Watching the “alien” character in Star Trek series often helps viewers connect with the greater principles that the episode writers and series creators aspire to impart. Spock, Saru, and other “aliens” show us that the stranger or outsider in our midst is usually the one who helps us understand how to be better humans along the way.
Inspired by the late poet Mary Oliver’s question “What is it you plan to do with your wild and precious life?” Dr. Mike Graves observes that we frequently focus on the birth, death, and Resurrection of Jesus, while ignoring or downplaying the fullness of the lived life of Jesus.
Historian Gary Dorrien’s work is equally astonishing in scope and dedication as he works to bring theological voices and movements to fuller appreciation for their contributions to what he terms the overall “Black social gospel.”
Like its biblical inspiration, Next of Kin features strong female protagonists, breaking past obstacles of economic ruin and great hardship to find a way forward. The novel is its own story, not meant to present a story simply parroting the narrative beats of the Book of Ruth. Yet in its new setting, the story that the Book of Ruth tells gets a refreshed lease on life.
In his new book “Jesus the Refugee: Ancient Injustice and Modern Solidarity,” D. Glenn Butner Jr. appeals to Christians to see the ignoble reality of the Holy Family’s flight to Egypt as a story that keeps repeating in human history and in this morning’s news headlines.