News

Quotation Marks

Comments on generic evangelicals, Habitat’s demolition crews, and other topics from recent news.

“A generic form of evangelicalism is emerging as the normative form of non-Catholic Christianity in the United States.”Mark Silk, director of the Public Values Program at Trinity College. The number of Americans identifying as “non-denominational Christian” has increased from less than 200,000 in 1990 to over 8 million today. (Source: ARIS 2008)

* * *

“We use props all the time for messages … If I knew it would cause this kind of problem, I certainly would have reconsidered.”John Putnam, Pastor of Pentecostals of Sheboygan County (Wis.), on being fined $109 for shooting an arrow as a sermon illustration. (Source: Sheboygan Press)

* * *

“You have to look at the mission; the mission is to make housing more affordable.”Paul Warriner, executive director of the Habitat for Humanity affiliate in Saginaw, Micigan, on the ministry’s increase in demolishing old homes. The chapter is demolishing two houses a week and building or refurbishing eight a year. (Source: The New York Times)

* * *

“Discussing your values with your teenagers will help them to form their own. Remember, though, that trying to convince them of what’s right and wrong may discourage them from being open.”from Talking to Your Teenager About Sex and Relationships, a pamphlet published by the British government. (Source: The Times)

* * *

“When reality gets ugly, fiction takes off.”Karen Ball, executive editor at B&H Publishing Group, on why Christian fiction sales are strong even as sales of Christian nonfiction have dropped. (Source: The Tennessean)

* * *

“Sometimes in reading the news, I get the impression that access to Holy Communion in the Church is like having bar privileges at the Elks’ Club.”Charles J. Chaput, The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Denver, speaking to reporters at the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. (Source: Archdiocese of Denver)

* * *

“I’m more afraid of some of the people I’m locked out from than the person I’m locked in with.”David Pinckney, pastor of River of Grace Church in Chichester, New Hampshire, on getting death threats from neighbors after housing a convicted child killer in his home. (Source: Union-Leader)

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Earlier Quotation Marks columns are available from April 2009, March 2009, February 2009, January 2009, December 2008, October 2008, September 2008, August 2008, July 2008, June 2008, May 2008, April 2008, and earlier issues of Christianity Today.

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.

News

The Not-for-Profit Surge

Books Uncommon and Offbeat

Keeping Holy Ground Holy

Theology in Wood and Concrete

Praying 'Deliver Us from Evil'

Surveying the Wondrous Cross

Review

Science and the Mystic

Abolishing Homelessness in Ten Years

My Top 5 Spiritual Memoirs

What Do Prayer Studies Prove?

News

More Giving, Less Taxing

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Pressure to Prove Himself

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'The Perfect Hybrid'

Review

What to Do with the Stranger?

Augustine's Origin of Species

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Go Figure

From the Printing Press to the iPhone

Readers Write

Out of Step and Fine with It

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Learning from Widows

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A Simple, Old-Fashioned Fundraiser

CreationWatch

Why We Need Earthquakes

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Passages

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Be Careful What You Wish For

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News Briefs: May 01, 2009

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El Salvador's Values Voters

Q & A: Carl Moeller

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Faith on the Frontera

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A Problematic Peace Accord

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Caring for the Caregivers

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Church Pink Slips

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In Over His Pay Grade

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Review

New & Noteworthy Books

Chosen by Matt Reynolds, CT senior books editor.

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Recovery Ministries Help Portland Get Clean

After an attempt to decriminalize drugs made the addiction crisis in Oregon even worse, local Christians are pleading with the sick—and the state—to let them help.

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When a Stanford Bible Study Led to an AI Startup

Two young Christians made a college counseling tool, saying AI should serve those on the margins—not just the rich and powerful.

A Solution for Seasonal Overwhelm

Focusing on the few in front of us makes a tangible difference in our local communities.

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Finding Sobriety—and Jesus—in Vietnam’s Christian Drug Rehabs

The country’s church-run addiction centers are so effective that communist officials are taking notice.

Review

The Black Church Has Five Theological Anchors

Walter Strickland’s sweeping narrative of African American Christianity portrays a big God who is strong to deliver.

Review

Tending and Keeping the Christian Past in an ‘Ahistoric Age’

Why the work of historical stewardship isn’t just for historians.

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