Editor’s Note …

Some thirty college and university libraries now make CHRISTIANITY TODAY available on microfilm (a service provided by University Microfilms Inc., 313 N. First Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48107). Across the years this magazine has won its way as a thought journal; our readers are interested, not merely in entertainment or polemic, but in a vindication of the truth.

Some people live their whole lives just around the corner from the world of truth. Yet active engagement in the realm of ideas is one of man’s unique privileges.

The other night I was thumbing through the Great Books Syntopicon, that eight-year achievement by 100 scholars at the cost of $1,000,000. (When first projected, its cost was estimated at $60,000; someone apparently had a wrong idea about the price of publishing.) What a good dictionary is to the world of words, the Syntopicon is to the world of important ideas. From this idea-index to the “great books,” any student can discover whose ideas he has been using and—if he reads long enough—what ideas he ought not to be caught with.

Although the Bible is not included in the set of “great books” (literate readers were presumed to own a version of their preference), the Great Book is nonetheless “idea-indexed” (along with the Apocrypha). The Bible has its say, in fact, on virtually all the Syntopicon’s 102 “great ideas.” Anyone who thinks revealed religion requires a “ghetto”-epistemology should ponder this challenge to get into the “great conversation” of our times.

Our Latest

High Time for an Honest Conversation about THC

Legal cannabis may be here to stay, but the Christian conversation is just getting started.

The National Guard Debate Needs a Dose of Honesty

Criticizing federal overreach while remaining silent about local failures does not serve the cause of justice.

News

Saudi Arabian Prison Frees Kenyan After ‘Blood Money’ Payout

A Christian mother relied on the Muslim practice of “diyat” to bring her son home alive.

Why Fans Trust Forrest Frank

The enormously popular Christian artist says he experienced miraculous healing. His parasocial friends say “amen.”

How a Missionary Family in Lebanon Produced an American Hero

Bill Eddy’s Arabic acumen served US interests and forged Middle East ties.

Eight Divine Names in One Glorious Passage

Hebrew terms for God appear across the Old Testament. The prophet Isaiah brings them all together.

The Bulletin

Venezuelan Boat Attack, Payday Loans, and USAID Fire Sale

The Bulletin discusses the attack on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat, predatory lending, and the destruction of items from cancelled USAID projects.

Why an Early American Missionary Family Was Beloved in Lebanon

Over five decades of multigenerational ministry, the Eddys pioneered health and educational outreach.

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