exegesis
reviews and commentary

The Best Books Media of 2008
Forget the standard litany of the best-selling books and most popular movies…

Waiting for Lefty
If the Religious Left is to lift, everyone counts — the soccer moms and sex workers, the cowboy preachers and radical faeries, and you.

The Duty of a Daughter
In Marilynne Robinson’s new novel, forgiveness and grace come wrapped in a custard pie.

Reader Mail
“Good evening, I had not thought of the Louvin Brothers in a long time. Not that they had gone anywhere, I had. I started to review their song list and immediately grabbed a pen and started to write the words to “Praying,” “River of Jordan” and “Last Chance to Pray,” etc. You see I used…

Articulate Enemy
Is there a nice way to call someone a fool? Sam Harris doesn’t think so.
A review of his new book, Letter to a Christian Nation.

Brand Name Buddhism
For Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, it’s alright to get a little dirty, so long as you know which detergent will get your karma clean.

Revising Night: Elie Wiesel and the Hazards of Holocaust Theology
Editors’ note: This essay was first published in April 2001, long before Oprah’s Book Club chose Night as its latest selection. Yet especially in light of doubts concerning the reliability of Oprah’s previous pick, the question raised here remains relevant: In making the Holocaust a matter of theological concern, does Elie Wiesel’s classic memoir court historical revisionism?