The Christian Century back issues from January 2008:
Fear not.(Editor's DESK)
Jan 15, 2008; ... WHAT AN ANOMALY: while many Americans were gearing up for Christmas and singing the angels' song of peace on earth, good will to all, the nation was considering the government practice of torture--or more precisely, how and why videotapes of the government's harsh interrogation practices ...
Are Mormons Christians?(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Jan 15, 2008; ... I find it a bit mystifying that some Mormons find it so important that they be regarded as "genuine" Christians ("We're Christians too," by Jana Riess, Oct. 2). It seems akin to Christians wanting to be accepted as Jews: "Sure, we have new scriptures, a new understanding of what God is ...
A Mormon president?(Mitt Romney )(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2008 ... Better to be ruled by a wise Turk than a foolish Christian," Martin Luther is alleged to have quipped. Whether or not he actually made this remark, the sentiment captures the paradoxical vision that Luther and many other Protestants have brought to politics. Yes, Christ is Lord of the ...
Speechless.(CENTURY marks)(Mother Teresa )(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2008 ... SPEECHLESS: Poet Scott Cairns recounts a Dan Rather interview with Mother Teresa in which he asked her what she says to God when she prays. "I don't say ...
Object lesson.(CENTURY marks)(jews and judaism)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2008 ... OBJECT LESSON: Amy-Jill Levine, a Jewish scholar who teaches New Testament at Vanderbilt Divinity School, says that when her son was young she'd bring him along to class, wearing his yarmulka and fringes. And then she'd say to the class for the benefit of the Christian students, "When you ...
Slowing down.(CENTURY marks)(John Woolman )(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2008 ... SLOWING DOWN: When American Quaker reformer John Woolman planned a trip to England in 1772, he learned that the English road system was known for its use of "flying coaches." These six-horse coaches were fast not because the horses ran so fast but because they started early in the morning ...
Sex and slavery.(CENTURY marks)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2008 ... SEX AND SLAVERY: William Stacy Johnson notes that there are three forms of homoeroticism. Age-differentiated homosexuality, known as pederasty and common among the ancient Greeks, is when a younger person is expected to give sexual favors to his mentor as a rite of passage. Status-defined ...
It's about us, not God.(CENTURY marks)(Klaas Hendrikse's Believing in a God Who Does Not Exist: Manifesto of an Atheist Pastor )(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2008 ... IT'S ABOUT US, NOT GOD: A Dutch Protestant pastor who describes himself as an "atheist pastor" has become a publishing success in the Netherlands. Klaas Hendrikse's book Believing in a God Who Does Not Exist: Manifesto of an Atheist Pastor was ...
[Cartoon].(CENTURY marks)(Cartoon)
Jan 15, 2008 ... IT'S AGAINST MY RELIGION TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ...
Base instincts.(CENTURY marks)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2008 ... BASE INSTINCTS: Since the surge began in Iraq, a new military base has sprung up near the border with Iran. It's ostensible purpose is to check the flow of goods and people coming into Iraq from Iran, but it seems to have the strategic purpose of containing Iran's influence in the region ....
Healing.(CENTURY marks)(sacred places)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2008 ... HEALING: In a 27-page cover story, "Sacred Places," U.S. News & Worm Report (November 26--December 3) looks at the role that holy sites play in the life of religions and religious people, and includes vignettes about sacred places in different religions all over the world. Pilgrimages to ...
Room to pray.(CENTURY marks)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2008 ... ROOM TO PRAY: Setting aside places for meditation is a trend on college campuses. The University of Idaho's University Commons, built in 2000, has a meditation room that overlooks wheat fields in the foreground and mountains in the background. Richland College in Dallas, Green Mountain ...
Ask a monk.(CENTURY marks)(Shih Ying-Fa's www.cloudwater.org/aska monk.html)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2008 ... ASK A MONK: Online questions about Buddhism are being directed to Venerable Shih Ying-Fa, abbot of CloudWater Zendo, the Zen Center of Cleveland, at www.cloudwater.org/aska ...
For thirsty souls.(CENTURY marks)(holy drinking water)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2008 ... FOR THIRSTY SOULS: Wayne Enterprises in California offers Holy Drinking Water that has been blessed in the warehouse by an Anglican or Catholic priest. A Chicago entrepreneur markets Liquid OM, supposedly super-purified water, and ...
