➗ Who’s In? Who’s Out? The Latest On The Baptist And Methodist Doctrinal Divides 🔌

This week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights the ongoing battles over who’s in — and who’s out — among Southern Baptists and United Methodists. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.

LGBTQ+ Dreams By Some In Today’s American Catholic Church

(OPINION) Referring to the “wedding banquet at Cana,” when Jesus turned water into wine, the Jesuit theologian called for a changed church in which “people of all races, genders and sexualities rejoice at the presence of love” and a world in which “spiritual wounds will be healed, where faith-based violence will be no more, where fear and intolerance are relics of history.”

A Disastrous Hike Proves I Was Created For The Indoors

(OPINION) I hate the outdoors. There, I said it. Sling all the mud my way you want, you hikers, rock climbers and campers. Your mud will not stick to me, because I’ll be happily ensconced behind the brick walls of my climate-controlled, preternaturally comfortable house, binging on Netflix shows and living my own best life.

OpinionPaul PratherMay 17, 2023Paul Prather, Hiking, Exercise, OutdoorsComment

It Is the Shepherd, Not The Sheep, Who Is Smart

(OPINION) We are just dumb sheep — meaning, dumb compared to the wisdom and knowledge of God and compared to the challenges we face in this world, despite the wisdom we gain by experience and the knowledge we gain through the Word. For me, that brings tremendous comfort.

Repeat After Me: White Catholics Voting In 2004, White Catholics Voting In 2024

(OPINION) It’s time to focus on the U.S. Catholic vote in 2024, following up a prior Memo assessing religion angles with Donald Trump’s prospects. The Guy once again advises journalists and other observers that Catholics are more pivotal politically than unbudgeable Democrats such as Black Protestants, non-Orthodox Jews and nonreligious Americans.

🚨 Another Week, Another Mass Shooting In America: Have We Had Enough? 🔌

This week’s Weekend Plug-in covers God, guns and other faith angles after the mass shooting at a shopping mall in Allen, Texas. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.

The Global South Starts Cutting Ties With Canterbury (Part 2)

(OPINION) During the recent Global Anglican Future Conference held in Kigali, Rwanda, Raffel was one of several bishops — 315 attended, from 52 nations — who stressed that traditionalists now need to look forward. It's time to focus on life in their rapidly growing churches while dedicating less time and energy to clashes with declining churches in England, America, Canada and elsewhere.

Changing The World Through Love — A Better Alternative To Diversity, Equity And Inclusion

(OPINION) Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are good things. But DEI is like trying to change the world through law. There’s a better way: love. I think love is UEE: unity, equality and exclusions.

Prayer Is A Great (And Complicated And Often Uncertain) Thing

(OPINION) As Christians, we’re told to make our petitions known to God. That is, we’re to pray for ourselves and others, and to do so specifically. We can ask for wisdom, or healing, or financial relief, or the protection of our children and friends, or for a thousand other things. There’s nothing wrong with that and nothing selfish about it.

OpinionPaul PratherMay 9, 2023Paul Prather, Prayer, Christianity, Faith, Healing, Answered prayer, MiraclesComment

Celebrating World Press Freedom Day And Religious Freedom

(ANALYSIS) It is vital to recognize the broad scope of religion itself and hence of religious freedom. Religion is not a separate, isolated segment of human existence. It is not merely what people do with their solitude. It is not only acts of worship on a Sunday, Sabbath or Friday. It is not simply adherence to creeds or doctrines. Religion is one of the fundamental shapers of human life.

Schism Or Not, What’s Next For The Huge, Disrupted Global Anglican Communion?

(OPINION) If the Anglican Communion did not suffer schism on April 21, it’s the next best thing. A declaration issued that day at the conclusion of an international church assembly in Kigali, Rwanda, means the media and other religion-watchers should gird loins for years of maneuvers, legalities, confusion and acrimony.

👑 Faith And The Coronation Of King Charles III: What To Know About A Changing Britain🔌

This week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights the role of faith in the coronation of King Charles III. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.

Global South Anglicans Start Cutting Ties With Canterbury (Part 1)

(OPINION) The archbishop of Canterbury is attempting a classic Anglican maneuver in which the words of core doctrines remain unchanged, but bishops have the option to offer local pastoral policies that change what doctrines mean in real life, according to Gavin Ashenden, a former Anglican chaplain to the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Hot Megachurch Question: Why Have Many Worshippers Stopped Singing In Church’?

(OPINION) “Why have many worshippers stopped singing in church?” The question in that headline accompanied a provocative article about U.S. Protestant church trends that The Guy will turn to in a moment. The answer is important, and it’s quite obvious to observers of the long-running “worship wars” that are about far more than guitars and drums supplanting pipe organs and hymnals.

Our Sacred Documents Read Us As Surely As We Read Them

(OPINION) When learning to read and interpret literature effectively, a reader should keep in mind that often the novel you’re reading reads you as surely as you’re reading it. This insight useful for interpreting anything, from “The Sound and the Fury” to the U.S. Constitution, the latest news flash or the latest political screed — and the Bible.

🐘 Faith And Freedom: For GOP Presidential Candidates, It's Cattle Call Time Again 🔌

This week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights first Republican presidential cattle call of the year in Iowa, where evangelicals are a crucial voting bloc. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.

What Should Americans Know About Each Others’ Faiths?

(OPINION) Faiths retain powerful impact in society despite the increase of people with no religious affiliation and other secular inroads. Relations among major faiths feel especially pertinent in 2023. So, in practice what do people know about other major world religions? What should they know?

Many Catholics No Longer Go To Confession: Does It Matter?

(OPINION) In the movies, the penitent enters a confession booth, kneels and whispers to a priest behind a lattice screen, “Forgive me, father, for I have sinned.” This drama was, for centuries, at the center of Catholic life. But in recent decades, the number of Americans who go to confession has plunged to a shocking degree that church leaders have struggled to explain.

‘Lashawan Qwadash’: One Of The Craziest Beliefs Of The Black Hebrew Israelites

(OPINION) Among a host of crazy Black Hebrew Israelite beliefs, one of the most bizarre is the idea that they have preserved the real pronunciation of the Hebrew language, which they call Lashawan Qwadash. This is similar to claiming that Pig Latin is the true form of English or that William Shakespeare was famous for shaking a spear. It is that patently and blatantly absurd.

The Dalai Lama ‘Incident’: How Not To Respond To A Troubling Sexual Situation With A Child

(OPINION) In education circles, an incident like the Dalai Lama asking a boy to suck his tongue is often called a teachable moment. But the real lessons to be learned from this video could be titled “How NOT to respond to possible child sexual abuse” Or “How NOT to respond to a troubling sexual situation with a child.”

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