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In an election season, all political parties claim to champion freedom, which highlights the very different ways people think about what it means to be free. This issue of Plough Quarterly explores many dimensions of freedom: not only what people need to be freed from, but what we are set free to do. Contributors look at freedom in light of addiction, disability, asylum, religious liberty, modern slavery, dictatorship, conversion, workers rights, theology, the fine arts, and more.On this theme:Sohrab Ahmari reminds Christians of their long tradition of defending workers rights.Robert Donnelly reports on the welcome asylum seekers receive on the US southern border.Rosemarie Garland-Thomson considers the terrible freedom of choice a pregnant woman faces.John Barclay looks at freedom and slavery, metaphorical and literal, in the writings to Paul.Daniel J. Sims uncovers his own complicity and compromise in the global aid industry.Santiago Ramos realizes people living under dictatorship value books more than free people doJordan Castro recalls how he sought freedom in fiction and heroin, but found it elsewhere.Joonas Sildre shows how Arvo Prt remained true to his art under Soviet rule.Pan Yongguang recounts how his church community escaped China together.Plough Quarterly features stories, ideas, and culture for people eager to apply their faith to the challenges we face. Each issue includes in-depth articles, interviews, poetry, book reviews, and art.

Set in an Armenian mountain village immediately after the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the early 1990s, these thirty-one linked short stories trace the interconnected lives of villagers tending to their everyday tasks, engaging in quotidian squabbles, and celebrating small joys against a breathtaking landscape. Yet the setting, suspended in time and space, belies unspeakable tragedy: every character contends with an unbearable burden of loss. The war rages largely off the book’s pages, appearing only in fragmented flashbacks. Abgaryan’s stories focus on how, in the war’s aftermath, the survivors work, as individuals and as a community, to find a way forward. Written in Abgaryan’s signature style that weaves elements of Armenian folk tradition into her prose, these stories of community, courage, and resilience celebrate human life, where humor and love and hope prevail in unthinkable circumstances.

How can we make the gospel central to our lives?For decades, Stanley Hauerwas has been provoking Christians with his insistence that if they would only follow their Master, it would impact all areas of life, from the personal to the societal.The lanky Texan whom Time magazine dubbed “America’s theologian” for his zinging insights into today’s ethical questions says Christians should stop bemoaning their loss of cultural and political power and instead welcome their status as outsiders and embrace the radical alternative Jesus has had in mind for them all along.These accessible readings selected from Hauerwas’s seminal books will introduce a timely, prophetic voice to another generation of followers of Jesus tired of religion as usual.

Deseamos dirigirnos a Dios al final de cada día, pero a menudo nos faltan las palabras que expresen nuestros anhelos más profundos. Esta colección de oraciones está entre los pocos libros devocionales preparados para el uso vespertino.Las palabras de Blumhardt manifiestan una certeza de la presencia de Dios. La paz que enana de ellas surge de una convicción de que el reino de Dios ya está en camino. En tiempos difíciles como los nuestros, estas palabras de consuelo pueden darnos tranquilidad cada anochecer.

How can we live well with tech, without it becoming our master?These days, the heady promises of Silicon Valley seem suspect: the internet didn’t bring all of humanity together; neither did smartphones or social media. We have long since stopped associating tech with utopian visions of global harmony, instead blaming it for distraction, polarization, addictions to porn and gambling, the trivialization of culture, loss of privacy and work-life balance, and fears that automation may push millions out of a job. Advances in artificial intelligence seem poised to bring us to the next technological watershed. It’s a good time to ask how we can learn to live well with tech, and how we might push back against technologies that shape humans in anti-human ways.On this theme:Find out why computers can’t do math and humans can.When parenting from prison, a little tech can make a big difference.Glucose monitoring systems transform life for children with diabetes.Should ChatGPT write sermons and prayers?From scrolls to scrolling, tech has changed the way Jewish people read scriptureWill AI bring the end of the world, or is it already here?An intentional community tries to be intentional about personal technology.Our struggle with technology goes back to the Tower of Babel in Genesis.A farmer praises a simple piece of technology – the rock bar.Also in this issue:A photo essay about children on the frontlines in UkraineA philosopher’s proposal for a gift economyThe winners of the 2024 Rhina Espaillat Poetry AwardInsights from Gerard Manley Hopkins, E. F. Schumacher, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Jean-Pierre Dupuy, and Hannah ArendtReviews of Birding to Change the World, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, and All Things Are Too SmallPlough Quarterly features stories, ideas, and culture for people eager to apply their faith to the challenges we face. Each issue includes in-depth articles, interviews, poetry, book reviews, and art.

