“Nones” on the Rise: New Report Finds One-in-Five Adults Have No Religious Affiliation
A Third of Adults Under 30 Are Unaffiliated; U.S. Protestant Population Dips Below 50%
While the ranks of the unaffiliated have grown significantly over the past five years, the Protestant share of the population has shrunk. In 2007, 53% of adults in Pew Research Center surveys described themselves as Protestant. In multiple surveys conducted in the first half of 2012, fewer than half of American adults say they are... Continue Reading
‘New Puritan Press’ Launches E-Book Publications of Puritan Works
Free e-book of John Preston’s “The Fullness of Christ” available for download
O’Brien chose the name New Puritan Press to indicate that he intends to make the Puritans accessible to 21st century Christians. “I was,” he says, “acutely aware of how difficult it is for most lay people and even pastors to read the Puritans. My wife and I determined that I should take my long familiarity... Continue Reading
Two Rival Religions? Christianity and Post-Christianity
Machen was right then, and he is right now. The real struggle is between Christianity and Post-Christianity.
The priests and priestesses of secular liberalism constitute its “sacerdotal elite” and tend to be intellectuals who can present liberal values in the public square. Congregations where secular liberals gather include organizations such as Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, the National Organization of Women, and similar bodies. These groups “help supply a sense of affiliation and commonality for the religiously liberal.”
The Culture’s the Thing!
Paul himself makes clear, the gospel - the true gospel - can be peddled for power and for profit
It is, after all, easy to prostitute yourself to the prosperity gospel when your own prophecies of material wealth are effectively underwritten by the desperate dreams of the poor and destitute which you yourself have helped to create and upon which you prey with a depraved and insatiable hunger.
Collision at Crossroads
Milwaukee has no room for an evangelical congregation, and under Harrison’s influence, the vibrant and energetic Crossroads church was becoming exactly that
Throughout the ordeal, no formal charges were filed against the Crossroads trio, no opportunities to face accusers, no chance to offer a rebuttal or cross examine witnesses, no presentation of evidence, no due process. Milwaukee’s administrative commission simply barreled into Crossroads, declared itself to be prosecutor, jury and judge, and left the rule of law in shambles.
Muslim-American “Interfaith” Group Calls for Blasphemy Laws
Anti-Semitism is at the core of UMCF’s drive to forge a Muslim-Christian coalition
The UMCF press release claims that the film is part of a conspiracy involving “media terrorism” to cause war between Muslims and Christians and its content should not be protected as free speech. It quotes an unidentified citizen as saying it is “barbarous treason." "Therefore we demand immediate action by the appropriate government agencies to stop this film and bring its perpetrators to justice for this malicious hate speech,” it says.
Liberty Hill
In church, remember that it's Sunday, but Tuesday's coming
Apart from Christ, we use our liberty to do all those things, and government grows. Each fatherless child: more social workers and welfare payments. Each theft: more police. And so on. The most important step pastors can take to shrink the size of government is not to give political sermons but to preach Christ crucified and risen.
Ten Things Pastors Don’t Like About Pastoring
"Let me know if you come across a pastor that actually likes church business meetings. I want to find the secret to his moments of delusion."
"One guy was ripping into me at our last business meeting. But he didn't bother me as much as my so-called supporters who remained silent the whole time. They've told me that they are behind me, but they weren't there for me when I needed them the most."
The Unfaithful Spouse: Should I Divorce or Try to Reconcile?
Vengeance usually hurts the vigilante more than the intended target.
“Is he a bad man who did a bad thing or is he a good man who did a bad thing?” She enquired as to why I would ask that question. I explained that good people sometimes do bad things, but that if they are at heart still good people, they may be worth rescuing. Good people who regret bad behavior and want to make things right tend to be better people than they were before their indiscretion
First systematic political theology from an Orthodox Christian perspective
The Mystical as Political: Democracy and Non-Radical Orthodoxy by Aristotle Papanikolaou
The first comprehensive treatment from an Orthodox theological perspective of the issue of the compatibility between Orthodoxy and liberal democracy, Papanikolaou’s is an affirmation that Orthodox support for liberal forms of democracy is justified within the framework of Orthodox understandings of God and the human person