Finding wisdom in new and classic texts

Jon is in Denver, enjoying his first ever meeting of the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature, so I’m writing to point you to a few of my favorite articles from the November issue.

Our books editor, Elizabeth Palmer, does such a great job pairing reviewers with books—an editorial skill that is really its own artform-—but I was surprised (and then delighted!) that she’d asked Katherine Willis Pershey to review Charles Campbell’s The Scandal of the Gospel. Pershey admits in her review that she’s a “hard sell” for Campbell; she used to sign off emails with the Dostoevsky line “beauty will save the world.” Campbell’s book asks her to contemplate a grotesque savior, not a beautiful one, and in her own vivid style she writes of the wisdom she finds in “the word made grotesque.”

I am loving getting to know our new regular columnists and their distinctive voices. In the November issue I savored Alejandra Oliva’s masterfully woven essay on textile arts, Simone Weil, and her own work for immigration justice; it’s pure reading pleasure. And I find myself pausing frequently to reconsider questions Julian DeShazier, inspired by a short story by E.M. Forster, asks about social media: Does this need saying? Am I the best person to say it? Who do my opinions serve? I love the way both writers call our attention to the wisdom classic texts can offer our current moment.

Jon will be back with his questions next week! Until then, happy reading.

Jessica Mesman
Associate Editor

The crowded elevator of opinions

“From op-eds and talking heads to tweets and TikTok, the space of ideas about ideas about other ideas is as crowded as a pre-COVID elevator.”

Knitting with Simone Weil

“Simone Weil reminds me that the time and attention taken to getting it right—and to messing up along the way—are as worthwhile when making a sweater as when struggling for justice.”

Alejandra Oliva on attention, knitting, and Simone Weil

Alejandra Oliva, one of our Voices columnists, chats about the role that knitting—and Simone Veil’s ideas—play in her life and work.

In the Lectionary for November 27 (Advent 1A)

We can recognize ourselves in the messy people around Jesus.

by Martha Spong
 

The Word made grotesque

“Charles Campbell asks us to consider not a beautiful savior but a grotesque one. Despite my attachment to an aesthetically pleasing theological imagination, I find this slender volume compelling—and even convincing.”

review by Katherine Willis Pershey

The better part of faith

“Trust doesn’t assume life is about overcoming limitations. It’s about finding truth, beauty, and friendship in the midst of those limitations.”