The 5 first-class relics of Cristero martyrs displayed during Mass on a table with the blood-red tablecloth, April 17, 2026. Photo by author. The visiting priest, originally from Jalisco, intoned the final prayers of the Mass in his soft Spanish and we made the Sign of the Cross, standing expectantly in our pew. I glanced at my youngest son, just weeks away from making his First Holy Communion, and I could feel his anticipation. The moment had arrived! Everyone began... Read more
My recent posts have explored various lost texts, mainly in the context of ancient Greek epics. But I have a long-standing interest in that theme of loss and rediscovery, and particularly in the context of sacred writings and scriptures, which will be the subject of my (probable) next book. Lost texts are intriguing in their own right, but they also raise fascinating questions about our attitudes to knowledge and our quest for authoritative written justifications for what we think, or... Read more
Anyone who has spent much time in the church has probably heard a bad sermon or two (or three). Today, as we enter into May, I’d like to talk a bit about a very bad sermon from 1517, one that completely missed the point of Easter week and inspired a wave of political violence. It’s also one that has some resonances with our own moment and political debate– so come learn about perhaps the worst May Day celebration ever, sparked... Read more
The Lost Epics of Thebes Last time I discussed just how distressingly much of ancient culture and literature is now lost, in whole or in part, and that fact gives us a distorted idea of those worlds. Today, we think of the ancient Greeks as being obsessed with the whole saga of Troy and the warriors who overthrew it, and what happened to them on their return. But there were whole other epic stories which in their days exercised just... Read more
I turned in my manuscript to Our God Is an Awesome Brand on the twilight of Eastertide earlier this month. When I sent in the manuscript to my editor at Brazos Press, I didn’t include a conclusion outside of the concluding chapter of the book. Since turning in the manuscript, I’ve spent some considerable time thinking about what an epilogue to the book would have looked like. I’ve tried to demonstrate restraint in providing too many spoilers about the book, over the... Read more
I’m researching Catholic families in seventeenth century England. Catholicism was outlawed and its practice could be punished with death—and from time to time there were indeed outbursts of violence against the small Catholic community. In spite of this oppression and suppression, Catholics still tried to share their faith and convert Protestants around them, even though such proselytizing could result in prosecution. Missionary efforts and attempts at conversion are key to Christian history. In many ways, Christian history over the last... Read more
My current research involves the loss and rediscovery of Jewish and Christian scriptures, with a focus on the years between roughly 1870 and 1940. However, my next few blogposts are going to explore these themes of “lost and found” much more broadly and cross-culturally, before circling back round to that Biblical/Scriptural focus. I think the themes that emerge are really enlightening in many areas. So today, I will begin far away from the Christian world, in the deepest foundations of... Read more
In a homily on Palm Sunday, Pope Leo XIV condemned violence and war and those who perpetuate it: “This is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war.” He goes on to cite Isaiah 1:15, “[God] does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: “Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood” (Leo XIV, Homily). This... Read more
Helen H Gardener (1853–1925) was a celebrated reformer in the Gilded Age and Progressive era, and she is a major character in the book I am presently writing on the 1890s. She was a central figure in feminist and suffragist causes, and especially in the defense of women and young girls from male sexual depredations. Her greatest cause, and her greatest victories, involved the raising of the age of consent, which prior to the 1890s had been incredibly low (ten... Read more
I’ve been interested in a sort of apparent paradox over the last few months. You can see the thread in all of the posts dedicated to pentecostal/charismatic Christianity and technological adoption. How is it that a movement so interested in reliving the past was so enmeshed in newer forms of technology and media production? How did that “old-time religion” produce modern media moguls and folks living on the bleeding edge of technological adoption? So far, I’ve focused a lot of... Read more
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