It didn’t look at all like I thought it did. For the majority of my theologically trained life, my ideas of what it meant to bear the image of God were quite conventional—easy inheritances from systematic theologies or books. We can love because God is love. We have the capability to reason; God is the …
The “Napalm Girl” from a famous Vietnam War photo tells her story of coming to faith. You have seen my picture a thousand times. It’s a picture that made the world gasp—a picture that defined my life. I am nine years old, running along a puddled roadway in front of an expressionless soldier, arms outstretched, …
The deeply flawed Old Testament “hero” was set apart for a very specific purpose. Growing up in church as a scrawny kid, I was captured by stories of David slaying Goliath, Gideon defeating the Midianites, and especially Samson taking out 1,000 Philistines practically barehanded. While I loved the daring of those figures, I was also …
Once a people view themselves as their own highest authority, whatever they most value becomes their god. And that god will rule their nation. At its best, Patrick Deneen’s Why Liberalism Failed is a book that helps fish like us see the water. For that reason alone, you will benefit from it. The water in …
And why conferences are such an enduring and crucial part of the movement. Several dozen evangelical leaders from across the country gathered at Wheaton College on Monday and Tuesday this week. In anticipation of the event, The Washington Post teased the meeting: “Dozens of evangelical leaders meet to discuss how Trump era has unleashed ‘grotesque …
How Civil War–era churches that avoided taking sides on slavery ended up siding with its supporters. In antebellum and Civil War–era America, churches and denominations along the border between North and South voiced what would have been considered “moderate” opinions on slavery. But as April Holm shows in A Kingdom Divided, neutrality was attractive but …
Why we should read lesser-known versions of the Bible. English readers have access to more translations of the Bible than readers of any other language. The American Bible Society estimates that there have been around 900 full and partial biblical translations into English. Naturally, that staggering number isn’t readily available, but you can easily order …
I survived snowy mountains, a filthy prison, and an abusive husband. Then I discovered who had protected me all along. When Arif marched up to me in church, it was obvious that he was angry. With his eyes narrowed in hate and his long beard trembling with rage, he was incensed that I, a Christian …
Foreign students offer US schools treasure in heaven and on earth. For most of Wheaton Academy’s 165-year history, it was a boarding school. Boarding was ended in the 1980s, then brought back—structured as host families—in 2006. “China had just started its student visas a year or two before,” said Brenda Vishanoff, vice principal for student …
The theologian’s memoir is refreshingly raw about the wounds he’s suffered—and the wounds he’s inflicted. What’s most endearing about Even in Our Darkness, the new memoir from theologian Jack Deere, is also what’s most difficult: its rawness. Before picking it up, be warned: You will hold your breath for pages at a time, even to …