Monday's News & Ideas - 7/20/2020

John Lewis, preaching politician and civil rights activist, dies at 80
Religion News Service: John Lewis, the longtime civil rights activist, congressman and ordained Baptist minister who preached about getting in “good trouble,” died Friday (July 17) at the age of 80.
The Atlantic: John Lewis was an American founder*

John Lewis and C.T. Vivian belonged to a long tradition of religious leaders in the civil rights struggle
The Conversation: That both men were people of the cloth is no coincidence.

Tearing down evangelical icons: Why Penn’s decision to remove George Whitefield statue may be good for American evangelicalism
Religion Dispatches: Citing Whitefield’s legacy as an advocate for slavery, university administrators announced on July 2 that they would be taking Whitefield down.

Biden’s bid touts faith, courts even religious conservatives
Associated Press: President Donald Trump’s appeal to religious conservatives is a cornerstone of his political identity. But Joe Biden is a different kind of foe than Trump has faced before: one who makes faith a central part of his persona -- often literally wearing it on his sleeve.

What’s wrong with cancel culture?*
Christian Century: A suggested agenda for the signers of the open letter to Harper's on free speech.

The Spark

Jack and Della
New fiction* from Marilynne Robinson at The New Yorker.

*access is limited for nonsubscribers

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