Almost a year ago, we posted about how you get a religious view into the secular UK media. And we suggested there are three ways to do it:
So, turn to the Telegraph today, and you can read the views of Bettany Hughes, who coincidentally is fronting a new BBC2 series and is an “expert in ancient history” (is there anyone, really, who is truly an expert in the whole of ancient history?!). She is claiming that the story of women in Christianity has been suppressed.
“Who knows whether God is a girl?” she muses. Presumably, God does, and could choose to tell us if He (I use the word advisedly) saw fit.
Anyway, it’s a great example of a Type-One Christianity-in-the-news story. As is this one, questioning what gender—if any—Jesus was. I’m not going to comment on it, because I think it’s groundless, and disrespectful to the Son of God.
While pieces like that continue to fill column inches, here are the three headlines we predicted a year ago you wouldn’t see, and which we haven’t noticed in the intervening twelve months. But they have been happening, unreported:
Some "churches" are just beyond the pale.
We're scandalised by their false teaching, outraged by the way immorality and sin is tolerated and even applauded, and incensed at the way preachers make themselves the centre of attention.
Sadly the wreckage of apostate Christianity is all around us. From crumbling denominations to wild money-grabbing showmen who know how to turn on our attention and empty our pockets at the same time. And of course, like self-respecting Bible-believing evangelicals, we turn away in sadness, dismissal or rage. We distance ourselves from them as a disgrace to the gospel and as a poor advertisement for what faith in Jesus as Lord should look like.
Or should we…... continue reading
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.
(Matthew 19 v 28-30)
Being a Christian is costly. Sometimes we'll lose friends because we love Jesus. We also have to turn away from things that used to be more important to us than Jesus. But one day, when Jesus returns, we'll be rewarded far more than we could ever imagine! The Christian life isn't easy, but it's definitely worth it.
The Atheist and Christian world was rocked after it emerged this morning that Richard Dawkins is to be appointed Archbishop of Canterbury after a back-room deal brokered by the outgoing Primate.
In a shock news announcement from Lambeth Palace this morning (April 1st) it was stated that the outspoken atheist had radically changed his views in the last few months.
"I have always said that I am a 'cultural Anglican' said the Oxford professor, "but after years of resisting belief and arguing against it, I finally gave in to the whisperings of my heart earlier this year. I am now a believer."
Rowan Williams commented: "After our debate at the Oxford Union, Richard and I started to meet, and talk over the objections to belief. One by one, I explained patiently how his objections were not sound - even by his own strict scientific criteria."
Professor Dawkins said: "I mocked the idea of his existence for years, but like C S Lewis before me, after weeks of wrestling, I knelt down in my study and prayed for the first time to the Invisible Pink Unicorn that I had long rejected."
Dawkins confirmed that since his conversion, he had received several job offers."I was approached to be John Piper's eventual successor at Desiring God," he said. "But I felt that the microphones they use would make me look like I worked at a Burger King drive-thru."
Williams, who steps down as Archbishop in December is enthusiastic about the new appointment to the See of Canterbury. "Richard will bring his outstanding mind to bear on a whole range of difficult issues the Anglican communion faces in the future. His refreshing new theological perspective may shock some, but his remarkable conversion from convinced atheist to true believer will be enough to convince many in itself."
They are also hopeful that this new Orthodoxy will do much to set right the church's financial difficulties. "Posters, T shirts and effigies of the Invisible Pink Unicorn are already being designed and manufactured for sale in cathedrals and churches throughout the Anglican Communion," said Dawkins. "With the ear of faith, I can already hear the tills ringing."
Long-term adversaries of God Delusion author were both delighted at the news, but cautious about the newfound faith of the Oxford academic, some thinking that it might be unhelpful to expose a new believer to the pressures that such a new office would bring, others questioning of the details of his conversion. But many are enthusiastic.
Said one un-named source: "The Invisible Pink Unicorn has long been a hidden theme in Christian theology. Archbishop Richard will be continuing the fine tradition of theological development that has marked the Anglican church in recent times."
