letter from America
‘I can’t avoid writing about Donald Trump...’
David Burrowes
Date posted: 20 Mar 2025
I know it’s tempting, but I can’t avoid writing about Donald Trump. Having been at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C., the impact of Donald Trump and how Christians should respond looms large.
So to the US Capitol, where just a week after President Trump’s inauguration the talk of the town was of the first set of executive orders being fired off, calling a national emergency on the southern border to stop illegal migration and USAID freezing all aid programmes.
Politics USA
Donald Trump: An imperial president?
Tony Bennett
Date posted: 2 Dec 2025
The term “the imperial presidency” gained popularity in the USA in the early 1970s as a consequence of a book of that title by the historian Arthur Schlesinger.
Schlesinger charted what he saw as the abuse of power by successive presidents, most especially by Johnson (1963–69) and Nixon (1969–74). The presidency, claimed Schlesinger, had come to resemble more an imperial court than the office envisaged by the Founding Fathers back in the 1780s.
Family campaigner James Dobson dies
en staff
Date posted: 21 Aug 2025
Influential US evangelical author and psychologist James Dobson died today, Thursday, it has just been announced.
News agency Associated Press described him as "a child psychologist who founded the conservative ministry Focus on the Family and was a politically influential campaigner against abortion and LGBTQ+ rights". He was 89.
John Piper addresses Trump and Musk online
en staff
Date posted: 3 Mar 2025
Well-known preacher John Piper has name-checked Donald Trump and Elon Musk in a social media post.
The internationally-acclaimed author and speaker addressed them on X – formerly Twitter – with reference to Luke 18:7 in which Jesus speaks about entering the Kingdom of God like a child.
Donald Trump's second term: Christians in key roles
Luke Randall
Date posted: 23 Jan 2025
Donald Trump bas become President of the United States for the second time, and while he naturally takes the limelight, he has appointed several Christian influences in key positions around him.
Vice President J.D. Vance’s Catholic background is well-documented, but others with a more evangelical worldview include House Speaker Mike Johnson, Israel Ambassador Mike Huckabee, and Secretary of Defence nominee Pete Hegseth.
Marjorie Taylor Greene: Trump 'has no faith'
en staff
Date posted: 30 Dec 2025
US Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene says she realised Donald Trump "has no faith" after Charlie Kirk's assassination.
The Georgia Republican representative, who is stepping down from her elected role on January 5th, was speaking in an interview with The New York Times.
Politics USA
Trump and 'the most important issue': Immigration
Tony Bennett
Date posted: 23 Jun 2025
Rather like studying Scripture, context is so important.
In 2015, having glided down that gold escalator in Trump Tower in New York to announce his first presidential bid, Donald Trump was not a minute into the speech when he delivered this broadside against immigrants: “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re sending people that have lots of problems … They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.”
Ongoing concern in ‘new’ Syria
Luke Randall
Date posted: 21 Jun 2025
Uncertainty remains for Christians in Syria six months on from Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s (HTS) overthrowing of Bashar al-Assad’s government. While they are meeting together, they remain concerned about the future under President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s rule.
Martin Parsons, CEO of The Lindisfarne Centre for the Study of Christian Persecution, believes a recent meeting between US president Donald Trump and al-Sharaa carries “seismic importance” for the future, with the first meeting between US and Syrian leaders in 25 years representing a huge shift in approach.
news in brief
Nigeria: Christians killed
Forty-two people have been killed in Christian communities in Taraba state, north-east Nigeria in a devastating attack by Fulani herdsmen. Attackers invaded homes and murdered residents, leaving destruction and burning houses in their wake, while hundreds of others fled the scene.
Morning Star News reports that the governor for the Karim Lamido Local Government Area has pledged to bring the perpetrators to justice and provide safety to the community, which has been left in ruins. Witnesses said that the “tragic” attacks have “brought untold pain and disruption” to their lives.
Jimmy Carter funeral: a testimony to his 'deep' Christian faith
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 10 Jan 2025
For anyone who hadn’t appreciated that the late US President Jimmy Carter was a Christian with a deep faith and love for God, his funeral service on 9 January has left no doubt.
The BBC currently has a programme on famous names who died in 2023 called Lives Well Lived. The typical worldly measure of a life well lived is their achievements, wealth accumulation, status, and doing good. Viewers of Jimmy Carter’s funeral service and its attendees were offered a far more valuable measure of a life well lived: a higher godly standard.