Essential books: Spring books

Cover Story in the May 2, 2012 issue

Our spring books issue includes the following annotated lists of top titles in specific areas: Allan G. Padgett on science and religion, Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore on marriage, Walter Brueggemann on the Psalms.

This article appears in the May 2, 2012 issue.

Bishop Budde among the Swedes

In September, Episcopal bishop Mariann Edgar Budde will travel to her mother’s homeland at the invitation of the Stockholm Cathedral.

by Gary G. Yerkey

First Words

The good kind of patriotism

The church is called to be a loving critic, not a national cheerleader.

by Peter W. Marty

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

Feature

The burden of the Gospels

An unconfident reader

by Wendell Berry

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Bishop Budde among the Swedes

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