I still get excited when @CTmagazine hits our mailbox. I can’t imagine a more comprehensive look at the Christian landscape.
@jsackel2
The Museum of the Bible’s Balancing Act
These exhibits sound remarkable. I hope they get a lot of traffic. It sounds really cool to learn the history behind these things and to actually feel like you are in Jerusalem, where Jesus walked. Technology can sometimes be a good compromise to experience such things.
Melissa Sanderson-Brown
As a longtime CT subscriber, I feel right in step with the magazine’s mission. I also believe in the mission of the new Museum of the Bible (MOTB). So I think Martyn Wendell Jones’s feature story on the MOTB is a little too skeptical of this new attraction that has the potential to persuade millions of people to at least take the best-selling book of all time seriously. I understand the fine line the Greens and others who created the museum are walking in not being too evangelical or politically conservative and at the same time not evangelizing enough. Jones’s story addresses controversial aspects of the MOTB, which is fine, but it just seems more cynical than CT should be. Maybe the magazine’s cover bothered me the most: Using an image of “The Bible Under Glass” is a misrepresentation of an institution that already has serious research underway and new Bible curricula being used in the United States and Israel.
Mike Haynes Amarillo, Texas
What to Do With Statements and Confessions
As someone who frequents Celebrate Recovery meetings, I fail to see the aptness of Mark Galli’s comparison between a believer who identifies as an alcoholic and a gay Christian. When someone stands up in a Recovery meeting and says, “My name is Jack. I’m a grateful believer in Jesus Christ and I’m an alcoholic,” that is not fundamentally a statement of their identity. It’s an admission that they have a serious problem and are not living in denial about it. By contrast, “gay Christian” is today typically seen as a description, not an admission. It’s the kind of Christian you are—a gay one. The answer to the problem is not, as Galli suggests, finding a consensus. That is frequently helpful in these processes, but there are issues of truth at the bottom of this and, though truth should be told lovingly, it is not established through consensus.
Duncan Ross Menominee, MI
The Promise and Failure of Antibiotics
A big, surprised thanks to @CTmagazine for publishing this article. It is most definitely our role as stewards to use antibiotics wisely.
@nathan_meyers
Thanks for Lindsay Stokes’s timely article on antibiotic resistance and the need for careful stewardship of this precious resource. I hope and pray it will encourage Christians to put themselves at the forefront of this initiative. It has certainly refreshed that focus in me, as someone who works in the field.
Damian Mawer Infectious Diseases Physician and Medical Microbiologist, York, UK
Why So Many Chose Trump
I don’t know whether to love this article for its precise diagnosis of the situation or lament for its raw truth. One thing I think he could have mentioned is that millennials are not just socially concerned, they’re equally concerned about authenticity. Figures like James Dobson have lost all respect because of their lack of authenticity. They have lowered their own bar to achieve political ends. Sadly, leaders like this have led many evangelical followers the same way.
Javon Blackshear
Defeating the Darkness Inside
I thoroughly enjoyed Lily Burana’s testimony. It really resonated with me. I enjoy hearing from people like Lily, who affiliate with the oddballs and who struggle with depression, because I, too, have that struggle, that affiliation. So do many of my friends. It really helps us to feel like there is a place for us in the kingdom. Too often, we feel like outsiders.
Cody Welborn Wilmore, KY
Such a wonderful and important piece. I am a longtime committed Christian who struggles with understanding depression, as I am by nature a cheerful person who always sees the “silver lining” and the bright side of life, even when things go wrong or are challenging. But I think I have a daughter who suffers to a degree from depression, and I am working on figuring out how to respond and help her and be a positive support for her. She and I get along very well, and she says she feels better when I am around. I think I will buy Lily’s book to help me better understand depression, especially when it arises in childhood, as she says hers did.
Kerry Wahba Dubai, UAE
Thanks for publishing this beautiful, honest story of the long road home. It’s a powerful reminder that God knows my hurt, believes my pain, and loves me still.
@jim5imply
Lily’s testimony was spot on. I love the line about comfort, acceptance, and resilience. We don’t need God to fix all problems, just give us enough strength to keep going.
Gina Vinsand Rutland, IA
