Sarahbeth Caplin's Blog

I was naive to think I had ever “arrived” in my Christian journey. I’ve thought I found my permanent place, my forever spiritual family, many times throughout adulthood, only to have schisms tear apart the church. Or have close friends move away. Others got married or had babies long before I did, and virtually disappeared.… Continue reading That awkward Jewish girl at RCIA

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What this post is not: a value judgment of parents who grew their families with IVF. What this post is: a response to some of the ethical concerns raised by new developments in reproductive technology. This tweet featuring a screenshot from a New York Times article caught my attention recently. Genomics researcher Noor Siddiqui asked… Continue reading Reproductive technology and the scandal of redemptive suffering

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Nearly ten years ago now, I wrote a blog post explaining why, despite my Jewish heritage and faith in Jesus Christ, I do not call myself a Messianic Jew. It went semi-viral, and not in a good way. I received – and still do, on occasion – many emails criticizing my reasons, which mostly had… Continue reading Why I’m still not a Messianic Jew

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There are rhythms to certain relationships that are not only enjoyable, but indicators of good health. In my marriage, it’s making coffee for myself and my husband (he still doesn’t quite understand the French press) in the morning, which we sip in our home library as our daughter races her toy cars across the carpet.… Continue reading What Christians get wrong by saying “It’s not a religion, it’s a relationship”

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I’ve been following the progression of “right to die” laws with special interest. The “Medical Aid in Dying” act (MAiD) recently passed in the state of New York, though it still faces a vote in the senate before it becomes official.  Euthanasia is not new, but MAiD is different. The “right to die” used to… Continue reading Humans can’t die without dignity

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I’m occasionally asked if I ever consider myself a “completed Jew,” and Christians tend to be surprised when I answer no. The main reason for that is because it’s considered highly offensive to Jewish people. The gospel is offensive enough; I don’t see a need to use language that is inflammatory if I don’t have… Continue reading How anxiety pointed me to the gospel

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I saw a meme recently about the Jewish propensity for anxiety: “Of course Jewish people are anxious. The non-anxious ones didn’t survive. Every Jewish person alive today is here because some ancestor, at some point in history, said ‘Hey listen up! The vibes are off; time to get on a boat.’” I feel that. It’s… Continue reading The vibes are off, time to get on a boat

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If there’s one takeaway from my brief stint in progressive Christian spaces, it’s this: certainty in faithful matters is not a goal, but rather an enemy (ironically, they seemed pretty certain about that). But when I read books and blog posts about people’s de-conversion journeys, it seemed that certainty itself was not always the problem:… Continue reading Pope Francis and the importance of moral clarity

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Normal people perhaps don’t grow up thinking what they would have done had they lived in Nazi Germany, but I did. The answer was simple: good people helped hide Jews, or otherwise volunteered their skills to the Resistance. Bad people looked the other way and did nothing, or worse: reported their neighbors who did those… Continue reading The answer to “What would you have done?” isn’t that simple

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I recently came across this Christianity Today article on why there seems to be a surge of Protestants turning to Catholicism: It’s no secret that a growing number of Protestants in the US have become embittered with American evangelicalism. There is, of course, the disillusionment with sexual abuse scandals among well-known leaders and institutions—as well… Continue reading The Protestant to Catholic pipeline

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