memorial-a-funeral-a-revival-a-rally/
3 months ago
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"I'm only human!" It seems natural to us to root our shortcomings in human frailty. But for Origen of Alexandria, our moral faults reflect more of an animalistic rejection of human nature as created by God and perfectly displayed in Jesus Christ.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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I’m Only Human: Sin As The Rejection Of Human Nature
How should we think about our flaws and misbehavior? For some, flaws are something to be embraced: we should be loved ‘warts and all’. For others,
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/09/im-only-human-sin-as-the-rejection-of-human-nature/
4 months ago
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"Why does it often take terrible spectacles of violence to get people to finally sit down and talk?" Michael Jimenez writes on what we can learn from the interfaith embrace of Cesar Chavez's farmworkers' union in the 1970s.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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An Ecumenical Moment: Cesar Chavez & The 3 Faiths
"All Jews, Christians and Moslems, the spiritual heirs of those slaves freed from Egyptian bondage, are bound by that law, whether they live in the Middle
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/09/an-ecumenical-moment-cesar-chavez-the-3-faiths/
4 months ago
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Today at The Anxious Bench, Philip Jenkins reveals how a 19th century fringe group of religious freethinkers, the Theosophists, were pioneers in the "rediscovery" of early Christianity's esoteric egalitarianism.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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Feminists, Lost Gospels, And A Lost History Of Christianity
My current series of posts concerns what I call the first discovery of lost gospels and scriptures, which became a major force in both scholarship and
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/09/feminists-lost-gospels-and-a-lost-history-of-christianity/
4 months ago
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What do board games have to do with the doctrine of creation? Lynneth Miller Renberg explores the visual theology of a medieval Scandinavian church, and tells us why theologians and historians need each other to understand the worlds of religion.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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Theology, History, And Contexts For Reading Well
Stepping under the 13th-century painted ceiling from the chancel of the church in Ål housed in Oslo’s Historical Museum is a breathtaking experience for a I’d argue that anyone wanting to be a thought...
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/09/theology-history-and-contexts-for-reading-well/
4 months ago
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James Dobson's death marks the end of a generation of conservative evangelical influencers. Daniel Williams writes that what propelled Dobson was a potent blend of Silent Generation political persuasion and Sunbelt evangelical ingenuity.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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James Dobson's Death Was The End Of An Era
James Dobson's death last week marked the end of a particular era in conservative evangelical politics. It was certainly not the end of the Christian
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/08/james-dobsons-death-was-the-end-of-an-era/
4 months ago
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When John Mark Comer posted a pic in praise of Andrew Rillera’s new book on atonement, it triggered a flurry of responses from Reformed evangelical social media.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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John Mark Comer, Penal Substitution, And Evangelical Power
Evangelical leaders clash over John Mark Comer’s views on penal-substitutionary atonement. Explore the debate on crucicentrism, atonement theory, and shifting centers of evangelical influence.
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/08/reformed-evangelical-concerns-about-comer-escalate/
4 months ago
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What do the Cracker Barrel rebrand and the conversion of a prominent Southern Baptist theologian have to do with one another?
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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Cracker Barrel, Anglican Converts, And Tradition's Aesthetic
What does Cracker Barrel's branding woes tell us about the relationship between tradition and modernity in Christianity?
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/08/cracker-barrel-anglican-converts-and-traditions-aesthetic/
4 months ago
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In 1896 and 1897, several breakthrough discoveries in Egypt changed the landscape of biblical studies and scholarly speculation about the figure of Jesus. Philip Jenkins continues his work on the "Lost Scriptures" of the late 19th century.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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Rediscovering Lost Scriptures: Two Astonishing Years
I have been writing about the modern rediscovery of ancient Jewish and Christian scriptures, including Lost Gospels. We usually tend to think of such
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/08/rediscovering-lost-scriptures-two-astonishing-years/
4 months ago
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At the turn of the twentieth century, Alexander Dowie foresaw an apocalyptic revolution and worldwide theocracy, where Jesus Christ would personally speak his message via--what else?--the nascent power of telecommunications.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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Zion: Televangelists And Worldwide Theocracy
They had removed two of the three bullets from his body, but Senior Sergeant Sauer was now refusing further treatment. “Do not touch me,” he said, “I
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/08/zion-telegraphs-and-worldwide-theocracy/
4 months ago
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Who reads scripture better--an unbelieving scholar of ancient texts or an aged saint, dedicated to years of devotional reading? Adam Renberg looks at ancient Christian reading practices that point to the necessity of virtue for understanding the Bible.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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Is Faith Required For Reading The Bible Properly?
