Religion

Novelist Robert Stone. His new novel "Damascus Gate" is about the Middle East. Unlike most writers who write about the region, Stone is not Jewish; he's a lapsed Catholic. One reviewer writes of the book that it is "so comprehending of Israel's convoluted workings and its bifurcated culture--where the Biblical fervor of Jerusalem coexists with the disco fever of Tel Aviv--that he makes other writers on the subject seem like the breeziness of literary tourists." Stone is also the author of "Outerbridge Reach" and "Dog Soldiers."

Playwright David Henry Hwang (pronounced "Wong"). He received numerous awards for his Broadway debut "M. Butterfly." His newest production "Golden Child" about the struggle between tradition and change in a family in 1918 China, opens on Broadway in April. It received a 1997 Obie Award. (Interview by Babara Bogaev)

On the 25th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we talk to Medical Theologian, Dr. James McCartney about the abortion debate. McCarney, the Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Villanova University just outside Philadelphia and the Ethics Consultant for the Catholic Health East Health System, says advances in medical technology have helped the anti-abortion argument, by showing the fetus as a person earlier on.

Bible Scholar James Kugel is a professor of Hebrew literature at Harvard and Professor of Bible at Bar Ilan University in Israel. He's the author of the new book "The Bible As it Was" (Harvard University Press). In it, Kugel reconstructs the Old Testament from ancient times, as it was understood by the first readers, and then traces the interpretations that follow.

Richard Landes is Assistant Professor of History at Boston University and the executive director of the Center for Millennial Studies at Boston University. The center is keeping track of and analyzing apocalyptic and messianic movements related to the coming millennium. Landes will talk with Terry Gross about the upcoming millennium as well as past millennia.

Former Episcopal Bishop of New York Paul Moore. Hs is known for his activism and concern for human rights. He was part of the Civil Rights Movement, and protests against the Vietnam War. As Bishop he brought the Church into dialogue with the poor and oppressed in New York. He's written his memoir, "Presences: A Bishop's Life in the City." (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)

Jetsun Pema, sister of the Dalai Lama. She's written an autobiography about Tibet and her work there,"Tibet: My Story" (Element). In it she recounts life in Tibet before the Chinese occupation, exile from Tibet, and her work as the president of the Tibetan Children's Village, which encompasses over 11,000 Tibetan refugees in India. Pema also plays the role of the mother of the young Dalai Lama in the film "Seven Years in Tibet."

Richard Horsley and Neil Silberman. The two have collaborated on a book incorporating history, archaeology, and politics to contextualize the time of Jesus and the Apostle Paul. The book is "The Message and the Kingdom" (Grosset/Putnam). Richard Horsley is a professor of religion at The University of Massachusetts. Neil Silberman is the author of "The Hidden Scrolls."

Promise Keepers founder, Bill McCartney, and his wife Lyndi McCartney. Bill has written a book to which Lyndi has contributed: "Sold Out." (Word Publishing) It explains how Bill McCartney came to lead the Christian and male ideology group, what their lives were like before Promise Keepers, and how changes in philosophy have altered their marriage in thirty-five years.

Writer and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh. Nhat Hanh became a Buddhist monk at age 16, worked on a globally for peace in his native Vietnam during the war, and has written over 75 books on peace. Some of his best-known are "Peace is in Every Step," "Being Peace," and "The Miracle of Mindfulness." His 1995 book, "Living Buddha, Living Christ" (Riverhead) is now available in paperback.