Autumn 2007
Peacebuilding
Featured
Living Walls
There are many Muslims who work to resolve conflict, build peace, and encourage reconciliation and interfaith dialogue. But you won’t usually find them employed by NGOs. By S. Ayse Kadayifci-Orellana
Only a Mother’s Love
Working with street children, from Argentina to New York City, it becomes clear that thoughts on motherly love are a route away from violence. By Kurt Shaw
From Periphery to Center
The growing influence of Pentecostalism in Africa is enhancing a debate about authenticity and legitimation, and is transforming secular states. By Simeon O. Ilesanmi
Kidnapped in Iraq
For a peace worker from the United States, the Christian injunction “love thy enemy” is put to a terrifying test. By Will Van Wagenen
On Africa, a Need for Nuance
Culture and religion are not radically distinct categories in African traditional societies: a response to Simeon Ilesanmi. By Jacob Olupona
White Hats and Black Hats
A documentary filmmaker who deals with religion searches for humanity behind the symbols. By Alex Kronemer
Dialogue
A Different Model of Peacemaking
Religious diplomacy must be based on evidence of care. By Marc Gopin
Praying in Ethiopia
An American priest’s surprising experience in Ethiopia. By Malcolm C. Young
Quiet No Longer
Despite their peacemaking tradition, Mennonites in the United States shy from trying to influence the state. By Lisa Schirch
Teach the Text in Contexts
In Jewish-Christian relations, improvement due to new scholarship is imperiled by old dangers. By Jon D. Levenson
Post-Katrina Theology
Making theological sense out of post-Katrina failures is difficult, necessary work. By Paula Smith
In Review
Shelf Life
The Whole Home Is Lifted
James Agee’s Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. By Kimberley Patton
Required Reading
A Double-Edged Dilemma
The odd dilemma of religion and nationalism. By David Little
Books
Liberal Ambivalence Is Necessary
Christopher Hitchens’s God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. By Todd Shy
Books
The Clueless Factor
Stephen Prothero’s Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know and Doesn’t. By Sharon Goldman
Poetry
The Goat Mask
By Jeff Hoffman
Lullaby
By Kate Farrell
Two Poems
The Conversion of Iceland
A Call
By Sarah Brownsberger
Perspective
Recommitting to Principles of Peace
Can these universal ideals counter communal hatred, inspire nonviolent resolution to conflict, and empower people to persevere in struggles for peace? By Donald K. Swearer
