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Don't Mess with My Genre
A fan of comic books wants to clean house.
By Edirin Ibru
posted 06/11/07

The Multinational Pastime
B&C's annual baseball review and preview.
By Michael R. Stevens
posted 03/26/07

Packer Stomp
Beeson Divinity School hosts a tribute to J. I. Packer.
By John Wilson
posted 10/02/06

Letter to a Tenured Professor
Andy Crouch writes back to Edward O. Wilson.
By Andy Crouch
posted 9/25/06

Truth, Justice, and…
Some critics of Superman Returns are more blinkered than Lex Luthor.
By Jeremy Lott
posted 7/10/06

The Not-So-Evil Empire
A report on The Historical Society's conference earlier this month.
By John Wilson
posted 6/12/06

Very Important Fiction
The Gospel according to The New York Times Book Review.
By John Wilson
posted 5/22/06

Words Made Flesh
Calvin College's 06 Festival of Faith & Writing.
By John Wilson
posted 4/24/06

The Mystery of the Numbers
B&C's annual baseball preview, 06 edition.
By Michael R. Stevens
posted 3/20/06

Divine Comedy at the Cineplex
We all love movies that make us laugh, even in the worst of times—and from Annie Hall to Blazing Saddles to The Big Lebowski, there's good theology behind that.
By Craig Detweiler
posted 2/27/06

Coming to a Bookstore Near You
Marsden and Hart, Noll and Stout, and more.
By John Wilson
posted 1/9/06

Ring Out the Old Year
Some highly subjective awards for 2005.
By John Wilson
posted 1/3/06

The Top Ten Books of 2005
A charming bedside miscellany, a new novel by P. D. James, and much more.
By John Wilson
posted 12/19/05

How to Survive a Bookalanche
Some more keepers from 2005.
By John Wilson
posted 12/12/05

'Tis the Season for Books …
… and lists of books.
By John Wilson
posted 12/05/05

Taizé in the Fall
A parable of community.
By Otto Selles
posted 11/28/05

"Have Mercy on Me, O God"
A report from AAR/SBL.
By John Wilson
posted 11/21/05

Can't We Just Have a Good Argument?
Lessons in "respectful conversation."
By John Wilson
originally posted 10/31/05

"Taken Up in Glory"
The Ascension has been forgotten in many Protestant churches, jettisoning an essential part of the Christian story.
By John Wilson
originally posted 5/21/01

Divine Comedies
A report on Baylor's Art & Soul conference, version 2005.
By John Wilson
posted 04/11/2005

Looking for Yogi
The 2005 Spring Training preview.
By Michael R. Stevens
posted 02/28/2005

Booking Ahead
The conclusion of our seasonal roundup—and, at last, truly, this time we mean it, The Worst Book of the Year.
By John Wilson
posted 01/17/2005

From the Big Bang to My Office
More books to note from 2004.
By John Wilson
posted 01/10/2005

The Top Ten Books of 2004
And a warning about the risks of reading.
By John Wilson
posted 12/28/2004

Can We Talk?
A project sponsored by Gordon College's Center for Christian Studies offers models for constructive engagement across lines of division.
By John Wilson
posted 12/20/2004

Communicating Communication
A roundup from the National Communication Association's annual convention.
By Nathan Bierma
posted 11/29/2004

Autumn Books
Some that stand out in this season's plenty.
posted 11/15/2004

The Prayers of a Self-Governing People
A psalm for election day.
By Lucas E. Morel
posted 11/01/2004

In Memoriam: Jacques Derrida (1930-2004)
Remembering a philosopher who never forgot about death.
by James K.A. Smith
posted 10/18/2004

After Worldview?
A lively conference offers a state-of-the-art assessment of the concept of "worldview," with both advocates and dissenters represented.
by John Wilson
posted 09/27/2004

The Poet Who Remembered
Poland (mostly) honors Czeslaw Milosz upon his death.
by Agnieszka Tennant
posted 09/07/2004

Book 'Em!
The concluding installment of our three-part midyear book roundup.
by John Wilson
posted 08/23/2004

(Not Just) Summer Reading
Part 2 of our midyear report on outstanding books.
by John Wilson
posted 08/16/2004

We've Got Books
The first installment of our new midyear book report.
by John Wilson
posted 08/09/2004

Tending the Garden
Evangelicals and the environment.
by John Wilson
posted 07/09/2004

Wasn't That a Mighty Fall
Martha Stewart, VeggieTales, and Narnia revisted.
by Otto Selles
posted 06/28/2004

Celebrating Faith in Writing
A dispatch from Calvin College's biennial event.
by John Wilson
posted 04/26/2004

A Curious Contingency
Confessions of a wordsmith.
by T. M. Moore
posted 04/05/2004

Baseball Preview 2004
Plus a look back with some Negro League veterans.
By Michael R. Stevens
posted 03/29/2004

Wholly, Wholly, Wholly
Calvinists and conga drums in Grand Rapids: a report from the seventeenth annual Calvin Symposium on Worship and the Arts.
By Nathan Bierma
posted 02/02/2004

