Watch and wait
Election night could provide a quick White House winner, or a flood of mail-in ballots and social division could delay results for weeks
2009 Daniel of the Year
Stephen C. Meyer
In the trenches
The word from activists against gay marriage: If the battle hasn't come to your state it will; be ready to work hard and be weary
A wider war
Bigger footprint less a worry than shorter timeframe
Running free
Records and medals couldn't give legendary miler Jim Ryun happiness, but something else did
Voices
Janie B. Cheaney
A curse and a gift
How does one write heaven? John Milton, setting out to "justify the ways of God to men" in Paradise Lost, faced the challenge of representing not only heaven, but hell, the great gulf, and ...
Mindy Belz
Eco-manifesto
A wage base below the local average at my downtown Y hasn't stopped one of its exercise instructors from launching a campaign to replace decent carpet with sustainable bamboo flooring. She's also ...
Andrée Seu Peterson
French wars
OBienvenue sur le site internet de l'Eglise de Paris Bastille. . . . Vous trouverez nos cultes expressifs, ouverts à chacun, et plus important, remplis de la présence du Seigneur. Notre but est de...
Marvin Olasky
Serving with Miss America
A tale of two songs. Katie Stam, a 23-year-old member of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Seymour, Ind., sang one of them on Jan. 24, 2009. Key lyrics: "Down the Via Dolorosa called the way of s...
The Editors
Mailbag
Tumbling far If healthcare "reform" passes ("Do the math," Nov. 7), will Christian healthcare sharing ministries be able to continue? That approach leads to a keen sense of responsibility f...
Zimbabwe epistle
It was a year ago this month that my husband and I read WORLD's article on the economic situation in Zimbabwe. The article mentioned Paula Leen and her work there in Marange, Zimbabwe. We were ins...
Joel Belz
Up, up, and up
Hide your wallet! Secure your piggy bank! Stash a little cash under your mattress! Looks to me like you're going to need it all-and maybe sooner rather than later. Oil prices, the experts s...
Culture
Notable CDs
Notable CDs
Gordon Gano rose to semi-fame as the lead singer and main songwriter of the Violent Femmes, a stripped-down punk trio known for its catchy but often outré juxtaposing of the sacred and the profane...
Notable Books
Notable books
Mortenson picks up his saga where he left off in Three Cups of Tea. When tribal leaders in Afghanistan hear about the schools he has been building, they seek him out on horseback to plead with him...
Movies & TV
Out of the art house
Indie directors helming children's projects seems to be the trend in theaters this fall. October brought us Spike Jonze taking on Where the Wild Things Are, and now Wes Anderson brings audiences Roald...
Movies & TV
Wasted stage
Recreating the story of a famous man is never easy, but Richard Linklater's Me and Orson Welles doesn't fully justify itself. Set during Orson Welles' 1937 staging of Julius Caesar, Me and ...
Movies & TV
Perilous journey
What is it about the end of the world? Going to the movies has always been a good way to figure out what's on everybody's mind, and if you didn't know we lived in a world filled with war and natur...
Movies & TV
Daring to hope
Heroism is a big word. It may be disarming an IED in Iraq or facing a disease with dignity; perhaps calmly landing a failing aircraft or sending water and medicine to Africa. Heroism is not often ...
Music
'God's hand is in it'
Lauren Green was third runner up in the 1985 Miss America contest and a winner of the talent competition for playing immaculately a Chopin etude, "Opus #4 in C Sharp." She continued her music whil...
Music
Subject to interpretation
Although it wasn't apparent for most of the year, 2009 seems likely to be remembered by music enthusiasts as the "Year of the Interpreter." No sooner did Loudon Wainwright III's High Wide & Ha...
Books
War and peace
Daniel in the Bible lived in peace when possible and fought when essential. That's the combination we seek in our Daniels of the Year. They focus on God and His creative process. They do not spend...
Dispatches
Quick Takes
Quick Takes
Reptile ruse Few would attempt to smuggle animals through an international airport. Almost no one would be willing to hide multiple reptiles on his person. That makes Michael Plank of Los A...
Quotables
Quotables
"Nothing lasts forever, does it?" Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden, the second-winningest coach in major college football, on his plans to retire after this season. Bowden, 80, has...
The Buzz
The Buzz
Honduras' new start Hondurans elected Porfirio Lobo, a wealthy rancher from the conservative National Party, to succeed former President Manuel Zelaya, who was arrested and turned out of of...