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    Current Issue cover of Plough Quarterly Issue 39
    watercolor illustrations of several historical figures
    Home Articles

    Forerunners

    Face to Face with Spiritual Heroes

    “Forerunners” is a Plough series profiling spiritual forefathers and foremothers from history, both famous and obscure.

    Maximus the Confessor Article

    A World Full of Signs

    Susannah Black Roberts

    Maximus the Confessor saw the natural world as charged with symbolic meaning.

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    illustration of Hildegard of Bingen Article

    The Sacred Sounds of Hildegard of Bingen

    Susannah Black Roberts

    In music, art, medicine, and spiritual writings, Hildegard of Bingen sought to express “the sacred sound through which all creation resounds.”

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    portrait sketch of Hugh O’Flaherty Article

    The Monsignor versus the Fascists

    Maureen Swinger

    In and around the Vatican, Hugh O’Flaherty organized a daring network to hide Jews and escaping prisoners of war.

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    watercolor painting of Hudson Taylor and his wife Maria Article

    Hudson Taylor

    Maureen Swinger and Susannah Black Roberts

    “When I am a man, I mean to be a missionary and go to China.”

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    34BlackRobertsListing Article

    Monica of Thagaste, Mother of Augustine

    Susannah Black Roberts

    Her famous son left her no surviving grandchildren. Yet she became a spiritual grandmother to millions.

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    artwork of a man in a yellow turban against a background image of the Himalayan Mountains Article

    Sadhu Sundar Singh

    Susannah Black Roberts

    A modern Saint Francis, Sundar Singh left his family and ancestral faith to follow Jesus without Western trappings.

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    ink and brown watercolor illustration of Charles de Foucald Article

    Charles de Foucauld

    Andreas Knapp

    A young French hedonist follows Jesus into the desert.

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    collage artwork of Mercedes Sosa Article

    Mercedes Sosa

    Susannah Black Roberts

    The singer who gave voice to her people’s struggle outlived several tyrants.

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    stylized painted portrait of Flannery OConnor Article

    Flannery O’Connor

    Susannah Black Roberts

    As a writer with a disability, the beloved Southern novelist showed the beauty of a costly life.

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    ink and watercolor drawing of Toyohiko Kagawa Article

    Toyohiko Kagawa

    Susannah Black Roberts and Jason Landsel

    The anti-imperialist peace activist who challenged Emperor Hirohito to become the servant of the people.

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    ink and watercolor illustration of a grey haired woman in a t-shirt Article

    Sister Dorothy Stang

    Susannah Black Roberts and Jason Landsel

    A nun arrives in the Brazilian rainforest around the same time as the agribusiness tycoons.

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    illustration of Felix Manz Article

    Felix Manz

    Susannah Black Roberts and Jason Landsel

    Those on the river bank heard Felix sing, his voice echoing back toward Anna’s. His final words were of unwavering faith.

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    an illustration of Sojourner Truth Article

    Sojourner Truth

    Susannah Black Roberts and Jason Landsel

    The abolitionist was sustained by a fierce faith.

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    an illustration of St. Macrina Article

    Saint Macrina

    Susannah Black Roberts and Jason Landsel

    The heart of the famous family, the one who drew them all, through her sheer delight in Christ, to lives that shook the world.

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    Painting by Jason Landsel of Bishop Samuel Ruiz García Article

    Samuel Ruiz García

    Jason Landsel

    “Jesus calls on us to be defenders, even if in so doing we must follow his path: that of the cross.”

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    Jason Landsel, portrait of Madeleine Delbrêl Article

    Madeleine Delbrêl

    Jason Landsel

    They love the door that opens onto the street.

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    an illustration of Carl Sandburg playing a guitar Article

    Carl Sandburg

    Jason Landsel

    Trying to write briefly about Carl Sandburg is like trying to picture the Grand Canyon in one black-and-white snapshot.

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    illustration of Gustav Landauer Article

    Gustav Landauer

    Jason Landsel

    Who was Gustav Landauer?

