Culture
How to Read “The Grand Inquisitor”
Ivan Karamazov's poem about bread, miracle, authority and one silent kiss is the strongest argument in the novel, and Dostoevsky wrote it for the side he was arguing against.
Culture: Arts, Media and Society
Coverage of religion inside cultural life: sacred imagery in painting and film, liturgical music, festivals and holidays as public occasions, and the arguments belief provokes in civic debate. Historically informed and non-partisan. For readers interested in how faith shapes what a society makes and celebrates.
Coverage of religion inside cultural life: sacred imagery in painting and film, liturgical music, festivals and holidays as public occasions, and the arguments belief provokes in civic debate. Historically informed and non-partisan. For readers interested in how faith shapes what a society makes and celebrates.
Culture
A Short History of Gospel Music
From Isaac Watts's hymnbook to Mahalia Jackson's millions, the story of gospel is the story of one repertoire repeatedly crossing lines it was never meant to cross.
Culture
The Book of Common Prayer's Literary Afterlife
Cranmer's 1549 prayer book was written to vanish into the mouths of congregations, and that anonymity is exactly why its sentences still turn up in novels, wedding scenes and pop songs.
Culture
Why Illuminated Manuscripts Still Matter
Every medieval book is an animal skin that survived fire, rain, war and reuse, which is why the ones that remain are unlike any other objects in the history of reading.
Culture
A Listener's Guide to Bach's Passions
The St John and St Matthew Passions are two hours of theology built from narration, hymn tunes and one unanswered question, and they can be followed from the first chorus with a little preparation.
Culture
How the King James Bible Shaped English
The 1611 translation invented less than is supposed and preserved more than anyone expected, which is exactly why its phrases still sit in the mouth of the language.