Century 35625 (1963?) One of the frustrating things about our culture is that everyone "markets" what they do as brand new. That includes Christian music. Music leaders, composers, and publishers would like to think that the move away from "traditional" Christian hymnody (and they usually fail to define "traditional") is all recent and the music …
From One Who's Been There: My Thoughts on Ulf Ekman's Conversion to Catholicism
The Pentecostal and Charismatic world has been atwitter (a phrase with new meaning these days) about the conversion of Ulf Ekman, Sweden's foremost Charismatic pastor, to Roman Catholicism. My friend Dale Coulter has a more "respectable" take on this, and he's right: it's easier to make the Tiber swim from a Full Gospel start than …
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Rising Hope: Farewell to the Shadowlands and Where the Songs Come From
This Cincinnati, OH, based group put out two very nice folk-rock albums. There is a mixture of original compositions and covers, some of which (well, one of which) you wouldn't expect on a non-Catholic album. The group does well in different styles and these albums are very good as a result. More information about the …
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The Big Differences Between Pope Francis and the Prosperity Charismatics
The greeting video that Pope Francis sent to Kenneth Copeland's conference has created a stir. There are the usual Protestant vs. Catholic kinds of issues being brought up, and of course the obvious one: why a Pope who has pushed Catholic social teaching back to the forefront--to the discomfort of American conservatives--would even give a …
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Head and Heart Knowedge: Doing What They Said Couldn't Be Done
Dale Coulter's moving piece on adoption, image and God's love (including extensive reference to St. Thomas Aquinas) brought back a more prosaic incident that happened to me while working in the family business. About thirty years ago, between trips to China, I had to make a trip to Holland for an offshore hammer repair. With …
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A Pile Driver Talks About God
This from Rusty Signor, current President of the Pile Driving Contractors Association and President of TX Pile, LLC, in the current issue of Pile Driver: In my last message, I ended with a different, more positive view on the news in our current world situation. This time, I am going to do another first: a …
Ted Haggard Should Know: Ministry Failure is a Hard Teacher
He speaks out on the tragic suicides that have struck prominent Evangelical pastors' sons: "Some researchers are reporting that the suicide rate among Evangelicals is the same as that of the non-Christian community. How sad," Haggard, who made national headlines for a sex scandal involving a male prostitute in 2006, writes on his blog, days …
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So Who Are My Mother and My Brothers?
This is the time of year when we think about what Roman Catholics refer to as the "Holy Family." The exact composition of that family is a matter of some dispute, as we will see, but at this time of the year we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ to Mary. Now Mary and Joseph …
You Can Let 'Em Play with Elves, Just Watch for the Pickup Game
Emily Brown Stone lets her kids play with elves at Christmastime (and presumably the rest of the year): One of the great debates around Christmas time for Christians is whether or not to encourage or allow the belief in Santa Clause. I have friends and family on both sides of this debate so I want …
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FoxNews "War on Advent" Isn't New
Some people will write anything to fill up server space: With FOX News seeking to expose those who refuse to say "Merry Christmas" as secular collaborators to the War on Christmas, I confess that I am confused. FOX holds itself up as the network that stands by traditional values defending America and faith from heresies …
Positive Infinity 