Today’s Briefing

When should you respond to slander? When should you ignore it? The Bible’s answer is kind of complicated.

Labor Day lessons from Exodus: Work can be exploitative, idolatrous, or oriented toward the kingdom of God.

Three themes to keep in mind as you watch the new season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: evil, time, and friendship.

As more universities shut down, Christian colleges have a duty to be faithful to the end.

Behind the Story

From culture and engagement editor Kate Lucky: I’m hesitant to admit this to a CT audience, but … I’m not a huge Lord of the Rings fan. (Harry Potter, on the other hand, I can nerd out about all day.) I read the trilogy as a kid, but I still haven’t seen all of the movies, much to my husband’s chagrin.

That said, I know that Tolkien’s mythology is near and dear to the hearts of many of our readers. It’s helped form their Christian imagination, their ideas about good and evil and temptation and redemption. So as CT’s culture editor, I figured that the new season of the Amazon Prime prequel Rings of Power deserved not just one writer’s interpretation, but several.

I decided to put together a brief “viewer’s guide” to help folks think about the show from three different angles. Editing the contributions reminded me of the thematic richness of this fantasy universe. Perhaps I should finally watch the movies.

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In Other News

Disgraced Hillsong founder Brian Houston has launched an “online church” and is asking for money to build a TV studio.
An evangelical university in Georgia has increased enrollment by nearly 1,000 students with an employer subscription program. Point University started working with Chick-fil-A franchise owners two years ago.
Whoever was sending thousands of plastic bottles with Bible passages inside them down a river in Northern Ireland appears to have stopped.
Two British churches have reopened as historic sites—with a possible Lord of the Rings connection—665 years after they were shut down by the Black Death.

Today in Christian History

August 29, 29: Since the fifth century, tradition has this as the date for the beheading of John the Baptist.
August 29, 70: Romans burn the gates, enter the Temple courtyards of Jerusalem, and destroy the temple by fire. Within three years, Jewish resistance ends in a seige of the Herodian fortress of Massada. Rather than be captured or executed, the zealots committed suicide when it became clear that the Romans would soon breach the walls.

What Incarcerated Ministry Leaders Want the Church to Know

In recent decades, seminaries have begun offering courses and degrees to incarcerated Christians, including hybrid classes where students on the “outside” can join classrooms on the “inside.” Many of these…

The Church Outside Serving the Church Inside

To understand Paul’s letter to the Philippians, it helps to start in prison. After all, that’s where Paul was when he wrote it. “In chains for Christ,” as he puts…

David Bentley Hart’s Brain-Breaking Argument for the Supremacy of the Mind

There is a beautiful garden in perfect bloom, existing somewhere outside of time and place. There, four pagan gods have gathered together for an intense, six-day Platonic symposium about the…

It Is Not Best for Man to Eat Alone

When the waiter brought out my long-awaited high tea that day, I didn’t expect I’d still be grieving it decades later. I was 21 and enjoying my first “real” spring…

in the magazine

The secret is out: We’ve updated our look with a nod to our legacy and refreshed our content—while keeping longtime favorites like testimonies and books coverage. In this issue, we look to the past for wisdom to address a fractured evangelicalism in the present and future, with editor in chief Russell Moore issuing a call for moral clarity. Read an in-depth report on a consequential evangelical voting bloc; sit with an honest reflection on struggling to find community; and, as same-sex sexuality divides the church, be equipped and encouraged to stand on biblical fidelity. New features include an advice column (featuring Beth Moore), some curated podcast gold, and a brand-new pastoral column. We’re glad you’re here with us and look forward to seeking the kingdom together in this new era at Christianity Today.

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