Who reads the Scriptures better—Bart Ehrman or my grandmother? One is a world-renowned scholar of the New Testament and textual critic, the other has no
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/08/is-faith-required-for-reading-the-bible-properly/
4 months ago
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When thinking about noncanonical scriptures, we typically start with the discoveries at Qumran in the 1940s, but alternative texts had been known from as early as the 1890s. How did these texts shape biblical studies and religious piety?
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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The First Discovery Of The Lost Scriptures
Some years back, I published a lot at this site on the general subject of Alternative Scriptures, and their rediscovery in modern times. I found a lot to
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/08/the-first-discovery-of-the-lost-scriptures/
5 months ago
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What do Christians have to offer the world in the "ahistoric age" in which we live? We have a story to tell, Michael Jimenez writes--an old, beautiful, complex, surprising story.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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Surprised By History: Telling The Story
I love to tell the story; 'tis pleasant to repeat what seems, each time I tell it more wonderfully sweet. As Dr. Daniel Williams points out in a
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/08/surprised-by-history-telling-the-story/
5 months ago
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Today at The Anxious Bench, Paul Thompson interviews fellow Anxious Bench contributor Daniel K. Williams on being a professional historian and the relationship between faith and scholarship.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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Interview With Historian Daniel K. Williams
In June 2010 I was privileged to meet Dr. Daniel Williams through a mutual acquaintance at the Policy History Conference in Columbus, Ohio. His first book
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/08/interview-with-historian-daniel-k-williams/
5 months ago
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Les Misérables is a story about failed revolution. It can be pretty bleak at times. But, Lisa Clark Diller writes, the musical also reminds us that human flourishing demands not only political vigilance, but self-giving love.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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Les Misérables And Failed Revolutions
Thirty years ago a friend introduced my husband Tommy and I to the music of Les Mis. It took us a few months to see the show—a fancy dress outing to the
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/08/les-mis/
5 months ago
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Why were the early 1890s so consequential for future American activity in the areas of politics, race, and religion? Philip Jenkins offers some early reflections.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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1893: The Long Trajectories
In recent weeks, I have been writing extensively about the transformations that America experienced during the year of 1893. You won't be surprised to
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/08/1893-the-long-trajectories/
5 months ago
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reposted by
The Anxious Bench
Joey Cochran
5 months ago
Church Historian, Miles Mullin, is the interim replacement of Leatherwood. Interestingly, Mullin has authored the most read piece in
@anxiousbench.bsky.social
’s history: The Long History of the Religious Right.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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The Long History Of The Religious Right
Ever since so many of them embraced the Reagan Revolution during the 1980 election cycle, the political involvement of evangelicals has garnered the
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2013/07/the-long-history-of-the-religious-right/
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The Progressive Era saw an explosion in social awareness and activism on the questions of suffrage, temperance, and protections against sexual abuse. How did new emphases on biology and racial eugenics shift the religious approaches to these social crises?
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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1893: Temperance, Trafficking, And The Defense Of The Race
I recently blogged about the radical feminist theories in religion that emerged during that critical year of 1893, the year of Matilda Joslyn Gage’s
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/07/1893-temperance-trafficking-and-the-defense-of-the-race/
5 months ago
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In the 21st century, John MacArthur earned notoriety for challenging what he saw as threats to true Christianity. But he gained fame and a faithful following in the '80s and '90s for his style of preaching. Daniel K. Williams writes about MacArthur's approach.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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John MacArthur's Expository Preaching
Much of the commentary about John MacArthur in the wake of his death last week has focused on the controversies about his views on gender and politics or
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/07/john-macarthurs-expository-preaching/
5 months ago
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Summer church camps have been a mainstay of white evangelical culture for over half a century now. Joey Cochran asks what the ubiquity of evangelical leisure culture suggests about how evangelicals perform status and privilege in America.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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Evangelical Church Camps And Privilege
Evangelical church camps found their ascendance in the twentieth century. The privilege of resort and camp life are portrayed in two cinematic depictions...
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/07/evangelical-church-camps-and-privilege/
5 months ago
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The Scopes trial turns 100 this month. Kelsey Hanson Woodruff writes about the legacy of the Scopes trial in Dayton, TN, and how one resident, Rachel Held Evans, tried to push evangelicalism beyond Young Earth creationism's culture war battle lines.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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Rachel Held Evans And The Specter Of Scopes In Dayton
For Rachel Held Evans, living in Dayton, Ohio--of Scopes Trial fame--was a way to combat the legacy of fundamentalism in evangelicalism.
