Latest News For General Discussion

Otto Rodriguez attends a service at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic church on April 30, 2019 in Doral, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Americans are rapidly self-identifying themselves as religiously unaffiliated, and especially less frequently as Christians, according to a report released by the Pew Research Center on Thursday. The Pew Research Center compiled the report about Americans’ religious practices using data collected through random-digit-dial (RDD) political polling conducted in 2018 and 2019. “The religious landscape of the United States continues to change at a…

(Sungjin Ahn photography/Getty Images) The religious landscape of the United States continues to change at a rapid clip. In Pew Research Center telephone surveys conducted in 2018 and 2019, 65% of American adults describe themselves as Christians when asked about their religion, down 12 percentage points over the past decade. Meanwhile, the religiously unaffiliated share of the population, consisting of people who describe their religious identity as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular,” now stands at 26%, up from 17% in 2009. Both Protestantism…

Pastor Andrew Brunson, who was held as a political hostage in Turkey for 735 days, says he is sharing God’s side of the story, as well as the darkest moments of his life — when he was in jail– in his new book. The book stems from a promise to God while in prison, where he battled suicidal thoughts and doubted God’s existence, unsure if he would ever see freedom again. ANDREW BRUNSON, EX-IMPRISONED PASTOR IN TURKEY, SAYS 2016 PRISON DREAM ‘HAS HAPPENED’ “My story is…

Our belief system isn’t the problem, it’s that we have strayed from what we say we believe. Following Jesus means loving and caring for our neighbors. A common narrative today is that deeply held religious beliefs are a key driver of incivility. Yet new research on evangelical views on civility and democracy shows exactly the opposite effect. This massive survey was released as part of a joint project by The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Lifeway Research and the Fetzer Institute. The findings are often sobering and should…

PELHAM, N.H. — The root of what later became New England Pentecostal Ministries was planted by a home prayer group in Nashua during 1942. The church now occupies a large plot of land at 955 Bridge St. in Pelham nearly eight decades later. Pentecostalism represents one of the fastest-growing segments of global Christianity, according to the Pew Research Center website. At least a quarter of the world’s 2 billion Christians are thought to be members of Pentecostalism and related “charismatic movements,” which include “lively,…

JERUSALEM, Israel – As the Turkish military pushes deeper into northeast Syria forcing thousands to flee for their lives, US Pastor Andrew Brunson is revealing a chilling prophetic dream he had while he was falsely imprisoned in Turkey for two years.  “The dream has happened,” he told Fox News. “My goal is about declaring who Jesus is and not getting involved in politics, but this is the dream God gave me, and I think it’s relevant to what’s happening now.”  While sitting in a…

Six teenage girls and two staff members at a Christian school in Nigeria were reportedly abducted at gunpoint by Fulani Muslim “bandits” last week.  Faithwire: EVIL: After Brutal Killing of Kidnapped Pastor’s Wife, Fulani Herdsmen Collect Ransom Money From Her Family The armed men reportedly kidnapped the eight people at Engravers’ College in Chikun County shortly after midnight on Oct. 3, according to Morning Star News.  “I just pray that nothing happens to them and that they come out alive,” Julde Juli, whose 15-year-old daughter was…

Evangelical Christian leaders are furious over President Trump’s green light to a Turkish invasion of Kurd-controlled territory in Syria. Thousands of Syrian and Kurdish Christians are in danger. MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST: Today, Turkey launched its long-expected offensive on Kurdish-controlled areas in northern Syria. The attack comes just three days after President Trump ordered U.S. troops out of the border region. The Kurds are U.S. allies. They have been protecting religious minorities in Syria. NPR’s Tom Gjelten says the president’s order has angered U.S.…

Remarks with Lark | Christianity is a message about love for all By Lark Yan 7 hours ago Credit: Julio Sosa Obey Jesus or Hellfire. Judgment or Hell. Warning: Muslims, gangsters, the Pope, homos, sissies. These are a few of the posters held up by members of an organization associated with the website Christianinterviews.com. The demonstrators appear to be warning others about their fate if they fail to obey the Bible and God’s commands. Their posters cite well-known passages of scripture. They claim to…

Bishop Kujur said ‘right wing’ groups hostile to Christians have taken over government institutions Christians across India are “living in fear” because of acts of state-led violence and oppression, says the bishop of a region still recovering from one of the country’s worst outbreaks of persecution. Speaking to leading Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, Bishop Kishore Kumar Kujur of Rourkela described how the government in India is “causing problems” – with support from “right-wing” groups hostile to Christians and other minorities.…

