Jonathan Merritt
Jonathan Merritt is senior columnist for Religion News Service and a contributing writer for The Atlantic. He has published more than 2500 articles in outlets like USA Today, The Week, Buzzfeed and National Journal. Jonathan is author of "Jesus is Better Than You Imagined" and "A Faith of Our Own: Following Jesus Beyond the Culture Wars." He resides in Brooklyn, NY.
All Stories by Jonathan Merritt
Interview: Russell Moore on religious liberty, Franklin Graham and Moore’s past life as a Democrat
By Jonathan Merritt — August 4, 2015
(RNS) The prominent conservative Christian leader, who interviews Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio on Tuesday in Nashville, talks with RNS’ Jonathan Merritt.
Interview: Russell Moore on religious liberty, Franklin Graham, and why he started out as a Democrat
By Jonathan Merritt — August 3, 2015
The prominent conservative Christian leader answers RNS' Jonathan Merritt's tough questions about current issues.
Russell Moore: Pope Francis for evangelicals?
By Jonathan Merritt — August 3, 2015
Both are powerful, fresh-faced religious leaders of massive conservative Christian bodies whose behaviors and statements excite, infuriate, and confuse both conservatives and progressives by turns. Are they paving the way for a future expression of faith that we've only begun to imagine?
Brothers and sisters, you are not professional journalists
By Jonathan Merritt — July 28, 2015
When Christians speak ignorantly about journalism, they compromise their credibility on more important matters.
Southern Baptists cozy up to GOP after pulling back (COMMENTARY)
By Jonathan Merritt — July 27, 2015
(RNS) The Southern Baptist Convention has been a vocal ally of the Republican Party in recent years, and this latest move indicates that it is having a difficult time breaking from its past behavior.
Southern Baptists cozy up to GOP after pulling back
By Jonathan Merritt — July 24, 2015
Southern Baptists are platforming Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio at their forthcoming mission conference, but in April they disinvited Ben Carson from their pastors' conference. When it comes to partisanship, it looks like America's largest Protestant denomination has taken one step forward and two steps back.
On Planned Parenthood controversy, New York Times swings and whiffs (COMMENTARY)
By Jonathan Merritt — July 23, 2015
(RNS) The Times editorial board did not merely get the Planned Parenthood editorial wrong; it missed it completely.
On Planned Parenthood controversy, ‘The New York Times’ swings and whiffs
By Jonathan Merritt — July 22, 2015
By sidestepping the elements of the story that have outraged Americans, it’s as if the editorial board is trying to prove true the conservatives who claim their paper is run by left-leaning elitists.
Some say Apostle Paul was sexist, but this mainline mega-pastor calls him ‘an exemplar’
By Jonathan Merritt — July 21, 2015
Pastor of America's most influential mainline Protestant church wants Christians to give the Apostle Paul a second look. "Paul gives us an exemplar for the way in which God calls all believers to live," he says.
Becca Stevens believes her ‘farmer’s theology’ can change the world
By Jonathan Merritt — July 17, 2015
"We need to till the earth of our hearts, watering it and weeding the unruly places," says the episcopal priest and founder of Thistle Farms.
Pope Francis, if you’re listening to U.S. critics, start with gun makers
By Jonathan Merritt — July 14, 2015
Pope Francis says he'll open his ears -- and presumably his mind -- to hear his American critics. Here are two places he should start listening.
When she converted from Islam to Christianity, did this woman risk her life?
By Jonathan Merritt — July 9, 2015
Rifqa Bary made headlines when she claimed her Muslim parents threatened to kill her. But a report by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) found discrepancies in Bary's story. Here she shares her story.
‘Judge not’: Jesus said it, but what did he mean?
By Jonathan Merritt — July 6, 2015
One of Jesus most famous teachings is, "Do not judge or you too will be judged." But in the very same chapter of Matthew's Gospel, Jesus also teaches that we should judge people by the "fruit" of their lives. Is judging others an absolute no-no or not?
After gay marriage, expect conservative amnesia
By Jonathan Merritt — July 2, 2015
Often the losers knit together a version of past events that disposes of the more damning details and casts their side in a more favorable light. But when it comes to history, forgetting the facts is a most dangerous delusion.
Afraid of doubt? John Piper’s son says he fears for your faith
By Jonathan Merritt — June 24, 2015
"I refuse to answer questions about God or the Bible with neat constructs or nicely buttoned up answers," Barnabas Piper says. "My aim is to cause a certain amount of discomfort for Christians who've never questioned."
