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Magazine

Sojourners Magazine: May-June 2001

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Cover Story

The church's prophetic voice is, if you will, its greatest comparative advantage. It's what calls us to the better angels of our nature.
A game of faith-based organizations.
An interview with John DiIulio, point man for the White House's controversial new 'faith-based' initiative.
Some religious leaders, especially from within conservative evangelical Christian communities of faith, have worried out loud that religious bodies that receive government support will, over time
Charitable choice has to be seen as part of a broader effort to strengthen civil society as a whole.
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Feature

American Palestinian physician Laila al-Marayati believes that the Quran speaks to women and men in a manner that eliminates the gender issue.
On the Colombian front of the drug war, it's hard to tell who—or what—is the real enemy.
In November 2000, Congress passed "Plan Colombia," a $1.3 billion plan to fight cocaine production in Colombia. 
National missile defense is only the latest version of "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb." Our best protection from nuclear war? A global ban on nuclear weapons.
The hijab head covering is often the first thing that sets a Muslim woman apart.
There are now more Muslims in the United States then Presbyterians—and (surprise!) half of them are women.

Commentary

For many young people, cynicism and activism can be sides of the same coin.
'Easy' solutions like standardized testing won't solve enduring problems like economic inequality.
Bush's plan looks like the 'gimme-mine' generation at it again.
'Would they defend a brother from the hood in the reverend's same situation?'

Columns

'If Buddhism helps them, so be it, but maybe they just need to be better Christians or better Jews.'
Just when I become practiced in the art of waving my fist and demanding my rights, I get a divine yank.
It's no surprise that humans are smarter than roundworms. Well, most humans, anyway.
Will witches, cults, and strange religions soon get taxpayers' dollars?

Culture Watch

Tribute albums are tricky beasts. Any artist who warrants such acclaim will no doubt have a strong following with deeply held opinions about the merit of someone else singing those songs.
Reading to provoke, perplex, and please.
You might wonder how opera diva Kathleen Battle, the best-selling computer game MYST, and TV shopping networks all work into a conversation about Christianity.
Disney's 'urban' experience is cleaned-up, dumbed-down, and smoothed-over.
It only seemed like 2000 was the year of Limp Bizkit, Eminem, and Britney. Music of subtlety and substance was indeed made. This was some of it:

Departments

IN THE ARTICLE "Beauty Out of Ugly Things" (March-April 2001), Kimberly Burge speaks eloquently of one of the greatest bands in rock history, U2. 
Hours after the Scottish Royal Navy announced that its fourth Trident nuclear-armed submarine—the HMS Vengeance—had entered service, 373 protesters were arrested in the largest-ever dem
There is a new ad campaign hitting the national media called "Sex Has Consequences." 
Want to learn about trade laws for small businesses in Tanzania? Or buy lovely handcrafted mugs for your church volunteers? 
Christians who dip their bread in the common Communion cup for fear of diseases are far more likely to get the common cold than those who sip.
EVERY TIME I HEAR about the reparations issue ("How I Changed My Mind," by Bob McLalan, March-April 2001), I start to feel this creeping guilt. That is, until recently.
"Uncharted Waters" is a new Mars Hill Audio report exploring the social, economic, and moral costs of casino gambling on the small town of Tunica, Mississippi.
"Computer science is the best instrument of history to release man's creativity...
Poll by the Program on International Policy Attitudes  
Nike now lets you personalize your shoes by submitting a word or phrase the company will stitch beneath the swoosh.
Kris Parker, better known as hip-hop legend KRS-One (which stands for Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone), left his job at Warner Bros.
BEING A "LIBERAL" lesbian, I find it odd that I seem to find myself always coming to the defense of the "evangelical." 
The first-ever sacred pre-paid phone card series is available from Siesta Telecom Inc. 
'The hardest question for us is what to do when people get better.'
WHILE KURT WARNER thinks that many of us are missing the bigger picture with regard to the "larger theological drama at play on the athletic field," perhaps he is missing the stil
On the day the North American Free Trade Agreement took effect, the Zapatista movement began—a rebellion, they said, against the forces of globalization on behalf of the rights of indigenous Mexicans.
Your petitions—though they continue to bearjust the one signature—have been duly recorded.
Our churches have attempted to corner the market on grace, to act as society's sole dispensers of salvation.
Aventis CropScience. Put genetically altered and EPA unapproved "Star Link" corn in Taco Bell brand taco shells; at least 44 people became ill.
I'M NO BIBLICAL scholar, but I have read both Testaments and I honestly can't recall any passages that invoke the power of the Almighty in connection with games of any sort...
During the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, the Swiss border patrol prevented Naomi Klein's anti-corporate bestseller No Logo from entering the country. Apparently those little ca 
Winter brought far-flung trips for Sojourners staffers. Rose Marie Berger traveled to Colombia with Witness for Peace to learn about the front lines of the drug war there.
SUSANNAH HUNTER eloquently expressed her thoughts in her piece on the death penalty ("No Longer a Bleeding-Heart Issue," March-April 2001).