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Years ago, when I worked at Publishers Weekly and regularly made the rounds of publishing trade shows, I found myself sort-of-not-quite having breakfast with Hal Lindsey, the author of “The Late Great Planet Earth.” The tables in the hotel buffet were close together, and he was eating at the table right next to mine. We didn’t speak, but I took the opportunity to spy on him. (Do not judge me. You would have done the same.) Mostly I noted that he seemed to be…

‘Thus saith the Lord…’ has become a reoccurring fabric in our lives, globally but at a more rampant rate in Nigeria. There are several worship centres (not just churches) in Nigeria, each having one or many leaders prophesying as often as daily in some of them what God had seemingly sent through them. In this write up, Christian worship centres will be focused. For a proper understanding, let us start by defining the terms ‘Prophecy’ and ‘The Word of God.’ A prophecy is a…

In early June, President Trump had federal officers use tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse a peaceful protest so he could stage a photo op outside St. John’s Church, which sits across from the White House. The image, now infamous, shows Trump awkwardly holding up the Bible as though he’s never held a book in his life. It’s a surreal shot that somehow captures the performative dimension of his entire presidency. But why the Bible? And why go through all that trouble to…

Years ago when I worked at Publishers Weekly and regularly made the rounds of publishing trade shows, I found myself sort-of-not-quite having breakfast with Hal Lindsey, the author of The Late Great Planet Earth. The tables in the hotel buffet were very close together, and he was eating at the table right next to mine. We didn’t speak, but I took the opportunity to spy on him. (Do not judge me. You would have done the same.) Mostly I noted that he seemed to…

By Jimmy Evans, Op-Ed Contributor | Monday, July 06, 2020 Jimmy Evans is the Founder and CEO of MarriageToday, a ministry and nationally syndicated television program devoted to helping couples thrive in strong and fulfilling marriages and families. He is Senior Pastor of Gateway Church, one of the largest churches in the nation. | (Courtesy of Jimmy Evans) After U.S. Senator John McCain passed away in August of 2018, the long-serving Arizona politician was given the honor of lying in state in the U.S. Capitol building.…

Francisco Colaço As the world watches helplessly the havoc caused by Covid-19, two articles impressed me, 1) “Perplexing questions from mysterious Covid-19”, by Dr Nandkumar Kamat (“NT” June 14) and 2) “God on Trial”, by Fr. Nelson Lobo  (“Renewal”, April 1). “A tiny virus, just a nano particle, is holding eight billion intelligent humans to ransom.” Coronaviruses are RNA viruses, their evolution is very complex and nobody knows from where the first coronavirus originated. There are seven infectious coronaviruses and among these Covid-19 is…

“If you know what you’re watching for. Oh no, people need to know what’s going on.” The Bible’s Book of Joel 2 reads: “I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. “The Sun will be turned to darkness and the Moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” The Moon similarly turns red in the Book of Revelation: “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth…

The church in Dhanbad city, Jharkhand, was still under construction when the mob attacked on June 22 and destroyed the cross. The church has a congregation of 16 families mainly from Belagadia. Two teachers, Kaina Pansal and Sushant Predhan, teach in the premises but they were accused of having converting some local families. Police arrested and interrogated the two teachers on charges of forced conversion. Their arrests sparked outrage and anti-Christian militants destroyed and vandalised the church. In Jharkhand, religious proselytism – the attempt…

Enlarge this image The Rev. Lenny Duncan, here in May 2019, at the Metropolitan New York Synod Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Courtesy of Lenny Duncan hide caption toggle caption Courtesy of Lenny Duncan More than 90% of U.S. churches were closed at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. But since mid-April, mostly white faith leaders have pushed to fill their pews again, suing governors over bans on large gatherings and joining “reopen” protests at state capitols. President Trump threatened to…

Enlarge this image The Rev. Lenny Duncan, here in May 2019, at the Metropolitan New York Synod Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Courtesy of Lenny Duncan hide caption toggle caption Courtesy of Lenny Duncan More than 90% of U.S. churches were closed at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. But since mid-April, mostly white faith leaders have pushed to fill their pews again, suing governors over bans on large gatherings and joining “reopen” protests at state capitols. President Trump threatened to…

