First Words
Cultivating uncertainty
Marilynne Robinson calls it “a form of reverence.”
What mercy in the criminal justice system could look like
What if all were extended the gift of a second chance?
To avoid risk, don’t get close to God
Sometimes faith is like encountering a grizzly bear.
Our legislators’ silence is a failure of moral courage
Margaret Chase Smith and Abraham Lincoln modeled a better way.
“Self-interest seemed almost omnipotent”
Langdon Gilkey’s account of his imprisonment during WWII is a study in how humans act under pressure.
Fear that manufactures numbness
I went to a haunted house. I did not enjoy it.
When our past sins come up
There's no perfect way to atone, but humility is a good start.
The Century and the forgetting curve
We read, forget, and are formed anyway.
Cancer is a struggle, not a battle
3 reasons the warfare metaphor is problematic
Can clergy earn back the public trust they’ve lost?
Respect for pastors is at an all-time low. What would help?
True generosity comes from joy
Bone-deep generosity has nothing to do with means and everything to do with desire.
Do gentle people need to toughen up?
Being wise as a serpent doesn’t mean having a hard heart.
Life is not a zero-sum game
Neither is religion.
Anti-abortion legislators need a dose of compassion
These draconian new state laws seem more pro-birth than pro-life.
A faith that looks to the future
Ever since the women at the tomb learned that Jesus was “going ahead,” we’ve been trying to catch up.
Telling the truth about racism
The story of James Thompson and David Simpson is one of many that cry out for an acknowledgment of wrongs done.
Walk a mile in the preacher’s $5k sneakers
Does a desire for nice things have anything to do with the gospel?
From tolerance to love
Tolerance is lukewarm at best, condescending at worst.
Only we can humble ourselves
Humility is always a personal act of inner volition.
We want Century articles to be conversation starters
We’re not asking readers to subscribe to a given writer’s views.