The statistics suggest that over the last decade in America, the cultural Christians have finally begun to break ranks with other, more observant Christians. It’s not that participating Christianity is declining so much as it is that the persons who in previous surveys have classified themselves as ‘Christian’ because it was the culturally expected thing to do have now begun no longer to classify themselves with any religious designation at all. From recent Pew surveys we are told that the ranks of fervent Christians – including especially evangelicals – have slipped hardly at all. But the numerical decline among their less observant mainline counterparts has begun to accelerate. The decline of cultural Christianity is both a good and a bad thing for the future of the Christian religion in the United States. It is a good thing in that the Christian church will now be smaller, sleeker, and more muscular. Its members will really believe its doctrines and will not be participating in its ..Continue reading→
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Thoughts
What are Friends and Family For?
During the Christmas season, friends and family are one of the blessings we celebrate. But, looking at our actual life choices, many of us do not always see friends and family as sources of strength along life’s journey. A New York Times special report that was published online on October 18, 2015 described the life and death of a retired mover named George Bell. There was nothing distinctive about Bell and he died alone of heart disease in his apartment at age 72, without any family being aware of his existence. The article concluded that Bell’s solitary existence, life, and death are becoming all too commonplace among the 50,000 or so deceased persons in New York City each year. For Gerard Sweeney, a private lawyer who does public administrative work and handles cases like Bell’s, “You can die in such anonymity in New York. We’ve had instances of people dead for months. No one finds them, no one misses them.” The statistics suggest that Bell’s life of solitude is increasingly frequen..Continue reading→
Is the Reformation Mostly Over?
Today, nearly 500 years after the Protestant reformation, orthodox Protestants and Catholics are closer to each other than they perhaps have ever been. And this is as it should be. While they still have important differences about the primacy of Rome, the place of Mary, justification by faith, and the structure of the church, it is not uncommon on practical ethics issues for conservative Protestants and Catholics to be working alongside each other in the political trenches – and to view each other as allies in every possible sense of the term. What has driven them closer together is the need for survival in the face of an aggressive and advancing secularism. Today faithful Christians of all kinds – Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox – are being urged by their secular counterparts to cast aside their antiquated beliefs about God and families, and instead to embrace new ideas about gender, marriage, human personhood, and God (i.e. God’s non-existence) that are more compatible with ‘conte..Continue reading→
Daily Verses
Jeremiah 7:3 (07-03-16)
Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.— Jeremiah 7:3 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... We often take for granted what we have, where we live, the friends who bless our lives, and the family that gives us a place to belong and grow. All of these are gifts to us from God. We don't deserve them. We don't earn them. But, we can surely destroy them. God wants us to live obediently, not just..Continue reading→
Matthew 7:2 (07-02-16)
For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.— Matthew 7:2 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... Jesus is concerned that we not have a critical spirit toward others, especially about their motives as to why they did something. We can't assume to know another person's heart; only God can. When we are unfairly critical, overly harsh, or unduly judgmental, we need to remember that God will use that same sta..Continue reading→
Psalm 7:1 (07-01-16)
O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me...— Psalm 7:1 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... Who or what is pursuing you? Is it a past mistake? Is it an old enemy? Is it your conscience? Is it a nagging sense of guilt? Is it someone who wants to do you physical harm? Is it a physical illness? In the middle of all the storms and struggles of life, where do you go to find peace and security? There is only One who can be a true and ..Continue reading→
Daily Wisdom
Isaiah 48:17
“This is what the LORD says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.”Continue reading→
Isaiah 9:2 (09-02-16)
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.— Isaiah 9:2 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... This great promise in Isaiah was fulfilled with the coming of Jesus (see Matthew 4:15-16; Luke 1:79). As darkness falls tonight, look out at a street light and capture it in your memory so that every time you see a light shining in the darkness it will remind you to do two things: give thanks t..Continue reading→
