Magazine /

October 30, 2007

Volume 124, Issue #22

Features

After the surge: Getting out of Iraq

The weekly death tolls in Iraq have recently decreased—for four reasons: The U.S. troop “surge” has restricted the flow of explosives into Baghdad; ethnic cleansing has been completed in many areas; the Mahdi Army has suspended its attacks; and the U.S. is co-opting Sunni insurgents. Thus the Bush administration has been able to claim military progress and thereby to put off attempts to end the war.

by Gary Dorrien

Feature

Kids in combat: U.S.-funded child soldiers

From 1995-2005, 2 million child soldiers were killed and 6 million permanently disabled or injured. An estimated 300,000 children (younger than 18) are currently serving as soldiers. Some have joined voluntarily out of economic desperation or for their own safety; others have been forcibly recruited by rebel forces. Still others have been by recruited by recognized sovereign governments—and eight of the nine such governments receive military assistance from the U.S.

by Dean Peerman

Feature

Low-carbon life: Helping churches go green

Chris Goodall’s book How to Live a Low-Carbon Life (Earthscan, 2007) was described by New Scientist magazine as “the definitive guide to reducing your carbon footprint.” Goodall, a Brit who has an MBA from Harvard Business School, works for a software firm in England and is active in politics and environmental issues, especially in the Oxford area. He is working with several churches in the United Kingdom to help them analyze and reduce their environmental impact.

Cover Story

Democrats for Jesus: Faith-friendly candidates

In Mississippi these days, you may hear a candidate insist that “our children should be able to learn and pray in the best schools in the land." You might be surprised to hear the candidate refer to “the day I accepted Christ.” But you might be more surprised—especially if you hail from another part of the country—to learn that the candidate is a Democrat, John Arthur Eaves. At times Eaves seems to be trying to unseat GOP governor Haley Barbour by out-Jesusing him.

by Jason Byassee

Feature

Growing in grace

Mother Teresa’s spiritual struggles remind me of Martin Luther's.

by David C. Steinmetz

Film

Domestic front

The Valley of Elah is the legendary spot between two mountains where, according to 1 Samuel, young David slew the mighty Philistine warrior Goliath. The site is an appropriate allusion for writer-director Paul Haggis’s movie about the American experience in Iraq. In the Valley of Elah posits that the U.S. may be the military Goliath brought down by hit-and-run insurgents.

By John Petrakis

Books

A matter of mutation

Michael Behe, a biochemistry professor at Leigh University and one of the chief advocates for intelligent design (ID...

By Joan Roughgarden

Judging Hillary

No figure is more polarizing than Hillary Rodh...

By Jason J. Ripley

God's Harvard

In my personal evangelical heyday back in the Reagan 1980s, one measure of zeal for my college crowd was our willi...

reviewed by Todd Shy

Rethinking Christ and Culture

More than half a century after its publication, H....

reviewed by Keith Graber Miller

Departments

Editor's Desk

Hope in October: The Cubs have done it again

The Chicago Cubs have done it again. After winning the National League’s central division, they were swept aside by the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Cubs have not won a World Series since 1908 and have not even appeared in one since 1945....

by John Buchanan

From the Editors

Talking with the enemy: Meeting with Ahmadinejad

When President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran visited Columbia University, he was introduced as a “a petty and cruel dictator” by his host, the school’s president, Lee Bollinger. When he addressed the General Assembly at the United Nations, the U.S....

Faith Matters

Staying power: Our true vocation

The reason I am still in the ministry is because of the night I decided to leave the ministry. It was my day off. The phone rang, and it was the chaplain at a nearby hospital....

by James C. Howell

Impressions

Tutu and St. Thomas: Off-base charges of anti-Semitism

The University of St....

by James M. Wall

M.E.M.O.

Dumbfounded: A more excellent way

In my mind, reductionism translates as “nothing buttery.” Belief in God, for example, is seen as “nothing but” the result of certain neuron firings in the brain....

by Martin E. Marty