Category: In The News!
Articles analyzing current events.
In the News: Nicer Than God?
On February 15, 2011 the Christian Chronicle noted on its blog that Texas Ranger baseball player Josh Hamilton had visited Lubbock Christian University on the previous day.
The blog entry contains a video, and text from the local newspaper, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. The title of the blog post is: At Lubbock Christian University, baseball star Josh Hamilton discusses his faith. The Journal reported that during the 90 minute conversation, “the main narrative thread of the evening was the Hamilton couple’s struggles with Josh Hamilton’s drug abuse and the couple’s Christian faith.” (http://tinyurl.com/47s3qh3)
In the News: Prejudice Against Christ
Jesus told his disciples in John 5:18, 20, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you…” 20 “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.”
In the last week there were two news releases that pointed out the hatred the world has for Jesus, (and God, cf. John 15:23). This hate is seen in reaction to those who purport to be his followers. (Note: I am not saying that their claim to be Christians is legitimate, only that they are perceived to be by the world).
In the News: Death Sentence for Blasphemy
(Image: 45 year old Asia Bibi of Pakistan)
Consider the unfairness of the following scenario. You are a single member of a minority religious group, working at your job as a farmhand in a field. You are asked by your supervisor to go and fetch water for the other workers. You do as asked, but when you bring the water, your fellow workers refuse to drink it, calling the water unclean because you are the one who fetched it. A few days later you are set upon by a mob, still angry over the initial incident. The authorities are called, and they take you away for your own protection. Later, some in the mob claim that you are guilty of blasphemy against their religion. So, the authorities arrest you, and imprison you on that charge. You go to court, and though no evidence is presented to show the charge is true, you are nevertheless found guilty and sentenced to death. You are married, and have five children.
Continue reading “In the News: Death Sentence for Blasphemy”
In the News: Mid-Term Elections
No doubt many of you voted in the mid-term elections on Tuesday. The day marked a pretty impressive political victory for the Republican party, which made significant gains in both houses of congress, in state legislatures, and in governorships across the nation.
It is not our place or purpose to comment on the election results. I have my opinions (and I feel free to posit them privately). However, there are a couple of thoughts that arise in observation of the events of the day. These thoughts have a spiritual application that is appropriate for this space.
In the News: Mother Earth? Or Jehovah?
On September 21, 2010 the web site Our Amazing Planet published an article which reported on a recent study by the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
Focusing on a particular location on the Red Sea, scientists have come to the conclusion that ideal storm conditions, consisting mainly of a strong east wind blowing at least 63 mph, could have reproduced the scenario described in Exodus 14. The text says:
In the News: Adult Services?
Craigslist is a free ad listing service on the internet. It is similar to the free Thrifty Nickle newspaper, but it costs nothing to list a sale item, and it has become a popular way to buy, sell and trade.
Craigslist also has what it calls the “Adult Services” section. Here people can advertise massages, escort services, and other euphemisms of what is sometimes a solicitation of prostitution. As such, the service has come under legal scrutiny, and after various threats, Craigslist has shut down that part of its site.
In the News: Church Camp?
The Christian Chronicle is a newspaper that reports on events and activities among institutional churches of Christ. Though it claims not to be, it is also an instrument of digression, often reporting favorably or editorializing upon practices and doctrine without Biblical authority.
One example of this is the editorial in the September 2010 edition of the paper, titled “Church camp: An idea worth exploring” (page 30). The editorial relates the large number of letters that had come in, in response to a the Chronicle’s request that readers share their “favorite church camp memories.”
In the News: Queen of Vampires No Longer a Christian
NEW YORK – Anne Rice has had a religious conversion: She’s no longer a Christian.
“In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control,” the author wrote Wednesday on her Facebook page. “In the name of … Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen.”
Rice, 68, is best known for “Interview With a Vampire” and other gothic novels. Raised as a Catholic, she had rejected the church early in her life but renewed her faith in recent years and in 2008 released the memoir “Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession.”
Hillel Italie
Associated Press
Continue reading “In the News: Queen of Vampires No Longer a Christian”
In the News: Modesty Survey
I recently came across a survey on the internet, designed to ascertain what guys believe to be modest and immodest dress and behavior for girls. The survey is skewed by two things: 1) Respondents were primarily teenagers and young adult males; and, 2) Respondents were conservative in their religious views.
