In the climax of Witness (1985), a corrupt police chief holds a gun on Harrison Ford’s character amid a group of innocent Amish bystanders. Ford asks, “What are you going to do, Paul? Kill me? Him? The woman?”

WORLD’s mission statement is “Biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.” That may sound strange on first hearing, because we often equate “objectivity” with neutrality, but a book of mine just published by P&R, Reforming Journalism, explains a Christian understanding that cuts against secular views. Here is an excerpt from Chapter 3. Look for an excerpt from Chapter 4 as part of our Saturday Series on Nov. 2.

“Biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.” WORLD’s mission statement near the top of page 2 of every issue sometimes confuses readers, because it uses the word objective in an old-fashioned way.

Today  we often think of an “objective” perspective as one not voicing a strong opinion—neutral.

Based on 27 years of letters from WORLD readers, history books are our favorite genre—so this year’s fall reading list highlights recent history books aimed at general readers and students. I’ll start with good news about overall American history books and follow that with a look at books about specific historical periods from conservative, liberal, academic, and Christian publishers.

Stephanos Bibas is a U.S. Court of Appeals judge for the 3rd Circuit, which has jurisdiction over cases in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Born in New York City, he graduated from high school at 15 and from Columbia University at 19 with a Bachelor of Arts in political theory, summa cum laude.

Deborah Rhode, in Character: What It Means and Why It Matters (Oxford, 2019), details the lack of character in many recent presidents and other leaders. She wants adults to “model and reward fairness, honesty, empathy, and mutual respect.” She wants each school to “have a plan for character education that stakeholders can help shape, support, and assess.” Rhode, though, ignores the most important factor of all—belief in God.

WORLD readers know it’s hard work to help those who have spi­raled into drugs, homelessness, and despair. That’s why many of them voted this summer for Watered Gardens in Joplin, Mo., as the 2019 grand prize winner of the Hope Awards for Effective Compassion. The ministry teaches residents to work for their room and board and eventually helps them transition to financial independence combined with dependence on God.