The Way of Improvement Leads Home
@twoilh2008.bsky.social
The official BlueSky home of The Way of Improvement Leads Home blog and podcast. We cover American history, religion, politics, and intellectual life. https://thewayofimprovement.blog/
"The Department of Education recognized PCC as a Hispanic-serving institution in 2023, providing it with $3 million...But last year the Trump administration deemed such programs unconstitutional..." thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/12/p...
Providence Christian College will close
I visited The Way of Improvement Leads Home archives to see whether we have posted anything about Providence Christian College, a Reformed liberal arts school in Southern California. I found this a…
thewayofimprovement.blog
February 12, 2026 at 3:22 PM
"The Department of Education recognized PCC as a Hispanic-serving institution in 2023, providing it with $3 million...But last year the Trump administration deemed such programs unconstitutional..." thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/12/p...
In today's roundup (Feb 12, 2026), we have: Sandi Patti vs. Trump, division on Trump's "Religious Liberty Commission, still more Bad Bunny commentary, "anti-white racism," New York's assisted suicide bill, and much more: thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/12/e...
Evangelical roundup for February 12, 2026
What is happening today at the intersection of Evangelicals and politics? Christianity Today breaks down New York’s new assisted suicide bill with Dr. Lydia Dugdale of Columbia UniversityR…
thewayofimprovement.blog
February 12, 2026 at 2:44 PM
In today's roundup (Feb 12, 2026), we have: Sandi Patti vs. Trump, division on Trump's "Religious Liberty Commission, still more Bad Bunny commentary, "anti-white racism," New York's assisted suicide bill, and much more: thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/12/e...
As Jake & Rhonda Jacobsen argue in *Christianity and Intellectual Inquiry*, "fortress thinking" takes place on both the left & the right. The Jacobsens offer a better way. They call it "pilgrimage thinking." Episode 133 is here! thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/10/e... @oxfordunipress.bsky.social
Episode 133: “Thinking as Pilgrimage
What is the difference between “fortress thinking” and “pilgrimage thinking”? How do these modes of thinking shape the academy today? In this episode, Rhonda and Douglas Jac…
thewayofimprovement.blog
February 12, 2026 at 1:44 AM
As Jake & Rhonda Jacobsen argue in *Christianity and Intellectual Inquiry*, "fortress thinking" takes place on both the left & the right. The Jacobsens offer a better way. They call it "pilgrimage thinking." Episode 133 is here! thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/10/e... @oxfordunipress.bsky.social
"When 51 percent of Republicans still believe that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump, solely because he has said so thousands of times, the republic is in peril." thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/11/c...
Can democracy survive a “permanently, systematically deluded” electorate?
Over at Commonweal, one of my favorite culture critics, George Scialabba, reflects on the state of American democracy under Trump. He writes, “Democracy can survive an ignorant and inflamed e…
thewayofimprovement.blog
February 11, 2026 at 2:55 PM
"When 51 percent of Republicans still believe that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump, solely because he has said so thousands of times, the republic is in peril." thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/11/c...
In today's roundup (Feb. 11, 2026), we have: More responses to Bad Bunny and the racist Trump Truth Social post about the Obamas, defenses of Trump's Religious Liberty Commission, Trump as a "prophetic disrupter," and more:
thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/11/e...
thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/11/e...
Evangelical roundup for February 11, 2026
What is happening today at the intersection of Evangelicalism and politics? Megachurch pastor and court evangelical Jentezen Franklin is the latest conservative evangelical to denounce Donald Trump…
thewayofimprovement.blog
February 11, 2026 at 2:29 PM
In today's roundup (Feb. 11, 2026), we have: More responses to Bad Bunny and the racist Trump Truth Social post about the Obamas, defenses of Trump's Religious Liberty Commission, Trump as a "prophetic disrupter," and more:
thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/11/e...
thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/11/e...
Becca Rothfield on the closing of the Washington Post’s book section: thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/11/b...
Becca Rothfield on the closing of the Washington Post’s book section
Becca Rothfield was a book critic at The Washington Post. She recently lost her job after the Post cut its books section. We posted about that here. In a recent piece at The New Yorker, Rothfield w…
thewayofimprovement.blog
February 11, 2026 at 2:25 PM
Becca Rothfield on the closing of the Washington Post’s book section: thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/11/b...