Enlarge this image Evangelical Christians traditionally focus on individual sin and salvation. But some are taking a wider view when it comes to addressing systemic racism. Reza/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Reza/Getty Images Christians the world over have been united in their revulsion over the killing of George Floyd by a white Minneapolis police officer, and faith leaders from across the theological spectrum have spoken out about the lessons they think Christians should draw from the incident. Many Protestant and Roman Catholic ministers…

Downward dog, sun salutations and all other yoga practices are “absolutely incompatible” with the Christian faith, the powerful Greek Orthodox Church has said. Yoga has no place “in the life of Christians,” the governing body of the Church has ruled. It said it intervened after Greek media recommended yoga as a way to combat stress during coronavirus quarantine. Other religions have also advised against the practice in the past. The Orthodox Church is an influential organisation in Greece, and 90% of Greeks identify as…

President Donald Trump has spent the past 24 hours trying to send a message: He is the law-and-order president, and he has the support of American Christians. First came his waltz last night through the White House gates and across Lafayette Square, where protesters had just been dispersed with tear gas and rubber bullets. Trump posed, stone-faced while clutching a Bible, in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church, which was set on fire during protests on Sunday night. This morning he visited the Saint…

(Part 13) Published May 23, 2020, 11:00 PM GENTLE BREEZE By  NELLY FAVIS VILLAFUERTE Nelly Favis Villafuerte In Jerusalem the center of Jewish existence, there is a famous sacred mountain which has long played an important role in Jewish history and in prophetic events.  I am referring to Mount Moriah.  There is a prophecy that the Jewish temple in Israel will be rebuilt during the end times and antichrist will sit in the temple as God. Many people, particularly those who do not believe…

A Facebook post from the Jerusalem Prayer Team, an American Christian-Zionist organization  says a 1986 prophecy foretold of a plague like COVID-19 hitting New York City.  The post says that David Wilkerson, the late founder of the Times Square Church, told Mike Evans, the leading pastor of the Jerusalem Prayer Team, the following:  “I see a plague coming on the world and the bars and church and government will shut down. The plague will hit New York City and shake it like it has…

If the coronavirus is a test of our collective character, some American Christians are flat-out flunking. Consider the popular pastor John Piper, who was asked what he would say to pastors who claim that the pandemic is God’s judgment on sinful cities and arrogant nations. “God sometimes uses disease to bring particular judgments upon those who reject him and give themselves over to sin,” Piper responded. Or perhaps look to R. R. Reno, the editor of the conservative Christian journal First Things, who argued…

A high-profile segment of American Christian leadership has not covered itself in glory, divine or otherwise, during this coronavirus outbreak. Church services globally have been one vector for coronavirus transmission — dozens of cases were linked to a single church in California. But some pastors in the U.S. have been reluctant to close down churches (and, perhaps, forgo weekly donations). Similarly, Jerry Falwell Jr. partly reopened his evangelical Liberty University, putting students, teachers and staff at risk. A Bible study leader for President Donald…

By Michael Brown, CP Op-Ed Contributor | Monday, April 20, 2020 Michael Brown holds a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures from New York University and has served as a professor at a number of seminaries. He is the author of 25 books and hosts the nationally syndicated, daily talk radio show, the Line of Fire. I believe deeply in prophetic ministry today. I believe God still speaks to and through His children. And I believe that some are specially called to serve…

Greek Orthodox priests hold candles lit from the Holy Fire in the church of the Holy Sepulchre [Ahmad Gharabli/AFP] A small group of Christian clergy celebrated on Saturday the Holy Fire ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in a deserted Jerusalem as pilgrims who normally attended the ancient ritual stayed home due to the coronavirus pandemic. Clergymen entered the Edicule, a chamber built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was buried two thousand years ago and rose from the dead after…

