Opinion

After White Supremacists stormed the U.S. Capitol, waving both Confederate and Christian flags during their insurrection, the nation needs Christian leaders who can bring healing, truth-telling, and justice. Al Mohler is not such a leader for this moment. He needs to step aside.

Editor Brian Kaylor reflects on how many White evangelicals moved in less than five years from condemning Donald Trump as a dangerous man to backing Trump’s assault on American democracy.

As the calendar flips to 2021, gyms and weight-loss programs are bombarding us with some version of, “New Year, new you” campaigns. And nobody needs more honest reflection and a “New Year, new you” campaign more than the church after its response to 2020.

C.S. Lewis’s often overlooked final chapter of the Chronicles of Narnia still speaks to us today. The end of the world begins with a con. A little lie, told by a petty grifter, leads to another lie, and then another, and finally to the unraveling of the ties that bind us together.

Editor Brian Kaylor reflects on Jesus’s parable in Luke 10 about being a good neighbor after learning of the death of a man in the roadway on Christmas Eve just blocks from his church.

History teaches that messianic hopes lead to poor outcomes for the societies that embrace them. Yet, they continue to surface — even today, with the elevation of Donald Trump by some to messiah-like status.

The coronavirus restrictions placed on houses of worship by the state of New York — which the Supreme Court blocked in a recent 5-4 decision — is back under consideration. Meanwhile, the pandemic continues to record gruesome new highs. How should Christians react?

Advent and Christmas remind us God can still surprise us, surprise us with mystery, and surprise us with love. Advent and Christmas are an invitation into the surprise mystery that is God. 

This year more than others there could be an understandable tendency to seek distraction. But as further spikes are driven by observance of the holiday season itself, our choice is whether to look away or to face death as an inevitable part of the 2020 holidays. 

Columnist Heather Feeler says she made a list of the things she loves about Christmas and the things she just trudges through because, well, it’s “tradition.” And this year she is only going to do the love list.