May 9, 2024:
A GREAT EVANGELICAL DIVORCE? — SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON’S BREAKUP WITH MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE COULD BE BAD NEWS FOR TRUMP When Speaker of the House Mike Johnson pushed through aid to Ukraine this week, it did more than green-light funds to support the Ukrainians. In recent weeks, he changed from hard-core opposition to supporting Ukraine to championing its cause. His actions were, of course, political and personal, but they also signal a genuine conflict within American evangelicalism, one that could have ramifications for the upcoming presidential elections. At the beginning of 2024, mention of a report on Russian persecution of Ukrainian Christians started showing up in some evangelical publications, mostly notably in a February 6 story in Christianity Today. The report, “Faith Under Fire: Navigating Religious Freedom Amidst the War in Ukraine,” was published in November 2023 by Mission Eurasia (an evangelical mission agency founded when the Soviet Union collapsed) outlining church closures; destruction of church buildings; kidnappings; imprisonment and torture of religious leaders; and the murder of priests and pastors. (Diana Butler Bass/Religion Dispatches 5/23/24) Read More>>>>> Religion Is Being Misused To Divide America | Opinion As the intensity of this year's election season continues to grow, so, too, has the focus in the news on a movement of Americans invoking the name of God to perpetuate division in our country. Some of these Americans go to church and read the Bible. Many of them don't. But all of them understand the unmistakable power of using faith as a cultural wedge to advance a political agenda that harms millions more Americans than it helps. Followers of this political movement that misuses religion have become known as Christian Nationalists for their association with an ideology that vehemently rejects the pluralistic democracy our country aspires to be. The movement's origins are bound up with white supremacist oppression going back hundreds of years to when slavery was the norm and the Indigenous were systematically persecuted. I hesitate to even call them "Christian," because their actions do not reflect the teachings of Jesus. (William Barber III; Newsweek 5/5/24) READ MORE>>>>> May 3, 2024:
77% of World’s Evangelicals from Global South: Dr Bennet Lawrence Today significant shifts are happening in Christianity, said Dr Bennet Arrren Lawrence, Regional Secretary of Asia Theology Association India. This is in relation to Church history where he explained that going back to the beginning, the first church was established in Jerusalem in the Middle East, later moving to Europe, then to the United States (US). Considering the current shifts in culture, he highlighted the data put out by the World Evangelical Alliance that at present 77% of Evangelicals in the world are living in the Global South. The Global South in broad terms is referred to developing countries in Asia, Africa and South America. As such, Dr Lawrence called upon individuals and leaders in Nagaland to prepare for shouldering the responsibilities of the Church. “We are at a crucial juncture as we see key individuals and leaders moving towards us, we need to shoulder these responsibilities, it is our responsibility to shoulder the Church,” he said. (Morung Express 5/5/24) READ MORE>>>>> |
drivel“Let’s talk about what this really is, Steve: This is a war against Christianity. The Ukrainian government is attacking Christians; the Ukrainian government is executing priests. Russia is not doing that; they’re not attacking Christianity. As a matter of fact, they seem to be protecting it.-Marjorie Taylor Greene to Steve Bannon 4/8/24 drivel“So if you are a faithful Christian, not a fake Christian, David French Christian, but an actual Christian of the kind this country has always had, of the kind this country was created to harbor, actually you are seen as an enemy by the people who run it.”-Tucker Carlson 4/16/24 drivel“I’m surprised they haven’t killed me. I’m surprised they’ve let me continue to live.”-Michael Flynn on the "Deep State" in documentary "Flynn." |
May 3, 2024:
UMC removes rule that homosexuality is ‘incompatible with Christian teaching
The United Methodist Church General Conference has voted to remove a statement from its central rulebook that declared that homosexuality was "incompatible with Christian teaching." In a vote of 523 to 161 following around 90 minutes of debate on Thursday, the churchwide legislative gathering opted to remove a clause from the Book of Discipline, ¶ 304.3 under "Qualifications for Ordination." "The practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching," read the clause, which had been originally added to the Book of Discipline in 1972. (Christian Post 5/3/24) READ MORE>>>>>
The United Methodist Church General Conference has voted to remove a statement from its central rulebook that declared that homosexuality was "incompatible with Christian teaching." In a vote of 523 to 161 following around 90 minutes of debate on Thursday, the churchwide legislative gathering opted to remove a clause from the Book of Discipline, ¶ 304.3 under "Qualifications for Ordination." "The practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching," read the clause, which had been originally added to the Book of Discipline in 1972. (Christian Post 5/3/24) READ MORE>>>>>
May 2, 2024:
Beth Moore, doctor criticize John MacArthur for claiming mental illness isn’t real
Pastor John MacArthur is facing withering criticism from some doctors, Christian mental health experts and outspoken Evangelical figures like Beth Moore following his comment saying there is no such thing as mental illness.