Psalm 119:64
“The earth is filled with your love, LORD; teach me your decrees.”Continue reading→
Psalm 9:1 (09-01-16)
I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.— Psalm 9:1 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... The words of Jessie Brown Pound's old hymn say it best: "If the light of his presence has brightened your way, O will you not tell it today?" Prayerfully select someone who needs to know of the goodness and graciousness of God and share Jesus with that person. A heart filled with praise to God will not only praise him, but will lead others t..Continue reading→
Prayers
The Deeds of the Flesh
Passage: Galatians 5:19-21 Prayer: Dear Father, opposer of all that is evil,Help me to stay away from those things which are clearly works of the flesh: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like.Help me heed your warning, given again and again, that people who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. In the name of Jesus I ask you to perfect us, whatever that m..Continue reading→
The Flesh Versus the Spirit
Passage: Galatians 5:16-18 Prayer: Dear Father, giver of your Spirit, Help me to walk by the Spirit and not gratify the desires of my flesh. For the desires of my flesh are opposed to the desires of my spirit and to the desires of your Spirit for me. These things set up an opposition within me to keep me from doing what I want. But thank you for letting me know that if I live by the Spirit I do something different than just live by the rules of the law, that in fact I am not under law.In the name of ..Continue reading→
Freedom Is No Excuse for Sin
Passage: Galatians 5:13-15 Prayer: Dear Father, guardian of the free, May we never use freedom as a pretext for evil or as an excuse for indulging sinful desires. Rather, grant that we, out of love, will make ourselves servants to one another. For the Lord has taught us that the whole law is fulfilled in the one saying, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Keep us from "biting" and "devouring" one another, lest we be consumed by one another. Encourage and enable me and all my brothers and..Continue reading→
Christ, the Stumbling Block
Passage: Galatians 5:7-12 Prayer: Dear Father, guarantor of freedom, Help me to run well! Help me not to be hindered from obeying the truth! Don't let me be persuaded by a viewpoint that is not from you, the God who called us to freedom in Jesus! A little leaven leavens the whole lump! Help me keep out even a pinch of "slavery" type thinking and religiosity that worships human will. For to preach circumcision (law-keeping as a means of justification), is to remove the stumbling block of the cros..Continue reading→
Church & Ministries
Truth and translation: 3 questions about religious language
"Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments." (Ps 119:9-10) To those familiar with the King James Bible, these words may be sweet honey for the soul. Meanwhile, everyone else is trying to work out what wherewithal means. And taking heed thereto. The words of Jesus: translated to English from Greek, which was translated from Aramaic. Simple really. Words ..Continue reading→
Rev Gretta Vosper doesn’t believe in God, Jesus or Bible: Church panel says enough is enough
Rev Gretta Vosper is an atheist but leads West Hill United Church in Toronto, Canada. Atheist pastor Gretta Vosper should be dismissed from ministry in the United Church of Canada, a Church committee has decided. The saga has been going on for quite a long time. The minister of West Hill church in Toronto, she said in 2001 she didn't believe in a supernatural, interventionist, divine being". The UCC, extremely relaxed about doctrinal issues, was OK with this until in 2013 she declared her..Continue reading→
No Voice
I’m currently experiencing day three of “no voice.” I can’t talk above a whisper, which is uncomfortable. I’ve had to cancel two lunch dates, two counseling appointments, Celebrate Recovery Training, a conference call, apprenticing with our new Ministry Leader, and I will miss Celebrate Recovery tonight as well. The temptation to try to talk is too great when I am around people, which just makes the healing take that much longer, as it irritates my vocal cords further. So, I sit at home, not tal..Continue reading→
Sharon’s Celebrate Recovery Story
I’m a believer in Jesus Christ who struggles with drug addiction and the consequences of sexual abuse. My name is Sharon. I was born into a family with three older siblings, who are much older than I, and a twin sister. Karon and I were the “second” family for our parents. I grew up in a strict religious home. My Dad was a preacher, so we were in church every time the doors opened. The family you saw at church was not the family you’d have seen at home behind closed doors. You see, growing up, ..Continue reading→
Hot Topics
White Christian Apocalypse?
