Archive for the ‘Words of Christ’ Category
Friday, December 4th, 2009 by JEL
The title of this post is taken from the title of Hanna Rosin’s fascinating article in this month’s issue of The Atlantic. It covers the ever-growing “prosperity gospel”: the belief that God will provide material wealth for those of great faith. Rosin describes the movement and documents cases of believers (like many non-believers) buying houses they could never afford in the first place because they felt God would provide for them.
The prosperity gospel is much larger than you might think:
- 50 of the largest 260 churches in the US preach the prosperity gospel.
- A Pew Research study found that 66% of Pentecostals and 43% of “other Christians” (half of the total respondents) believe that “wealth will be granted to the faithful.”
- The same survey shows that 73% of religious Latinos agreed with the statement, “God will grant financial success to all believers who have enough faith.”
It’s weird. When I read what Jesus said (made much easier by What He Said), all I see are commands to give until it hurts. And then give some more.
Tags: Christianity, financial crisis, Jesus, prosperity gospel
Posted in In The News, Words of Christ | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 by JEL
The most recent American Religious Identification Survey (March 2009) showed 15% of adults in America do not belong to any religion—and that percentage is on the rise.
Rather than wring his hands in woe and grief, however, House church leader Ken Eastburn thinks the decline is good news. Here’s his insightful perspective:
“American Christianity has long been characterized by all the wrong things: partisan politics, tips for better living, the so-called ‘prosperity gospel,’ hypocrisy, and condemnation—to name a few. When that kind of Christianity begins to decline, we have much to be thankful for. It means true Christianity—the kind characterized by loving one’s enemies, radical giving, integrity and compassion—has room to grow.”
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
Tags: ARI survey, Christianity, Jesus, Words of Christ
Posted in In The News, Words of Christ | No Comments »
Friday, November 20th, 2009 by PJM
I had reason recently to search NYTimes.com for the word “gospels.” 5,420 hits were returned. What struck me the most was how many NYT reader comments refer to them. You can try it yourself and see.
Frequently, the story that the readers are commenting on are quite secular in nature. One in particular, caught my attention in the Freakonomics Blog. A tenet of Freakonomics is that human behavior is guided by selfish incentives. A reader asked what Jesus’ incentive was in getting crucified. The blog author, Stephen Dubner, doesn’t answer the question, but we will let you know when he does. In the meantime, maybe we could sell him a book.
Tags: Freakonomics, Jesus, New York Times
Posted in In The News, Irreverant, Words of Christ | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 by JEL
Too often war is viewed, usually by those far away from the front, as a glorious and heroic adventure. To those in the trenches, in the Humvees, and in the mountains of Afghanistan, it is anything but.
This past Sunday in church there was a special lay-service put together for Veterans Day. It featured World War I poetry written by those who fought and saw (and in some cases, experienced) the tragic waste of life first hand. The poems of Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon were particularly powerful.
At the end of the service, they played a version of Tom Waits’s “Day After Tomorrow.” You can read the lyrics here.
On this Veterans Day I am feeling the same way I have always felt: extremely grateful for our soldiers’ service and sacrifice. And unbelievably sorry.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.”
Tags: Jesus, peace, veterans day, WWI poetry
Posted in In The News, Words of Christ | 1 Comment »
Monday, November 9th, 2009 by PJM
What He Said has barely gone to press and now it looks like it is already dated. Christianity Today reports that the folks behind Conservapedia have decided to rewrite the Bible so that Jesus doesn’t seem too liberal.
Among the changes . . . Jesus no longer says “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” This was removed because it makes Jesus seem soft on sin. Also, in the Conservapedia version, Jesus has apparently changed his mind about material wealth. That will certainly help the camel slip through the needle’s eye easier.
Tags: Bible, politics, wealth, Words of Christ
Posted in In The News, The Bible, Words of Christ | No Comments »
Join What He Said Online