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    illustration of Edna Lewis Article

    Edna Lewis

    Jason Landsel

    Meet Edna Lewis, the chef, author, and activist who brought the Virginian home-cooking of her childhood to New York City.

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    Michael and Margaretha Sattler Article

    Michael and Margaretha Sattler

    Jason Landsel

    Who were Michael and Margaretha Sattler? Two Anabaptist martyrs who worked to outline the fundamental principles of their movement, based on the...

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    an illustration of Wassily Kandinsky Article

    Wassily Kandinsky

    Jason Landsel

    Using the remedies of color and shape, Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky wanted to bring about spiritual restoration.

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    Jason Landsel, The Beguines, after Rogier van der Weyden’s Portrait of a Young Woman (c. 1435) Article

    The Beguines

    Jason Landsel

    “Men try to dissuade me from everything Love bids me do. They don’t understand it, and I can’t explain it to them. I must live out what I am.” Meet...

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    an illustration of Gerrard Winstanley Article

    Gerrard Winstanley

    Jason Landsel

    “Work together; eat bread together. Declare this all abroad.” The life and vision of Gerrard Winstanley.

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    ViktorFranklListing Article

    Viktor Frankl

    Jason Landsel

    Victor Frankl, the psychiatrist who survived concentration camp, and learned that the key to survival was having a sense of purpose, something to...

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    an illustration of Polycarp Article

    Forerunners: Polycarp

    Jason Landsel

    Worldwide, three hundred and twenty-two Christians die for their faith every month, according to the group Open Doors. Their courage mirrors the...

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    an illustration of Fannie Lou Hamer Article

    Fannie Lou Hamer

    Jason Landsel

    Despite persecution and opposition, Fannie Lou Hamer never compromised either on justice or on mercy, speaking for her people but insisting on the...

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    an illustration of Thomas Müntzer Article

    Thomas Müntzer

    Jason Landsel

    Who was this man who, five hundred years later, remains one of the most formidable, and also one of the most controversial, voices of the early...

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    an illustration of Joe Strummer Article

    Joe Strummer

    Jason Landsel

    Joe Strummer’s punk rock spoke bluntly against fascism, racism, brutality, and corruption. His lyrics left listeners feeling: no, we don’t have to...

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    Watercolor painting of Muhammad Ali by Jason Landsel Article

    Muhammad Ali

    Jason Landsel

    At the peak of his physical abilities the heavyweight champion of the world committed what many perceived as career suicide. At the height of the...

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    a painting of Vincent van Gogh Article

    Vincent van Gogh

    Jason Landsel

    How did a man who in many ways personified the caricature of a tortured artist, who sold only one painting in his lifetime, and who committed suicide...

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    an illustration of Janusz Korczak protecting children Article

    Janusz Korczak

    Jason Landsel

    Janusz Korczak’s example of courage and nobility was in itself a silent protest against the murderers.

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    drawing of Mother Maria Skobtsova Article

    Mother Maria of Paris

    Jason Landsel

    No amount of thought will ever result in any greater formulation than the three words: Love one another. ...

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    an illustration of Badshah Khan Article

    Badshah Khan

    Veery Huleatt

    “Nonviolence is not for cowards,” Mahatma Gandhi told his friend Badshah Khan in 1930. “It is for the brave, the courageous.” At the time, they were...

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    JohnnyAppleseedListing Article

    Johnny Appleseed

    Veery Huleatt

    A man stepped forward, barefoot and wearing a coffee sack for a shirt. He lived on the American frontier, planting apple orchards and bearing “good...

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    an illustration of the prophet Isaiah Article

    Isaiah

    Jason Landsel

    Sometimes called “the Shakespeare of the Bible,” Isaiah is among world literature’s greatest poets. He gives voice to the cry for justice by...

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    drawing of Katharina hutter and child Article

    Katharina Hutter

    Jason Landsel

    “I hope that God’s fire will be so brightly kindled and his work so well established that even great floods and torrents of rain will not be able to...

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