This is thinking in public, a program dedicated to intelligent conversation about

front-line theological and cultural issues with the people who are shaping

them. I'm Albert Moller, your host and president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.

Kenneth L. Woodward served as Newsweek religion editor from 1964 to 2002, where he was also the author of some 1,000 articles

including more than 70 Newsweek cover stories. He's written for a variety of

other publications including the New York Times the

Wall Street journal First Things and the Christian Century. He's the author of several books

including Making Saints, How the Catholic Church determines who becomes a saint

who doesn't and why and the book of miracles the meaning

of the miracle stories in Christianity Judaism Buddhism Buddhism his most recent

book is getting religion faith culture and politics from the age of Eisenhower to the era of

Obama. Kenneth Woodward, welcome to thinking in public.

Mr. Woodward, you had the front row seat in many ways in terms of observing American religion at least for

the second half of the 20th century and into the 21st?

How exactly did you come to that position and what does that say is a part of this story? I came by accident. I was working on a

little weekly newspaper in Ohio, Nebraska and I thought there was time maybe I

went to see how I could make my fortune in New York and

I came back with an offer from Time magazine to work in their Chicago Bureau and from Newsweek which is a magazine I had never read to be their religion editor.

And they used to say around Newsweek,

I'm the only guy, the only writer who came in over the Trantam.

That's not usually the way you get hired. the only writer who came in over the transom.

That's not usually the way you get hired at a news magazine.

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