Church
Church Finances down; some Charitable Giving up!
Giving Up, Giving Down by MARTIN E. MARTY Monday | June 23 2014 “Giving,” as in “Charitable Giving,” is “up” for three causes: “Arts and Humanities” (6.3%), “Education” (7.4%), and “Animals and Environment” (6%). But giving to “Religion” was down 1.6% from 2012 to 2013. Good news for those who have positive views of religion […]
John McIntyre, a good bishop…
Gippsland Bishop John McIntyre dies, aged 62 11/06/2014 by Muriel Porter and Mark Brolly Bishop John McIntyre of Gippsland has died after a short illness. The 62-year-old bishop, who had led Gippsland’s Anglicans since 2006, died at Monash Medical Centre, Clayton, on 6 June, almost a week after being admitted to intensive care. He is […]
Southern Baptists Waning
by MARTIN E. MARTY Monday | June 16 2014 Southern Baptists, present in every state of the union, outnumber Jews in the whole world. Only Roman Catholics outnumber them in the United States. Citizens who care little about religion and less about denominations have learned to watch the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), if for no […]
Hillsong pastor baptizes Justin Bieber in a bathtub
Justin Bieber gets baptised in a bathtub The Murdochs did it in the Jordan, Celine Dion did it at Las Vegas, but now the celebrity baptism has moved to the bathroom • Brian McFadden picks the man he’d like to play him in a movie of his life Washing their troubles away? The celebrities who have […]
Women in the First Two Generations of Christianity
Notes and a few quotes from Ross Saunders: Outrageous Women Outrageous God: Women in the First Two Generations of Christianity, Acorn Press 1996 In times of social dislocation, often it’s the women who – against social precedent – ‘take charge’. Aboriginal (Koori) women are often ‘leading their menfolk in recovering and preserving their indigenous culture… […]
Much Ado About Francis: The Challenge of the Pope in a Cynical Age
Christopher BrittainABC RELIGION AND ETHICS 2 JUN 2014 CAN A CHARISMATIC LEADER SUCCESSFULLY CHALLENGE THE RIGIDITY OF LONG-STANDING RULES AND SOCIAL ORDERINGS, BE THEY THOSE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, SECULAR MORAL CODES OR ESTABLISHED POLITICAL DIVISIONS?CREDIT: NENEO / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM SEE ALSO Related Story: The Francis Phenomenon, or Media Infatuation? Reflections on the Anniversary of a PontificateSCOTT STEPHENS ET AL. 13 MAR 2014 […]
Peter Taylor Forsyth: Inspiring!
I’ve just finished Jason Goroncy’s ‘Descending on Humanity and Intervening in History: Notes from the Pulpit Ministry of P.T.Forsyth’ (2013: Pickwick, 373 pp.).Forsyth (1848-1921) was an amazing man, astonishingly erudite for a practising pastor. Today we’d call him a ‘polymath’, certainly an ‘autodidact’. The modern church-goer eschews such sermons ’employing 100 words when ten would […]
Church Attendance Surveys: Fibs or exaggerations?
Phone Versus On-Line Honesty by MARTIN E. MARTY Monday | May 26 2014 “What fresh hell is this?” was poet Dorothy Parker’s question when her phone or doorbell rang. Opinion-surveyors and telephone-pollsters may often be greeted by Parkeresque answerers, but data now suggests that many of the called choose to be nice to the phoners […]
Preaching: Preachers other preachers read (and preach!)
I talk to lots of clergy – in conferences and one to one – and have a pretty good idea about their preaching styles, and the  other preachers they read for inspiration. (An interesting thing happened on the way to writing this chapter, Mothers’ Day 2014. My wife has produced one of the two or […]
Huston Smith: Religion in the Twenty-first Century
Religion in the Twenty-First Century [See also here for an excellent series of essays from a wide range of scholars on this broad topic]. By Huston Smith Huston Smith is a philosopher, film producer, and author. He is widely regarded as the most eloquent and accessible contemporary authority on the history of religions. Born in […]
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