The White church still owes “Letter from Birmingham Jail” an answer
King’s letter is so soaked in US history that 60 years later we almost forget it was addressed not to the nation but to specific Christian pastors.
Baldwin the exorcist
He wrote to free the heart from hatred and despair.
Imani Perry’s tour of the American South
South to America shows how one region’s beauty, losses, and inequities have shaped the country as a whole.
What preachers have said in times of national crisis
Melissa Matthes well understands both the political and the religious power of mourning.
Preaching Holy Week in the middle of a pandemic—again
Usually it takes courage to preach Good Friday. This year, it will take courage to proclaim “He is risen!” on Easter morning.
The righteousness of the prude and the righteousness of the lover
Martin Luther went looking for God—and found Christ on the cross.
Advent is a season of sighs, especially this year
We don’t pine for a second coming that will bring the world to an end. We pray for the indwelling of Christ that will enable the world to continue.
The coronavirus pandemic feels like an unending Holy Saturday
We stay home. We look out for others. We wait—but for what?
How people deal with pointless suffering
Scott Samuelson considers seven responses to the age-old mystery.
A chaplain, his cerebral palsy, and the philosophy that guides him
Stephen Faller’s series of wise reflections on being alive
Theodicy in real life
William Abraham's theological affirmations of faith are shadowed by a persistent question: Why don't they work?
The stubborn love and inflexible mercy of Dorothy Day
More than a memoir, Kate Hennessy's book about her grandmother is a participant biography written from the inside out.
Preaching in the promised land
After the Great Migration, some black preachers addressed the issues their white social-gospel counterparts avoided.
Poetry that bids us welcome
How is it that the poems of a 17th-century aristocrat still resonate with us?
Into the dark with Dante
Dante speaks to the uncertainties of every generation, to those who have awakened lost in an impenetrable darkness.
Writing the Christian life: The essence of spiritual memoir
A memoir becomes explicitly Christian when it derives its literary power from the power of the gospel. It doesn't preach, it shows.