“After the recent election, I saw plenty of articles saying this was the last gasp of White America before whites lost their majority status, maybe sometime around 2040. Well, 2040 is a long way off, but let us look at the projections for what the U.S. population will look like in mid-century, say in 2050.” I have been deliberately holding off on election-related comments on matters about which I have little novel to contribute. On one critical issue, though, contemporary debate and theorizing ..Continue reading→
5 Common Marriage Counseling Mistakes
“The first challenge we encounter in this type of situation is getting caught up in the emotions of the moment and feeling that we have to fix the problem immediately. However, if we give in to that pressure, we are much more likely to say something that isn’t helpful. In the first thirty minutes, hour, or two hours, of counseling we often don’t know enough to be all that helpful.” Pastors are all familiar with that couple. The couple that asks for help and says something has to change, and now..Continue reading→
Psychiatry Professor: ‘Transgenderism’ Is Mass Hysteria Similar To 1980s-Era Junk Science
Psychiatric “disorders” both come and go in response to contemporary cultural fads and determined special interests. For the sexual liberation movement the political advantage lay in having offending disorders removed. In 1973 it succeeded in getting the APA to remove homosexuality from its lexicon of disorders simply by vote of the membership. Consider the remarkable phenomenon of transgenderism. A disorder of gender identity that afflicts a minuscule number of Americans has become a polarizin..Continue reading→
From Shame to Sin (Review)
“When Christianity emerged in the Roman Empire during the first century it did so as a persecuted minority known for its distinctive sexual ethic. Harper argues, in fact, that it was their views of sex more than anything else that distinguished Christians in the ancient world.” The West is jettisoning the Christian understanding of human sexuality at an alarming speed. It is doing so, to a significant extent, without any meaningful understanding of how Christianity shaped western sexuality in t..Continue reading→
Life & Society
Light Out Of Darkness: A Review Of Leonard Cohen’s ‘You Want It Darker’
leonardcohen.com There was only one thing wrong with Bob Dylan being given the Nobel Prize for Literature. He certainly deserves it, but surely the first songwriter to receive that esteemed award should have been the Canadian wordsmith, Leonard Cohen? Possibly the best concert I have even been to was Leonard Cohen's at Edinburgh Castle a few years ago. Thousands of us gathered to hear him sing the classics we all remembered – Marianne, Hallelujah, the Chelsea Hotel and so on. Halfway thro..Continue reading→
More People on Google Searching For Memes Than Jesus Christ
Pixabay More people who go online and use Google search are more interested in looking for memes on the Internet instead of researching about Jesus Christ, data from the popular search engine showed. According to Mirror Online, Twitter user Dominik Vincent Salonen noticed how memes have already become "more popular" than Jesus using the analytics from Google Trends. Salonen, who uses the Twitter handle @Kuwaddo, came up with a graph comparing interest in the terms "meme" and "Jesus Christ" on..Continue reading→
Olympic Gold Medalist Scott Hamilton Talks Brain Tumour: ‘God Doesn’t Owe Me a Day’
Olympic figure skater Scott Hamilton, who has been diagnosed again with a brain tumour, is seen here making a Skype recording.(Instagram/Scott Hamilton) Scott Hamilton, the 1984 Olympic gold medalist in figure skating, is battling brain tumour for the third time since 2004. He is grateful that the tumour is benign, but whatever happens to him moving forward, Hamilton said he is going to be praising God all the way. Hamilton went in for a regular check-up this year, and doctors told him that th..Continue reading→
Will God Get Angry at People Who Say the Wrong Things in Prayer? Billy Graham Answers
Pixabay How do people pray? It has often been suggested that praying from the heart is the best form of conversation people can have with God. But some Christians are afraid to say the wrong things to their Saviour. That's why they rely on memorised prayers. World-renowned evangelist Billy Graham understands their concerns, but he is encouraging them to let go of their fears and pray straight from the heart. "Don't be afraid; don't worry about saying something in your prayers t..Continue reading→
Movies
Goodbye, Family Christian Stores
This week, it was announced that Family Christian Stores — one of the world’s largest Christian retailers — will close all 240 of its stores. This isn’t really shocking; Family Christian had gone through bankruptcy a few years back. But it will have an impact; more than 3,000 employees are going to lose their jobs as the stores shutter and Christian culture loses one of its largest and most diverse suppliers of books, music and trinkets. Granted, this is just the nature of the beast these days. ..Continue reading→
Have you caught up with “It’s My Favorite”?
