I'm back here at Belief Blog after weeks of writing about the visit of Pope Benedict XVI who I assume had a nice rest at Castelgandolfo after his six-day sojourn here.

So it's back to commenting on the ins and outs of the God beat. I took home this past weekend some of the new books that have ended up on my desk and was paging through the lavishly illustrated Essential History of the Bible by National Geographic. It's pretty enough to be a gift book.

Then I spotted the strangest thing. Included in a list of biblical holidays in the book is Eid al-Adha, the Islamic feast commemorating Abraham's almost-sacrifice of Ishmael atop Mount Moriah. Whoa. Now the Bible followed by Jews and Christians says that Abraham took Isaac, his second-born, not Ishmael, to the mountain top. Isaac, in the viewpoint of God, was the main act here. Notice Genesis 22 has God calling Isaac "your only son."

I snuck another look at the text, which is purposely vague as to what actually happened with Abraham and his son. Now what was National Geographic thinking? Most Muslims believe the Judeo-Christian Bible to be hopelessly corrupted and that God had to give the Quran six centuries later to Mohammed to set the record straight. But what is a Muslim holiday doing in the Bible? Islam wasn't even founded before the biblical canon was closed.

Then I looked at the National Geographic's description -- later in the book -- of Satan. Again, there's a mention of Islam; this time in terms of the hajj, the annual voyage to Mecca. The hajj includes a ritual whereupon one casts stones at a pillar representing Satan.

Can't National Geographic get its world religions right? The Quran has plenty of references to Christianity and Judaism but the Bible has no references to Islam. One does begin to wonder what the agenda is over there on 17th Street. I remember back around April 2006, when the magazine had this huge press conference announcing its new archeological find: a "Gospel of Judas" which turned out to be neither a gospel nor anything written by the real Judas. Although it was purely a creation of some second-century gnostics with no relation to the real Bible, you would not have guessed that if you'd been present at National Geographic's splashy press conference. Despite banners proclaiming "The secret account of the revelation that Jesus spoke in conversation with Judas Iscariot," I wasn't in that press conference a half hour before I knew I'd been had.

So, National Geographic's record on what's really in the Bible is a bit sketchy these days. Considering the source, I shouldn't be surprised this organization would mix together Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Maybe they don't see much of a difference between the three.

— Julia Duin, assistant national editor/religion, The Washington Times

I never meant to use this blog for book mentions but with 90 percent of my energy for the next week going toward papal coverage, this blog will get a bit of the short end of the stick. One thing I'll be taking with me on the road (will be covering the pope in NYC this weekend) is "Walking with God," the newest book out by John Eldredge, the Colorado Springs founder of Ransomed Heart Ministries.

Eldredge has founded a most unusual organization geared to toward helping Christians hear their own hearts - and that of God - in terms of life direction. There is a lot more to his ministry, which began as an effort to helping men discover their own masculinity. Again, that is simplistic but one must read his books to get a drift. I really like his stuff and have been able to interview him twice.

At first, I thought Walking with God, published by Thomas Nelson, was your basic how-to-pray book. But as I got deeper, the material got more profound and more helpful for folks who've been in the faith for many years. There are certain kinds of battles the newbies don't encounter but the seasoned warriors do. Unfortunately most churches are great at pointing out challenges for the new Christian but bad at spotlighting death traps for those further along the road.

I got to interview Eldredge about two months ago for a book I am writing about the folks who have quit church or are considering doing so. He and his family have not attended a typical church in a decade. Instead, they meet in a home group, which he said is endlessly more fulfilling than the Sunday morning routine in a typical congregation. And he says this while sitting in the Springs; a community of well-known churches.

Anyway, the book is really worth a read and I've gotten not a few moments of enlightenment from it. And realizations of how conflicted I really am inside! Not a comfort but Eldredge asks the right questions to get our stalled relationships with God into driving gear.

Another book I managed to page through and really liked was The Holman Student Bible, issued by the B&H Publishing Group, 1,790 pp. I gave a copy to my niece as she was leaving for a study term in Italy. This is not your grandmother's Bible. The book comes with photos that look straight off the Associated Press wire, with helpful commentary bullets from modern writers and tons of visuals of Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Iraq, Greece, Turkey — all those biblical places.

There are full-color city maps of places like Ephesus and a 3-D map of Nehemiah's Jerusalem is very helpful in seeing how the walls were constructed and the points where his enemies were attacking. There are other 3-D maps of various Old Testament battles that look like something out of the War College — all diagrams and arrows.

Also photos of real-life stuff; the Euphrates River, a stone mason at work, the Corinth canal. Kiddos won't get bored studying this. Text is from the Holman Christian Standard Bible; published by the Southern Baptists.

— Julia Duin, assistant national editor/religion, The Washington Times

Folks -

Again, sorry yours truly has so remiss on keeping up this blog. Being on continual Pope Watch — and keeping up that blog — is taking up lots and lots of time. Plus, having a child out sick two days this week didn't help matters, either. As I predicted last week, the judge's ruling on the Virginia Episcopal lawsuit was released late last Thursday (I got a call at 12:09 a.m.). More on that in a future post.

I hate to just post links with little original reporting but could not resist this recent poll, released in March by Lifeway Research, on how the unchurched — if they go into a church at all — prefer the traditional buildings.

Which begs the question of why England's cathedrals are so empty and why America's utilitarian-styled mega-churches do well. The Americans surveyed in this poll probably have more of a fascination for huge Gothic buildings, there being so few of them on this side of the pond. Someone should alert the fundraisers at the National Cathedral that their digs on Mount St. Alban might be a prime spot for the last and the lost.

Lifeway, by the way, is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.

I am coming out with a book on the unchurched and formerly churched in September, so am always fascinated to hear more survey data on this group.

— Julia Duin, assistant national editor/religion, The Washington Times

Well, it's official: the judge overseeing a massive lawsuit pitting 11 breakaway Episcopal — now Anglican — churches in Northern Virginia against the Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia is about to announce the verdict — possibly this Friday. Judge Randy Bellows' clerk is e-mailing lawyers now to warn them, so it's coming down the pike.

Yours truly has been swamped with papal coverage so has neglected this column, sadly, but two words are due about l'affaire Episcopal. One is a farewell to Patrick Getlein, who's been handling media for the Diocese of Virginia for several years now. He may not miss all my e-mails and phone calls but Patrick was conscientious about getting back to us scribes. A story about his next port of call is here.

As for the folks who've left the Episcopal Church — and who are warring with the Virginia diocese over who owns the property, their most recent statements can be found here.

— Julia Duin, assistant national editor/religion, The Washington Times