By Austin Ruse, Crisis, April 17, 2020 Last week, President Donald Trump wished the country “Happy Good Friday,” and all hell broke loose. Suddenly, everyone was an expert on Catholic theology—or, at least, the emotional rubrics going along with Holy Week. Sure, most religious folk would not use the phrase “Happy Good Friday.” But most religious folk understood what he was trying to say, and they let it slide. Not the Left, though. Trump is an immigrant to a new land. James Dobson called…

Nostradamus’ followers believe he predicted many world events with precision, including the rise of Adolf Hitler in 1933 and the Great Fire of London in 1666. Now, people are saying Nostradamus predicted the coronavirus pandemic in a passage eerily reminiscent of the ongoing health scare. People have been sharing the following message online: “There will be a twin year (2020) from which will arise a queen (corona) who will come from the east (China) and who will spread a plague (virus) in the darkness…

In the book titled End of Days: Predictions and Prophecies about the End of the World, Ms Browne predicted a widespread pneumonia pandemic in 2008. Although the coronavirus is not outright pneumonia, the virus can trigger flu-like and pneumonia-like symptoms. But what exactly did Ms Browne, who died in 2013, say? Her book reads: “In around 2020 a severe pneumonia-like illness will spread throughout the globe, attacking the lungs and the bronchial tubes and resisting all known treatments. “Almost more baffling than the illness…

An employee of the municipal company Veritas sprays disinfectant in public areas at St. Mark’s Square in Venice, Italy, on March 11. Marco Sabadin/AFP via Getty Images The modern world has suddenly become reacquainted with the oldest traveling companion of human history: existential dread and the fear of unavoidable, inscrutable death. No vaccine or antibiotic will save us for the time being. Because this experience has become foreign to modern people, we are, by and large, psychologically and culturally underequipped for the current coronavirus…

My new novel, “The End of October,” which comes out next month, is a work of imagination. The book is not prophecy, but its appearance in the middle of the worst pandemic in living memory is not entirely coincidental either. It began with a simple question from the filmmaker Ridley Scott, who had read Cormac McCarthy’s postapocalyptic 2006 novel “The Road” and asked me, “What happened?” How could human civilization become so broken? How could we fail to preserve the institutions and social order…

What are we to make of the coronavirus? Is it true that God has spoken through modern-day prophets who have declared the virus will be short-lived? Should we believe the theorists who claim the virus is a manmade weapon? And on a practical level, do we follow the hyper-caution of Israel’s Netanyahu or the more laid-back approach of President Trump? Michael Brown holds a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures from New York University and has served as a professor at a number…

The spread of coronavirus has forced the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a global emergency and pandemic on Wednesday. The virus, which first appeared in China’s Hubei Province, has spread like wildfire to virtually every continent. READ MORE Coronavirus UK: What should the elderly be doing? Many Christian hardliners, however, believe the coronavirus is a prophetic sign described in the Bible. Evangelists have claimed the virus is a precursor to the Apocalypse, as revealed in the Book of Revelation. There are also suggestions…

Watching the nation as it struggles to understand any pandemic has always given me pause to consider whether Christians really know how to think like Christians in a matter such as this. We, as God’s people, seem all too easily carried up in the same speculative panic that rules the minds of many when a crisis such as the Wuhan coronavirus manifests itself. In the Bible’s book of Matthew chapter 6, Jesus says, “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or…

I would like to respond to Mr Shem Godwins’ article published in The Standard on February 27, 2020. The following issues that he raises caught my attention:#Islam, which is currently the second-largest (religion) after Christianity has only one identity.The writer compares and contrasts the two religions, praising Islam for its unity and castigating Christianity for disunity.I am not here to compare and contrast these religious movements, but it must be pointed out that Islam also has its divisions.Has the writer heard of Sunni Muslims…

The coronavirus outbreak has caused nearly every religious organization around the world to rethink how it holds worship services, which typically involve people gathering in a confined space and coming into physical contact with each other. But in majority-Christian nations like the US, the question is most fraught for local churches, as they prepare for Easter (Christianity’s most important holiday, which falls on Sunday, April 12, this year). What’s more, many Christian churches practice the rite of Communion using a “common cup” to share…

