Latest Articles
Miguel De La Torre’s ethic of hopelessness
De La Torre has little use for hope in a God who only seems to show up for Christians, never for their victims.
United Methodist bishops encourage local option for same-sex marriage
The bishops recommended removing prohibitions on same-sex marriage and LGBT clergy in the global denomination's Book of Discipline—while allowing new regional rules.
“You can be whatever you wish” and other myths
After college, my friends and I chased fulfillment like it was the Holy Grail.
The black social gospel and the civil rights movement
Gary Dorrien chronicles the influential—but often forgotten—work of Mordecai Johnson, Benjamin Mays, and Howard Thurman.
Judaism’s deep roots and new offshoots in Africa
Practices drawn from the Hebrew Bible are not new to the continent. Seeking full conversion to rabbinic Judaism is.
Love that motivates (1 John 5:1-6)
1 John says the love of God comes first. Oh. Right.
Same Jesus
My church is part of a group hosting Syrian refugees. When an Orthodox priest from Homs visited, we were reminded how much they've lost—but also of our shared faith.
Indonesian entrepreneur donates $5 million to divinity school for global Christianity studies
Tandean Rustandy, a business graduate of the University of Chicago, is funding scholarship at the Divinity School to broaden how Christianity is taught.
Church acts as mediator in Nicaragua unrest, addresses corruption in Honduran government
Nicaraguan church leaders are among those decrying a violent response to protests. And in Honduras, a Jesuit-run radio station has charged the government with becoming a dictatorship.
James Comey read a lot of Reinhold Niebuhr. Did he learn anything?
For a Niebuhrian, the former FBI director doesn't seem to have much self-doubt.
June 3, Ordinary 9B (Mark 2:23-3:6)
It's inevitable that the story of Jesus healing in Capernaum won't end well.
We need a Pentecost
Divisions mark our society—and our churches. What could possibly bring us together?
Baylor seminary names 12 leading preachers among English speakers
The seminary's Lake Center for Effective Preaching surveyed homiletics professors and chose from more than 800 nominees.
James Cone's theology is easy to like and hard to live
If Jesus is black, he's calling us to do a lot more than affirm the color of his skin.
Seeing the image of God in our selfies
Craig Detweiler draws on art history, psychology, and religion to argue that staring at ourselves can be an act of faith.
Immigrants reinvigorate Methodist churches in Britain, home of tradition's founders
Congregations that might've closed their doors received an influx of Methodists from West Africa and elsewhere.
Poetry and transience
National Poetry Month is over, but there's plenty of good poetry to get us through the next 11 months.
Reading Elie Wiesel after fleeing Rwanda
You cannot bear witness with a single word like genocide. Yet Night describes exactly what happened to me.
Pastoral care in a neoliberal age
Bruce Rogers-Vaughn believes that modern capitalism isn't simply anti-government. It's also anti-human and anti-church.