Plough Quarterly No. 11 - Alien Citizens

Christians are citizens of a completely different political regime: the kingdom of God. As patriots of another homeland, living in whatever country we find ourselves as alien citizens, what is our role in society and what are our obligations in the political arena? This issue of Plough Quarterly fleshes out an active, constructive, countercultural vision for the church today. In this issue: - Plough asks Benedict Option author Rod Dreher about Donald Trump, religious liberty, and Christian community. - Eberhard Arnold introduces a young storm trooper to the church’s dangerous politics. - Resident Aliens author Will Willimon applies Arnold’s message to our own historical moment. - Was Thomas More’s Utopia a pipe dream or a blueprint for actual communities? - A descendant of farmers questions Wendell Berry’s agrarian idyll. - Recent Middle Eastern converts risk their lives to follow Christ. - A naturalized American finds herself at war with her homeland. - A photojournalist asks immigrants what peace means to them. - Is T. S. Eliot’s vision of a Christian society a lost cause? - Jason Landsel looks at the legacy of Joe Strummer and punk rock. Then there’s new poetry, book reviews, a children’s story, and art by William Blake, Brigitta Racz, Zhu Jiuyang, Christina Maendel, Bill Jacklin, and Neil Welliver. 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.

The gospel teaches that every human is sacred. Refugee children and Islamist terrorists. Police officers and young African Americans. Unborn babies, always, and also abortionists. Orange-haired casino owners, former First Ladies, progressive hipsters, prosperity-gospel televangelists, members of Congress, Confederate-flag-waving white nationalists? Sacred. This absurd claim is at the heart of the gospel. Each person is created in the image and likeness of God. Each is someone for whom Jesus died. And if this is true, we have much work to do. The writers in this issue may not agree on the best ways and means, but each challenges us to consider the implications of this gospel of life that makes no exceptions. Also in this issue: -- A former asylum seeker returns to Iraq to stand with Christians on the run from ISIS. -- Shane Claiborne tells us why abolishing the death penalty is the church’s business. -- Joel Salatin, America’s most famous farmer, reveals what pigs can teach us about the glory of God. -- John Dear reports on the Vatican’s historic turn toward nonviolence. -- Erna Albertz tells Richard Dawkins how her sister with Down syndrome can help him. -- Gun owners respond to gun violence with a fresh take on “swords into plowshares.” -- Ron Sider looks at the consistently pro-life witness of the early church. -- A hospice nurse reflects on euthanasia and the value of being a burden. -- Jason Landsel asks what made MohammadMuhammad Ali great. Then there’s new poetry, book reviews, a children’s story, insights from Pope Francis and George MacDonald, and art by Pawel Kuczynski, Xenia Hausner, William H. Johnson, Käthe Kollwitz, and Deidre Scherer. 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.