Myths die hard.(CENTURY marks)(Harry S. Stout )(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2008; ... "Myths die hard, and, for many Americans, the one truly intolerable, unacceptable notion even now is that America is one more profance nation in the wilderness of this world." ...
Although we are responsible for the virtue of our own souls, it will be extremely unlikely that many of us will be virtous if we live in a vicious society.(CENTURY marks)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2008; ... "Although we are responsible for the virtue of our own souls, it will be extremely unlikely that many of us will be virtous if we live in a vicious society. We need to be ...
Textweek.com: the woman behind the Web site.(Jenee Woodard)(Website overview)
Jan 15, 2008; ... IF YOU'RE a lectionary preacher with access to the Internet, you have probably clicked on textweek.com. The Web site includes extensive links to biblical commentaries and articles on church history, conveniently organized around the upcoming Sunday's lectionary readings. It also includes ...
Stories to live by: the fantasy worlds of Pullman and Lewis.(Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass and C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)
Jan 15, 2008; ... THE RELEASE of the film version of Philip Pullman's novel The Golden Compass has reinvigorated the controversy over his trilogy, His Dark Materials. Proclaimed "worthy of the bonfire" when first published, Pullman's books have evoked from some Christians the kind of response that one might ...
Stone work.(Poem)
Jan 15, 2008; ... <Pre> Stone work I know the one I want when I find it.Turning them over, like tortoises,rubbing their ridged underbellies, their curves,their pocked histories of love and grief, I palm the one that speaks my other name,the one whom I become this still ...
Flames like people.(Poem)
Jan 15, 2008; ... <Pre> Flames like people Thank you, Morgan, preschool prodigy of likenesses.I hadn't considered my propane heaterso closely, its hot imagery, how, as you declared that winter eveningin my kitchen, munching a chip two-handedlike a squirrel, the heater's line ...
Poll surge raises scrutiny of Huckabee.(news)(Mike Huckabee )
Jan 15, 2008 ... Mike Huckabee went from longshot candidate to serious GOP presidential contender in only a few weeks--and the tone of media coverage went from bemusement to serious critical analysis of his record. The result is both good and bad for the former governor of Arkansas and pastor ...
Young Life ministry draws fire over new ministry guidelines.(news)
Jan 15, 2008; ... New "nonnegotiable" guidelines for evangelism at Young Life ministries has led to the closing of a North Carolina office of the group and the claim by a national expert on youth and religion that the organization is moving in a fundamentalist and authoritarian direction. Young ...
Lutherans issue voter guidelines for churches.(news)(Evangelical Lutheran Church's Called to Be a Public Church)
Jan 15, 2008 ... THE NATION'S largest Lutheran denomination has issued election-year guidelines for congregations and outlined seven issues, from hunger to health care, that reflect the church's emphasis on social justice. The guide, "Called to Be a Public Church," from the 5-million-member ...
Colorado shootings reflect big threats at megachurches.(CENTURY news)
Jan 15, 2008; ... With megachurches come megacrowds, megamoney and, increasingly, mega--security concerns. The crowds--anywhere from 2,000 to 20,000 worshipers each weekend--can be an attractive target for a deranged shooter. Overflowing offering plates are tempting to thieves, and well-known ...
Methodist leader says firing was over style, differences of vision.(CENTURY news)( Larry D. Pickens )
Jan 15, 2008; ... The recently dismissed head of the United Methodist Church's main ecumenical and interreligious agency says his forced departure was due to disagreements over the body's future direction. "They didn't agree with my vision or my ability to bring it forward," Larry D. Pickens said ...
Grassley plans no hearings on alleged lavish spenders.(CENTURY news)(Senator Chuck Grassley)
Jan 15, 2008 ... Senator Chuck Grassley, the Iowa Republican who is investigating the finances of six prominent Pentecostal and charismatic ministries, says he doesn't plan to hold hearings on any individual ministry and hopes he won't have to subpoena any of them. In response to critics who ...
