The Clemson Tigers and the Narrative of Christian Athletic Excellence

Last updated on: January 10, 2020 at 10:13 am By Melissa Borja

This Monday, the Clemson Tigers face off against the LSU Tigers in the College Football Playoff National Championship. For Dabo Swinney, Clemson’s coach, the game will not only be a contest of athletic skill, but also a testimony to religious faith. Under Swinney’s leadership, the Clemson Tigers have earned a formidable record—they are the defending champions, and Monday’s game will be their third appearance in the championship matchup in four years. But Swinney is famous not simply for leading his... Read more

All The Single Ladies in the Church

Last updated on: January 8, 2020 at 4:31 am By Andrea L. Turpin

I recently encountered an article that made me yell “Preach!” It was about single women in the Australian church, but everything it said resonated with me as a single woman in the American church. Australia has fewer men than women overall, and this ratio is exacerbated within the church. So many Christian women who assumed they would be married by now have instead found themselves still single. I assumed similar statistics were true for the contemporary American church. Turns out... Read more

A Letter to Christian Parents about Christian Colleges

Last updated on: January 6, 2020 at 5:26 pm By Chris Gehrz

If you're considering sending your children to a Christian college, Chris has some advice. Read more

The 2010s and the Global Church

Last updated on: January 4, 2020 at 1:36 pm By Philip Jenkins

I have been reviewing some of the highlights of the decade just past, as they affected Christians and Christianity. That includes events within the US, and the films of the era. Here, let me shift my focus to the global stage, as I offer my own listing (tentative and perhaps idiosyncratic) of the key developments of that era. In each instance, I focus on a particular year, although the event that I highlight might epitomize a larger trend that in... Read more

From You No Secrets Are Hid

Last updated on: January 3, 2020 at 7:34 am By Philip Jenkins

This post concerns a prayer of which I am fond, and which should be better known. It also offers a good argument for liturgy, for set forms and words echoing through the centuries. Oddly too, it is a highly seasonal topic. If you go to a church in the Episcopal or Anglican tradition, then every Sunday you will hear the following collect near the beginning of the liturgy: Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and... Read more

Don’t Ruin the Story!

Last updated on: January 1, 2020 at 10:58 pm By johnturner

On the fourth Sunday of Advent, I attended worship at a mainline Protestant church. The text was Matthew 1:18-25, which describes Jesus’s virgin birth as the fulfillment of ancient prophecy (Isaiah 7:14) The minister began with the issue of translation. He observed a discrepancy between the Greek and Hebrew words used in the texts. The Hebrew Almah suggests a young woman who has reached the age of childbearing. The Greek Parthenos, by contrast, refers to a virgin. He concluded that... Read more

From Mennonite Pacifist to Marxist Revolutionary

Last updated on: December 29, 2019 at 10:07 pm By David Swartz

David reviews a fascinating memoir entitled *Rebel Mother* Read more

2019: The Relevance of Religious History for Today

Last updated on: December 30, 2019 at 11:06 pm By Chris Gehrz

Chris reviews our most popular posts from 2019, most of which clearly illustrate the continuing "relevance of religious history for today." Read more

Two Popes

Last updated on: December 29, 2019 at 10:31 pm By Thomas Albert Howard

I have recently watched the engaging, new movie, “Two Popes,” directed by Fernando Meirelles and written by Anthony McCarten, adapted from McCarten’s 2017 play “The Pope.” It simulates a lingering conversation between Pope Benedict XVI (Cardinal Ratzinger) and the current pope, Francis I (Jorge Bergoglio), who in the film is still Archbishop of Argentina. The film is well worth seeing as it accurately captures the contrasting sensibilities and gifts of the two men. Viewing it prompts me to re-post this... Read more

Of Greeks, Gods, Buddhas, and Graven Images

Last updated on: December 26, 2019 at 7:38 am By Philip Jenkins

This fine sculpture, from San Francisco’s glorious Asian Art Museum, depicts a bodhisattva, a holy figure of Buddhism, which was made in what is now Afghanistan. Specifically, it depicts the Buddha that is to come, the messianic figure of Maitreya. But note that the style of the depiction borrows massively from Hellenistic Greek techniques and aesthetics. I will suggest that this kind of artistic cross-pollination – this cultural globalization – has a surprising amount to tell us about the history... Read more