Hey everyone, Not going to lie: it’s been a week. Work, school and home life have been busy, and the general insanity of our world right now has really robbed me of a lot of energy and will to write. It’s a shame, because I have some really good stuff on deck for you. One new series I want to write and one Oscar-related miniseries of articles, and I’m hoping that starting this weekend those will start posting. And in the weeks ahead I’m going to really be jumping into the reviewing pool again ha..Continue reading→
Watch: New music video for The Shack with new footage
Itching to see The Shack — or at least to get a taste of it before it comes out five weeks from now? Well, maybe this will tide you over: the powers that be have released two new songs from the film’s soundtrack, one of which even has a music video. Here is the video, for a new acoustic version of Skillet’s ‘Stars’: The studio has also released the full version of ‘Keep Your Eyes on Me’, which is sung by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill and has previously been heard in the trailers. Here is a Spotify ..Continue reading→
The Story of God: Proof of the Divine
Photo by Amanda Slater, Flickr. C.C. Licensing. Season two of “The Story of God with Morgan Freeman” airs Mondays at 9 p.m. (8 p.m. Central) on the National Geographic Channel. Once again, I’m writing about it here each week from a Christian perspective as a preview. This post is about episode three, the season finale, “Proof of God.” In the final episode of “The Story of God’s” second season, Morgan Freeman travels the world speaking to people who believe they’ve experienced proof — often tang..Continue reading→
Oscar nominations — my own two bits, and a complete list
It looks like La La Land is the movie to beat at this year’s Oscars. The film, a jazzy musical that stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as a musician and an actress trying to make their way in Hollywood, racked up 14 Academy Award nominations this morning — tying the record set by 1950’s All About Eve and 1997’s Titanic. However, because La La Land was nominated twice for original song, it is actually nominated in 13 categories — which is more than the 12 categories that All About Eve was nominate..Continue reading→
Let’s talk Oscar noms!
Some quick thoughts on the 2017 Academy Award nominations, which were announced earlier today. A full list of nominees is available here. At first blush, my biggest surprise is that there isn’t a ton here I would bicker with. The list of nominees this year is really darn good, spread out over several movies. Maybe it’s because I saw fewer movies than normal this year or simply because so many of the nominated films are on my best-of list, but I can’t really find a bad choice among the films. Re..Continue reading→
Star Wars Episode 8 gains a title
Earlier today, the official Star Wars Twitter feed ended more than a year of speculation by revealing the title of the latest entry in the saga, due out this December: It’s official. STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI is the next chapter of the Skywalker saga. This December. #TheLastJedihttps://t.co/ySkVwQcMTPpic.twitter.com/eHrPgbsRJq — Star Wars (@starwars) January 23, 2017 [Read More...]Continue reading→
Encountering the Mystical in the ‘The Fits’
The fascinating film about adolescent encounters with the sublime gives us plenty to ponder. If you’re looking for a film that inspires lively conversation, you’ve got to check out The Fits. Anna Rose Helmer’s debut feature film runs a brief, but intense, 72 minutes, leaving plenty of time for discussion and debate afterwards. It caused a stir last year at Sundance, and critics have been talking about it ever since. Fortunately, Amazon Prime subscribers can currently stream it for free—and for ..Continue reading→
Review: The Resurrection of Gavin Stone (dir. Dallas Jenkins, 2017)
The Resurrection of Gavin Stone is a “faith-based” comedy about a washed-up former child star who, having trashed a hotel roof bar, is told to do a couple hundred hours of community service at a Chicago-based megachurch and ends up starring in their Easter play. It’s a safe, formulaic and utterly predictable film — precisely the kind of “Christian” movie I tend not to review here — but because of my interest in movies about Jesus, I was interested in seeing how this film would depict the play. T..Continue reading→
Music
One-Way Conversations by Hollyn
Hailing from Ohio, this Dove Awards New Artist of the Year nominee has been working the past year on her debut full length album titled "One-Way Conversations". Listeners were introduced to this vibrant you lady on TobyMac's latest release with the songs "Backseat Driver" and "Lights Shine Bright" and later with her debut #1 single "Alone (featuring TRU)". As a songwriter, Hollyn co-wrote all of the songs on her debut full length album and worked with producers Bryan Fowler (Ryan Stevenson), Wit and 42 North (Andy Mineo), Cole Walowac of Capital Kings, Eric Ramey (Britt Nicole) and more. The album[...]Continue reading→
Run The Race (Single) by Holly Starr
The new single from Holly Starr, co-written with and produced by Bryan Fowler (Ryan Stevenson, Tobymac, Mandisa, Hollyn).[...]Continue reading→
The Garden (Deluxe Edition) by Kari Jobe
Grammy nominated Kari Jobe is the premiere female worship leader in Christian music. Coming off her last live album, Majestic, which featured the worship anthem 'Forever' and radio hit 'I Am Not Alone', Kari Jobe has returned to the studio to record her new album, full of brand new worship anthems for the church and for personal reflection. Finding inspiration from life's joys and hardships, Kari leans into the firm foundation of Christ through it all. With career sales that top 1 million, Kari still comes back to the reason why she started in the first place- leading people into[...]Continue reading→
Canopy by nobigdyl.