Take Episcopal Church at its word, says Archbishop Williams.(CENTURY news)(Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams)
Jan 15, 2008 ... The spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion says it would be "unrealistic and ungrateful" to expect the Episcopal Church to make yet another attempt to explain itself. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, in a letter to the heads of the 38 member churches in the ...
A diocese's long journey to schism.(CENTURY news)
Jan 15, 2008 ... Bishop John-David Schofield struck an urgent tone when he urged his Fresno-based San Joaquin diocese to defect from the Episcopal Church. "God's timing is essential," he said before the overwhelming vote December 8 to cut ties with the American denomination and align with the ...
New Jersey repeals capital punishment.(CENTURY news)
Jan 15, 2008 ... New Jersey became the first state in decades to repeal the death penalty as Governor Jon S. Corzine signed a measure to end what he called "state-endorsed killing." The state had reestablished capital punishment in 1982, but no executions had taken place. In addition to signing ...
Roman Catholic missionaries should aim to win souls and not restrict themselves to humanitarian good works, the Vatican said December 14.(Briefly noted)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2008 ... Roman Catholic missionaries should aim to win souls and not restrict themselves to humanitarian good works, the Vatican said December 14. A new 19-page document, which was personally approved by Pope Benedict XVI, draws on a controversial Vatican declaration he issued in 2000 asserting ...
Patriarch Alexsy II and other leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church have voiced their support for President Vladimir Putin's anointing of First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev as his successor.(Briefly noted)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2008 ... Patriarch Alexsy II and other leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church have voiced their support for President Vladimir Putin's anointing of First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev as his successor. They also approved of Medvedev's declaration that he would appoint Putin as prime ...
Margaret A. Farley.(People)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2008 ... Margaret A. Farley, a Catholic nun and former Yale Divinity School ethicist, has been awarded the Grawemeyer Award in Religion by the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and the University of Louisville. A member of the Sisters of Mercy, Farley received the award for her book Just ...
Lowell W. Livezey.(People)(Obituary)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2008 ... Lowell W. Livezey, 64, a veteran peace activist who later led major studies on urban congregations in Chicago and Boston, died of pancreatic cancer at his New York home on December 9. His death was announced by New York Theological Seminary, where he was professor of urban and religious ...
John Strugnell.(People)(Obituary)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2008 ... John Strugnell, 77, a prominent biblical scholar whose tenure as chief editor of the Dead Sea Scrolls project ended in controversy, died November 30 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He died while being treated in a hospital for an infection associated with cancer treatment. A former professor ...
Living by the Word: reflections on the lectionary.
Jan 15, 2008; ... Sunday, January 20 Isaiah 49:1-7; Psalm 40:1-11;1 Cor. 1:1-9; John 1:29-42 I AM OFTEN at a loss for words when people ask me what I think. To me, thinking--making clear and linear progress through my mental swamp--is drudgery that I perform only when it is necessary ....
The enemy church: Pullman's agenda in 'Compass' and beyond.(Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass)
Jan 15, 2008; ... PHILIP PULLMAN, the British author of the fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials, is an avowed atheist who makes no attempt to disguise his distaste for religion and especially for Christianity. As one of his characters (the scientist and exnun Mary Malone) says, "The Christian religion is a ...
Reading Romans.(Romans: A Commentary)(Book review)
Jan 15, 2008; ... Romans: A Commentary. By Robert Jewett. Fortress, 1,250 pp., $90.00. THOSE PAYING the $90 price for this commentary in the distinguished Hermenia series can scarcely complain that the book was lightly tossed off. It includes 70 pages of front matter (such as bibliography), 125 ...
Brother Scientist.(Faith MATTERS)
Jan 15, 2008; ... THERE WERE two great, abiding mysteries in my life when I was a young boy--mysteries that I puzzled over for years but never solved. I discovered them while lying in bed trying to fall asleep. The first I found while lying on my side practicing winking. I had only just learned ...
Running on religion.(The Faith Factor: How Religion Influences American Elections)(Book review)
Jan 15, 2008; ... The Faith Factor: How Religion Influences American Elections. By John C. Green. Praeger, 232 pp., $39.95. By now, people who follow news about the role of religion in the 2008 elections may feel as though they have tumbled down the rabbit hole. The Republican ...
