Black holes and supernovas
One kind of pastor collapses everything into themself. The other expands until they forget where they started.
A religion too wild to nationalize
After 250 years, US Christianity remains too diverse, splintered, and strange to be conscripted into any one political project.
The dangers of institutional neglect
How often do we think about the Holy Roman Empire?
Jesus’ Passion made present (John 18:1–19:42)
Pieter Bruegel the Elder shows us what Good Friday preaching ought to do.
The Passover story’s ambivalence (Exodus 12:1-14)
It’s hard to take it strictly on its own terms.
April 3, Good Friday (John 18:1–19:42)
Jesus is crucified while the world goes on as usual.
April 2, Maundy Thursday (Exodus 12:1–14; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26; John 13:1-17, 31b–35)
Overcoming the reluctance to be served requires something that looks and feels a lot like faith.
The types of people we are
Our personal passions feel unique, distinguished. Most of the time they aren’t.
How can the Democrats catch up to Trump?
Joan Williams correctly diagnoses the party’s failures. I am less sure about her prescriptions.
Aura et labora
In Robert Baird’s debut novel, a religion scholar’s young son starts emitting a holy glow that might or might not be real.
The United States owes King George an apology
The signers of the Declaration of Independence accused the king of crimes against the people they represented. Those very crimes have become commonplace during Trump’s time in office.
What is active citizenship in the era of rule by decree?
American political theology has tended to take democracy and the rule of law for granted. What now?
A dustpan, a desert, and a search for moral order
My theological education began at Deep Springs College, a two-year work school in California.
The Obama campaign, fictionalized
Vinson Cunningham’s debut novel focuses on a campaign staffer’s indeterminate views, using them to shed light on the rise of a political star.
What happened to US politics?
John Ganz explores the gritty political and cultural trends that erupted in the early 1990s and set the stage for the present.