"I wrote Canopy coming out of a time of isolation and darkness. It felt like my life was completely falling apart and I'd have to start over again from nothing. God showed me that sometimes there's safety and protection in isolation. Sometimes, the darkness makes it easier to see the light," confessed nobigdyl. when speaking of the anticipated release. 'Canopy' is nobigdyl.'s first album release since his debut in 2015 with the 'Smoke Signal' EP. Check out indie tribe and nobigdyl at his website, nobigdyl.com.[...]Continue reading→
Kat&Jared EP by Kat&Jared
"Everyone goes through difficult seasons. When we're in those seasons we can either choose to magnify our problems or we can magnify who God is. These five songs are really just a collection of songs that celebrate the life that comes by choosing to enter into God's presence." Kat Hartmann Kat&Jared, Kat and Jared Hartmann, are worship leaders and songwriters whose passion is to help people discover the life that comes from friendship with God and spending time in His presence. Kat and Jared spent the first nine years of their marriage traveling the world with Flyleaf, a platinum selling[...]Continue reading→
Books
A Look at Notable 2016 Publications
TEDS President offers his list of best books “There is no end to the making of many books,” says the author of Ecclesiastes. In the United States alone, there were close to one million titles published during the past year, with revenue approaching $1.8 billion. Hundreds of titles competed for our attention during 2016. I offer the following observations with the recognition that I have no doubt missed several important works that some of you would have included in such a survey. The books not..Continue reading→
Recommended Biographies By or About Women
Faith Cook is an author, biographer, and hymn writer. She grew up as a missionary child in war-torn China and has chronicled her story in an autobiography. Her own biographical work has been on both men: Fearless Pilgrim: The Life and Times of John Bunyan William Grimshaw of Haworth and women: The Nine Day Queen of England: Lady Jane Grey, Selina: Countess of Huntingdon: Her Pivotal Role in the 18th Century Evangelical Awakening, and Anne Bradstreet: Pilgrim and PoetContinue reading→
Bibliotheca Bible – a Review
There are many things that I have great admiration for, but perhaps one of the things I enjoy the most is seeing a long-awaited, labor of love come to full fruition. The tenacity, hard work, dedication, and pitfalls along the way in seeing something through to the end is something that, for lack of better terms, gets me emotionally invested in a project. Yet not all projects are equal and not all catch my particular attention – but if we’re truthful, that’s precisely what makes these types of th..Continue reading→
Christianity Today’s 2017 Book Awards
Our picks for the books most likely to shape evangelical life, thought, and culture. Make a list of all the blessings the Protestant Reformation has brought, and eventually—long after jotting down iconic phrases like “salvation by grace alone through faith alone”—you’ll get around to the CT Book Awards. Books, of course, had existed long before Luther posted his 95 Theses. But there’s no denying that reading and the Reformation, with a vital assist from Gutenberg’s printing press, soared toget..Continue reading→
Where Should Our Women be Discipled?
