This week’s free ebook for Plough subscribers is *The Gospel in Dorothy L. Sayers*. In this anthology, renowned murder mystery writer Dorothy L. Sayers tackles faith, doubt, human nature, and the most dramatic story ever told. www.plough.com/en/topics/cu...

“True faith involves a searing honesty about the despair that lurks in our own hearts, the self-centeredness that plagues our lives, our society, and our politics. It knows we cannot solve it ourselves.” —Graham Tomlin www.plough.com/en/topics/fa...

While it is true that prayer effects a transformation for the better in the person praying it's primary purpose is not self-help therapy. We have the assurance of faith that prayer *always* effects a transformation for the better in the spiritual realm even if we do not see its effects in the world.

“Like a rich food, you have to take in this book one small bite at a time to really savor it. I would recommend it to anyone (especially any woman) who is looking for a thought provoking and inspirational devotional reading.” Book review: deelibrarianreadinglogblog.blogspot.com/2026/03/a-su...

If you missed the Book Launch for *Nature Poems to See By* last week, you can watch the recording here: www.youtube.com/live/ZPL6H4W...

“Christ lived serenely as an artist, as a greater artist than any other; for he despised marble, clay, and the palette, and worked upon living flesh.” —Vincent van Gogh www.plough.com/en/topics/cu...

Possibilities: Pray Without Ceasing 🔗Read on Substack: ploughstack.substack.com/p/kneeling-w...

“Having kids and keeping them in the faith is the easiest way to keep your religion viable for generations of people. Trying to convert people to religion is insanely difficult, no matter how much money you throw at it, no matter how much training you give.” —Ryan Burge

New PloughRead from Natalie Carnes: “Icon or Idol?” 📻 Listen here: open.spotify.com/episode/0rCo...

“In Brown’s view, many in Gen Z are uniquely positioned for renewal because of their distress. He said he noticed a kind of ‘low wattage nihilism’ in most of his Gen Z students. They are ‘fatigued by the scripts that have been handed to them,’ and they are ready to act...” —Timothy J. Keiderling

Featured Book. The story of a Jewish convert to Catholicism, and her trust in Christ, even in the Holocaust. @plough.bsky.social

Happy #TolkienReadingDay! Reading Tolkien for the First Time by Algis Valiunas: www.plough.com/en/topics/cu...

Plough had a great time at Illuminate Arts and Faith Conference 2026! (Southern Adventist University, Collegedale TN)

See graphic artist Julian Peters’s interpretation of Dylan Thomas’s “Fern Hill”: www.plough.com/en/topics/cu... This poem is one of many in *Nature Poems to See By*, published this week. Get a copy: www.plough.com/en/topics/cu...

Read our latest PloughStack newsletter on becoming the creative minority: ploughstack.substack.com/p/after-reli...

“We too live between an annunciation and an arrival. Christ has come, and we, on the far side of his death and resurrection, are the recipients of his good news. Christ’s redeeming presence now exists in the world; we bear it in ourselves.” —Joel Clarkson

“There’s an abiding myth that registered churches are just tools of the Communist Party, that they do whatever it demands. I want to clarify that this isn’t true.” —Easten Law

“There’s not always justice in Flannery O’Connor’s stories, or transformation, or redemption. But they hover around the edges of the text, shimmering behind it, glimpsed out of the corner of the eye.” —Susannah Black Roberts 🦚

Join us Apr 14 for the launch of *A Sure Way*! Gloria Purvis, author & host of the Gloria Purvis podcast, Zena Hitz of St. John’s College, & editor Carolyn Beard will discuss Edith Stein’s words, witness, & the wisdom we can gain from her relentless pursuit of the truth. plough.com/en/events/20...

We're giving away 2 signed copies of *Nature Poems to See By* by Julian Peters. Enter for a chance to win over on our Facebook page (just tell us why you want the book 💬 and maybe you'll win it!) Giveaway here: www.facebook.com/PloughPublis...

Happy Pub Day to *Nature Poems to See By* by Julian Peters! This stunning anthology of favorite poems about our relationship with the natural world breathes new life into some of the greatest poems of all time. Get a copy here: www.plough.com/en/topics/cu...

"Post-religious conservatism is producing its own successor ideology. It manifests in divergent forms – from technological maximalism, to a primitivism fixated on physical strength, imputed statistical differences between races, and phrenology." @plough.bsky.social www.plough.com/en/topics/ju...

I’m grateful to Rosemarie Garland-Thomson for reminding us in this essay of the humanity we share (and perhaps even discover) across perceived differences. @plough.bsky.social www.plough.com/en/topics/ju...

