It's a question my wife asked me when we were dating. It made me uncomfortable, to say the least.
The problem was that it was true. My wife was able to identify and articulate that I lived in an echo chamber, surrounded by White, middle-to-upper class, conservative evangelical, presumably straight people. This one small cluster of social locations and its version of evangelicalism were responsible for most of my formation.
As is the case for many people, it was moving toward relationship and solidarity with the Other that launched me on a journey of evolving faith. This week at the Century, we have articles exploring people, voices, and perspectives across the country and world. Below you'll find a tribute to LGBTQ pioneer John Boswell, a reflection from Isaac Villegas about the emotional power of communion, a reaction to Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation hearings, and beautiful essays from a wide array of our readers. Plus more!
Email me: whose voices and perspectives different from your own are currently enriching you?
“The God I learned about in church appeared to me to be a judgmental old man, but the God I learned about from my brother John was more in the model of Aslan the lion: fierce, but also unconditionally loving.”
“When a man leaves home, he leaves behind some scrap of his heart. Is it not so, Godric ? . . . It’s the same with a place a man is going to. Only then he sends a scrap of his heart ahead.” – Frederick Buechner, Godric