Pastors and elders want thinking women in the church, right? And yet popular beliefs that came out of the nineteenth century’s cult of domesticity still seem to linger in the evangelical culture today. Back then, people taught that women’s brains were inferior to men’s intellectually and that women needed to reserve their energy and blood flow for reproductive purposes. These are ideas we usually joke about now, even to provoke a woman in innocent fun, because we know them to be scientifically p..Continue reading→
10 Books Every Christian Teenager Should Read
A reader recently asked the question: Do you have a suggested list of books for teenagers, something like a “Ten best books every Christian teenager should read?” It surprised me that I have never compiled such a list, especially since I’ve got two teenagers of my own. I decided I’d better remedy this oversight straight away. Here, then, is a list of ten great books every Christian teen ought to read—or at least consider reading. Please note that these are not necessarily the ten best books your teens will read in their lifetime. Not all of these books will stand the test of time as Christian classics. But each of them is suited to twenty-first century teenaged readers and together they will provide a foundation for the Christian life that will prove both deep and wide. I list them in no particular order. The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul. It is rare that a book is elevated to the ranks of the classics, but The Holiness of God is a prime candidate. Sproul’s book will introduce teens..Continue reading→
Signposts to God and More (RJS)
Books, books, books … What is the best book you’ve read on Science and Christian faith? It seems to be the season … not the holiday season, but the book season. I recently received three new books. Books by a physicist, a biologist (with training in theology as well), and a philosopher. All three tackle questions of science and Christian faith. Each of the three presents an interesting perspective – and I intend to dig into them more completely over the upcoming months. Peter Bussey’s book, Sign..Continue reading→
2016 Reading Challenge Update: September & October
This year I have been participating in the 2016 Reading Challenge, a fun way to increase and diversify your reading through another year. I took the challenge and set this year’s goal at 104 books. However, because so much of my reading has to go toward reviewing books that are recently published and of interest to Christians (both for reviews published here and in WORLD magazine), I decided to pick from all over the list rather than working through it in order. What follows are the books I completed in September and October and, in parentheses, the reading challenge category they fulfill. Below that is the complete list of categories I need to cover. As you can see, I did not finish many books over the past couple of months, something that is not unusual as my reading ebbs and flows over the course of the year. You can see my previous updates for January, February, March-April, May, June, and July-August. Sexual Morality in a Christless World by Matthew Rueger. This is a brilliant w..Continue reading→
6 Reflections on Community Inspired by Bonhoeffer
My church has recently launched a series on community called Better Together. In conjunction with the sermon series, I, in collaboration with my senior pastor, wrote a small group curriculum to compliment the series. I love community, which is why I love small groups. Like many of you, I work hard on our small group system at my church to equip leaders and to help many in my church experience the fullness of community—the good, the bad, and the ugly. However, as I continue to reflect on communi..Continue reading→
American
Assisted Suicide is Antithetical to Liberal Values
Charles Camosy wrote an excellent article concerning the assisted suicide bill in New York that was recently published in the New York Daily News titled: Assisted Suicide vs liberal values. Camosy begins his article by describing the personal story that Assemblywoman Amy Paulin (D) says led to her supporting assisted suicide. Camosy acknowledges the pain that has led many people to support assisted suicide, but he argues that this compassion leads to unintended consequences. No one can be unmo..
Nearly 50 New Pro-Life Laws Have Been Introduced Since President Trump’s Election
The year 2017 already is bringing strong hopes for future babies in the womb. World News Service reports state legislators have introduced almost 50 pro-life bills already this year that would increase protections for unborn babies and moms. Pro-life leaders said the November election results kindled new hopes that these protections will pass state legislatures and be upheld in the courts. “With the election of a pro-life president, with all of the gains that we made across the different state..
Parents Reject Abortion After Ultrasound Shows Identical Twins Cuddling Each Other
Doctors suggested that Hayley Lampshire may have to abort one of her unborn sons after they discovered the twins shared an amniotic sac and placenta. The Daily Mail reports the twins’ rare condition put their lives in jeopardy; the survival rate is only about 50 percent. But selectively aborting one of them would have 100-percent denied one child a chance at life. Lampshire and her husband said they were “heartbroken” when they heard the news, but their hopes were renewed when they saw an ultr..
