Lifeline for mainliners
By Mark I. Pinsky
These once-dominant liberal Protestant denominations have been drained by demographic realities and eclipsed by conservative religious voices.
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The Golden Rolodex
By Mark I. Pinsky

Imagine a time before the Internet and the explosion of cable television news and opinion shows. In those days, journalists looking for academic authorities for their stories relied on something called the “Golden Rolodex.” This was an informal list of easily reachable and articulate professors, experts and authors whom we could call. Only death or disgrace could dislodge those on it to make room for others.
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Vol. 36, No. 1 (Winter 2008)

Dialogue
Teflon Televangelists

by Mark I. Pinsky

faith and forbearance can sometimes be insurmountable barriers for religion journalists. When it comes to some true believers, I have learned, nothing you write that questions their idols seems to make any difference.
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Vol. 35, No. 1 (Winter 2007)

Dialogue
Vox Populi, Vox Dei?

by Mark I. Pinsky

In 1993, a washington post reporter infamously described evangelical Christians as "poor, uneducated, and easy to command." The phrase was inaccurate when it appeared on the paper's front page—and was widely and deeply reproved. If anything, it is less descriptive in an era when evangelicals have expanded and extended their influence to the highest reaches of power. Still, this cavalier attitude dies hard. "Under Karl Rove's sorcerer's spell," James Wolcott wrote in the November 2006 issue of Vanity Fair, "Republicans learned how to exploit the intelligence gap, herding the dopey faithful to the polls, and depending on their docility between elections. . . . Progress in the country depends upon maneuvering around this solid bloc of recalcitrant dunces." [READ MORE]

A Jew Among the Evangelicals Named One of
Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year

November 6, 2006

A Jew Among the Evangelicals: A Guide for the Perplexed by Mark Pinsky (Westminster John Knox Press, $14.95, August 2006) has been named one of the Best Books of the Year by Publishers Weekly, the bible of the publishing industry. It is one of ten books selected in the religion category.

Books in contention for the best books list are those that received one of the magazine’s coveted starred reviews, indicating a book of outstanding quality. “We receive approximately three thousand religion and spirituality books each year, and that number is growing” says Jana Riess, PW’s Religion Reviews Editor. Of those, we can review several hundred in the magazine, and star only a small number.  For 2006, we had 55 starred religion books competing for ten slots on the best books list."  

The Publishers Weekly starred review of Pinsky’s book remarked “...it is Pinsky’s treatment of evangelicals in politics that distinguishes his book from countless other journalistic forays into the land of megachurches...Kudos to Pinsky for offering nuanced reporting instead of stereotypes.”

In A Jew Among the Evangelicals, Pinsky, longtime religion reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, writes of his “curious journey” from “nice Jewish boy from Jersey” to professional observer of evangelical Christianity. He examines the hopes, fears, and motivations of this influential subculture, and breaks down some of the stereotypes about them. It’s a surprisingly sympathetic portrayal of an unpredictable, multifaceted group.

Mark Pinsky is also the author of the bestseller The Gospel According to The Simpsons, and The Gospel According to Disney, both published by Westminster John Knox Press.

— Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life, May, 2006