God, Truth, and Witness: Engaging Stanley Hauerwas.(Book review)
Jan 15, 2008; ... God, Truth, and Witness: Engaging Stanley Hauerwas. Edited by L. Gregory Jones, Reinhard Hutter and C. Rosalee Velloso Ewell. Brazos, 336 pp., $39.99. In June 1933, less than six months after Hitler assumed power in Germany, Karl Barth argued that it was important to do ...
Playing with God: Religion and Modern Sport.(Book review)
Jan 15, 2008; ... Playing with God: Religion and Modern Sport. By William J. Baker. Harvard University Press, 336 pp., $29.95. William Baker, a sports historian and professor emeritus at the University of Maine, has written a valuable story about the engagement of religion with sports. He focuses ...
Thirteen Moons.(Book review)
Jan 15, 2008; ... Thirteen Moons. By Charles Frazier. Random House, 432 pp., $14.75 paperback. Charles Frazier had a tough act to follow. His first novel, Cold Mountain, was both a literary and a popular sensation. It has sold more than 4 million copies, inspired a major Hollywood film, and won ...
Dwelling Places: A Novel.(Book Marks)(Brief article)(Book review)
Jan 15, 2008 ... Dwelling Places: A Novel. By Vinita Hampton Wright. HarperSanFrancisco, 352 pp., $13.95 paperback. The Iowa farming community where this novel is set is in deep pain. Family farms have been lost to hard times. A way of life passed on from generation to generation can never be ...
Before I Die: A Novel.(Book Marks)(Brief article)(Book review)
Jan 15, 2008 ... Before I Die: A Novel. By Jenny Downham. David Fickling Books, 336 pp., $15.99. Tessa, age 16, is dying of leukemia, and she has only months to live. So she makes a list of the ten things she wants to do before she dies, starting with having sex. Some of the items on her list ...
No Country for Old Men.(Movie review)
Jan 15, 2008; ... No Country for Old Men. Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Starring Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin and Tommy Lee Jones. Joel and Ethan Coen accomplish what Cormac McCarthy set out to do in his bombastic 2005 novel No Country for Old Men. The movie by the same name is a portrait of the ...
The burning bush, by Margaret Kyle.(ON Art)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2008; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In Exodus 3 "I Am Who I Am" took the form of fire to commission Moses to free the Israelites from slavery. With expressive brush work, brilliantly saturated color and loose forms, Margaret Kyle offers her dynamic rendering of this life-changing encounter. ...
Wall of separation ...(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Jan 15, 2008; ... So political consultants Mara Vanderslice and Eric Sapp counsel Democratic candidates to keep mum about separation of church and state ("Democrats for Jesus," by Jason Byassee, Oct. 30)? Such disappointing and disturbing advice plays into the hands of the theocrats of the religious right ...
Fundamentalist mentality ...(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Jan 15, 2008; ... I found the article "By the book" intriguing, yet very disappointing. (Oct. 2). By taking the Bible so literally A. J. Jacobs buys into a fundamentalist mentality. The assumption seems to be that in order to be faithful, the Bible and its surrounding ancient culture must be translated ...
Just bluffing.(M.E.M.O)(How I wish I had had Pierre Bayard's How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read)(Book review)
Jan 15, 2008; ... IN 1965, I reported in these pages on the New York World's Fair. At that event, I was wandering around in the Protestant and Orthodox pavilion where a smorgasbord of offerings to gods both known and unknown (to me) were vying for attention. Even as I tried to breeze by, the representatives ...
Truth claims.(Editors DESK)(Viewpoint essay)
Jan 29, 2008; ... ONE OF THE MOST serious challenges a person of faith confronts is the classic tension between faith and reason, religion and science. Some people live thoroughly and comfortably in one realm or the other. Some travel back and forth (perhaps only on Sunday mornings). So when I encounter ...
Iraq strategy.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Jan 29, 2008; ... I am horrified by the picture Gary Dorrien portrays in "After the surge" (Oct. 30). f have spoken out against the war in two sermons, as being against the gospel message of Jesus as well as being a tragic example of injustice, especially for nonmilitary Iraqi citizens. However, I was not ...
Moral equivalence ...(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Jan 29, 2008; ... In "Dumfounded" Martin Marty dives .for the middle on homosexuality (Oct. 30). In doing so, he marginalizes those speaking for and against inclusiveness in the church and equates their disgust of one another. The Bible condemns abusive behavior for both straight and gay persons. If you ...
Contraception's consequences ...(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Jan 29, 2008; ... The church ought to offer more than an endorsement of the conventional wisdom on family planning to prevent abortion ("Abortion prevention," Nov. 27). Cutting the rate of abortions is important, but it is only a partial response to the grotesque number of abortions. A real response would ...
Dogmas about Mary ...(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Jan 29, 2008; ... The news report "Anglicans, Catholics still differ on Mary" (Nov. 27) notes that the Anglican-Roman Catholic Consultation at its October meeting described as "not entirely satisfactory" a written 2005 agreement reached by representatives of both churches in regard to the Virgin Mary ....
Empty shelves: heretofore a success story, the nation's food bank system is being stretched to the breaking point.
Jan 29, 2008 ... Rosalie Higgins has had a hardscrabble life. She didn't make it into the air force and she couldn't complete nursing school. The jobs she was able to get with the computer skills that she picked up in trade school paid no better than $6.50 an hour. At age 66, she lives on her Social ...
Win-win.(CENTURY marks)(Brief article)
Jan 29, 2008 ... WIN-WIN: Jean Vanier, who started the L'Arche communities for the disabled, tells a story about a young man running in the Special Olympics who had a chance to win a gold medal in the 100-meter race. Before he got to the finish line, he ...
Sobering studies.(CENTURY marks)(Brief article)
Jan 29, 2008 ... SOBERING STUDIES: StepUP is a ten-year-old program at Augsburg College in Minneapolis designed to help students with a substance-abuse problem get through college. In order to get into the program, prospects must be accepted by the college, be in a recovery program and have had six months ...
Mysterious ways.(CENTURY marks)(Brief article)
Jan 29, 2008 ... MYSTERIOUS WAYS: If you want to impress someone with your theological erudition, you might invoke the ancient Latin phrase errore hominum providentia divina, which means that divine providence works through human sinfulness. James A. Sanders argues that this aphorism provides a good ...
Homecoming.(CENTURY marks)(Brief article)
Jan 29, 2008 ... HOMECOMING: Homesickness is a longing for a lost place, and nostalgia is a longing for a lost time, according to Susan J. Matt (Journal of American History, September). The yearning for a lost place or time has probably been with us from the beginning of human history, but the words ...
Made in China.(CENTURY marks)(Amity Printing)
Jan 29, 2008 ... MADE IN CHINA: China will soon have a printing plant that will produce more Bibles than any other site in the world, despite the fact that the country restricts religious freedoms. Amity Printing, a joint venture between a Chinese Christian charity and the UK-based United Bible ...
Angelic messenger.(CENTURY marks)(Brief article)
Jan 29, 2008 ... ANGELIC MESSENGER: The Archdiocese of New York has sent coloring books to about 700 parochial schools with drawings that warn students about sex abuse. In one drawing an angel warns of an online predator; in ...
Tough mind, tender heart.(CENTURY marks)(Brief article)
Jan 29, 2008 ... TOUGH MIND, TENDER HEART: Pura Vida Coffee is structured as a for-profit company that markets gourmet organic coffee. But it is operated as a charity. It aims to provide living wages to farmers and a high-quality product to consumers and then plow profits into heath and education programs ...
It's better to give.(CENTURY marks)(Brief article)
Jan 29, 2008 ... IT'S BETTER TO GIVE: People who give money to charity were 43 percent more likely than nongivers to say they are "very happy" with their lives, according to the Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey. The study also found that people who did volunteer work ...
Kudos.(CENTURY marks)(Brief article)
Jan 29, 2008 ... KUDOS: Jason Byassee, CENTURY assistant editor, won the 2007 American Academy of Religion award for best in-depth reporting on religion for news outlets with less than ...
Spritual trajectory?(CENTURY marks)(Brief article)
Jan 29, 2008 ... <Pre> Spiritual trajectory? College Collegefreshmen (2004) juniors (2007) Frequently attend religious 44% 25% services Pray 69 ...