When writing a book, you often have to cut material. This article is a section that didn’t make it into the final printing of A Sharp Compassion, but I think it still matters. It is taken from the chapter on affirmation and examines how the church has been tempted to avoid what offends. In 1957,...

On the wall in my office hangs a framed print of an ancient Roman etching. You won’t find it in a museum. I’ve never seen it for sale in an art shop. I had to print the image off the internet. It is believed to be the oldest known depiction of Jesus and his crucifixion....

The Pew Research Center recently found that 53 percent of Americans believe “people saying offensive things” is a major problem in our country. However, Pew also found that another 65 percent of Americans believe “people being too easily offended is a major problem.” That means a significant number of people think both statements are true;...

This week, Christianity Today published an article entitled “Barbie and Taylor Swift Are Bringing Us Together.” The author described how the epic trifecta of Barbie, Beyonce, and Taylor Swift have thematically marked the summer of 2023 as a “Tween Girl Summer.” They note it as a cultural moment in which women are allowed to have...

Over the past few days, many have been sharing their personal stories of time with Tim Keller. The photos are all over the internet: backstage together at events, behind-the-scenes conversations at conferences, personal stories of notes, and encouraging words. It’s partly a reminder that no matter how great a person’s public reputation, what we most...

As the world’s top diplomats, military strategists, and political leaders continue to construct a punitive global response to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the internet is offering another diplomatic possibility: charm Putin and just ask him to stop. The past week has sparked an online trend of young social media users posting on Russian profiles simply...

Okay, fine, I’m vaccinated. I’ll admit it. As a writer, there is always a temptation to open with caveats, to carefully identify your location on the contours of the controversy you are about to wade into. You’ve probably done the same in countless conversations. And let me remind you, it’s the holiday season, so there...

While we were preoccupied with petty disputes and celebrity headlines, Twitter threads and Facebook drama, we became naive. From C. S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters, we are reminded of how a world of comfort lulls us into a loss of moral clarity and how real danger calls us back to conviction and charcter. The world...

According to ancient historians, most of the Jewish families sitting on that Galilean hillside listening to Jesus teach would spend every day of their lives on the edge of hunger and starvation. Some days were better than others, but they never escaped hunger for long. By some estimations, as much as 85% of a Galilean’s...

The Sadducees brought Jesus the most complicated question they could craft against him and his talk of resurrection. They imagined a family of seven sons in which each died passing along their wife to the next brother. They asked Jesus, “In this coming resurrection, whose wife will she be?” Jesus’s answer was simple, “You are...