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/07/rachel-held-evans-and-the-specter-of-scopes-in-dayton/
6 months ago
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Verónica Gutiérrez is contending with two recurring themes in Anxious Bench pieces--the ethic of archival silences and the challenge of doing historical fiction--by writing a novel about María de la Paz.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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Extracting Voices From The Archives: María De La Paz’s Story
Lynneth Renburg’s discussion of archival silences and archival shouting in Listening to Archival Silence: History and Hidden Voices last month started me
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/07/extracting-voices-from-the-archives-maria-de-la-pazs-story/
6 months ago
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Why are there so many cats on the island of Cyprus? Lynneth Miller Renberg writes that the gaps between historical record and local legend can reveal much about how we tell stories--as well as what we just don't know.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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The Cats Of Cyprus (Church History On Vacation)
On a recent trip to Turkey and Greece, where I loved the churches, mosques, and museums we were able to tour, my daughter had a very different highlight
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/07/the-cats-of-cyprus-church-history-on-vacation/
6 months ago
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Have you heard about the American Protective Association of the 1890s? Philip Jenkins calls our attention to right-leaning grassroots movements in American history, and our need to study the movements we don't like.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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1893: Crash, Crisis, And Anti-Catholicism
Religious tension, economic collapse, and conspiracy fears gripped 1890s America—echoes of today’s struggles in a forgotten but pivotal era.
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/06/1893-crash-and-religious-crisis/
6 months ago
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The Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade turns three years old today. Dan Williams, on the legacy of Dobbs, says it's not simply a decision about abortion. It's a fight to define the nation's founding principles.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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The Real Significance Of Dobbs
When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade three years ago today in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, both sides in the abortion
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/06/the-real-significance-of-dobbs/
6 months ago
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President Trump has invoked religious language to sanctify his military actions against Iran. It's the latest of many examples of what Joey Cochran calls "God-gilded realpolitik." Here, he offers some reflections on how to respond.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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Trump's God-Gilded Realpolitik Ended The 12-Day War
Apparently the 12-day War is ending all thanks to Trump's God-gilded realpolitik. What do I mean by this? Allow me to show you what I mean by recounting
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/06/trumps-god-gilded-realpolitik-ended-the-12-day-war/
6 months ago
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Southern Baptist leaders want to "keep the main thing the main thing." But what if your very culture gets in the way of the "main thing"?
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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Southern Baptists And The 'Main Thing'
Southern Baptist leaders want to "keep the main thing the main thing." But what if your very culture gets in the way of the "main thing"?
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/06/southern-baptists-and-the-main-thing/
6 months ago
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Continuing his series on 1893, Philip Jenkins explores the explosion of New Thought spirituality and religious movements touting the absolute power of the mind at the turn of the 20th century.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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1893: The Spiritual Revolution Of New Thought
A current project of mine focuses on the year of 1893 as a critical turning point in American culture and thought, and especially in religion. I am not of
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/06/1893-new-thought-and-the-spiritual-revolution/
7 months ago
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In 1900, faith healer and entrepreneur John Alexander Dowie founded Zion, Illinois, a city that could harness technology for the kingdom of God. Alex Mayfield writes about Dowie's bold vision and its surprising relevance to our cultural moment.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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Zion: America’s First Techno-Utopia
“All hail to the Printing Press and all its beautiful adjuncts, and all hail to the coming Grapho-Tele-Phone and Photo-Telegraph, the Speech-Recorder and
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/06/zion-americas-first-techno-utopia/#
7 months ago
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How did early Christians address grave sin in their communities? Adam Renberg gives us a look into early church discipline, including what from their approach we can apply in our own contexts.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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Ancient Church Discipline: On Sin And Rehabilitation
Moral failings in the church are not a new phenomenon—to read the pages of Christian history is to see sin’s stain throughout. The writings of the New
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/06/ancient-church-discipline-on-sin-and-rehabilitation/
7 months ago
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Evangelicals are typically allergic to any class-based social analysis because it sniffs of Marxism. But if they want to understand constructs of race in America, writes Paul Thompson, they need to stop living in fear of ideas.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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Evangelicals, CRT, And The Genetic Fallacy
Recently I was discussing Critical Race Theory with a professor colleague of mine who in every sense of the word is more conservative than me. When
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/06/evangelicals-crt-and-the-genetic-fallacy/
7 months ago
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Are we seeing a rise in Christian nationalism among Black Protestants?
@ansleyquiros.bsky.social
probes the complex and sometimes contradictory polling data for answers.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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A Rise In Black Christian Nationalism?
