The Civil War Was Definitely About Slavery, Sort Of

Last updated on: January 12, 2024 at 4:11 pm By Philip Jenkins

The Civil War and Reconstruction continue to fascinate Americans. Recently, witness the blowback against alleged presidential candidate Nikki Haley when she refused to identify slavery as a cause of the war. Just in the past couple of months, we also note the full special issue of the Atlantic on the theme of “To Reconstruct A Nation,” or Adam Hochschild’s review essay in the New York Review of Books on how pro-Confederate sympathizers established the orthodoxy that secession and war arose... Read more

Farewell to the Anxious Bench

Last updated on: January 11, 2024 at 11:14 am By Nadya Williams

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Nepotism brought me here. You see, back in summer 2021, as I was just starting to write some essays for the public, Dan (my husband) graciously ran a couple of them as guest posts here at the Bench. The very first one, in fact, seems remarkably apt now. It was about “Israel and Immigration: A Christian Reflection on the Consequences of Past Sins.” That fall, Dan approached then-blogmeister Chris Gehrz and proposed giving me one of his two monthly slots.... Read more

On Reading Gregory of Nyssa

Last updated on: January 11, 2024 at 11:14 am By Thomas Albert Howard

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One consolation of spotty education is the opportunity to read texts later in life that you wish you had read much earlier, but which fell through the cracks until you were mature enough to appreciate them more fully. Such was the case for me reading Gregory of Nyssa’s charming, instructive The Life of Moses, an account of the Christian life read into the Exodus story through the actions of its chief protagonist, Moses. A bishop of Cappadocia (in modern-day Turkey),... Read more

Notes on Being “American” Abroad

Last updated on: January 6, 2024 at 3:49 am By Lisa Clark Diller

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This Christmas holiday I’ve returned to Australia to visit with friends I made during a teaching exchange in 2017. This brought up a set of reflections I formed that year on identity and representing my country internationally. “So, you’re American—what’s going on with your politics?” I get asked this question somewhat regularly. It is asked very politely, sometimes tentatively. People are trying to find out something about me, about the “feel” of things back in the States, while not being... Read more

Knowledge, Faith, and Early Christian Initiation

Last updated on: January 11, 2024 at 11:13 am By Philip Jenkins

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Today, I am delighted to welcome a guest blogger, who presents the findings of his important new study of the earliest church. He really gets into some significant issues here. The author is my colleague Alex Fogleman. Alex is an Assistant Research Professor of Theology at Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion, project manager for the Global Flourishing Study, and director of the Catechesis Institute. He is the author of Knowledge, Faith, and Early Christian Initiation (Cambridge University Press, 2023).... Read more

New Year, New Post On Jesus’ Favorite Topic: Greed

Last updated on: January 3, 2024 at 5:31 pm By Malcolm Foley

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Just as a reminder, if you couldn’t tell from all of my posts last year, Jesus’ favorite topic and the recurring theme of mine is greed. Happy New Year! There are a few texts in the Scriptures that many American Christians very rarely hear preached because no one really wants to think about them. One of those texts is Jesus’ conversation with the rich young ruler. Though the story appears in each Gospel, I’m going to take a close look... Read more

Living in Light of Christmas: Thoughts for the New Year

Last updated on: January 1, 2024 at 11:12 am By Lynneth Renberg

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As the calendar turns to another year, commercials and advertisements and media all yell loudly at us to make resolutions– to become healthier and fitter (remember the infamous commercial for a certain exercise machine from a few years back?), to make wiser financial choices, to set and accomplish big goals. In short, as each new year begins, culture tells us to do better and to be better. As Christians, we are certainly called to pursue sanctification and to continually grow... Read more

Best Books of 2023

Last updated on: December 30, 2023 at 1:21 pm By Joey Cochran

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Last year I introduced my “Best Books” column with some strategies for how to read. If you’re thinking about strategies for how to read in 2024, I recommend checking out that article. Now if you’re curious about strategies on selecting what to read for 2024, sit tight and lean in. How I Select What I Read No doubt, there are all sorts of readers who will happen upon this column. Some of these suggestions may not fit you as a... Read more

What’s in a Christmas Pageant?

Last updated on: December 29, 2023 at 4:29 pm By Dr. Janine Giordano Drake

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by Janine Giordano Drake American Christians are big on Christmas pageants that resemble Cinderella Stories. We like to reenact the story of an angel appearing to an innocent and faithful teenager, a young man submitting to his betrothed’s calling from God, and then an angel revealing God’s plan for the world to a bunch of humble shepherds and then a few wise men from far away. We like to imagine that we Christians are all like the shepherds, hardworking ordinary... Read more

Forgetting Terrorism in the Heartland: An American Fable

Last updated on: December 30, 2023 at 8:50 am By Philip Jenkins

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Well, this is about as un-seasonal a theme as I can presently muster, but I fear that it is all too topical. Moreover, it raises issues that are going to be agitating us all a great deal in the New Year. In 2016, an American film-maker produced a brilliant case study of a historical campaign of domestic terrorism that was rooted in religious hatred and racial nationalism. I would argue that it remains one of the vanishingly few really fine... Read more

What did Job's wife suggest he do during his suffering?