Latest News For General Discussion

In the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Christianity and Law, Paul Miller and I are contributing a chapter on “Christianity and Equity.” We’ve just posted a substantially revised version of the chapter. The new version has less coverage of Aristotle, but it adds a section on equity in the Hebrew Bible, has a bit more on canon law and the Magisterial Reformation, and has new sections on the early modern Chancery and post-seventeenth-century developments. You can read the new version here. One thing we found but…

Since I teach courses in comparative religions at Biola University and through Reasons Institute, people sometimes ask me what I think about the relationship between the biblical religions of Judaism and Christianity. And in that specific context, I’m also asked about Messianic Judaism. In fact, some time back I was contacted on social media by a Messianic Jew who is very supportive of the science apologetics ministry of Reasons to Believe but is critical of historic Christianity overall. In fact, the person expressed a…

This week, the trial of football coach Joseph Kennedy will be heard at the U.S. Supreme Court. Kennedy was fired after he repeatedly prayed at the 50-yard line after football games. According to Kennedy, he was saying a prayer of thanks for his team’s performance: “That’s where I made my commitment to God before I even took the coaching job. There on the field of battle.” The case against Kennedy is that his public prayer was violating the first amendment’s disestablishment clause—otherwise known as…

Elle Hardy is a journalist who has reported from all over the world and written for GQ, Foreign Policy, Business Insider, and Current Affairs. Her new book is Beyond Belief: How Pentecostal Christianity is Taking Over the World. The Sunday Times says Hardy is a “first-class reporter. Beyond Belief makes for an often gripping story full of twists and turns.” The Telegraph calls it an “elegant account” and says that Hardy is an engaging usher around the Pentecostal world. The Irish Times calls it…

A recent letter writer (“Christian parents need to assert themselves in public school instruction,” April 20) refered to herself and unnamed others as “we Christians,” as if all who call themselves “Christian” are in lockstep with one another on the issues of the day, let alone how they understand Christ Jesus. That just isn’t so, and perhaps it never has been. It seems when something is represented as “Christian” these days, it is less as a trust in Christ Jesus of the Scriptures than…

Even before the Russian invasion, the Lord had begun to show me Ukraine in the prophecies of Jeremiah. The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?” “I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied. The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.” Jeremiah 1:11–12 This almond tree will help us unlock Jeremiah’s prophecies about Ukraine. One of the things we know about almond blossoms is…

In these difficult days marked by deep divisions, deadly diseases, and societal decay, we need discerning wisdom and dogged hope. There’s often more heat than light in our social media feeds and news cycles, which offer vast oceans of drama and worry but with tiny islands of wisdom and hope. As Jeffrey Bilbro writes, “We don’t just need the media to cast a more piercing light; . . . we need to reevaluate the light we rely on to understand our times and discern…

Israel is now a far more prominent player on the world stage than its size suggests. As The Times of Israel’s Diplomatic Correspondent, I’m well aware that Israel’s security, strategy and national interests are always scrutinized and have serious implications. It takes balance, determination, and knowledge to accurately convey Israel’s story, and I come to work every day aiming to do so fully. Financial support from readers like you allows me to travel to witness both war (I just returned from reporting in Ukraine)…

After every football game a coach in Bremerton, Washington runs to the bench and brings out his prayer rug, unfurls it on the field and then kneels down on the rug and prays a Muslim Prayer to Allah.  He is joined by many Black Players from his team and the opposing team in the religious ritual.  People are of course outraged at this violation of the Constitution. But wait, that isn’t how it happened.  As explained in the New York Times without mentioning the…

In the New Testament book of Acts of the Apostles, we find this statement: “These fellows who have turned the world upside down have come here, too…” Acts 17:6. Of course, at the time, they had not turned the entire world upside down, but it must have seemed so to the communities that were being impacted at the time. And, while the early Christians were limited in how far they could travel, Jesus did instruct his followers to “go into all the world” and…

