The Weekend – 5-10-25

May 9, 2025
CT Weekly

weekend reads

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day. This week, we ran pieces on the online momfluencer industry, how prayers for our kids can sound like shallow negotiations, and why a proposal for a National Medal of Motherhood is misguided

Speaking of pronatalism: Our news team reported on Christian calls for a family-friendly tax code. And our ideas desk published an argument from a father of six on how purely financial approaches to the birth rate crisis misunderstand the heart of family formation.

More for Mother’s Day from our archives: 

P.S. Though they don’t claim him as their church leader, many evangelicals look to see what impact the head of the Roman Catholic Church will have on religious dialogue, global politics, and the world’s understanding of Christian teaching. We covered evangelical reactions to Pope Leo XIV.


weekend listen

Is striving a sin? Theologian Miroslav Volf explores the question in his new book The Cost of Ambition.

“Is my being better than you what drives my agency? Is this the goal? Or is the goal excellence?” | Listen here

P.S. Israel Houghton is reviving the centuries-old tradition of coritos, Spanish-language praise choruses, with a new album released this week. Our worship correspondent interviewed him.


editors’ picks

Sara Kyoungah White, editor: I am loving the start of the farmer’s market season here in Michigan. I picked up some purple daikon last weekend and made Korean pickled radish, a super easy side dish that goes perfectly with fried chicken. The purple radish makes this recipe extra special and summery by turning the brine a lovely pink.

Kate Shellnutt, editorial director, news: When I need something silly, light, and watchable but don’t have the bandwidth for a TV show at the end of the day, I’ve been putting on an episode of Hot Ones on YouTube and going to bed feeling grateful that it’s not me being forced to eat stupidly hot chicken wings. Rob McElhenney and Will Forte were my favorites this season.

Kara Bettis Carvalho, ideas editor: Our colleague Clarissa Moll’s new picture book for grieving children has been on my mind—it came out this week.

A bunch of us: Our CT editorial Slack channel was buzzing with our thoughts on this episode of The Ezra Klein Show with Ross Douthat. Belief! Mysticism! Psychedelics! (Plus: Read our review of Douthat’s new book.)


prayers of the people


more from CT

Preachers like John Marrant proclaimed the gospel across cultures. But the persistence—and defense—of slavery challenged their ministries.
In the Thai Muslim community where I lived, enslavement was all I knew. Then God spoke into the darkness.
Making Christianity great again by means of political control is tempting. That didn’t work in my country.
I’m an Old Testament scholar who cares about God’s law. But posting it in public schools misunderstands who and what it’s for.

IN THE MAGAZINE

It’s easy to live in a state of panic, anxiety, and fear, from the pinging of our phones to politics and the state of the church. In this issue, we acknowledge panic and point to Christian ways through it. Russell Moore brings us to the place of panic in Caesarea Philippi with Jesus and Peter. Laura M. Fabrycky writes about American inclinations toward hero-making. Mindy Belz reports on the restorative work of Dr. Denis Mukwege for rape victims in Congo. We’re also thrilled to give you a first look at the Global Flourishing Study, a multiyear research project about what makes a flourishing life across the globe. While panic may be profitable or natural, we have a sure and steady anchor for our souls in Jesus.

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