Letter from the Editor

Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, spoke in an interview about the need to restore the fullness of our humanity. We do this through restoring what a human was meant to be and thus leading us into a greater appreciation for other humans. From here we grow in empathy and awareness, and we draw attention to the more important aspects of our society.

Theologians have called this image of humanity the imago dei, or the image of God. We were made in his image—everyone was made in his image—so we ought to respect each other. Recent political discourse has not had this level of civility, but we believe through reading, listening, and attending to each other, it’s possible to redeem our culture.

This September issue is focused on restoring the image of our humanity, redeeming the image of God. Thanks for reading.

Feature

Our feature piece is called “The Worthiness of Imitation,” written by Laura Lundgren. She argues that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. It means we admire that work or that artist, rather than insecurity or inauthenticity.

Laura also wrote a poem this month called “Peanut Butter.”

Artist

Our featured artist this month is advertising photographer Matt Hawthorne. His photos are featured throughout many of our hero images, and we hope you enjoy them as much as we have.

Story

We have one short story this month by Cameron McAllister called “The Dismantlers.” Spare the time. You’ll be glad you did.

Articles

Liz Wann, a returning Fathom contributor, has argued for the necessity of fairy tales to recapture our imagination and reimagine a brighter world.

Dr. Miguel De La Torre makes a controversial pitch to overturn the “Eurocentric gaze” by wearing bow ties. He is a Latino professor who garners respectability by role-playing with white fashion.

Are smartphones helping us or hurting us? Many articles have been written on this subject, but Lyndsey Medford emphasizes the focus of technology through the lens of image. Part two of this idea will be out later this week.

Our media director Drew Fitzgerald re-energizes the boring Christian life with an argument that, perhaps, we’re looking at it all wrong. It’s truly a brilliant life. Drew also reviews the magic of Christopher Nolan’s latest film, Dunkirk.

Hallie Graves is a sleepwalker, but somehow she finds rest in God. Here we see just how important sleep and rest are to the good life.

Have you ever written a letter to your child? Tasha Burgoyne writes a letter to her daughter about others’ stares and questions, helping her to see clearly who she really is.

Another returning Fathom contributor argues that men in our society need a role model, and that role model might just be the famed biblical character Boaz.

How do we recover the vibrant imago dei we once had? Greg Parker Jr. takes a stab at that very question.

We have an excerpt from Mike Cosper’s book Recapturing the Wonder, and a Q&A from the author.

Many in our country believe modern Christians are aligned with the Religious Right and the Moral Majority—not to mention the current Administration—but Michael Wear says otherwise.

Fathom’s fearless leader, editor-in-chief Kelsey Hency, writes a lament to her daughter that she can’t protect her—every parent’s most painful subject.

If you haven’t noticed already, our Storied book club is full of conversation and delight. Last month’s pick was Exit West by Mohsin Hamid, for which Storied’s director, associate editor Collin Huber, wrote a timely review.

Write us.

Thanks to all our contributors this month. We hope you find the image of our brothers and sisters beautiful, and we hope you write to us about it.