Are Sci-Fi Hits Like ‘Rebel Moon’ Faith-Based Films?

(ANALYSIS) There is something profoundly different about how sci-fi and fantasy movies deal with faith and religion and how traditionally “faith-based” films do. And that is, quite obviously, when you think about it, that these movies treat faith like fiction and fantasy, whereas faith-based fiction treats it as fact. It’s the same as how comic books like Superman treat aliens as “real” in their stories, but no one would actually pretend that these comics are making any truth claims about the existence of aliens.

Religion, Entertainment, NewsJoseph HolmesApril 29, 2024Joseph Holmes, Dune, Rebel Moon, sci-fi, films and TV, faith-based films, religion, news, Primary featureComment

Manufacturing Communal Violence In India: Fact Or Fiction?

Mohammed Soheb is a farmer in the northern Haryana state’s Nuh district, India’s least developed region. With a majority Muslim population, Nuh had been known for Hindu-Muslim harmony until July 2023, when a nine-day spate of communal violence disrupted that harmony. The unrest seemed to fit a pattern often seen in Hindu-Muslim relations in India.

Asia, hinduism, Islam, News, Politics, Religion, SocietyHarshita RathoreApril 29, 2024Harshita Rathore, India, religion, Islam, Hinduism, Hindus, Muslims, news, Secondary featureComment

A Vision When I Was Young Set The Course For My Spiritual Journey Ever Since

(OPINION) During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when we were all locked down, I suddenly had enormous stretches of time on my hands. I did a lot of reading. One thing I learned from all that reading was that I am, apparently, a jackleg Christian mystic.

Opinion, ReligionPaul PratherApril 27, 2024Paul Prather, opinion, religionComment

Crossroads Podcast: How The Bible Sustained Terry Anderson While In Captivity

Obituaries are hard to write. When a reporter tries to describe a complex person, who has lived a complex life, it’s rather like trying to write a biography in 700 to 1,000 words. In the end, you have to make choices about which facts and themes to stress.

Christianity, ReligionTerry MattinglyApril 26, 2024podcast, journalism, Terry Anderson, religion, Christiianity, Terry MattinglyComment

🖥️ Time For A Reboot: The Start Of Something New 🔌

It’s time for a reboot. This edition of Weekend Plug-in marks the launch of something new.

Cult Raid Highlights Abuses Of African Apostolic Churches

No money, no phones, no school, no medicine — and no questions. This is what life was like in Canaan, the shrine of an African Apostolic faith church on the outskirts of Zimbabwe’s capital Harare, where police last month rescued hundreds of people — including more than 250 children — forced to believe they were prepared to depart for heaven.

Universities Directly Responsible For the Rise of Campus Antisemitism

(OPINION) It is not so much that our elite universities have allowed a spirit of vile Jew hatred to take root on their campuses. Instead, they have cultivated that very spirit, fueling its fires and finetuning its ideologies. The universities are complicit.

On Religion: Recalling Terry Anderson, Whose Faith Urged Him To Forgive

(ANALYSIS) During his 2,454 days in captivity — between strategic moves among 20 or more hiding places in Lebanon — journalist Terry Anderson was often allowed by Hezbollah leaders to read a Bible.

Analysis, ReligionTerry MattinglyApril 24, 2024Terry Anderson, journalism, Christianity, opinion, analysis, religion, news, Terry MattinglyComment

Before Trump Promoted A Bible, Truman Blessed One

(OPINION) When the National Council of Churches, an ecumenical group known for a more progressive approach to social policy, completed its Revised Standard Version of the Bible in 1952, it celebrated the text with a ceremony at the White House. NCC leaders gifted President Harry Truman the first printed copy, looking to gain publicity and credibility from the president.

Threat Or Myth?: The Unending Clamor Over Christian Nationalism

(ANALYSIS) Here are a few added observations to Religion Unplugged’s continued reporting this election year on vigorous agitation against “Christian Nationalism” as a threat to American democracy, with “White” often added to signal racial animus. This accompanies heavy breathing overall about fusing religion with politics in multiplied events, books, articles, Internet postings and broadcast punditry.

New Novel Explores The Mysteries Of Faith And The Loss Thereof

(REVIEW) Though “Eli Harpo’s Adventure to the Afterlife” author Eric Schlich comes to this tale from a different spiritual trajectory than mine — I’m a former skeptic turned Holy Roller preacher — I found myself caught up in Eli’s story. That’s partly the result of good plotting. By the end of each chapter, I had to see what would happen next.

Evangelical leaders Lobbied House Speaker For Israel And Ukraine Aid

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson heard from select evangelical leaders in a press call in advance of the chamber’s weekend passage of a $95 million foreign aid package. The U.S. must support Israel, Ukraine and other allies in a battle that threatens democracy and religious freedom beyond Europe and the Middle East, the leaders said.

Schism Over Social Issues: The United Methodist Church Has Been Here Before

(ANALYSIS) The United Methodist Church’s General Conference will meet in Charlotte, North Carolina from April 23 to May 4, 2024. Originally scheduled for 2020 and delayed three times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this meeting of the church’s legislative body comes at a critical time for the United States’ second-largest Protestant denomination.

LifeWise Academy Teaching The Bible During Public School Days Grows Nationally

LifeWise Academy founder Joel Penton was on Bluetooth, driving a vibrant red and yellow school bus fashioned into a camper, heading from Ohio with his wife and five school-age children to the newest academy sites in Arkansas, Tennessee and Georgia.

Crossroads Podcast: What Do You Call People Who Won’t Defend Free Speech?

Actually, we do need to talk about terms like “liberal” and “conservative” since the struggle to define these kinds of journalism labels was the hook for this week’s “Crossroads” podcast.

Religion, AnalysisTerry MattinglyApril 19, 2024religion, free speech, journalism, podcast, analysis, Terry MattinglyComment

⛪︎ 5 Questions As Long-Awaited Methodist General Conference Starts Next Week 🔌

This week’s Weekend Plug-in tackles five questions related to the United Methodist Church’s long-awaited General Conference, which starts next week in Charlotte, North Carolina. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.

Proposed State Department Rules Could Limit Work Of Christian Groups

Christian ministries are raising concerns about a proposed addition to Department of State regulations that would limit the employment decisions of those accepting foreign assistance. The Accord Network, Samaritan’s Purse, Christian Legal Society and Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, and others, filed an official comment about the proposed changes.

Q&A With Author John Inazu On His New Book ‘Learning To Disagree’

Structured around an academic year of teaching law, the book explores monthly themes such as "Where is the Line Between Wrong and Evil?" and draws on experiences and legal case studies to discuss empathy in disagreement, trust across differences and challenging assumptions. The book is relevant for everyday community interactions during election years and beyond.

Books, Justice, North America, News, ReligionChelsea Langston BombinoApril 18, 2024Chelsea Langston Bombino, books, religion, religious freedomComment

Supreme Court Upholds Idaho Ban On Gender Transition Meds For Minors

A law criminalizing gender transition care for minors in Idaho can be applied while two anonymous teenage plaintiffs’ challenge to the law continues in court, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on April 15.

As India’s Elections Draw Near, Bollywood Mobilizes To Promote Hindu Nationalism

With nearly a dozen releases timed strategically around the electoral period, Indian cinema is amplifying Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party's Hindu nationalist political agenda. The slew of new films — ahead of the April 19 national elections — are helmed by major production houses that rely on storylines that overtly either promote Modi and his government’s policies or target rival politicians.

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