Most scholars hope that their views will trickle down and influence public opinion. It looks like some scholars of evangelicals may be getting their wish in the form of Jennifer Welch. thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/10/o...
On evangelicals and their beliefs as ‘white trash, magical thinking, dumb people bullshit.’
I wrote about Jennifer Welch’s claims about evangelicalism last month, but I thought I would revisit this topic after reading Christianity Today’s Bonnie Kristian at The Free Press. Her…
thewayofimprovement.blog
February 10, 2026 at 7:07 PM
Most scholars hope that their views will trickle down and influence public opinion. It looks like some scholars of evangelicals may be getting their wish in the form of Jennifer Welch. thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/10/o...
In 2023, Multnomah University, a well-respected Bible college in the evangelical world, merged with Jessup University, an evangelical Christian college in Rocklin, California. Then, as Bob Smietana of Religion News Service writes, “things fell apart.” thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/10/w...
What happened to Multnomah University?
In 2023, Multnomah University, a well-respected Bible college in the evangelical world, merged with Jessup University, an evangelical Christian college in Rocklin, California. Then, as Bob Smietana…
thewayofimprovement.blog
February 10, 2026 at 6:38 PM
In 2023, Multnomah University, a well-respected Bible college in the evangelical world, merged with Jessup University, an evangelical Christian college in Rocklin, California. Then, as Bob Smietana of Religion News Service writes, “things fell apart.” thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/10/w...
While the moment was lighthearted on the surface, it revealed something deeper: how quickly humor can become a substitute for thinking. thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/10/w...
When mocking becomes a “substitute for thinking.”
Musbah Shaheen, a professor of higher education who was teaching a college class at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst titled “Embracing Diversity,” decided to show a clip of conse…
thewayofimprovement.blog
February 10, 2026 at 5:57 PM
While the moment was lighthearted on the surface, it revealed something deeper: how quickly humor can become a substitute for thinking. thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/10/w...
"Mises warned that 'Christianity cannot exist side by side with, and within, Capitalism.' Jesus was too much of a socialist. 'No art of interpretation...can find a single passage in the New Testament that could be read as upholding private property...”
thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/10/c...
thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/10/c...
Catholicism vs. Neoliberals
Is Catholicism, or, more generally, Christianity, compatible with capitalism? Some thinkers try to harmonize the two systems. But some classical, free-market, pro-individualism liberals, such as Lu…
thewayofimprovement.blog
February 10, 2026 at 5:26 PM
"Mises warned that 'Christianity cannot exist side by side with, and within, Capitalism.' Jesus was too much of a socialist. 'No art of interpretation...can find a single passage in the New Testament that could be read as upholding private property...”
thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/10/c...
thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/10/c...
"Kid Rock extolled marriage, singing, 'You can always put a diamond on her hand / ’til you can’t,' and Charlie Kirk, the assassinated founder of Turning Point, was heard encouraging marriage in an old audio clip; Bad Bunny hosted an actual wedding..." thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/10/t...
“Turning Point USA’s halftime show had some surprising overlap with the performance it was meant to protest.”
The quote in the title of this post comes from The Atlantic writer David Graham. Here is a taste of his piece, “When the Two Sides of the Culture War Meet”: Last night, during Super Bow…
thewayofimprovement.blog
February 10, 2026 at 5:09 PM
"Kid Rock extolled marriage, singing, 'You can always put a diamond on her hand / ’til you can’t,' and Charlie Kirk, the assassinated founder of Turning Point, was heard encouraging marriage in an old audio clip; Bad Bunny hosted an actual wedding..." thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/10/t...
What's the difference between “fortress thinking” & “pilgrimage thinking”? Ep. 133 of The Way of Improvement Leads Home podcast is here. We talk to Jake and Rhonda Jacobsen about their new book, *Christianity and Intellectual Inquiry*: thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/10/e...
