The Holy Post

The Senate is relaxing its dress code so senators can wear hoodies and gym shorts, but senate staffers are still required to wear suits and ties. Is it a meaningless change or the sign of wider institutional decay? A new study finds 7 out of 10 pastors say their congregations are more fearful about the world and the future. Are they really being shaped by the gospel of Christ or by the fearmongers...

The last five or six years have been rough for many thoughtful faithful Christians. The embrace of Trump and Trumpism, the rise of ethnic nationalism and xenophobia, conspiracy theories and abuse scandals have rocked the church. Many have walked away in disgust. Some have spoken out and paid the price and yet, rather than walking away, they have remained committed to Christ and his church. One of...

Theologian and writer, Esau McCaulley, is back to talk about his new memoir "How Far to the Promised Land: One Black Family's Story of Hope and Survival in the American South." He says there is grace in learning to tell the complicated facets of his family's story, rather than reducing it to a single story about race, poverty, or trauma. McCaulley believes that's a lesson we need to apply to Ameri...

The last five or six years have been rough for many thoughtful faithful Christians. The embrace of Trump and Trumpism, the rise of ethnic nationalism and xenophobia, conspiracy theories and abuse scandals have rocked the church. Many have walked away in disgust. Some have spoken out and paid the price and yet, rather than walking away, they have remained committed to Christ and his church. We want...

If you live in a part of the country that was originally settled by Puritans or Quakers you will probably live a lot longer than if you live in a region colonized by the Scots, the Irish, or that was dominated by slavery. A new article explores why this is true, and we discuss how immigration patterns from 200 years ago even impacts how we read the Bible. UK broadcast, speaker, and host of the Unb...

A prominent conservative Calvinist has denounced white Christian Nationalism as heretical and racist, but the movement is still gaining popularity within theologically Reformed circles. How deep is this divide among the anti-woke theobros? New data says the massive rise in loneliness and depression is linked to the rise in singleness, and that marriage remains the best predictor of happiness. Then...

In a more personal French Friday, David French shares about the mix of pride and sadness he felt when his adult children and his grandchildren recently moved away. This leads to a wider conversation with Skye Jethani about the challenges and blessings of parenting, the pros and cons of getting married young, and why millennials in nearly every developed country are delaying marriage and having few...

Data indicates that white supremacy is growing in popularity, and according to FBI statistics hate crimes have spiked by 35 percent in recent years. Why can't America shake itself free from white supremacy? The president and founder of Public Religion Research Institute, Robert P. Jones, is back to discuss his new book about the real roots of white supremacy in the 15th century Doctrine of Discove...

An unknown country singer with a fake name has skyrocketed to the top of the charts with the song "Rich Men North of Richmond," and the film "The Sound of Freedom" has become one of the top-grossing movies of the year. These sleeper hits were both fueled by the MAGA media and conservative audiences. What do they say about the movement and the divisions in American culture? Then, Skye talks to Kait...

In a new article in The Atlantic, David Brooks asks how America became so mean. He says moral formation used to be a key part of social, religious, and educational structures in the country, but after World War II communal virtues were abandoned for an individualistic and therapeutic model. Simply put, we stopped teaching people how to be good. But what's missing from Brooks' solution? A popular p...

A new survey of worship leaders finds that four megachurches have cornered the worship music market. Should we care who is writing the songs we sing in church, and what gets lost when market forces influence local ministries? A sermon clip has gone viral showing a megachurch pastor scolding people who arrive late or leave early because they are treating the "church like it's a religious show inste...

A new chatbot based on OpenAI claims to have a "biblical worldview" and invites users to ask questions directly to the Apostle Paul. Is this a helpful tool, or another step closer to replacing Christian community with artificial intelligence? Then, a new article in The Atlantic says 40 million Americans have stopped attending church because our culture is addicted to work and no longer values comm...

The presidential campaign of Ron Desantis recently fired a young communications staffer who created and posted a video celebrating fascism. It turns out the man has a history of engagement with racist, misogynist leaders of the Alt-Right movement. David French explains why so many conservative young men are being drawn to the Alt-Right, and how they are now occupying more influential roles within...

