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2 months ago | 
thedispatch.com | Jennifer Murtazashvili |Thomas S. Kidd |Charlotte Lawson |Reuel Marc Gerecht
Is it possible for a book to feel both timely and like a relic from a different era? In the case of The Islamic Moses, by the Turkish writer Mustafa Akyol, the answer is yes. The book was completed before the seismic events of October 7, 2023, shattered Jewish-Muslim relations, and the chasm between these communities has only grown wider since. Still, by looking back into centuries of history, this book offers a vision for a path forward.
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Jan 6, 2025 | 
thedispatch.com | Alex Demas |Thomas S. Kidd |Mary Trimble |James Sutton
Increasing cases are in line with seasonal trends. Published January 6, 2025 Several viral social media posts claim that China has declared a state of emergency as several respiratory viruses spread rapidly across the country. “⚠️ BREAKING: China 🇨🇳 Declares State of Emergency as Epidemic Overwhelms Hospitals and Crematoriums.
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Dec 31, 2024 | 
thedispatch.com | Thomas S. Kidd
For all of his personal Christian devotion, he could not capture the hearts of white evangelicals. Published December 31, 2024 When Americans recall Jimmy Carter’s legacy, we often think of his piety, illustrated by his years of teaching Sunday school at his Baptist church and his tireless labor for nonpartisan charities such as Habitat for Humanity.
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Dec 6, 2024 | 
thegospelcoalition.org | Thomas S. Kidd
Which family in American history was the most influential? It depends on whether we mean most influential in industry, politics, or other spheres. But there can be no question that in the history of moral reform, America’s most influential family was the Beecher clan. This was the 19th-century family headed by patriarch Lyman Beecher but best known today for his daughter Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of the antislavery classic Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
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Nov 26, 2024 | 
erlc.com | Thomas S. Kidd
We’ve heard the claim a million times: “81% of evangelicals voted for Donald Trump.” Some news outlets clarify that 81% of white evangelicals voted for Trump in 2016, but even that assertion is murky and somewhat misleading. Probably only about 55% of American evangelicals have voted in recent presidential elections, a slightly higher percentage than the general population. And when pollsters and journalists say “evangelicals,” they usually just mean people who identify as evangelicals.
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Nov 19, 2024 | 
theaquilareport.com | Thomas S. Kidd
By Spurgeon’s death in 1892, the Metropolitan Tabernacle had a membership of over 5300. This is remarkable given how plain their services were, how rigorous their membership process was, and how careful they were to maintain accurate rolls. They weren’t large because of modern attractional gimmicks. These weren’t inflated numbers due to sloppy membership practices.
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Nov 7, 2024 | 
thegospelcoalition.org | Thomas S. Kidd
[TK] Your book is titled The Army of God, suggesting Spurgeon’s fondness for military terminology (“the church militant”) when speaking of the church’s role in the world. What drew him to that type of rhetoric? [GC] Two main factors drew him to that kind of rhetoric: the Bible and church history. Spurgeon loved the stories of Israel’s battles, God’s defeat of Egypt, David and Goliath, and much more.
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Oct 23, 2024 | 
thegospelcoalition.org | Thomas S. Kidd
Today’s guest post is from Dr. Perry Glanzer, Professor of Educational Foundations at Baylor University. Growing numbers of young people today lack a sense of purpose. The Wall Street Journal reported that the highest-ever percentage of U.S. 12th graders “wonder if there is a purpose to life given [the] world situation.” That’s over 30%. My research on college students and life purpose backs up such findings. College students today, including many Christians, struggle to find purpose.
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Oct 17, 2024 | 
wng.org | Thomas S. Kidd
What exactly is history for? As one of the humanities, history offers moral lessons, but it can also serve as autobiography for a people, nation, or movement. Reading American history tells us how we developed, and it instructs us about the struggles—political, cultural, and religious—that have brought us to the present. It can also surprise us by illuminating previously unobserved developments. For Christians, history confirms the value of every human life, as well as the ubiquitous problem of sin.
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Sep 12, 2024 | 
thomaskidd.substack.com | Thomas S. Kidd
The Wall Street Journal recently ran a splendid profile of the spy novelist Mick Herron, who toiled in obscurity for years before a series of breaks turned him into one of the best-selling writers in America and the U.K.I’m a sucker for writer’s stories, but I was especially struck by one passage about Herron’s early career as a writer. Back in those days, he was working as an editor at the Employment Law Brief (scintillating!) in the U.K.: He was commuting every day from Oxford to London.
