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Society is undergoing a change of mind about the way religion and people of faith intersect with public life. That is, there are intensifying perceptions that faith is at the root of a vast number of societal ills. Though it remains the nation’s most dominant religion, Christianity faces significant headwind in the court of public opinion. The decades-old trend that Christianity is irrelevant is increasingly giving way to the notion that Christianity is bad for society. A new major study conducted by Barna Group, and explored in the new book Good Faith, co-authored by Barna president David Kinnaman, examines society’s...

Around the world, people are beginning to turn their backs on religion. For some time, researchers have observed this trend as it ripples through developed countries, with the United States standing out as the exception. Now, a new study reveals this is no longer the case; with each passing generation, Americans too are steadily becoming less religious. --snip-- Researchers found each generation is subsequently less religious than the one before. In one example, the team found that 41 percent of people aged 70 and older reported they attend church services at least once a month. For people just under that...

According to Dr. Joel Mathews, the phrase "In God We Trust" was first printed on our coins in 1864 and on paper bills in 1957. It had been proposed that "Our Country, Our God, Our Trust" be used, but that was shortened to be able to stamp the motto onto coins. Kansas State University Polytechnic's March Civic Luncheon began with Kansas Weslyan University's Dr. Philip Meckley asking: o How can we look at comparative religious traditions? o How can we live with differences for the sake of our human community? Matthews, a K-State Polytechnic instructor, began the lecture by saying...

Patricius: The True Story of St. Patrick Before all the festivities focused on shamrocks and leprechauns and good luck wishes, there was truly something to celebrate: a man willing to stand in the gap for Jesus Christ. It was an act of defiance that changed the course of a nation. Patrick lit a fire in pagan 5th century Ireland, ushering Christianity into the country. Who was this man who became the patron saint of Ireland? Ireland was a beautiful island shrouded in terrible darkness. Warlords and druids ruled the land. But across the sea in Britain, a teen-ager was poised...

MARCH 17, around 461 AD, St. Patrick died. As a teenager, the Roman Legions guarding his community in Britain had to be withdrawn to defend Rome, as invading heathen hordes, such as the Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Vandals and Huns, were overrunning the borders. Unprotected, Britain was attacked by raiders, who carried away thousands. Patrick was captured and sold as a slave in Ireland, which was ruled by the Druids, who practiced human sacrifice. For six years Patrick herded animals for a Druid chieftain, as he wrote in his Confession: "But after I came to Ireland---every day I had to tend sheep,...

BURMA—“Help!” Sahale Eubank, 15, screamed as she clung to a rock with one hand and held onto the reins of a panic-eyed horse with the other. River rapids dragged the poor beast toward jagged rocks. David Eubank, 55, dashed into the icy waters without taking off his socks and hiking boots. Father and daughter splashed, grunted, and pulled until the horse—their main porter for baggage stuffed with medical and educational supplies for impoverished villagers—climbed trembling onto the rock. Eubank, founder of the Free Burma Rangers (FBR), a humanitarian aid group, was on a two-day trek through the Karen State mountains...

Modern Syrian Christians of Kerala (the majority Christian population here) believe that the Apostle Thomas—the one who so famously questioned Jesus—visited here in a.d. 52 and baptized their forefathers. Historians surmise that the diverse, rich trading center of Kerala may well have drawn this Palestinian Jew of the Roman Empire who wished to preach the Gospel. Thousands of churches today bear his name, their rituals and theology derived from Eastern Orthodox traditions in the liturgical language Syriac, a formation of Aramaic, the dialect Jesus—and Thomas—spoke. For decades now, the liturgical language of Kerala Christians has been Malayalam, the language of...

At The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (of the Southern Baptist Convention), a recent blog post details the "Six principles of a Jesus-centered moral order." The post is an excerpt from a recent book co-authored by David Kinnaman, the president of Barna Group, a Christian research and communications company. The piece notes that, "in the twentieth century, more and more people began to see Christian morality as standing in the way of a new moral code: the morality of self-fulfillment. Throwing off burdensome traditional mores, people began to imagine life without a bothersome God standing watch." The post also reveals...

It's part a lack of resources overseas and part simple disinterest at home, but the American news media seemingly are out of the business of covering international news. For example, one of the most neglected international stories is the attempt by ISIS to exterminate and persecute Christians. Instead, our media obsess over the faintest hint of domestic "Islamophobia." A few weeks ago, The New York Times filed a national story from Arizona with this incident: "Rania Kanawati, a Syrian immigrant, was walking to her car after Friday Prayer last month at the Islamic Center of Tucson when a beer can...

