Search for "how to shop for cheap airline tickets phone number 1-800-299-7264"

Is LGBT-Muslim Clash Aiding Rise of Right in Europe?

By Peter Montgomery

…“the main opponent of the anti-discrimination bills.” Namibia: Lutheran bishop denounces same-sex marriage Shekutamba Nambala, presideing bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN), “one of the largest Christian denominations in the country,” denounced same-sex marriage during a sermon in Windhoek: He said God has created marriage as a vehicle of generational renewal and childbirth, and it is from that perspective that ELCIN vie…

From Pastor to Harvard’s ‘Godless Church’ Planter

By Becky Garrison

…nnect with other clergy persons. Over the past 18 months, I’ve developed a number of relationships with people who contact me because they find themselves in a similar situation. They ask questions, I don’t push. I’m simply a listening ear…someone safe for them to talk to. What was the response to your coming out as an atheist? An enormous number of Christians have threatened to do physical harm to me. Many others have been kind in their response…

Presidential Debate: We Are All Socialists Now

By Louis A. Ruprecht

…eard this evening was rolled out here, in the first five minutes, as point number two. And Senator McCain repeated it all evening long, lest we miss it. He now proposes a state-sponsored re-definition of the current housing market, such that the federal government will buy up an enormous number of imminent foreclosures (how?), mandate a new evaluation of the real value of these homes (how?), then enable homeowners to re-negotiate their current mor…

The Religious Mourning of ‘Saint’ Kobe Bryant Continues

By Terry Shoemaker

…year’s All-Star game, one team wore Kobe’s number 24, while the other wore number 2, Gianna’s uniform number. The MVP award, given this year to Los Angeles Clippers’ star forward Kawhi Leonard, was renamed permanently for Kobe Bryant. Pregame and half-time shows centered on Kobe, his family, and his impact on the sport of basketball and society. The collective grief and bereavement displayed by fans and players alike not only demonstrate the power…

New Poll Finds “Growing Appetite” for Mixing Religion and Politics

By Sarah Posner

…from electoral politics, as they could signal to candidates that a growing number of voters are interested in hearing them talk about their faith. While the number of Americans who believe it is important for members of Congress to have strong religious beliefs has remained steady since 2010—about 6-in-10, with even more significant majorities among Protestants and Catholics—this poll shows a growing number of Americans who want to hear candidates…

Conversion Story #643 (not a real number)

By Amina Wadud

These days, when ever you say you are Muslim by choice, you get people asking about your conversion. Mostly they want to know why. This curiosity comes equally from those who are already Muslim and those who are not. I used to tell the same basic steps—although I hardly think my own individual door lights up any bulbs of excitement. Maybe because no lightbulbs went off for me either. I was a seeker. I was raised in a loving Christian environment…

RDPulpit: I Am Not A Number: Gays and Lesbians and Opinion Polls

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…jority of young evangelicals support either marriage or civil unions.” The numbers remain in line with other recent polls, like one commissioned by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)—and I’ll admit my friend Debra Haffner has every right to be encouraged by these statistics—but I can’t get over my anger that my life even has to be the subject of constant polling. Why does the temperature of the populace have to be taken about…

Paul the Pluralist: Jesus’ Number Two Was Not a Christian

By Pamela Eisenbaum

In recent years, a rather animated conversation has been taking place about the apostle Paul. This conversation has largely been between those who identify with what is commonly known as “the New Perspective on Paul,” and those who wish to defend a more traditional understanding of the apostle. I can’t say for sure which side is winning the debate, but some of us who were initially inspired by the New Perspective on Paul have decided that it has…

Sharing Many of the Same Flaws as its Subject ‘The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill’ Podcast Puts Blame Anywhere But Where It Belongs

By Jessica Johnson

…ys Mark was the first Internet age megachurch celebrity pastor and leading number one podcasts, number one sermon downloads, those kinds of things. So what that did is, elevated Mark to the stratosphere so quickly, whereas you might think…typically they may take 20-30 years of faithful ministry, but the Internet just propelled things with such rapidity, and the Internet only sees how you speak, that’s all the Internet is, it’s all about verbal art…

Gays Losing Value to “Value Voters”?

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…en though opposition to same-sex marriage seems to be cooling its heels at number three, it’s presence is still felt in just about all aspects of the “value voters” belief system. With abortion remaining at the number one spot, it’s clear that all things sexual continue to occupy the minds of those who seem the most opposed to anyone actually having sex. It’s interesting to view the “value voter” summit in juxtaposition with a new survey conducted…