The Christian religion is gritty. In an unknown corner of an oppressed nation, God became flesh, a baby nourished in the womb of a young peasant woman who gave birth in a barn. God did this to save us, that is, to redeem us from sin and death so that we might be healed and …
Category Archives: Bell Tower, Volume 4, Issue 1
Heavenly Bodies; Home; Remember Her
Heavenly Bodies, 2024 In this work, I engage with the visual language of historical Christian iconography to explore the ways in which women’s bodies and narratives have been framed within religious art. The figures, adorned with golden halos reminiscent of saints, exist in a space that is both sacred and subversive. Their nudity, often depicted …
Though Leaves Must Fall
All is silent as a snow-swept risethe skies wander from eddying whiteto lights of blue and simmering goldas cold as a breathless curtain of stars. It’s here as the magic hour slowly fadesand braids soft blushes through the rustling leavesthat wreathes of rollicking laughter seemto stream from the throat of an autumnal king. For the …
Modern Worship Music: The Contemporary Praise and Worship Movement and the Reformed Reaction with the Theology and Philosophy of the Movements
Introduction As a young worship leader who often leads public worship in varying contexts, as well as a music student attending a liberal arts college where the music department values and appreciates traditional hymnody, I have had the opportunity to observe a variety of worship traditions and styles. Growing up, I attended a church aligned …
Breaking the Cycle: Transcending the Final Scapegoat in Girard’s Theory
While a Swiss linguist named Ferdinand de Saussure was trying to explain the underlying structures and systems that govern literature and human interaction, René Girard, a French historian and literary critic, was beginning to explore the human disposition of desire, imitation, and eventual conflict. In the mid-20th century, Saussure formulated that structuralism places a key …
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Artist Statement
Cover and Section Art by Blake Johnson. “And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the …
Best World and Fine Tuning
From what physics looked like in the first moments of the universe to why a good God would allow evil, issues concerning why and how the universe exists have notable implications for personal belief and scientific advancement. Two theories with particular relevance to these ideas are the best world theory and the fine-tuning argument. In …
A Prisoner’s Little Theology: A Theoretical Consideration of Ambition, Friendship, and Cultural Games
The prison environment is formed by many complex personalities, religions, beliefs, social structures, identities, and quasi-political hierarchies, many of which were formed by poverty, hate, abusive or broken homes, drug-infested streets, and systemic racial oppression that existed before any of the now incarcerated men and women became prisoners. Often, for those living within the prison …
Reading Beyond Words: People as Texts to be Literate In
In a world where divisions seem sharper and more entrenched than ever, misunderstanding has become common and even expected. This phenomenon of disagreement and disconnection is not confined to the heated battlegrounds of public political discourse or the echo chambers of social media, though these battlegrounds of competing narratives about climate change, immigration, theology, or …
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A Reflection from the Editor
The first warm day of the spring semester arrived in late February this year, inviting people from all corners of campus to emerge like the tender shoots that poked through the flowerbeds outside of Lubbers, coaxed out by the warmth. In an afternoon, the crisp emptiness of winter was severed by the sound of lilting …