What is our place in nature?Since the Industrial Revolution, humans have has exercised unprecedented dominance over nature, with consequences that are now catching up with us. Many have pointed to Christianity as a culprit. Yet Christianity actually teaches that our relationship to nature should not be one of contempt or disassociation. Rather, according to ancient church tradition, nature is a book to be read, revealing truths about its creator and ours. At a time when many moderns are unsure of what difference, if any, marks us out from other living beings on our planet, and of what our place in the natural world ought to be, what might nature itself tell us about how to live within it?On this theme:Peter Mommsen asks if humans should live by nature's laws. Colin Boller interviews farmers successfully shifting to regenerative agriculture. Caroline Moore introduces some of Britain's amazing moths. Daniel Stulac wonders what the Promised Land means in Saskatchewan. Clare Coffey defends dandelions in lawns. Rhys Laverty reports on man's battle with the sea at the Alderney breakwater. William Thomas Okie explores the old idea that plants reveal their uses. Greta Gaffin looks at our relationship to wolves, and Saint Francis's. Norann Voll remembers lambing with her father. Tim Maendel finds peace by hunting. Erik Varden asks if the Christian teaching on chastity is unnatural. David McBride translates "The Leper of Abercuawg," an old Welsh poem. Maureen Swinger watches meteor showers. Plough Quarterly features stories, ideas, and culture for people eager to apply their faith to the challenges we face. Each issue includes in-depth articles, interviews, poetry, book reviews, and art.

A graphic novel dramatizes a true story of a corrupt ruler, a courageous resister, a daring alpine escape, a refugee love story, a reckless return, a jealous traitor, and a martyr burned alive at the stake.Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I orders his half-brother, the bishop of Brixen, to eradicate all the heretics in Tyrol, and especially their leader, Jakob Hutter. Like other Anabaptists, Hutter has rejected armed revolt and embraced nonviolence. What if instead of overthrowing oppressive rulers, he asks, we create a peaceful and just alternative society ourselves?Driven into hiding and eventually forced to flee through the mountains into Moravia, Hutter realizes his dream and finds love. But persecution follows him. Despite death warrants, he and his pregnant wife, Katharina, return to Tyrol to support the underground movement there. They are betrayed by a friend turned informant and captured along with their baby. Jakob is burned at the stake in the town square of Innsbruck. Katharina escapes but soon meets a similar fate.Their story comes to life in this graphic novel, the second in a series that dramatically recreates a little-known chapter in the history of the Reformation. These radicals, labeled Anabaptists by their enemies, were ready to die for their vision. They were executed by thousands - by water, by fire, and by sword - in both Catholic and Protestant lands. This action-packed account of young people daring to standing up for their convictions will appeal to today's nonconformists.

"Sometimes provocative but always encouraging, a pastor offers sage advice for leading Christ-like lives amid the stresses of modern life"--

"A concise introduction to the thought and vision of Eberhard Arnold, the founder of the Bruderhof community"--

"The memoirs of Emmy Arnold, co-founder of the Bruderhof, a Christian communal movement"--

An early champion of childhood reminds parents and educators that children learn best when they are free to play and explore.

Jesus challenges us to love our enemies. In today's swirl of hatemongering, political polarization, and online nastiness, even Christians have skirted this command or given it up as impossible or foolish. What does it really mean to love our enemies? And how might our lives and our world change if we did? In this issue we apply these tough questions to real situations, and hear from people who have put this command into practice in some of the toughest circumstances.

