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Publication date: March 20, 2012 "The Gospel of Barack Hussein Obama According to Mark" is designed to initiate the reader into a meditation on what it means to be human, what it means to be a manifestation of God, and how Barack Obama is a unique and important manifestation of God’s desire for human flourishing. In a blend of words from his public speeches, imagined conversation, and fictional situations, the book highlights Obama’s real stance on social justice and, in particular, economic and political empowerment. It juxtaposes ancient Biblical form and contemporary reality, challenging the reader to see and seek...

Today there will be a world wide Evangelical Crusade live on television, radio, and HD via internet streaming. Starting at 4pm PT, 5pm MT, 6pm CT, and 7 pm ET, the Crusade will have live music by some of the top bands of Christian Rock Music. Mercy Me, Third, Day, Jeremy Camp and others will all lead the worship service. Since this event first took place in 1990, it has grown into a world wide phenomenon that the secular world is at a loss to understand, or report. Well, the world may be confused and the MSM may never...

Okay, another question for my awesome freepers... Get this...a friend of mine recently attended a week-long silent retreat given by a congregation of nuns in the Northeast. I won't name the order. During daily Mass, the Priest allowed one of the nuns to proclaim the Gospel and give a homily. Is this allowed? I was under the impression that only a Priest or Deacon can read the Gospel and give a homily.

“Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.” (1 Timothy 4:16) Copyright 2012 FortheSakeoftheGospel.com All Rights Reserved. Permission is hereby granted to repost under the condition that a link is provided encouraging Christians to add their names as signers.For the sake of the Gospel, we, the undersigned, call upon Christian leaders and their respective ministries and organizations, if you plan on endorsing Governor Mitt Romney for the office of President of the United States, do so by clearly and unequivocally distancing yourself and...

The worldwide collapse of Christianity is set to take place due to a purported Gospel of Barnabas, claims an Iranian newspaper. But Christians have dismissed the claims, describing them as "laughable." The text was discovered 12 years ago in an anti-smuggling sting in Turkey, and Iranian news outlet Basij claims it says Jesus was never crucified and that he was not the Son of God. The paper also argues that in the text Jesus himself predicts the coming of Muhammad. The text was written in Syriac on animal hide, and Basij argues that it was written in the 5th or...

Here is a proud first century yuppie who knew how to identify a problem, seek a solution, and implement the solution. He had heard good things of Christ. He knew how to solve earthly problems and thought that he could handle spiritual ones. Just show him the solution, and he would implement it. He was willing to sacrifice and tackle the tough job. He fancied himself humble, for he was willing to seek to someone who would know better than he did. He was clever enough to seek out all the resources available to him. He was good in public...

I feel sorry for Mr. Obama. Regular readers of my blog may be surprised to see those words, but I really do have feelings of genuine sympathy for him. Any human who carries a semblance of spiritual understanding will share in that feeling of sorrow. Try to imagine him standing on two small boats in the middle of the ocean—he has one foot squarely in the middle of the floor of one boat, and the other foot is similarly fixed to the second boat. If an observer were to make only a passing glance at such a scene, one might...

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen...

"For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made the right with God through Christ."(2 Corinthians 5:21, NLT) How Good Friday Can Transform our Personal Identity1) Jesus lived ___SINLESSLY___: He is the only One who could possibly pay for sin with His life."(God) made Him who knew no sin..." (2 Cor. 5:21a, NASB) 2) Jesus died ___INTENTIONALLY___: He both became sin and took our sin on the cross."...to be sin on our behalf." (2 Corinthians 5:21b, NASB) Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a...

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God (John 3:19-21)Jesus’ discussion with Nicodemus, that there is a “new birth” ended on the related topic of the final judgment of all men at the throne of God. Being “born from above”is the only...

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)The third chapter of John allows us to overhear a conversation between Nicodemus, the chief rabbi of Israel, and Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus was not trained in the recognized rabbinic schools, but approved of God by signs and wonders as well as by the irrefutable doctrine he taught. Nicodemus came to him, and spoke for other leading rabbis when he acknowledged that Jesus had come from God. The topic? The New Birth, as the...

