Life of Faith
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.
June 21, Ordinary 12A (Romans 6:1b–11)
I remember when I first had the thought that if God forgives my sins, my behavior doesn’t really matter.
What we live for
Writing our own obituary can help us get our spiritual house in order—at any phase of life.
Other people’s greatness
I want to be like David Lynch. And my pastor. And my wife. But there aren’t enough hours in the day.
A. Muia writes like she’s inventing a new language
Her spellbinding novel in stories transforms Baja California into a dreamscape of violence, longing, and hard-won grace.
Looking out the window in wartime
We still have power: We can choose whether to give violence the last word.
A rabbi’s unlikely path
Angela Buchdahl writes honestly about her accomplishments, her hardest moments, and the routine difficulties of showing up in Jewish spaces with a Korean face.
Saved by bad art
As AI continues to proliferate, I’ve been inviting my students to create something—anything.
Natural death and Christian love
The most religious people are also statistically the most likely to place their faith in artificial life support. Why?
A house divided and indecent
The question is no longer just whether we can resolve our differences. It’s whether we still recognize one another’s basic humanity.
The sirens in our pockets
Three recent books share a common thread, one that echoes concerns anticipated by Marshall McLuhan. What’s at stake, they argue, is nothing short of our humanity.
Is the church in a status confessionis moment?
Rising totalitarianism is at odds with our faith, and we ought to be clear about that.
A desert liturgy in verse
Poet Diana Woodcock blends Muslim and Christian sensibilities into a devotional reckoning with a wounded planet.
In the valley of echoes
People often respond not to the person in front of them but to reverberations from the past.
A sister’s keeper, a sister’s witness
Kathleen Norris traces her sister’s life with disability, honoring both the challenges of caregiving and the quiet, sustaining presence of love.
Reading Aquinas’s five proofs as a trans man
Both faith and identity are lives to inhabit, not arguments to win. There is nothing to prove.
Is it ADHD? Or is grind culture the problem?
Some of my clients clearly meet the diagnostic criteria. Others are seeking absolution for failing to live up to an impossible standard.
What kind of man will I be when the world burns?
Tim Winton’s novel Juice tackles climate change, masculinity, and violence.