In “Soul by Soul: The Evangelical Mission to Spread the Gospel to Muslims” Adriana Carranca follows the pilgrimage of a missionary family from Brazil as they move to Afghanistan. Carranca brings us on a harrowing journey through the underground passages of the global evangelical movement as it clashes with militant Islamic groups. What follows is an excerpt from Carranca’s new book.
Read MoreAn estimated 25 percent to half of the 900 to 1,000 Christians who lived in Gaza before the war have fled, and that an additional 25 percent are applying to leave. Israel’s occupation of the Rafah border crossing threatens safe passage to Egypt. Thousands of displaced Palestinians are fleeing Rafah for Deir el-Balah about 12 miles north and were straining a scant supply of fresh water.
Read MoreNeighborly Faith — a group that helps evangelicals build stronger relationships with other religious groups — studied academic publications addressing this issue and created a detailed, 14-point compromise definition stating, in part: “Christian Nationalism is a movement advancing a vision of America's past, present, and future that excludes people of non-Christian religions and non-Western cultures. Christian Nationalists romanticize Christianity's influence on America's development, attributing the nation's historical provenance to God's special favor.”
Read MoreNeary 50 Christians have been killed in a series of militant attacks on villages in Benue, Plateau and Kaduna states in late April through early May, with dozens more wounded and displaced, according to news reports. Militant Fulani killed six Christians in southern Kaduna on May 5 in the latest in a series of attacks.
Read MoreTurkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reopened an iconic Byzantine church in Istanbul as a mosque on Monday, four years after his government had designated it an Islamic house of worship. Despite criticism from Christians around the world, Turkey formally converted Chora Church into a mosque after it had turned Istanbul’s landmark Hagia Sophia into a Muslim prayer space.
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 More(OPINION) Lately, though, I’ve unaccountably become flappable, prone to crippling attacks of anxiety even when there’s nothing to be anxious about. This is new, disconcerting and mysterious. I’m not under any unusual stress, so I suspect this anxiety must be the result of some chemical shift taking place in my brain as I age.
Read MoreSometimes a baseball game is about more than a baseball game. That was J.C. Bailey III’s thinking when he invited a group of North Texas ministers to enjoy a Texas Rangers game from his law firm’s suite. Fans who pay attention to the advertising along the Rangers’ home run wall at Globe Life Field might recognize the name Bailey & Galyen.
Read More(OPINION) According to a growing number of Christian conservatives, including Tucker Carlson, Charlie Kirk, and Andrew Torba (CEO of GAB), the new House bill opposing antisemitism actually outlaws quoting parts of the New Testament? Is this true? Kirk, a strong supporter of Israel, asked, “Did the House of Representatives just make parts of the Bible illegal?”
Read MoreThe Arizona Legislature repealed on May 1 an 1864 abortion ban that would have protected life from conception, but the law could still take effect temporarily during a 90-day waiting period for the repeal to become law. In Florida, meanwhile, a six-week abortion ban became law.
Read More(OPINION) In fact, my strong hunch is that these “under the radar” Christian boarding or reform schools will prove to be the next chapter in the ever-present, still burgeoning clergy abuse crisis. And those of us who’ve long supported such survivors will be called upon again to offer sympathy, consolation and guidance to hundreds of mostly invisible victims who have been violated in circumstances even more extreme than the ones in which we were abused.
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 MoreNo doubt about it. Quite a few students up north are taking their talents, and tuition dollars, to Southern states. For a conservative take on the statistics, see this Daily Mail piece: “Why college kids are abandoning Ivy Leagues to go to Southern schools.”
Read MoreMadagascar, the world’s fourth-largest island, is renowned for its beautiful avenues of baobab trees and its most famous, wide-eyed resident, the ring-tailed lemur. The island — 250 miles east of southern Africa — is also “one of the most underrated surfing destinations in the world.” Madagascar’s southwest Toliara region has 12 sites that the website designates as “world-class” for catching waves.
Read MoreIf by any chance the Catholic Church and the Ecumenical Patriarchate do reach an agreement on a common date for Easter, this would create a tectonic shift in the Orthodox world. Such a move would deepen the ongoing Orthodox rift between Constantinople and Moscow, potentially creating a series of schisms within local Orthodox churches (similar to what happened in the 1920s with the Greek and Romanian churches).
Read More“Kumbaya,” the Negro spiritual pleading with the Lord to come and bless the oppressed, filled the sanctuary of Parkridge Baptist Church at a prayer service for Haiti. The gathering of pastors cried out to God for help hours after a transitional council began establishing order two months after gangs overtook the capital Port-Au-Prince.
Read More(REVIEW) “Wildcat” is the perfect film for any Christian who loves or is involved in the arts and wishes to see their experiences deftly portrayed in the unique language of film. This movie gives hope that the actual inner lives and beliefs of believers can live up to their potential within this medium and provide at least one model of how to do so.
Read MoreIn her new book “Motorhome Prophecies,” Carrie Sheffield writes about growing up as the fifth of eight children with a violent and mentally ill street musician father who believed he was a modern-day Mormon prophet destined to someday become U.S. president. She and her siblings were forced to live as vagabonds, constantly moving across the country. Here’s what else she had to say about her life and faith.
Read More(ANALYSIS) A new report offers another data point in the abiding struggle between Christianity and culture, suggesting further changes ahead if these trends continue. With fewer people consulting the Bible for spiritual growth or guidance in their daily decisions, societal norms once influenced by Scripture are evolving into an array of moral perspectives, many of which are incompatible with its teachings.
Read More(ANALYSIS) “Father Justin,” a 3D AI character created by the San Diego-based Catholic Answers network, offered biblical advice for wrestling with anger. That’s when legions of cyberspace believers pounced.
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