Kanye West may have come to Jesus — but some Christians aren’t buying the born-again “Yeezus.” On the eve of West’s new gospel album “Jesus Is King,” which is expected to drop in one form or another Friday following his latest “Sunday Service” performance, the online Christian community has revived its sermon against the 42-year-old rapper’s co-opting of their culture. Hundreds of hellfire-haters are firing up the Twitterverse — but the controversy about West’s invocation of religious imagery in his work has been around…

35 Million Christian Youths Will Leave Christianity by 2050, New Report Predicts A new report shows that some 35 million youths raised in Christian families will leave Christianity by the year 2050. According to the Christian Post, Greg Stier – founder of the youth ministry Dare 2 Share – says the report, called “The Great Opportunity,” is a chance for Christians to “flip the switch.” “How about not just slowing down the bleeding, what if there was a revival that flipped those stats?” he said. “That…

When Christians write about the status and reputation of Christianity in American society, they usually focus on two questions: What is happening? What should be done? Two recent books have taken up these questions in a markedly optimistic spirit: Glenn Stanton’s The Myth of the Dying Church: How Christianity is Actually Thriving in America and the World and Rick Richardson’s You Found Me: New Research on How Unchurched Nones, Millennials, and Irreligious are Surprisingly Open to Christian Faith. The books share many similarities. Both…

The star quarterback of the Alabama Crimson Tide is back and better than ever. And he’s opening up to CBN Sports about his faith, his journey to fame, his leadership secrets, and a prophecy that was fulfilled in his life through a huge championship win. Tua Tagovailoa, the living legend of Tuscaloosa, kicked off the opening game of his 2019 college football season with an impeccable performance against Duke: 4 touchdowns, no turnovers, completing 26 of 31 passes for 336 yards. It’s just another…

Gwendolyn Haddad Spring Valley, MN This is a response to Greg Rendahl who wrote about conservative Christianity in crisis, published August 26, 2019.  Immigration: The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America helped legal immigrants settle in communities. Christians are called to help the foreigners who obey the laws of the country they settle in. One law of any country is to enter that country through a legal process. God does not honor lawlessness, but order. Socialism: Mr. Rendahl misuses the Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12). We…

It was quiet in the morning chapel when a Bethel University student took a pen and paper and put words to the fear: “Does God really love me?” Then another student at the small evangelical school in Mishawaka, Indiana, took another piece of paper and wrote, “Am I good enough?” Three students wrote, “Can a loving God send unbelievers to hell?” Six asked, “Why does God answer some prayers and not others?” Twelve: “Is Christianity the only way?” Twenty: “Is God really real?” Shawn…

It’s not rare for a defense attorney to tell a judge his client is a good man. A religious man, even. It no doubt happens at sentencing hearings in courtrooms across the country every day. But here’s a twist. The attorney for an O’Neill man in his 70s — indicted in a conspiracy to harbor illegal immigrants following a raid last year — wants to raise a sort of Good Samaritan defense at his jury trial in September in a case involving his interactions…

A Fox News guest on Sunday blamed America’s rising gun violence on the decline of Christianity after a mass shooting in West Texas left at least seven dead and 22 others injured this weekend. The deadly massacre, which began at a traffic stop between Odessa and Midland on Saturday afternoon, has intensified pressure on GOP lawmakers to enact stricter gun control measures. The attack came just weeks after a gunman opened fire in Dayton, Ohio, killing nine with an assault weapon and another stormed…

Today’s society is becoming more and more secular as the movement away from a belief in the existence of God and his influence in human affairs accelerates, especially in the halls of government and in the media. As television’s Dr. Phil frequently asks, “How’s that working out for ya’?” Indicators like the recent mass shootings, chaos in immigration and international relationships and uncertainties in almost every important aspect of our daily lives show that it is not working out well at all. Ironically, the…

Holding pictures of migrant children who have died in U.S. custody and forming a cross with their bodies on the floor of the Russell Senate Office Building, 70 Catholics were arrested in July for obstructing a public place, which is considered a misdemeanor. The protesters hoped that images of 90-year-old nuns and priests in clerical collars being led away in handcuffs would draw attention to their moral horror at the United States’ treatment of undocumented immigrant families. American Catholics, like any religious group, do…

Lyz Lenz thinks the term “Heartland” is “so dumb.” “It over-romanticizes [the Midwest] and gives it a kind of soft focused filter like, ‘Oh, it’s the Heartland,’ which downplays the messy complications of the space,” she tells Bustle. “This is something I think we have a tendency to do, especially in politics. Politicians say, “We need to talk about the average person in Middle America!'” But who, Lenz wondered prior to the 2016 election, is the average Middle American? After all, the Midwest is…