A Few Coming Attractions from 2004
Plus: What to buy with those gift cards, and some of the books in my to-read stacks.
By John Wilson
posted 12/29/2003

The Top Ten Books of 2003
Plus: The Worst Book of the Year, more good reading, digital books, and a little Christmas music.
By John Wilson
posted 12/22/2003

Books at Warp Speed
We continue our annual roundup of noteworthy books.
By John Wilson
posted 12/15/2003

Books, Books, Books!
We begin our annual roundup.
By John Wilson
posted 12/08/2003

Dr. Z
PBS creates a Doctor Zhivago for our time—and entirely omits the (unorthodox) Christianity that informs the novel from start to finish.
By John Wilson
posted 11/03/2003

The Year of the Fish
The 2003 baseball season concludes with a bang—and 2004 is just around the corner.
By John Wilson
posted 10/27/2003

I Shop, Therefore I Am
Critics of "consumer culture" are all wet, Virginia Postrel says. The riot of choices available to us resonates with our deepest aesthetic instincts.
Reviewed by Jeremy Lott
posted 10/20/2003

The Contemplative Christian
Eugene Peterson calls believers to a life lived with "wholeness, honesty, without contrivance"—against the grain of much that's currently driving the church in America.
By Nathan Bierma
posted 09/29/2003

The Ph.D. Octopus, 100 Years On
How Christians can make a difference in the upside-down world of graduate school.
By Wilfred M. McClay
posted 09/15/2003

True Believers
Incoming! The McSweeney's crowd launches a new monthly.
posted 06/02/2003

Are Movies Fundamentally Inferior to Books?
Two responses to Ralph Wood's claim that "biblical tradition elevates word over picture."
posted 05/12/2003

Why There Are Seven Chronicles of Narnia
British scholar discovers hidden design of C.S. Lewis' perennially popular series.
By John Wilson
posted 04/25/2003

Bird Watching with Anne Lamott
A PBS documentary enters the unruly, grace-filled world of the author of Traveling Mercies.
By Agnieszka Tennant
posted 04/21/2003

Whose Reality TV?
Tune in this week to Frederick Wiseman's PBS documentary, Domestic Violence, to see some real survivors.
by Nathan Bierma
posted 3/17/2003

A Weapon of Mass Destruction
The A-bomb in action, on view at an exhibition in New York.
by David Noll
posted 2/10/2003

Books Present, Books Past, and Books to Come
Plus: A new format for this column.
by John Wilson
posted 1/13/2003

Double Indemnity Meets Dead Souls
A conversation with novelist Richard Dooling.
by Jeremy Lott
posted 1/6/2003

Books of the Year
The top ten. (OK—make that twelve.)
by John Wilson
posted 12/30/2002

Entertain Us
Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and the rapture of distress.
by David Dark
posted 12/16/2002

Boys Will Be Boys
A new book by a leading Christian feminist scholar inadvertently reveals the flawed assumptions underlying much talk about "flexibility" in gender roles.
by John W. Miller
posted 12/09/2002

Street Cred
Dave Eggers: The portrait of an artist as a … what?
by Jeremy Lott
posted 12/02/2002

Subversive Literature
A report from Toronto, where scholars of religion are holding their annual meeting.
by John Wilson
posted 11/25/2002

Epicurus'—and Darwin's—Dangerous Idea
How we became hedonists.
by Richard Weikart
posted 11/18/2002

Weird Science?
A Darwinian debate continues.
by Jonathan Wells
posted 11/11/2002

Of Moths and Men Revisited
A Darwinian debate.
by Kevin Padian and Alan Gishlick
posted 11/04/2002

Angels in Heaven
A game that's more than a game.
by John Wilson
posted 10/28/2002

Number One with a Bullet
America's foist family as a tool for evangelism.
by Jeremy Lott
posted 10/21/2002

Train Up a Child
Helping children to become intimately familiar with Scripture.
by Susan R. Garrett
posted 010/14/2002

Acting Like Those "Evangelicals"
Guilty as charged?
by John Wilson
posted 09/30/2002

Ugly Evangelicals
Is This Us?
posted 09/23/2002

Herbie Goes Bananas
The rise and fall and rise and fall and rise of the VW Beetle.
by Jeremy Lott
posted 09/16/2002

So Far, So Near
A graduate of Murree Christian School in Pakistan, the site of a deadly assault by Islamic terrorists in August, reflects on his growing-up years, on what has changed in the interim, and on the beleaguered Christian community in Pakistan.
Interview by Todd Hertz
posted 09/09/2002

The New York Times Discovers Religion (Again)
Shouldn't the paper of record be able to move beyond Square One?
by John Wilson
posted 08/26/2002

After the Quake
Bedside reading for the anniversary of 9/11.
by John Wilson
posted 08/19/2002

How to Avoid the Coming Disaster
"Imitate Japan." "No, don't imitate Japan." Time out
by John Wilson
posted 08/12/2002

