The Mysteries of Reading

Last updated on: June 8, 2018 at 6:58 am By Philip Jenkins

I have been posting about the 1668 novel The Adventures of Simplicius Simplicissimus, by Johann von Grimmelshausen, a wonderful source for understanding the Early Modern period. Oddly, it also has a lot to say about contemporary global Christianity, in the sense that there are some remarkable parallels between the social and cultural worlds of Europe then, and portions of Africa (for instance) today. One striking parallel involves the whole business of literacy and learning to read, and how that affects... Read more

Goads and Gods

Last updated on: May 29, 2018 at 7:26 am By Philip Jenkins

Today we have a guest column. Some time ago, I referred to the Book of Acts, and began an intriguing correspondence with Mr. Jesse Elison. Focusing especially on one key phrase, Mr. Elison made a strong case for showing how Luke was drawing directly on secular Greek literature, and moreover that he might even have been using the work of Euripides as a model for the story he was trying to tell. After all, did not his play The Bacchae... Read more

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship v. Wayne State University

Last updated on: June 6, 2018 at 10:02 pm By johnturner

In a masterpiece of a ruling, the Supreme Court this week declared that government employees may not openly loathe Christianity. This is what court watchers call a limited ruling. The Court did not settle the question of whether or not beleaguered evangelical bakers must bake cakes for gay weddings. Nor did it provide much guidance on whether or not government employees may subtly and secretly loathe Christianity. Some of those more subtle government employees work for Wayne State University, which... Read more

Rock Piles and Elves: Secularism and the Supernatural in Iceland

Last updated on: May 30, 2018 at 7:40 am By David Swartz

How elves complicate the usual narrative of secularism in Iceland Read more

Can Patheos Continue to “Host the Conversation on Faith”?

Last updated on: June 5, 2018 at 12:14 pm By Chris Gehrz

Two years after being invited to blog at Patheos, Chris reflects on the challenges facing a platform that aspires to "host the conversation on faith." Read more

The Imponderability of the Past

Last updated on: June 3, 2018 at 1:44 pm By Thomas Albert Howard

(We bloggers have been enjoined to post this summer on travels that we have taken to Europe. The reflection below was derived from a trip to Italy [Rome, Florence, and Oriveto] and Istanbul, Turkey.) In the late 900s, the Byzantine Emperor Basil (“the Bulgar Slayer”) led an army from Constantinople against the Bulgars who had invaded his territories in Greece. Defeated at first, he raised new armies and kept returning to the fray. The turning point finally came in 1014... Read more

Jupiter’s Other Prophecy

Last updated on: June 1, 2018 at 12:50 pm By Philip Jenkins

In my previous posts, I have discussed the 1668 novel The Adventures of Simplicius Simplicissimus – hereafter, just Simplicissimus – by Johann von Grimmelshausen. The book is a treasure trove for all sorts of ideas and themes about the seventeenth century, and much of it can be applied to understanding early modern Europe, between about 1500 and 1750. Some of the political material is striking, and one example in particular is really intriguing. In a lengthy section, Simplicissimus captures divine... Read more

The Reinvention of “Evangelical” in American History: A Linguistic Analysis

Last updated on: May 30, 2018 at 11:54 am By Kristin Du Mez

by Hannah Butler and Kristin Du Mez Scan the headlines, and it seems that everywhere you look, evangelicals are in the news. From Paige Patterson to the “court evangelicals” to Trump’s most dependable voting bloc, evangelicals have been the topic du jour at least since the 2016 election. At the same time, there are few words as contested as the term “evangelical.” How does one define “evangelical”? Can the essence of evangelicalism be expressed through the four “distinctives” first suggested... Read more

Paige Patterson Is My Fault, Too

Last updated on: April 27, 2021 at 5:11 pm By Beth Allison Barr

For years, I attended complementarian churches. For years, I stayed silent in those churches–outwardly supporting the complementarian structures while inwardly moving away from complementarian teachings. When we finally decided that enough was enough (in our final complementarian church), my husband, a pastor on staff, tried to address the gender hierarchy and authoritarian structure with the elders. He was promptly fired….. Thankfully I have gained some perspective since that happened. I have realized that by staying silent for so long, I... Read more

The Plot Against America

Last updated on: May 28, 2018 at 9:05 pm By Chris Gehrz

A week after Philip Roth died, Chris considers his novel, The Plot Against America, in which Charles Lindbergh is president of an isolationist America coming under the spell of fascism and anti-Semitism. Read more

What does the Red Horse in Revelations symbolize?