News
President Obama is distancing himself from the National Day of Prayer by nixing a formal early morning service and not attending a large Catholic prayer breakfast the next morning. All Mr. Obama will do for the National Day of Prayer, which is Thursday, is sign a proclamation honoring the day, which originated in 1952 when Congress set aside the first Thursday in May for the observance. Read more of this story.No Day of Prayer Event for Obama – The Washington PostPrayer Doesn’t Require Presidential Endorsement – Cal Thomas
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, iReport, video chat, texting, live feed… With so many options for networking, where does one begin? Try all of them.This is the tactic being used right now by a movement called Invisible Children – a small team of people dedicated to end an otherwise-ignored 23-year war in Northern Uganda. Thanks to their moving documentaries, recent Facebook groups and YouTube and Twitter campaigns, their team has exploded in the last few months to an untraceable number of students around the globe.Read more of this story.
In an email sent out to local pastors and religious professionals this past week the leaders of the Dane County Association of Evangelicals announced the group’s demise, calling it a "peaceful end." A group that began as a networking circle of local evangelical pastors 40-some years ago, when evangelical churches first started to grow and have an impact on the Madison area, is no more.
The destruction one nuclear bomb can wreak is more than horrifying, says megachurch pastor Rob Bell of Grandville, Mich. It’s an insult to God."Nuclear weapons are a direct affront to God’s dream of shalom for the world," Bell said Tuesday. "Life is beautiful, and nuclear weapons are ugly."Read more of this story.
Will the Obamas affiliate themselves with a black church, which could signal that they are still comfortable making their spiritual home one that is predominantly African American? Or will they choose a mostly white or racially integrated church, sending the message that they are interested in shifting the paradigm of religion and race? Read more of this story.
Religious organizations have begun to swing into action in response to the swine flu virus now sweeping around the world. Read more of this story. Can a Communion chalice transmit swine flu?
The fight over gay marriage may be far from over, but already some conservative Christian leaders are looking beyond the courtroom dramas and the legislative infighting. The trouble they see is not just an America where general support for gay marriage will have driven a wedge between churches and the world, but between churches themselves.Read more of this story.
About half of all Americans have switched religions at least once, according to the most in-depth survey on the topic, released Monday. And that may still be "a conservative estimate," says Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.Read more of this story. Study Probes Reasons for Leaving Catholic, Protestant FaithsChanging Pews – critique by Terry MattinglyThe Executive Summary
The gospels describe Jesus visiting the synagogues of Nazareth and Capernaum and report that he "went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues." [Matt. 4:23] It’s clear that synagogues were common in Jewish communities of the first century, but the exact nature of their role and especially their origin is still somewhat of a mystery to Bible scholars, according to archaeologist Jodi Magness, speaking in Madison last night.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA (ANS) — A Christian organization that helps believers prepare for emergencies and natural disasters is calling on Christians across America to ‘Be Aware, Be Ready and Be There’ for those who don’t know Jesus Christ as Savior during the current outbreak of Swine Flu.Mary Marr, Founder/Chairman of Christian Emergency Network (CEN) — www.christianemergencynetwork.org — was responding to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) declaration of emergency preparedness resulting from findings of the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC). Read more of this story. NATIONAL SWINE FLU SITUATION PAGE