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For some eating bacon is a religious experience. But in Las Vegas, there’s a group dedicated to the worship of the cured pork.Founded in 2010, the United Church of Bacon now claims nearly 10,000 members worldwide and is based on beliefs that include its followers must love the smell of bacon. "...we say bacon is real therefore it’s our god." “Bacon is a way to bring people together, even if you are religious, there’s no discrimination. You can have a god before bacon,” said church founder and ex-Marine John Whiteside. “I like pigs in a blanket, that’s great, I like...

Maranatha First Baptist Church is one of the largest congregations in Holguín, Cuba . . In early May Pastor Amado Ramírez Oliveros reported the long-awaited answer: Cuban authorities not only denied the construction permit, they announced the government is seizing the property that has belonged to the Eastern Baptist Convention since 1947. Maranatha will be forced to pay an unannounced amount of “rent” if it wants to remain in its building.

After hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars poured into the Irish nation by pagan Americans, homosexuality will win a national referendum When the barbarian hordes descended on Europe in the fourth and fifth centuries, crushing underfoot what was left of cultural antiquity, it looked as if civilization was at an end. Irish monks, in their monasteries and scriptoriums, preserved the writings from antiquity by transcribing them for posterity. They kept the classics alive, safe in their isolation, keeping a secure touchstone to the civilization their faith had transformed. For this reason, the Irish are largely credited by historians with saving...

As is necessary when addressing an ultra-sensitive issue, I will make some qualifications on the front end: God is, without question, and I will declare without apology, passionately interested in blessing His children. It is fully appropriate to give a measure of attention to the wondrous process of discovery of God's abundant life, overwhelming benefits and blessings. That being said, I now must move on to offering some analysis on a hidden crises. The Spirit of Abortion ... In the Church? As a prophetic messenger, a primary driving force of my daily life is to reveal and help destroy any...

Got some nice rain the last couple of days ...

The nineteenth century witnessed the conversions of two prominent Anglican clergymen to Roman Catholicism. Both men would ultimately become cardinals in the Roman Church, and both men would profoundly influence Roman Catholic theology. The first was John Henry Newman (1801–1890). The second was Henry Edward Manning (1808–1892). Newman is probably most well known for his involvement in the high church Oxford Movement and for his Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine (1845). Manning is best known for his advocacy of social justice and for his strong support of the doctrine of papal infallibility following his conversion to Rome. He...

New author Reba Riley's debut memoir "Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome" wrestles with spiritual injuries and the power of name. After abandoning the conservative evangelical faith of her childhood, Riley felt anger toward all religion. But it was giving faith a second chance -- trying 30 religions in a year, to be exact -- that opened the door to healing. The Cincinnati writer will be in Portland May 17 sharing her story alongside the bestselling author of "The Shack" at the "Where's God When..." event in Southeast Portland.

Contrary to recent reports based on studies that emphasize the growth of non-religious people in the United States and the decline of church attendance, Christianity in America is not dying, according to a new survey that examines the nuances and complexities of how people self-identify with faith by Waco,Texas-based Baylor University. Scholars from Baylor University's Institute of Religion said during a recent conference that reports highlighting the departure of millenials from the organized religion of their parents are being greatly exaggerated. "There's a story some people want to report — that religion is on life support — but it's just...

A sign put up at a Washington County, Tennessee church has people talking. A News Channel 11 viewer contacted us, complaining about the marquee outside. What you read on the sign depends in which direction you travel down Old Boones Creek Road in Jonesborough. On one side, Jonesborough Baptist Church advertises its Sunday school starting at 10:00 AM. The other side, something totally different, an offer more than an invitation making a point that's purely political. "Oh my goodness," Caryn Vest of Kingsport said when she saw a picture of the sign. Close to the sign are several flags, including...

Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, responded to the new Pew Study survey documenting the decline of Christians and rise of religiously unaffiliated, by calling the "increasing strangeness" of Christianity "good news" for the church. "Christianity isn't normal anymore. It never should have been. The increasing strangeness of Christianity might be bad news for America, but it's good news for the church. The major newspapers are telling us today that Christianity is dying, according to this new study, but what is clear from this study is exactly the opposite: while mainline...

