Photography by Jill Nelson
Northern Israel Church Warily Gathers amid Renewed War
“Another round of war would be devastating.”
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 31
March 31, 1146: French monastic reformer and theologian Bernard of Clairvaux preaches for the Second Crusade at Vezelay, France. He urged his audience to “take the sign of the cross,” and so many responded that he ran out of cloth crosses to pass out (he ended up tearing pieces from his own habit to stitch on the shirts of would-be crusaders). When the crusade proved to be a failure, people were shocked that a venture supported by such a powerful man of God could go wrong (see issue 40: The Crusades).
March 31, 1492: After the Inquisition failed to convert Spain’s Jews, monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella sign an edict giving them three months to leave the country. An estimated 150,000 Jews fled, the last reportedly leaving August 2, the traditional anniversary of the destruction of the first and second temples. The next day, August 3, Christopher Columbus sailed for America.
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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Trump Becomes the First President Since Eisenhower to Change Faiths in Office
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Biblical Archaeology’s Top 10 Discoveries of 2023
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Elisabeth Elliot Was a Flawed Figure God Used in Extraordinary Ways
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The Mystery of Original Sin
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March 25
Trending topics
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.