Advanced review mailing to influencers and reviewersFeatured in Plough Quarterly, circulation 15,000Giveaways on LibraryThing, GoodReads, AmazonPromotional messaging to Plough print and online subscribers and social media followers – combined print and email list of 100,000.Promotions on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram - estimated total followers 100,000Feature on www.plough.com (500,000 visits/month)

Popular children’s author with millions of copiessold and numerous books still in print.Author’s birthday: August 11, 1908

Fifty-two readings on living in intentional Christian community to spark group discussion.Gold Medal Winner, 2017 Illumination Book Awards, Christian LivingSilver Medal Winner, 2017 Benjamin Franklin Award in Religion, Independent Book Publishers AssociationWhy, in an age of connectivity, are our lives more isolated and fragmented than ever? And what can be done about it? The answer lies in the hands of God's people. Increasingly, today's Christians want to be the church, to follow Christ together in daily life. From every corner of society, they are daring to step away from the status quo and respond to Christ's call to share their lives more fully with one another and with others. As they take the plunge, they are discovering the rich, meaningful life that Jesus has in mind for all people, and pointing the church back to its original calling: to be a gathered, united community that demonstrates the transforming love of God.Of course, such a life together with others isn't easy. The selections in this volume are, by and large, written by practitioners-people who have pioneered life in intentional community and have discovered in the nitty-gritty of daily life what it takes to establish, nurture, and sustain a Christian community over the long haul.Whether you have just begun thinking about communal living, are already embarking on sharing life with others, or have been part of a community for many years, the pieces in this collection will encourage, challenge, and strengthen you. The book's fifty-two chapters can be read one a week to ignite meaningful group discussion.Contributors include from John F. Alexander, Eberhard Arnold, J. Heinrich Arnold, Johann Christoph Arnold, Alden Bass, Benedict of Nursia, Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt, Leonardo Boff, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Joan Chittister, Stephen B. Clark, Andy Crouch, Dorothy Day, Anthony de Mello, Elizabeth Dede, Catherine de Hueck Doherty, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Jenny Duckworth, Friedrich Foerster, Richard J. Foster, Jodi Garbison, Arthur G. Gish, Helmut Gollwitzer, Adele J Gonzalez, Stanley Hauerwas, Joseph H. Hellerman, Roy Hession, David Janzen, Rufus Jones, Emmanuel Katongole, Arthur Katz, Soren Kierkegaard, C. Norman Kraus, C.S. Lewis, Gerhard Lohfink, Ed Loring, Chiara Lubich, George MacDonald, Thomas Merton, Hal Miller, Jose P. Miranda, Jurgen Moltmann, Charles E. Moore, Henri J. M. Nouwen, Elizabeth O'Connor, John M. Perkins, Eugene H.Peterson, Christine D. Pohl, Chris Rice, Basilea Schlink, Howard A. Snyder, Mother Teresa, Thomas a Kempis, Elton Trueblood, Jean Vanier, and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove.

Hoy en día, todos están hablando de ¿comunidad¿. Según Arnold y Merton, se puede vivirla también.En este manifiesto, Arnold y Merton plantean la posibilidad de la vida comunitaria intencional y examinan sus rasgos más destacados: amor, alegría, unidad y la gran aventura de fe, compartidos con otros en el camino. No describen ni prescriben la vida en comunidad; en cambio, ofrecen un ideal para guiar la búsqueda, y un llamado a renovar el compromiso y profundizar la fe.

"A celebrated young British artist uses her gift to convey the dignity and resilience of women survivors of violence in forgotten corners of the world"--

Offers a positive vision of liberal arts education at a time when institutions face budget constraintsDiverse contributors respond constructively to criticisms and objections to the liberal artsOf particular interest to high school students and parents considering college choices

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus puts aside his usual parables and speaks plainly in language anyone can understand.Like Francis of Assisi and others, Arnold chose to live out Jesus' teachings by embracing their self- sacrificing demands. In this collection of talks and essays, he calls us to live for the Sermon's ultimate goal: the overturning of the prevailing order of injustice. In its place, Arnold writes, we must build up a just, peaceable society motivated by love.

