Features
Meeting God at the movies: Film as a source of revelation
Most Christians have not been encouraged to think theologically about divine encounters that take place outside the church and its scripture.
When is a weed a weed? Midsummer abundance
If a plant deprives your crop of moisture or sunlight, it's a weed. In most other situations, so-called weeds are actually doing a lot of good.
Leaving Nineveh: The last days of Christians in Mosul
Three faiths esteem Jonah, whom God sent to the city now called Mosul.
Theology and misconduct: The case of John Howard Yoder
Yoder defined violence in terms of violating someone's dignity. This sounds ready made as a description of his own abusive behavior.
Books
Real Good Church, by Molly Phinney Baskette
First Church in Somerville, Massachusetts, went from an attendance of 35 to 130 in ten years, with as many as 350 people showing up for Easter....
The Nonviolent God, by J. Denny Weaver
J. Denny Weaver is steadfast in his conviction that any conception of God found in the Bible must first be compared to the person of Christ himself.
Untamed Jesus
In these short talks, Gerhard Lohfink revisits themes from Jesus and Community. His account of Jesus is determinatively eschatological.
The Devil Likes to Sing, by Thomas J. Davis
The Devil Likes to Sing is laugh-out-loud funny at places and clever throughout. It’s the story of Timothy McFarland, a student at University of Chicago Divinity School....
Friday Was the Bomb, by Nathan Deuel
Nathan Deuel shows us things few readers will have seen or guessed at. His stories take us places that are familiar yet unknown.
Departments
Something old, something young
After Pathways settled in its new home, former St. Giles members started coming back to worship there. It took a little getting used to.
Those left behind
The focused uncertainty of The Leftovers is a parable for our own more diffuse reality. This could make it a deeply theological show.
Referendum
The debate about Scottish independence fits neatly into the categories the academic discipline of ethics likes to produce.
Delivering the Keys of the Kingdom to St. Peter (Sistine Chapel), by Pietro Perugino (1448–1523)
This painting was commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV for his private chapel....
The Yoder file
The people to whom John Howard Yoder was accountable struggled to discipline him—and failed to deal adequately with his victims' pain.
Moderate wisdom
Extremists seem to be in charge everywhere. ISIS has taken over a huge geographic area and forced Christians to leave their homes or convert.
News
Churches seen as failing to welcome people with disabilities
A four-year-old with impaired vision is not allowed in the toddler class in church and is forced to remain in the nursery....
Ban on church construction angers Sudanese, Meriam Ibrahim allowed to emigrate
Christians in Sudan frequently face arrests, impromptu questioning, and expulsion. But conditions worsened after the government announced a ban on the construction of new churches....
The 'Philadelphia 11': Looking back on a breakthrough moment
On July 29, 1974, in Philadelphia, 11 women broke rank and were ordained as the first female priests in the Episcopal Church. They became known as the Philadelphia 11....
Special liturgy atones for outbreak of Great War
Half a world away from Europe, where World War I erupted 100 years ago on July 28, Washington National Cathedral marked the occasion with a liturgy created especially for the anniversary....
Islamic State troops seize fourth-century monastery
A day after most of Mosul’s Christians fled, Islamic State fighters stormed the fourth-century Mar Behnam monastery near the city....
Americans most friendly toward Jews, Catholics, and evangelicals
A Pew Research survey finds that U.S....
Faith communities divest from holdings in fossil fuel industry
Worried about global warming, a growing number of churches and other faith groups are divesting their holdings in fossil fuel companies that release large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere....
Lectionary
Sunday, August 31, 2014: Romans 12:9-21
While this is not the exuberant rhetorical surplus we find in 1 Corinthians 13, love is still Paul's guiding principle.
Sunday, August 24, 2014: Romans 12:1-8
Bodies matter for Paul. And they matter for Christian discipleship. Paul foregrounds the human body as critical for the Christian response to God's mercy.