The Real Reasons American Evangelicals Support Israel
BIBLE BOMBSHELL: Archaeologists unearth site of Jesus’ ‘water into wine’ miracle
But now academics claim to have solved the millennia-old mystery, bolstering the case for the New Testament’s historical accuracy. The Gospel of John famously recounts the story of Jesus Christ turning water into wine during the Wedding at Cana. In the account, Jesus, his mother Mary and his disciples are invited to a wedding, and […]
Catholic Scandals & African Christianity
Many liberals have hoped and conservatives feared that Francis is steering the church toward more accommodation of Western individualism especially on sexuality. Others would insist that Francis is not changing core Catholic doctrine but only urging a more pastoral versus dogmatic approach. Vigano recalls Francis telling him: “The Bishops in the United States must not […]
United Methodist Church proposes new belief statement: ‘We support legal access to abortion’
Until now, the United Methodist Church has held a sort of “nuanced” position on abortion… but all of that may be about to change. The church’s official statement has been that it recognizes the “tragic conflicts of life” that lead women towards abortion, and favors laws that limit abortion, such as parental consent laws and […]
Prelates and Pederasts
Sixteen years ago, reporters at The Boston Globe conducted an extensive investigation of the sexual abuse of minors by priests in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. Not long thereafter, reporters elsewhere detailed similar abuse in places like Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and the like. The word used in the press to describe what had […]
Liberal Lutherans Doubling Down
Over the last reporting decade the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has lost more than 1 million members or 25% of membership, now down to 3.5 million, from 4.7 million ten years ago. At this rate of decline the denomination won’t exist in 30 years or so. Newly elected ELCA bishops might be expected […]
In a Secular Passover, Jews Are Nothing Special
There is a great crisis currently occurring in the American-Jewish community — a crisis of identity. What are Jews here to accomplish? Are Jews special? Or are Jews just a group of socially active members of the political left, with no specific religious inclination or mission beyond mirroring the priorities of the Democratic Party? That […]
I’m a scholar of the “prosperity gospel.” It took cancer to show me I was in its grip.
There’s a branch of Christianity that promises a direct path to the good life. It is called by many names, but most often it is nicknamed the “prosperity gospel” for its bold central claim that God will give you your heart’s desires: money in the bank, a healthy body, a thriving family, and boundless happiness. […]
A Quiet Exodus: Why Black Worshipers Are Leaving White Evangelical Churches
Charmaine Pruitt wrote the names of 12 churches on a sheet of paper, tore the paper into 12 strips, and dropped them into a Ziploc bag. It was Sunday morning and time to pick which church to attend. This time of the week two years earlier, there would have been no question. Ms. Pruitt, 46, […]
New Harvard Research Says U.S. Christianity Is Not Shrinking, But Growing Stronger
“Meanwhile, a widespread decline in churchgoing and religious affiliation had contributed to a growing anxiety among conservative believers.” Statements like this are uttered with such confidence and frequency that most Americans accept them as uncontested truisms. This one emerged just this month in an exceedingly silly article in The Atlantic on Vice President Mike Pence. Religious faith […]