“The Slow March of Light” Highlights The Human Spirit’s Strength

June 17, 2022 By Lauren McKeithen

The summer of 1961 was undoubtedly one to remember. Between 1949 and 1961, 2.5 million East Germans fled East Germany to settle in West Germany, including an increasing number of professionals, intellectuals, and skilled workers. Their departure almost destroyed the economic sustainability of the East German state. As a response, East Germany built a wall to close East German’s access to West Berlin and West Germany. That barrier, known as the Berlin Wall, was first erected in the night hours... Read more

“A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice” Recounts The Titanic’s Tragic Night

June 17, 2022 By Lauren McKeithen

Everyone knows the tragic story of the Titanic; it’s the subject of numerous documentaries and a 1997 feature film starring Leonard di Caprio and Kate Winslet. The Titanic was a beautiful ship that advertisers said was unsinkable. However, the tragic truth was quite the opposite. Throughout the trip, crew members received iceberg warnings. On the night of April 14, 1912, crew members saw an iceberg and tried to warn others, but it was too late. The ship collided with the... Read more

How To Judge The Bible By Its Cover

March 23, 2021 By Guest Contributor

When it comes to religious texts, the context in which we encounter their words can often be just as important as the meaning behind them. At the University of Glasgow, Dr. Garrick Allen and his team are researching the way paratexts—or all the aesthetic features of a book beyond the main text itself, such as the binding, font, illustrations, or even cover—impact the way we absorb what we read. In this video, his team explores a 12thcentury Byzantine Gospel codex... Read more

Life is an Endless Invitation: Q&A With Rob Bell

October 1, 2020 By Lesli White

In Rob Bell’s latest book, “Everything is Spiritual: Who We Are and What We’re Doing Here,” he delves into the questions that have shaped his life and work. Bell, a New York Times bestselling author and renowned speaker, has written ten books. This one is deeply personal. The book explores how ideas like creation, love, and connection shaped his own faith journey, and how it also shapes our own. Bell took the time to answer a few questions about his... Read more

Rethinking Ritual for a Secular Age: An Interview with Casper ter Kuile

August 13, 2020 By David Charles

In his first book, The Power of Ritual (HarperOne), Casper ter Kuile makes a case for the value and relevance of personal and group practices—rituals. We need ritual, he argues, now more than ever, to make sense of life, to find purpose, to connect with others. Co-host of the popular “Harry Potter and the Sacred Text” podcast, and co-founder of the Sacred Design Lab, ter Kuile is at the forefront of research on the changing landscape of religion and spirituality.... Read more

Even the Faith Giants Didn’t Always Get it Right: Q&A With Frank Viola

February 26, 2019 By Lesli White

In November 2014, bestselling author Frank Viola was given a special task by Rick Warren. He asked him to write a series of articles called “Shocking Beliefs of [the Great Theologians]” on his blog. The one objective? To call for grace, civility and tolerance among Christians when they disagree with one another over doctrinal issues. This call couldn’t have come at a better time as we often see too many Christians act ungraciously toward one another when they disagree. This... Read more

Author Lily Burana on Experiencing God’s Grace and Her Journey to Spiritual Recovery

November 8, 2017 By brandygrenier

A woman in crisis, Lily Burana had tried everything to cope with the debilitating depression and anxiety that plagued her on a daily basis. Therapy, medication, meditation – you name it, Lily had tried it but nothing was giving her the relief she so desperately needed. Fearing she was on the verge of death, Lily tried her remedy of last resort: faith. In her latest book, Grace for Amateurs, Lily details her own unique path toward a trusting relationship with God... Read more

From Newark to the Throne Room

July 21, 2017 By Guest Contributor

I’m a lawyer and a novelist. In response to the events that occurred in Ferguson, Missouri, in the summer of 2014 (and many other places since then), I decided to write a story. In doing so, I looked in the mirror and saw a sixty-one-year-old white man raised in the South. Read more

“Movies Are Prayers”: A New Way of Discussing Film

July 19, 2017 By Guest Contributor

Movies are Prayers is one of the best books that I’ve read this year, and I’m a graduate student with a side-job of writing books reviews. What Larsen has done in this brief book is tremendously impressive. Larsen has created a new way of discussing films, a “film theory” in which readers are invited to ask what a given film has to say to and about God. Movies are Prayers taught me much about movies and much about prayer, to... Read more

How the Church Can Heal the Race Divide

June 29, 2017 By Guest Contributor

A chart featured in The Myth of Equality compares the amount of time that slavery and segregation have been legal realities in the United States to the amount of time they have not. Slavery existed in America for 246 years, including the time before the United States achieved independence. Segregation existed legally for another 99 years following the abolition of slavery, meaning that minorities, especially African-Americans, have had full rights in the United States for only the last 53 years.... Read more