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Great Books Need More Than Good Apologists
Even the ablest defenses of classical Christian education can lose sight of what gives it life.
The Man Who Taught Us Orphan Care
Charles Loring Brace revolutionized America’s understanding and treatment of poor children—and he did it all for Christ.
Nailing Down the Truth of Christ’s Crucifixion
Apologizing for what I got wrong reporting on an idiosyncratic view on how Jesus died.
The Limits of Open Letters
American evangelicals love big statements—but we must first do the slow work of institution building and local discipleship.
MLK’s Famous Letter Changed a DC Church
A newly discovered note from CT’s first editor, Carl Henry, shows how King’s Birmingham Jail missive shifted a white pastor’s view on integration.
Today in Christian History
May 19
May 19, 804: Alcuin of York, an English scholar who became an adviser to Charlemagne and the most prominent figure in the Carolingian Renaissance (the rebirth of classical learning under Charlemagne), dies. He also devised a handwriting system using both small and capital letters for easier reading.
May 19, 1805: Joshua V. Himes, best known for promoting William Miller's Second Advent movement, is born. Miller predicted the Second Coming between 1843 and 1844. When this did not happen, many followers deserted; others reorganized themselves as Seventh-Day Adventists (see issue 61: The End of the World).
The Man Who Taught Us Orphan Care
Charles Loring Brace revolutionized America’s understanding and treatment of poor children—and he did it all for Christ.
Nailing Down the Truth of Christ’s Crucifixion
Apologizing for what I got wrong reporting on an idiosyncratic view on how Jesus died.
The Limits of Open Letters
American evangelicals love big statements—but we must first do the slow work of institution building and local discipleship.
MLK’s Famous Letter Changed a DC Church
A newly discovered note from CT’s first editor, Carl Henry, shows how King’s Birmingham Jail missive shifted a white pastor’s view on integration.
PEOPLE IN CHRISTIAN HISTORY
Dorothy Sayers
Mystery writer and apologist
Augustine of Hippo
Architect of the Middle Ages
C.S. Lewis
Scholar, author, and apologist
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
German theologian and resister
Athanasius
Five-time exile for fighting “orthodoxy”
Harriet Tubman
The “Moses” of Her People
Catherine Booth
Compelling preacher and co-founder of the Salvation Army
William Wilberforce
Antislavery politician
John Knox
Presbyterian with a sword
Dwight L. Moody
Revivalist with a common touch
Billy Graham
Evangelist to millions
Thomas à Kempis
Author of the most popular devotional classic
Perpetua
High society believer
Justin Martyr
Defender of the “true philosophy”
John of the Cross
Spanish mystic of the soul’s dark night
Teresa of Avila
Carmelite mystic and feisty administrator
Oswald Chambers
Preacher who gave his utmost
Joan of Arc
The courageous and controversial teenager who saved her country
Søren Kierkegaard
Christian existentialist
Was Jesus Crucified with Nails?
Why one evangelical Bible scholar thinks the answer might be no.
The Dean of American Church Historians
Memories and reflections on Martin E. Marty, a scholar of remarkable influence, kindness, and wit, from a friend and colleague of 50 years.
The Broken Promise of ‘40 Acres and a Mule’
In dealing with its Black citizens, America has acted not with the faithfulness of God but with the deceit of Laban.
The Truth of a Love Supreme
Our politics are bitter and retributive. In the Christians of the Civil Rights Movement, we have a model of a better way.
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Martin Luther
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Robin Hood, Luigi Mangione, and Jesus
The alleged assassin has been widely compared to the outlaw hero. There are similarities—but real differences between this ethic and Christ’s.
Southern Border Gothic
ICE agents arrested a Honduran man at his church in Georgia. As Augustine chronicled after the sack of Rome, even the Visigoths never stooped to that.
The Unrecognized Great Awakening
Americans talk about Civil Rights as a political movement. But as MLK well knew, it was more than that. It was a revival.
My Friend, Bill Pannell
A reflection on the trailblazing Black theologian and his influence on American evangelicalism.
The Evangelicalism of Jimmy Carter
The former president, who turns 100 on Tuesday, was elected while serving as a Southern Baptist deacon. But he was never fully welcomed by white evangelicals as one of our own.
A Subtler Political Idolatry
We don’t always like our presidents. But we’re apt to exalt the presidency.
There’s Always Been ‘Extra Stuff’ in the Bible
New Testament scholar Garrick V. Allen explains the long history of paratext.
Our Perennial Political Temptation
Reckoning with a half-century of American evangelicals’ pursuit of a “seat at the table.”
A Short History of Parental Rights
Christians in America enjoy the right and duty to educate our children as conscience dictates, thanks to a balanced legal tradition.
He Told Richard Nixon to Confess
Most ministers were silent about Watergate. Why was one evangelical pastor different?
Presidential Debates Can’t Help Us Face the Future
Character matters more than talking points in choosing a leader. And it’s hard to know what questions to ask about it.
Three Evangelical ‘Founding Fathers’ and Their Complicated Relationships to Slavery
A new book steers between full condemnation and “men of their time” dodges.