The Good Book got good news from the Trump administration today: America’s Bibles—most of which are printed in China and imported to the United States—are now exempt from the burgeoning trade war between the two nations. With a 10-percent hike on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods looming next month, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) posted two long lists of items: one of imports from China that will become subject to tariffs on September 1, and one of imports whose proposed…

JERUSALEM, Israel – While the Jewish people mourned the destruction of the two Temples in Jerusalem during the Tisha B’Av fast over the weekend, many believe a rare sighting of foxes near the Temple Mount is a fulfillment of biblical prophecy. Video posted online last week shows what appears to be several foxes walking near the Western Wall and the Temple Mount. [embedded content] For some Jews, the sighting of foxes near the Western Wall is a grave reminder of Lamentations 5:18, which reads:…

Pentecostal Christians who believe in modern-day prophecy and support President Donald Trump gathered more than a year ago in Washington, D.C. That should be enough to frighten anyone braced for battle against theocracy. Worse still, they gathered at the Trump International Hotel, so you know that here is something deeply menacing to the future of America. Ruth Graham ofSlate wrote about “The Turnaround: An Appeal to Heaven,” drawing in part from an on-site report filed Jan. 18, 2018, by Peter Montgomery of People for the…

As some activists began the all-too-familiar call for stricter gun control measures following back-to-back massacres in Texas and Ohio this weekend, Texas’ Republican lieutenant governor Dan Patrick offered up his own analysis of American gun violence. During a Sunday appearance on “Fox & Friends,” Patrick suggested that the shootings that left over 30 people dead in El Paso and Dayton were moral failings, rather than byproducts of the widespread availability of military-style rifles. Along with violent video games, Patrick said he believes one of…

‘Those of us who remain must be ready to face martyrdom,’ says Archbishop Warda Christianity in Iraq could now be on the brink of completely disappearing – according to one of the country’s most respected Church leaders. In an interview with Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need coinciding with the anniversary of Daesh (ISIS)’s 2014 seizure of Iraq’s Nineveh Plains, Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil stated: “Christianity in Iraq, one of the oldest Churches, is perilously close to extinction.” Archbishop Warda who…

Christianity and the Environment In 1967, historian Lynn White Jr. argued that Christian beliefs promoted the domination and exploitation of nature, and therefore were incompatible with environmentalism. Almost half a century later, polls showed that fewer than 50% of all U.S. Protestants and Catholics believe the Earth is warming as a result of human actions. There are notable exceptions, such as Pope Francis, who called for action to slow climate change in his 2015 encyclical, “Laudato Si’.” Another prominent advocate for action is U.S.…

On Sunday morning, some of America’s pastors made no mention of the horrific mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, that killed at least 31 people and injured dozens more over the weekend. Other Church leaders, however, knew they could not ignore the events. “Our pulpit is not one that silence works in,” Jason Morriss, the pastor at Austin New Church, a progressive Methodist congregation in Austin, Texas, told me. “My first response as a pastor was that my people are going…

After my visits to the Folaus’ church at Kenthurst, I discussed my concerns with knowledgeable Christian friends who happened to be associated with the ACL. Loading Things heated up with Israel Folau’s Instagram meme in April claiming hell awaits “drunks, homosexuals, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists and idolaters”. I contacted the church and asked for a statement of belief. It sent me several videos by US-based Oneness Pentecostal Pastor Gino Jennings, notably describing the trinity as “junk”, women preachers as following Satan, women who wear…

It happens more and more these days. I’m embarrassed by much of American Christianity. I’ve spent a lifetime bring proud of the word, “Christian.” As a child, when other young boys were planning to grow up to be firemen, “army men” or professional football players, I was going to be a preacher “like my daddy.” But, too often these days, preachers make me cringe. “Too often these days, preachers make me cringe.” I hear anti-education views that are dishearteningly narrow. I hear views about…

The Chinese government continues to tighten its grip on Christianity by actively discouraging young people to engage in things of faith. Under the last year’s new Regulations on Religious Affairs legislation, schoolchildren are even encouraged to report any family members who espouse Christian views. Faithwire: ‘No Evidence Base’: Former Psychologist at Child Trans Clinic Pens Damning Open Letter to Former Boss According to Chinese persecution watchdog, Bitter Winter, the new policy has created fierce rifts amongst families as children are encouraged to questions and undermine the…

