What intrigued Ma was that they weren’t trying to get people to agree with each other, but to respect each other, which is one of our nation’s biggest issues, especially in light of the upcoming presidential election. Initially, the filmmakers suggested assembling a group of multiple faith leaders from all over the country, but it was eventually changed so that all the participants lived in the same city.
Read MoreBattered by months of criticisms for controversial staff guidance on how to handle LGBTQ+ students, a major evangelical campus ministry is distancing itself from a controversial curriculum. Cru (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ) will be removing its “Compassionate and Faithful” curriculum by the end of the year, according to reporting by WORLD.
Read MoreOverwhelmingly, Americans think the moral values of the country are worsening. Around four in five U.S. adults (81 percent) say the state of moral values is getting worse, and only 14 percent say it’s getting better. That gives the future outlook a minus 67 score — down 24 points from 2002.
Read More(OPINION) Another presidential election is drawing nearer. This time around, the Democratic Party has put forward an even more radical pro-abortion, pro-LGBTQ+ activism candidate. In fact, Planned Parenthood is offering free vasectomies and abortions during the DNC in Chicago this week. Talk about sending a message.
Read MoreLet’s say that you know a teacher at a Catholic school that, when accepting this job, this person signed a contract in which he agreed to defend the doctrines detailed in the Catholic Catechism or, at the very least, not to oppose them in public. After several years of work, this teacher decided that gender is a social construct and that she was a woman trapped in a man’s body and began to transition into life as a woman. The school then declined to renew the teacher’s contract. Was that teacher canceled?
Read More(ANALYSIS) These debates raged on and on because few combatants could agree on what took place, in part because that scene in the opening ceremonies were quickly removed from the official Olympics YouTube and NBC Universal accounts.
Read MoreFallout from the “Last Supper” scene during the Opening Ceremony at the Paris Olympics spilled over into a second week after bishops from around the world — and even the Vatican — issued statements calling out the display as offensive to Christians everywhere. The Holy See said ir was “saddened” by the display, while others called on the IOC to “repudiate this blasphemous action.”
Read MoreA dance troupe performing at the Opening Ceremony of the Paris Olympics drew the ire of Christians around the world after they appeared to mock Jesus and the Last Supper. The festivities drew controversy when a group of performers — including drag queens — struck poses behind what looked like a long table.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The lavish over-use of capital letters in the 2024 Republican Party platform, set for approval at this week’s Milwaukee convention, demonstrates that this is wholly a Donald Trump production. So does the Trumpublicans’ softened stance on abortion, which has dominated the news coverage.
Read MoreDid everyone in the religious congregation of your choice have a good “Fidelity Month”? That’s a joke, of course. There were probably more churches in America that celebrated Pride Month than those that were aware that “Fidelity Month” even exists. And pride is where it’s at, when it comes to the principalities and powers of corporate America, Big Tech, Hollywood, mainstream newsrooms and the vast majority of our elected officials from sea to shining sea.
Read MoreAlmost a decade after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, most pastors remain opposed, and the supporting percentage isn’t growing. One in five Protestant pastors (21 percent) say they see nothing wrong with two people of the same gender getting married, according to a Lifeway Research study. Three in four (75 percent) are opposed, including 69 percent who strongly disagree.
Read MoreNo one was surprised when the embattled United Methodist Church — after decades of fighting about the Bible, salvation and sexuality — boldly steered onto a progressive course after the exit of 7,659 congregations in America's biggest church split since the Civil War. At least, no one should have been surprised.
Read More(ANALYSIS) While insiders grasped the symbolism of this interfaith affirmation, the news at this pandemic-delayed gathering focused, as expected, on biblical authority and sexuality. This General Conference urgently moved to modernize many UMC doctrines and laws after the exit of 7,659 congregations in America’s biggest church split since the Civil War.
Read More(ANALYSIS) This bitter divide resurfaced during the May 11 Benedictine College commencement speech by Harrison Butker, a three-time Super Bowl champion from the nearby Kansas City Chiefs. While remarks about women and family life dominated headlines, most of the placekicker's 20-minute address focused on divisions inside Catholicism.
Read MorePope Francis issued a rare apology on Tuesday after it was revealed that he had used a vulgar term for gay men when asked about the Catholic Church’s ban on homosexual priests entering seminaries. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni issued a statement acknowledging the comment made by the 87-year-old pontiff.
Read More(OPINION) In October 2007, I delivered a series of lectures on the subject of “Homosexuality, the Church, and Society.” The lectures were held at the Booth Playhouse in the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center in the heart of Charlotte, North Carolina, and they attracted considerable attention from the local media.
Read MoreHall’s new book — “Who’s Afraid of Christian Nationalism” — shines a light on the debate around Christian nationalism following the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol, which is often characterized by unfounded claims, lots of name-calling and plenty of fear-mongering. Here’s our interview with Hall on the origin of the term and what it all really means.
Read More(ANALYSIS) While drama with the United Methodist Church continues to develop, the sexuality spotlight shifts to America’s Presbyterian Church (U.S.A)., which has already approved gay clergy and marriage but is heading into a different sexuality fuss that carries some risk of another church split.
Read MoreFollowing decades of infighting, the United Methodist Church voted on a series of sweeping doctrinal changes, including repealing a ban on LGBTQ clergy and allowing for same-sex marriages. For the U.S.’s third-largest Protestant denomination, the changes represent a seismic shift and one that calls on fully embracing LGBTQ members in every aspect of church life.
Read MoreDaystar University, a Kenyan school whose academic programs started with a certificate course from Wheaton College and later rose to be a leader in the training of communicators in Africa, has been forced to defend its Christian identity after a Muslim member of parliament accused it of discriminatory practices.
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