Posts in Religion
📺 The Legacy Of Pat Robertson, Televangelist Known For Mixing Religion And Politics 🔌

This week’s Weekend Plug-in covers the death of Pat Robertson at age 93. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.

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Some Notes On The Great Southern California Mass Baptism of 2023

(ANALYSIS) On the Sunday before Memorial Day, which was also the day of Pentecost, Christians inspired by “Jesus Revolution” decided that they ought to do a mass baptism at Pirates Cove, the same place a lot of the baptisms had taken place in the Jesus movement 50 years before.

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The Disturbing Truth: Illinois Bishops Still Hiding Child-Molesting Clergy

(OPINION) Haven’t bishops — in Illinois and across the U.S. — learned that despite the best efforts of their high-priced lawyers and public relations professionals, victims are becoming increasingly empowered, civil attorneys are becoming more aggressive and creative, law enforcement is becoming more determined, and those who commit and conceal assaults on children are becoming “outed” more and more?

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Fighting for Peace: Russians Use Faith to Protest Invasion of Ukraine Despite Risks

Eduard Charov criticized Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on social media, asking, “Would Jesus Christ have gone to kill in Ukraine?” The FSB alerted the Prosecutor's Office. A Sverdlovsk Region court fined him for “discrediting” the Armed Forces and “inciting hatred” towards state authorities.

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IRFBA’s Bold Statement Addresses Rising Christian Persecution Worldwide

(ANALYSIS) The International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance (IRFBA) earlier this month released a significant statement on the current worldwide persecution of Christians. It’s essence: Religious freedom is still comparatively neglected as a human right, and the ongoing persecution of Christians is relatively unknown.

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✡️ Tree Of Life Synagogue Massacre: Fear And Heroism Recounted At Death Penalty Trial 🔌

This week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights testimony in the death penalty trial in the Tree of Life synagogue massacre. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.

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The Past Is Dead? Time For News Analysis Of America's Scrambled Protestant Marketplace

(OPINION) Starting with a band of Anglicans landing at Jamestown in 1607 and then Pilgrim dissenters at Plymouth in 1620, various forms of Protestantism collectively dominated what became the United States. But the Religious Landscape Study from the Pew Research Center tells us the U.S. population is now only 46.6% Protestant.

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Religious Liter-AI-cy Part 2: An Interview With Alexa, Amazon’s AI

(Religious Liter-AI-cy): In comparison with Siri, Alexa’s answers were very winsome and detail oriented. She elaborates more on the answers to the questions asked, often without making a reference to a specific web source, making the interview more seamless and in depth. Alexa seems more intelligent and, dare I say, personal.

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Inside The Treasure Of San Gennaro: Unveiling The Secrets Of Naples’ Religious Relics

One of the most majestic displays of religious art a visitor can find in Naples — if not anywhere in the Catholic world — is known as the “Treasure of San Gennaro.” Located in Naples’ historic city center (which is also famous for artisans and nativity scenes), the area has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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🐘 What We Know About The Faith Of The Two Latest GOP Presidential Candidates 🔌

This week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights the faith of the two newest candidates to declare for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.

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➗ Who’s In? Who’s Out? The Latest On The Baptist And Methodist Doctrinal Divides 🔌

This week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights the ongoing battles over who’s in — and who’s out — among Southern Baptists and United Methodists. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.

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How The Italian Press Covers The Vatican And Pope Francis

(ANALYSIS) There’s nothing like walking down Via della Conciliazione in Rome. It’s a very long street, bustling with cars and tourists, that feeds into St. Peter’s Square. It’s a reminder of how imposing the Vatican can be, at least physically, in an increasingly secular West. Italy, however, remains a Catholic nation, at least culturally, with reminders everywhere.

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Pakistan Encroaches On International Ahmadi Web Site Content

(ANALYSIS) Since 2008, the PTA has repeatedly banned or taken steps to ban online Ahmadi content inside Pakistan. However, the PTA has now extended its efforts to block or remove content that is hosted outside of Pakistan in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Singapore and Switzerland.

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🚨 Another Week, Another Mass Shooting In America: Have We Had Enough? 🔌

This week’s Weekend Plug-in covers God, guns and other faith angles after the mass shooting at a shopping mall in Allen, Texas. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.

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What One Man Learned About Religion Visiting Every Country in the World

From Addis Ababa to Tehran, Daniel Herszberg visited synagogues, schools, cemeteries and Sabbath services in hospitable homes. In Suriname and Poland, in Pakistan and Sudan, Barbados and Brazil, Herszberg not only discovered cherished archives and legacies but connected with locals who shared their stories — both lived and long forgotten. In some instances, he was the first person to have visited Jewish heritage sites in decades.

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Anglicans Begin The Long Anticipated Divorce Over Same Sex Unions, Ordination of Gays

“We are now going to have two Communions of Anglicans going forward, the Global South Anglicans who are keeping to the teachings of the scripture and the Global North Anglicans who are preaching and practicing a watered-down gospel,” said the Rev. Tom Otieno, the vicar of Saint Barnabas Anglican Church of Kenya in Nairobi.

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👑 Faith And The Coronation Of King Charles III: What To Know About A Changing Britain🔌

This week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights the role of faith in the coronation of King Charles III. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.

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Did The Election of Donald Trump Drive People from the Pews?

(ANALYSIS) There is no doubt in my mind that politics is one of the main culprits for the emptying out of American religion. That was my starting point for this piece. What follows is a peek inside how I think through a problem like that.

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Global South Anglicans Start Cutting Ties With Canterbury (Part 1)

(OPINION) The archbishop of Canterbury is attempting a classic Anglican maneuver in which the words of core doctrines remain unchanged, but bishops have the option to offer local pastoral policies that change what doctrines mean in real life, according to Gavin Ashenden, a former Anglican chaplain to the late Queen Elizabeth II.

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