OSLO, 1993–2012(?): The Peace Process Is Formally Buried. The talk of Hamas changing from an Islamist terrorist group committed to Israel’s destruction and the murder of its Jewish population into a non-violent political group is as genuine as the similar rationalizations that were put forward in the 1990s for Arafat. Bringing Hamas into the PA government means an end to all pretense of hope for peace. There were, after all, never any real differences between the two on the ultimate objective of eliminating Israel. Fatah was no more capable of signing a peace deal that recognized the legitimacy of a … Continue reading The World Wide Religious Web for Monday, February 6, 2012

BECAUSE IT’S EASIER TO BE A BOY: Why Young Men Aren’t Manning Up. Young men are being shaped by prolonged adolescence and perceived obsolescence, and powerful social forces are at work to keep them that way. For instance, a much-publicized Relevant magazine article highlighted a study that found 80 percent of evangelical Christians have had premarital sex, slightly below the 88 percent mark of society at large. Sex is readily available and as a motivator for pursuing marriage seems all but off the table. Fear of divorce further undermines the draw of marriage. For another example, I’ve already hinted at … Continue reading The World Wide Religious Web for Tuesday, January 31, 2012

THE EVANGELICALIZATION OF PENTECOSTALISM: The Pentecostal Paradox: As the Global Church Grows, American Tongues Fall Silent. But while more mainstream evangelical churches have borrowed charismatic styles of worship and thus become more “pentecostalized,” Pentecostal churches in North America are moving away in public worship gatherings from the more demonstrative expressions of spiritual gifts, such as messages in tongues with interpretation, prayers for healing and prophecy. In many cases, churches and megachurches have chosen to relegate glossolalia and other charisms to Sunday night services or small groups and, in some cases and settings, according to church historian Dr. Stanley Burgess, “it … Continue reading The World Wide Religious Web for Monday, January 30, 2012

OPTIMISM & HOPE ARE DIFFERENT CREATURES: Disability: A Thread for Weaving Joy. The great French Jesuit Henri de Lubac once wrote, “Suffering is the thread from which the stuff of joy is woven. Never will the optimist know joy.” Those seem like strange words, especially for Americans. We Americans take progress as an article of faith. And faith in progress demands a spirit of optimism. But Father de Lubac knew that optimism and hope are very different creatures. In real life, bad things happen. Progress is not assured, and things that claim to be “progress” can sometimes be wicked and … Continue reading The World Wide Religious Web for Tuesday, January 24, 2012

39 YEARS OF BAD LAW: The Unbearable Wrongness of Roe. Today [i.e., January 22, 2012], thousands of people at the March for Life in Washington, D.C., are commemorating the thirty-ninth anniversary of a legal and moral monstrosity, Roe v. Wade, and its companion case, Doe v. Bolton. The two cases, in combination, created an essentially unqualified constitutional right of pregnant women to abortion—the right to kill their children, gestating in their wombs, up to the point of birth. After nearly four decades, Roe’s human death toll stands at nearly sixty million human lives, a total exceeding the Nazi Holocaust, Stalin’s … Continue reading The World Wide Religious Web for Monday, January 23, 2012

MEGARICH MEGAPASTORS? Best Paid Pastors Make Hundreds Of Thousands To Millions Of Dollars Annually. Check out today’s Daily Word devotional, which addresses the theme of pastoral compensation: Appropriate, but Potentially Dangerous. I’m not happy Rick Warren was included on this list. Yes, The Purpose Driven Lifemade beaucoup bucks, but he and Kaye live simply and reverse tithe. They also don’t take a salary from Saddleback. That matters, doesn’t it? FAITH & POLITICS: Why Religion Should Matter When We Vote. To people of faith, religious belief profoundly influences our professional lives. If it does not, it is only a shadowy outline … Continue reading The World Wide Religious Web for Thursday, January 19, 2012

NO. Is the Era of Big Religion Over? We might best describe the state of American religion today as “robust but confusing.” Relative youths are having a harder time navigating it than past generations. Pew tells us that “Among Americans ages 18-29, one-in-four say they are not currently affiliated with any particular religion.” They may continue to go without religion, as the Greg Pauls of this world confidently predict. But the safer bet is that as they marry and have children at least some of these secular Americans will be calling on the assistance of a higher power. THE STRANGENESS … Continue reading The World Wide Religious Web for Wednesday, January 18, 2012