April 17, 2025

This edition is sponsored by Hope Rises International

weekend reads

Every Easter, our staff revisits some of our most beloved Resurrection Sunday pieces from the archives. One perennial favorite: the late pastor-theologian Tim Keller on Christianity’s “unparalleled resources for cultural hope … corporate hope, social hope, hope for the future of society, of the human race.” Jesus has secured this hope for us, he writes, “by his death and resurrection. When this assurance abides in us, our immediate fates—how the current situation turns out—can no longer trouble us. Hope comes from looking at him.”

Other favorites include two essays by the Anglican priest Tish Harrison Warren: One on the “weakness, confusion, even imbecility” of the disciples during Holy Week, the other on why Easter can’t just be a symbol.

“Believers and skeptics alike often approach the Christian story as if its chief value is personal, subjective, and self-expressive,” she explains. By this interpretation, “Easter is merely an inspirational tradition, a celebration of rebirth and new life that calls us to the best version of ourselves and helps give meaning to our lives.”

But “if Jesus did in fact come back from the dead on a quiet Sunday morning some 2,000 years ago, then everything is changed—our beliefs, our ethics, our politics, our time, our relationships. If it is true, then the resurrection of Jesus is the most determinative fact of the universe, the center point of history.”

We also published some new Holy Week reporting and reflections on our site this week, including:

A scholar’s evidence for why Jesus may not have been crucified with nails
A report on President Trump’s connections to Christian leaders, on full display this Easter
A review of the latest season of The Chosen, which covers Holy Week
How Jesus’ sacrificial anguish redefines what it means to suffer with purpose
A proclamation that “Even Our Corpses Belong to Christ”
A meditation on the thief on the cross

P.S. Bookmark the final entries in our Easter devotional, which includes reflections for Holy Saturday, Easter Sunday (from the beloved poet Malcolm Guite), and next Monday and Tuesday.

Tim Keller: Hope for a Better World Starts with the Resurrection

The Epic Jesus Follower Fail

If Easter Is Only a Symbol, Then to Hell with It

weekend listen

This week on The Russell Moore Show: How a 1,700-year-old document has the power to define not only the Christian faith but also the individual life of a practicing Christian.

“The creed, for many, many Christians, is used in worship. … This is not a statement of faith. This is a hymn; this is a hymn with three stanzas.” | Listen here.

Glenn Packiam on Why We Need Creeds

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Editors’ Picks: Easter Tunes

Daniel Silliman, senior news editor: Gotta have Keith Green’s “Easter Song.” (Senior copy editor Alex Mellen recommends her favorite cover.) And the Sacred Harp hymn “Cuba,” aka “Poor Mourners Found a Home at Last.”

Kate Shellnutt, editorial director, news: I’m enjoying Jon Guerra’s new album, Jesus. All the songs are soft and poignant, like lullabies. “Gethsemane” is good for Easter.

Nathaniel Rabon, editorial project coordinator, print: Any of Andrew Peterson’s songs from the album Resurrection Letters, Vol.1. I especially like “Is He Worthy?,” which takes a lot of imagery from Revelation; it’s a favorite of mine to listen to around Easter. (And from Will Kelly, senior print designer: “His Heart Beats” is another great song to start off an Easter morning.)

Chris Poblete, editorial director, CT Pastors: A friend recently introduced me to the new Mumford & Sons album Rushmere, which is fantastic. It’s a return to both their original folksy twang and that old-time religion. If the lyrics are any indication, it sounds like Marcus Mumford has rediscovered his Christian faith.

But walking through the valley was what brought me here
I knew I would never make it on my own
And I don’t know how it took so long to shed this skin
Live under the shadow of your wings
You are all I want
You’re all I need
And I’ll find peace beneath the shadow of your wings

“Malibu”

prayers of the people

For Sherlie and Kevenson, and for the people of Panhandle, Texas, “pulling together to protest the couple’s treatment and rallying to meet their needs.”
From the producer and moderator of The Bulletin: “I … pray that my sins will become even more evident to me than others’ are. That the Holy Spirit will enlighten my eyes to see how often, like Peter in Gethsemane, I, too, abandon Jesus in favor of power.”
From our editor in chief: For the fragile, unshakeable church, worth loving and fighting for.

CT Partners are making a global impact through the One Kingdom Campaign

So much has already been accomplished since the launch of the One Kingdom Campaign in September 2024. From beautiful storytelling that lifts our eyes to Jesus working in our midst to global reporting that reminds readers of the cost of following Jesus around the world, God is at work through our generous CT Partners.

See what God is doing through the One Kingdom Campaign and how you can participate in this important community. Learn more.

I’m a Gen Z Woman. I’m Staying in Church.

The gender disparity in the pews is widening, but young women need the church, too.

Under Trump, Conservative Christians Want to Reshape Public Education or Flee the System

While some states move toward bringing the Bible back into schools, homeschool advocates prioritize parental rights and freedoms.

MLK’s Famous Letter Changed a DC Church

A newly discovered note from CT’s first editor, Carl Henry, shows how King’s Birmingham Jail missive shifted a white pastor’s view on integration.

How the Awe of God Reframed My Life

In a moment at Yosemite, I was overwhelmed and assured by God’s presence. What I experienced, I later learned, is called awe.

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IN THE MAGAZINE

Even amid scandals, cultural shifts, and declining institutional trust, we at Christianity Today recognize the beauty of Christ’s church. In this issue, you’ll read of the various biblical metaphors for the church, and of the faithfulness of Japanese pastors. You’ll hear how one British podcaster is rethinking apologetics, and Collin Hansen’s hope for evangelical institutions two years after Tim Keller’s death. You’ll be reminded of the power of the Resurrection, and how the church is both more fragile and much stronger than we think from editor in chief Russell Moore. This Lent and Easter season, may you take great courage in Jesus’ words in Matthew 16:18—“I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”

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