Christianity Today
As I opened up Christianity Today, I felt nothing less than bombarded with advertisements for Christian schools and seminaries.
Once I got passed those initial advertisements, I found several book reviews, as well as some readers’ feedback and opinions.
This was an interesting section, as the editors allowed very controversial letters to be published, pertaining to news issues, religious issues and world issues. This made this part of the magazine exciting to read.
Next, for roughly five or six pages, there were religious headlines from across the world involving many different aspects of life.
These issues included religious freedom, the conflict in the Middle East, higher education, life ethics, business, law and entertainment.
It was a beneficial section which allowed the reader to get informed about what is taking place throughout the world.
For every issue, there is also a large profile section, which usually focuses on some Christian leader or speaker. In the issue that I read, Wendell Berry was in the spotlight.
Towards the end of the magazine, there were more than 15 pages of full page advertisements for what seemed to include every Christian college in the nation.
In between some of the advertisements were articles about how to choose the right college.
Overall, I was not pleased with Christianity Today, but if you are in the hunt for a college, it may be beneficial.
Sojourners
After my disappointment with Christianity Today, I picked up Sojourners.
Contrary to the advertisements in the beginning of Christianity Today, Sojourners was filled with several pages of commentary from the editors and other staff writers.
They wrote on world issues such as the Middle East, Iraq and the past election.
Sojourners has several ties to Eastern University, as President David Black was once a board chair person for the magazine.
In this particular issue, Black was featured with an article about what a Christian campus should be like; “The Red Letter Campus,” as the article was entitled, featured Black’s famous lines about “reading the red stuff.”
Continuing on, the magazine featured a section called “Behind the Lines.” In every issue, this section covers the more wacky side of Christianity, with random news and gift ideas.
One of the gifts was a 12-inch thorn crown, containing real 1 – 2 inch thorns on sale for $39.95. With this, one can experience what Jesus wore. The editors recommended not wearing it during evangelism, and noted how Jesus paid a lot more than that for his thorn crown.
One of my favorite parts of Sojourners was towards the end of the publication.
For each issue, there is a month-long guide for weekly devotions. These devotions give the reader Scripture verses, as well as different Bible studies to read throughout the week. There are also websites for additional devotionals and studies.
Sojourners is definitely a real magazine.
It covers real life events, adds some humor in the mix, and doesn’t forget about major, relevant issues concerning the Christian community.
Furthermore, it is not simply a magazine full of advertisements for Jesus, but a magazine full of truth about Jesus.