News

Quotation Marks

Recent remarks on Pat Robertson, surprise persecution simulations, and more.

“Banks are nervous about lending to churches right now …. The last thing banks want is to own a church.”Todd Whittaker, president of Service Realty Inc. in Denver, on the record number of church foreclosures (138) in 2011.Source: The Denver Post

“Even as God used sinful Balaam to accomplish his purposes, so he used our sin to … mak[e] the whole world acquainted with the Bible.”Harold Camping, calling his insistence that Christ would return on May 21 last year sinful and wrong.Source: FamilyRadio.com

“Pat Robertson still has an audience of millions of people, and they respect what he has to say.”Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, after Robertson agreed on his 700 Club broadcast with the group’s goal of legalizing marijuana use.Source: The New York Times

“I would find a way that we could continue to keep the shock value. But I would find a way to inform the parents.”John Lanza, pastor of Glad Tidings Assembly of God in Middletown, Pennsylvania, on the church youth group’s surprise persecution simulation. Two gunmen covered students’ heads, put them in a van, and drove them to the home of a pastor, who appeared beaten. The district attorney’s office is considering felony false imprisonment charges.Source: WHTM

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Past “Quotation Marks” columns are available from April 2012, March 2012, February 2012, January 2012, December 2011, November 2011, October 2011, September 2011, August 2011, July 2011, June 2011, May 2011, April 2011, March 2011, February 2011, and earlier issues of Christianity Today.

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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.

My Top 5 Books On Fatherhood

Getting to the Crux of Calvary

Richard Mouw

Works and Words: Why You Can't Preach the Gospel with Deeds

Duane Litfin

From Powerlifter to Powerless

Kathleen Anderson

Throwing Christ Over the Cliff

Review

Brave New Web: Navigating the Conflict Between Pluralism and Freedom

Joseph Knippenberg

Teach Us to Pray: Learning from Prayer Partners in History

Interview by Elesha Coffman

News

Quebec: Canada's Prodigal Province

Ann-Margret Hovsepian in Montreal

News

Black Church Barrios: African American Churches Adapt to Latino Neighbors

C. L. Lopez

Touched by Jesus: Healing Body and Soul

Timothy Morgan

Miracles in Mozambique: How Mama Heidi Reaches the Abandoned

Tim Stafford

News

Marketing Martyrs: Does Iranian Pastor's Theology Impact Advocacy on His Behalf?

Ken Walker

Helping Urbana Find Its Voice

Elissa Cooper

News

Should Churches Halt Missions Trips to Mexico?

Compiled by Ruth Moon

Wilson's Bookmarks

John Wilson

The Choir's Steve Hindalong: Celebrating Sobriety

Dave Urbanski

News

Sensation Before Scholarship: Gospel Fragment Tantalizes Experts

Gordon Govier

Private Faith and Public Policy: Where Obama and Santorum Agree

Letters to the Editor

Forced Out: Pastors' Fight and Flight

Should We Stop Child Placement Programs if We're Required to Work with Same-Sex Couples?

Paul Shrier, Lynne Marie Kohm, and Ryan T. Anderson

Review

Dollars and Moral Sense: What Money Can't Buy

Todd C. Ream

Excerpt

Subversive Kingdom

Ed Stetzer

Review

Journeys of Faith

Michael McGowan

News

Foreign Aid Cut from Religious Charities, Authorities Target Official Churches, Religious Quota Creates Controversy, and More News

Review

Rhetorical Darwinism

John Mark Reynolds

Review

How God Became King

Bill Walker

News

Migrant Ministries: European Churches Revitalized by Asian Diaspora

Ruth Moon

News

Passages

News

Go Figure

Review

Mercyland: Hymns for the Rest of Us

Andrew Greer

Editorial

The ‘Monsters’ Among Us: Child Sex Abusers in Our Midst

A Christianity Today Editorial

Why We Need 'Community'

Todd Hertz

Q & A: Ross Douthat on Rooting Out Bad Religion

Interview by Sarah Pulliam Bailey

View issue

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Mike Cosper, Clarissa Moll

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The Debate over Government Overreach Started in 1776

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

The Call to Art, Africa, and Politics

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

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.

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.

Death by a Thousand Error Messages

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

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.

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.

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