News
"What if December looked different this year? What if we all gave Christmas away?"That’s the refrain from the theme song of a new Christmas video from VeggieTales, the animated children’s stories that share gentle Gospel messages.
On the first day of her college internship in the late summer of 2007, Jenna Liao waited amid the baggage carousels of O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. Just 21 and newly assigned to an agency that helps refugees, she had been told only to expect a family of 10 from Myanmar. She and a caseworker were to drive them here to the first temporary home of their new lives.The family trudged into Ms. Liao’s view after 19 years in a refugee camp and 30 hours of trans-Pacific travel. All their belongings fit into two plaid plastic bags, and in that…
Editor’s note: A number of Madison area churches are again participating in The Advent Conspiracy this Christmas season, including Door Creek Church. Today’s Breakpoint Commentary is also about The Advent Conspiracy.What is "Advent", anyway? The word comes from the Latin word adventus, which means "arrival" or "coming." The full name of the church season is Adventus Redemptoris, "the coming of the Redeemer" – or, less literally, "the coming of the Savior." In most liturgical churches, such as the Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Episcopal, and Lutheran churches, Advent is a holy season of preparation for the celebration of Christmas.
Is sure isn’t anything like "L.A. Law." When Richard Martin goes to work, he’s not defending Hollywood stars going through their "nth" divorce. And his clients don’t usually dress in Italian shirts and hand-tailored suits. Switch channels to "Hill Street Blues" reruns and you’ll see a truer picture of Martin’s clients in his work as a Wisconsin appellate public defender.From early on in life, Martin knew he wanted to go into law. Fired by his deep interest in politics (he hails from the Washington DC area), the legal path seemed logical to him. And after you meet Martin, you’re not…
Jonathan Merritt was headed for medical school upon graduating from Liberty University in 2004, until, in the "clearest word I had ever gotten," he heard God’s call to write. The writing life wasn’t an immediate success; he says he received hundreds of rejections while attending Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Finally, after almost three years of trying, he got his first assignment. Today Merritt publishes articles in places like Relevant magazine and USA Today, and makes appearances on NPR and ABC World News. A book, Green Like God, will appear in the spring.
Da Vinci Code fans may thrill to dark conspiracies surrounding the secret history of early Christianity, but how many know about the real scholarly debate surrounding the young church? Even without a sleuthing Harvard "symboligist" involved, scholars have found plenty of intrigue in how early Christianity grew."How did the Mediterranean world become predominantly Christian?" asks historian Adam Schor of Long Island University, in Brookville, N.Y., in the current Journal of Religious History. "Generations of scholars have approached it, but each new theoretical angle seems to reopen basic questions."
ST. LOUIS (BP)–The narratives of Albert "El Hombre" Pujols and Stan "The Man" Musial continue to be woven together in St. Louis Cardinals history with the Nov. 24 announcement that Pujols had matched Musial with his third National League Most Valuable Player award.Pujols, 29, is one of America’s more prominent Christian athletes. He and his wife Deidre run the Pujols Family Foundation, which seeks to honor God by strengthening families.
MAYFIELD, Ky. (BP)–The American holiday of Thanksgiving possesses a long history of taking place during times of adversity. As we pause to thank God for our blessings on Thanksgiving Day, we also should remember our fellow Americans who are facing over 10 percent unemployment and many others who are enduring underemployment.
The Blind Side, starring Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw, is undeniably inspirational. But Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, the Christian couple at the center of the film that opens Friday, hope the story of how they adopted a homeless black teenager who eventually became a first-round NFL draft pick does more than make people cry.
Zondervan President and CEO Moe Gerkins apologized on behalf of the company for publishing Deadly Viper: A Kung Fu Survival Guide for Life and Leadership, a book that uses Chinese characters and images for illustrations. Gerkins said the company will remove the book and curriculum from stores permanently, according to an email to North Park Theological Seminary professor Soong-Chan Rah.Rah called for an apology on November 3 on his blog because of what he perceived as insensitivity to Asian culture and to the Asian-American community.