Other Reformations

Last updated on: October 20, 2015 at 11:41 am By Philip Jenkins

We usually refer to “the Reformation” as if the European movement of the sixteenth century was a unique phenomenon. As I have suggested, though, events fitting this model quite well have occurred repeatedly through history, both within Judaism and Christianity. What other examples might we cite? Looking globally, a Western reader might be surprised how often, and how plausibly, scholars draw Reformation analogies and refer to particular reformers as “the (X) Martin Luther.” Now, the fact that people offer these... Read more

For Evangelicals, Party Trumps Personalities

Last updated on: October 22, 2015 at 12:17 am By johnturner

My co-blogger Thomas Kidd suggests that church-going evangelicals and a group he calls “paleo-evangelicals” (already disaffected with the Republican Party) should desert the Republicans should Donald Trump capture the GOP nomination. I am in the camp of those who consider that outcome an improbability in two respects. First, despite widespread dissatisfaction with “establishment” politicians, Republicans will probably not nominate a recent convert. Evangelical voters in Iowa will probably deny Trump a victory in that state’s caucuses. The field will narrow... Read more

How to Start a Writing Group

Last updated on: October 20, 2015 at 10:24 pm By Beth Allison Barr

My writing group just celebrated our 5th anniversary. Although our idea for the group was born during a faculty retreat, it took us a year before we hashed out a plan. We were all tenure-track and anxious about the promotion process. What we wanted was a support structure for both writing accountability and boosting publications. What we got was so much more. For sure, we have become better writers. We also have become better at securing publications, better at conducting peer reviews,... Read more

Donald Trump and the Coming Christian Political Realignment

Last updated on: October 19, 2015 at 9:23 am By Thomas Kidd

As Donald Trump has maintained strong leads in primary states like South Carolina, some observers like Matt Lewis have begun to speculate about what it would be like if this guy actually became president. I still believe (and fervently hope, for the sake of the republic) that Trump has no chance of becoming president, but I am reluctantly starting to realize that he could indeed win the Republican nomination. If that is the case, “Republicans” (whomever they may be) will... Read more

Reformations Then and Now

Last updated on: October 15, 2015 at 3:23 pm By Philip Jenkins

I described the religious revolution that overcame the Jewish world in the seventh century BC, and which I compared explicitly to a reformation of the sort we know very well from Early Modern Europe. The resemblances between the two eras, as portrayed by a scholar like Baruch Halpern, are often striking. Halpern, indeed, repeatedly and explicitly draws Reformation-era analogies. Noting Martin Luther’s fondness for the prophet Jeremiah, he suggests that this affinity was quite natural. “[Jeremiah] stands to the cultic... Read more

The Many Faces of Christ

Last updated on: October 18, 2015 at 5:38 am By Philip Jenkins

My new book is just published! This is The Many Faces of Christ: The Thousand Year Story of the Survival and Influence of the Lost Gospels (New York: Basic Books, 2015). I have talked about this topic quite a bit on this blog, but this book addresses the subject in much greater detail. We often hear about newly discovered ancient gospels that are claimed to throw light on Jesus’s life and times. When the media report these stories, they usually... Read more

Reformations, Plural

Last updated on: October 15, 2015 at 3:21 pm By Philip Jenkins

Over the next couple of years, we are going to be hearing a great deal about commemorating the European Reformation, which had its symbolic beginning with Martin Luther’s deeds in October 1517. In that sense, “the Reformation” was a specific series of events that occurred in Europe at a particular time, a historical moment like the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. I will be amused to see how, in late 2017, we will be marking that dual anniversary, as we discuss... Read more

Station Eleven

Last updated on: October 14, 2015 at 11:26 pm By johnturner

Last year, John Wilson of Books & Culture praised Emily St. John Mandel’s post-apocalyptic novel Station Eleven. Over the years, B&C has placed several splendid novels on my radar screen, including Mischa Berlinski’s Fieldwork (Berlinski’s second novel will appear this coming March). Station Eleven did not disappoint. Mandel’s is an artfully crafted narrative, weaving together several stories that finally cohere by the end of the book. The “Georgia Flu” wipes out human civilization, killing 99.9% of the world’s human population,... Read more

From “Mannish Woman” to Missionary

Last updated on: September 28, 2015 at 11:28 am By David Swartz

Sarah Goodrich, a missionary to China, begged her family and friends back at home in the United States not to picture her as “a mannish woman.” That she had to issue such a plea reflected a common American judgment of female missionaries at the turn of the twentieth century. The single woman missionary, writes historian Jane Hunter, was characterized “by her lack of feminine qualities.” Going to China without a husband threatened to “unsex” her. In fact, Christian churches sometimes... Read more

How and When to Say ‘No’

Last updated on: October 12, 2015 at 10:24 am By Thomas Kidd

In my weekly newsletter I have written about alleviating stress and explained why saying ‘no’ is essential to health and long-term productivity. But this is easier said than done. When do you say no? How do you choose between many promising-sounding opportunities? And how do you say no without seeming like a prima donna? The key to this discussion is grasping that you need to focus on your core calling(s), and that the nature of your work in those callings... Read more