Why is it so easy to accept some substitutes but not others? This time of year, the Easter Bunny gets a free pass. But the acceptance of Jesus as the one all-sufficient substitutionary atonement for the humanity’s Sin faces continual opposition. There is no Christianity without the Cross; and there is no Cross without the…
(By Joseph Rossell, Juicy Ecumenism). Most Muslims and Christians know their religions trace their origins back to the same Abrahamic roots but diverge widely in both theology and practice. However, beyond these basic facts, how many adherents of either faith have examined the beliefs of the opposite religion in detail? Nabeel Qureshi seeks to remedy this…
By Mateen Elass, on his personal blog. Due to ongoing reverberations from the June 2016 PCUSA General Assembly where a “Muslim partner” led the gathered Presbyterians in a prayer to Allah seeking their conversion to Islam, newly appointed Stated Clerk J. Herbert Nelson, Jr. has published a defense of the denomination’s position on interfaith relations,…
A priest is slaughtered at Mass in rural France. This is what life is like for Christians in the Middle East By Damian Thompson, Catholic Herald. An 85-year-old priest has had his throat cut by an Islamic fanatic while saying Mass in a church in Normandy. For people in the West, this is a scene of almost…
By Samuel Smith, The Christian Post. New York Times bestselling author Eric Metaxas says that many Christians in the United States have adopted an “American version of Christianity” and lack a true understanding about what it means to be faithful to God’s word under the threat of persecution. Metaxas, the author of several books including…
By Carey Lodge, Christian Today. Hundreds of thousands of Christians across India are faced with a sobering ultimatum: hide their faith, or risk harassment, intimidation, and even death. Threats against churches, arson attacks on Christian property, and the harassment and violent abuse of new converts to Christianity are all on the rise in India, where…
The Presbyterian Church (USA) headquarters building in Louisville, Kentucky is draped today with a banner paying homage to a man who intentionally rejected the Christian faith and embraced the religion of Islam. The giant banner, contrary to some Islamic teachings, includes a photograph of Muhammad Ali. The banner says that the Presbyterian Church (USA) is “celebrating…
By Danielle Preiss, NPR.org. Famous for its high peaks and wind-whipped prayer flags, Hindu-majority Nepal used to be a nation unreached by Christianity. Now the country has one of the fastest-growing Christian populations in the world, according to the World Christian Database, which tracks global trends in Christianity. Bishwa Mani Pokharel, news chief at Nepal’s Nagarik…
It may look like a church, sing like a church, have stained-glass like a church, and call itself a church, but be careful: It might not be a church. By John Stonestreet, BreakPoint. The big religion story of last year? Christianity is in decline in America. The sensational headlines were based on data from the…
By Dale Neal, Asheville Citizen-Times (N.C.). Two local congregations hope to start bridging the gaps of misunderstanding between Christian and Muslim believers. Heath Rada, moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA), and Imam Mohamed Taha of the Asheville Islamic Center will host a public interfaith forum at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Warren Wilson Presbyterian Church. The forum is…