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4 weeks ago | 
christiancentury.org | Mac Loftin |Philip Jenkins |Rachel Mann |Claire Giangrave
For the second conclave in a row, the College of Cardinals shocked the watching world with its choice for the next pope. Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was a long-shot favorite, precisely because he was from the US—conventional wisdom being that a pope should not be drawn from a global superpower.
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Dec 15, 2024 | 
theimaginativeconservative.org | Philip Jenkins
Today, the degree of popular ignorance of World War II is astounding. Military buffs apart, younger Americans know nothing about the Battle of the Bulge, which claimed nineteen thousand American lives. World War II was our “Aeneid,” an epic struggle against authentic evil, which at once created the nation and framed its destiny. The World War II film Hacksaw Ridge is a fine, well-made film, and a rare attempt in mainstream cinema to portray the heroism of a faithful Christian believer.
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Sep 11, 2024 | 
christiancentury.org | Debie Thomas |Melissa Florer-Bixler |Philip Jenkins |Ron Adams
The defamation lawsuit brought against Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary by the school’s former president, Adam M. Greenway, has come to an abrupt conclusion—with Greenway receiving none of the compensation he sought. On September 9, seminary officials announced they had signed an agreement with Greenway, who has made repeated claims that his former employer defamed him and owes him millions of dollars.
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Sep 9, 2024 | 
christiancentury.org | Debie Thomas |Philip Jenkins |Jack Jenkins |Ron Adams
I am a manuscript preacher. I learned very early that if I speak extemporaneously about anything important, I’ll spend the next 72 hours trying to remember what I said. Sometimes with anxiety, convinced I said too much. Sometimes with frustration, convinced I left out something vital. But with my trusty manuscript, I can review and perseverate in peace. Because I know that, for better or worse, that’s exactly what I said. I used to wonder whether anyone heard me when I preached.
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Sep 6, 2024 | 
christiancentury.org | Philip Jenkins |Jack Jenkins
To receive these posts by email each Monday, sign up. For more commentary on this week's readings, see the Reflections on the Lectionary page. For full-text access to all articles, subscribe to the Century. As a parent, I’m fascinated by the arguments my children can come up with to justify breaking a rule or not finishing a chore. They will argue about the task’s importance, develop aches and pains, or rat out their sibling for an unrelated offense.
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Sep 6, 2024 | 
christiancentury.org | Philip Jenkins |Jack Jenkins |Adelle M. Banks
After an unusual election that gave voters the choice on the ballot of a name or a “no,” members of the National Baptist Convention, USA, lined up behind a new president, Boise Kimber, senior pastor of First Calvary Baptist Church in New Haven, Connecticut. Kimber, who ran unopposed but needed the approval of the historically Black denomination’s delegates, received 1,774 “yes” votes, or 69 percent of the votes cast, on Thursday, while 79 votes, or 31 percent, were cast as “no” votes.
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Sep 5, 2024 | 
christiancentury.org | Philip Jenkins |Jack Jenkins
The Century invites readers to submit first-person narratives (under 1,000 words) on the following topics:Source (Deadline: November 1, 2024)A selection of submissions will be published in the print or web magazine. Authors of the selected essays will receive $100 and a free one-year subscription to the magazine. Send essays to [email protected]. This series is supported by a grant from the Frederick Buechner Center, which celebrates the work of the essayist, novelist, and pastor.
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Sep 5, 2024 | 
christiancentury.org | Philip Jenkins |Jack Jenkins |Melodie Woerman
The Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice on September 7 will celebrate the grand opening of the space that will anchor the nonprofit’s programming—the restored 1898 house that belonged to Murray’s grandparents and where the civil rights leader and trailblazing Episcopal priest spent part of her childhood.
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Sep 4, 2024 | 
christiancentury.org | Rosalind S. Brown |Philip Jenkins |Jack Jenkins |Amy Frykholm
In a famous essay about retiring to his family’s estate in hopes of writing, Michel de Montaigne compares his mind to a runaway horse: “Determined to devote myself as far as I could to spending what little life I have left quietly and privately; it seemed to me then that the greatest favour I could do for my mind was to leave it in total idleness, caring for itself, concerned only with itself, calmly thinking of itself.” But instead of the calm that he sought, Montaigne found that his mind...
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Sep 3, 2024 | 
christiancentury.org | Jack Jenkins |Aleja Hertzler- McCain |Philip Jenkins |Paul Jeffrey
The Holy Land’s sacred sites overflow with tourists in normal times, but with an intractable war in Gaza and the looming threat of attacks by Hezbollah and Iran, airlines have canceled most flights into the region. Ancient churches normally filled with pilgrims are as empty as Jesus’ tomb. The streets of the old city of Jerusalem are deserted, merchant’s stalls shuttered. Larry Clark, a retired United Methodist pastor in Toledo, Ohio, decided it was the perfect time to visit the Holy Land.