Richard Dawkins is 71.
The Bible is an awesome true story. And Jesus the ultimate story-teller. So it's no surprise that telling Bible stories is a fantastic way for God's people to teach others about his greatness. But it's not always easy to engage a room full of small people in a complex biblical narrative in ways that are both faithful and relevant.
In this seminar, first given at the Bible-centred Youthworker conference earlier this year, Sarah Bradley shares her top tips for storytelling with under 11s.
The DVD makes Discipleship Explored so easy to run that often lots of different groups want to run the course at the same time. Brilliant! We've heard many churches running it with Mums & Tots groups, in peoples homes with friends and neighbours, as a whole church and in small groups to name a few.
However what if the only copy of the church DVD gets lost? Nightmare situation! So for the next 7 days we're offering an amazing 50% off the price of the DVD so you can get a few copies and not have that panic of wondering where the DVD is. You can now run multiple courses and not worry about the talks.
Simply use the code de50 at checkout on both the UK and US websites and it will automatically be discounted.
You may have read it. You might have given it away. We hope you’ve heard of it: One Life – What’s it all about, the great paperback by Rico Tice and Barry Cooper. It’s been used to help many people understand the gospel better in English-speaking countries for years. Now it’s at work in India, the Hindi translation of the original Christianity Explored paperback having just been launched in Delhi.
But it’s not only the book that’s been translated into Hindi. The second edition of the main course has as well. Recently 142 Christianity Explored leaders were trained in Uttarakhand. In Delhi, 183 people attended a course held at the Bible Bhavan Christian Fellowship. It’s an exciting privilege to be a small part of gospel growth in India!
The Hindi version of the course is also available in the UK. The paperback will be available in the next few months. Please do pray with us that the material will be used to God’s glory among Hindi speakers across the globe.
A few snippets of faith in the news this week...
Doctor claims he was dismissed for emailing prayer to colleagues
Gay marriage: Anglican vicar resigns over 'homophobia'
If you live east of the Atlantic, you may not have heard of Tim Tebow. He was last season's quarterback for the Denver Broncos (American football, if this sentence is losing you), leading them to the NFL play-offs. He has more than a million Twitter followers and landed an endorsement deal with Nike. Last week, he was traded (transferred, in UK English) to the New York Jets.
Oh, and he's a Christian, who prays before games and uses media interviews to share the gospel.
But you'd hardly have known that from the UK coverage. See if you can (eventually) spot the word "religious" in this article, which focuses on Tebow-the-celebrity. You get a tiny bit on his pre-match praying from the Guardian, but they happily follow that up with this sneery, snide Tebow-the-idiot-Christian piece.On the other hand, in the US Tebow's faith is more than just cannon-fodder for journalists who want to look clever. And his beliefs are mentioned, and commented on, in a pretty respectful way—see here in the New York Times, not exactly a bastion of Biblical viewpoints.
I don't want to make too much of it. But it does point up a difference between the UK and US media. In the US, Christian faith is more mainstream, more respected, more understood. If a Christian pastor writes a book, he's far more likely to have it picked up and discussed in the secular media. Talkshows are far more likely to give a hearing to a proper, biblical Christian voice.
In the UK, the secular media doesn't really understand Christianity; doesn't bother to get to grips with it and discuss it in the same way as the Budget is, or the Champions League is. Public displays of faith are usually quickly watered down (my favourite was at the 2003 World Cup, when the commentator said of the South African and Samoan teams praying together after they'd played one another: "Ah, the unifying power of sport").
This isn't to say "it's better in the US" (though in many ways their church scene has much to teach us). It is to say "it's different in the US". The great things that are happening in UK churches—the gospel transforming deprived areas one person at a time, the Bible being gently brought to bear on people facing agonising, life-changing decisions, and so on—go unreported, or are only spoken of to be undermined. The pastors who preach with conviction, faithfulness and passion go unnoticed. The growing churches remain unmentioned.
That doesn't mean they're not happening. It just means that we'll have to look harder. And that we won't hear about them in our secular media.