*Nature Poems to See By* by Julian Peters will be released tomorrow! www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhRs...

“There is one battlefield upon which a traditional Christian ethic must finally collide, unavoidably and utterly, with the post-Christian right: bioethical questions of dependence and care.” —John Ehrett

Living faithfully a hidden life: "The Moral Beauty of Middlemarch" @plough.bsky.social (Plus- The Mill on the Floss) Valuing virtue: roughlydaily.com/2026/03/21/t...

“Here are inspiring readings from leading literary and spiritual writers, aesthetically rich writing...striking a prophetic and poetic chord to beckon us back to the Gospel, to conquer death and encourage us to live as true ‘Easter people’.” —Miriam Jacob

“As for carols and hymns, there seem to be far fewer for Lent and Easter, than for Advent and Christmas. To fill that gap, I cobbled together a playlist that highlights several personal favorites.” —Chris Zimmerman A Musical Journey through Holy Week: ploughstack.substack.com/p/from-angui...

“Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor political parties – but right through every human heart.” —Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn www.plough.com/en/topics/fa...

Here’s a first look at our Spring issue! Read it online & subscribe here: www.plough.com/en/subscript...

A thoughtfulpiece on the painful subject of church decline, closure and loss from Prof. Kilby in the @plough.bsky.social. www.plough.com/en/topics/fa...

They think faith is a big electric blanket, when of course it is the cross. —Flannery O’Connor www.plough.com/en/topics/fa...

“Play is the highest expression of human development in childhood, for it alone is the free expression of what is in children’s souls…. It gives them joy, freedom, contentment, and peace with the world.” —Friedrich Froebel

Ragan's new book--Watch and Wonder--is our starred new release this week! Read some of his thoughtful writing here...

“…And like a thunderbolt he falls.” Don't miss this brilliant, dizzying comic adaptation of Tennyson’s “The Eagle” in Julian Peters’ *Nature Poems to See By*: www.plough.com/en/topics/cu...

“The church is losing what it never should have had: the patronage of power, entanglement with the state, the benefits of establishment. These were corrupting influences. In being stripped of them, the church can be more truly itself, more faithful to Christ.” —Karen Kilby

Call for Submissions – Rhina Espaillat Poetry Award Prize: $2000 and publication in Plough 2 finalists: $250 each and publication in Plough Deadline: April 30, 2026 Fee: $7 (Free for Plough subscribers) Judge: Jane Clark Scharl Learn more and submit your poetry: www.plough.com/en/contact-u...

“No one spoke of Castro or Guevara as if they were friends. Instead, Mary – depicted as Cuba’s patroness and protectress, Our Lady of Charity – reigned inside Cuban homes. Time and again, people referred to Mary as someone close to them in their struggles.” —Margarita Mooney Clayton

“The growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.” www.plough.com/en/topics/li...

“It is not the hero but the meek and humble – or as Saint Paul teaches, not the wise but those who, to the world, seem foolish – who embody what Christianity understands to be the good life or indeed, the blessed one.” —King-Ho Leung

"How else might we go about thinking about decline in our churches? I’d like to propose that reflection on death as we meet it in the lives of ordinary individuals might prove helpful." Karen Kilby An uplifting read about a sad subject. www.plough.com/en/topics/fa...

Our Spring Issue: AFTER RELIGION is out now! Read the issue here: www.plough.com/en/subscript...

Although I'm a social scientist, I was an English major as an undergrad... The value of an English degree is that you learn to love characters with complexity... you learn to be interested in people and welcome their flawed natures.... This essay reminded me of that www.plough.com/en/topics/li...

Live Art Demo + Meet the Author If you love classic poetry & comic art, you'll want to check out this online event with acclaimed artist Julian Peters. He will be doing a live art demo during the event, & discussing his new book, Nature Poems to See By. Learn more here: plough.com/en/events/20...

“As Christianity spread, the gospel of a crucified God effected a slow-moving yet utterly radical transformation in worldview: Jesus promised that the meek, not the mighty, were the blessed who would inherit the earth.” —Peter Mommsen

“This is by no means only a loss for believers; the religious imagination is a vital part of a living culture. Ceding it—like so much of contemporary culture—to formula and cliché gradually but inexorably hollows us out.” Scialabba on Middlemarch @plough.bsky.social www.plough.com/en/topics/li...

An ancient Irish saint exhorts us to sell our vices and buy life. By Saint Columban www.plough.com/en/topics/fa...