"A new generation of teachers envisions a liberal arts education that is good for everyone"--

We’re born with a hunger for roots and a desire to pass on a legacy.The past two decades have seen a boom in family history services that combine genealogy with DNA testing, though this is less a sign of a robust connection to past generations than of its absence. Everywhere we see a pervasive rootlessness coupled with a cult of youth that thinks there is little to learn from our elders. The nursing home tragedies of the Covid-19 pandemic laid bare this devaluing of the old. But it’s not only the elderly who are negatively affected when the links between generations break down; the young lose out too. When the hollowing-out of intergenerational connections deprives youth of the sense of belonging to a story beyond themselves, other sources of identity, from trivial to noxious, will fill the void.Yet however important biological kinship is, the New Testament tells us it is less important than the family called into being by God’s promises. “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Jesus asks a crowd of listeners, then answers: “Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother.” In this great intergenerational family, we are linked by a bond of brotherhood and sisterhood to believers from every era of the human story, past, present, and yet to be born. To be sure, our biological families and inheritances still matter, but heredity and blood kinship are no longer the primary source of our identity. Here is a cure for rootlessness.On this theme:- Matthew Lee Anderson argues that even in an age of IVF no one has a right to have a child. - Emmanuel Katongole describes how African Christians are responding to ecological degradation by returning to their roots. - Louise Perry worries that young environmentalist don’t want kids. - Helmuth Eiwen asks what we can do about the ongoing effects of the sins of our ancestors. - Terence Sweeney misses an absent father who left him nothing. - Wendy Kiyomi gives personal insight into the challenges of adopting children with trauma in their past. - Alastair Roberts decodes that long list of “begats” in Matthew’s Gospel. - Rhys Laverty explains why his hometown, Chessington, UK, is still a family-friendly neighborhood. - Springs Toledo recounts, for the first time, a buried family story of crime and forgiveness. - Monica Pelliccia profiles three generations of women who feed migrants riding the trains north.Also in the issue: - A new Christmas story by Óscar Esquivias, translated from the Spanish - Original poetry by Aaron Poochigian - Reviews of Kim Haines-Eitzen’s Sonorous Desert, Matthew P. Schneider’s God Loves the Autistic Mind, Adam Nicolson’s Life between the Tides, and Ash Davidson’s Damnation Spring. - An appreciation for Augustine’s mother, Monica - Short sketches by Clarice Lispector of her father and sonPlough Quarterly features stories, ideas, and culture for people eager to apply their faith to the challenges we face. Each issue includes in-depth articles, interviews, poetry, book reviews, and art.

In a culture that prizes keeping one¿s options open, making commitments offers something more valuable.The consumerism and instant gratification of ¿liquid modernity¿ feed a general reluctance to make commitments, a refusal to be pinned down for the long term. Consider the decline of three forms of commitment that involve giving up options: marriage, military service, and monastic life.Yet increasing numbers of people question whether unprecedented freedom might be leading to less flourishing, not more. They are dissatisfied with an atomized way of life that offers endless choices of goods, services, and experiences but undermines ties of solidarity and mutuality. They yearn for more heroic virtues, more sacrificial commitments, more comprehensive visions of the individual and common good.It turns out that the American Founders were right: the Creator did endow us with an unalienable right of liberty. But he has endowed us with something else as well, a gift that is equally unalienable: desire for unreserved commitment of all we have and are. Our liberty is given us so that we in turn can freely dedicate ourselves to something greater. Ultimately, to take a leap of commitment, even without knowing where one will land, is the way to a happiness worth everything.On this theme:- Lydia S. Dugdale asks what happened to the Hippocratic Oath in modern medicine.- Caitrin Keiper looks at competing vows in Victor Hugös Les Misérables. - Kelsey Osgood, an Orthodox Jew, asks why lifestyle discipline is admired in sports but not religion.- Wendell Berry says being on the side of love does not allow one to have enemies. - Phil Christman spoofs the New York Times Vows column.- Andreas Knapp tells why he chose poverty.- Norann Voll recounts the places a vow of obedience took her.- Carino Hodder says chastity is for everyone, not just nuns.- Dori Moody revisits her grandparents¿ broken but faithful marriage.- Randall Gauger, a Bruderhof pastor, finds that lifelong vows make faithfulness possible.- King-Ho Leung looks at vows, oaths, promises, and covenants in the Bible.Also in the issue: - A young Black pastor reads Clarence Jordan today.- Activists discuss the pro-life movement after Roe and Dobbs.- Children learn from King Arthur, Robin Hood, and the occasional cowboy.- Original poetry by Ned Balbo- Reviews of Montgomery and Biklé¿s What Your Food Ate, Mohsin Hamid¿s The Last White Man, and Bonnie Kristian¿s Untrustworthy- A profile of Sadhu Sundar SinghPlough Quarterly features stories, ideas, and culture for people eager to apply their faith to the challenges we face. Each issue includes in-depth articles, interviews, poetry, book reviews, and art.

