The NY Times rehash on the religious angle on the election is interesting. There is, of course, the wailing and gnashing of teeth by Bishop Ralph Reed and Bishop Al Mohler about the moral decay of our country and the changing face of the electorate. Then there’s this sneaky paragraph: (more…) Read more
So the Church of England has appointed another middle aged, white, anti-gay guy to be the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury. Big whoop. In Western institutions in which the people actually get a vote — like, say, American democracy — middle aged, white, ant-gay guys are losing power. That’s all to the good, if you ask me. But it’s still not easy being a gay Christian. Easier than before, but not easy, per se. One person who’s tackling that is Justin Lee, author of... Read more
This week’s Questions That Haunt Christianity continues a recent theme in the series about the very nature of God. It’s from Shira, who asks, (more…) Read more
Jenkins says that at first blush, the answer is obviously Christianity. But when you drill down into the stats, the answer might be Islam: If Christians point to Africa as the ultimate success story, then Muslims can boast their growing numbers across their historic heartlands. In 1900, for instance, Egypt had perhaps nine million Muslims, compared to 75 million today. In the same period, the number of Iranian Muslims grew from ten million to perhaps 65 million. In 1900, the... Read more
I’ve been inundated with great stuff lately. Piles of books surround me in my home office as book after book arrives on my doorstep. Honestly, I can’t get to them all. I can’t even write cover blurbs for all of the manuscripts I’m sent. However, I do want to highlight some of the offerings by friends and others that are noteworthy. Selling Water by the River: A Book about the Life Jesus Promised and the Religion That Gets in the... Read more
I’ve got to think that no one breathed a bigger sigh of relief on election night than SCOTUS justice Anthony Kennedy. Having been excoriated by all but a few on both left and right for the Citizens United decision — Kennedy was the swing vote in that decision and wrote the majority opinion — he must have been sweating this election season. A breathtaking amount of money poured into the coffers of start-up PACs and Super PACs, not to mention... Read more
This sponsored post is part of the Patheos Book Club. Check out the Book Club for more posts on this book, an interview with the author, and for responses from other bloggers and columnists. The “new monastic” movement has matured, there’s no doubt about it. Places like the Rutba House and Communality have been around for over a decade now. They are the parents (and grandparents?) of other intentional Christian communities that have been birthed in their wake. And now... Read more
Robert Jeffress: Obama Is “Paving the Way for … the Antichrist” Posted on November 6th, 2012 2:59pm by Tim Rogers An alert FrontBurnervian points us to the news that First Baptist Dallas’ pastor, Robert Jeffress, knows how to generate headlines. From his Sunday sermon: “I want you to hear me tonight, I am not saying that President Obama is the Antichrist, I am not saying that at all. One reason I know he’s not the Antichrist is the Antichrist is... Read more
After a week off for the election, it’s time to address Shelly’s Questions That Haunt Christianity, which I posted last Tuesday. Shelly asked, Why would God create humans (and animals) knowing what a vast number of them would suffer in this life? Does eternity really make up for a life of war, fear, hunger, or _______ (insert issue here). The typical response to this question is, “People could have lived in perfection as God created it, but they chose sin.” But... Read more
So reports Barb Haggerty on NPR: Many religious conservatives thought this might be the year of an evangelical comeback, when voters would throw President Obama out because of his support of same-sex marriage and abortion, and his health plan’s birth control mandate. It didn’t work out that way. “I think this was an evangelical disaster,” says Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. Is “the evangelical moment” over? Read more
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