I’m always excited when someone writes their first Century article. It’s good for our magazine to expand its tapestry of voices, perspectives, and experiences. This was true a few months ago when Javier Viera, president of Garrett Seminary, reflected on this year’s historic UMC General Conference. And I’m excited to introduce his second piece for us (not a sophomore slump) about Kamala Harris’s interfaith identity/family—and how that might be an asset in both an election and an administration.
We have other new content from some Century regulars. Voices columnist Julian DeShazier considers how our algorithm-like lives work against opportunities for randomness and spontaneity. CC news editor Dawn Araujo-Hawkins reports on a small but growing movement of Christians who believe fervently that Torah observance is for everyone.
“I hope Kamala Harris will publicly embrace the multiple religious traditions present in her own family because the spiritual humility produced by interreligious engagement is a stark antidote to Christian nationalism’s fundamental arrogance.”
“Hebrew Roots might sound a lot like Messianic Judaism, but they are actually two distinct groups within a larger Torah movement. One major point of division is the role of the rabbinic law.”
“Plain science, she says, only I hear plane
science as in vortex, wing span, and Newton’s many laws;
spacecrafts and the moon (surely there’s a moon in her future). ...”
