In response to our request for essays on song, we received many compelling reflections. Here is a selection.
My wife volunteered as an "accompanier" at Planned Parenthood. She found that each client came with a unique urgent set of circumstances.
The state killed Kelly Gissendaner despite the evidence of a changed life. This points to a desire for retribution rather than reformation.
As a child, I liked to survey strangers about what it means to be human. Brandon Stanton has created a fully realized version of what I was doing.
Search online for Madagascar and you get mostly references to animated films about animals. Dig deeper and you'll find a still more amazing true story.
It's hard to watch Straight Outta Compton and not think of #BlackLivesMatter. But this is not explicitly a movie about politics or race.
I’m afraid for Ruth. Boaz’s words suggest either that Ruth has already been assaulted and humiliated, or that it would have been customary for a woman in her position to expect abuse.
When I read John 11 and heard Jesus thundering, “Unbind him and let him go!" I realized I had not forgiven my father.
Strangers No More, by Richard Alba and Nancy Foner
The strangers of Richard Alba and Nancy Foner's title are mainly low-status immigrants and their children. The timeliness of their book is indisputable.
Working-class Christians
According to Heath Carter, working people have been some of Christianity's most important theological innovators.
Running to the Fire, by Tim Bascom
Tim Bascom experienced a revolution through a teenager's sensibility. But despite the great material this provides, his memoir has a plodding feel.
Do No Harm, by Henry Marsh
Reading about Henry Marsh’s vocation to neurosurgery, I thought about my own calling as a minister. I was startled by his depiction of detachment from patients.
Saved by Islam?
Submission is billed as a cautionary tale about Islam's threat to Europe. In fact it's more of an introspective tract on the West's ambivalence about survival.