How do Christians relate to their cultures, their communities, their states and their nations? There was a time when many Western nations — northern and southern hemispheres — were “Christian nations” in that they had institutionalized a state church. Think England, think Scotland, think the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, think Denmark, think Italy, think South Africa, think Brazil, think Mexico. Today’s world is not the same. We need to think again. Which is what Craig Bartholomew is doing... Read more

Apple’s been caught: Apple has long inspired an almost religious devotion among customers and tech aficionados – but it just seriously undermined its fans’ faith and loyalty. The company on Wednesday acknowledged what some people have long suspected: that it has been secretly stifling the performance of older iPhones. Critics have accused the company in the past, based on anecdotal evidence, of purposely slowing phones to compel users to upgrade to the latest model. While Apple admitted to the practice on... Read more

Are all scientists sharks out to eat religious people for lunch?   Do many religious people really believe this? Are religious Americans scientifically ignorant, uninterested or or hostile toward science? Several years ago I read and posted on a fascinating book by Elaine Howard Ecklund, Science vs. Religion: What Scientists Really Think. Elaine Ecklund is  sociologist at Rice University. The work reported in this book drew on an extensive survey of nearly 1700 professors at twenty one “elite” universities, in seven... Read more

The numbers are imbalanced: far more are leaving Catholicism or Orthodoxy for evangelicalism (in a broad sense, including Pentecostalism) than leaving evangelicalism for Catholicism or Orthodoxy. Read more

My own theory for the decline violence: on the field, off the field. Injuries. Brain injuries and the publicizing of the permanent brain damage. Moms and dads are not encouraging the game. Yes, there’s something to the kneeling for many patriots don’t appreciate the kneeling as an act of disrespect; Yes, perhaps the injuries to stars. But football needs to look in the mirror to see that the game has become dangerous to the player. CNN: NBC’s “Sunday Night Football”... Read more

By David Ayres, the Associate Preaching Minister at the Golf Course Road Church of Christ The Spirituality of Advent #2 The God of Possibility Advent is what happens in the gap between Isaiah 39:8 and Isaiah 40:1. There is a chronological chasm between the end of Isaiah 39 and the beginning of Isaiah 40. In Isaiah 39, the king of Israel, Hezekiah, gives a tour of the palace and all the storehouses to some Babylonian envoys. “Here’s the all the gold... Read more

In Talladega Nights Ricky Bobby prays to the Dear Lord Baby Jesus or to the Tiny Jesus because he prefers the Baby Jesus to the Adult Jesus or to any other Jesus. Which is where James Bryan Smith begins when he talks about the truth called Jesus. This in his wonderful new book The Magnificent Story. Smith reduces the problem to two shrunken-Jesus-stories: We need Jesus as only a teacher. The “good works” gospel sees Jesus primarily as a teacher. He can... Read more

Jean Twenge: These days, parents trying to keep their kids safe must worry not just about bike helmets and cars speeding down streets, but online predators and ads targeting kids. Facebook clearly had these parental worries in mind when they rolled out Messenger Kids, which does not include ads and allows parents to control their kids’ contact list. The press release, with its pictures of kids trying on Snapchat-eque dog filters, implicitly argues that the app is squeaky-clean fun. In terms... Read more

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14 Taken up again in the Gospel of Matthew All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). (1:22-23) Most Christians have a deep appreciation for the scriptures, both... Read more

Parents and grandparents who ignore Jean Twenge’s newest study, iGens, are not doing themselves or their children any good. The evidence is serious, folks, and the future joy of our children is what’s at stake. This isn’t alarmism but it is an alarm worth sounding. Rachel Macy Stafford’s the author of the letter below and the author of Hands Free Mama and her most recent book is called Only Love Today. What are you doing to “tether” children to humans and relationships?... Read more