

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.
Poems for a difficult life of faith
Like Paul, Spencer Reece has journeyed to see what he would suffer as a servant of Christ.
Eight homilies for practicing presence
Rabbi Sharon Brous believes we can build beloved community simply by showing up for one another.
A Job who’s read Job
Poet Michael Shewmaker imagines a suffering Christian in Kilgore, Texas, with three unhelpful friends.
No one is solely responsible. No one is innocent.
A theological exploration in the style of a Choose Your Own Adventure book
Bethany Sollereder explores different approaches to understanding suffering—and enacts one.
Where our deep sadness and the world’s deep hunger meet
Sometimes vocation springs not from joy but from trauma and grief.
Robert Pattinson gives us the Batman we need
He carries the hesitant masculinity of Twilight’s Edward Cullen in his body.
If God is almighty, why do we suffer?
A nine-year-old at my church wants to know.
Kate Bowler finds good news in hard truths
No Cure for Being Human offers a model for negotiating suffering with honesty.
Is Our Town everybody’s town?
The play’s universal themes rest on a Christian eschatological vision.
Living with chronic pain without asking why
When I’m simply present to my own pain, I learn to be present to others’ pain, too.
by Liuan Huska
What does it mean to worship an all-powerful God?
These times call into question the nature and morality of power.
by Debie Thomas
Margaret Renkl’s stunning ability to see
It is hard to say what will enamor readers more, the bird calls or the familial ones.
Christian Wiman’s poems of love and doubt
Massive struggle, intense suffering, and abundant joy
Following the suffering Christ
Discipleship-as-self-improvement doesn’t much resemble the way of Jesus.
How people deal with pointless suffering
Scott Samuelson considers seven responses to the age-old mystery.
How Christian theology and practice are being shaped by trauma studies
Talking about God in the face of wounds that won’t go away
by Shelly Rambo