“This is such a bad, dangerous take. As a pediatrician, me, and the people I work with are committed to children. This conspiracy theorist language re ADHD treatment making children ‘addicts’ or ‘criminals’ is wrong, & has no data to support it,” Dr. Stephen Patrick, incoming professor and chair of health policy and management at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, said in a statement on X. “Beyond that it’s another attack on pediatricians/healthcare providers … and those attacks are taking a tangible toll on pediatricians/nurses/healthcare providers.”
(Christian Post 5/2/24) READ MORE>>>>>
Pastor John MacArthur is facing withering criticism from some doctors, Christian mental health experts and outspoken Evangelical figures like Beth Moore following his comment saying there is no such thing as mental illness.
“This is such a bad, dangerous take. As a pediatrician, me, and the people I work with are committed to children. This conspiracy theorist language re ADHD treatment making children ‘addicts’ or ‘criminals’ is wrong, & has no data to support it,” Dr. Stephen Patrick, incoming professor and chair of health policy and management at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, said in a statement on X. “Beyond that it’s another attack on pediatricians/healthcare providers … and those attacks are taking a tangible toll on pediatricians/nurses/healthcare providers.”
(Christian Post 5/2/24) READ MORE>>>>>
May 1, 2024:
Roots Of The Radicalization Of The Protestant Reformation
What is the difference between Catholicism and Protestant Christianity? To summarize it in one phrase, Catholicism is the Thing against which Protestant Christianity rebels. I have a lot of compassion and admiration for our devout Protestant brothers and sisters. However, the reason I am a Catholic is because I hold a firm conviction that the way they formulate their identity is flawed on a foundational level. It seems unfortunate that they let their identity rest on the fact that they are not like us. If there was something fundamentally flawed about the Catholic Church that was addressed in the Reformation, this historical event should have finished in the 16th century. (Formation Matters 5/1/24) READ MORE>>>>>
What is the difference between Catholicism and Protestant Christianity? To summarize it in one phrase, Catholicism is the Thing against which Protestant Christianity rebels. I have a lot of compassion and admiration for our devout Protestant brothers and sisters. However, the reason I am a Catholic is because I hold a firm conviction that the way they formulate their identity is flawed on a foundational level. It seems unfortunate that they let their identity rest on the fact that they are not like us. If there was something fundamentally flawed about the Catholic Church that was addressed in the Reformation, this historical event should have finished in the 16th century. (Formation Matters 5/1/24) READ MORE>>>>>
The Heritage Foundation’s Racist Origins and What That History Tells Us
The Heritage Foundation today is the 800-pound gorilla on the radical right. With an annual budget of over $100 million, and a huge, multistory office complex in Washington, D.C., it is one of the top agenda-setting organizations on the right, if not the dominant one, so it’s not surprising that it took the lead in creating Project 2025. What people need to know is that—unlike some other groups on the right—from its outset the Heritage Foundation blended the toxic cocktail that today’s right is gulping in large doses to achieve its goals: libertarian economics; Christian nationalism; and the weaponization of racism, gender anxiety, and parental fears about sex.
(Washington Spectator) READ MORE>>>>>
The Heritage Foundation today is the 800-pound gorilla on the radical right. With an annual budget of over $100 million, and a huge, multistory office complex in Washington, D.C., it is one of the top agenda-setting organizations on the right, if not the dominant one, so it’s not surprising that it took the lead in creating Project 2025. What people need to know is that—unlike some other groups on the right—from its outset the Heritage Foundation blended the toxic cocktail that today’s right is gulping in large doses to achieve its goals: libertarian economics; Christian nationalism; and the weaponization of racism, gender anxiety, and parental fears about sex.
(Washington Spectator) READ MORE>>>>>
United Methodists Condemning Christian Nationalism Should Address Their Complicity
United Methodists gathered in Charlotte, North Carolina, for their long-delayed General Conference have shown themselves willing to take bold steps on big issues. The delegates have already voted this week to reorganize the denomination to allow for greater regional autonomy and to scrub its governing Book of Discipline of its ban on LGBTQ clergy. Delegates consider legislation at the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C. They have also passed a number of petitions on social issues, including one condemning “extreme and prejudicial (Word & Way 5/1/24) READ MORE>>>>>
United Methodists gathered in Charlotte, North Carolina, for their long-delayed General Conference have shown themselves willing to take bold steps on big issues. The delegates have already voted this week to reorganize the denomination to allow for greater regional autonomy and to scrub its governing Book of Discipline of its ban on LGBTQ clergy. Delegates consider legislation at the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C. They have also passed a number of petitions on social issues, including one condemning “extreme and prejudicial (Word & Way 5/1/24) READ MORE>>>>>