Egyptian Christians weather ‘climate of impunity,’ says U.S. State Dept.
Christians in Egypt suffer amid a "climate of impunity," according to the U.S. State Department's newly released International Religious Freedom Report. Despite word of positive developments -- including prosecution for the murder of a Coptic man and occasionally increased police security for threatened Copts -- the meager gains hardly diminish the unimaginable threats regularly faced by believers in one of the world's oldest bodies of Christians. "While recognized and unrecognized … [Read More...]
One thing your mind needs more than anything else
Scientist, philosopher, and atheist gadfly Daniel Dennett offers some helpful guidelines for those looking to better engage ideas. His seven tools, excerpted from his new book, Intuition Pumps And Other Tools for Thinking, should prove helpful to a large number of readers. The advice ranges from "Answer rhetorical questions" and "Employ Occam's Razor" to "Beware of deepities," that is, statements that sound profound but are merely ambiguous. Those of us interested in Dennett's least … [Read More...]
Six books for every pastor’s library
Pastors buy a ton of books, according to a new survey by the Barna Group. On average pastors purchase about forty-five titles a year, considerably more than the general population. How many books are we talking about? Protestant congregations number about 315,000 in this country, Catholic and Orthodox another 25,000. That means pastors buy about 15 million books a year, more or less. As a publishing professional, let me just pause and say thank you to all the pastors out there. My family … [Read More...]
My problem with ‘Life of Pi’
Megan and I finally got around to watching Life of Pi. It's a beautifully filmed and extravagant spectacle, but it didn't work for us. When I first expressed my disappointment, I received several negative reactions. It's a movie that seems either to resonate deeply or not at all. Here's where it failed for me. Pi's survival adrift on the Pacific makes for gripping drama, all the more because he shares his lifeboat with an untamed Bengal tiger and also briefly with a wounded zebra, hyena, and … [Read More...]
Egypt intensifies crackdown on Christians, dissidents
A Christian schoolteacher in Egypt has been detained by authorities for allegedly insulting Islam and Muhammad. Demyana Emad is twenty-three and teaches social studies at the Sheik Sultan Primary School in Luxor. She denies the charge and claims extremists urged students to falsely accuse her. The allegation is troubling. Last year another Christian teacher, Bishoy Kamel, was sentenced to six years in prison on similar charges, including insulting Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi. Covering … [Read More...]
Dallas Willard, Jesus Freak: Todd Hunter remembers his friend, mentor
When I heard that philosopher and author Dallas Willard had died, my mind jumped to Bishop Todd Hunter. I was with him a few weeks back and he mentioned then that Willard was seriously ill. After news of his passing, I asked Todd if he would share a reflection on the life and impact of his longtime friend and mentor. Dallas Willard was an old-school Jesus Freak. He had a world-class intellect and passionate curiosity about all things concerning God and his kingdom. Dallas did not … [Read More...]
Go ahead, try failure! The spiritual virtue of blowing it
The economist Thomas Hazlett once told a story about the father of his high-school girlfriend. "I must say," the man boasted, "that in my dating days, I never once asked a girl out who didn't say 'yes.'" Hazlett figured the brag was calculated to make him feel insecure. But it didn't really work. "Even as a callow youth," said Hazlett, "I knew the answer to his hollow boast: He simply hadn't asked out enough girls." Hazlett's observation about his girlfriend's dad jumps past economics and … [Read More...]
The God who weeps
Where is God when we suffer? A new book by Frank Viola says he's there by our side, suffering with us. Viola's newest, God's Favorite Place on Earth, recounts the biblical stories of Jesus' time in Bethany, the town of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, who Jesus raised from the dead in anticipation of his own resurrection. I read it leading up to Easter -- or Pascha as we call it in the Eastern Orthodox Church, which often differs several weeks from Western Easter. This year it was May 5. The … [Read More...]
Disillusioned by the church
I recently had an exchange in which someone mentioned leaving the church. Who hasn't? He quit participating some time back, and he's not alone. There are any number of reasons people walk out and don't return. There are those who wake up one day and decide the whole enterprise is false. But most seem to leave because the church has failed to measure up in some way. They leave because they are disillusioned. You know the triggers: Community life is lacking. A fellow parishioner said … [Read More...]
Tech highlights revival of the faith in Russia
I found this video very moving. It captures scenes from an exhibition on Orthodoxy in Moscow. It's touching to see the deep reverence shown by the faithful. And it's horrifying to view the footage of the Communists and their destruction of churches and icons. Even for for those of us in the West who've never witnessed anything like this, nor have any cultural memory of such barbarism, it's a soul-wrenching thing to behold. Watch it twice. … [Read More...]
Playing politics with the sacraments?
Gene Robinson, retired Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire, says the Catholic church is playing politics with the Eucharist. The comments stem from recent pronouncements that Catholics who oppose the church's moral teaching should refrain from taking the Eucharist. Neither should they be surprised if denied the sacrament. “For a Catholic to receive holy Communion and still deny the revelation Christ entrusted to the church is to try to say two contradictory things at once: ‘I believe the … [Read More...]
Should the church help you find your life calling?
I’m excited today to feature a guest post by my friend and fellow Patheos blogger Bill Blankschaen. Bill looks at a question provoked by Brad Lomenick's new book, The Catalyst Leader: 8 Essentials for Becoming a Change Maker. Brad's book releases April 14 from Thomas Nelson. We all know the church should help you grow in your understanding of the Holy Scriptures. We all know that the church should be known as a house of prayer. We all agree as Christians that the Church should be a … [Read More...]
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