This bias is understandable, as the poll was designed unscientifically, and sponsored by a religious group called The Rebelution (1 Timothy 4:12, a teenage rebellion against low expectations).
The survey is subjective, asking guys whether they Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Are Neutral, Agree, or Strongly Agree with statements about issues of modesty for girls. The results are interesting, and young people are encouraged to visit the site with their parents. There will be ample opportunity for discussion as you read the results. The site URL is: www.therebelution.com/modestysurvey/browse
In the News: Flavor of the Day
For the last several weeks many Americans have been a bit distracted by the 2010 World’s Cup soccer tournament. It happens every four years, and for that period of time, some (not all) Americans suddenly become interested in the “other” sport of football.
Alas, the American team was defeated in the round of sixteen last week, and the ardor that accompanied the United State’s early success has largely cooled. Soccer is just not that interesting to Americans in general, in contrast to the fanatical love of the game that exists in other parts of the world.
In the News: Gluttony and the Last Supper
The last supper that Jesus took with his disciples before his betrayal has long been a favorite subject of artists. Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting of the event is a classic, prints of which hang in homes and grace the pages of many Bibles. It is only one of thousands of paintings on the subject that have been completed in the past 1,000 or so years.
Recently researchers took 52 of those paintings, and did an interesting thing. They analyzed the size of the plates and food portrayed in the paintings, to see if it would cast any light on the change in eating habits over the past millenium.
Continue reading “In the News: Gluttony and the Last Supper”
In the News: Lutheran Leader Drives Drunk
Last Tuesday Reuters reported that the head of the Lutheran Church in Germany, Margot Kaessmann, 51, the Lutheran Bishop of Hanover, was cited for running a red light while driving under the influence of alcohol. A state prosecutor told the German Newspaper Bild that Kaessmann had a blood alcohol level that was three times the legal limit. She is under investigation, and could lose her driver’s license for a year.
The Reuters article also noted that Kaessmann was a controversial choice to head the Lutheran church, because she had had a divorce.
(Protestant Leader Regrets Driving Drunk, 2/23/10, Christopher Lawton)
Continue reading “In the News: Lutheran Leader Drives Drunk”
In the News: Olympian Promiscuity
One of the definitions of the term olympian is “surpassing all others in scope and effect” (American Heritage Dictionary). This definition certainly applies to the sexual appetites of the athletes in the Olympic Village this week in Vancouver. Continuing the trend of recent Olympiads in Sydney (70,000) and Beijing (100,000), Canadian officials ordered and distributed 100,000 condoms to athletes for the Vancouver Olympics. That averages to 14 for each athlete.
In explaining the hedonism of the Olympic athletes, former Olympic skier Picabo Street said, “It’s hundreds of auras, which does lead to a huge movement of energy. It’s not normal, resting energy. It’s jacked-up, hyped-up, on-the-brink-of-my-dream-coming-true, got-to-get-it, got-to-do-it energy, and it’s there all the time.”
In the News: New Orleans – Super City
It’s Superbowl Sunday and for the first time in the history of the franchise, the New Orleans Saints will be playing for the NFL Championship. The game has been referred to time and again as a needed balm as the city of New Orleans continues its recovery from hurricane Katrina in August 2005.
New Orleans is a city of sin. It is a party city, with its famous Bourbon Street in the French Quarter, and the Mardi Gras celebration. It is a mixture of French decadence, Southern hospitality, voodoo, narcissism and Roman Catholicism. Mardi Gras is an interesting example of these influences. The word Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday, referencing the common Catholic practice of eating rich and fatty foods in the days before the fasting of the Lenten Season, starting with Ash Wednesday.
In The News: Christianity? Or Buddhism?
Last week, FOX news anchor Brit Hume became the center of controversy when he suggested that Tiger Woods leave his Buddhist faith, and convert to Christianity to deal with his multiple infidelities.
“I don’t think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith,” Hume said. “So my message to Tiger would be, ‘Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.’”
These statements, of course, angered Buddhists, who suggest that Hume is ignorant of the 2,500 year old Eastern religion.
