Theology
My struggle with Mary
Can Jesus’ mother be redeemed from the church’s tendency to parcel her up into a patriarchal box and then label it “glory”?
When stagnant waters become fresh
The dams on the Klamath River are coming down. Their removal reflects a very different theology than their construction.
Between the Bible and me
The version of Christian history I grew up with hit fast-forward after John’s Revelation and held it until the late 20th century.
Searching for home in the world’s religions
“Why is it that being a Buddhist Christian is often flagged as a problem,” asks theologian John Thatamanil, “but being a capitalist Christian is not?”
Mushrooms at the table?
People have long tried to trace a connection between the early church’s eucharistic practice and psychedelic substances. Scholars aren’t convinced.
A theology of ghosts
My sister talks to our dead mother. I am happy they both stand in the presence of love.
Can dead things live again?
When the widow in Luke 7 sees her son revived, she isn’t thinking about biology.
Liberation theology’s public witness
Raúl Zegarra’s history is deeply researched, clearly written, and unparalleled in its attention to theory.
A better response to the decline of the Christian West
Some fight to preserve what is fading. Michel de Certeau shows how this is an enormous theological error.
The racist scientism of our past
The Century, like the Smithsonian, once supported eugenics.
Prayers rising past the immanent frame
Charles Taylor helps me understand my church’s architecture—and my own struggles with faith.
Compassion makes us human
When we fail to be compassionate, the refrain “Well, we’re only human” is exactly wrong.
What we think we know about God
“Anyone who thinks he knows the orthodox consensus can always be shown to be wrong,” says David Bentley Hart.
Atonement without participation?
In the substitution theory, God simply does stuff for us. What about the relational God of the Bible?
An unfolding drama of awakening
John Haught dismantles the impoverished reasoning of most contemporary cosmology.
Strange sounds in deep water
In 1958, Frank Watlington was listening for Soviet submarines when he stumbled onto an alien world.
Discerning the body
Bodies get sick. What becomes of a church body when we enact unity at the table while ignoring our brokenness?
Living by kinship, not consumption
When I’m tempted to click “Add to cart,” I hear creation groaning.