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Culture, politics, religion, spirituality, the nones

Why the nones are leaving church, but not God

nones

It should make any established American denomination panic: the dramatic increase in number of Americans leaving organized religion. In 2007, the percentage of the religious unaffiliated was around 15% and now that number is around 20% according to a new Pew study. In the last 20 years, the religiously unaffiliated or “nones” have doubled.

Before churches and denominations panic, this study does not prove people are leaving behind their belief in God – just the church.

There are a few things we need to remember. This poll, as with any poll, asked questions that may have not accurately described the respondents. The Washington Post reports,

Pew offered people a list of more than a dozen possible affiliations, including “Protestant,” “Catholic,” “something else” and “nothing in particular.”

Those “possible affiliations” are terms that may no longer apply. I’m routinely amazed how Christians incorrectly refer to other Christian denominations as “religions”. Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, and other Christian traditions are not separate faith systems, but sects of Protestant Christianity. Such semantics usually do not bother the average Christian, but it highlights how religious people often misunderstand or misuse terms and affiliations. This follows the pattern of Christians and disenfranchised Christians who dislike being labeled with added denominational titles. Such titles are innocuous and most Americans cannot tell you the difference between a Reformed church and an Episcopal church.

Does all this mean Americans aren’t religious people anymore?

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Culture, Jesus

Did Jesus really have a wife?

What you are looking at above is a 1,600 year-old piece of papyrus that was written in Coptic. A New York Times’ article on it set off speculation on whether or not Jesus was married:

A historian of early Christianity at Harvard Divinity School has identified a scrap of papyrus that she says was written in Coptic in the fourth century and contains a phrase never seen in any piece of Scripture: “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife …’”The faded papyrus fragment is smaller than a business card, with eight lines on one side, in black ink legible under a magnifying glass. Just below the line about Jesus having a wife, the papyrus includes a second provocative clause that purportedly says, “she will be able to be my disciple.”

Hold on there all you Dan Brown fans, don’t get too excited. There’s more to the story.

The Smithsonian Magazine has a lengthy back story on the papyrus and the scholar who discovered it. I highly suggest you read it when you have the time. The papyrus looks to be authentic, meaning that it is not a modern forgery. And, the Smithsonian Channel will premiere a special documentary about the discovery on September 30 at 8 p.m. ET

So the question remains, could have Jesus been married? Sure. Is it likely he was married?

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Culture, social media

Kate Middleton and social media voyeurism

The Royal Family is up in arms over Kate Middleton’s topless photos. Apparently, Prince William and Kate Middleton were enjoying some private time and Kate decided to well… lose some clothes. This is the latest embarrassing news story involving a royal and their nude pictures… Price Harry.

The problem is people eat this stuff up. They want to buy the magazine or log on to that website that has these nude pictures. Publishers pay hundreds of thousands (sometimes millions) of dollars for these photos. TMZ loves this it and it makes them money and social media sites.

Right now, the search “Kate Middleton nude pictures” has over a million searches on Google. People to go crazy over such news. Social media allows people to read, react, and share such juicy information. This pushes us deeper into what I call social media voyeurism.

What is social media voyeurism?

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Culture, faith, God, politics

God is not a political football

football

 

In football, you want to move the ball forward towards the end zone. You want to exploit the weaknesses of your opponent. If they carry the ball too high on their pads it is an easy target to strip the ball for a fumble. If the quarterback drops the ball it is an opportunity for the other team to gain control.

At the Democratic Convention this year, the Democrats had a fumble of their own. It was brought to the attention of delegates that the mention of “God” was omitted from the party’s platform. In a hasty attempt to correct this, the Democrats wanted to move the “God ball” forward quickly and without anyone taking note of their “mistake”. Republicans were quick to jump on this and decried the action as an attack on religion that was uncovered.

God suddenly became a political football that could be controlled, voted on, thrown, approved, and used as a political tool.

This past week I heard two people discussing these series of events. I overheard one bemoan the Democrats and their godless agenda to over throw religion in American. “Isn’t that awful! I’ll never vote for a Democrat ever again.” Another replied, “That’s why we have to get rid of this godless party of atheists! Mitt Romney is my man!”

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9/11, Culture, September 11

Three responses to 9/11 grief

On September 11, 2001 I was in college. I was getting out of a Tuesday morning class when I heard people talking about an airplane crash. As I walked back to my apartment, I heard more and more information. I walked by a utility truck and heard words on the radio, “World Trade Center… airplane… Pentagon… crash.”  I thought to myself, this is serious.  Minutes later I watched the towers come down.

With the 11th anniversary of September 11, 2001 here, many Americans are sorting through their minds and hearts.  How have I changed from 2001? What do I feel when I think of September 11, 2001?  Where was I on that fateful day? Am I still sad? Where can our country go from here?

As we reflect and look back, we have three main responses to the attacks on September 11, 2001:

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Culture, politics

Do Americans want a Pastor-in-Chief?

With the selection of Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney‘s running mate, religious history was made. Some historians believe this is the first presidential major party ticket that does not feature a protestant running for president or vice-president. Romney is Mormon and Ryan is Catholic. Other historians have made the case that Eisenhower and Lincoln did not officially belong to a protestant church when they ran. Regardless of how candidates affiliated themselves with a religion, the 2012 election is different.

Could we have the first non-protestant president since John F. Kennedy?

Even though our Constitution specially outlaws religious affiliation as a qualifier for elected office, Americans generally like a president that invokes God, prays, receives counsel from religious leaders, and has a faith in the God of the Bible. A 2012 Pew Poll found that 67% of respondents believe it is important for the president to have strong religious beliefs. If religious beliefs play a factor in voting for a president, then Gallup’s discovery of 41% of voters claiming to be “very religious” plays a significant role in selecting a president. Back in the spring of 2012, Gallup also found that, “Highly religious Americans, particularly those who are white and Protestant, disproportionately support presumptive Republican presidential candidate Romney…This reinforces a basic pattern in American voting behavior that has been evident for decades.”

