Posts tagged Terry Mattingly
Crossroads Podcast: A Must-Read Look At Pro-Life Work During Trump 2.0

Soon after becoming president, Democrat Jimmy Carter signed the Hyde Amendment into law — barring the use of federal funds for abortions, except in cases of rape or incest, or when the life of the mother is at stake. When the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris administration attempted to kill the Hyde Amendment, a small — but symbolic — group of Democrats appealed to the elderly Carter for help.

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On Religion: What Would Happen If Churches Had Phone-Free Services?

(ANALYSIS) Maybe churches should consider a strategic change in their worship plans, said the Rev. Russell Moore in a podcast conversation with Jonathan Haidt, author of the bestseller “The Anxious Generation” and the Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University. Check out Part 1 of 2 of Terry Mattingly’s latest “On Religion” column.

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Crossroads Podcast: What Changed With Trump’s Religion Numbers This Time?

As I watched Tuesday’s returns roll in, I kept noticing that much of the “news” in the 2024 election was actually old news for people who have been following the “Crossroads” podcast for the past decade.

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On Religion: Who Did Hell Endorse In This Year’s Election?

(ANALYSIS) Forget the opinions of newspaper czars. The question many voters needed to know in this feverish White House race was simple: Who did Hell endorse? Writing in the style of “The Screwtape Letters” by Christian apologist C.S. Lewis (in which a veteran tempter lectures lesser demons), Dominick Baruffi didn't answer the question.

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On Religion: Why Media Maven Bob Briner Remains Relevant

(ANALYSIS) Decades later, it’s hard to remember how much “Chariots of Fire” shocked the Hollywood establishment, with soaring box-office totals and four wins at the 1982 Oscars — including a Best Picture win for producer David Puttnam. The film’s focus on two legendary runners — one Christian and the other Jewish — also pleased believers who rarely applaud how faith is handled on screen.

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Crossroads Podcast: Harris’ Hot Words In Response To ‘Jesus Is Lord’

Once upon a time, a MAGA-hat adorned teen at the annual March for Life — Nicholas Sandmann, by name — offered an enigmatic smile while a Native American activist pounded a drum in his face. Mainstream journalists were certain that this Donald Trump-era incident was a big news story and used oceans of digital ink while covering it.

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On Religion: When A Doritos Meme Turns Into A Clash About Holy Communion

(ANALYSIS) In her campaign against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump — whose 2016 victory angered her — the Harris team has used Doritos as a symbol of the feisty, combative side of the vice president’s personality.

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Crossroads Podcast: Is it ‘News’ That Many Religious Voters May Stay Home?

If an editor wanted to craft a headline that would ignite the telephone switchboards for conservative and Christian talk shows, this would probably be it: “Study says 32 million Christians likely not to vote.”

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On Religion: An ‘Old News’ Protestant Voting Mashup For The Election

(ANALYSIS) It was the rare Trump quote that caused groans as it rocketed through conservative media. But this soundbite came from an upcoming memoir from former first lady Melania Trump: “Why should anyone other than the woman herself have the power to determine what she does with her own body? A woman's fundamental right of individual liberty, to her own life, grants her the authority to terminate her pregnancy.”

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Crossroads Podcast: Dallas Super Pastors Behaving Badly

Anyone who has been paying attention to religion news has heard of the “Nones” — the “religiously unaffiliated” people who have little or no connection to any form of institutional religion. Then there are “Nons,” the term that religion-data expert Ryan Burge has pinned on the other big trend (“The Future of American Christianity is Non-Denominational”) that is reshaping the religion marketplace.

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Concerning Another Hurricane Of Media-Bias Chatter

(ANALYSIS) One of the realities of being a journalist of a “certain age” is constantly hearing people ask, in digital and analog contacts, questions that sound like this: “What do you think of (insert a trend in the modern world or a specific event in news or entertainment)?”

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Why Mountain People Live (And Worship) Near Rivers

(ANALYSIS) I thought the Google Maps website could provide me with crucial information for this post. Alas, that was not the case. I thought that I could call up a map of Burnsville, North Carolina, and then, after enlarging it, I would be able to count all the Baptist churches between I-26 near Mars Hill and Burnsville on U.S. Highway 19 — but very few of them showed up.

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Crossroads Podcast: Yes, People Of Faith Make Real News After Disasters

Several decades ago, talented news-feature writers began using an interesting writing technique to offer readers doors into complex, often overwhelming stories. The theory went something like this: Don’t tell me a story about 100,000 people — tell me a story about one person who represents those 100,000 people. 

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On Religion: Sadly, Churches Divided By Doctrine Are Going To Split

(ANALYSIS) After decades of progressive dissent, the leaders of the Christian Reformed Church in America finally took a firm stand against the Sexual Revolution. Not only did the 2022 CRC Synod, voting 123-53, condemn “adultery, premarital sex, extra-marital sex, polyamory, pornography and homosexual sex,” it added the small, but influential, denomination's long-standing teachings on these moral issues to its declaration of faith.

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