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Hermit Crabs, Caligula’s Horse, and Six Other Images of Religious Power

June 5, 2023
All of earth’s empires crumble. Caligula’s did. I pray not, but possibly, someday, even the United States will crumble. The Apostle Paul taught that any religious system which humans have constructed with merely physical elements will disintegrate. Jesus told us that any religious power which has attached itself to the building blocks of an earthly nation will be left with not one stone standing an another.
Featured Articles
Featured

F*ck Cancer

If Starbuck is right in his argument that a.) any unwilled natural violence is simply a part of God’s beautiful and violent creation and b.) the malicious destruction of God’s creation affronts not only the creation but also God himself, then when my mom says “f*ck cancer,” Starbuck would conclude that at least part of her hostility is directed at the God that both of us revere.
Featured
May 22, 2023

The Longing for Home

As I continue to search for home, continue to long to find home—in all its dimensions—in more profound and endur­ing ways, I am keenly aware God has met me along the way. Those longings for home, some would say, foreshadow a desire for heaven—the heart’s true home.
Featured
May 15, 2023

The Witness of Taizé

The ninety-year life of Roger Schutz ended this past August in a cruel act of violence that violated the entire spirit in which that life had been lived. Even so, as we look back at this remarkable life–a treasure that the Reformed family of churches gave to world Christianity
Featured
May 8, 2023

Where the Air Is Clear

Remembering can be a solo thing. We can stroll down memory lane on our own, but when I sit down for coffee with a lifelong friend, and my story-remembering meets her story-remembering, we aren’t just sharing our shared history, we are forging a deeper bond of friendship.
Featured
May 1, 2023

How the Church Growth Movement has De-Churched Christians

The church growth movement has led to weaker community, weaker theological acuity, weaker biblical knowledge, and little understanding or appreciation of the historic liturgies of the church. With so many fewer connections between the church and its members, it should be no wonder that many are fading away from the church altogether.
Featured
April 24, 2023

Earth Day and the Communion of the Saints

Gratitude to God has always moved the saints to communion in acts of love for neighbor. She’d learned that in catechism, and thought Harold heard this too along the way, maybe even on her living room carpet in his younger years. “Don’t forget Harold, this is our Father's world. Even when the world and all that’s wrong with it seems strong, he’s still the ruler, right? Don’t let your heart sink. He reigns. Let the heavens ring and all earth…
Featured
April 17, 2023

Do You Desire a New Church? Reflections After Visiting the Southern US Border

I wondered what it does to a kid growing up with a horizon of wall, day after day. I wondered which country the massive white message in bold white letters embedded on the mountainside beyond Juarez was for: "la Biblia es la verdad, leela.” “The Bible is the truth. Read it.”

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Daily blog by our regular bloggers & guest contributors.

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Poetry

Poetry
June 6, 2023

True Believer

I realized in a whisper that I was north of God by a question of leagues ...
Poetry
May 30, 2023

Beginning

I thought I knew something of water: its properties, the way it travels down mounatins ...
Poetry
May 23, 2023

Sidewalk Cracks (Metaphysicals V)

I am a little world made cunningly whose every element spirals down mirroring the world outside ...
Poetry
May 9, 2023

There is a Door

There is a road that goes out at night into the dark inside us all.
Poetry
May 2, 2023

Jobless Too Long: Variations on a Theme by Milton

But here I sit, half blind, life two-thirds gone, musing and sipping coffee on the deck of Latte Balcony ...
Poetry
May 2, 2023

The Deed, the Word

The week you died, the Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine through gauzy snow like this. Your brothers joked that Putin waited to invade till you were gone.

Latest Podcasts

Podcast
June 6, 2023

“True Believer” by Kevin LaTorre

In this episode of the Poetry Edition, Rose Postma interviews Kevin LaTorre about his poem “True Believer.” Kevin is a poet and writer living with his family in North Carolina. His work has appeared in The Blotter, Echo Literary Magazine, Walter Magazine, Ad Fontes, and the Front Porch Republic. He writes about poetry, Christianity, and literature at kevinlatorre.substack.com.
Podcast
May 30, 2023

“Beginning” by Mark Bennion

In this episode of the poetry edition, Rose Postma interviews Mark Bennion about his poem “Beginning.” Mark teaches writing and literature at Brigham Young University Idaho. His latest book of poetry “Beneath the Falls” was released by Resource Publications in 2020.
Podcast
May 23, 2023

“Sidewalk Cracks (Metaphysicals V)” by D.S. Martin

In this episode of the Poetry Edition, Rose Postma interviews D.S. Martin about his poem "Sidewalk Cracks (Metaphysicals V)" inspired by John Donne's 19 Holy Sonnets. Don is a widely published poet and the Poet-in-Residence at McMaster Divinity College. He's also a series editor for the Poiema Poetry Series. You can listen to “Garden,” the first poem in this series in The Reformed Journal Podcast. You can also read the other poems in this series on our website.
Podcast
May 9, 2023

“There is a Door” by Kimberly Phinney

In this episode of the poetry edition, Rose Postma interviews Kimberly Phinney about her poem “There is a Door.” Kimberly is a national award-winning educator, English professor, and professional photographer. She studied at Goddard’s MFA program in Creative Writing. After surviving severe illness in 2021, she’s earning her doctorate in counseling to help the marginalized and suffering. She was recently featured on ABC’s Good Morning America for her national teaching award and health story. Her literary community is at www.thewayback2ourselves.com.
Podcast
May 2, 2023

“Jobless Too Long: Variations on a Theme by Milton” by Richard St. John

In this episode of the Poetry Edition, Rose Postma interviews Richard St. John about his poem "Jobless Too Long: Variations on a Theme by Milton." Richard is a nationally-published poet whose newest collection of poetry, Book of Entangled Souls, was published in June 2022. He received degrees in English from Princeton University and the University of Virginia. He lives in Pittsburgh with his wife.
Podcast
April 25, 2023

“Into the Water” by Dave Warners

In this episode of the poetry edition, Rose Postma interviews Dave Warners about his poem “Into the Water.” Dave is a biology faculty member at Calvin University and director of Plaster Creek Stewards. He also teaches a summer course at Au Sable Institute. He and his wife Teri have three children who are involved in a variety of musical, artistic and athletic activities.
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