It seems that Americans generally like a president with a faith, but how religious does the candidate need to be?

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Chick-fil-A, Culture

Roundup of Chick-fil-A comments

We had a lively debate on my post “Are you supporting Chick-fil-A day?”  Click and read the Facebook comments.

However, there were other people weighing in that I think you should read. These are not endorsements, but are comments that you should read to consider in order to be informed:

“Palin: Chick-fil-A owner “getting crucified” CBS News, Sarah Palin.

I am speaking up for him, and his First Amendment rights, and anybody else who would wish to express their not anti-gay people sentiment, but their support for traditional marriage, which President Obama and Joe Biden they both supported the exact same thing until just a few months ago when Obama had to flip flop to shore up the homosexual voter base.”

“Some words for Christians on both sides of the Chick-fil-A war” by Rachel Held Evans, RachelHeldEvans.com

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Culture, joe paterno, penn state

Why Penn State scandal is about football

“You don’t understand Penn State! This has nothing to do with football” Is an angry response I heard to my 2011 blog post, Sins of Omission, Paterno & Penn State.

This child abuse scandal has everything to do with football and you do not have to be a Penn State student or alumni to understand it.

By now, the country has heard of the NCAA sanctions Penn State received and the fall out from investigations resulting from school leadership failing to respond to child abuse resulting from coach, Jerry Sandusky.

Understandably, many Penn State students, fans, and alumni are upset at yet another blow to the school’s and the football program’s reputation. Basically, the school’s team will not be able to really come back to full strength till 2020. To add to their lament, the school took down Joe Paterno‘s statute because the school felt it became it became “a source of division and an obstacle to healing in our university and beyond”.

It is clear from the Freeh report, there was a weak system of accountability for Penn State football. Administrators, school officials, trustees, and coaches feared to bring anything forward that would tarnish the football program. A former administrator, responsible for student discipline experienced this system of suppression for negative attention for Penn State football. CNN recounted Vicky Triponey’s employment at Penn State:

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Culture, steve jobs

Steve Jobs, the Modern Prophet?

This past Sunday a private memorial service was held at Stanford University’s chapel for Steve Jobs, the juggernaut of the personal computing world.  Jobs’ passing has many of us reflecting on the work of one man’s life. His leadership provided for many visionary changes that have affected the world. Like the prophets from old, one man, albeit with blue jeans and a turtleneck, could prophesy the future. Unlike a prophet foretelling of doom, Jobs showed the world that the future was encased in a neat, clean, and powerful package.

He gave people something to hope for… even if it was just a product.

Connecting Steve Jobs to the concept of a “prophet” may cause some consternation in the Evangelical Christian community, but it is there.  Much like prophetic leadership guiding people to an unknown place and time, Jobs was able to motivate people into action and embrace the future. The iPhone, iPad, and other “i” products enabled people to take their relationships with them and put their interests, music, pictures, and friends in their pockets and backpacks.

Like a Moses or Joshua, Jobs was able to lead people to a promised hope. Steve Jobs had the ability to encourage people to change, and that’s a hard thing to do.  People followed Apple and Jobs into a new era of computing and personal electronics. That’s great and all, but what makes Jobs so prophetic?

His speech in 2005 to graduates at Stanford illustrates his prophetic ability:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but some day not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

What profound cryptic philosophical and religious language. Death the single best invention of life? Jobs is preaching a gospel that so many know, but few want to admit.  American Christianity has a lot to learn from Job’s words.  We Christians believe in a faith of death and resurrection, but we cannot let churches die. In biology, the death of one organism means life for another.  We are afraid to close churches for fear people will lose their faith. Yet, letting one church die can mean life for a new church. Resources, ideas, and property can be given for a new faith community to form.

Steve Jobs may have not been a believer or even religious, but he sure acted like a prophet. What more can we glean from such secular individuals in order to better Christianity?

One definition of a “prophet” in Christianity is someone who speaks the truth about God. Steve Jobs spoke the truth about death and its ability to change, but can we embrace this message?

change, Church Leadership, Churches, Culture

Why 9 in 10 Believe in God but not Church

believe

Many in the religious right have been running for the hills because this “godless” nation has become too secular.  The rhetoric of our nation’s direction is flawed by the growth of atheists and secularists is over played.  It seems a recent Gallup study confirmed what has simply is unknown to many: We are still a religious nation.  More than 9 in 10 Americans still say “yes” when asked the basic question “Do you believe in God?” Perhaps even more encouraging is that 84% of 18-29 year-old segment and 94% of 30-49 year-old segment answered in the affirmative.

And this is not a statistical bump, but historically, since 1943, the vast majority of Americans believe in “God”.

godbelieveIt would seem that we are still a religious nation, but obviously church leaders want to know how many of those 90 plus percent are Christian. Logically, many ask the question, “If we are such a God-believing country, then why is church attendance so low?”

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Culture

Donald Trump: I am a Christian

As the 2012 presidential race heats up, many would-be candidates are launching and engaging in some serious presidential talk.  Mitt Romney just announced that he formed an exploratory committee. Fox News contributor, Mike Huckabee is making the rounds and giving his thoughts on traditional presidential debate topics.  Now, millionaire and reality TV show host, Donald Trump is testing the presidential waters.

Recently, Donald Trump sat down with Christian Broadcasting Network’s (CBN) David Brody and brought up something that he rarely talks about: his religion.

In this exclusive interview, Trump talks about his relationship with God, the church, the bible, being a Presbyterian, and his commitment to attending church.

Trump said: Continue Reading…

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