"Mind Control" and the Christian Citizen
Historian Sean Wilentz's misguided attack on Justice Antonin Scalia.
by Caleb Stegall
posted 08/05/2002

Speak What We Feel
Frederick Buechner's latest book is one of his best.
by David Stewart
posted 07/29/2002

The Great Inflatable Shark Hunt
A report from the Christian Booksellers Association convention in Anaheim.
by Jeremy Lott
posted 07/22/2002

Why Evangelicals Can't Opt Out of Political Engagement
Remembering Jeremiah Evarts and Samuel Worcester.
by John Wilson
posted 07/15/2002

The Pledge Controversy
Asking the wrong questions?
by John Perry
posted 07/08/2002

Reading Danny Pearl
How would the murdered journalist want to be remembered?
by Jeremy Lott
posted 07/01/2002

A Cry for Help
Sudanese Christians gather in Houston and ask for U.S. support.
by David C. Owens
posted 06/17/2002

Stop, Drop, and Cover …
Then hack your lungs out and die.
by Jeremy Lott
posted 06/03/2002

Death of an Evolutionist
RIP Stephen Jay Gould.
by John Wilson
posted 05/28/2002

Closing The X-Files …
… with the sign of the Cross.
by John Wilson
posted 05/20/2002

And the Next Thing Is …
Marxism (or not).
by Jeremy Lott
posted 05/13/2002

God Bless the Eliminator
Mother Jones magazine makes known a shocking discovery: evangelicals are sending missionaries to Muslim countries!
by Michael G. Maudlin
posted 05/06/2002

"A Peculiar People"
The uniqueness of the Jews.
by John Wilson
posted 04/29/2002

A Grave in the Air, a Soul Dancing
Two remarkable collections of Holocaust testimony.
by John Wilson
posted 04/22/2002

'Nebuchadnezzar My Slave'
Was the Holocaust God's will?
by John Wilson
posted 04/15/2002

"In the Beginning Was the Holocaust"?
Blasphemy, rage, memory, and meaning of the Shoah.
by John Wilson
posted 04/08/2002

The Gospel According to Biff
A conversation with novelist Christopher Moore.
by Jeremy Lott
posted 04/01/2002

Baseball 2002 Preview
Part 2: Saving the game?
by Michael R. Stevens
posted 03/25/2002

The State of the Game
After one of the best World Series ever, baseball faces a crisis.
by Michael R. Stevens
posted 03/18/2002

America's Homegrown Islam—and Its Prophet
The strange story of Elijah Muhammad, leader of the Nation of Islam and onetime mentor of Malcolm X.
by Preston Jones
posted 03/11/2002

'Must Be Superstition'
Rediscovering spiritual reality.
by John Wilson
posted 03/04/2002

Science Holds a Meeting
A report from the annual convention of the AAAS.
by John Wilson
posted 02/25/02

Saint Frodo and the Potter Demon
The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter series spring from the same source.
by Michael G. Maudlin
posted 02/18/02

Dictionary of the Future
Trendspotter Faith Popcorn on the words that will define our tomorrow.
by John Wilson
posted 02/11/02

Does Creationism Equal Holocaust Denial?
Yes, says Michael Shermer in Scientific American.
by John Wilson
posted 02/04/02

Theodore Rex
Is "popular history" getting a bad rap?.
by Preston Jones
posted 01/28/02

Letter to Martin Luther King, Jr.
A progress report.
by John Wilson
posted 01/21/02

Keeping the Dust on Your Boots
Remembering the Afghan refugees—and the church in Iran.
by John Wilson
posted 01/14/02

Coming Attractions
Books to watch for this year.
by John Wilson
posted 01/07/02

Books of the Year, Part 2
After the top ten, here's the best of the rest.
by John Wilson
posted 01/04/02

Books of the Year
Part 1: The Top Ten.
by John Wilson
posted 12/17/01

"Daddy, What Is the Soul?"
Does the church have an answer?
by John Wilson
posted 12/10/01

'We Now Know'
The boast of imperial science.
by John Wilson
posted 12/03/01

"24 Cow Clones, All Normal" …
Oh yes, and a few cloned human embryos that died.
John Wilson
posted 11/26/2001

"Discovering" Islam: The Intellectual Challenge.
There's good reason to believe that there will be staying power to the West's belated "discovery" of Islam.
John Wilson
posted 11/19/2001

Disturbing the Peace
Is art always subversive when it's doing its job?
John Wilson
posted 11/12/2001

Play Ball
Baseball, leisure, and worship.
John Wilson
posted 11/02/2001

Is God a Body-Snatcher?
The restless intelligence of philosopher Peter van Inwagen.
John Wilson
posted 10/30/2001

"Science and the Spiritual Quest"
A place at the table for Christians, but at a price.
John Wilson
posted 10/22/2001

Beyond Belief?
Nobel Prize-winner V.S. Naipaul's accounts of Islam presuppose the superiority of modern skepticism.
John Wilson
posted 10/15/2001

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