

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.
Can people be evil?
Sikh educator and activist Simran Jeet Singh says no. I’m not so sure.
Episode 26: Ethicist Reggie Williams, author of Bonhoeffer’s Black Jesus
A conversation with ethicist Reggie Williams about Bonhoeffer, Black Jesus, racism, and more
How can we fell the demons of hatred?
Narratives of fear, domination, and greed abound. But there's a better story.
The president’s speech in Dallas this week was an excellent performance of a difficult task. There was just one point where I thought he missed it.
Why would Psalms and Cormac McCarthy's novel Blood Meridian pop into my head?
Balancing political realism with an openness to grace is not easy. But Arendt and Kiess propose just such a balance, so that “politics becomes the art of being born.”
Fleming Rutledge's magnum opus is many things: a look at the ways the death of Christ has been interpreted, an argument that the how of his death matters, and a protest against Christianity-light.
At CNN’s Belief Blog, John Blake offers four warning signs of when religious beliefs become evil. These include absolutism, charismatic leaders, apocalypticism, and the end justifying the means. He notes that “the line between good religion and evil religion is thin, and it’s easy to make self-righteous assumptions.”
reviewed by Karl Stevens
Mark's account of the beheading of John the Baptist is a sordid tale of anger and revenge, resentment and death. Jesus is never even mentioned. The key to understanding why this sorry saga shows up where it does in Mark's Gospel is its relation both to the growing fame of Jesus and the success of his disciples. John's death foreshadows Jesus' death and the deaths of many of the early followers.
The writer of Ephesians interprets what is happening to a person entering the Christian life.