Sightings Articles
Understanding Modern Jihad -- Martin E. Marty
Today Sightings will pass over the much-sighted Pat Robertson, Cindy Sheehan, and Supreme Court issues to appraise the mind-set of jihadists. Max Rodenbeck, who covers the Middle East for the not-leftist British Economist, evaluates six new books (fo...
August 29, 2005
Riding the Saffron Wave -- Peter Gottschalk
From the recent role of conservative Christians in U.S. elections to the place of Islam in Iraq's emerging constitution, the relationship between religion and politics has become a key issue in many democracies. This is no less the case in the world'...
August 25, 2005
Thinking Inside the Mailbox -- Martin E. Marty
"Putting Jesus in Every Mailbox." That headline on a story by Shaila Dewan (New York Times, August 16) provides an opportunity for us to try to make a point about religion in public life. First, to crib from the Dewan report on the Jesus Video Projec...
August 22, 2005
Is Anti-Zionism Anti-Semitic? -- Alain Epp Weaver
Should anti-Zionism, as distinct from critiques of particular policies and practices of the State of Israel, be viewed as a form of anti-Semitism? Two recent statements arising from Christian-Jewish dialogue groups suggest as much: One comes from a C...
August 18, 2005
Doctors' Report -- Martin E. Marty
Follow-up research informs me that news of a survey in the July issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine could be glimpsed on cable TV and got some notice in newspapers, but it created less stir than one might have imagined. Only when I scoo...
August 15, 2005
Ave Achilles -- Christian Sheppard
Florida Marlins pitcher Dontrelle Willis—World Champion and All-Star—is a fan of Achilles. He saw Troy four times in the theater, and before each game watches highlights of Brad Pitt's performance on a DVD player in his locker. "I like the action," h...
August 11, 2005
Printed Matters -- Martin E. Marty
Sightings's publisher, editor, and this writer, along with much of the rest of America, recently left their desks for a couple of weeks, which is the equivalent of our wearing sleep masks and doing no sighting. And like so many others, we packed off ...
August 8, 2005
Designs of the Times
Editor's Note: Following today's issue, Sightings will be on summer hiatus until Monday, August 8. The installation of a new pope brings its own kind of honeymoon: Catholics and (to the degree that they take an interest) the wider world usually...
July 21, 2005
Radical Islam in Europe -- Martin E. Marty
The Islamic Center in Munich, started by ex-Nazis, is now the base of radical Islam in Germany. Tens of thousands of Muslims in the Soviet Army switched sides to fight for Hitler. They stayed to build up a community influenced by the fundamentalist M...
July 18, 2005
Jesus and the Buddha at Live 8 -- Jon Pahl
Jesus and the Buddha both made appearances at the July 2 Live 8 concert here in Philadelphia. The two peacefully coexisted at this pluralistic justice-fest, where ethics of interdependence and love merged with a dash of Protestant missionary revivali...