"Eugene Vodolazkin, internationally acclaimed novelist and scholar of medieval literature, returns with a satirical parable about European and Russian history, the myth of progress, and the futility of war"--

The captivating story of the world's favorite saint is now retold for a modern audience by one of the great novelists of our time.Perhaps more than any other figure in Christian history since Jesus Christ, Saint Francis of Assisi has captured our imagination, for his is a story of extreme self-sacrifice, of love to God and man. How could this wealthy, handsome youth cast away all the advantages that were his by birth and choose instead a career of poverty and humility? How could he attract members of all strata of society to his mission? And how, when his order became established throughout Europe, could he renounce great personal power and humbly continue his life's work?Here is Francis, from his twelfth-century boyhood to his life as a missionary roaming the very boundaries of the known world. Here too are the men and women who followed him-Bernard de Quintavalle, the rich businessman; Peter Cathanii, the lawyer; Brother Giles, the farmer's son; Lady Clare; and so many others-all drawn together by the personal magnetism and humble faith of their leader, all re-created by bestselling novelist Elizabeth Goudge against a rich medieval canvas.

When we read the book of nature, what do we read there? ¿All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all,¿ says a well-known hymn. This issue of Plough celebrates the creatures of our planet ¿ plant, animal, and human ¿ and the implications of humankind¿s relationship to nature.But if nature can be read as a book that reveals the wisdom of its Creator, it also reveals things less lovely than stars and singing birds ¿ a world of desperate competition for survival, mass extinctions, and deadly viruses. Is such a world a convincing argument for the Creator¿s goodness? Turns out Christians and skeptics alike have been asking such questions since long before Darwin added a twist.Are we moderns out of practice at reading the book of nature? And if we forget how, will we fail to read human nature as well ¿ what rights or purposes our Creator may have endowed us with? What then is there to limit the bounds of technological manipulation of humankind?This issue of Plough explores these and other fascinating questions about the natural world and our place in it.In this issue:- Sussex farmer Adam Nicholson evokes centuries of handwork that shaped the landscape of the Weald.- Gracy Olmstead revisits the land her forebears farmed in Idaho.- Ian Marcus Corbin tries walking phoneless to better note the beauty of the natural world.- Amish farmer John Kempf, a leader in regenerative agriculture, foresees a healthier future for farming.- Leah Libresco Sargeant offers a feminist critique of society¿s war on women¿s bodies.- Iván Bernal Marín visits Panama City¿s traditional fishermen.- Maureen Swinger recalls to triumphs of second grade in forest school.- Edmund Waldstein questions head transplants and the limits of medical science.- Kelsey Osgood says it¿s natural to fear death, and to transcend that fear through faith.- Tim Maendel lifts the veil on urban beekeeping along the Manhattan skyline.You¿ll also find:- An essay by Christian Wiman on the poetry of doubt and faith- New poems by Alfred Nicol- A profile of Amazon activist nun Dorothy Stang- An appreciation of Keith Green¿s songs- Insights on creation from Blaise Pascal, Julian of Norwich, Francis of Assisi, Mechthild of Magdeburg, Christopher Smart, Augustine of Hippo, The Book of Job, and Sadhu Sundar Singh- Reviews of The Opening of the American Mind, and Kazuo Ishigurös Klara and the SunPlough Quarterly features stories, ideas, and culture for people eager to put their faith into action. Each issue brings you in-depth articles, interviews, poetry, book reviews, and art to help you put Jesus¿ message into practice and find common cause with others.