From The Christian Century <[email protected]>
Subject What are we learning?
Date July 11, 2023 3:00 PM
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CC articles about American religion, city planning, the Black social gospel, and more.

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** Always learning
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The folks in the Christian tradition I used to practice were very fond of asking, “What have you been learning lately?” I came to loathe this question, not because of its text but its subtext: What have you been learning lately in your Bible reading? You’ve been reading the Bible regularly, haven’t you?? But now, with quite a bit of distance between me and that tradition, I really appreciate this question outside a context of manipulation and guilt-mongering. Learning is so important, and it is lovely to hear about what people are learning—yes, from the Bible, but also from other readings, conversations, art, intuition, meditation, prayer, and all the other ways we gain insight.

So much of the content in the Century helps me learn. Peter Marty’s recent piece about hostile architecture ([link removed]) caused me to consider city planning in ways I have never done before. Gary Dorrien taught me about the important contributions of Black theologian Walter Earl Fluker ([link removed]) . Then a book review from Valerie Weaver-Zercher introduced me to a pivotal figure in American religion ([link removed]) whom I had never heard of! We even have a reflection from Sam Wells about his own learning process ([link removed]) as he downsized his office.

All that, plus a new video! I chat with CC books editor Elizabeth Palmer ([link removed]) about the book reviews that appear in the Century... and some that don’t!

Email me: What have you been learning lately? From what or whom have you learned it?

Jon Mathieu
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected]?subject=Re%3A%20Editors%E2%80%99%20Picks)
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** Hostile architecture ([link removed])
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“Hostile architecture is the name urban engineers give to public space designs that discourage people from settling in. Examples include sloped window sills, retaining walls with spikes, skateboard-inhibiting metal slugs, and benches with multiple armrests to deter those looking for a bed.”
by Peter W. Marty
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** Walter Earl Fluker’s call to the Black church ([link removed])
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“Into this complex territory—between the defiant Blackness of BLM, the post-Blackness desires of Obama, and the anti-racism work of the Black church—stepped Black theologian Walter Earl Fluker.”
by Gary Dorrien
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** [Video] Elizabeth Palmer on Century book reviews ([link removed])
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Jon chats with books editor Elizabeth Palmer about some of her favorite reviews in the Century—and some books that we weren’t able to review for the magazine.
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** In the Lectionary for July 16 (Ordinary 15A) ([link removed])
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I haven’t always embraced the particularity of God.
by Libby Howe

Ordinary 15A archives ([link removed])
Get even more lectionary resources with Sunday’s Coming Premium, an email newsletter from the editors of the Christian Century. Learn more ([link removed]) .


** The book editor who inadvertently helped empty America’s pews ([link removed])
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“Claiming that any one person transformed American religion skates close to hyperbole, but Stephen Prothero builds a convincing case that Eugene Exman discerned the winds and directed them.”

Valerie Weaver-Zercher reviews God the Bestseller


** Lessons from downsizing my office ([link removed])
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“Where are these former employees now, and do they look back on our disputes with sorrow, bitterness, or paradoxical gratitude?”

by Sam Wells

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