It’s pretty much the norm these days—preachers going “political,” speaking up for candidates who reflect common values and opinions.
But the lines separating pulpit and politics, not to mention church and state, were not always as blurred as they are in our time. The harsh partisan tone, combined with the practice of take-no-prisoners-politics on the part of some Christian ministers in our day is something that can be traced back to one controversial pulpit-pounding power broker—J. Frank Norris.
But the lines separating pulpit and politics, not to mention church and state, were not always as blurred as they are in our time. The harsh partisan tone, combined with the practice of take-no-prisoners-politics on the part of some Christian ministers in our day is something that can be traced back to one controversial pulpit-pounding power broker—J. Frank Norris.
At the mid-point of the 1920s, people flocked to Norris’s First Baptist Church in downtown Fort Worth, Texas—America’s original “megachurch.” He would do just about anything to draw a large crowd. Thousands came to witness his latest extravaganza.
He was a folk-hero to many. However, to many others, J. Frank Norris was a MENACE.