“Sunday Reflection” is a regular feature, looking at the specific readings used in today’s Mass in Catholic parishes around the world. The reflection represents only my own point of view, intended to help prepare myself for the Lord’s day and perhaps spark a meaningful discussion. Previous Sunday Reflections from the main page can be found here. For previous Green Room entries, click here.This morning’s Gospel reading is Luke 15:1–3, 11–32: Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So...

A couple of years ago I visited Canada to record television interviews about my book Christian Endgame. Prior to the recording, some of the Christians in the green room told me to be cautious about saying that Christianity is the exclusively true religion. When I inquired why, I was told that it is considered intolerant in Canadian society to claim Christianity is the only way to God. The Christian program executives were concerned about receiving legal reprisals from the Canadian government for broadcasting “intolerant” religious statements. I don’t know exactly what Canada’s laws are concerning alleged statements of religious intolerance,...

Federal Court Grants Judicial Watch Discovery on Clinton Email Issue History Comes Full Circle as Judicial Watch Releases New Document in Whitewater Criminal Corruption Case against Hillary Clinton Air Force Academy Celebrates Witchcraft and Voodoo While Demeaning Christianity Federal Court Grants Judicial Watch Discovery on Clinton Email Issue Your Judicial Watch has achieved another remarkable breakthrough in our tireless efforts to get to the bottom of the Clinton email scandal. Earlier this week, U.S. District Court Judge Emmet G. Sullivan granted Judicial Watch’s motion for discovery into whether the State Department and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton deliberately...

Like the Blind Leading the Blind: Donald Trump and Evangelicals This morning, like most mornings now, I found myself reading an article on Donald Trump’s candidacy. Everyday I ask myself the question, “How can so many American Evangelicals support such an openly narcissistic, power driven man?” Sarah Palin endorsed him, Jerry Falwell Jr., the president of Liberty University, endorsed him,[1] and not too long ago, a poll was released that showed that Evangelical Christians as a whole are gravitating to Trump.[2] But, this article I read today gave me a much needed answer as to why Americans and specifically republican...

snip To understand these words "civilization" and "culture," the best book to read is T. S. Eliot's slim volume Notes Towards a Definition of Culture (1948). Once upon a time I commended that book to President Richard Nixon, in a private discussion of modern disorders, as the one book which he ought to read for guidance in his high office. Man is the only creature possessing culture, as distinguished from instinct; and if culture is effaced, so is the distinction between man and the brutes that perish. "Art is man's nature," in Edmund Burke's phrase; and if the human arts,...

"This series of lectures will discuss the history, legacy and ongoing significance of the religious tradition which has done more than any other to shape the modern world: Protestant Christianity."

What a mess our world is in. What a mess America is in. What a mess the church is in. Depressed yet? Isaiah 5:20 encapsulates, I believe, the cultural condition of much of the world, most of America and an alarmingly high percentage of those who belong, or at least claim to belong, to the body of Christ. "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter." Calling evil good. That sums us up. But, hey, "grace," right? I mean, you've...

For the last several days, I’ve spent a lot of time spreading the following paragraph around the Internet: Donald Trump is a biblically-illiterate, adulterous, strip-club owning, casino magnate. He has been on every side of almost any political or moral issue you can imagine. Yeah, he's said some things that people like to hear, but what is there in his life that reveals that he will actually do what he says? He is "wise in his own eyes" and we should not be swayed by his cunning, craftiness, and deceitful scheming. Even the shallowest of political observers knows well that...

The Pope has questioned US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's Christianity over his call to build a border wall with Mexico. Pope Francis said "a person who thinks only about building walls... and not of building bridges, is not Christian". The New York businessman supports deporting nearly 11 million undocumented immigrants. Calling himself a "proud Christian", Mr Trump blamed Mexico for the Pope's remarks, calling them "disgraceful".

Evangelical broadcaster James Dobson Wednesday praised Ted Cruz's bid for the Republican presidential nomination, saying in a new television ad that the Texas senator is critical to naming more conservatives to the Supreme Court. "With Justice Scalia's death, we need a president who will defend the Constitution and nominate conservatives to the high court," Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, said in endorsing Cruz as a private citizen. "I know Ted," Dobson said. "He's a Christian family man of the utmost integrity."

<p>A baseball star, Billy Sunday played for the Chicago White Stockings in the 1880's and later the Philadelphia Phillies.</p> <p>Born during the Civil War in a log cabin in Iowa, his father, who was a Union Army soldier, died of pneumonia when Billy was a month old. At age 15, Billy Sunday struck out on his own, working several jobs before playing baseball.</p>