Features
Young, Muslim and female: An interview with Ausma Khan
Ausma Khan is the editor-in-chief of Muslim Girl magazine, a bimonthly journal designed to reach Muslim teens in the U.S. "We are a values-based publication—we translate principles of faith into action; we make faith relevant and applicable to everyday life. . . .Of course, the girls who read our magazine are also interested in fashion, entertainment and sports, and we try to address those interests as well. But we are working to enlighten and empower girls to reach their full potential, to go out into the world with no limits as to what they can achieve in academics, sports and the arts. The only limits are those imposed by faith."
Grief work: A Palestinian and an Israeli in conversation
Two men from two different worlds, separated by a street, a checkpoint, a wall and, until recently, a worldview. One was a tall, slim young Israeli Ashkenazi Jew named Guy. On this night he entered the Old City of Jerusalem through Jaffa Gate the way an American walks into a familiar neighborhood in Boston or Chicago.
Tax-exempt? Lifestyles of the rich and religious: Lifestyles of the rich and religious
Representatives of five of the six ministries under investigation by Senator Charles Grassley (R., Iowa) made contact with Grassley’s office by the proposed December 6 deadline, but reportedly only two organizations—those of Kenneth Copeland and Joyce Meyer—provided the financial information requested. Spokespersons for Benny Hinn asked for more time.
Physicist and priest: An interview with John Polkinghorne
Ordained an Anglican priest after a career as one of the world’s top quantum physicists (his work helped lead to the discovery of the quark), John Polkinghorne vigorously argues that science and religion are not at odds: “Science looks to empirical evidence and bases its theories on being able to explain that evidence. Religious belief, at least Christian belief, looks first of all to the general evidence for the existence of God in the wonderful order and fruitfulness of the universe, and second to the way that Christians believe that God has made God’s nature known in Jesus Christ.”
There Will Be Blood
I often tell screenwriting students not to avoid the difficult scene. By “difficult scene” I mean one involving a serious confrontation, a declaration of love or infidelity, or a confession of sin or weakness. These are scenes that lesser writers try to work around, since they are so difficult to write. But these scenes are the cornerstones of a meaningful story. Without them, the script will sag and perhaps collapse.
Books
Megalessons
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Neither secular nor sectarian
This enlightening book can be read on several levels....
A Power Governments Cannot Suppress
Howard Zinn wants to do history justly....
Our Mother Saint Paul
Paul is the New Testament figure that many Christians love to hate....
BookMarks
The practice of scriptural reasoning is one of the most imaginative and productive approaches to interreligious dialogue....
Departments
Truth claims: In the realms of both science and religion
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....
Empty shelves: Run on the food bank
Rosalie Higgins has had a hardscrabble life. She didn’t make it into the air force and she couldn’t complete nursing school....
Spiritual soccer: Not everything is fixable
“I have resigned myself to the fact that there are some people in this life with whom I will never be reconciled.” I was 22 and a second-year seminarian when an older friend said this to me, and I was shocked....
Candidates and moviegoers: A hidden danger
Republican and Democratic candidates who survive the February 5 delegate nomination marathon should be ready to confront a hidden danger to their campaigns—movies....
Taste and see: Savory meat
In 2008, we have the opportunity to celebrate the centennial of MSG! In 1908, Japanese scientist Kikunae Ikeda isolated MSG—monosodium glutamate—and introduced the concept of a fifth taste: umami....
News
Century Marks
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 100,000 circulation. He has also recently had two books published: Praise Seeking Understanding: Reading the Psalms with Augustine (Eerdmans) and Reading Augustine (Cascade Books).
Briefly noted
A majority of American cities participating in a recent survey have seen an increase in the number of requests for emergency food assistance, the U.S. Conference of Mayors reports....
Sri Lanka churches unite in peace call: Civil war has returned
Church groups in Sri Lanka have made a united call for a political solution to the ethnic conflict that has claimed more than 6,000 lives in the past two years....
Church leaders plead for peace in Kenyan turmoil: Kobia, Tutu and others
Religious leaders are condemning postelection violence in Kenya that some observers say evokes memories of ethnic violence in Rwanda almost 14 years ago....
New Reformed communion plans 2010 launch in Grand Rapids: World Communion of Reformed Churches
The Christian Reformed Church, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, will host the inaugural meeting of the newly formed, 80-million-member World Communion of Reformed Churches in the summer of 2010....
Pan-Muslim group accepts invitation for Vatican dialogue: A response to Muslims' open letter
A groundbreaking group of prominent Muslim scholars and clerics has accepted the invitation of Pope Benedict XVI for a “working meeting” on interreligious dialogue at the Vatican within the next two months....
Episocopal Church held to 'double standard,' says Jefferts Schori: Other churches have similar practices
Episcopal presiding bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori says other member bodies of the Anglican Communion apply a “double standard” when they challenge the U.S. church for having an openly gay bishop and blessing same-sex unions....
Students worship less, but spiritual search up: An ecumenical worldview
Though college students’ attendance at worship services declines, an interest in spiritual matters grows for many during their time on campus, a new study shows....
Willow Creek finds limits to its model: Spiritual growth not keeping pace
Willow Creek Community Church, the suburban Chicago megachurch that has become a model for some of the nation’s largest congregations, started more than a quarter century ago by asking the question: Why don’t people go to church?...
Tony Blair joins Catholic Church: Baptized an Anglican
After months of speculation, former British prime minister Tony Blair converted to Roman Catholicism in a low-key ceremony at an archbishop’s chapel in London just before Christmas....
More clergy dollars going to Democrats: Obama the top recipient
Clergy and staffers of religious organizations are giving more to Democratic campaigns this year, marking a shift from four years ago when Republicans had the advantage....
Black churches torn between Clinton, Obama: Divided loyalties
If it’s true that a house divided cannot stand, then black churches across South Carolina should be shaking. Take, for instance, Bible Way Church of Atlas Road in Columbia....
Lectionary
Glimpses of glory: Matthew 17:1-9; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Exodus 24:12-18
I’m less inclined that some commentators are to condemn Peter.