In the opening shots of Martin McDonagh’s film The Banshees of Inisherin, we’re introduced to a fictional Irish town that, at first glance, seems totally idyllic. We descend from the sky, taking in the emerald sweep of pastureland. As the camera drifts along the seaside, we hear strains of an ethereal chorus sung in Gaelic.Continue reading “Maybe There Are Banshees: Friendship, Fault Lines, & the Fractured Conscience of American Christianity”
Author Archives: jeshuahayden
Rethinking the Rainbow: What I Learned About Queer Pride by Leaving Christianity
“Wow, that sounds a lot like coming out!” Recently, while sharing the story of my deconversion from Christianity, I received this same response from two friends – one straight, the other queer. Both of them recognized similarities between the struggles I faced as an apostate and the hardships encountered by queer people embracing their sexuality.Continue reading “Rethinking the Rainbow: What I Learned About Queer Pride by Leaving Christianity”
Deconstructing Cinema: The Top 10 Movies for People Leaving Religion
The acclaimed film critic Roger Ebert, whose reviews for the Chicago Sun-Times influenced generations of moviegoers, once described his appreciation for movies in this way: We are all born with a certain package. We are who we are. Where we were born, who we were born as, how we were raised. We are kind ofContinue reading “Deconstructing Cinema: The Top 10 Movies for People Leaving Religion”
The Child in the Library: My Spiritual Deconstruction
I never expected to write this post. When I started the blog that became wordsforwayfarers.com several years ago, I saw my writing as a kind of ministry. By exploring echoes of the Christian message in contemporary books, movies, songs, and albums, I hoped to demonstrate the relevance of Christianity to all of life. Many ofContinue reading “The Child in the Library: My Spiritual Deconstruction”
Beautiful Words: My Top 10 Favorite Albums of 2024
One morning, at an old social work job of mine, I chatted with my friend and coworker, Will, about our mutual love of Bruce Springsteen’s music. Will told me that “Thunder Road” is the best song ever written, and I excitedly agreed with him: “It’s so good!” When Will mentioned that the song contained someContinue reading “Beautiful Words: My Top 10 Favorite Albums of 2024”
Love and Time: My Top 10 Favorite Movies of 2024
Okay, so here’s the deal. Every year for the past five or six years, I’ve compiled a list of the ten best films I saw in that year. Usually, when people make similar lists, they focus on movies that were released in a given year. However, since I’m too poor to attend the cinema regularlyContinue reading “Love and Time: My Top 10 Favorite Movies of 2024”
Choosing Hope: My Top 10 Favorite Books of 2024
In September of 2018, singer-songwriter Nick Cave began a project called The Red Hand Files, in which he invited fans to write to him. “You can ask me anything,” Cave told them. “There will be no moderator.” A flood of letters ensued, and Cave has now published more than three hundred of them on hisContinue reading “Choosing Hope: My Top 10 Favorite Books of 2024”
Movie Review: A Complete Unknown
How does it feelTo be on your ownWith no direction homeLike a complete unknownLike a rolling stone? More than any other Bob Dylan lyric, that legendary chorus may come closest to capturing the spirit of its author – a lonesome, mercurial, dissembling spirit that no musical biopic could ever hope to fully represent. Wisely, JamesContinue reading “Movie Review: A Complete Unknown”
Book Review: The Life of Pi
In the spirit of Life of Pi, let me begin this review with a story. It was June of 2017, and I was on a Qatar Airways flight bound for Southeast Asia. I was a senior in college and had accepted a six-month internship with a missionary organization there. Seated next to me was aContinue reading “Book Review: The Life of Pi”
Ten Songs That Made Me
What makes a perfect song? In February of 2024, Rolling Stone published their list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. Sitting atop that list were stone-cold classics such as Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition,” The Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows,” Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” John Lennon’s “Imagine,” and Aretha Franklin’s “Respect.”Continue reading “Ten Songs That Made Me”
Words for Wayfarers 