Interview

Bob Ekblad: grace and the redeeming power of mutuality

Bob and Gracie Ekblad are the founders and co-directors of Tierra Nueva (New Earth) in Burlington, Washington. Together, they lead a vibrant ministry that serves marginalized communities, including immigrants, inmates, and those struggling with addiction, through their home-based retreat center, New Earth Refuge, nestled in the Skagit Valley. Bob, ordained in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), holds a ThD in Old Testament and is known for his engaging courses on biblical interpretation. He also serves as the director of The People’s Seminary and is a part-time chaplain at Skagit County Jail. Some of his better-known books – and we highly recommend them – include Reading the Bible with the Damned, Guerilla Gospel, and The Beautiful Gate.…

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Features

Advent: From the Outside

by Corey Parish
In late November of 1943, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote a letter from his cell in Tegel Prison…

Exhale

by Lisa Nikkel
If you ever want to experience the weight of God, I recommend getting a chronic illness.…

Review

Media

The Rings of Power Review

with Laura Van Dyke
As many Lord of the Rings nerds already know, Season 2 of The Rings of Power has recently concluded. With its over 1-billion-dollar price tag – and the inclusion of Tom Bombadil, even! – one would expect a lot of hubbub. And there is! It spans everything from intense annoyance to absolute adoration.

We wanted the opinion of a Tolkien scholar and nerd, which we are delighted to share.…

Fiction

Visually Sacred

Peter Casarella: Cultural Symbols in Religion

Peter has been a Professor at Duke Divinity School since 2020. Before Duke, he taught at Notre Dame and was the founding director of DePaul’s Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology. He has published a monograph, Word as Bread: Language and Theology in Nicholas of Cusa. On November 15, 2024, his edited volume of the…

Rina Arya: Abjection and Aesthetics

Rina Arya is a Professor of Critical and Cultural Theory at the University of Hull, UK. She started her academic career working on the role of the sacred in death of God culture, especially in the paintings of Francis Bacon and writings of Georges Bataille, resulting in her acclaimed book Francis Bacon: Painting in a Godless World…

Jennifer Awes Freeman: Evolving Religious Imagery

Jennifer is the Associate Professor and Program Director of Theology and the Arts at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. Her recent publications include The Good Shepherd: Image, Meaning, and Power and The Ashburnham Pentateuch and its Contexts. Jennifer earned her PhD in…

Mark McInroy: Theological Aesthetics Explored

Mark is Professor of Theology and Founding Co-Director of the Claritas Initiative on Beauty, Goodness, and Truth at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is a constructive and historical theologian with interests in theological aesthetics, theology and the arts, mystical theology, and theories of perception,…

David William Brown: Architecture, Worship, and Imagination

David taught for fourteen years at Oxford and for seventeen at Durham before becoming Professor of Theology, Aesthetics & Culture at the University of St. Andrews in 2007. In recent years he has focused on interactions between theology and the arts and indeed culture more generally. This resulted in…

Christina Maranci: Armenian Religious Architecture

Christina is the author of four books and over 100 articles and essays on medieval Armenian art and architecture, including most recently, "The Art of Armenia." Her 2015 monograph, "Vigilant Powers: Three Churches of Early Medieval Armenia" won the Karen Gould Prize for Art History from the Medieval Academy…