Today we welcome Katherine Goodwin to the Anxious Bench. Katherine is a PhD student in the History department at Baylor University. Her research focuses on religion and culture in Late Medieval and Early Modern England, especially through the lens of women’s writings. Standing in front of a crowd of hundreds of faithful devotees, the pastor’s wife told her story. A somber and attentive hush fell over the crowd as she spoke. Some had traveled for days just to witness... Read more
As the world responds to a new pandemic, Chris offers some historical and theological context for Martin Luther's 1527 letter, "Whether One May Flee From a Deadly Plague." Read more
In 1874, legendary Baptist leader Charles H. Spurgeon, the “Prince of Preachers,” published a commentary on Psalm 91, under the title “The Privileges of the Godly.” That psalm famously includes the lines Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence …. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth... Read more
Stuck inside for a few weeks and looking for some binge watching ideas? The Anxious Bench is here to help. Read more
It’s been a rough couple of weeks to be a feminist. First, there was Elizabeth Warren’s heartbreaking exit from the race, leaving Democrats with two elderly white men standing. Then, there was the release of the Hulu documentary “Hillary.” This one-two punch was especially painful to members of my own demographic: educated white women. Or perhaps I should clarify: educated white women of a certain age. Because age matters in politics. True, it doesn’t seem to factor in when it... Read more
I am excited to welcome Abram Van Engen to The Anxious Bench. Van Engen, Associate Professor of English at Washington University in St. Louis, is the author of City on a Hill: A History of American Exceptionalism. The book begins with a careful examination of what has become the most famous sermon in American history. Then, Van Engen moves from the seventeenth century to the present, examining how many Americans have made use of the Puritan in attempts to define... Read more
Howard Jones was surprised by Liberians’ awareness of racial tension in the American South. Read more
In the fall of 1918, the influenza pandemic caused cities around the United States to ban public gatherings, including worship services. Chris surveys a variety of Christian responses to the worst public health crisis in American history. Read more
Something important got lost this past Leap Year Day. February 29, 2020 was supposed to have been a big day—in church history. Geneva, Switzerland, the international city reformed by John Calvin himself, was to welcome Roman Catholics back into the Cathedral of Saint-Pierre where, since the city adopted religious reform, no Mass had been taken place since the 1530s. Taking cue from another Swiss city, Lausanne, the church was to hold a Catholic Mass in a space long hostile to... Read more
With all the unavoidable news right now about disease and epidemics, it’s an obvious temptation to look back to past eras to see how they coped with such things, culturally as well as medically. One consistent impression is how thoroughly our imagery of such events draws on very traditional apocalyptic. As David Wallace-Wells notes in his recent book on climate-driven catastrophes, “the vision is a bleak one, often pieced together from perennial eschatological imagery inherited from existing apocalyptic texts like... Read more
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