The First Battle For the Bible
A century after Christ's death, a literalist and a spiritualizer forced the church to choose how it would read the Scriptures it inherited from the Jews
Joseph T. Lienhard, S.J.

Origen: Friend or Foe?
By turns bizarre and insightful, Origen's allegorical forays remain fascinating reading today.
John R. Franke

Too Racy for Bible Study
Origen could not believe the Song of Songs was a hymn to erotic love. So what did it mean?
Warren Smith

CT Book Awards 2002
"Here are the books our judges—200 pastors, scholars, and church leaders—considered the worthiest this year."

CT's Annual Book Awards
Each winter brings a different sort of blizzard to Christianity Today's offices in the western suburbs of Chicago as publishers deluge us with nominations for our Annual Book Awards

Christianity Today Book Awards 2000
CT picks the top ten books of the past year

Ghosts of Conflicts Past
This church had been stalking its pastors for generations. Now it was time to stop.
By Dan Cooley

Facing the Self-Sufficient
How do you pastor someone who doesn't see a need for God?
Mark Buchanan

The Uncertain Leader
You can't always be sure, but you'd better be clear.
Andy Stanley

Good Boundaries Make Good Christians
The difference between welcome and inclusion
Good Fences, reviewed by David Neff

Mythical Proportions
America is not so generous, free, and innocent as it imagines itself.
Myths America Lives By, reviewed by Greg Taylor

The Spy Who Loved Me
What's real in espionage fiction?
by Jim Ohlson

Good Boundaries Make Good Christians
The difference between welcome and inclusion
Good Fences, reviewed by David Neff

Mythical Proportions
America is not so generous, free, and innocent as it imagines itself.
Myths America Lives By, reviewed by Greg Taylor

Limit Conditions
How to portray the Holocaust on stage and film.
By Jan Lüder Hagens

History Is Not Bunk
We've got to break free of our historical amnesia
Christianity Today Editorial

Romeo Must Die
Reed Arvin

"First Left Behind, Then Jabez, Now The Book of Hope"
"The Washington Post keeps up its tiresome exposé on charitable choice dealings, and a misspelled headline becomes a sign of the End Times."
Ted Olsen

Hurt by Success
Christian bookstores hit hard by competition from Wal-Mart.
By Rob Moll

Mr. Jabez Goes to Africa
Bruce Wilkinson expands his borders to include racial reconciliation and HIV/AIDS
Timothy C. Morgan

Dispatch: Panning for Gold at CBA
There are actually some original ideas at the Christian Booksellers Association Annual Convention
Mark Galli

Going Back to Uncle Tom's Cabin
The book that started the Civil War.
John West

Still Writing the Civil War
Do we know this country too well?
Tim Stafford

Christian History Corner: Where Have All the Classics Gone?
These days it's a triumph when a movie is simply inoffensive. But we can do better than that
Chris Armstrong

God the Economist
John Polkinghorne's Trinitarian reality.
Catherine and Andy Crouch

The Virtue of Lust?
So says philosopher Simon Blackburn.
W. Jay Wood

Mythical Proportions
America is not so generous, free, and innocent as it imagines itself.
Myths America Lives By, reviewed by Greg Taylor

Film Forum: Talking About Revolutions
"What religious critics are saying about The Matrix Revolutions, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, Elf, Brother Bear, The Human Stain, In the Cut, Shattered Glass, Mystic River, Radio, Veronica Guerin, and the upcoming Return of the King, and DaVinci Code"
Jeffrey Overstreet

Christian History Corner: Breaking The Da Vinci Code
So the divine Jesus and infallible Word emerged out of a fourth-century power-play? Get real.
Collin Hansen

"Thanks, Da Vinci Code"
Tbe book sends us back to Christianity's founding fathers—and the Bible we share with them
Chris Armstrong

Unfashionably Good
A savory collections of essays by Alan Jacobs.
Reviewed by Lauren F. Winner

Autumn Books
Some that stand out in this season's plenty.
By John Wilson

"Books & Culture Corner: Agrarians of the World, Unite!"
"Wendell Berry's vision, and how Christians should respond to it"
Eric Miller

Christianity Today, Sister Magazines Win 31 Awards
Christianity Today places within the top five in eight categories
Todd Hertz

NEWS BRIEFS

News Briefs

Only Connect
Two novels about finding—or failing to find—a structure of meaning in the mess and confusion of our lives.
Betty Smartt Carter

The Game Is Afoot
Sherlock Holmes returns—again.
John Utz

Holy Animals
The stories of Joy Williams.
Sara Miller

Second-Best Kid Lit Ever
John Granger considers the Potter series the best thing since The Chronicles of Narnia.
Reviewed by Douglas LeBlanc

"At No Time Conspicuous, as a Party, for Talent or Learning"
Newman and evangelicalism.
Grayson Carter

