Today's Christian articles from September 2004

Today's Christian archives from September 2004

Reader, behold your magazine.(The FinePrint)
September 1, 2004... I knew going in that the article was going to raise some eyebrows. In the July/August issue, we concluded our special "15 Believers Everyone Should Know" section with a story about Claire Hagen, a single mother who's a theology student by day...

A mother remembers 9/11.(Quick Takes on People, News & Reviews)
September 1, 2004... Watching the nonstop coverage on TV that followed the tragic developments at the World Trade Center, Peggy Beamer felt pity for the victims and families that had been affected. A couple hours later, an unexpected telephone ring made the...

Mr. Stoffregen and the neem tree.(Quick Takes on People, News & Reviews)
September 1, 2004... In recent years the Sahara Desert has nibbled away at the edges of Mauritania, a small country on the West Coast of Africa. With their land lost to the encroaching desert, thousands of Mauritanian farmers are moving to the outskirts of the...

The Case for a Creator.(Books)(Book Review)
September 1, 2004... The Case for a Creator Lee Strobel (Zondervan, $19.99) Award-winning journalist (and former atheist) Lee Strobel continues his Case for... series with this tightly written and entertaining look at the debate between Science vs....

My Crazy Imperfect Christian Family.(Books)(Book Review)
September 1, 2004... My Crazy Imperfect Christian Family Glenn T. Stanton (NavPress, $12.99) There is no such thing as a perfect Christian family, asserts social scientist and Focus on the Family staffer Glenn T. Stanton. And there is no step-by-step,...

Learning to Breathe Again.(Books)(Book Review)
September 1, 2004... Learning to Breathe Again Tammy Trent (W Publishing, $19.99) September 11, 2001, is a horrific memory for all Americans, but it was the day before that brought Christian singer Tammy Trent's world crashing down. That was the day her...

The Surrogate.(Books)(Book Review)
September 1, 2004... The Surrogate Kathryn Mackel (WestBow Press, $13.99) Of all the primal urges and desires hardwired into our psyche, the need to reproduce is perhaps the most intense. Set against the intense human drama of an infertile couple's quest...

Fernando Ortega.(Music)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Fernando Ortega Fernando Ortega (Curb Records) Fernando Ortega's latest album lands the mellow, inspirational singer squarely in the mainstream crossover market. Somewhere between Dan Fogelberg and James Taylor, Ortega delivers this...

Hands Lifted High.(Music)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Hands Lifted High Dennis Jernigan & Friends (Doxology) Few songwriters have had a greater impact on contemporary worship than Jernigan. Hands Lifted High pairs the songwriter with some of Christian music's greatest voices for 13...

Raise Your Spirit Higher (Wenyukela).(Music)(Sound Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... Raise Your Spirit Higher (Wenyukela) Ladysmith Black Mambazo (Heads Up) Since their celebrated introduction to the American audience on Paul Simon's seminal Graceland album in the mid-1980s, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has become a...

The Waltons: The First Season.(DVD)(Video Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... The Waltons: The First Season Warner Home Video Few network TV series captured the American spirit of family loyalty and intestinal fortitude in the face of desperate times like The Waltons. From 1972-1981 America joined the extended...

Straight from the heart.(Everyday Theology)
September 1, 2004... Q. Several years ago, Eloise, a member of my family who had previously been heterosexual, began to live as a lesbian. How can we show love toward her and yet not appear to condone this decision? She was raised as a Christian, and must know...

Keeping the Sabbath.(Everyday Theology)
September 1, 2004... Q. Is it wrong to wash clothes or mow the lawn on Sunday? The Ten Commandments say we should not do work on the Lord's Day. --Nell Armstrong, via e-mail A. "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Ex. 20:8) is no doubt one of the...

Laurie Klein's "I Love You, Lord": I love you lord and I lift my voice to worship you O my soul, rejoice!(Story BehindtheSong)
September 1, 2004... In 1974, Laurie Klein was a 24-year-old wife and mother struggling to keep her family afloat. Her husband, Bill, was a full-time student at Central Oregon Community College, and Laurie often felt isolated socially. "It was a dark time in my...

Lite fare.
September 1, 2004... On our honeymoon, my husband and I traveled through the Carlsbad Caverns of New Mexico. At the end of the tour, we entered an elevator on the bottom of the cavern. We were tightly packed in with a group of other tourists. My husband was...