Episode 133: “Thinking as Pilgrimage
What is the difference between “fortress thinking” and “pilgrimage thinking”? How do these modes of thinking shape the academy today? In this episode, Rhonda and Douglas Jac…
thewayofimprovement.blog
February 10, 2026 at 3:38 PM
What's the difference between “fortress thinking” & “pilgrimage thinking”? Ep. 133 of The Way of Improvement Leads Home podcast is here. We talk to Jake and Rhonda Jacobsen about their new book, *Christianity and Intellectual Inquiry*: thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/10/e...
In today's roundup (Feb. 10, 2026), we have more evangelical responses to the Super Bowl, a sermon I've been waiting for my entire evangelical life, Joe Scarborough on Beth Moore, Max Lucado endorses Cornyn, Mohler on Trump's racist Obama post, & more: thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/10/e...
Evangelical roundup for February 10, 2026
What is happening today at the intersection of Evangelicalism and politics: Here is the sermon I heard on Sunday at the evangelical megachurch I attend in Madison, WI. I hope you will watch it: ***…
thewayofimprovement.blog
February 10, 2026 at 3:35 PM
In today's roundup (Feb. 10, 2026), we have more evangelical responses to the Super Bowl, a sermon I've been waiting for my entire evangelical life, Joe Scarborough on Beth Moore, Max Lucado endorses Cornyn, Mohler on Trump's racist Obama post, & more: thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/10/e...
Author's Corner with Noah Eber-Schmid, *Founding Fanatics: Extremism and the Formation of American Democracy*: thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/09/t... @oxfordunipress.bsky.social
The Author’s Corner with Noah Eber-Schmid
Noah Eber-Schmid is Assistant Professor of Political Theory in the Department of Political Science at Indiana University, Bloomington. This interview is based on his new book, Founding Fanatics: Ex…
thewayofimprovement.blog
February 10, 2026 at 3:33 PM
Author's Corner with Noah Eber-Schmid, *Founding Fanatics: Extremism and the Formation of American Democracy*: thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/09/t... @oxfordunipress.bsky.social
"Americans today consider Lincoln to be the nation’s finest commander in chief, a self-taught military genius whose ideas were more modern and much wiser than those of his own generals. I argue that this “heroic legend” is in fact a literary construction..." thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/10/t...
The Author’s Corner with Kenneth W. Noe
Kenneth W. Noe is Draughon Professor of Southern History Emeritus at Auburn University. This interview is based on his new book, Abraham Lincoln and the Heroic Legend: Reconsidering Lincoln as Comm…
thewayofimprovement.blog
February 10, 2026 at 3:28 PM
"Americans today consider Lincoln to be the nation’s finest commander in chief, a self-taught military genius whose ideas were more modern and much wiser than those of his own generals. I argue that this “heroic legend” is in fact a literary construction..." thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/10/t...
In case you missed them last night! Click. Read. Learn. thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/08/s...
Sunday night odds and ends
A few things online that caught my attention this week: Great Books and the American Left. Washington Post book critic Ron Charles on getting laid off. Caroline Janney reviews Matthew Pinsker, Boss…
thewayofimprovement.blog
February 9, 2026 at 2:12 PM
In case you missed them last night! Click. Read. Learn. thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/08/s...
"Founding Fanatics looks to the American Founding era to argue that extremism on behalf of democratic claims has and can contribute to the deepening and expansion of popular democracy in the United States." thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/09/t...
The Author’s Corner with Noah Eber-Schmid
Noah Eber-Schmid is Assistant Professor of Political Theory in the Department of Political Science at Indiana University, Bloomington. This interview is based on his new book, Founding Fanatics: Ex…
thewayofimprovement.blog
February 9, 2026 at 2:11 PM
"Founding Fanatics looks to the American Founding era to argue that extremism on behalf of democratic claims has and can contribute to the deepening and expansion of popular democracy in the United States." thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/09/t...
In today's roundup (Feb. 9, 2026), we have evangelical responses to the Super Bowl (and much more!): thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/09/e...
Evangelical roundup for February 9, 2026
What is happening today at the intersection of Evangelicalism and politics? Evangelicals respond to the Super Bowl: *** William Wolfe compares the President of the United States and a Democratic re…
thewayofimprovement.blog
February 9, 2026 at 2:09 PM
In today's roundup (Feb. 9, 2026), we have evangelical responses to the Super Bowl (and much more!): thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/09/e...
