Welcome to CHRISTIANITY TODAY ONLINE. If this is your first encounter with our magazine, we encourage you to read two entries in the Information Center: "About CT," which explains our goals for the magazine; and "Billy Graham Talks About the History of CT," which is an interview that appeared in our twenty-fifth anniversary issue in 1981. (Actually, veteran readers may be even more interested in this information.)
With our mission and history in mind, we invite you to dive into our October 3 issue. For our cover story, we gave Senior Writer Tim Stafford six months and trips to India and The Netherlands (with funding help from the Pew Charitable Trust's Global Stewardship Initiative) to tackle "population." One indication of how complicated this issue has become is that experts cannot agree on the basic question of whether growing numbers of people is a problem. The result of Stafford's reporting and analysis is a model for how Christians should approach controversial topics.
For "What Henri Nouwen Found at Daybreak," Anabaptist pastor Arthur Boers spent time with the Catholic contemplative to discover why all brands of Christians turn to Nouwen for spiritual sustenance. The answer is simple: Nouwen knows God.
A dangerous precedent may be set in two current court cases where the government wants to invade the church's finances. Read the editorial by Christian Legal Society lawyer Steven T. McFarland, "Uncle Sam Wants Your Tithe."
If you want to understand the religious dynamics of the coming election, turn to our lead news story: "Religious Right Eager for November Election." Also of interest is the story of the exodus of Palestinian Christians from Israel ("Will Palestinian Christians Survive?"). After 2,000 years, the Holy Land may lose its native Christians.
In this our inaugural issue online, we invite you not only to read but to react to the many features, news stories, reviews, and editorials we are presenting. You may write a letter to the editor, which may be included in a future letters section of the magazine. You may participate in our message-board area, posting your opinions about various articles, topics, debates, or controversies, or just telling your story. You may also e-mail one of the editors directly.
In addition to the current issue, some past issues are also available to online users. Simply click on "Browse Past Issues" icon to explore those offerings. We hope to put more past issues online in the near future.
We hope to hear from you.
Michael G. Maudlin
Managing Editor
MGMaudlin
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