Book Briefs: March 2, 1984

Also in this issue

The CT archives are a rich treasure of biblical wisdom and insight from our past. Some things we would say differently today, and some stances we've changed. But overall, we're amazed at how relevant so much of this content is. We trust that you'll find it a helpful resource.

Christianity Today March 2, 1984

Reagan Stirs the Broadcasters with an Evangelical Speech

Eutychus and His Kin: March 2, 1984

Editorial

The IRS Is Not Always the Enemy

A Climate of Mind

Looking at the Death Penalty from behind Bars: Two Prisoners Offer an “Inside” Opinion

Richard Peck And Roger Todd

Christian Publishing: Too Many Books & Too Few Classics?: Christian Writers Often Express Their Theological Concepts without Emotion, Drama, or Tension

We Are in Love with Our Own Destruction: But Faith Is an Oasis Where Green Things Can Grow

Frederick Buechner

Did You Hear the One about Cardinal Sin …: … or the Nurse Named Basin … or the Doctor Named Bonecutter?

Kathryn Lindskoog

Embryo Transfer: A Women Can Now Give Birth to Her Own Stepchild: But What Are the Moral and Legal Implications?

Robert G. Wells

A Royal Reception for Billy Graham in England

Tom Minnery

Here’s a Novel Way to Help Put a Student through College

Dan Pawley

Refiner’s Fire: The Generous Critic: John Updike

Rodney Clapp

A Virginia College Bans an Antiabortion Painting

Randy Frame

Churches’ Support Falters When Their Workers Organize

Steve Rabey

Volunteers Receive Federal Aid to Help Abused Children

Beth Spring

What Is the Best Systematic Theology for a Pastor or Lay Person?

In Wonder of the Psalms

Herbert Lockyer

How Dirty Jokes and the Fear of Death Prove There Is a Heaven

Controversial Theologian Hans Küng Affirms Faith in Life after Death

Hans Küng

College Students and the Church Can Get Together

Scott Hawkins

Our Latest

Two students sitting at desks facing each other.

Turn Toward Each Other and Away from the Screen

Perhaps technology has changed everything. But God is still here, still wiring humans for connection and presence.

An image from the Congo in 1964.

The Call to Art, Africa, and Politics

Daniel Silliman

In 1964, CT urged Christians to “be what they really are—new men and women in Christ.”

Two farmers standing in front of tractors and holding a sign that says "Help."

The Bulletin

Pete Hegseth’s Future, Farmers on Tariffs, and Religious Decline Stalls

Mike Cosper, Clarissa Moll

Hegseth scrutinized for drug boat strikes, farmers react to Trump’s tariffs, and a Pew report says religious decline has slowed.

Images of the three books from the piece.

The Debate over Government Overreach Started in 1776

Three books to read this month on politics and public life.

dark background with a moon and red text

Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

BONUS: Amanda Knox on the Satanic Panic and Wrongful Convictions

How elements of the satanic panic and conspiratorial thinking shaped a wrongful conviction.

An image of Lu Xiaomin.

The Chinese Christian Behind 2,000 Hymns

X. Yang

Lü Xiaomin never received formal music training. But her worship songs have made her a household name in China’s churches.

A school desk and an error icon.

Death by a Thousand Error Messages

Carrie McKean in Midland, Texas

Classroom tech was supposed to solve besetting education problems. The reality is frustrating for students and costly for taxpayers.

Empty Christmas gifts.

The Surprising Joys of a Gift-Free Christmas

Ahrum Yoo

Amid peak consumerism season, I prayed for ways to teach my children about selfless giving.