Always learning

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 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. Then a book review from Valerie Weaver-Zercher introduced me to a pivotal figure in American religion whom I had never heard of! We even have a reflection from Sam Wells about his own learning process as he downsized his office.

All that, plus a new video! I chat with CC books editor Elizabeth Palmer 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]

Hostile architecture

“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.”

Walter Earl Fluker’s call to the Black church

“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.”

[Video] Elizabeth Palmer on Century book reviews

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.

In the Lectionary for July 16 (Ordinary 15A)

I haven’t always embraced the particularity of God.

The book editor who inadvertently helped empty America’s pews

“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

“Where are these former employees now, and do they look back on our disputes with sorrow, bitterness, or paradoxical gratitude?”

by Sam Wells