Hasn't gone away: But in fact, as people have turned away from the religious framework, they have not jettisoned that interior certitude, that feeling of absolute confidence that used to be associated only with religious doctrine and belief. When people stop believing in God, they quickly find surrogate beliefs, construct surrogate values, and embrace a …
The Reasons Christ is Really Present in the Eucharist
It's always amazing that the "fundamental" Protestants pass over this, but they do. From Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, 3 q.75 a.1: The presence of Christ's true body and blood in this sacrament cannot be detected by sense, nor understanding, but by faith alone, which rests upon Divine authority. Hence, on Luke 22:19: "This is My body which shall be delivered up for you," Cyril says: …
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Everyone Knew the Charismatics Were Nuts
Well, almost everyone: God hasn’t stopped frustrating expectations. Who in 1900 expected that there would be 150 million Pentecostals and Charismatics in Latin America? Sure, charismatic prophets predicted it, but everyone knew they were mad. In 1900, there were 9 million Christians in Africa. Now it’s pushing half a billion, and many are members of AICs—African …
Born to be Alive: The People Respond
For the entire work and an interactive table of contents, click here. When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your …
It's Important to Know a Competitor When You See One
And the Roman Catholic Church in the UK hasn't quite figured that out about the EU: Bishop Noel is of the view that the European Union "is a noble and historic project". "It is vital," he says, "that we participate in the European elections to ensure the EU and its institutions continue to evolve democratically …
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The Imaginary Land of American Foreign Policy
The world's largest democracy has swept Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) into power, and they're trying to figure out what he's going to do to change India: The new composition of parliament is significant, as are a number of other factoids about this election. The BJP has returned at least 279 seats in the …
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The People Who Love Going to Church
Are more and more non-white: “What I see among Millennials are African Americans, and Asians Americans, and Latinos who are vibrantly growing in faith and leading the future of what the church will become,” says Gray. About a third of young (18-29 year old) Americans — and more than half of younger Christians — are …
Scientific Authority and Logical Fallacies
In response to one of my pieces related to climate change, my persistent commenter had this to say: My impression is that “you people think science is a religion” is an accusation made against the secular by a small segment of the religious, that tiny sub-group who think of themselves as “the religious.” I’d think …
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Born to be Alive: The Spirit Poured Out
For the entire work and an interactive table of contents, click here. "`No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. …
Power and Privilege Training at Harvard? Just Pull the Plug!
Those diversity people are at it again, this time at The Place Where Future Presidents go: The administration at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government has agreed to work with a student group to implement a “mandatory power and privilege training” as part of its orientation, according to several reports by the group. “We have exciting …
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Positive Infinity 