When archaeologists dig through the ruins of antiquity, they have one certain way to identify a place of Christian worship. They look for a cross. When they find it painted on a wall, carved into stone, or even worked into a floor plan, they know they’ve found a church. Since the beginning, Christians have identified themselves with the cross on which Jesus died. And whether it’s carved in wood or etched on our hearts, the cross is the chief symbol and defining reality of…

By Nicole Alcindor, CP Reporter | Wednesday, April 13, 2022 Prophecy Pros podcasters Todd Hampson and Jeff Kinley, known for their thoughtful, biblically-sound views on hot-button issues like the End Times, have released a book detailing the answers to 100 questions on the foundations of biblical eschatology. The book, titled The Illustrated Guide to Tough Questions About the End Times, was written based on information shared on their podcast. The two podcasters told The Christian Post they conducted extensive research to answer the questions,…

“Christ Carrying the Cross,” by Hieronymus Bosch, c. 1510 When I was growing up, I do not think I ever heard one person say to me that he did not believe that Jesus literally came back from the dead. Nor have I ever taken a survey to find out how many people do not believe the fact that Jesus rose from the dead after being completely deceased for three days. Easter Sunday is just a few days away, so it is important that we…

On Christmas Day, Michel Butros al-Jisri, one of the last Christians in the Syrian city of Idlib, didn’t attend services, because the Islamist rebels who control the area had long since locked up the church. Nor did he gather with friends and relatives to celebrate around a tree because nearly all of his fellow Christians have either died or fled during Syria’s 10-year civil war. Instead, Mr. al-Jisri said, he went to the city’s Christian cemetery, which no one uses anymore, to sit among…

Konrad Siekierski The Orthodox Christian Studies Center at Fordham University, the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR), and the Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center will present a webinar with Konrad Siekierski on “The Materiality of Armenian Christianity: Gospel Books as Sacred Objects” on Wednesday, January 26, 2022, at 7 pm (Eastern) / 4 pm (Pacific). The webinar will be accessible live on Zoom (registration required) and on NAASR’s YouTube Channel. Konrad Siekierski is a PhD candidate in the Department of Theology and…

By Jonny Lupsha, Wondrium Staff Writer Christianity began in a polytheistic and Jewish Rome and expanded exponentially. However, at the same time, early Christian practices were even more varied than they are now. The Triumph of Christianity reveals how it “went viral.” </p> <p><img width=”1024″ height=”555″ src=”https://www.thegreatcoursesdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Hands-Feature-1024×555.jpg” alt=”Hands open for prayer” class=”wp-image-162014″ srcset=”https://www.thegreatcoursesdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Hands-Feature-1024×555.jpg 1024w, https://www.thegreatcoursesdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Hands-Feature-300×163.jpg 300w, https://www.thegreatcoursesdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Hands-Feature-768×416.jpg 768w, https://www.thegreatcoursesdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Hands-Feature.jpg 1209w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”/></p> <p>Christianity eventually became the official religion of the Roman Empire. Photo Rachata Sinthopachakul / Shutterstock In modern times, Christianity is…

In an early 1960s television sitcom all but forgotten except by strange people with a fixation for old television sitcoms, there was a character of the best friend of the lead who was, in the parlance of the time, played as a “beatnik.” This character was a “free spirit” who wore a goatee (something unusual for the time) and marched to the tune of his own bongo drums. Nothing bothered this character unless someone mentioned a certain four-letter word. If that word was uttered,…

One of the greatest popular culture events in Early Modern London was Bartholomew Fair, a three day extravaganza held each August. A major attraction in 1707 had a religious theme, in the form of “a choice droll or puppet-shew” mocking religious fanatics and so-called prophets, and their deceived followers. The would-be “French Prophets” were a special target of derision. “There … their strange voices and involuntary agitations are admirably well acted, by the motion of wires, and inspiration of pipes.” Assuredly, that show allowed…

