Carter at Brandeis; 10 minutes with Alexandra Pelosi; Birmingham churches; the Trinity debate

G. Jeffrey MacDonald writes in Wednesday's RNS report about Former President Carter's defense of his controversial book at Brandeis: Former President Jimmy Carter, speaking Tuesday (Jan. 23) before critics at a predominantly Jewish university, apologized for failing to make clear in a new book that terrorism is never justified as a political tool. But Carter defended the book's controversial title -- "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid" -- by telling a capacity crowd of about 1,700 that he aims to be "provocative" and draw attention to the fact that "Palestinians are being terribly treated" in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

In our feature 10 Minutes With..., Shona Crabtree talks with Alexandra Pelosi about her HBO documentary on evangelicals, "Friends of God"; her changing relationship with the church; and what role she thinks evangelicals will play in the 2008 presidential election.

A year later, burned churches are rising from the ashes in Birmingham, Ala., reports Greg Garrison: It has been nearly a year since nine Alabama churches were set on fire by three Birmingham college students, but a lot of rebuilding work remains. By late 2007, those nine churches expect to be restored or have larger, more modern facilities. "It's been a great struggle and there is a lot still to do," said the Rev. Robert Murphy, pastor of Pleasant Sabine Baptist Church in Bibb County. Much of the rebuilding has been funded by donations.

Senior Correspondent Adelle M. Banks looks at the Trinity debate, in which scholars are asking who comes first: The Holy Trinity -- Father, Son and Holy Spirit -- has been a source of debate for centuries among theologians. The issue of the proper roles for men and women, a comparatively newer fight, has been brewing especially strong in the last two decades among evangelical Christians. Now the two arguments have merged into one, as some scholars link their belief in a Bible-approved submission of women to men to a belief that the Bible indicates that Jesus is eternally subordinate to God. The otherwise esoteric theological discussion among certain evangelical scholars recently went public.