Features
Jimmy Carter, America’s best ex-president
After his 1980 defeat, Carter devoted himself to the causes of a progressive evangelicalism that has all but disappeared from public view.
How do we preach about a vigilante murder?
As preachers consider their response to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a sermon from the Gilded Age might guide the way.
The Christmas of Baby Tommy
We raised our kids without a religious narrative. My young son stumbled upon one on his own.
Respecting the Ten Commandments, in all their ambiguity
I’m posting them in my classroom—and teaching my students about how people interpret them differently.
The gift of words
Here are some books and other wordy presents the CC staff will be putting under the tree this year.
Microbes in the manger
God is humbly present in every living creature. Maybe closer than we’ve imagined.
Music for the apocalypse
Growing up, I never understood the book of Revelation. Then I started listening to Black Sabbath.
The tropes that birth the hero
It is admirable that Bonhoeffer endeavors to highlight Black life. But one must be careful that the Black life of one’s representation is not playing in the dark of caricatured Black people.
Barbara Holmes taught us to see our cosmic ties
A visionary of Black liberation, she broke open what it means to be a contemplative.
The new Bonhoeffer movie isn’t just bad. It’s dangerous.
By egregiously misreading Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s moral crisis, it primes viewers for violence.
There’s no such thing as a Bonhoeffer moment
Dietrich Bonhoeffer didn’t choose to be a martyr. He simply tried, as many others did, to be decent in the face of evil.
A time to endure
As we approach another Trump presidency, I’ve been thinking a lot about Ecclesiastes.
Can scientists make a universe from nothing?
“Empty space is never really, truly empty,” says science writer Zeeya Merali.
Jesus is Lord. No political leader is.
Maybe the kingdom of God isn’t like a king—maybe it’s like those who resist a king.
Cecil Williams kept his ear to the ground
The longtime pastor of Glide Memorial Church was involved in nearly every major social justice movement in the Bay Area for 60 years.
Bone chapels and their strange art
In catacombs, crypts, and ossuaries, I’ve seen the ugliness of death transformed into something beautiful.