Film Forum: Critics Punish The Magdalene Sisters
"What critics in the religious press are saying about Freaky Friday, S.W.A.T., Le Divorce, war movies, Harry Potter, The Passion, and more"
Jeffrey Overstreet

Omit Unnecessary Words
On the trail of faith and writing.
by Andy Crouch

Forget Your Bliss
The success of The Purpose-Driven Life reveals a cultural opportunity.
A Christianity Today editorial

Weblog: Another Missionary Killed in Uganda
Plus: Tex. pharmacist refuses to fill birth control pills, guilty verdict in NZ euthanasia case, and other stories from online sources around the world.
Compiled by Ted Olsen

NEWS: Colson, Publishers Settle Libel Case

Theology of the Body
Pope John Paul II on the biblical foundations of marriage and sexuality.
By Laura Merzig Fabrycky

The Faith of Shakespeare
Awe and reconciliation in the work of WS.
By Larry Woiwode

Turning the Lens on Itself
Jean Luc-Godard, agent provocateur.
By Michael Leary

"Film Forum: Christian Critics Hail Third Rings, Harass Last Samurai"
"Christian press critics sneak a peek at The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, charge against The Last Samurai, and dance to the beat of Honey. Plus, more reviews of 21 Grams, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, and Mel Gibson's The P"
Jeffrey Overstreet

Faith and Fantasy
The Gospel According to Tolkien reveals a deeply Christian work
Cindy Crosby

Film Forum: Talking About Revolutions
"What religious critics are saying about The Matrix Revolutions, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, Elf, Brother Bear, The Human Stain, In the Cut, Shattered Glass, Mystic River, Radio, Veronica Guerin, and the upcoming Return of the King, and DaVinci Code"
Jeffrey Overstreet

Single (Issue) Minded
World's Joel Belz criticizes Christianity Today for an editorial we never published—and never would.
By Mark Galli, Managing Editor

Were the Darwinists Wrong?
National Geographic stacks the deck.
By Thomas Woodward

Weblog: The Messy Battle Over Federal Religious Freedom Law
"U.S. News really misses Jeff Sheler now, faith-based bill held up by Republicans, Roy Moore's ethics trial begins, and other stories from online sources around the world"
Ted Olsen

When Backward Is Forward
Christmas may be the best argument against genetic enhancement.
by Andy Crouch

Fighting Flight
Christians call for commitment in wake of church bombings.
By Kevin Begos

A Stopped Pulse
Financial woes kill once-influential missions newsletter.
By CT staff reports

Weblog: Newsweek Goes to Sunday School
"And learns about all the women in the Bible, who have been there for millennia"
Rob Moll

"Carl F.H. Henry, Theologian and First Editor of Christianity Today, Dies at 90"
"Thinker helped to shape many evangelical institutions and efforts, from higher education to ecumenism"
Beth Spring and CT Staff

Weblog: Time Goes Gnostic
"Christmas, Carl Henry, more Gnostics, and other articles from online sources around the world"
Rob Moll

Preemptive Prophecy
In the Turkish city of Kars, schoolgirls forced to abandon their headscarves are killing themselves. A poet who is also a journalist is sent to cover the story.
by Laurance Wieder

Tabloid Poems
Montana Police Shoot Bigfoot
by John Leax

Upon Avon
By Paul J. Willis

Going Back to Uncle Tom's Cabin
The book that started the Civil War.
John West

The Rules Have Stayed the Same
Aaron Belz

Christianity on the Early American Frontier: Christian History Interview - Revivals That Changed a Nation
Frontier faith captured the heart of the common person—and molded America's character.
a conversation with Nathan O. Hatch

A Stopped Pulse
Financial woes kill once-influential missions newsletter.
By CT staff reports

Weblog: The Antiabortion, Antiwar, Pro-Jesus Party
Plus: Rwandan troops arrive in Darfur, and the Pope preaches at Lourdes.
Compiled by Ted Olsen

The Dick Staub Interview: James Lee Burke is a Cowboy with a Conscience
The author of In the Moon of Red Ponies discusses rejection, perseverance, and the call to write.

Nothing to Read
John Wilson

Reading Trees
Douglas Jones

Going Back to Uncle Tom's Cabin
The book that started the Civil War.
John West

Word Become Flesh
Quotations to Stir Heart and Mind
Compiled by Richard A. Kauffman

Nothing to Read
John Wilson

"West, Meet East"
Who Are the Christians in the Middle East? examines millions of forgotten believers
Cindy Crosby

Only Connect
Two novels about finding—or failing to find—a structure of meaning in the mess and confusion of our lives.
Betty Smartt Carter

The Game Is Afoot
Sherlock Holmes returns—again.
John Utz

The Perfect Blend
An earthier version of a veteran musician brings heaven closer.
Reviewed by Russ Breimeier