On a recent episode of The Bachelorette, lead Hannah Brown tells suitor and contestant Luke Parker, “I have had sex, and, honestly, Jesus still loves me.” (Jesus was not available for comment.) Each season has a major turning point. Colton Underwood jumping the fence. Arie Luyendyk Jr. dumping his winner for his runner-up. Ben Higgins telling two women he loves them. And Brown’s signature moment—the thing fans will likely repeat back to her for years to come—seems to be her sex and Jesus declaration. What…

Before the July Fourth weekend, we were looking at the important subject of the Bible. The Bible is the most scrutinized work in existence today. In the first article we saw that the rejection of this work is more based upon personal experience than it is upon verifiable evidence. That is, most people reject the Bible either on the basis of since they haven’t witnessed a miracle, miracles simply don’t happen and since the Bible records miracles, we can’t believe its report. Or, since…

As China continues its crackdown on religion, Christians in the Communist country are fleeing for their lives. China’s ruling Communist Party has carried out a widespread crackdown on all religious institutions in recent years, including bulldozing churches and mosques, barring Tibetan children from Buddhist religious studies and incarcerating more than a million members of Islamic ethnic minorities in what are termed “re-education centers.” President Xi Jinping , who is also party leader, has ordered that all religions must “Sinicize” to ensure they are loyal to…

Last week, Ralph Reed, the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s founder and chairman, told the group, “There has never been anyone who has defended us and who has fought for us, who we have loved more than Donald J. Trump. No one!” Reed is partially right; for many evangelical Christians, there is no political figure whom they have loved more than Donald Trump. I recently exchanged emails with a pro-Trump figure who attended the president’s reelection rally in Orlando, Florida, on June 18. (He spoke…

The Bible is an amazing Book! Written by forty different authors, over fifteen hundred years, in three different languages, on three different continents and yet there are no errors and no contradictions. One of the greatest lines of evidence for the inspiration of Scripture is fulfilled prophecy. In Daniel chapter 7 God gave the prophet Daniel a vision of world history. Daniel saw a vision that focused on four great beasts. These beasts represent four great empires. Verse 4 reads, “The first (beast) was…

In his 2019 book, The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism, University of Mississippi doctoral candidate Jemar Tisby describes his purpose: This book is about revealing racism. It pulls back the curtain on the ways American Christians have collaborated with racism for centuries. By seeing the roots of racism in this country may the church be moved to immediate and resolute antiracist action. Tisby’s study surveys the history of racial discrimination and injustice in America from the colonial…

Christianity Is the Bad Guy?: Bemoaning the Demise of the Classical World In “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,” 18th-century historian Edward Gibbon blames Rome’s demise, at least in part, on Christianity. He wrote, “The clergy successfully preached the doctrines of patience and pusillanimity; the active virtues of society were discouraged, and the last remains of military spirit were buried in the cloister [and] a large portion of public and private wealth was consecrated to the specious demands of charity and devotion…”…

RYAN FRASER, Freed-Hardeman University Published 2:57 p.m. CT June 27, 2019 CLOSE Prophecy is a biblical concept that is filled with mystery, mystique, and misconceptions. Some religious leaders these days seem to push the notion way beyond the parameters set in Scripture regarding prophecy. So-called prophets may be found all over the Internet, particularly on social media sites. They claim to speak for God, alleging to be direct recipients of special divine knowledge and revelation. Prophecy may be divided into two categories: true divinely…

A horribly familiar description of the Iranian regime’s persecution of Christians and other minorities emerged from a U.S. State Department report on religious freedom published Friday. “In Iran, the regime’s crackdown on Baha’is, Christians and others continues to shock the conscience,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. The U.S. has classified the Islamic Republic as a “Country of Concern” since 1999, because its regime violates religious freedom as defined by the U.S. International Religious Freedom Act (1998). Richard Grenell, the U.S. Ambassador to Germany,…

For many Christians, Israel Folau has become the talisman in the fight for religious freedom. This week, some Australian Christians rallied behind Folau’s legal battle against Rugby Australia, stepping in when the rugby star’s GoFundMe campaign was shut down. On its first day, the new campaign raised more than A$1 million in donations – and counting. Some Christian leaders have urged the newly re-elected Coalition government to make religious freedom protections a priority in the wake of Folau’s sacking by Rugby Australia. There’s even…

HONG KONG — Armed with a Bible, a guitar and a drawing of Jesus walking on water, Andrea Wong sat outside the offices of Hong Kong’s central government and booed. Ms. Wong, 18, usually stays out of politics. But in recent weeks, as Hong Kong was swept by mass protests against closer ties with mainland China, she asked herself what a good Christian would do. “I am very certain that Jesus would not have stayed home enjoying the air-conditioning,” Ms. Wong said. “He would…