FacebookTweet For over five years, the brief presidency of Donald J. Trump and its wake have produced a certain kind of editorial that still doesn’t have a name. You know the topic, and the template: earnest reporter from a coastal city visits patrons at a diner in rural America, ostensibly to find out why such folksy, salt-of-the earth people—white evangelicals, typically—would vote for a philandering, incompetent liar from Queens. The results are frequently irritating, occasionally hilarious, and always baffling.  No matter how many times…

Emad Jamil Al Swealmeen (السويلميين), who studied cake decorating at the City of Liverpool College in 2018-19, looked like a nice person. The case of Emad Jamil Al Swealmeen, 32, highlights the danger of Muslims fraudulently converting to Christianity. Swealmeen came to public attention on Nov. 14, when he (probably inadvertently) detonated an improvised explosive device outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital at 10:59a.m. as he rode in a taxi, just seconds before the national two minutes’ silence for Remembrance Sunday at 11a.m., killing himself and…

Good morning,    Here is the Zoom link to November 11th “Gift of prophecy prophetic training” called “Interpreting Prophecy” https://vimeo.com/646039225  followed by some tidbits below that we covered during the session. You can also view this and other recorded sessions by going to the Gift of Prophecy FB page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/268569051289784 Part 1: There are three components to prophecy as follows.       1. Revelation – that which God reveals to a person. Revelation in its basic form is simply information. It does not…

Reza Aslan’s recent column on how to communicate Islam (“Watching TV helped me see America. Can it help America see Muslims?,” Sept. 12)brought several thoughts to mind. The first is to congratulate Reza on understanding the best way to influence people is through storytelling. His idea of a network sitcom featuring an Islamic central character is brilliant. The second thought is that an even rarer network show would be one featuring an actual believing Christian. While Reza found television helped him see America, it…

The best place to find engrossing religious stories on television right now is in horror. It might be easy or even fashionable to suggest that’s because organized religion is a horror show itself, preying upon vulnerable people and enacting atrocities for centuries. But that’s not what’s going on here—at least, not entirely. Series like Midnight Mass (Netflix) and Evil (Paramount+) are more interested in investigating the quandary of what it really looks like, practically, when the mundane meets the divine; those thin places in…

A 27-year-old man from northern Israel was charged on Monday with murdering his mother and hiding her body last month, after she converted from Islam to Orthodox Christianity. According to the charge sheet, Rasha Muklasha, 46, left her husband and severed ties with her five children — including the suspect, Muad Hib — in 2006. She then moved from the town of Zarzir to Nof HaGalil and converted to Christianity. Recently, she resumed contact with her children following the death of her ex-husband. Prosecutors allege that her…

This spring, media mogul Stephen E. Strang made an unusual apology to readers in the pages of his glossy magazine. Strang presides over a multimillion-dollar Pentecostal publishing empire, Charisma Media, which includes a daily news site, podcasts, a mobile app and blockbuster books. At 70, he is a CEO, publisher and seasoned author in his own right. Despite all that, Strang worried something had gone awry. “I’ve never been a prophet,” he wrote in a pleading March editor’s note. “But there were a number…

PREŠOV, Slovakia (CNS) — Falling into the temptation of rejecting the cross and choosing a triumphalist form of Christianity leads to a faith that is superficial and sterile, Pope Francis said. Presiding over a Divine Liturgy Sept. 14, the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Pope Francis said that although God saved humanity by “allowing the evil of our world to be unleashed upon himself,” the world views the cross as a “failure.” Christians too, he warned, can also fall into the…

ROME — Pope Francis rejected in stark terms Tuesday the use of the cross as a political tool, an apparent swipe at nationalist forces in Europe and beyond that have used the imagery of Christianity for personal gain. “Let us not reduce the cross to an object of devotion, much less to a political symbol, to a sign of religious and social status,” Francis said in eastern Slovakia during a four-day visit to that country and to Hungary, his first trip since undergoing intestinal…

