Author: Shalem John

In an age of social media celebrity and showy spirituality, we are invited into a holy unawareness. If a good deed done is not posted on social media, did it really happen? If an act of generosity is not caught on camera and never goes viral, was it a worthwhile gesture? These questions, facetious as they seem, point out something I’ve observed in my own life: a deep desire to display my goodness to others. There’s even a modern term for it: virtue signaling. According to Jesus, this is an ancient struggle, a primal temptation. We long to be known…

An excerpt on faith and sight from Becoming by Beholding: The Power of the Imagination in Spiritual Formation. I grew up fearing the power of the eyes. I was supposed to avert my eyes from certain television shows, movies, books, and images. When it came to men, I was afraid of my gaze—and doubly afraid of theirs. Just looking at the sale rack was risky if I wanted to avoid envy and irresponsible spending. Even at 40, I still hide my eyes when I feel afraid. But I’ve come to realize that for all the time I spent worrying about…

Christian organizations are struggling to reach prisoners in a country where 1 in 56 people is in jail. In just over two years, El Salvador’s government has sent 80,000 people to prison. With over 111,000 people incarcerated, the country has the world’s highest proportion of people behind bars—one inmate for every 56 people. The current situation stems from a zero-tolerance policy toward the gangs that once proliferated in the country. Salvadoran gangs are considered transnational crime organizations responsible for taking murder rates to levels only seen during the 1979–1992 civil war. In March 2022, President Nayib Bukele decreed a régimen…