From the Editor

Who Is My Neighbor? Peter Mommsen Love of neighbor is not an exalted feeling. It’s tough love. It means accepting risks and sometimes even suffering. But love of neighbor can bring about a shared life of mutual care when our neighbors become our brothers and sisters...

Essays

Love in Syria Navid Kermani Upon accepting the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, Muslim writer Navid Kermani tackled some contested questions. Syria and Iraq, persecuted Christians, the true nature of Islam: Will Western Christians respond, or stay indifferent? Did the Early Christians Understand Jesus? Gerhard Lohfink The kingdom Jesus proclaimed was coming – not just soon or in the near future – but now. Hope in the Void Michael Yandell How can war veterans come to terms with the moral guilt they may feel after serving active duty? And how can they help us face the reality of our own need for God? Yandell writes from personal experience. Needing My Neighbor Matthew Loftus “The struggle I was experiencing mirrored what I’d seen my neighbors go through in dealing with their addictions. I found myself making the same excuses I’d heard them make, yet I was still faster to recognize their pride than my own...” Dead Men Live Daniel Stulac Mark Robie’s family farm is in easement; its future hangs by a thread. Still, he believes Jesus will never fail him. Does he cling to wishful dreams – or to the only real hope there is? Mondays with Mister God Bill Wiser Geoff and Bill spend Mondays together, wandering the universe, exploring black holes and the Big Bang and pondering why anyone would want to constrict the Master of the Universe into creating all things in six earth days...

Personal History

From Mourning to Praise Drocella Nduwimana She became a widow after just seven months of marriage, when her husband was murdered during the Rwandan genocide. Although she survived, she was inwardly shattered. Read how Drocella Nduwimana finds peace and healing – not only for herself... Gripped by the Infinite Annemarie Wächter A young atheist, desperately searching for an absolute truth upon which to base her life, is invited to visit a Christian community by one of her college friends. How does she respond? If she visits, will she find what she is looking for?

Reading

The Danger of Prayer Eberhard Arnold Do we have the faith that through our prayer the status quo can be shattered? That Christ will come among us to judge and save? It is dangerous to call on God in this way, for it means we are ready not only to be lifted up but to be hurled down... Eberhard Arnold: an Appreciation Richard J. Foster Writing the introduction to Arnold’s book, The Prayer God Answers, Foster describes him as a man who “spoke forcefully against the ... murderous strains of racism and bigotry [and] the heady nationalistic fervor” of Germany in the 1930s.

Poetry

Poem: No One Wrings the Air Dry Laurie Klein A swift builds her nest, raises her brood, and readies her offspring for the first shock of quiet, dry air.

Fiction

The Coming of the King Laura E. Richards Their playground was sadly dirty, and in the corners were scraps of paper and broken toys, for these were careless children. But suddenly they hear that a king is soon coming to visit them. What happens next? An Easter story.

Reviews

Does Faith Breed Violence? Nathaniel Peters Named as this year’s Templeton Prize laureate, Rabbi Sacks explores the origins of human conflict and religious practice in a new book. Is religion an evolutionary stage that must be discarded, or is it still vital to understanding today’s problems?

Editors' Picks

Editors’ Picks Issue 8 Sam Hine Plough’s editors share their best reads of recent weeks. This issue (Plough Quarterly No. 8, Spring 2016) they feature books by Larissa MacFarquar, John Berger, and Robert Cardinal Sarah.

Family and Friends

Family and Friends Issue 8 Two new books worth your while, produced by ecumenical groups seeking common ground in Jesus, and a more faithful discipleship to him.

Another View

Urban Mansions Dean Mitchell “Money and things are not what life is all about,” Dean Mitchell once told an interviewer. He paints images of the American South – of common things and people; "people who were giving a lot, but were not getting recognition."

Forum

Readers Respond: Issue 8 Read letters to the editor responding to articles that appeared in Plough's Winter 2016 issue, Mercy.

Inklings

Insight: Loving Your Neighbor Teresa of Ávila “Our Lord expects works from us. If you see a sick sister whom you can relieve, never fear losing your devotion; show compassion to her; if she is in pain, feel for it as if it were your own...” Insight: Caring for a Neighbor’s Soul C. S. Lewis In this letter to a former student, C. S. Lewis encourages her not to give up in a time of personal difficulties. “It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present to us: it is the very sign of his presence.” Insight: Evangelism vs. Neighbor-Love John Stott We have two instructions of Jesus – a great commandment, “love your neighbor,” and a great commission, “go and make disciples.” What is the relation between them? Some of us think that if we share the gospel, we have completed our responsibility...

Interview

Neighbors in Rwanda Denise Uwimana One million Tutsis were killed in the Rwandan genocide of 1994. A yearly commemoration begins each April 7, the day the genocide started. Reflecting on the faith that held her through those days, a survivor expresses her hope for Rwanda’s future.

Portfolio

Invisible People: Why I Make Portraits of San Diego’s Homeless Neil Shigley “While we’re often attracted to images of the rich and famous, too many of us tend to look away from people on the other end of the economic spectrum, the homeless.” Read why artist Neil Shigley makes portraits of homeless people.

Forerunners

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