Sixth-century mosaic depicting Jesus before Roman governor Pontius Pilate washing his hands, at Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy.
(Nick Thompson/Flickr)
The expression to “wash one’s hands of responsibility” comes from Christian scripture and has been part of a toxic legacy of blaming Jews for Jesus’s death.
The chivalrous peasant teenager Joan of Arc is a hero of French independence.
De Agostini/G. Dagli Orti via Getty Images
Chivalry is not an elite men’s club. Women have always been involved.
Medieval Christians believed that heaven was a realm filled with dancing. Italian painter Fra Angelico’s ‘Last Judgment’ showing dancing angels.
Fra Angelico's Last Judgment/Wikimedia
Kathryn Dickason, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Despite opposition from the early church, dance was an integral part of Christian devotion for many centuries before falling out of favor.
Israel Antiquities Authority conservator Tanya Bitler shows newly discovered Dead Sea Scroll fragments at the Dead Sea Scrolls conservation lab in Jerusalem.
AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner
What’s fascinating about the latest Dead Sea Scrolls discovery is how it reflects the stories of those who wrote the ancient texts, those who kept them safe and the archaeologists who found them.
The Bible contains many stories of migration, including that of Joseph, Mary and Jesus.
Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Many within the political left and right draw on the Bible to inform their views on immigration, but neglect to take into account how foreigners were treated under the Roman Empire during the time of Jesus.
Michel Corneille the Younger: Aspasia surrounded by Greek philosophers.
Wikimedia Commons
The New York Times’ 1619 project and Donald Trump’s 1776 Commission had very different interpretations of US history. Similarly, the Bible has more than one narrative.
Lent is a period of fasting and reflection for many Chistians.
Pascal Deloche/Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The 40-day Lenten season, when many Christians observe fasting, began in mid-February. A scholar explains how the practice may have emerged around the fifth century.
From the oath-taking on the Bible during the presidential swearing-in ceremony to the ‘awe’ and ‘restraint’ of the early Christian world, the meaning of ‘religion’ has gone through a long journey.
Supporters of President Trump put up a Cross outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6,
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Australians have always preferred to keep their faith private, and politics “out” of religion. But the two are intrinsically entwined, and always have been.
Surrounded by army cadets, U.S. President Donald Trump watches the first half of the 121st Army-Navy Football Game at the United States Military Academy in New York City on Dec. 12, 2020.
(Shutterstock)
The messianic language used in relationship to Donald Trump and QAnon conspiracy theories have their roots in Christian expectations of messianic deliverance.
Preparing food is an important ritual in providing care and comfort.
(Shutterstock)
Recent archaeological studies suggest that early Christians were identifying important sites as little as a century after the last of the gospels.
The Dead Sea scrolls show scribes using the theme of four kingdoms (Babylon-Persia, Greece, Rome and the kingdom of God) as a flexible way to prophecize.
(Shutterstock)
A much talked-about scene from the latest Netflix horror raises important questions about how the Bible deals with mental health.
Members of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal organization, which began in Pennsylvania in 1967, holding a meeting in France.
Photo by Jacques Pavlovsky/Sygma via Getty Images
The Catholic charismatic movement in the United States began during the 1960s. The practices of Catholic charismatics encompass various forms of Pentecostalism.
Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity