🖥️ Time For A Reboot: The Start Of Something New 🔌

It’s time for a reboot. This edition of Weekend Plug-in marks the launch of something new.

Cult Raid Highlights Abuses Of African Apostolic Churches

No money, no phones, no school, no medicine — and no questions. This is what life was like in Canaan, the shrine of an African Apostolic faith church on the outskirts of Zimbabwe’s capital Harare, where police last month rescued hundreds of people — including more than 250 children — forced to believe they were prepared to depart for heaven.

Universities Directly Responsible For the Rise of Campus Antisemitism

(OPINION) It is not so much that our elite universities have allowed a spirit of vile Jew hatred to take root on their campuses. Instead, they have cultivated that very spirit, fueling its fires and finetuning its ideologies. The universities are complicit.

On Religion: Recalling Terry Anderson, Whose Faith Urged Him To Forgive

(ANALYSIS) During his 2,454 days in captivity — between strategic moves among 20 or more hiding places in Lebanon — journalist Terry Anderson was often allowed by Hezbollah leaders to read a Bible.

Analysis, ReligionTerry MattinglyApril 24, 2024Terry Anderson, journalism, Christianity, opinion, analysis, religion, news, Terry MattinglyComment

Before Trump Promoted A Bible, Truman Blessed One

(OPINION) When the National Council of Churches, an ecumenical group known for a more progressive approach to social policy, completed its Revised Standard Version of the Bible in 1952, it celebrated the text with a ceremony at the White House. NCC leaders gifted President Harry Truman the first printed copy, looking to gain publicity and credibility from the president.

Threat Or Myth?: The Unending Clamor Over Christian Nationalism

(ANALYSIS) Here are a few added observations to Religion Unplugged’s continued reporting this election year on vigorous agitation against “Christian Nationalism” as a threat to American democracy, with “White” often added to signal racial animus. This accompanies heavy breathing overall about fusing religion with politics in multiplied events, books, articles, Internet postings and broadcast punditry.

New Novel Explores The Mysteries Of Faith And The Loss Thereof

(REVIEW) Though “Eli Harpo’s Adventure to the Afterlife” author Eric Schlich comes to this tale from a different spiritual trajectory than mine — I’m a former skeptic turned Holy Roller preacher — I found myself caught up in Eli’s story. That’s partly the result of good plotting. By the end of each chapter, I had to see what would happen next.

Evangelical leaders Lobbied House Speaker For Israel And Ukraine Aid

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson heard from select evangelical leaders in a press call in advance of the chamber’s weekend passage of a $95 million foreign aid package. The U.S. must support Israel, Ukraine and other allies in a battle that threatens democracy and religious freedom beyond Europe and the Middle East, the leaders said.

Schism Over Social Issues: The United Methodist Church Has Been Here Before

(ANALYSIS) The United Methodist Church’s General Conference will meet in Charlotte, North Carolina from April 23 to May 4, 2024. Originally scheduled for 2020 and delayed three times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this meeting of the church’s legislative body comes at a critical time for the United States’ second-largest Protestant denomination.

Did We Miss the Sign Of Jesus’ Presence In The Eucharist?

(ANALYSIS) Like the crowd that followed Jesus, do we miss an important sign pointing to the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist? Maybe.

LifeWise Academy Teaching The Bible During Public School Days Grows Nationally

LifeWise Academy founder Joel Penton was on Bluetooth, driving a vibrant red and yellow school bus fashioned into a camper, heading from Ohio with his wife and five school-age children to the newest academy sites in Arkansas, Tennessee and Georgia.

Crossroads Podcast: What Do You Call People Who Won’t Defend Free Speech?

Actually, we do need to talk about terms like “liberal” and “conservative” since the struggle to define these kinds of journalism labels was the hook for this week’s “Crossroads” podcast.

Religion, AnalysisTerry MattinglyApril 19, 2024religion, free speech, journalism, podcast, analysis, Terry MattinglyComment

⛪︎ 5 Questions As Long-Awaited Methodist General Conference Starts Next Week 🔌

This week’s Weekend Plug-in tackles five questions related to the United Methodist Church’s long-awaited General Conference, which starts next week in Charlotte, North Carolina. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.

Proposed State Department Rules Could Limit Work Of Christian Groups

Christian ministries are raising concerns about a proposed addition to Department of State regulations that would limit the employment decisions of those accepting foreign assistance. The Accord Network, Samaritan’s Purse, Christian Legal Society and Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, and others, filed an official comment about the proposed changes.

Q&A With Author John Inazu On His New Book ‘Learning To Disagree’

Structured around an academic year of teaching law, the book explores monthly themes such as "Where is the Line Between Wrong and Evil?" and draws on experiences and legal case studies to discuss empathy in disagreement, trust across differences and challenging assumptions. The book is relevant for everyday community interactions during election years and beyond.

Books, Justice, North America, News, ReligionChelsea Langston BombinoApril 18, 2024Chelsea Langston Bombino, books, religion, religious freedomComment

Supreme Court Upholds Idaho Ban On Gender Transition Meds For Minors

A law criminalizing gender transition care for minors in Idaho can be applied while two anonymous teenage plaintiffs’ challenge to the law continues in court, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on April 15.

As India’s Elections Draw Near, Bollywood Mobilizes To Promote Hindu Nationalism

With nearly a dozen releases timed strategically around the electoral period, Indian cinema is amplifying Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party's Hindu nationalist political agenda. The slew of new films — ahead of the April 19 national elections — are helmed by major production houses that rely on storylines that overtly either promote Modi and his government’s policies or target rival politicians.

After A Sleepless Night, Israelis Anxiously Wonder ‘What Happens Next?’

Sunday is the start of the Israeli workweek, but schools and many government offices were closed for the day. This cosmopolitan city’s typically crowded light rail was sparse and remarkably silent, with the few passengers glued to their smartphones looking for answers nobody could seem to find.

Conflict, Israel, Jewish, Judaism, News, Religion, Middle East, Islam, PoliticsSusan GreeneApril 15, 2024Susan Greene, The Forward, Israel, Jews, Judasim, Hamas, Iran, news, Secondary featureComment

New Moses Docudrama Heavy On Entertainment, But Light On Scholarship

(REVIEW) The average religious viewer will likely also find little offensively objectionable in the portrayal of the Biblical story. They take the story, with its miracles and supernatural elements, as if they all really happened. The flaws in Moses’s character are all ones that come from the Biblical accounts.

What Might The Founding Fathers Say About Chaplains In Public Schools?

(OPINION) What did the Founding Fathers really believe about the role of religion in America? When Franklin, Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Madison appeared, they were trying to figure out what they believed personally about God even as they debated religion’s role in a fledgling nation. These guys didn’t fit into our 21st century boxes.

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