The Bancroft Prize, commonly regarded as the most prestigious award for scholarship on American history, took the unusual step last April of honoring a book focusing on America's religious past. Southern Cross: The Beginnings of the Bible Belt, by University of Delaware historian Christine Heyrman, explores how Evangelicalism emerged as the dominant religious faith in […]
Monday, 16 July, 2007 by William Inboden
"Throw an egg from a Pullman," newspaper columnist and social critic H. L. Mencken famously noted in the 1920s, "and you're bound to hit a fundamentalist." Were David Brooks to update Mencken's observation for today, it might go something like "Toss a double mocha latte from an SUV, and you're bound to hit a Bobo." […]
Thursday, 07 June, 2007 by William Inboden
Texas politician Jim Hightower famously dismissed moderates with the crack that "the only things in the middle of the road are yellow stripes and dead armadillos." Texas highways notwith-standing, the English Puritan Richard Sibbes was a moderate in every best sense of the word. Sibbes's moderation enabled him to pursue a fruitful gospel ministry amidst […]
Wednesday, 06 June, 2007 by William Inboden
The pastor of my local church caused no small stir several years ago when he removed the American flag from its perch just behind the pulpit. Indeed, he removed it from the sanctuary entirely. As you might imagine, this provoked some consternation among at least a few members, who no doubt wondered if this brash […]
Thursday, 03 May, 2007 by William Inboden