Tag: religious freedom

Book ReviewsLeave a comment

Review of ‘Free to Serve’ by Stephen V. Monsma and Stanley W. Carlson-Thies

georgepwood

Stephen V. Monsma and Stanley W. Carlson-Thies, Free to Serve: Protection the Religious Freedom of Faith-Based Organizations (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2015). Paperback | Kindle [Author’s Note: This review originally appeared at InfluenceMagazine.com.] James 1:27 offers this memorable definition: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” For James, then, religion consists of a humanitarian and an integrity mandate. “Do good,” we might say, “ and be good!” For Christians across the ages, the humanitarian mandate … Continue reading Review of ‘Free to Serve’ by Stephen V. Monsma and Stanley W. Carlson-Thies

Book ReviewsLeave a comment

Review of ‘The Rise and Decline of American Religious Freedom’ by Steven D. Smith

georgepwood

 Steven D. Smith, The Rise and Decline of American Religious Freedom (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2014). Hardback / Kindle In America, religious freedom is often named “the first freedom.” One reason reason for this name is religious freedom’s pride of place in the First Amendment. Only after stating, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” does that amendment go on to prohibit congressional laws “abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress … Continue reading Review of ‘The Rise and Decline of American Religious Freedom’ by Steven D. Smith

On This Day In HistoryLeave a comment

Roger Williams Banished

georgepwood

On this day in history–October 9, 1635, Roger Williams was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony because he questioned the colony’s politicized religion. In 1644, Williams went on to write The Bloody Tenent of Persecution, which laid out his critique of civil states enforcing religious doctrine or practice and his constructive case for religious freedom. In the preface to that book, Williams summarized his basic arguments: First. That the blood of so many hundred thousand souls of protestants and papists, spilt in the wars of present and former ages, for their respective consciences, is not required nor accepted by Jesus Christ … Continue reading Roger Williams Banished

Book Reviews2 Comments

Review of ‘Christianophobia’ by Rupert Shortt

georgepwood

 Rupert Shortt, Christianophobia: A Faith Under Attack (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2012). $26.00, 328 pages. Christianophobia is the story of “a faith under attack,” in the lapidary words of the book’s subtitle. Around the world, but especially in Muslim-majority countries, Christians are persecuted for their faith by agents of the state, by lawless mobs, and sometimes by the former in collusion with the latter. Some of the persecution may be blowback for the post-9/11 American invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, but not all of it. As Rupert Shortt writes: “Looking beyond Iraq and Afghanistan, and on a time frame stretching … Continue reading Review of ‘Christianophobia’ by Rupert Shortt

The World Wide (Religious) WebLeave a comment

The World Wide Religious Web for Thursday, January 12, 2012

georgepwood

PERSECUTED IRANIAN CHRISTIANS: Wood personally requests release of Iranian pastors, church members. After paying respect to the country of Iran through recognizing its prominent reference in the Bible, Wood states his letter is born out of concern for followers of Jesus who are being detained for reasons that violate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that Iran has signed. He then requests the release of Rev. Farhad Sabok Rouh; his wife, Shahnaz Jizani; and two other members of the Assembly of God in Ahvaz, Iran, who were arrested on December 23, 2011. Wood follows this request by asking for the … Continue reading The World Wide Religious Web for Thursday, January 12, 2012

The World Wide (Religious) WebLeave a comment

The World Wide Religious Web for Tuesday, January 10, 2012

georgepwood

MEDIUM AND MESSAGE: Christianity and the Future of the Book. But however important defense of the paper codex may be, the obligation to defend the book remains far greater. It is the book, largely as it emerged from the early Christian Church’s understanding of its own Scriptures, that has enabled much of the best that has been thought and said in the past fifteen hundred years. And its key virtues can be preserved, and perhaps even extended, in forms other than the paper codex. By contrast, screens that allow only minuscule chunks of text to be displayed at any one … Continue reading The World Wide Religious Web for Tuesday, January 10, 2012