WORLD's Top 25 articles for 2015

25. Buying a bestseller

RELIGION | Is David Jeremiah another gifted pastor who has used what some say is an ethically dubious method to promote books? | By Warren Cole Smith | Feb. 21 issue

24. A biblical view of homosexuality

BOOKS | Answering the most frequent objections Christians face. An excerpt from a WORLD Book of the Year runner-up | By Kevin DeYoung | July 25

23. In the beginning

RELIGIOUS LIBERTY | In 1978, a pastor stood his ground against the homosexual agenda, winning a court battle that others likely will face in the days ahead | By Chuck McIlhenny, Donna McIlhenny, and Frank York | May 23

22. Poor whites need Jesus and justice too

RELIGION | Evangelicals tend to focus on urban minorities instead of the largest percentage of Americans living under the poverty line | By Anthony Bradley | March 14

21. Heisman Trophy winner: ‘Football doesn’t define me’

SPORTS | Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota finds comfort in his faith | By Andrew Branch | Jan. 1

20. GoFundMe shuts down fundraising page for Oregon bakery owners

RELIGIOUS LIBERTY | Christian couple ordered to pay $135,000 for declining to bake wedding cake for lesbian couple | By Leigh Jones and Daniel James Devine | April 22 and 25

19. Investigators find proof IRS destroyed evidence in targeting scandal

IRS SCANDAL | Computer evidence erased months after agency was ordered to preserve documents | By Abby Reese | June 29

18. Blindsided

RELIGION | Hundreds of evangelicals were caught off guard in March when their church leaders, without any open discussion, announced that sexually active homosexuals could become members. How did that happen, and what steps can members of other churches take to forestall such surprises? | By Marvin Olasky | July 11 issue

17. Jockeying for position on same-sex marriage

SEXUALITY | Gay activists are using Tony Campolo’s statement to suggest evangelicals are shifting on homosexuality, but is that true? | By Warren Cole Smith | June 10

16. Christians on the edge of extinction

IRAQ | Voices from Iraq call out in the wake of last summer’s ISIS invasion | By Ellen Vaughn | Feb. 21

15. ECFA strips Gospel for Asia’s membership

MINISTRY | Church planting ministry cited for violations related to governance and financial management | By Warren Cole Smith | Oct. 5

14. Remembering Kara Tippetts: A life of faith

OBITUARY | Author and blogger who offered inspiration and hope as she shared her struggle with terminal cancer died Sunday | By Courtney Crandell | March 22

13. Bobby Schuller on the Crystal Cathedral exodus

Q&A | Now leading the Hour of Power, Robert Schuller’s grandson talks about the lasting parts of his family’s ministry | By Warren Cole Smith | March 25

12. Planned Parenthood caught selling fetal tissue

ABORTION | Undercover video sting reveals abortion giant operates illegal tissue-trafficking scheme | By Courtney Crandell | July 14

11. Cake baking and journalistic story baking

MEDIA | The mainstream media misreports Bill Jack’s message on God and gays | By Marvin Olasky | Jan. 27

10. Warrant issued for Teen Mania founder

RELIGION | Ron Luce fails to appear at Colorado hearing related to Compassion International’s lawsuit against the Christian youth ministry | By J.C. Derrick | Oct. 1

9. Part 1: What’s the matter with evolution?

SCIENCE | A ranking of the top five scientific problems found in evolutionary theory | By Casey Luskin | April 25

8. Voddie Baucham’s big move to Africa

Q&A | The pastor, father, and speaker talks about his work at home and explains his move to Zambia with his wife and seven of their children | By Warren Cole Smith | May 19

7. The ISIS war against ‘the people of the cross’

ISIS | The Egyptians beheaded by Islamic State militants were family men who died for their Christian faith | By Jamie Dean | Feb. 17

6. The Drop Box

DOCUMENTARY | South Korean pastor’s love for abandoned newborn babies | By Sophia Lee | March 7 issue

5. The kids are not all right

SEXUALITY | After being raised in same-sex households, some children, now grown, are risking the ire of aggressive gay activists by saying the same-sex parenting model is fundamentally flawed | By Daniel James Devine | March 21 issue

4. Elisabeth Elliot enters gates of splendor

OBITUARY | Best-selling author, speaker, and missionary remembered as someone who trusted God with everything | By Daniel James Devine | June 15

3. Five myths about Fifty Shades of Grey

MOVIES | Despite what some Christians will tell you, this is a black-and-white issue | By Emily Whitten | Feb. 9

2. CCCU loses Union University

HIGHER EDUCATION | The Tennessee school’s decision to leave the coalition of Christian colleges could have a ripple effect | By J.C. Derrick | Aug. 12

1. Bill Gothard defends himself on new website

RELIGION | Former ministry leader denies allegations of sexual abuse, but women who say he abused them stick by their stories, as donors try to prevent the sale of ministry assets | By Warren Cole Smith | June 24

See WORLD’s Top 25 columns for 2015.