Press: Exodus at Quest

Church vs. Shnayerson

Since it first appeared four years ago, Quest magazine (circ. 330,000) has skittered along the fine edge of an ominous contradiction. Published by California Preacher Herbert Armstrong, 88, whose Worldwide Church of God holds that the world will end soon, the magazine was nonetheless thoroughly secular. Armstrong gave editorial control to Robert Shnayerson, 55, a former TIME senior editor and Harper's editor in chief, who dedicated the magazine to what he called "the pursuit of excellence" in fields as diverse as mountain climbing and genetic research. The magazine, which appears ten times a year, has never been profitable—it lost...