Science is Incidental (RJS)
Chapter 5 of Denis Lamoureux’s new book Evolution: Scripture and Nature Say Yes looks at the way that “science” is presented in Scripture. Science is a modern concept, but Scripture certainly speaks about the nature of the cosmos and uses language that assumes a view of astronomy, geography, and biology. But the Bible is not a science book. It doesn’t teach new science, rather it reflects the typical views concerning astronomy, geography, and biology commonly held in the ancient Near East. These..
Entertainment
8 films and mini-series to see before you vote
Reese Witherspoon plays Tracy Flick in the 1999 film “Election.” (Paramount Pictures/Bob Akester) My ears perked up back in March when Texas Sen. Ted Cruz defended his wife, Heidi, after Donald Trump threatened to “spill the beans” about her. Cruz came back with a threat of his own that sounded like it was straight out of the 1995 film “The American President” when President Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas) stood up for his girlfriend (Annette Bening) to his opponent Sen. Bob Rumson (Richard Dr..
“Rabin in His Own Words” is a testament to peace
At the Venice Film Festival last September, the SIGNIS (Catholic) Jury placed filmmaker Amos Gitai’s “Rabin: The Last Day” on our short list for the SIGNIS Prize as soon as we saw it. The film is a captivating docudrama form of a political essay that explores the last day in the life of the famed peace-seeking Israeli Prime Minister and Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin (1922 – 1995) who was assassinated during a peace rally on November 4, 1995. Integrating actual footage of the shooting by a 25-ye..
“The Story of God” concludes 5/8 with “The Power of Miracles”
The Story of God concludes this Sunday with “The Power of Miracles.” This Sunday, May 8, 2016, the NatGeo Channel will conclude it’s beautiful inspiring and informative series on “The Story of God.” The final episode is “The Power of Miracles.” The series host, Morgan Freeman, begins this “journey to discover the power of miracles” by interviewing Alcides Moreno, a window washer in Manhattan who plunged 47 stories to the ground in 2007 and survived. Alcido’s younger brother, Edgar, perished. Fre..
Cast of RISEN reacts to meeting Pope Francis ahead of May release of DVD
The film RISEN, that I reviewed in February as a “moving contribution to the canon of biblical movies” will be distributed on digital on May 10 and on 4K Ultra HD™, Blu-ray™ & DVD May 24 with Bonus Materials that will include deleted scenes and three behind-the-scenes featurettes & commentary. And today, for the first time, you can watch and listen to the moving responses of actors Joseph Fiennes and Maria Botto as well as the co-producers, Mickey Liddell and Pete Shil..
US
Electoral College Day, then and now
The Electoral College meets today, with the designated electors meeting in state capitols to cast their vote for president. In most states, electors are required, by law or by oath, to vote according to the election results of their state. Nevertheless, this year electors are receiving thousands of e-mails, letters, and phone calls, insisting on the autonomy of the electoral college and begging them not to put Trump in office. Even Democratic electors are being pressured not to vote for Clinton ..
Top 10 Google searches of 2016
The internet contains unfathomable amounts of information. Search engines allow us to find anything we want to know, giving us access to knowledge on an unprecedented scale, thus advancing the capabilities of the human mind. When we can fully connect our minds to the internet, we can attain the next level of human evolution. So see what the year’s top searches on Google were. From Google’s Year in Search – Google Trends:Pokémon GoiPhone 7Donald TrumpPrincePowerballDavid BowieDeadpoolOlympic..
Theology & church growth
Canadian researchers conducted a study of mainline Protestant churches (Anglican, Presbyterian, Uniting, and Evangelical Lutheran [the liberal denomination, as opposed to the confessional Lutheran Church of Canada]), comparing traits in congregations that were growing and those that are not. They found that congregations that were theologically conservative are growing, and those that were theologically liberal are not. (Go here for the complete study.) After the jump, religion columnist Terry M..
$12 coffee and the positional economy
Starbucks is opening some exclusive “Reserve Roasteries and Tasting Rooms,” which will offer high-end coffee experiences at around $12 per cup. George Will discusses the phenomena, drawing on an economist who distinguishes between the “material” and the “positional” economy. First we have to meet our basic “material” needs (food, shelter, clothing). After that, what once were luxuries (automobiles, air conditioning, computers) are turned into necessities. After that, we spend money on high-statu..