03/06/2025
Now published! Sarah F. Porter, “Writing to Paul: Using Interactive Fiction to Explore Early Christian Worlds.”
Abstract: “Bringing early Christianity to life” is a worthy goal, but it is worthier when buttressed by more specific learning objectives. A text-based choose-your-own-adventure-style game, Writing to Paul, invites students to explore the first decades of earliest Christianity. In this article, I present the learning objectives achieved by the game: introducing the rich historical context of 50 CE; introducing key teachers and teachings of earliest Christianity; and introducing crucial historiographical questions like “How does one tell history?” I present ethical considerations in both designing and playing the game, such as taking seriously the agency of disenfranchised populations, presenting varieties of early Christianities, and developing historical empathy. Finally, I offer other use cases for using interactive fiction in the religious studies classroom.
Sara Stone, “Oh Poor Jephthah: Jephthah, Jephthah’s Daughter, and Himpathy,” 1–22. KEYWORDS:Judges 11, Jephthah, Jephthah’s Daughter, sympathy, himpathy, herasure This article will explore how the story of Jephthah and his daughter in Judges 11 provides us with a biblical example of himpat...
