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"We want the church to look like a mall. We want you to come in here and say, 'Dude, where's the cinema?'"

Lee McFarland, pastor of Radiant Church in Surprise, Arizona, which draws 5,000 to its services weekly.

"This is a woman who understands grace."

Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren, on Atlanta hostage Ashley Smith, who used Warren's The Purpose-Driven Life to help persuade murder suspect Brian Nichols to let her go. Warren says he and Smith "talk every day about verses of the Bible and pray together."

"It's become a testimonial for an evangelical Christian book and an endorsement of the theology embraced in the book—and that leaves me feeling alienated from what should be an inspiring tale of human transcendence."

Jill Porter, columnist with the Philadelphia Daily News, lamenting that Smith's story is "a symbol of the righteousness of evangelical Christianity."

"I do not want to end up with an American style of politics, with us going out there beating our chest about our faith. Politics and religion—it is not that they do not have a lot in common, but if [religion] ends up being used in the political process, I think that is a bit unhealthy."

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, addressing leaders of religious and community organizations in London.

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May 2005, Vol. 49, No. 5