The Weekend v1.4

July 18, 2025
CT Weekly

This edition is sponsored by Gloo


weekend reads

What does earthly citizenship mean for Christians, a people whose citizenship is in heaven? CT editor Sara Kyoungah White has been thinking through that question amid the recent birthright-citizenship battles.

“I, as an American Christian, can thus harness the protection of the First Amendment to speak out against the troubling turn toward racial nationalism of late—the confirmation of all my worst suspicions as a child. … My prayers may look like weeping, my love like joining a march with arms linked. But all this would be an expression of what it means to be both a faithful citizen of the US and a faithful citizen of the kingdom to come.”

In other immigration news: Our reporter Emily Belz recently traveled to Los Angeles. She tells the stories of Pasadena churches banding together in response to immigration raids and Christians showing up to immigration court.


weekend listen

This week on our news podcast, The Bulletin: Biden’s mental acuity, Afghan refugees in Iran, and the rising national debt.

Says financial advisor David Bahnsen: “There is a sort of ethical dimension when you’re talking about finance that Christians have a particular embedded aversion to; they view money, for right or for wrong, as something uncomfortable. I don’t think Jesus encouraged us to not talk about money. He talked about a lot—but he talked about it with a very distinct approach.” | Listen here.


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editors’ picks

Kate Lucky, senior editor, engagement & culture: I’ve been thinking a lot about the spiritual impact of attention and distraction. This episode of The Ezra Klein Show with economist Kyla Scanlon has some good takeaways—and multiple C. S. Lewis shoutouts! 

Alex Mellen, senior copy editor: The board game that seems like a party game but is secretly a get-to-know-you game is Hues and Cues. Coming up with one- or two-word prompts to identify a color can bring up lots of fun facts and childhood memories—and arguments about what color Barney the Dinosaur actually is.

Mia Staub, editorial project manager, online: Shakshuka has become my recent hyperfixation food. It’s so easy to make and gives me an excuse to buy or make really good bread. I add crispy chickpeas and hot honey at the end and save the tomato sauce so I can eat it for a few days. | Angela Lu Fulton, Asia editor: I like making meatball shakshuka when I want a different kind of ground beef dish. I airfry the meatballs so it cooks faster. |  Bonnie Kristian, editorial director, ideas & books: I use regular tomato sauce and add fried onions and spices; the big Costco jars are enough to make one pizza on Friday night and one shakshuka after church on Sunday. I also really like the Turkish eggs a local café here in Pittsburgh makes: plain Greek yogurt, two poached eggs, a ton of chili oil (made with olive oil and crispy garlic), fresh herbs (mint, dill), and toast.


prayers of the people


more from CT

The decision gives states the green light to require adult websites to verify the ages of their users.
The Southern California preacher wanted to illuminate Scripture with Scripture and separate real Christians from false.
Colin Bloom believes the scandal-wracked ministry serving persecuted Christians should have a future, starting with corporate repentance.

All of us can agree that we want wrongs to be righted and evil to be avenged.


IN THE MAGAZINE

As developments in artificial intelligence change daily, we’re increasingly asking what makes humanity different from the machines we use. In this issue, Emily Belz introduces us to tech workers on the frontlines of AI development, Harvest Prude explains how algorithms affect Christian courtship, and Miroslav Volf writes on the transhumanist question. Several writers call our attention to the gifts of being human: Haejin and Makoto Fujimura point us to beauty and justice, Kelly Kapic reminds us God’s highest purpose isn’t efficiency, and Jen Pollock Michel writes on the effects of Alzheimer’s . We bring together futurists, theologians, artists, practitioners, and professors to consider how technology shapes us even as we use it.

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