The Galli Report Is Moving …

The Galli Report Is Moving …

… to a new server. Christianity Today will no longer be hosting this newsletter, but with the help of some smart apps and smart people, I’ll be managing things myself. Scary thought, I know, but we’ll give it a try. Unfortunately, I cannot simply transfer your email address over to the new site—privacy laws, confidentiality, and all that. So, in order to continue to receive emails from me via the Galli Report, make sure to click on this link and sign up to stay on the list! You can also follow along on TheGalliReport.com The purpose will be the same: Each week I scour the internet and find articles and videos that, IMHO, are interesting (they can’t just be “important”), not overly long (!), and give insight into the currents that run through and around our culture. To what end? That we might better love God and neighbor in our day. Coronavirus Reading Worth Reading EVERYBODY is writing about the pandemic. So you’d think there would be a lot of really great writing about it. Not so, because much of it comes from daily journalists and pundits, and believe me, as a former journalist, it’s really hard to be thoughtful day in and day out. And yet, to me, a few pieces rise above their peers. Forgive the hubris, but someone on Twitter reminded me that I wrote this a few years ago when I was editor of Christian History: “When a Third of the World Died.” As GR readers know, I’m a fan of gaining historical perspective. … [F]rom 1347 to about 1350, medieval Europe experienced perhaps the greatest calamity in human history. It shouldn’t surprise us that this plague, or the Black Death as it is often called, left its mark on medieval Christianity. But in many cases, the mark it left looked as hideous as the symptoms of the Black Death itself. I thought David French did a good job of “Discerning the difference between courage, cowardice, and recklessness.” In responding to those who say we lack faith in canceling worship at this time, he writes, There exists within Christianity a temptation to performative acts that masquerade as fearlessness. In reality, this recklessness represents—as the early church father John Chrysostom called it—“display and vainglory.” Matthew Lee Anderson brings the wisdom of C. S. Lewis and St. Augustine to bear when thinking about the fear this pandemic elicits. For example, We shall someday have a gladness that is free from fear, Augustine contends—but the present insecurities of this world mean that our gladness is imperfect and that fear is necessary. “If we are completely secure,” he writes, we “exult in the wrong way.” The fear of the Lord disrupts that security, by reminding us of the passing nature of this temporal world. “Let us not expect security while we are on pilgrimage.” John Allen, who reports on things Catholic from Italy, gives a poignant glimpse of life in that besieged country, offers thoughts for Christians in liturgical communions, and then—based on queries to clergy he knows—offers a salutary reading list. Finally, Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari looks forward, to the world after coronavirus: The decisions people and governments take in the next few weeks will probably shape the world for years to come. They will shape not just our healthcare systems but also our economy, politics and culture. We must act quickly and decisively. We should also take into account the long-term consequences of our actions. When choosing between alternatives, we should ask ourselves not only how to overcome the immediate threat, but also what kind of world we will inhabit once the storm passes. Nature Gone Wild I didn’t save this video link a few months ago thinking of the coronavirus, but in viewing it again, it does seem like a powerful metaphor for the suddenness, power, and arbitrary nature of the spreading pandemic. Be prepared for some dazzling time-lapse photography. Grace and peace,

Mark Galli