Guy Peterson / AFP
The Yo-Yo Between Life and Death in Global Health
Funding canceled. Funding renewed. New documents show the extent of the Trump administration’s historic aid cuts, and the few programs saved.
The Dean of American Church Historians
Memories and reflections on Martin E. Marty, a scholar of remarkable influence, kindness, and wit, from a friend and colleague of 50 years.
The Broken Promise of ‘40 Acres and a Mule’
In dealing with its Black citizens, America has acted not with the faithfulness of God but with the deceit of Laban.
The Truth of a Love Supreme
Our politics are bitter and retributive. In the Christians of the Civil Rights Movement, we have a model of a better way.
Robin Hood, Luigi Mangione, and Jesus
The alleged assassin has been widely compared to the outlaw hero. There are similarities—but real differences between this ethic and Christ’s.
Today in Christian History
March 28
March 28, 1515: Spanish mystic Teresa of Avila, founder of a reformed Carmelite order, is born. Though her contemporaries noted her practicality and administrative skills, her legacy stems from her mysticism, evidenced in her Autobiography, Way of Perfection, Book of Foundations, and Interior Castle.
March 28, 1592: Czech theologian Jan Comenius, educator of the Bohemian (or Moravian) Brethren, is born in Nivnice, Czechoslovakia. As today, the region was tormented by warfare, and Comenius believed the only way to bring peace was through education. He designed a plan for educating every province and country, which he presented in The Great Didactic(1632). Education, he believed, should be more than just learning facts and languages (as was the case in his day), it should mold Christian character and should be marked by observing the physical world. He is called "the father of modern education" (see issue 13: Jan Amos Comenius).
The Dean of American Church Historians
Memories and reflections on Martin E. Marty, a scholar of remarkable influence, kindness, and wit, from a friend and colleague of 50 years.
The Broken Promise of ‘40 Acres and a Mule’
In dealing with its Black citizens, America has acted not with the faithfulness of God but with the deceit of Laban.
The Truth of a Love Supreme
Our politics are bitter and retributive. In the Christians of the Civil Rights Movement, we have a model of a better way.
Robin Hood, Luigi Mangione, and Jesus
The alleged assassin has been widely compared to the outlaw hero. There are similarities—but real differences between this ethic and Christ’s.
PEOPLE IN CHRISTIAN HISTORY
Dorothy Sayers
Mystery writer and apologist
Augustine of Hippo
Architect of the Middle Ages
C.S. Lewis
Scholar, author, and apologist
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
German theologian and resister
Athanasius
Five-time exile for fighting “orthodoxy”
Harriet Tubman
The “Moses” of Her People
Catherine Booth
Compelling preacher and co-founder of the Salvation Army
William Wilberforce
Antislavery politician
John Knox
Presbyterian with a sword
Dwight L. Moody
Revivalist with a common touch
Billy Graham
Evangelist to millions
Thomas à Kempis
Author of the most popular devotional classic
Perpetua
High society believer
Justin Martyr
Defender of the “true philosophy”
John of the Cross
Spanish mystic of the soul’s dark night
Teresa of Avila
Carmelite mystic and feisty administrator
Oswald Chambers
Preacher who gave his utmost
Joan of Arc
The courageous and controversial teenager who saved her country
Søren Kierkegaard
Christian existentialist
Southern Border Gothic
ICE agents arrested a Honduran man at his church in Georgia. As Augustine chronicled after the sack of Rome, even the Visigoths never stooped to that.
The Unrecognized Great Awakening
Americans talk about Civil Rights as a political movement. But as MLK well knew, it was more than that. It was a revival.
My Friend, Bill Pannell
A reflection on the trailblazing Black theologian and his influence on American evangelicalism.
The Evangelicalism of Jimmy Carter
The former president, who turns 100 on Tuesday, was elected while serving as a Southern Baptist deacon. But he was never fully welcomed by white evangelicals as one of our own.
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A Subtler Political Idolatry
We don’t always like our presidents. But we’re apt to exalt the presidency.
There’s Always Been ‘Extra Stuff’ in the Bible
New Testament scholar Garrick V. Allen explains the long history of paratext.
Our Perennial Political Temptation
Reckoning with a half-century of American evangelicals’ pursuit of a “seat at the table.”
A Short History of Parental Rights
Christians in America enjoy the right and duty to educate our children as conscience dictates, thanks to a balanced legal tradition.
He Told Richard Nixon to Confess
Most ministers were silent about Watergate. Why was one evangelical pastor different?
Presidential Debates Can’t Help Us Face the Future
Character matters more than talking points in choosing a leader. And it’s hard to know what questions to ask about it.
Three Evangelical ‘Founding Fathers’ and Their Complicated Relationships to Slavery
A new book steers between full condemnation and “men of their time” dodges.
Love in an Attention Crisis
Readers of the Latin Bible could see how close love and diligence are.
One of Oldest Books in Existence Sells for $3.9 Million
An ancient codex, containing perhaps the earliest complete versions of Jonah and 1 Peter, went up for auction and sold to an anonymous bidder.
Billy Graham Preached at His Crusades. His Singers Believed They Were Preaching Too.
A late historian explores how crusade hymns told both the classic story of gospel salvation and the evolving story of evangelical worship music.
Can a Secularizing Nation Have a Christian Soul?
One of England’s finest writers surveys the past and present of English faith.
The Bible’s Development Is a Messy Story, but It Can Bolster Our Faith
If anything, the historical details are even messier than Susan Lim’s new account allows.