(OPINION) What happens with Pentecostalism today affects nearly everybody on Earth, not only spiritually but politically. Scholars and journalists usually point to the landmark 1906 Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles as the birth of Pentecostalism. That revival introduced long-dormant gifts of the Holy Spirit written about in the New Testament — including prophecy, healing and speaking in tongues — to contemporary Christianity.
Read More(OPINION) As Christians, we’re told to make our petitions known to God. That is, we’re to pray for ourselves and others, and to do so specifically. We can ask for wisdom, or healing, or financial relief, or the protection of our children and friends, or for a thousand other things. There’s nothing wrong with that and nothing selfish about it.
Read More(OPINION) After the Christmas season and before Lent, Orthodox priests have — for centuries — rushed to visit church members’ homes to bless them with prayers and splashes of holy water flung about with a foot-long brush or handfuls of basil.
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