Welcome to The Light, your quiet-hour reflection.
In Fort Worth, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has had its full accreditation restored after years of financial uncertainty. Its president received the news as evidence of what he called God's abundant grace and kindness — a reminder that institutions, like people, can find their footing again after long periods of doubt.
From questions of faith, we turn to questions of persuasion. A new essay in The Atlantic argues that calls to save democracy have largely failed to move voters, suggesting that nearly half of Americans who supported President Trump were not simply uninformed about democratic norms — but that fear-based appeals may be the wrong instrument entirely for the moment we are living through.
And then there is this. An octagonal wire-mesh cage now rises near the White House, on ground once used for an Easter egg roll. UFC Freedom Two Fifty is scheduled there, streamed for millions. Several writers have drawn the ancient parallel carefully — the Colosseum, the crowd, the spectacle — and wondered quietly what it means when the arena moves this close to the seat of power.
That is this hour's reflection. Carry the light gently.
