Books
Jagged, trustworthy joy
I've hungered this year for art that honors complexity.
Books about living well
Insights from three scholars and one shepherd
The pleasures of good poems
This year, I've read the poetry of Mark Jarman, Tess Taylor, and Nicole Sealey with gratitude.
Hanging in there for love
Faithfulness isn't always pious or sweet.
Finding God in the sewer
Struggle on against the powers as if this desperate situation were nothing—because even now it is nothing.
Jewish history through Christian eyes
Must Christianity always define itself against Judaism? The Didache didn't.
Undocumented immigrants in their full humanity
Lauren Markham documents the bravery of two migrant brothers from El Salvador—and their mistakes, too.
Kamila Shamsie’s novel is filled with perfect coincidences
Of all the coffee joints frequented by all the British citizens-of-Pakistani-descent in all of Amherst, Massachusetts, she walks into his?
The incarnation and the challenge of transhumanism
If we become godlike, what god will we be like?
Can John Wesley's theology keep the Methodists united?
David Field's question is spiritual: How do we hold ourselves in right relation to those with whom we disagree?
A novel that shows the power of #MeToo
Winnie M Li’s story of sexual assault is hard to read. That’s precisely why it’s so important.
Racist public policy and its intended consequences
Segregation isn't just about white flight and redlining. It's about what government does and doesn't do.
Martin Luther in all his complexity
Lyndal Roper's biography is a masterpiece of nuance and balance.
Are Greg Boyd and I reading the same Old Testament?
Yes, there’s violence. But there’s also God’s faithfulness and care.
No innocent fable
Should I tell my first-grader about the racist, imperialist, and misogynist legacies I detect in the book she's reading?
The fear loop
In our current crisis, fear is both cause and consequence.
Amy Tan on writing, family, and writing about family
Some parents are horrified when their children write books that air family secrets. Not Daisy Tan.
The rise and fall of Emmanuel Carrère’s faith
The Kingdom is a mess, but it refuses to be wholly dismissed.
What’s behind the New Testament?
There is abundant documentation of the intertestamental period. We just haven't read it.
The resentment that capitalist modernity leaves in its wake
What do terrorists and populist nationalists have in common? They're fueled by inequality.