Psalm 137 – best known for its opening line, ‘By the Rivers of Babylon’ – is a 2,500-year-old Hebrew psalm that deals with the Jewish exile and is remembered each year on Tisha B’av.
Frederick Douglass used the words of Psalm 137 in his famous speech, ‘What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?’ For centuries, this poem has resonated with writers and composers on how humans deal with trauma.
In the Western world, the U.S. is one of only one of two countries with capital punishment, and support remains strongest in the ‘Bible Belt’. Here’s a look at the historic arguments within Christian communities over the death penalty.