I Want
Thou shalt not covet
Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

Trapped in the Cult of the Next Thing
If ever there was a cult that gave us stones when we asked for bread, this is it.
Mark Buchanan

I Want
Thou shalt not covet
Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

The Culture of the Market: A Christian Vision
A Coptic bishop explains biblical economics to a Muslim newspaper
Bishop Musa

From the Archives: Desiderius Erasmus
The Despising of Riches (c 1488) Based on the translation by Thomas Paynells, as it appeared in the Bethelet edition of 1533.

Weblog: Death Toll Rises Above 30 As Unholy War Continues in Indonesia
Plus: Toledo priest accused of killing nun, Britain's new religious education guidelines, looking for Noah's ark, and other stories from online sources around the world.
Compiled by Ted Olsen

Conversations

From the Editor
Marshall Shelley

"Rich, Delighted Christians"
The Good of Affluence aims to give leadership to wealthy Christians moved and troubled by their fortune
Cindy Crosby

Seven Sirens
Randy Rowland

Reflections: Quotations to Stir Mind and Heart
In a consumer society, there are inevitably two kinds of slaves: the prisoners of addictions and the prisoners of envy
Ivan Illich

The New Gambling Goliath
Christian activists struggle to slow the rapid growth of Indian casinos.
By John W. Kennedy

The Search for Redemption
Confession without remorse.
By Bruce Kuklick

Weblog: Bush Addresses Evangelicals; Gay Marriage Halted in Calif., Gay Marriage Ban Proposed in Mass.
Plus: Hundreds of other stories from online sources around the world
Compiled by Rob Moll

The Pain of Gain
How Much is Enough? describes how we turn to fleeting satisfactions and away from God
Cindy Crosby

A Case Study in Greed
The Tao of Enron takes lessons from the second-largest bankruptcy in American history
Cindy Crosby

Not-So-Poor-Richard
Tracing market ideology in Protestant evangelical thought
David A. Skeel, Jr.

Seven Sirens
Randy Rowland

Number Eight

HOLY AMBITION OR WHOLLY AMBITIOUS?
When aspiration and pride mix, the result may yet be ministry.
James D. Berkley

The Confidence Man
Meet Mark C. Taylor, the virtuoso of Nietzschean boosterism.
Eugene McCarraher

Too Much Choice?
On misdiagnosing the problem.
Andrew P. Morriss

Behold the Man
American Jesus
by Philip Jenkins

Not-So-Poor-Richard
Tracing market ideology in Protestant evangelical thought
David A. Skeel, Jr.

The Dick Staub Interview: David Myers
"People say they know money can't buy happiness, says the Hope College psychology professor. But they don't truly believe it"

The Lessons of Enron
Enron claimed to be a business unlike any the nation had ever seen
David A. Skeel, Jr.

CT Classic: If It's Too Good to Be True...
A dose of skepticism is okay even with fellow Christians
A Christianity Today Editorial

New ERA: New Era's Bennett Pleads 'No Contest' to Fraud
by Tony Carnes in Philadelphia

New Era: Prudential Settles New Era Suit Investors Eye Larger Payback
by Randy Frame

Weblog: Did Alabamans Really Reject the Bible Yesterday?
"Fair trade on Palm Sunday, Bill McCartney leaves Promise Keepers, and other stories from online sources around the world"
Ted Olsen

Georgia's Baptists Anxious After Losing Large Sum of Cash in Church Robbery
"Theft follows a number of attacks on religious minorities, including Baptists."
Andrei Zolotov

Southeastern Seminary student beaten robbed in Kenya
Family says not attacked because of Christianity, but it's the reason they're going back.
By Melissa King & Lee Weeks, Baptist Press

Weblog: Texas Tech Professor Drops Evolution Belief Requirement
"Pastor confesses to six bank robberies, and other stories from online sources around the world"
Ted Olsen

When Pastors Plagiarize
"The church suffers from the illusion that the sermon is the creative, prophetic effort of the lonely individual"
Christianity Today Editorial

Weblog: Baptist Leader Calls Catholics Anti-Semitic for Excluding Jews from Evangelism
When Herbert stole 14,000 snails, he always got in trouble
Ted Olsen

Aquinas for President?
His views on government, law, and economics would shake the system.
David Lawrence and Elesha Coffman

The Root of All Kinds of Evil
The Inferno is crammed with greedy Florentines receiving their due.
Elesha Coffman

Luther on the Use of Money
CARTER LINDBERG Carter Lindberg is Professor of Church History at Boston University School of Theology. He is the author of A Third Reformation?

Reflections: Quotations on Time and Eternity
Quotations on time and eternity.

Furthermore: The Fullness of Time
I'd like life to be a series of pauses like a poem, rather than a fast-paced, page-turner airport novel.
By Marilyn Chandler McEntyre

Reflections