colonialism
Books worth wrestling with
We asked writers to tell us about a book that they disagree with—but that they also see as important enough to argue with.
Learning to face the doctrine of discovery
I wish I’d had Mark Charles and Soong-Chan Rah’s book when I was in college.
How should the church respond to the colonialism that runs through its blood?
Robert Heaney believes the first step is penance.
The fraught history of Christians in Algeria
What began as a colonial land grab became the ground of martyrdom.
Lamin Sanneh, scholar of Christian missions, dies at age 76
Sanneh challenged the idea that Christianity was merely a tool of colonialism.
In Roma, Alfonso Cuarón portrays life amid Mexico’s class divides
In Cuarón’s film, both love and violence come in waves.
The endurance of the Mayan people
Mayan culture and rituals have persisted since their days of ancient glory—but not without major upheavals.
European Christian missionaries and their false sense of progress
What does maturity look like? Whiteness is a horrific answer to this question.
An American childhood in Haiti
Apricot Irving writes with love—and hurt—about her father's misplaced desire to be a savior to others.
Goa, the Rome of the East
India's 20 million Catholics don't seem to mind that their faith looks pretty European.
The genesis of kinship
The ancient stories of Genesis bear witness to a created world that is interconnected and has value in God’s eyes.
Chilembwe’s rising
A century ago, a period of stunning Christian growth began. Africa's independent churches claim John Chilembwe as a symbol of a new native Christianity, free from its paternalistic and missionary roots.
Navigating the waters of post-Christendom visions
It seems like everywhere you go Christians in one way or another are talking about Christendom. Actually, the word being used most is post-Christendom.
Dust, by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor
Owuor's novel wrestles with Kenya's bitter remnants of colonialism. Yet it suggests that the future can be shaped by people who are willing to incorporate the past with honesty and integrity.
Colonial horrors
"The Horror! The horror!" the last words of the infamous Kurtz in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, call attention to one of the worst episodes of systematic exploitation and murder in recent history.