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Editors' Picks
Read the favorite articles of past and current Christian History & Biography editors
"The Rich Young Ruler Who Said Yes" (from Issue 1: Zinzendorf and the Moravians)
Nominated by Kenneth Curtis (founder): "The reason that article stands out so distinctly for me is that it really is the story that was catalyst for the creation of the magazine in the first place. I had been approached by the Moravian Church to do a commemorative film on the founding of their amazing missionary outreach from the estate of the devout young nobleman Count Ludwig Nicolaus Zinzendorf in Herrnhut in east Germany. This was in anticipation of the 250th anniversary of the sending of their first missionaries (observed in 1982). As we worked on the film script, which eventually went through five rewrites, it finally emerged as a production titled "First Fruits." A major frustration we encountered was how much of the story had to be left out in order to fit within the time and dramatic limits of a film script. A print supplement was needed. The idea of putting it into a magazine format, along with all of the particulars regarding the publication's features and design, came to me early one morning. The lead or centerpiece article would naturally be on Zinzendorf. He was indeed the rich young ruler who said 'yes' to Christ. And as he did so much to open the door to subsequent Protestant missions, long after his death he also served as the catalyst for the founding of Christian History magazine."
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"The Puzzling Faith of Abraham Lincoln" by Mark Noll (from Issue 33: The Untold Story of Christianity & the Civil War)
Nominated by Kevin Miller: "An eminent historian tackles an enigmatic question: just what did Abraham Lincoln believe? The evidence is complex, so various observers have turned him into everything from an agnostic to a revivalist. Thankfully, Noll sifts judiciously and writes lucidly, and we soon understand why Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address is 'the most remarkably Christian public statement by any American president.'"
"Bloody Pilgrimage" by Mark Galli (from Issue 40: The Crusades)
Nominated by Mark Galli: "At the risk of sounding egotistical, I have to say that the most memorable article is one I wrote! I do think it was one of my better pieces, but that's not really why I liked it. The process of writing a piece requires immersion in the topic at a level mere reading cannot match. In my research, I become equally impressed with the Christian devotion of the Crusaders AND the level and type of violence employed. This is a paradox that fascinated me then, and still fascinates me: how sincere, devout Christians also practice violence like this."
"Four Jihads" by Mateen A. Elass (from Issue 74: Christians & Muslims)
Nominated by Elesha Coffman: "That article displays the combination of learnedness, timeliness, and distinctly Christian perspective that is CH&B at its best. I believe that article did a real service to its readers, and I still think of it whenever I read about jihad in the news."
"Tolkien: Man Behind the Myth" by Bradley J. Birzer (from Issue 78: J. R. R. Tolkien)
Nominated by Chris Armstrong: "Maybe I think of this first because it is the article I was most fascinated to read. I grew up with Tolkien's stories, and this excellent brief telling of his life showed me the man himself. Birzer managed to opened up for readers so much of the personality of Tolkien through vignettes of telling moments, snatches of conversation, and quirks and foibles observed over his lifetime by his friends. Add to this the stunning photographic portrait of Tolkien in his old age, crotchety but far-seeing, facing the article's title page, and you have something representative—I think—of what Christian History has always striven for in its lead biographical articles: a whole that is more powerful than the sum of its parts."
"Jesus Was Her Guru" by Keith J. White (from Issue 87: A Faith of Many Colors)
Nominated by Jennifer Trafton: "One of the things I love most about my job is how much I learn as I work on each issue of the magazine. Ever since I edited our 2005 issue on Christianity in India, Pandita Ramabai has become one of my favorite people in Christian history. This courageous Indian woman is not only a model of compassion for the oppressed, she opens our eyes to a world of non-Western Christians who look and act very differently from us yet are united to us by a common gospel. As the Indian bishop V. S. Azariah wrote in 1932, 'The religion of Christ is one of the most dynamic factors in the world. It always bursts its boundaries, however strong and rigid those boundaries may be. It refuses to be confined to any one race, class, or caste. It seeks to embrace all.'"
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