I have an easy New Year’s resolution for you, if you would like to support the future of evangelical (and, really, Christian) scholarship: read more women.
The Arena
A bit of luck for the New Year
Happy New Year–and may we remember the foodways that make it happy.
Ideas in progress: Eric Miller on Wendell Berry and localism
“I’m preoccupied with discovering ways to help us, in our communities, catch and maintain sight of wholeness, health, holiness—that whole constellation of ancient, utterly crucial words that describe what we’re made to be, what human flourishing looks like.”
Ideas in progress: Ivana Greco on American homemakers
In her book in progress, Ivana D. Greco shows how homemakers played a central role in the founding and shaping of America, and in holding both the country and our communities together.
Ideas in progress: Paul Putz on Christian Athletes
In this guest interview, a re-run from earlier in 2023, historian Paul Putz discusses his forthcoming book on Christianity and sports.
Maybe the Hallmark Channel is right
There is much glory in the small things, and there is abundant joy in the present. Do you see it?
2023: Most popular reads of the year at The Arena blog
In the spirit of end-of-year roundups, here are the most popular three posts of the year from each of the Arena’s regular contributors.
Grumpy Christmas
For many years I’ve entertained a fantasy of a world where the church one day decides to fast from all the effluvia associated with Christmas, scale it way back, and for a decade chooses to just have a low-key service dedicated to reflecting on God’s Incarnation as a human being.
Reads of the year for living in modernity
What is the place of human beings–and especially religiously-convicted human beings–in “modernity”? Here is my list of reads of the year to answer this question.
2023: The measure of a year
By creating personalized lists for measuring or summing up each waning year, we get to place our own stories—and those of our families—into history’s arc.
Going Infinite, part II. Caring is hard
The challenges of caring for and about others are not unique to socially awkward crypto-kings.
A library for joy, sorrow, and reflection: 2023 with Current book reviews
A summary of the year with Current book reviews. Find our top 23 reviews for ’23, and more.
The wretched scum and villainy of higher education
As I write, the pressing controversy in higher education is the uneasy status of three presidents of elite universities, Elizabeth Magill of Penn, Claudine Gay of Harvard, and Sally Kornbluth of MIT. They are in the hotseat due to the […]
The “After Virtue” university
The failure of university presidents to condemn antisemitism on their campuses is an example of the “After Virtue” university in action.
We’re HIPs, and we’re so much cooler than DINKs
Have the self-indulgent “DINK (Double Income No Kids)” videos going around lately convinced you that DINKs have got it made? Not so fast.
Taylor Swift and Kelce too
Americans dream of an alternative to Biden or Trump. Oprah Winfrey said no. “Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson said no. The Swift/Kelce era beckons.
Going Infinite, Part I. Infinity in a grain of sand or an absent expression
We all have places we want to go without knowing how to get there. We think it best if we can find someone to follow.
Final Blessing of Unicorns for 2023
Welcome to the final Blessing of Unicorns for 2023!
Reads of the year for the HIP (Harried Intellectual Parent): 2023
Here are my top reads of 2023, an eclectic, personal, and incomplete list that shows just how much I no longer care about people judging me for my wide-ranging tastes.
“The Most Wonderful Time of the Year”
It is time to settle once and for all the key debate: just how long should you leave your Christmas tree up?