Editor’s Note from August 18, 2016

Issue 55: Seeking silences, Yellowstone’s extreme life, and the ironies of wildfire.

In our previous issue, we traveled to Antarctica and Alaska. Freshly cooled off, now we’re taking you into the hot springs and wildfires. Summers always tend to end with a heat wave, don’t they?

Another theme in this issue: The US National Park Service, which turns 100 one week from today (August 25). Both Kyle Rohane’s examination of thermophiles and Dorothy Boorse’s meditation on wildfire center on events at Yellowstone, America’s first national park. And Rebecca Randall heads to Washington’s Olympic National Park in search of the country’s quietest spot.

But there’s another theme, too: finding life. Spiritual speech in places famous for silence. Creatures thriving in boiling water. Beauty from ashes.

An announcement

It’s that “beauty from ashes” theme that has especially resonated as we’ve celebrated our second anniversary as a magazine and looked to the future. After a lot of discussion, we’ve decided that the September 1 issue of The Behemoth, our next issue, will be its last.

I have loved working on this magazine and I’ve loved hearing from you readers. The Behemoth has received a ridiculously large number of “fan” letters for such a small circulation, and we’ve savored every one. But it’s the size of that small circulation that has prompted our move. I knew The Behemoth’s readers would be a relatively small cadre of renegades who want to opt out of the false outrages of social media and superficial religious squabbles—a coterie of awe aspirants and wonder hunters. It turned out that world may be bigger than I’d thought; the vision resonated with nearly everyone I talked to. The problem has been the format. The barrier hasn’t been what we’re covering, but that we’re a digital-only, subscription-based magazine. When we planned The Behemoth’s launch, the future of iPad magazines and digital subscriptions looked bright. Truth be told, we’ve outlasted all the titles that had served as our model, that back then looked so successful.

Thanks to our grant from the John Templeton Foundation, the support of Christianity Today, and some other factors, we could have kept The Behemoth going for another year or so—and then shut down and found other jobs. But we came up with another, better plan: We’re moving into Christianity Today magazine itself. We’ll still be publishing articles designed to elicit awe and wonder. We’ll still be looking at science, history, spirituality, and other topics in unexpected ways. But we’ll be asking folks to read them in Christianity Today, not this digizine with an ironically intimidating title and lacertilian logo. (We’re giving you a CT subscription equivalent to whatever was left of your Behemoth plan.)

I’m truly eager for the next phase for The Behemoth team as we take what we’ve learned in this experiment and apply it to Christianity Today. I’m excited for the articles of awe and wonder ahead. But yeah, it’s bittersweet, like new life springing from wildfire ash. So it’s probably appropriate that we start this issue with a moment of silence. Thanks as always for your support and reading.

Also in this issue

The Behemothย was a small digital magazine about a big God and his big world. It aimed to help people behold the glory of God all around them, in the worlds of science, history, theology, medicine, sociology, Bible, and personal narrative.

Our Latest

News

Died: Jack Iker, Anglican Who Drew the Line at Womenโ€™s Ordination

The Texas bishop fought a bitter legal battle with the Episcopal Church and won.

Why Canโ€™t We Talk to Each Other Anymore?

Online interactions are draining us of energy to have hard conversations in person.

Church Disappointment Is Multilayered

Jude 3 Project founder Lisa Fields speaks about navigating frustrations with God and fellow believers.

The Robot Will Lie Down With the Gosling

In โ€œThe Wild Robot,โ€ hospitality reprograms relationships.

How Priscilla Shirer Surrenders All

The best-selling Bible teacher writes about putting God first in her life and how healthy Christian discipleship requires sacrifice

The Bulletin

Second Hand News

The Bulletin talks presidential podcasts, hurricane rumors, and the spiritual histories of Israel and Iran.

Which Church in Revelation Is Yours Like?

From the lukewarm Laodicea to the overachieving Ephesus, these seven ancient congregations struggled with relatable problems.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube