Magazine /

November 13, 2007

Volume 124, Issue #23

Features

Christian soldiers? Religious freedom in the military: Religious freedom in the military

"What is going on in the U.S. military right now, in effect, is people with religious Geiger counters holding them up to you, trying to determine if you are 'unchurched' enough for them to evangelize you. . . .Our constitutional framers were so careful to keep religion out of the function of the state that they put it in Clause 3, Article 6. . . .They said that we would never have a test for religion for any position in the federal government. Right now, we have overwhelming evidence that tests for religion are happening all the time." —Michael L. Weinstein, author of With God on Our Side: One Man’s War Against an Evangelical Coup in America’s Military

by Amy Frykholm

Feature

Multifaith mosaic: PBS's Cities of Light

Andalusia, the vibrant, southernmost region of Spain, is famous for its party culture, bullfighting and oceans of sunshine. The cathedral spire in the largest city, Seville, which towers over the old quarter, guides pedestrians to the third-largest church in Christendom.

by Jason Byassee

Feature

God online: Religion resources

As the Internet world expands, the number of religious resources multiplies accordingly. But how to find those that are especially helpful or creative? Here are a few leads:

by James D. Davis

Feature

Church in recovery: Sanctuary for the addicted

During the testimony portion of a worship service at Central Park United Methodist Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, “Karen” walked to the front and confessed for the first time that years earlier she had killed a woman while driving drunk, had served five years in prison, and had then begun drinking again. “I was a menace to society,” she said. When she finished, she waited anxiously for the congregation’s response. Immediately some moved forward to embrace her; then the service continued and Karen joined other volunteers in serving communion.

by Stan Friedman

Film

Call of the wild

Fashioned from a book by Jon Krakauer, Sean Penn’s Into the Wild is an elegiac film about Christopher Johnson McCandless, who, upon graduating from Emory University in 1990, set out, without notifying his family, to live as elementally as possible in a manner inspired by Thoreau, Tolstoy and Jack London. He donated his life savings to charity, junked his car, burned his cash and traveled through the West and the Northwest (and, for a brief time, Mexico), taking odd jobs when he needed to and dreaming of Alaska. And that’s where he ended, holed up in an abandoned bus and starving.

By Steve A. Vineberg

Books

Radical Hope

Two stories run through this book....

reviewed by Stanley Hauerwas and David Toole

Justice in a Global Economy

Christians can be quite good at feeling guilty....

reviewed by Kathryn Blanchard

Recut Madness

If Abe Lincoln were to once again borrow from Jesus—but for C-SPAN’s cameras—he might say, “A house divided again...

reviewed by Louis R. Carlozo

Second generation

...

By R. Stephen Warner

Miracle of forgiveness

On the morning of October 10, 2006, a 33-year-old ...

By John D. Roth

Deer Hunting with Jesus

If social democracy is ever again to be taken seriously in this country, its proponents have to admit that much of th...

reviewed by Robert Westbrook

Amazing Grace

In the present confusion over religion and public life—and the accompanying opportunism—the life and car...

reviewed by Jonathan R. Baer

Departments

Editor's Desk

Music to believe in: What great music does

Reading Jeremy Begbie’s article on music in this issue reminded me of one of the biggest mistakes I ever made. I took music theory in college because I knew a little bit about music and thought I could get a good grade with a minimum of effort....

by John Buchanan

From the Editors

Between us and them: A Common Word

The most impressive thing about “A Common Word Between Us and You,” an open letter to the world’s Christian leaders signed by 138 Muslim scholars, is that it exists....

Faith Matters

Where we come from: A common heritage

Several summers ago, I visited the early medieval monastic site of Glendalough with students and faculty from a seminary in Dublin. The site dates back to the sixth century, when St....

by Stephanie Paulsell

M.E.M.O.

Watchful eye: Omniscience refinements

Each time “someone clicks on a Web page, makes a phone call, uses a credit card, or checks in with a microchipped pass at work, that person leaves a data trail that can later be tracked....

by Martin E. Marty

News

Muslims ask pope for response

Vatican response so far "misses the very point."

Muslims point to common ground: A Common Word Between Us and You

When Mark Hanson, who heads the 66-million-member Lutheran World Federation, read the open letter sent to Christian leaders by an unprecedented range of Muslim clerics and scholars last month, the Chicago-based bishop was not surprised at the erud...

by John Dart

Century Marks

Big scoop: Americans spend $20 billion each year on ice cream. But according to United Nations figures, over the next 10 years it would take only $7 billion to provide clean water and basic sanitation for the entire world, and another $4 billion to finance basic health care for the same period that would prevent the death of 3 million infants each year (Theology, News and Notes, Fall).