What are the mental and community health consequences when we burden students with debt? Last week, Brad Bartelt, whose actions at Arkansas State University last December resulted in a campus lockdown that terrified students, faculty, and staff, was sentenced last week to 18 years in prison—a lifetime for many of our students. (He is, though,... Continue Reading →
Review of _No Depression in Heaven_
The American Academy of Religion has a new endeavor, an online publication of book reviews. If the arrival of arrival of publishers' catalogues in your mailbox rocks your socks, then you might just love Reading Religion. To review, you have to be a member of AAR. And you should definitely review, because it means free... Continue Reading →
The Sentencing of Brad Bartelt, Active Shooter
How can we know or trust the intentions of someone with a gun on campus? On Friday, I shared some of the reasons why guns on campus are a threat to public safety. That same day, in Jonesboro, Arkansas, Brad Bartelt was sentenced to 18 years in prison—18 years for terroristic threatening (which involves a... Continue Reading →
Guns on Campus Don’t Kill People, Students Do
But we can't ban students, so let's discourage guns School is back in session in Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin, all places where guns are now or are soon slated to be permitted on college campuses. Like a lot of post-secondary educators, I have a lot of thoughts on the matter,... Continue Reading →
Author Q & A at John Fea’s The Way of Improvement blog
John Fea is one of my favorite Christian scholars--a historian by training, a great defender of the teaching and scholarship of history, and a person who, thankfully, takes his role as a public intellectual very seriously. He is also an astute political observer whose commentary on the 2016 election and, in particular, evangelical engagement with... Continue Reading →
_The New Territory_ Reviews _God Hates_
Have you read The New Territory yet? It's devoted to "land, people and possibilities" of the lower Louisiana Purchase: Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Arkansas and includes feature articles and literary pieces. A beautiful place deserves a beautiful magazine, and The New Territory is gift to us. The second issue has just been published, and... Continue Reading →
Generous Turnout at KCPL for _God Hates_
The KC Public Library is a wonder! About 300 folks turned out this week to learn about the history and theology of Westboro Baptist Church and how this group fits into American religious history--and the present state of American religion. I couldn't have asked for a kinder reception from the library or a more engaged... Continue Reading →
_Up to Date_ Interview Available Online
It was a treat to work with Steve Kraske on KCUR's Up to Date yesterday for an interview for a very special reason: Kraske used to work as a journalist in Topeka, covering Westboro Baptist Church in the early 1990s, and I relied on his reporting about the church when I was doing the research... Continue Reading →
_God Hates_ on _Up to Date_ with Steve Kraske
If you live in the Kansas City area, you're lucky for lots of reasons, and KCUR's Up to Date, hosted by Steve Kraske, is one of them. I'm lucky to get to be a guest on a show I've long enjoyed and learned from. If you are in the listening area, you can find Kraske's... Continue Reading →
A Preview of KCPL’s “God Hates” Talk
For folks attending tomorrow night's talk at the Kansas City Public Library, here are three questions I plan on talking about during the lecture: How does Westboro Baptist Church's theology support their picketing? (See the picture below, of a church member picketing at the Supreme Court in 2010 while other church members are inside arguing... Continue Reading →
Rebecca Barrett-Fox 