Experience, circumstances and rereading Scripture often gives us a fresh look at very familiar biblical passages. One such passage from John 19:15 appeared in the expanded text from a recent Bible study lesson: “They therefore cried out, ‘Away with him,…
Best be prepared: The antidisestablishmentarians are coming for our consciences!
Remember the word we often heard at elementary school spelling bees — “antidisestablishmentarianism” — said to be the longest word in the English language? Well, it isn’t, not anymore. That honor now belongs to “acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene,” defined as “a tough rigid…
Loneliness is killing us
What more can we say of loneliness, the disease that afflicts modern Americans from depressed children to isolated elders? We know many of the causes: social disconnection, the decline of community institutions, the radical individualism we often mistake for personal…
We have been trained to see certain people as avatars of disorder who need to be eliminated
The killing of Jordan Neely is an apocalyptic event; it reveals something about our cultural moment that is at once illuminating and deeply unsettling. On May 1, Neely was killed on the New York City subway by a fellow passenger….
This article was written using Chat GPT AI
One of my professors recently asked me what I thought about Chat GPT, an AI generator that, among other things, students could use to complete assignments (without actually completing them). I told him I thought it sounded creepy and not…
Marching to a different drumbeat
Many years ago, as a senior in college, I was a member of the cast of our school’s musical theater production of The Music Man. The show had been a sold-out success on Broadway for composer Meredith Willson, and the 1962…
It’s time to ditch the drive-by Communion and linger a while
Churches should win awards for their innovation during COVID, as they created new ways to be church together while apart. Pastors responded to the needs of the community in a time when caring for community meant being separated from one…
What happens after Title 42?
The Biden administration has begun preparing to end Title 42, the COVID-19 order that authorizes the rapid expulsion of migrants, primarily to Mexico, on May 11. The administration will impose penalties for those who enter the U.S. without inspection while…
Broken covenant: An interview with Vann Newkirk II about ‘Holy Week,’ MLK and white supremacy
Vann Newkirk II is senior editor of The Atlantic and one of our most thoughtful and talented writers on race, politics and culture. I first met him years ago when Baylor University sponsored an annual film program on race and…
Hope in time of panic
We are living in a time of panic in America. How best can we respond to it as Christians? There is a racial panic, a church panic and a moral panic. These forms of panic are causing our nation to…
The good news and bad news of our latest mass murder
The good news is, it’s still against the law in Texas to kill an entire family in cold blood. The bad news is, it’s just fine in Texas for an unstable man to possess an AR-15 semiautomatic assault rifle and…
Christianity without love
One of them, an expert in the law, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with…