Book Briefs: October 4, 1985

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 October 4, 1985

What Is the Solution to South Africa’s Racial Problems?

Eutychus and His Kin: October 4, 1985

Alcoholism Is Not a Disease

Larry M. Thomas

Forgive God?

V. Gilbert Beers

Editorial

The Rationalization of Racism

Beth Spring

The Bible: The Year in Review

Randall L. Frame

The Homeless Poor

Marjorie Hope and James Young

TV: Where the Girls Are Good Looking and the Good Guys Win

Lloyd Billingsley

A Tale of Two Sons

F. Dale Bruner

Falwell Raises a Stir by Opposing Sanctions against South Africa

Beth Spring

The Optimists’ Shell Game

Opponents Fault a New Organization that Helps People Leave Fundamentalism

Tom Neven

U.S. Supreme Court Prepares to Hear Right-to-Life and Religious Freedom Cases

Evangelist Leighton Ford Plans to Form a New Ministry

Ethiopia Continues to Impose Restrictions on the Church

Sharon E. Mumper

Books: October 4, 1985

The Reformation Revisited

The Spiritual Morning Sickness of a Writer

Our Latest

A girl walking on floating stepping stones.

Q&A: Douglas McKelvey on Gen Z’s Lack of Rites of Passage

Interview by Ashley Hales

The Rabbit Room’s newest prayer book urges readers to join God’s mission in young adulthood.

An open book on a table.

Nominations Are Open for the Christianity Today Book Awards

CT Editors

Instructions for authors and publishers.

Farmers harvest tea leaves at a tea plantation in Bomet County, Kenya on February 4, 2026.

News

Iran Tensions Threaten Kenya’s Largest Export Industry: Tea

Moses Wasamu

Christian farmers struggle to avoid bankruptcy.

An illustration of a hand holding a calligraphy pen with a hand written letter in the background

Behind the Story

Why We Retracted a Report About Violence in Afghanistan

Andy Olsen

A note from CT’s editorial director for news about our reporting on an attack on a house church.

An image of people scrolling on their phones.

Public Theology Project

What Social Media Addiction Tells Us About Heaven and Hell

The infinite scroll is a counterfeit paradise, a parody of the coming world beyond “all that we ask or think.”

Amy-Grant

The Russell Moore Show

Amy Grant on New Music After a Decade

What holds a life together when it feels fragmented?

A resident carries her child through a flooded area in West Nyakach, Kisumu County, on March 22, 2026.

News

Floods Scatter Christian Communities in Africa

Pius Sawa

A pastor in Kenya struggles to rebuild a church destroyed by erratic weather.

Photograph of Karl Zinsmeister

News

Good Lungs and Lung Cancer

A tribute to Karl Zinsmeister, a Bush administration adviser who was a faithful Christian and the most interesting man I knew.