If you follow data and polling around religion and American politics, you’ve probably (whether knowingly or unknowingly) utilized the work of the Public
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/06/a-rise-in-black-christian-nationalism/
7 months ago
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Joseph Smith--religious revisionist, charismatic genius, and voice of American audacity. Daniel Williams reviews John Turner's biography of the Mormon patriarch, "Joseph Smith: The Rise and Fall of an American Prophet (Yale, 2025).
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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Chronicling The Elusive Joseph Smith
A review of John G. Turner, Joseph Smith: The Rise and Fall of an American Prophet (Yale University Press, 2025) Few figures in American religious history
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/05/chronicling-the-elusive-joseph-smith/
7 months ago
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The Scopes "Monkey" Trial typically takes center stage when we recall the fundamentalist/modernist conflicts. But according to Philip Jenkins, higher critics and traditionalists were already trading blows by the 1890s.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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1893: Reading The Bible As Mythology
I am currently writing about the year 1893, and arguing that it was of immense significance in American culture, and especially in religious matters. If
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/05/1893-reading-the-bible-as-mythology/
7 months ago
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Our newest regular contributor, Alex Mayfield, tells the story of how Pentecostals warmed to Roman Catholicism over the last century--or at least some Pentecostals.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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When Did Pentecostals Start Liking The Pope?
Growing up Pentecostal, my introduction to Catholic life came slowly and almost accidentally when a friend started sharing about her upcoming confirmation
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/05/when-did-pentecostals-start-liking-the-pope/
7 months ago
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"While not currently experiencing a huge conflict like the Thirty Years War, we're in a moment where global political and military realities are shifting. Where the head of a global organization worth billions chooses to put its energies could matter."
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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Why Does A New Pope Matter? A Tale Of Two Elections
A Protestant historian reflects on the election of Pope Leo XIV, exploring the political legacy of the papacy and why even non-Catholics should be paying attention.
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/05/why-does-a-new-pope-matter-a-tale-of-two-elections/
8 months ago
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What makes a pope great? In expectation of a new bishop of Rome,
@lmillerrenberg.bsky.social
offers a brief account of Pope Gregory the Great (r. 590-604) as an imperfect but effective model of apostolic service.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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What Makes A Pope Great? On Popes And Pastoral Care
With the recent passing of Pope Francis, there has been a lot of discussion about the pope’s legacy. Described by NPR as “one of the most popular popes in
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/05/what-makes-a-pope-great-on-popes-and-pastoral-care/
8 months ago
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"I used to think truth was a doctrinal matter, that truth was certainty. It was objective and dehumanized." Ansley Quiros talks to Aimee Byrd about her new book, Saving Face: Finding Myself, God, and One Another Outside a Defaced Church.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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Saving Face: An Interview With Aimee Byrd
I agreed to interview Aimee Byrd about her new book, Saving Face: Finding Myself, God, and One Another Outside a Defaced Church (Zondervan Reflective,
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/05/saving-face-an-interview-with-aimee-byrd/
8 months ago
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Today at The Anxious Bench— With all the sentimentality of an evangelical conversion story, English poet and religious skeptic Arthur Hugh Clough penned a startling "anti-Easter" poem in 1849.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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Arthur Hugh Clough’s Hymn Against Easter And Resurrection
At special times of the year such as Easter, I always like to offer seasonally appropriate posts. That is what I will be doing again this year, but if the
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/04/arthur-hugh-cloughs-hymn-against-easter-and-resurrection/
8 months ago
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Today at The Anxious Bench— Conservative evangelicals have typically evaluated the the bishop of Rome according to the standards of their own cultural agenda. How did evangelicals feel about Pope Francis?
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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Pope Francis's Evangelical Critics
Twenty years ago, when Pope John Paul II died, American evangelicals mourned his passing as though they had lost one of their staunchest allies and most
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/04/pope-franciss-evangelical-critics/
8 months ago
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Today at The Anxious Bench— What the sham trial of Jesus says about the persuasive power of evil leaders in the era of Trump and Kilmar Ábrego García.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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Choosing Barabbas
I’ve been intermittently listening to Bach’s Matthäuspassion performed by the Tölz Boys’ Choir over the last week. (You can watch it here.) It’s a
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/04/choosing-barabbas/
9 months ago
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Today at The Anxious Bench— Philip Jenkins continues his series on modern Catholicism with a primer on Africa's Catholics; where they are, who they are, and how they are shaping the global Catholic Church.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
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Africa’s Catholics In A Global Church
Last time I wrote about the amazing growth of Catholic populations in Africa, to the point that they would very soon outnumber European believers. But
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2025/04/africas-catholics-in-a-global-church/
9 months ago
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