One is silver and the other gold

I like thinking of nerdy ways that my life parallels what’s happening here at the magazine. If you haven’t heard, we recently transitioned to monthly issues that feature twice as much content per issue. The change also included a complete redesign of the magazine layout and a brand new Voices section with 12 columnists! Some of these columnists are familiar, beloved Century writers, while others bring fresh new perspectives to our pages.

My life, too (and probably yours), is filled with both new and old voices. This week, for instance, my wife and I are hosting my sister for a visit. Hers is the longest-running friendship in my life. Also this week, I’ll be getting lunch with “T,” a friend I made on Twitter. He is a young Black queer man who describes himself as both a socialist and an Anglophile.

This week at the Century, we have pieces from both familiar and new columnists. Two of our cherished writers, Samuel Wells and Debie Thomas, have new articles. Sam’s is advice for married couples and Debie’s a reflection on our theology of heaven—which I chat about with her in our video of the week! New columnist Julian DeShazier, a pastor who also performs hip-hop as the artist J. Kwest, offers insight about anti-violence work in Chicago.

Plus more articles, voices, and perspectives below!
 

Email me: What is a long-running friendship that you treasure?
                  *or*
                  Which brand new friendship are you excited about? 

Three words that can unravel a marriage

“I’m not one for mottos like ‘Never go to bed angry,’ but I do think there are three simple words a couple may continue to ponder year after year. Each requires the unlearning of another word.”

A theology of heaven for our time

“I no longer worry that a robust belief in heaven will lead to a lazy escapism. I worry about the opposite: that if the church loses its belief in the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come, we will also lose the ferocity of our hope.”

Debie Thomas shares more on heaven

Jon chats with Debie Thomas about pie-in-the-sky theology and how a more robust theology of heaven might energize us to usher in God’s peace here and now.

Living by the Word for August 21 (Ordinary 21C)

If Jeremiah sounds a bit paranoid, it is because everybody really is against him.

by Craig S. Keener
 

Who we can hear

Local leaders sometimes convene to try to stop the violence in Chicago. But whose voices are at the table?

Who is the mother of Israel?

“In the Hebrew Bible, female experiences are often the primary lens through which God, nationhood, and teaching all are understood.”