Kelly Johnson is associate professor of religious studies at the University of Dayton. Her first book, The Fear of Beggars: Poverty and Stewardship in Christian Ethics (Eerdmans, 2007), traces the impact of Christian mendicant orders on the development of economic thought and stewardship rhetoric. She is a founding member of the Ekklesia Project and a participant in the New Wineskins group of Catholic moral theologians.
In this essay, Kelly Johnson explores the categories of comedy and tragedy as she considers how we might stay informed about social injustices, suffering, and human rights violations and yet maintain and nurture Christian joy.
