Gandalf Defacing the Bible? Say it ain’t So

In an interview with”Details” magazine, actor Ian McKellen admitted to ripping pages out of the Bible whenever he gets a chance (link).
Details: Is it true that when you stay at hotels you tear out the Bible page that condemns homosexuality?
Ian McKellen: I do, absolutely. I’m not proudly defacing the book, but it’s a choice between [...]

United Methodists Trying to Reach Younger Folks, Lower Average Age

The United Methodist Church, having already lost a couple million members over the years and continuing along that trend, have decided that they will make a proactive attempt to lower their average member age from its current median of 57 (link).
They have unleashed several PR initiatives, including their “Open Minds, Open Hearts, Open Doors” campaign [...]

“Emerging adults” and Liberal Theology

Peter Leithart comments on the end of Christian Smith’s Souls in Transition.  Here is his full post:
Near the end of his recent Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults, Christian Smith summarizes the argument of a 1995 article by N. Jay Demerath of the University of Massachusetts.  Demerath writes, that the [...]

Ignatius of Antioch writes to the Ephesians

I thought that these were some beautiful words from Ignatius to the Ephesians, describing their union to God in Christ and urging them to both pray for those outside the faith and model Christ for them:
But I have learned that certain people from elsewhere have passed your way with evil doctrine, but you did not [...]

Gene Robinson Quote

Was listening to NPR today and heard part of an interview with Episcopal Gene Robinson, who happens to be openly gay and in a relationship with another man. He was previously married to a woman and had two children with his former wife. Anyhow, this quote is not exact, but the best my memory can [...]

Nidal Hasan and Secular America

I have written in the past about the coexistence of Islam and Secularism; (here and here for example). According to the Washington Post, Islamic murderer Nidal Hasan gave a presentation to the Army about which the Post says:
Under the “Conclusions” page, Hasan wrote that “Fighting to establish an Islamic State to please God, even by [...]

Against Evangelical Hipsters

In the Summer 2009 issue of The City there is a superb piece of writing that diagnoses a creature that I come across quite a bit online and sometimes in the flesh up in D.C. – the evangelical hipster.  John Mark Reynolds wrote the piece, where he diagnoses the persona of these individuals:
Secularists should stop [...]

New Calvinism and Holy Hip Hop

I just finished listening to a 9Marks Audio installment where Mark Dever interview Christian hip hop artists shai linne and Voice.  I’ve heard shai linne’s “Atonement Q&A” before; it’s something like a rap catechism that’s part of his album “The Atonement.”  Shai and Voice are both theologically Reformed, and they view their work as a [...]

“Emerging Adults” and Religion

Christianity Today’s Katelyn Beaty interviewed sociologist Christian Smith for the current issue.  Smith’s new book, Souls in Transition,  looks at the religious attitudes and practices of 18-29 year-olds.  The idea that this phase of life is now a prelude to married life has come out in several things that I’ve read.  Some good examples are [...]

Reaching the Next Generation With Substance, Not Style

Kevin DeYoung, pastor at University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Michigan, did a series this week on his five-part plan for “reaching the next generation” with Christ: “Grab them with passion.  Win them with love.  Hold them with holiness.  Challenge them with truth.  Amaze them with God.”  The focus of the series is this: substance [...]

Why Young Folks Are Turning to Reformed Worship

This is a brief quote from the article, “Young, Restless, and Reformed” (link).
“If there’s an appeal to students, it’s that we’re not playing around,” Hughes said. “We’re not entertaining them. This is life and death. My sense is that’s what they’re interested in, even from an old man.”
I know this article and quote are old, [...]

Four Reformed Views of Christ and Culture

Kevin DeYoung links to an article by Ray Pennings about how four different Reformed camps think about the ancient question of Christian engagement in culture.  It’s short but interesting.  I’m a little surprised by the names that Pennings gives to the camps, but it looks like he explains them in a print-edition only article of [...]