His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia was a keynote speaker at a forum in Italy, which took place from September 10 to 14, ahead of the G20 Summit of world leaders. Speaking to more than 300 high-ranking political, diplomatic, academic and religious leaders from around the world at what is known as the G20 Interfaith Summit, Aram I discussed the role of religion resolving conflicts in the Arab World. Saying dialogue among various religions can contribute to the establishment…

A few weeks ago, I attended my very first “energy workshop.” It’s taken years of deconstruction and healing from religious trauma for me to open up and allow myself to explore the energy work of more Buddhist traditions. My former beliefs taught me that, at best, it was too “woo-woo,” too “new age” or too “out there,” and at worst, that you were opening yourself up to demonic powers and/or participating in “devil worship.” The reality was, I knew nothing about Buddhist teachings. Everything…

By Vatican News staff writer Cardinal Kurt Koch, the president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, has written to two Jewish leaders, addressing concerns about the Pope’s catechesis during a recent General Audience. The Cardinal’s letter, written at the direction of Pope Francis, comes in response to Rabbi Rasson Arussi’s letter, dated 12 August, and Rabbi David Fox Sandmel’s letter, dated 24 August, in which they both referred to Pope Francis’ catechesis at the General Audience of 11 August, during which the…

The following is an excerpt from Jeff King’s upcoming devotional book focused on spiritual lessons from the persecuted. For information about pre-orders, please contact moreinfo@persecution.org. 09/09/2021 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) – “And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life.” – Matthew 19:29 (NLT) The simple meaning of the above verse is often lost on Western…

Vaccine hesitancy has never been a core religious belief of evangelical Christians. The vast majority of evangelicals have historically chosen to be immunized against polio, measles, tetanus and other diseases. As a child, I attended evangelical summer camps that required vaccinations, and as an adult, I worked for ministries with similar mandates. Some conservative evangelicals just don’t like the political taste of this particular vaccine on the menu. Even if we grant that individual Christians sincerely (though mistakenly) believe that their religious faith prohibits…

As the 4th of July approaches my mind is drawn to our country and how to best help it. Like many of you, I am an American by birth and a Christian by grace. How does a Christian, a citizen of a heavenly, eternal kingdom bless the temporal kingdom or nation where he has earthly citizenship? I think of a man in my church named Rod. He is a citizen of Peru by birth and a citizen of the U.S. by choice. At 28…

(This article is a translation of an original interview by Branimir Stanić and Ivan Tašev) Earlier this month Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán—long maligned by the Brussels machine as an authoritarian reactionary inside the ever-so-progressive European Union—gave an interview to the Croatian Catholic weekly Glas Koncila (The Voice of the Council, 20 June 2021). Orbán made several important points in the course of this interview: on the civilizational challenges currently facing Europe (including immigration), on national sovereignty challenged by Brussels, and on the nature of politics…

The first time I interviewed Matt Humphrey,we were driving in his pickup truck through southern British Columbia, passing fields and forests, only three miles from the U.S. border. Humphrey, then 31 years old, is a father of three and an evangelical Christian with a keen appreciation for the Bible. He is also an environmentalist, one who believes fighting climate change is a moral duty.&nbsp; On the 18-acre property we were heading to, Humphrey and others from an evangelical Christian group called A Rocha (pronounced…

Christians and beer have a complicated relationship. In recent decades, many conservative evangelical camps have deemed alcohol consumption to be a cultural no-no, relegating it somewhere between church taboo and sinful behavior. However, craft beer in Christianity is making a comeback as a new generation (many of whom were raised by teetotalers) is now setting their own rules for church. However, abstinence from alcohol wasn’t always the norm in Christian communities (after all, Jesus’ first miracle was turning water into wine). For centuries, alcohol—especially…

By ERIN ROACH, Baptist Press NASHVILLE (BP) – A theology of conversion, such as Christianity, necessitates religious liberty because regeneration of the heart cannot be achieved by coercion, Albert Mohler said Tuesday (June 15) during “Baptists Thinking Biblically: A Conversation on Religious Liberty.” The late-night event, hosted by Southern Baptist Theological Seminary at the Music City Center in Nashville, featured Mohler, Southern’s president, and Andrew Walker, associate professor of Christian ethics and apologetics and associate dean of the school of theology at Southern. “In…

