Fall books: Take & read

Books in the October 12, 2016 issue

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Our fall books issue includes scholars' recommendations of the best recently published books in their fields:

Matthew L. Skinner on New Testament

Philip Jenkins on global Christianity

Grant Wacker on American religious history

Mary Clark Moschella on practical theology

This article appears in the October 12, 2016 issue.

The new Bonhoeffer movie isn’t just bad. It’s dangerous.

By egregiously misreading Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s moral crisis, it primes viewers for violence.

by Mac Loftin

Interviews

When religion joins the UFO conversation

“The nexus of religion, technology, and culture is more interrelated than most people assume,” says professor and filmmaker Brett Robinson.

Interview by Jessica Mesman

Features

Churches are closing. What should they do with their assets?

Invested Faith offers one possibility: give them to social entrepreneurs doing transformative work.

by Martin B. Copenhaver

Feature

Body counts: The dark side of Christian history

With its long coastline, rugged mountains and haunting sand dunes, Oman is a paradise for desert lovers, hikers and boaters. Muscat, the capital city, is a gem—its arched white buildings and flat roofs squeezed between the blue ocean and black mountains. Yet call me an egghead, but what I remember most from a trip to Oman is a booklet I read there with an ominous title: Body Count: A Quantitative Review of Political Violence Across World Civilizations (2009). In it, author Naveed Sheikh claims that “the Christian civilization emerges as the most violent and genocidal in the world history.” Compared to Islam, Christianity is a clear winner: 31.94 million deaths by Muslims to 177.94 million deaths by Christians.

by Miroslav Volf

Fall books: Take & read

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The prayer in the pause (Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20)

Learning humility as a student pastor

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The new Bonhoeffer movie isn’t just bad. It’s dangerous.

When religion joins the UFO conversation

Churches are closing. What should they do with their assets?

Body counts: The dark side of Christian history