Today's roundup is dominated by evangelical responses to Trump's racist post about the Obamas: thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/07/e...
Evangelical roundup for February 7, 2026
What is happening today at the intersection of Evangelicalism and politics?: Yesterday, we covered how evangelicals were responding to Donald Trump’s racist Truth Social post depicting the Ob…
thewayofimprovement.blog
February 7, 2026 at 3:13 PM
Today's roundup is dominated by evangelical responses to Trump's racist post about the Obamas: thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/07/e...
And so when I think about supporting our Olympians, I view it as supporting the people of the United States. Team U.S.A. is not Team White House.
thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/07/t...
thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/07/t...
The Olympics are back. Esau McCaulley asks: “Which America are we cheering for?”
Here is the Wheaton College professor at The New York Times: I am not given to sentimental displays of patriotism. I own a Team U.S.A. soccer jersey because I love the sport, but that may be my onl…
thewayofimprovement.blog
February 7, 2026 at 3:12 PM
And so when I think about supporting our Olympians, I view it as supporting the people of the United States. Team U.S.A. is not Team White House.
thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/07/t...
thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/07/t...
Faculty at public research universities–the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University– were spared. thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/07/n...
No more tenure in Oklahoma public colleges
Faculty at public research universities–the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University– were spared. Here is Emma Whitford at Inside Higher Ed: Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt d…
thewayofimprovement.blog
February 7, 2026 at 3:11 PM
Faculty at public research universities–the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University– were spared. thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/07/n...
"Major sporting events such as the Super Bowl have become more, not less, religious over time — changing how Americans see both faith and sports." Paul Putz explains: thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/07/t...
The Super Bowl is becoming more religious
Baylor University historian Paul Putz explains at The Washington Post: In many ways, America has grown more secular over the past century. Fewer Americans belong to a church or attend regularly. Pr…
thewayofimprovement.blog
February 7, 2026 at 3:09 PM
"Major sporting events such as the Super Bowl have become more, not less, religious over time — changing how Americans see both faith and sports." Paul Putz explains: thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/07/t...
Author's Corner with Timothy D. Grundmeier, *Lutheranism and American Culture: The Making of a Distinctive Faith in the Civil War Era*: thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/06/t... @lsupress.bsky.social
The Author’s Corner with Timothy D. Grundmeier
Timothy D. Grundmeier is Professor of History at Martin Luther College. This interview is based on his new book, Lutheranism and American Culture: The Making of a Distinctive Faith in the Civil War…
thewayofimprovement.blog
February 7, 2026 at 2:04 AM
Author's Corner with Timothy D. Grundmeier, *Lutheranism and American Culture: The Making of a Distinctive Faith in the Civil War Era*: thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/06/t... @lsupress.bsky.social
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Do you subscribe to The Way of Improvement Leads Home newsletter?
Did you know that you can get all of the content from The Way of Improvement Leads Home in a FREE daily email newsletter? Here’s how to do it. It’s very simple: Scroll down to the botto…
thewayofimprovement.blog
February 6, 2026 at 4:49 PM
Did you know that you can get all of the content from The Way of Improvement Leads Home in a FREE daily email newsletter?
Here’s how to do it. It’s very simple: thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/03/d...
Here’s how to do it. It’s very simple: thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/03/d...
"Trump’s political project is seen by the MAGA faithful as utterly righteous, the work of God on earth against the forces of Satan. But he has broad license to transgress all moral boundaries as he does that work." thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/06/t...
Trump on going to heaven: “I probably should make it.”
Here is a taste of Andrew Egger’s piece at The Bulwark: “The President and His Ministers”: …yesterday, surrounded by spiritual leaders, political sycophants, and the spiritu…
thewayofimprovement.blog
February 6, 2026 at 4:46 PM
"Trump’s political project is seen by the MAGA faithful as utterly righteous, the work of God on earth against the forces of Satan. But he has broad license to transgress all moral boundaries as he does that work." thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/06/t...