History is filled with surprising anomalies that catch us up in contradictions. Sir Walter Scott wrote in his poem Marmion about the Battle of Flodden Field: “Oh, what a tangled web we weave / when first we practise to deceive!” The battle took place in 1513 while Henry VIII was in France fighting as a member of the Catholic League. His queen, Catherine, eventually to be divorced, organized the battle with success. Meanwhile, Pope Julius II styled Henry of England “The Most Christian King of France” and, although Henry would prove a disappointment in church matters, in 1521 the next...

Pope Francis with the Harlem Globetrotters at the Wednesday general audience in St. Peter's Square, May 6, 2015. Credit: © L'Osservatore Romano. Vatican City, May 7, 2015 / 03:19 pm (CNA).- On Thursday Pope Francis demonstrated his keen interest in uniting sports with faith, telling members of Italy's Lazio club not to let training or competitions trump the spiritual essentials. “Sometimes it happens that a guy or a girl, due to training and competitions, forgets about Mass (and) catechesis...this is not a good sign; it means we have lost the scale of values,” the Pope told members of Italian sports...

This past weekend, noted progressive-Christian writer Rachel Held Evans published a widely shared and widely read piece in the Washington Post decrying the Evangelical church’s shallow attempts to appeal to Millennials by trying to make church “cool.” Ms. Evans critiques hashtag campaigns, young-adult groups with names like “Prime” and “Vertical,” and concert-style worship services. She mocks talk of “market share” and “branding,” and in so doing sounds every bit as traditionalist as those who despise the praise choruses of the typical Evangelical megachurch and long for the simple “old-time religion” of their grandparents.But that’s not really her point. Evans...

Churchgoers were upset Sunday morning when they discovered a statue of the Virgin Mary vandalized with black spray paint.The defacement of the shrine at St. Thomas More University Parish and Student Center, 100 E Stinson, near the University of Oklahoma, likely happened overnight.Those in attendance were shocked by the vandalism and offended by a sign left on the statue, church officials said.“It was very disturbing to a lot of people and very deliberate,” said Lisa Schmidt, administrative assistant to the pastor.“As a parishioner and as a Catholic, I would invite them to learn more about why we revere the Mother...

The admission was made by Barack Hussein Obama's lawyer, the sitting Solicitor General of the United States, Donald Verrilli, Jr., on Tuesday, April 28, 2015, during questioning by Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Samuel Alito, Jr. Solicitor General Verrilli, using a public office to defend same-sex marriage on behalf of the United States, was asked by Justice Alito if religious institutions could be at risk of losing their tax-exempt status due to their beliefs about Biblical marriage. Verrilli's reply was, "It's certainly going to be an issue."

Meanwhile, the intrusion of Climate Change in community churches will spread like wildfire. Going to church will never be the same again. The New Green Religion of Global Warming/Climate Change is coming out of the closet to begin preaching from the pulpit. In the lib-left world timing is everything. Now that Christianity is being persecuted worldwide with the many slings and arrows sent its way flashing out in neon, it’s time for ‘sustainability’ to squeeze out Salvation at Sunday church services. “The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is spending $84,000 to study how churches can be used to combat climate change....

On the Lost Justice of the “Sabbath Rest” By: Msgr. Charles PopeSome of us who are older remember that Sundays were once quiet in downtown; in shopping areas, parking lots were empty. Most businesses were closed and few people had to work on Sundays. Surely there were exceptions, such as medical personnel, emergency workers, and those who ran essential services like power plants. But for most, Sunday was a day off. And although the biblical Sabbath was Saturday, in a largely Christian nation Sunday was the “Sabbath” day of rest.In those days, Church was in the morning and then it was...

In the 1970s Bruce Jenner seemed to have it all—fame, wealth, admiration. He was an Olympic star, so popular in American culture that he was reputedly considered for both the roles of Superman and James Bond. That's changed. Now, Jenner is best known as the step-father on reality television's Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Jenner is now ready for one more change. He says he knows what he's been missing: his identity as a woman. Jenner has reportedly undergone surgery to make himself appear more like a woman and has been photographed wearing dresses. Now, in a highly publicized interview...

As someone who both cares about the mission of the church and leads a research organization, I watch the trends in the church and the culture. Occasionally, someone asks me to share some thoughts on the big picture, in the case of the North American context, questions related to "streams" of Protestantism. Based on research, statistics, extrapolation, and (I hope) some insight, I notice 3 important trends continuing in the next 10 years. Trend #1: The Hemorrhaging of Mainline Protestantism This trend is hardly news—mainliners will tell you of this hemorrhaging and of their efforts to reverse it. Mainline Protestantism...

Another day to go and hear from Dad ...