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June 1, 2022

Volume 139, Issue #11

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Features

Death’s vision

As my father was dying, I saw God’s radiant face more clearly.

by Catherine Ricketts

The unexpected gift of missional friendship

I was a United Methodist pastor. He was a campus minister with Cru.

by Jason Byassee

The most important American Old Testament scholar of the last century is Norman Gottwald

In the life of early Israel, Gottwald found a God of economic justice.

by Walter Brueggemann

Under Elon Musk’s authority

Doing church on social media is not like standing in the public square. It’s more like putting ourselves under a form of sovereignty.

by Benjamin J. Dueholm

Books

Who’s doing our dirty work?

Eyal Press looks inside the daily lives of prison workers, drone warriors, and meatpackers.

by Brooke Petersen

Does Catholic higher ed have to sell its soul?

A truly Catholic university, says James Heft, steers a course between secularization and insularity.

by Thomas Albert Howard

Dethroning the canonical Paul

Cavan Concannon believes that the apostle’s writings belong in the latrine.

by Greg Carey

Is it possible to tell the complete history of libraries?

Andrew Pettegree and Arthur der Weduwen try in their impressive but Eurocentric volume.

by Mary Elizabeth Anderson

Departments

Faith Matters

Unexpected revelation

My conversation partner may have been a prophet—or a quack. My job was simply to listen.

by Samuel Wells

For better or for worse, the church is keeping Haiti afloat

In the absence of strong political leadership, someone has to fill the void.

by Philip Jenkins

First Words

Ukraine’s sleepless children

A failed high school science experiment increased my empathy for those who can’t sleep.

by Peter W. Marty

On Art

Strange Histories series, original 35 mm slide collages (2013–present), by Ian Trask

I grew up hearing the whir, flutter, and occasional clunk of my father’s slide projector in the dining room as he practiced lectures about his latest medical research....

art selection and comment by Aaron Rosen

From the Editors

Devil in the algorithm

Social media platforms are damaging democracy, and it’s not primarily about what speech they do or don’t moderate.

News

Faith groups gather at Supreme Court after leak

Jamie Manson, head of Catholics for Choice, was watching Netflix when Politico published US Supreme Court justice Samuel Alito’s draft majority opinion arguing for overturning Roe v. Wade....

by Jack Jenkins

California Catholic bishops ask SCOTUS to review statute of limitations

Catholic bishops in California have asked the US Supreme Court to review a case challenging a state law that expands the time survivors of childhood sexual assault have to file their claims....

by Alejandra Molina

Muslims and Jews worried about Twitter under Musk

Muslim and Jewish organizations are expressing concern about billionaire Elon Musk’s impending ownership of Twitter, warning that the aerospace tycoon could roll back moderation policies and unleash a new wave of harassment against religious minor...

by Jack Jenkins

Unanimous Supreme Court rules in favor of Christian flag

The City of Boston so clearly violated US law on religious liberty that a normally divided US Supreme Court ruled unanimously against the city on May 2....

by Mark Wingfield

Vanderbilt’s new Lawson Institute advances nonviolence work

One of the most celebrated and influential United Methodists is lending his name to an institute at Vanderbilt University that will promote and study nonviolence....

by Jim Patterson

People

Izani Bruch named chaplain of Chilean presidential palace

On April 21, Izani Bruch, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chile, was appointed chaplain of the Palacio de La Moneda of Chile, the national headquarters of governmental affairs and ministries....

People

Presbyterian missionary targeted by Philippine goverment

On April 11, Cathy Chang, a Presbyterian missionary living in the Philippines, discovered she had been “red-tagged” by the Philippine government after meeting with a progressive political candidate....

by Dawn Araujo-Hawkins