My new book has a title, cover, and release date. Reality in Ruins: How Conspiracy Theory Became an American Evangelical Crisis will hit book shelves on March 17, 2026. Distilled from my PhD research, Reality in Ruins brings together—for the first time—an untold history of conspiratorial beliefs in and across white American evangelicalism. Here’s a preview from myContinue reading “Reality In Ruins, Coming March 2026”
Tag Archives: Jesus
The Contagion of Violence and Conspiracy
Yesterday’s failed assassination attempt might have shocked, but it did not surprise. I am glad former President Trump is relatively unharmed. And it’s fitting we pray for him, and the families who—today—are holding out for loved ones to recover. And pray for those mourning permanent loss. How did we get here? Elected officials and scholarsContinue reading “The Contagion of Violence and Conspiracy”
The Shock of Palm Sunday
Today is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week. Maybe you’re like me and grew up with the Sunday School version of Palm Sunday. You might have flashbacks to palm fronds, a donkey, and yelling “HOSANNA” as loud as you could — to be sure, these are elements of the story. But the meaning—or let’s say shockContinue reading “The Shock of Palm Sunday”
The Church’s Word in War
The ghosts of the 20th century, the ones that haunt us today, wear swastikas. Our modern world is one misstep away from nuclear war. And it is a world born of violent conflict with German National Socialism. Our moral imaginations remain haunted by the specter of Nazi tyranny. Putin’s move to frame Russian aggression tookContinue reading “The Church’s Word in War”
Hope For, But Not In, Evangelicalism
I still believe the best days for Evangelicalism are ahead, not behind. But I say this well aware that Evangelicalism in the United States is experiencing a multi-faceted crisis of identity. We cannot reduce God to a movement, but our attempts to do just that are being exposed in the current crisis. So let’s beContinue reading “Hope For, But Not In, Evangelicalism”
An American Fourth In Britain
I’m sitting in our flat here in the UK. It’s a dreary morning. The mist hangs on the windows. I watch our three kids eat their breakfast. I’m thinking of William Stacy, someone like my fourth great uncle in 1775. When he heard about the British at Concord he grabbed his commission from the Crown.Continue reading “An American Fourth In Britain”
Truth From The Dark Places of Church
There’s a line from Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness that I can’t shake. “This also has been one of the dark places of the earth.” The place? London. A place we often forget was once the wild frontier of the ancient Roman Empire. When I left my job as a pastor in the SBC forContinue reading “Truth From The Dark Places of Church”
A Modern Parable for American Evangelicalism
The sports world is still talking about the second title fight between Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston in 1965. In all this, I believe, is a parable of modern American evangelicalism. We are throwing the fight of our generation, choosing power over Christ, and the world can tell. Neil Leifer famously captured Ali, standing overContinue reading “A Modern Parable for American Evangelicalism”
Beyond the Culture Wars
This is the final article in a series reflecting on American Culture Wars & Christianity. Here are parts one, two, and three. Culture War Christianity must end. Christians should be the ones to end it. Like Moses, whose first attempt to bring about change left an Egyptian dead in the sand, so Culture Warring ChristianityContinue reading “Beyond the Culture Wars”
A Theology of Culture War Christianity
Kaepernick took a knee, Trump took a photo op. These moments are seared in the collective American consciousness. And both moments are unavoidably religious. Each deals with sacred symbols: a flag, a book of faith. Both surface theological questions. Who or what do we worship? How should we live in this world? The irony ofContinue reading “A Theology of Culture War Christianity”
Jared Stacy 