Latest Articles
Midwestern Ethiopia
Kai Parker charts the rise of Ethiopianism, a movement that stemmed from the 1896 Battle of Adwa—and changed Chicago forever.
Augustine gave me a language for staying alive
The Korean concept of hwa-yang-yeon-hwa has helped me embody the theologian’s idea of the beata vita.
American Decius
The Roman emperor staged a patriotic revival to win back the gods’ favor. The empire fell anyway.
Why the South Bronx burned
Bench Ansfield argues forcefully that the arson wave of the 1970s was about racism, capitalism, and the insurance industry.
Does it matter what happened?
After years of listening to people tell their stories, I’ve begun to think that healing depends less on facts than on meaning.
July 5, Ordinary 14A (Romans 7:15–25a)
Paul may be the originator of the idea of an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other.
Praying for help (Psalm 13)
When life is overwhelming, the psalms offer a model for prayer.
The church’s crisis of vocational theology
What would Frederick Buechner say about the world’s persistent hunger for gladless jobs?
Gospel women versus the theobros
The Gospel of Mark does not ask whether women are capable of faith. It asks whether anyone is prepared to hear and believe their testimony.
Antisemitism is more American than we want to admit
Historian Pamela Nadell traces antisemitism in the US from the colonial era to today—and the Jewish resilience that has risen to meet it every time.
At home with the Baptists
At my first gathering of Baptists in decades, I found something I didn’t know I was missing: testimony.
Is dysphoria both virus and cure?
Philosopher Paul Preciado’s critique of “petrosexoracial capitalism” chronicles a world that’s mutating in real time.
June 28, Ordinary 13A (Matthew 10:40–42)
I saw Jesus. It was Easter morning, 1988.
What if mercy matters more than empathy?
Christian compassion begins not with imagining another person’s pain but with recognizing our shared dependence on grace.