Evangelical America may just be waking up to the fact that our actions really do have global effect… so while your eyes are open take a look at just what may soon be lost!
The church that is Shakespeare’s resting place is falling apart, but you can help save it by giving money.
A wild story about a Pastor who sold the church out from underneath his congregation.
The drama continues… will the Episcopal Church take the property from separating congregations?
A “church” that deifies Marijuana goes to court for possession… who didn’t see this coming?
Annoying Church Bells! Just on complaint is all it takes to make them go away.
Dec. 25.
The Indians having been used upon Christmas days to drink and revel among some of the white people in these parts, I thought it proper this day to call them together, and discourse to them upon divine things: which I accordingly did from the parable of the barren fig-tree, Luke xiii. 6-9. A divine influence, I am persuaded, accompanied the word at this season. The power of God appeared in the assembly, not by producing any remarkable cries, but by shocking and rousing at heart, as it seemed, several stupid creatures that were scarce ever moved with any concern before. The power attending divine truths seemed to have the influence of the earthquake rather than the whirlwind upon them. Their passions were not so much alarmed as has been common here in times past, but their judgments appeared to be powerfully convinced by the masterly and conquering influence of divine truths. The impressions made upon the assembly in general, seemed not superficial, but deep and heart-affecting. O how ready did they now appear universally to embrace and comply with every thing they heard and were convinced was duty! God was in the midst of us of a truth, bowing and melting stubborn hearts! How many tears and sobs were then to be seen and heard among us! What liveliness and strict attention, what eagerness and intenseness of mind, appeared in the whole assembly in the time of divine service! They seemed to watch and wait for the dropping of God’s word, as the thirsty earth for the “former and latter rain.”
Afterwards I discoursed to them on the duty of husbands and wives, from Eph. v. 22, 23. and have reason to think this was a word in season. Spent some time further in the evening, in inculcating the truths I had insisted upon in my former discourse respecting the barren fig-tree, and observed a powerful influence still accompany what was spoken.
Tim Challies mentioned a story from the Telegraph that piqued my interest. The story is of a British stewardess who was told she could not bring her Bible with her on flights to Saudi Arabia. While the Foreign Office in Britain may not cringe when it writes these words, it certainly strikes fear into my heart:
The importation and use of narcotics, alcohol, pork products and religious books, apart from the Koran, and artefacts are forbidden.
The reason why this causes such fear in my heart is that it has historical parallels. In Japan, before the “opening” of the country, the Dutch had exclusive trade relations with Japan. One of stipulations of this trade agreement was that there would be no Bibles brought into the country. The typical practice was to take all of the Bibles that were on board a ship and place them into a barrel and seal it before arriving. The more the world changes, the more the same strong-arm tactics stay the same.
More reading: Status of religious freedom in Saudi Arabia (from wikipedia)
The University of California system has been taking a look at the text books Christian schools are using and not accepting high school curricula based on ones it deems objectionable, now it is before the courts to see if it a case of religious discrimination.
The Bob Jones physics text, for example, teaches that “the only sure truths are found in God’s Word, which is settled forever in heaven. … The Bible, written by an omniscient God, can never be proved wrong.”
The higher education establishment seems to be firmly in UC’s corner.
Barmak Nassirian, spokesman for the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, said universities must defer to academics to define the essence of their disciplines, not only in biology, chemistry and physics but also in the humanities and social sciences.
“You simply can’t bring a bundle of your particular views” to the university and demand that it “manufacture a degree,” he said. “We wouldn’t do this in engineering” if someone refused to concede, for example, the theory of gravity.
Not that Christian schools are doing this (there is some criticism of non-science texts, and their lack of content and perspective)… they simply could. Would they do this for students who went through a Muslim education abroad and then passed toefl?
For my two cents: Either the article presents this slightly skewed or something is fundamentally unsound with UC’s approach. I agree that the University should be able to expect a certain level of understanding when it comes to their incoming undergraduates, but I do not think that they are approaching this in the right way. If a textbook has factual errors that violate generally accepted standards in the academic community then by all means allow for students to demonstrate an understanding of these subjects that meets your requirements (whether God exists shouldn’t be used as such a determiner.) However, to blanket deny courses based up religious content and not scientific merit walks you to the dangerous precipice religious rights.
Enjoy the the biting satire of The Church You Know.
Just stumbled across a blog by a worker at Banner of Truth (one of my favorite publishers) and was blown away by this:
After only reading a few pages, I ran downstairs the staff here at Banner, “Did you know about this book?” I asked. I then read from our tribute to this author. “After he handed the package (the manuscript for this book) across the post-office counter, his wife Margaret, who was with him, suggested he might buy a new notebook to begin his next book. He paused before replying, ‘Margaret, I think I’ve said all I want to say.’ That evening he entered his eternal rest.” He was 83. Clearly, in the providence of God, this book was not to go undone!
I don’t really have much to say except, wow. There’s a couple of books I’ve been wanting to order from them, I’ll have to add this to the list! Read the post and check out the book.
Here is an interesting article from today’s Louisville Courier-Journal that talks about a Christian cost-sharing program to help people pay for medical expenses. The article appears a little short on information though.
The article quotes an official as saying:
“It looks so much like health insurance that we’re afraid the normal everyday citizen may replace their health insurance with this,” said Julie McPeak, executive director of the state Office of Insurance. “It’s important for us to pursue this to determine how it needs to be regulated, if at all.”
Which is exceptionally revealing if you stitch it together with this:
Kentucky is one of seven states that doesn’t require such organizations to operate under the regulations that govern insurance companies, the Web site says. But the organizations are required to publish a disclaimer saying the medical plan “is not issued by an insurance company nor is it offered through an insurance company.”
These two statements propel me to ask these questions:
I love the idea of a bunch of Christians getting together and helping each other out, it reminds me of the community action you see in Acts, however such an endeavor should be above reproach under both Christian and legal lights so that close inspection only seeks to point that party to Christ.
Dig deeper: Medi-Share’s disclaimer page
The quiet and settled atheism/agnosticism of my parents is being rocked by an anticrusade (since crusade comes from the french, I’m not quite sure what is word radical opposition of the cross) in the form of the atheist intellectual community. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone up on the news, Richard Dawkins is on a missionary journey and his letter is The God Delusion – and it is set on one thing: eliminating all religion. His reactions are witty, but frankly as unoriginal as any atheist claims are. Wired does good service into looking into this movement (from an areligious perspective.)