Hollywood is struggling. Fewer people are going to theaters, but this week saw the opening of two huge movies including Barbie. Can the movie revive Hollywood, or will its social commentary drive more Americans away? Florida's anti-woke policy is now revising how its public schools teach history by saying enslaved people benefited from the skills they learned. What's really behind the move to down...

The feminist movement has made significant advances in the last 50 years, but data indicates men are falling behind. Fewer men then women are graduating from college, deaths of despair are highest among men, and the phrase "toxic masculinity" is ubiquitous in the culture. Phil, Skye, and Kaitlyn discuss Christine Emba's new article seeking a positive vision for masculinity and why it's elusive to...

The Supreme Court has released two highly anticipated and controversial rulings about race, sexual identity, and discrimination. First, colleges and universities may no longer give preferential status to applicants based on their race. Is the end of affirmative action really the catastrophe some are claiming? And a web designer will not be required by law to create websites for same-sex weddings....

Throughout the Bible, God's people are commanded to show hospitality to strangers. But Christian Nationalists unhappy about the number of immigrants in the U.S. are redefining biblical hospitality and twisting the words of Jesus to justify the deportation of millions. What does their inversion of biblical teachings reveal about the Christian Nationalist agenda? Then, pastor, political science prof...

An Air Force veteran recently came forward with whistleblower allegations that the U.S. government has possession of extra-terrestrial vehicles, more reports of UAPs (unidentified arial phenomena) have been declassified, and senators, former CIA directors, and even former President Obama are speaking publicly about UFOs. Self-identified "nerds" David French and Skye Jethani debate the evidence tha...

- It's been one year since the Dobbs decision by the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade. What have we learned, who has benefitted politically, and has it really reduced the abortion rate? Do television shows that focus on individual heroes and violent solutions to problems cultivate authoritarian beliefs? A new study finds a link between how much TV a person watches and how they vote. A spokesper...

Christians in Germany are using ChatGPT to create liturgies and even preach sermons. Is the rise of AI different from previous technologies, and how should the church respond? Meanwhile, the South Baptists voted overwhelmingly to prohibit women from being pastors and banned any churches that disagree. How did an issue that even John Piper argued was not essential in 1991 become grounds for excommu...

Two events have our attention. First, a new documentary about reality TV's Dugger family is exposing the ugly side of the Christian fundamentalism, patriarchy, and legalism taught by Bill Gothard's ministry. And, Christian broadcaster and pillar of the Religious Right, Pat Robertson, died this week at 93. Was there a link between the popularity of Gothard and Robertson for a whole generation of Am...

Bud Light, Target, Kohls, Chick-Fil-A—the list of companies and brands being boycotted by Christians keeps getting longer. Now there are even calls to boycott the hit streaming series about Jesus, "The Chosen." When are boycotts justified, when are they just performative, and is there any escape from the purity death spiral they create? Then, Skye talks to Pastor Brenda Quinn and author Richard Fo...

Phil's file of Christian Nationalism stories has gotten full, so we're covering a number of them this week. We explore the beliefs of early Christian Nationalists from the 1920s, how modern Christian Nationalism can't shake its racist roots, and why it's gaining popularity with some followers of Reformed theology. Skye explains what Christian Nationalism shares in common with the Prosperity Gospel...

David French has just returned from Ukraine where he saw the devastating impact of the Russian invasion. He talks to Skye about the resilience of the Ukrainian people, the need for more American support, and how a Trump victory in 2024 is part of Putin's war plan. Then, the Supreme Court appears likely to rule against colleges and universities that consider race in the admission process. What are...

 Influential pastor, author, and apologist, Tim Keller, passed away last week. We reflect on Keller's ministry and wonder who is filling the shoes of the Christian giants we've lost. A new book about poverty says that the U.S. spends more on welfare than any other country except France, but the majority goes to help the wealthy and middle-class rather than the poor. Why aren't we doing more to end...