In the shadow of tragedy and fear, prophecies, conspiracy theories and urban legends come to life and get plenty of traction. But there are not a few prophecies in Jewish circles that are almost too specific in their details to completely ignore. Is it possible that the current outbreak of coronavirus was foreseen and warned about many years ago? Hamutal Shabtai, a psychiatrist and the daughter of famed Israeli author Ya’akov Shabtai, wrote a fictional script in 1986-87 about a virus that would cause…

SAT-7 PARS “Signal” presenters Reza Jafari (L) and Niloufar Raisi (R) | SAT-7 An interactive satellite television program is giving a platform to Iran’s “secret” Christians to share their stories of hope with the outside world as the underground church in the Islamic Republic continues to grow. For the last year-and-a-half, the global Christian satellite network SAT-7, which operates in 25 countries across the Middle East and North Africa, has aired the weekly interactive news talk show “Signal” on its Farsi-speaking channel, SAT-7 PARS.…

The scripture reads: “Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. “They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. “Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever. “And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of…

A new strain of coronavirus is killing hundreds of people and infecting tens of thousands. The pneumonia-like illness is called the covid-19, or the Wuhan coronavirus. Infections are spreading mostly in China, but are starting to reach into nations around the world. Authorities say the numbers of dead and infected could keep multiplying for weeks or months. This is partly because before Wuhan, the Chinese city where the illness broke out, was placed on lockdown, some 5 million potentially infected people left it for…

Christianity is declining in Europe. According to the most recent Pew poll, only 71 percent of Europeans still identify as Christian, though 81 percent were raised in the faith. Most are non-practicing. Among the young, the situation is worse. About 55 percent of young Europeans aged 16–29 identify with no religion, according to a St. Mary University study. As Christianity has declined, European politics has secularized. Christian democratic parties have lost their distinctive religious identities and become generic liberal or conservative parties. At the…

SALT LAKE CITY — I don’t follow Justin Bieber on Instagram, Twitter or TikTok. I haven’t sought out his music in at least two years. But it still feels like everywhere I turn I see tweets highlighting his religious journey or pictures of him with pastors. Why do so many people care about Bieber’s faith? The answer, according to religion scholars, is that Bieber, like Kanye West or Chris Pratt, is a Christian celebrity, someone who attends church in between photo shoots and red…

By Michael Gryboski, Christian Post Reporter | Tuesday, February 25, 2020 Life.Church Pastor Craig Groeschel preaching a sermon on “dangerous prayers” on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020. | Screengrab: YouTube/Life.Church A megachurch pastor and bestselling author has challenged American Christians to abandoned an “easy” version of their beliefs and pray “dangerous” prayers instead. In the final part of a sermon series titled “Dangerous Prayers” that was preached on Sunday, Life.Church pastor Craig Groeschel implored people to pray for God to “break my heart.” Groeschel labeled…

February 25, 2020 Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Oral Roberts University and the Empowered21 Network release research on the pentecostal and charismatic movements TULSA, Okla.  — “Introducing Spirit-Empowered Christianity: The Global Pentecostal and Charismatic Movement in the 21st Century,” a new study conducted by Professor of Global Christianity and Director of the Center for Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Dr. Todd Johnson, reveals surprising statistics on not only the unprecedented numerical growth of the Spirit-Empowered Church but in which countries the movement is expanding most rapidly. The…

When Mark Galli of Christianity Today published an editorial calling for the impeachment of President Donald J. Trump, it was seen as a rift in Christendom, or at least, a rift among Evangelicals, a group that overwhelmingly supports the president. This break from the pack was received with some amount of shock because of the pervasive assumption that Christians are united. The truth is, we are not, and we have never been. The 2016 election revealed the political divide among Christians. Despite the ever-present…

This April 1, 2018 file photo, shows a cross that lies in the rubble of a destroyed church that was blown up by Islamic State militants in 2015, in the deserted village of Tal Jazeera, northern Syria. (Credit: Hussein Malla/AP.) ROME – Many Christians in Iraq and Syria cite fundamentalist terrorism and heightened tensions between the United States and Iran as the main reasons for the region’s dwindling numbers of Christians. According to Father Andrzej Halemba, head of Middle East projects for Catholic charity…

