How many Southern Baptists does it take to change a light bulb? Answer: “One to change the bulb and 16 million to boycott the maker of the old bulb for bringing darkness into the church.” And on the left, how many United Church of Christ members does it take? Answer: “How dare you be so intolerant! So what if the light bulb has chosen an alternative light style?” There are zillions more ecclesiastical light-bulb jokes where those came from and... Read more
The couple holds hands before the altar as a priest guides them through their vows. “I take you to have and to hold from this day forward, to love and to cherish, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, as my companion, lover and friend.” The congregation responds: “Blessed be God who appears to us in their love.” There is the exchanging of rings, familiar scriptures, a kiss and a blessing on the couple’s “acts of tenderness and intimacy.” They may... Read more
One thing great preachers enjoy about traveling is that they can hear other people preach. But the American orator A.J. Gordon received a shock during an 1876 visit to England. Sitting anonymously in a church, he realized that the sermon sounded extremely familiar — because he wrote it. “The man in the pulpit was reading it verbatim without saying a word about the source. After the service, Gordon introduced himself and we can just imagine the pastor’s reaction,” said the Rev. Scott Gibson, director of... Read more
Harry Potter froze in terror as the hellish Dementors rushed to suck out his godfather’s soul. But he was not powerless, because he had learned the Patronus Charm for use against the evil ones. So the boy wizard focused on a joyful memory and shouted, “Expecto Patronum!” Salvation arrived in the form of a dazzling silver animal that defeated the ghouls and then cantered across the surface of a lake to Harry. It was as “bright as a unicorn,” but on second glance was not... Read more
WASHINGTON — Pollsters who pry into matters of faith know they have to phrase their questions carefully. One big question goes something like this: “What is your religion?” As a rule, few dare to answer “none.” But researchers at the City University of New York made a subtle change in 2001 when updating their portrait of U.S. religious identities. They asked: “What religion do you identify with, if any?” A stunning 14 percent said, “no religion” — nearly 30 million... Read more
The theory behind “speed dating” is simple, even if the logistics sound complex. At many such events, young women sit in a circle surrounded by a circle of young men. For eight minutes participants ask the person in front of them some personal questions, hopefully adding new details to questionnaires they filled out beforehand. The circles keep rotating one chair at a time, creating a series of face-to-face encounters. Organizers then round up the data and look for signs that... Read more
WASHINGTON — In a matter of days, Father C. John McCloskey III will quietly perform rites in which two more converts enter the Roman Catholic Church. This latest ceremony at Catholic Information Center will not draw the attention of the Washington Post. But that happened last year when Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas entered the fold. Some of McCloskey’s earlier converts also caused chatter inside the Beltway — columnist Robert Novak, economist Lawrence Kudlow and former abortion activist Bernard Nathanson.... Read more
Predicting the future is dangerous, especially when a world-be prophet puts her thoughts in writing. But that’s what author Phyllis Tickle did two decades ago when she wrote: “Books are about to become the portable pastors of America.” That turned out to be true. Now, in light of “The Matrix,” she is updating that prophecy about how Americans talk about faith. It helps to flashback to a statistical earthquake that rattled the book business. In 1992 the company that dominates... Read more
The words of the scripture are clear: everything changes when someone is born again. “Before his first or physical birth man was in the world of the matrix. He had no knowledge of this world; his eyes could not see; his ears could not hear. When he was born from the world of the matrix, he beheld another world,” wrote Abdul Baha, son of the Bahai prophet Baha’ullah, nearly a century ago. Truth is, “the majority of people are captives... Read more
Did you know NASA scientists proved that God really made the sun stand still just like it says in the book of Joshua? Have you responded to the urgent prayer appeal from Mrs. Fatima Abass Yakubu Idris, the wealthy Nigerian widow cancer victim who wants to donate $7.2 million to your church? Did you hear about the upcoming movie in which Jesus and his disciples are gay? Surely you’ve seen this email bulletin: “CBS will be forced to discontinue ‘Touched... Read more
Terry Mattingly
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