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Wish you had time to re-read and enjoy that daunting stack of
Charles Dickens novels? Take heart: Dickens enthusiast Gina
Dalfonzo has done the heavy lifting for you. In short, readable
excerpts she presents the essence of the great novelist's
prodigious output, teasing out dozens of the most memorable scenes
to reveal the Christian vision and values that suffuse all his
work. Dickens can certainly entertain, but his legacy endures
because of his power to stir consciences with the humanity of his
characters and their predicaments. While he could be ruthless in
his characterization of greed, injustice, and religious hypocrisy,
again and again the hope of redemption shines through. In spite of
- or perhaps because of - his own failings, Dickens never stopped
exploring the themes of sin, guilt, repentance, redemption, and
restoration found in the gospel. In some passages the Christian
elements are explicit, in others implicit, but, as Dickens himself
said, they all reflect his understanding of and reverence for the
gospel. The Gospel in Dickens includes selections from Oliver
Twist, David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations,
A Christmas Carol, Nicholas Nickleby, The Old Curiosity Shop,
Martin Chuzzlewit, Dombey and Son, Bleak House, Hard Times, Little
Dorrit, Our Mutual Friend, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and Sketches
by Boz - with a cast of unforgettable characters such as Ebenezer
Scrooge, Sydney Carton, Jenny Wren, Fagin, Pip, Joe Gargery, Mr.
Bumble, Miss Havisham, betsey Trotwood, and Madame Defarge.
What is a family and what is it good for? Story 1: Families are in
crisis, and the cause is moral breakdown. We urgently need a deep
renewal of our family culture, supported by public policies that
strengthen traditional marriage and encourage childbearing. Story
2: Families are in crisis, and the cause is capitalism. We need
structural changes in society so that all families can flourish:
parental leave, guaranteed healthcare, flexible work hours for
parents, restorative justice. What if both these stories are true?
This issue of Plough reflects on what a family is and what it is
for, so that the transformations needed to solve the crisis of the
family start from a firm basis, not a nostalgic ideal or
progressive theorizing. As always, we take as a starting point the
teachings of Jesus. It turns out his idea of family values might
not be what people think. He calls us to extend our natural love
for our biological family to a vast new throng of siblings - a
family of many ethnicities and cultures that includes the widowed,
the unmarried, the outsider, and the stranger. In this issue: -
Ross Douthat asks what is stopping people from having the one more
child they desire. - Edwidge Danticat says families are not
nuclear. - Gina Dalfonzo reveals what singles know best about the
church as family. - Norann Voll remembers a Jewish woman who
escaped the Holocaust and married a German. - W. Bradford Wilcox
and Alysse ElHage report on how the Covid pandemic has impacted the
family. - Noah Van Niel asks whether masculinity is OK anymore. -
Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn reflects the burden of family
history, celibacy, and monument toppling. - Sarah C. Williams
pinpoints the source of feminist pioneer Josephine Butler's daring.
- Rabbi Jonathan Sacks begins the story of marriage 385 million
years ago in a lake in Scotland. - Zito Madu recalls how his
father's amazing storytelling saved the past from oblivion. You'll
also find: - M. M. Townsend on what Louisa May Alcott and Simone de
Beauvoir had in common - A special announcement about Plough's new
poetry contest: the Rhina Espaillat Poetry Award - A reading from
G. K. Chesterton - Two new poems by Rachel Hadas - Reviews of Eric
Edstrom's Un-American, Maya Schenwar and Victoria Law's Prison by
Any Other Name, Brian Doyle's One Long River of Song, and Martin
Caparros's Hunger Plough 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.
What happens when we push past the surface and allow real,
grounded, mutually challenging, and edifying friendships to
develop? We need only look at the little-known friendship between
eminent Christian thinkers Dorothy L. Sayers and C. S. Lewis to
find out. Born out of a fan letter that celebrated mystery novelist
Sayers wrote to Lewis as his star was just beginning to rise, this
friendship between a married woman and a longtime bachelor
developed over years of correspondence as the two discovered their
mutual admiration of each other's writing, thinking, and faith. In
a time when many Christians now aren't even sure that a man and a
woman can be "just friends" and remain faithful, Gina Dalfonzo's
engaging treatment of the relationship between two of
Christianity's most important modern thinkers and writers will
resonate deeply with anyone who longs for authentic, soul-stirring
friendships that challenge them to grow intellectually and
spiritually. Fans of Lewis and Sayers will find here a fascinating
addition to their collections.
There are now more single adults than married adults in the United
States, yet the evangelical church continues to focus primarily on
serving couples and families with ministries geared toward their
particular needs. This can lead, however unintentionally, to the
marginalization of adults who are single by choice, divorce, or
death, or who are simply not yet married. Families are a good
thing, but so are all of God's people, and singles long to be
lovingly integrated into the Body of Christ. In One by One, Gina
Dalfonzo explores common misconceptions and stereotypes about
singles, including the idea that they must be single because
something is wrong with them, and the subtle (and not-so-subtle)
ways they are devalued, like when sermons focus overmuch on
navigating marital relationships or raising children. She shows how
the church of Paul, who commended those who remained single, became
the church where singles are too often treated like second class
Christians. Then she explores what the church is doing right, what
unique services singles can offer the church, and, most
importantly, what the church can do to love and support the singles
in their midst.
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