How will Christian supporters of Israel react to the replacement of former prime minister Netanyahu with a new and very different Israeli coalition? A new letter from a broad and potent group of Christian leaders appears to give the answer. Led by the Philos Project, which is “dedicated to promoting positive Christian engagement in the Near East,” the letter is signed by dozens of Christian leaders from very mixed ethnic and denominational backgrounds. Certainly their followers are in the tens of million, many times…

Robert P. Jones Simon & Schuster, 320 pages Reviewed by L. Ted Smith Robert Jones, the founder and CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute, writes from the perspective of history, theology and current public opinion survey to illumine the unsettling truth of American Christianity’s relationship with white supremacy. Jones, a son of the American South who was raised in the Evangelical tradition, also writes this book as part-memoir, sharing his journey and his own coming to grips with the legacy of racism that…

In America today, people’s worst impulses seem to be winning out. Democrats and Republicans don’t just disagree, they despise each other. The COVID-19 pandemic has become part of the culture wars, instead of a shared foe. Americans, in general, are suffering from a breakdown in relationships. There’s growing racial, economic and social unrest. In the past, the country could have relied on people of faith to help tone down incivility and mend partisan rifts. But in 2021, Christians are instead embracing the destructive behavior…

By MYRIAH SNYDER, IMB Wesley and Emily Smyth* are raising their four children to understand that the Christian life is supposed to be active, self-giving and about glorifying God and serving others. “The children have an idea of purpose,” Emily said. “We’re not saved to just absorb, be fed and have programs that cater to our needs. Being a Christian means serving the body of Christ and those without Him.” The Smyths have taught their kids this truth by example. Now associate area directors…

Awakening Prayer Hubs storming the nations with intercessor prayer against coronavirus, racism and more. With the world’s spiritual crisis worsening, Awakening Prayer Hubs, a prayer movement contending for awakening and transforming revival in the nations, is transforming prayer warriors into prayer heroes in their cities. And intercessory prayer generals are supporting the efforts. Mike Bickle, director of the International House of Prayer in Kansas City says: “Awakening Prayer Hubs is a strong expression of bringing prayer to the local level so that intercessors can…

A counterfeit form of Christianity is more popular than the real thing, according to respected researcher Dr George Barna. “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism” is a worldview that is defined and driven by current culture, more than by historic religious truths or a comprehensive and coherent doctrine, according to Barna. In other words, it is the sort of Christianity that lots of people want. George Barna was the founder of The Barna Group, a well-regarded market research firm specialising in studying the religious beliefs and behavior…

Cissie Graham Lynch discusses the hidden danger of progressive Christianity in her most recent “Fearless” podcast. Noting that some Christians, particularly younger ones, are enamored in a spiritual movement that offers a “feel-good appeal and freedom based on relative truth,” Lynch sought the opinion of someone who had firsthand experience of it. Alisa Childers, a former member of ZOEgirl, was invited to her pastor’s Bible study. She was puzzled when he urged the group to reject Biblical truth. Her most recent book, “Another Gospel?” chronicles…

For a president of the United States, Joe Biden did something highly unusual this week: something I’d bet you never even heard of — till now. On Tuesday evening, around 6 p.m., he skipped out of the White House, hopped on Marine One, helicoptered up to his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, for what the White House only described as a “local stop,” spent less than an hour, and was back in the White House by 9 p.m. Mystery solved. With no publicity, Biden had…

A 2021 Gallup survey found that less than half of Americans now claim membership in a religious congregation for the first time in history. I Am Sophia, a new novel by Episcopalian author J. F. Alexander, imagines a not-so-distant future in which organized religion is gasping its last breath. When a mysterious and charismatic woman insinuates herself into a fringe religious group, its dozen members wonder whether she is a lunatic, a con artist, or a messiah. Sophia quickly upends the routines and expectations…