From time to time I sing the praises of our Voices columnists. I say this as a reader, not just as an editor here: I am grateful for the wisdom and insights of this diverse group of 12 writers. And today I’m excited to share two new Voices essays with you. Rachel Mann reflects on the power of poetry, even (or perhaps especially) when it does nothing. Brian Bantum describes how cooking has changed his understanding of Jesus’ statement, “You are the salt of the earth.”
We have a truly epic video of the week for you. Last month we hosted a web event with experts Gary Dorrien, Obery Hendricks, and Grace Ji-Sun Kim, moderated by our editor/publisher Peter Marty. The topic of their discussion was Confronting White Christian Nationalism, and it did not disappoint. If you weren’t able to attend, as a member of our email list you are invited to view the recording on our YouTube channel. (If you know others who might like this conversation and who aren’t on our email list, please send them this link to sign up for the recording.)
“I wonder if Jesus is playing with the impossibility of salt losing its saltiness. You cannot not be salt. It is who you are. But you could forget who you are.”
“Is Nathan Hill making fun of the character Elizabeth, or of the reader, or both? Is the book’s satire so thorough as to undermine—or even to poke fun at—the empathy I felt for the characters?”
