In-depth coverage of current social issues. Insights into the philosophical, moral and ethical values in society today—health care, science and environmental news and articles

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Fall 2009 Issue


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Article Series:

Messiahs! Rulers and the Role of Religion  

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VISION BLOGS    

Causes of Conflict:
Thoughts on Religion, Identity and the Middle East

First Followers: Jesus' Teachings, Then and Now

Family Matters: Building Strong Family Relationships 

BOOKS  

What Makes Us Human?
Leading thinkers and scholars from around the world weigh in on this fascinating question in this book edited by Dr. Charles Pasternak. Vision publisher Dr. David Hulme also contributes an essay discussing the question in regard to religion.
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Identity, Ideology, and the Future of Jerusalem
For more than a hundred years, the tiny strip of land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River has been the subject of intense debate and bitter conflict, with one of the main focal points of the ongoing struggle being a single ancient city. Exploring the lives of 14 key Palestinian and Jewish leaders, this fascinating study examines the roles of identity and ideology in the search for a resolution to the final-status issue of Jerusalem. The book will prove an important resource for scholars and students interested in the Arab-Israeli conflict, peace studies, and political psychology.
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The Descent of Darwinism 
By the 1800s there was little doubt that life had changed over the course of the earth’s history, but the question soon became how and why? In a world where prevailing opinion held that evolution was divinely ordered, how did Darwin's theory of natural selection and survival of the fittest become the dominant worldview?

Interview
Sir John Polkinghorne:
Holes in the Net
Sir John Polkinghorne began his distinguished career as a physicist and ended it as an Anglican priest and the president of Queen’s College Cambridge. He talks to Vision’s Dan Cloer about some of the deficiencies of science without religion.

The Violent Heart 
Despite our best efforts toward peace, the story of humanity is in large part the story of animosity and violence. What is it about people that leads them to treat one another as adversaries?

Book Review
Out of Poverty: What Works?
Design innovator Paul Polak believes that the problem with most programs aimed at reducing poverty is that administrators don’t take the time to talk to those who are most affected. In his recent book Out of Poverty: What Works When Traditional Approaches Fail? Polak addresses this problem and outlines three popular myths about poverty eradication.

The Value of Happiness 
In a 2007 poll, 58 percent of children said they would choose happiness over wealth. Unfortunately, some researchers assert that most of the obstacles children face today are linked to the fact that adults operate as though these priorities are one and the same. But are they? What does it take to make people happy?

Special Report:
The Dirt on Soil 
One century after the introduction of artificial nitrogen fertilizers, we are beginning to understand some negative effects of the discovery that was previously so lauded by science. And environmentalists are sounding the alarm.

Special Report:
Environmental Ethics 
Ecology has become a term that sets people at odds. Some avidly support the new ecological movement of our time and others suspect that various agendas underlie it. What is the appropriate foundation for a relationship between humans and the environment?

God and Your Brain
Does belief in God help or hinder people’s thinking? Does believing what we have been taught—perhaps as children—and acting on it make us stronger or just more prone to follow the leader and not think critically about important issues that arise in our lives? Vision reviews two recent books that explore these questions from very different perspectives.

Rediscovering Leadership
Whatever happened to leadership? Are leaders born, or do they emerge in appropriate circumstances? At some point every one of us has the opportunity to lead. What are the principles that enable us to lead with the interests of others foremost in mind?

Best of Vision:
The Pass Over to Easter 
Vision explores the origins of the wide divergence in practice that developed between early professing Christian churches, which commemorated Christ's resurrection on Easter Sunday, and the apostolic Church Jesus founded which celebrated His death on Passover.