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April 20, 2026

This edition is sponsored by Cru

Today’s Briefing

Three books—Jen Hatmaker’s Awake, Alan Noble’s To Live Well, and Molly Worthen’s Spellbound—take different approaches on the body and virtue, writes Jen Pollock Michel.

While AI companions may promise intimacy, Christianity reveals what embodied desire looks like.

Forgiveness is a radical gift for anyone experiencing trauma, writes Amy Orr-Ewing.

From the Inkwell archives: Asking humans for help expressing yourself may be messier than consulting ChatGPT, but it comes with context, stories, and grace, writes Jessie Epstein.

On The Bulletin: the Israel-Lebanon cease-fire, Trump’s new ballroom, and Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Behind the Story

CT asked interim editor Haley Byrd Wilt to reflect on her recent piece on poet Malcolm Guite’s new book, Galahad and the Grail. From Haley: When the Rabbit Room asked deputy editor Bonnie Kristian a few months ago if any of our writers would want to cover Malcolm Guite’s new epic ballad, Bonnie knew I’d probably be interested. She knew this because, yes, I’m the kind of person who enjoys an epic ballad—but also because I’d already told her I was obsessed with the Rabbit Room. It’s a nonprofit faith-and-arts organization with its own publishing press.

When I discovered it after picking up founder Andrew Peterson’s Wingfeather Saga to read with my son, I’d been thinking a lot about the importance of small presses that are willing to publish weird, ambitious work—books that don’t fit into neat marketing boxes and will stand the test of time rather than conforming to whatever fad is sweeping through the publishing industry. That’s what the Rabbit Room is doing with its books, and it’s definitely what Malcolm Guite has accomplished with his book, Galahad and the Grail.

When I interviewed him at the Rabbit Room’s headquarters in March, I wasn’t very surprised to hear that larger publishing houses weren’t interested in his Arthurian epic when he tried pitching it to them. A faith-driven story of this scope, and in ballad form no less, isn’t particularly easy to sell to modern readers. Still, it’s gorgeous, and it should exist. I’m glad it does.

For more on Malcolm Guite, check out his interview on The Russell Moore Show, an article he wrote on the poetic imagination, and a profile on the poet from 2023.

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In Other News

After a flood killed 27 Camp Mystic campers and staffers last summer, new Texas regulations—including end-to-end fiber—are causing church camps to close.
A Pakistan court stopped the eviction of more than 25,000 Christian residents from informal settlements in Islamabad.
Israel apologized after an image of one of its soldiers smashing a statue of Jesus in Lebanon circulated online. The Israel Defense Forces said it was investigating the incident.

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Today in Christian History

April 21, 1855: Edward Kimball, a Sunday school teacher in Boston, leads 18-year-old shoe salesman Dwight L. Moody to Christ at the Holton Shoe Store. Moody went on to become the most successful evangelist of his day (see issue 25: D.L. Moody).

The 18-Hour Road Trip to Bring a Detained Refugee Home

In early January, an African refugee named Aboradea called his family to say he was on his way home from work after his night shift. But the young man never…

AI Necromancy Impersonates the Dead

Three years ago, Christi Angel was desperate to talk to her close friend—and first love—Cameroun. When he had last texted her, she was overcome by the busyness of life and…

An Arthurian Epic for the Dark Age of the Bright Screen

Malcolm Guite was looking for a place to sit. The poet wandered between branches and over tangled roots, through a British wood, with a few loyal companions. They were filming…

Some Christians Risk Persecution if They’re Honest in India’s Census

Ravi Kishore, a third-generation Christian from the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, is caught in a bind. When census officials knock on his door, he must choose between two…

IN THE MAGAZINE

In this issue of Christianity Today and in this season of the Christian year, we explore the bookends of life: birth and death. You’ll read Karen Swallow Prior’s essay on childlessness and Kara Bettis Carvalho’s overview of reproductive technologies. Haleluya Hadero reports on artificially intelligent griefbots, and Kristy Etheridge discusses physician-assisted suicide. There is much work to be done to promote life. We talk with Fleming Rutledge about the Crucifixion, knowing that while suffering lasts for a season, Jesus has triumphed over death through his death. This Lenten and Easter season, may these words be a companion as you consider how you might bring life in the spaces you inhabit.

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