A transgender theologian brought a different perspective to Bible study Saturday morning, holding a seminar on how the Bible can impact and explain gender identity and the transgender community. Austen Hartke, who has written a book and produced videos on the dynamic between Christianity and transgender individuals, spoke to a crowd of over 100 at First Baptist Church for “The Bible and Transgender Christians Seminar.” Hartke focused on what he called “clobber passages,” which refers to Biblical texts often used to discriminate against the…

To understand President Donald Trump’s tight grip on the Republican Party, consider the conversion of Rick Perry. For the former Texas governor, embracing Trump is a religious experience. He has described the controversial president as the chosen one” sent by God. And last Friday, at the Dallas County Republican Party’s Reagan Day Dinner, he gave a similar testimonial. “I thank God every day that Donald Trump is the president of the United States,” Perry said. Perry hasn’t always been a fan of Trump. “Let…

CNN issued a study a while back that found regularly attending church may increase a Christian’s lifespan, while at the same time help “them stay grounded and [provide] spiritual guidance.” I’m guessing this positive benefit results from the additional sleep gained by snoozing during boring sermons. Regular readers know this column normally takes a dim view of social “science” studies, but an exception will be made in this instance for two reasons. First, no taxpayer dollars appear to have been wasted. Second, there is…

By Kelsey Grant There is a perceived theological impasse leading some to believe that climate change isn’t a Christian concern because God is the one who decides when the world ends, not humans. By reframing the climate issue, we can see that this theological impasse does not exist. Climate change is a Christian problem, and ignoring it is a matter of testing God’s grace: “My Christian faith leads me to believe God will be the one to decide when and how the world will…

Do you have time to read history? The situation in America, Britain and across the globe is now a slow-motion world crisis ready to explode. And for that reason, I submit to you that you no longer have time not to read history. When Winston Churchill faced his world crisis, he had to muster every ounce of knowledge, wisdom and courage he had accumulated over his lifetime to try to save his people, their nation and its virtues. Imagine if that lifetime had been…

Sinn Fein, the political wing of the terrorist Irish Republican Army, made stunning gains over the weekend in Ireland’s general election. Sinn Fein is now just one seat behind the leading party. This is part of a trend that’s occurring across Europe: Radical groups that used to be fringe parties are making massive gains in elections. 07:30 New Hampshire Primary (10 minutes) While it’s still not clear who is leading in the Democratic Party primaries, one thing is for sure: President Donald Trump’s popularity…

The word “basics” indicates a beginning point, the very foundation upon which something is built. Often it is the elementals upon which that which is more complex is to be built. When talking about the basics of Christianity, one will be talking about the very fundamentals upon which Christianity is built and upon which it rests. A term used in the Bible for such basics or foundational teachings is “first principles”. The writer of the book of Hebrews wrote in somewhat condemnation, “For when…

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi failed to mention Christians as she listed religious persecutions around the world Thursday. The House speaker spoke Thursday morning in Washington, D.C., at the National Prayer Breakfast where she prayed for those who are persecuted because of their religion. She listed people of Buddhist, Muslim, and Jewish faiths before generalizing about other persecuted religions. “Oh, Lord, we thank all gathered at this prayer breakfast for lifting our voices for the poor and the persecuted, the millions who are missing or murdered because of…

It’s time for another episode of our favorite soap opera! For the first installment of this thrilling series of stupid Christian arguments, go here. Today let’s explore the claim that modern science has Christianity as its foundation. And that “The New Atheists are sawing off the branch on which science is sitting.” And that “the only hope for science now is a rebirth of faith.” Those quotes are from “Abandon God, and Science Will Die,” published at the conservative Christian ministry The Stream. Let’s…

Though some religious teachers believe global events in the Middle East could fulfill prophecies about the end of the world, pastors are three times more likely to believe evangelism efforts will quicken the return of Jesus Christ, a recent study has found. A study of 1,000 Protestant pastors conducted between Aug. 20, 2019, and Sept. 24, 2019, by LifeWay Research found that church leaders believe Christians can speed up the return of Christ by sharing the Gospel rather than by backing certain geopolitical changes mentioned…