Features
A call to solidarity at Duke
At graduation, we faculty members looked at one another across the aisle, wondering which of us would be, in the university president’s words, “pruned and thinned.”
Still seeking justice for George Floyd
Five years after an infamous murder, George Floyd Square in Minneapolis remains a site of protest, lament, and mutual aid.
A theologian without a school of thought
Douglas John Hall was an important thinker who was deeply shaped by the company he kept—and by the labels he resisted.
Nicene myths
The Athanasians won, so they got to tell the story of Arianism. Arius would barely have recognized it.
Trump’s imperial golden age
Augustus and Nero also offered peace and security for those who fell in line. Paul critiques them in his epistle to the Romans.
Black Church is my mother tongue
To speak Black Church is to dwell in a world of metaphors about a God who is engaged in the lives of Black people.
Doubting Thomases in an age of science
It takes courage to plunge our hands smack-dab into the side of the universe and reach for a God that could be real.
Tolkien 2.0
The fantasy writer’s vast theological and philosophical universe is unfolding in the hands of artists, scholars, and game designers.
Mourning Pope Francis—and his limits
As a progressive Catholic, I admired Francis. As a woman and a feminist, I was often disappointed by him.
Running toward Jesus
Raised Pentecostal, I was wary of Catholicism. Pope Francis gave me the final nudge I needed.
Evangelical fantasies in Amish country
I grew up in the Quiverfull movement. In the tourism industry of Shipshewana, Indiana, I see a lot that looks familiar.
Derek Webb’s new album offers songs for LGBTQ solidarity
Survival Songs champions queer lives—and challenges the silence of faith communities.
Embracing mystery with David Lynch
The filmmaker knew that our desire to comprehend is intimately tied to our desire to control.
The wisdom of Earthseed
In the Parable novels, Octavia Butler imagines not just a dystopian future but also a way to survive it.
You will know a tree by its salty fruit
Franklin Graham cares about Trump’s language. So does Jesus, but for very different reasons.
American hell
In the last year of his life, Martin Luther King Jr.’s confidence in the politics of progressivism dimmed. Judgment became his refrain.
Ten Commandments, zero context
Many lawmakers want to see the commandments displayed in public schools. Are they also interested in the Hebrew Bible’s ethical demands?
Consent, outrage, and the abduction of Rumeysa Ozturk
The philosophies of Gilles Deleuze and Fred Rogers are helping me make sense of the shameful footage.
The mysticism of Thea Bowman
As I studied Christian mystics, I kept wondering where the Black women were. Then I discovered Sister Thea.
Remembering a road trip to Selma 60 years ago
My classmates and I were eager to join the voting rights march to Montgomery. But how would we get to Alabama?