The painting caught me by surprise. I was meandering the dusty grounds of an antique mall in Granbury, Texas when I saw it. Jesus’s face, wracked with dismay, looking at me from behind old clutter. The painting was dirty and tucked among rusty tools and buckets in an open-faced shed, exposed to the weather. Why […]
An American Artist Read More »
Several years ago when I still lived in Durham, North Carolina in a house on Vickers Street, one of my housemates told me about the song “World So Full,” by Jon Dee Graham. Her sister and two friends had posted a cover of it on YouTube back in 2015 when they were students at Goshen
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I originally wrote this article for Logia and reposting here. “Students like you scare me.” Those were the words of a well-known biblical scholar at a well-known evangelical seminary when I sent an enthusiastic inquiry about the possibility of studying under him in a PhD program. I mistakenly conveyed passion for making a difference in
Making Sense of Faith and Historical Criticism Read More »
A church in the northeast is up to good stuff lately. I accidentally came across Highrock Covenant Church last year when either Beth Allison Barr (The Making of Biblical Womanhood) or Kristin Du Mez (Jesus and John Wayne) posted on Twitter about speaking for a series on American Evangelicalism. I had been pondering my faith
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I grew up on missionary stories. My bookshelf was full of them, and they inspired my dreams that, one day, I would follow in the footsteps of these godly heroes. Foreign mission work was a rare avenue open to women in my conservative Christian world, and I had no doubt God had called me to
A Leopard Tamed by Eleanor Vandevort Read More »
Occasionally, the internet yields good fruit, and one of those is the opportunity to meet different sorts of people we would never encounter otherwise, especially if they live overseas. The digital world introduced me to Rev. David Runcorn, a retired Anglican priest in the UK. We recently learned of each other’s work and connected via
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Last night, I watched the Oscar-winning film The Zone of Interest, and I can still feel it in my gut. It taps into present concerns as I survey the political and social landscape of my country and the world at large. Theologically, the film reminds us of what many religions have long asserted—depravity lurks in
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At first, I didn’t want to watch The Book of Clarence (2023). A hasty glance at the description made me assume the film would regurgitate low budget movies on the life of Jesus, except using Black actors this time. But my spouse thought it looked intriguing, so we watched it last night. And I’m glad
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When two different friends on the same day recommended Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World, I immediately bought the book. Not only because it came recommended, but also because the title was calling my name. I have a love/hate relationship with social media and other tech. Social media, particularly, has caused
Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport Read More »
Have you seen the movie Noah starring Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly? Given my interest in Old Testament reception history, I could not pass it up. How would two Jewish men today interpret this flood story? The Genesis account itself is a product of unique Israelite interpretation of a common ancient Near Eastern narrative. The
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I recently read Christian Smith’s book The Bible Made Impossible: Why Biblicism Is Not a Truly Evangelical Reading of Scripture (2012) published by Brazos Press. It critiques a form of biblical interpretation that too often treats the Bible in a wooden and rule book fashion, thereby diminishing the richness of Scripture. Having grown up in
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How do we make sense of difficult passages in the Bible? What about the violence or apparent contradictions? Peter Enns addresses these concerns in his book The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It. Enns is concerned that instead of honest engagement with Scripture some Christian thinkers make
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