Christianity in the News

Report Highlights Consistent Pattern of Hostility Toward Christians in US

Atheists' road signs attack faiths of Romney, Obama ahead of Democratic convention

Pakistani girl accused of Qur'an burning could face death penalty

Canadian 'punching' preacher banned from UK

Science and the roots of faith

Jeff Foxworthy returns to game-show hosting with GSN’s ‘American Bible Challenge’ starting August 23

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The Son of David?

When Jesus was born, as "the son of Abraham, the son of David" (Matthew 1 v 1), how many other people in Israel were descended from Abraham, and from King David?

Really interesting article on the BBC website, by a guy with considerably more mathematical skills than me. His (very convincing) answer: everyone!

There were, according to Matthew, 28 generations between David and Jesus (1 v 17); and it appears that by that stage, King David would have almost certainly been an ancestor to everyone who lived in Israel (and a lot of people who didn't), simply because the number of our ancestors doubles with each preceding generation. We have two parents, four grandparents, eight great-grandparents, so by the 28th generation there are 265,977,856 (assuming no "inter-breeding"). Since there were only around 1 million people in Jesus' time in Israel, there's a very high chance that David (and, therefore, Abraham) was the ancestor of all of them.... continue reading

The dating game

I read an article last week about the difficulties of finding a fellow believer to date and/or marry. Perhaps some of these quotes sound familiar:

• It is not just convenience that drives him to seek someone with similar beliefs. It is also a question of ethics.
• The numbers ought to favour men, as __________ women outnumber them by about three to one. But in practice it doesn't work out like that, he says. __________ women, it seems, are more willing to tolerate a non-_________ partner.
• Of course, there are men, too, who are prepared to be flexible – or maybe have little choice. G became a ___________ at the age of 12, while growing up in the north of Scotland, where there was not much hope of going out with a ____________ girl. “They are hard to come by in Aberdeen," he says.
• M accepts his girlfriend's diet. "There are relationships in which, though the people are completely different, they support each other's beliefs – and it works," he says.
• Although M is not going to change his beliefs, with the passage of time he sees that he may need to date a non-____________ if he is to find his life partner. "I would definitely prefer to go out with a ____________ but you cannot choose who you fall in love with."

The Acts of the Holy Spirit infographic

And here is our latest exciting infographic: a timeline of Acts and the Epistles.

The honey-dripping lips of an adulteress (or, how to claim adulterous sex is a good idea)

Sadly, if not unsurprisingly, a headline of “The recipe for happiness? An enduring marriage and an affair with lots of sex” has rocketed to the top of the most-read articles on The Telegraph’s website.

If you read it, it’s worth playing the “spot the unsubstantiated claim/logical inconsistency/historical inaccuracy” game.

Here were my favourites:... continue reading

On to a Good Thing

Thumb Prayers

Teaching children to pray can be a challenging task. They're often quite keen to open their mouths and be honest with the Lord about what they want - a refreshing and, at times, amusing trait. But encouraging them to pray biblically can be a little harder.

That's where thumb prayers can come in. A simple technique to help children remember some key areas of prayer. And all you need is, well, your thumbs!

Thumbs up!

Thank you God for being great... Colossians 4:2
With thumbs in the air, encourage the children to thank God for who he is and the many good gifts he has given us.

Thumbs down!

Sorry for the times I've messed up ... 1 John 1:9
With thumbs pointing to the ground, encourage the children to say sorry to God for the times they have thought, said or done things that are not what he would want.

Thumbs out!

Please help other people to get to know you ... Matthew 6:10
With thumbs pointing out towards the outside world, encourage the children to think about their friends at school who don't know Jesus and ask God to help them get to know him better.

Thumbs in!

Please help me to become more like you ... Ephesians 3:16-19
And finally, with thumbs pointing in to their hearts, encourage the children to ask God to help them become more like Jesus ... and set them free to ask for all those other things that matter dearly to them!

Fighting the Monday feeling

I will extol the LORD at all time; his praise will always be on my lips.
My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
Glorify the LORD with me: let us exalt his name together.

Psalm 34:1-3