A family thing: preacher Tony Evans and his musician son, Anthony, chose radically different career paths, but they share a common call to ministry.(Cover Story)
September 1, 2004... As the young pastor of a fast-growing Dallas church, Dr. Tony Evans couldn't help looking at his namesake toddler son and wondering whether someday young Anthony Evans, Jr., would feel the tug of ministry, too. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Makeover mania: Extreme Makeover and other reality shows suggest that people can change from the outside in. But real beauty doesn't come from a Botox injection.
September 1, 2004... ABC's Extreme Makeover has been called the reality-TV version of the classic "ugly duckling" story. The popular show documents the physical transformation of everyday people using all the tricks of the Hollywood trade, including cosmetic...

Do all pets go to heaven? After the death of his beloved family dog, author Steve Wohlberg had a big question for God.
September 1, 2004... A stroll down an aisle at any pet superstore will confirm what you've probably already come to suspect--it's a dog's world, so watch your step. A multitude of shampoos and conditioners, kitschy apparel, and even breath mints line the shelves...

"Why, God, Why?" Facing the painful questions that life keeps asking.
September 1, 2004... My mother's pale, gaunt face was transformed into wreathes of joy when I walked through the door of her hospital room. Although her eyes seemed sunken, they sparkled with the zest for life that is her own special trademark. With IVs dangling...

'You have 3 months to live': after my doctor broke the devastating news, I began to discover the true power of prayer.
September 1, 2004... "Stephen, you've got three months to live." With that one simple statement, my life came to a screeching halt. In a fraction of a second, all my hopes and dreams vanished. Stunned, I sat rock still while my physician droned on and my wife,...

The cross and the crescent: in Iraq, a young Muslim prays devoutly to find Allah's Straight Path, but he can't shake his obsession with a mysterious symbol from another faith.
September 1, 2004... Mustafa (not his real name) remembers wondering about the meaning of the cross. It troubled the Muslim boy's 6-year-old mind, especially since he'd never heard anyone ever speak of the roughhewn symbol that dominated his dreams. ...

The cost of honesty: a brief lesson on everyday integrity.
September 1, 2004... When I was a child, I thought as a child. Sometimes I took things from another child's hand when I wanted it. Once or twice, I took candy from a store. That ended the first time my mother caught me and sent me back to confess and apologize....

A man and his best friend: with his "cowdog" by his side, cowboy preacher-poet Ron Moore entertains and challenges audiences across America.
September 1, 2004... "Lord, I pray that I love you, Like this ole dog loves me. Yeah, Will, he's the perfect example, Of the type of Christian I should be." --from "Man's Best Friend" Ron Moore sits on a bale of hay and talks to his "cowdog," Will....

Strings & prayers: Emerson String Quartet violist Lawrence Dutton wants to honor God with every note he plays.
September 1, 2004... Sunlight streams through the tall glass windows of a rehearsal studio at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City, illuminating the battered instrument case holding Lawrence Dutton's 208-year-old Mantegazza. Dutton, the violist of the...

The color of God's love: our miraculous friendship helped erase my racial prejudice.
September 1, 2004... Sardie stood on one side of his bed and I stood on the other. Her beloved husband, Cornelius, was saying goodbye in case the surgery failed. I leaned over and kissed his butterscotch-colored forehead. He was the first black man I had ever...

China: where God is behind bars.(Persecution Report)
September 1, 2004... Thousands convert to Christianity every day in China. According to some estimates, there are currently 80 million Christians in this communist nation of 1.3 billion. Still, persecution of believers continues. Brother Zhong, an underground...

Close calls.(Bible IQ)
September 1, 2004... "By the skin of my teeth." The Book of Job gave our language this wonderful phrase meaning "escaped, but just barely." (It's from Job 19:20.) Scattered throughout the Bible are several colorful stories of hair's-breadth escapes. See how much...

What is your favorite old testament story?(Bible IQ)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
September 1, 2004... 23% Joseph and his brothers 13% Ruth 10% Esther 6% Abraham's sacrifice 6% Moses 5% Creation/Adam & Eve 5% Noah's Ark 4% Daniel 4% Jonah 12% Other Source: A non-scientific poll of 558 visitors to...

Things Sunday school teachers find somewhat trying.(The LastLaugh)
September 1, 2004... REALLY DULL CURRICULUM [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] REALLY EXCITING CURRICULUM [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] PARENTS WHO WON'T LEAVE [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] PARENTS WHO WON'T COME BACK [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] KIDS WHO...