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.( John 3:16)We find ourselves at this point in our study of John chapter three at perhaps the most beloved and well know verse in the Bible. Certainly it is the singularly most widely translated sentence of any kind in the world. With reverence we approach these words of glad tidings from heaven. But it is possible, in fact probable, that the sheer familiarity of these words to many in our culture, has an unfortunate deadening...

A secret Bible in which Jesus is believed to predict the coming of the Prophet Muhammad to Earth has sparked serious interest from the Vatican. Pope Benedict XVI is claimed to want to see the 1,500-year-old book, which many say is the Gospel of Barnabas, that has been hidden by the Turkish state for the last 12 years. The £14million handwritten gold lettered tome, penned in Jesus' native Aramaic language, is said to contain his early teachings and a prediction of the Prophet's coming. The leather-bound text, written on animal hide, was discovered by Turkish police during an anti-smuggling operation...

Does high school musical sitcom "Glee" go out of its way to be hostile to Christianity? Some may think so, given the matter-of-fact treatment in so many episodes of teen drinking, drug use, sex, pregnancy, and its acceptance of same-gendered relationships. As a progressive Christian and fan of the show, even I wonder at times if they are pushing the envelope a bit too far. I've often commented that I'm not sure younger teens should be watching the show. It is, after all, an exaggerated, satirical look at how adults view adolescence. I'd be a little worried if some middle-schooler...

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.(John 3:5-7)John Three is the record of an interview, between the great Rabbi and Pharisee, Nicodemus, and the non formally trained , itinerant Rabbi from Nazareth, Jesus. But Jesus is the one who is teaching. The subject is the New Birth. The Jews...

Dallas Theological Seminary professor Daniel B. Wallace has said that newly discovered fragments from the Gospel of Mark could be the oldest New Testament artifacts ever found and date from the first century A.D., or during the time of eyewitnesses of Jesus' resurrection. Wallace announced his findings at UNC Chapel Hill on Feb. 1, 2012, during a debate in front of 1,000 people, where he unveiled that seven New Testament papyri had recently been discovered – six of them he said were probably from the second century, and one of them, the Gospel of Mark, probably from the first. The...

At the National Prayer Breakfast last week, seeking theological underpinning for his drive to raise taxes on the rich, President Obama invoked the highest possible authority. His policy, he testified “as a Christian,” “coincides with Jesus’ teaching that for unto whom much is given, much shall be required.’” Now, I’m no theologian, but I’m fairly certain that neither Jesus nor his rabbinic forebears, when speaking of giving, meant some obligation to the state. You tithe the priest, not the taxman. The Judeo-Christian tradition commands personal generosity as represented, for example, by the biblical injunction against retrieving any sheaf left behind...

There are four aspects of powerful preaching displayed by Jesus in this passage. As such, Jesus is not just a powerful preacher himself, but also models what it means to be a powerful and effective preacher.In using the word “preacher” here we ought to be careful not to reduce preaching merely to what takes place in a church. For surely the clergy have churches in which to preach. But every Catholic parent ought also to learn from Jesus here, for they have the church of their home in which to preach, and the pulpit of the dining room table,...

I’ll never forget hearing Dr. Doug Kelly (one of my theology professors in seminary) saying in class, “If you want to make people mad, preach law. If you want to make them really, really mad preach grace.” I didn’t know what he meant then. But I do now. The law offends us because it tells us what to do–and we hate anyone telling us what to do, most of the time. But, ironically, grace offends us even more because it tells us that there’s nothing we can do, that everything has already been done. And if there’s something we hate...

Dolly Parton is back on the big screen, starring alongside Queen Latifah in the Gospel-driven “Joyful Noise.” But the country music legend insisted that there is more to the movie than just music and a good time. “The film is uplifting and I want people to go away feeling better than they did when they got here, because times are hard right now. Everybody's been feeling a little scared and a little down, and the economy has been bad and people don't know what to think. We just seem to have lost all our morals and principles and values these...