This week I had the privilege of bearing witness as my father-in-law took his second of three sets of vows in order to become a monk at a Benedictine monastery just outside of Boston. It was an incredible moment that was years in the making. There was a tremendous amount of sacrifice, struggle, contemplation, and devotion that had led him to that decision and it was amazing to be there to watch it all culminate as he... Read more

    Sure Islam started some 700 years after Jesus was alive and sure this claim is essentially no different than saying Jesus was, I don’t know, an American, but hey, facts are just inconvenient annoyances that get in the way of real truth!   CHRISTIAN PROF SAYS JESUS WAS MUSLIM By Bob Unruh, WND.com A professor at an Iowa college says as a Christian, he has to say that Jesus was a Muslim. Ignoring the historical timeline in which... Read more

    There is a mega-church down the street from my old house in Memphis. The church owns a couple of billboards next to Interstate  40 that they use to promote church activities, services, and share the occasional “inspirational message.” A couple of years ago, the sign read “Jesus loves you just the way you are.” Now, I am well aware that this one liner has become a core tenant of modern, American evangelicalism. It seems like every time “the... Read more

    Let the controversy begin… UPDATE – Due to a technical glitch I had to remove the video that featured this story and which contains an important piece of information: The pastor, Michael Salman, has constructed a separate building on his property “complete with a pulpit and chairs for the 30 or 40 people who meet there on a weekly basis.”  CHRISTIAN FINED & SENTENCED TO 60 DAYS IN JAIL OVER AZ HOME BIBLE STUDIES By Billy Hallowell, The... Read more

    This weekend 20/20 ran a Barbara Walters special called Heaven: Where is it? How do we get there? If you didn’t see it, you missed a sometimes interesting, sometimes cliche look into what heaven may or may not be liked as seen through the eyes of various spiritual authorities. I was able to watch the show in its entirety and while it wasn’t particularly enlightening for my soul, I did learn a few things about heaven, what Americans... Read more

    Let this be a lesson to all: praise Jesus too loudly and you will feel the wrath of God…and by “God” I mean the church security officer. (Via The Church Report)   Read more

    According to this infographic from FloatingSheep.org if Twitter chatter is any indication it would seem that those living in the Bible Belt still have a greater affinity for church. While those of us living in the rest of the country apparently prefer beer. Read more

    CNN has posted a great video (courtesy of the same local NBC affiliate anchor in Memphis who covered the Bible beating story) which shows that snake handling is alive and well among the Facebook generation.     Read more

    Usually when we talk about someone being “beaten over the head with the Bible”, we mean that someone else is holding Bible verses “over their head” in order to condemn them for wrong belief, wrong action, etc. In this case, however, someone’s grandmother took that Bible beating idea a little more literally. Actually, a lot more literally. I’m not sure whether to laugh or cringe. Maybe both?     Woman accused of hitting pastor in the head with... Read more