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POPSFuneral no time for "altar call" " A: The “altar call” is one of the most distinctive and controversial elements of evangelical Christianity. It was “invented” about 150 years ago by American evangelist Charles Finney and popularized by Dwight Moody and especially Billy Graham. The people who come to the altar say a sinner’s prayer and accept Jesus as their Lord and savior."
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POPSChristianity Today on torture David Gushee for the evangelical Christian magazine Christianity Today on five theological grounds for the unequivocal and universal condemnation of torture by Christians, and why, from a Christian perspective, no exceptional circumstances can ever justify the use of torture. From February 2006.
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POPSReligion Begets Prejudice .... Today it is from this same part of America, the most overtly religious part, that most of the hostility toward equality in the pursuit of justice for gay and lesbian people comes. The question that should be asked is: What is there about religion in general and Christianity in particular that continues to fuel the prejudices of our day?
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POPSMcCain Doesn't Have a Prayer McCain is not an evangelical Christian. Is this the end of the alliance between the Christian right and neocons? Matt Taibbi at his best.
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POPSThe church was hijacked by Christianist Cultist. My personal orientation in such matters is that the original teacher of what became Christianity would laugh derisively at expressions of Temple worship and personalization that pass for expressions of piety. My evangelical friends who had previously scoffed at my views have now come into congruency with my non-theistic beatitude oriented view.
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POPSPassion Fest 2008, Pottstown, PA (July 19) I'm seriously thinking about going to this. Out of curiousity, really. My understanding is that it has a heavily evangelical, proselytizing flavor, but that isn't really indicated by the website.
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POPSWorse Than Fascists: Christian Political Group 'The Family' Openly Reveres Hitler
Jeff Sharlet: It's an international network of evangelical activists in government, military and business. The Family is dedicated to this idea that Christianity has gotten it all wrong for two thousand years by focusing on the poor, the suffering and the weak. The Family says that instead, what Christians should do is minister to the up-and-out -- as opposed to the down-and-out -- to those that are already powerful. Because if they can win those people for Christ, they win the whole deal. That's what this network is dedicated to. It includes nonprofit organizations, it includes think tanks, it includes various ministries. The roster of current and former Family members includes senators, congressmen, Fortune 500 CEOs, generals and at least one Supreme Court justice. The Family does not publish membership lists, and its members are sworn to secrecy, so a full accounting is impossible. Sen. Hillary Clinton has been involved with the Family since 1993 when, as first lady, she join
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POPSThe Jew Problem Let's see how many people click on that title! I hope I have your attention now, because this is important! Some politically active Jews, although certainly passionate, often have trouble telling friend from foe. The belief among Jews that the Christian Fundamentalist Evangelical community is a friend is a big mistake. Some worry that Obama is part of the nation of Islam, or Palestinian, or that he won't help Israel. But they think the GOP will. But what is the Christian Right's agenda in helping Israel? Clearly, right-wing evangelical fundamentalists like Hagee have no tenderness or fondness for Jews. They believe Israel is simply a part of God's ultimate plan leading to the apocalypse. Although they support the Jews returning to Israel, they also believe it is Biblical prophecy that there will be continuous warfare, so they don't support peace, but an Israel besieged. Many believe this is the prelude to the final destruction of the Jews by a wrathful God.
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POPSObama's Very Close With Racist Preacher Rev.Wright In light of the criticism of Bush’s injecting “too much religion” in his presidency or that his administration is just like a ”Christian Taliban”, it is also a legitimate question to ask, where are those same accusers when this 2007 speech by Barack Obama is so filled with religious fervor? Where are the anti-religious left and the so-called separation of Church and Staters at now? In fact, this entire speech is filled with nothing but class warfare, expansions of social programs, raising the minimum wage, typical great society type junk all couched squarely as a civic responsibility enmeshed with Obama's view of Biblical precepts. But, that boiler plate aside, there was two very interesting segments in Obama's remarks concerning his racist "spiritual mentor," Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Jr. that are not getting the press it deserves. (See the video at Channel 2 News Chicago) http://cbs2chicago.com/video/?id=33004@wbbm.dayport.com
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POPS'My Heart is in Gaza' I wondered how the Arab Christians were managing in Gaza and the West Bank. One thing for sure, there's no *pretend* Christians there.
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POPSTheocracy Rejected: Former Christian Right Leaders 'Fess up
About 30 years ago, a young lawyer named John W. Whitehead worked alongside people like Jerry Falwell to help birth the Religious Right. Hoping to give the movement an intellectual grounding, Whitehead penned a series of books attacking the separation of church and state and demanding a government based on Christian fundamentalism. Whitehead's books -- The Separation Illusion, The Second American Revolution and The Stealing of America -- made him a popular figure in Religious Right circles. Whitehead repudiated theocracy years ago. It's unlikely he'd be welcome at a CNP meeting now. "Politics," he said in a recent interview, "would never even figure into Jesus' mind. He was a homeless person. He was like Gandhi. It wasn't in the picture. Christianity was not founded on politics. It was founded on helping the less fortunate .... That's how you impact culture." Schaeffer and Whitehead are two high-profile Religious Right apostates, but they aren't the only ones.
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POPSThe unexpected monks We've been talkibng about having a synchroblog on the new monasticism, and suddenly it seems to be popping up all over the place. Hat-tip to Paul Grabill for this link.
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POPSChurch Must Change or Die The traditional church always fights every new intellectual insight, making it difficult for educated people not to stray. Recall the fate of Galileo in the 17th Century. Observe how the church still fights Darwin with such silly things as intelligent design. Look at the present debate in the church over homosexuality in which people use a definition of homosexuality that is no longer saluted anywhere in scientific or medical circles upon which to justify their prejudice. When knowledge collides with traditional faith change is inevitable. I welcome it and if the church cannot engage this intellectually driven change, then it probably should die.
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POPSJesus's Christmas letter Found this on an evangelical website. At first, I have to admit, I thought it was a parody, but I don't think it is. Incidentally, the "X" in "X-mas" is a chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word Christos. Early Christians used the Chi-Rho (which looks like an X and a P superimposed on one another, also known as "the monogram of Christ") as a symbol for Christ, and the so-called "Jesus fish" is based on the acronym iota-chi-theta-upsion-sigma (for "Iesous Christos Theou Huios Soter," or "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior").
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POPSHoly Fools Frank Schaeffer's book about his evangelical upbringing and his father's legacy.
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POPSThey aren't Conservatives, they are Authoritarians Which is the point to sociologist Altmeyer's book, who has been researching authoritarianism for thirty years, and can now publish a popular work (for free) because he's about to retire and can't be fired for his temerity.
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