Skip to main content
The Christian CenturyThe Christian Century
  • Subscriber Login

Marketing/Header Menu

  • Sections
  • Search
  • Current Issue
  • Free Newsletters
  • Donate
  • Renew
  • Subscribe

Mega-menu

  • Subscriber login
  • Topics
    • Politics & Society
    • Arts & Culture
    • Church
    • Scripture
    • Theology
    • Life of Faith
  • Departments
    • Lectionary
    • Podcasts
    • News
    • Poetry
    • Books
    • Voices
    • Features
    • First Words
    • From the Editors
    • Screen Time
    • On Art
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Back Issues
    • Latest Articles
    • Classified ads
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Bulk Subscriptions
    • Address Changes
    • Customer Service
  • Info
    • About Us
    • Mission
    • Staff
    • Advertising
    • Submissions
    • Rights & Permissions
  • Connect
    • Subscribe
    • Renew
    • Donate
    • Free Newsletters
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Subscriber Login

Since 1900, the Christian Century has published reporting, commentary, poetry, and essays on the role of faith in a pluralistic society.

© 2023 The Christian Century.

Contact Us   
Privacy Policy

Poetry

oh, how redundant

by Carl Winderl in the December 16, 2020 issue
ShareShare on TwitterShare on FacebookEmail to a friendPrint

those poor poor
shepherds on
My Son’s
frightfully frigid
natal night

brought to Him
a gift,

their single
solitary best
begotten present

a newborn lamb, a

living sacrifice
holy, acceptable

while all I
could think of
before offering

my thanks
to their giving

was, oh, that
poor poor

ewe

 

 

This poem appears in the December 16, 2020 issue.

We would love to hear from you. Let us know what you think about this article by writing a letter to the editors.

Most Recent

Erasing women

by Liz Charlotte Grant

Nontheist groups see rise in numbers, donations since Trump's election

by Audrey Thibert

Walter Bruggemann, influential biblical scholar, dies at 92

by Yonat Shimron

Walter Brueggemann’s gift of disruption

by Jason G. Edwards
 

Most Popular

Features

The new Bonhoeffer movie isn’t just bad. It’s dangerous.

By egregiously misreading Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s moral crisis, it primes viewers for violence.
by Mac Loftin
Features

An accomplished soldier, fired for no reason

Sergeant First Class Kate Cole isn’t an activist. She isn’t a radical. She’s a trans woman, a rock climber, and my friend—and after 17 years of military service, Trump kicked her out.
by Anna Keating
Feature

Body counts: The dark side of Christian history

With its long coastline, rugged mountains and haunting sand dunes, Oman is a paradise for desert lovers, hikers and boaters. Muscat, the capital city, is a gem—its arched white buildings and flat roofs squeezed between the blue ocean and black mountains. Yet call me an egghead, but what I remember most from a trip to Oman is a booklet I read there with an ominous title: Body Count: A Quantitative Review of Political Violence Across World Civilizations (2009). In it, author Naveed Sheikh claims that “the Christian civilization emerges as the most violent and genocidal in the world history.” Compared to Islam, Christianity is a clear winner: 31.94 million deaths by Muslims to 177.94 million deaths by Christians.
by Miroslav Volf
Voices

Religiously fluid

Like a lot of Christian millennials, I don’t need Christianity to be everything for me.
by Julian DeShazier
The Christian CenturyThe Christian Century

Since 1900, the Christian Century has published reporting, commentary, poetry, and essays on the role of faith in a pluralistic society.
 


BlueSky logo  Facebook icon  Instargram logo

© 2025 The Christian Century. All rights reserved.

Contact Us  
Privacy Policy

Mega-menu

  • Subscriber login
  • Topics
    • Politics & Society
    • Arts & Culture
    • Church
    • Scripture
    • Theology
    • Life of Faith
  • Departments
    • Lectionary
    • Podcasts
    • News
    • Poetry
    • Books
    • Voices
    • Features
    • First Words
    • From the Editors
    • Screen Time
    • On Art
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Back Issues
    • Latest Articles
    • Classified ads
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Bulk Subscriptions
    • Address Changes
    • Customer Service
  • Info
    • About Us
    • Mission
    • Staff
    • Advertising
    • Submissions
    • Rights & Permissions
  • Connect
    • Subscribe
    • Renew
    • Donate
    • Free Newsletters
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Subscriber Login