Professor Jean Twenge of San Diego State University recently conducted an analysis of 40,000 Americans over the age of 30, based on data compiled for the General Social Survey.
Photo by One Zone Studio on Unsplash.
Twenge’s findings may come as a shock to some because she said in a post for the Institute of Family Studies that the data indicates that “people with more money were happier, as were people with more education and more prestigious jobs.
Aussie blogger and pastor Kurt Mahlburg is a perceptive observer of politics and culture in America, Great Britain and Down Under. You may not agree with everything he says, but he’s definitely worth reading for those with intellectually honest and open minds.
Screenshot from Mahlburg blog.
“It’s been many decades since the term culture wars was dubbed, and the label is now more relevant than ever. What began as a reasoned debate on issues like abortion, multiculturalism and homosexuality has turned into a hearts-and-minds battle for the soul of our civilization.
“The rapid growth of the culture wars vocab is evidence enough of this.
“It’s not easy keeping up with the jargon. Actually, it would be far safer to let others fight the culture wars. This is especially true now that people make a sport of branding others with so many exotic new phobias …
Go here for the rest of “Three Secrets to the Culture Wars.”
Thousands of churches and synagogues across the country have moved their regular services from meeting together in one facility to gathering “together” via Internet teleconferencing. It’s a suitable approach for coping with a temporary problem.
But what if the problem becomes more long-lasting, with official directives banning gatherings of 10 or more people continuing past the end of April and well into … well, who knows how long? That’s when things could get very complicated and when that happens, Congress almost always gets involved.
PJMedia Managing Editor Paula Bolyard has a thoughtful, accessible look at why the situation is a challenge for Bible-based congregations now and a warning of what could be coming down the road.
If you’ve been breathing and sentient at any point in the last decade or so, odds are good you took in at least a couple of episodes of “The Office.” One of the supporting cast stars of that sitcom was actor John Krasinski.
Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic, he recently went looking for some good news. And boy did he find it. Being an actor, he turned it into a show. Just not your typical show. Being a journalist by profession, I couldn’t resist.
“For years now, I’ve been wondering, why is there not a news show dedicated entirely to good news?” Krasinski explains on the first edition of his Some Good News (SGN) on, where else, youtube.com. “Well, desperately seeking my fix somewhere else, I reached out to all of you this week, asking — nay, begging — for some good news.” Interesting discussion with Steve Carrell, too:
Bob Perry is a commercial airline pilot who has seen the coronavirus pandemic up close and personal in recent days. He’s also talented, thoughtful observer from a Christian perspective, writing at True Horizon. Here’s a sample:
“Christianity exploded during the plagues and persecutions in the ancient world. And it did so precisely because Christians served those who most needed it. They comforted and cared for the sick and dying. This isn’t just a job for healthcare professionals. It’s a duty for us all …
“The economic expectations we have come to accept as normal are reckless, selfish, and short-sighted. We borrow and spend too much. We save too little. Our leaders are more worried about the next election than the next generation. Continue reading “What About The World On The Other Side Of This Pandemic?”
It’s based on a true story and features stars like Shania Twain and Gary Sinese in supporting roles, and, despite the gathering quarantining as a result of the coronavirus crisis, the new movie “I Still Believe” had a highly successful debut at No. 1, according to Christian Post.
“The Lionsgate film, made with a budget of $12 million, brought in over $9 million in ticket sales over the weekend, causing it to rank at No. 1 on Friday, beating out Sony’s ‘Bloodshot’ and Disney’s ‘Onward.’ Weekend totals show the film at No. 2 overall.
“’I Still Believe’ chronicles the story of how the award-winning Christian singer Jeremy Camp fell in love with and married Melissa Lynn Henning, who died in 2001, less than a year after they were wed.”
Go here for the rest of the Christian Post story and here is the official trailer:
San Francisco’s 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs meet Sunday in the Super Bowl and millions of people around the world will be tuned in to watch what could be one of the most exciting such games ever.
(Photo by Dave Adamson on Unsplash)
Nobody on the playing field, in the grandstands, listening on radio or watching the game on TV will have any doubt whatsoever about the purpose of the game — score more points than the other guys and win the Lombardi Trophy, the biggest victory anybody can gain in the great game of football.
But how should the “score” be calculated in the game of life? Depends on what the rules are, according to Dr. Frank Turek of cross-examined.org. As he explains in the following video, it’s a lot like how we know the difference between a touchdown and an interception:
You may if you’re susceptible to conspiracy theories, love to get high with the assistance of natural or chemical “friends,” or just can’t be bothered with coming to grips with the central fact of history.
Photo by Brad Knight on Unsplash
Meet well-known comedian, religion critic, and podcast host Joe Rogan, who, according to The Federalist’s Hans Fienne, has fallen under the spell of a little-known Dead Sea Scroll scholar, John Marco Allegro, who back when real Hippies roamed the Earth authored the book “The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross.”
Allegro explained away the resurrection with a theory that said Jesus never really existed but was instead simply the product of a mass hallucination among a bunch of muchroom-loving ancient Sumerians. Somewhere along the way, the early Christians took it all way too literally and the rest is history.
Fienne, a Lutheran minister with a genuine sense of humor and an impressively learned mind, disassembles this conspiracy theory that helpfully illustrates the absurd lengths to which we humans will go to avoid “the man (or woman) in the mirror.” That’s a reference to the book, by the way, not the Michael Jackson recording (the lyrics of which are also worth pondering).
I guarantee you will enjoy reading Fienne’s analysis, and you will probably also come away with a better understanding of the genuine significance of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Go here.
It’s a truism in much of today’s ecumenical efforts that Christians worship the same deity that Muslims do because both are monotheistic, that is, they each contend there is one god, not many.
The reality is that there are profound differences between the essential concepts of God held by orthodox Christians and the two major branches of Muslim belief.
Philosopher William Lane Craig contends the Muslim concept of god is “morally defective” and explains why in this video by first describing the Christian concept:
“As the greatest conceivable being, a morally perfect being, God must be all-loving. And this is exactly what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches that God loves sinners, His love is impartial, it is universal, it is unconditional,” Craig says.
“And this is a world of difference from the god of the Quaran. According to the Quaran, god does not love sinners. God in the Quaran only loves those who first love him,” Craig continues.
“So that his love rises no higher than the sort of love that Jesus said tax collectors and sinners exhibit. They love those that love them,” he said. “The Quaran says god does not love the very people that John 3:16 says that God love so much that He sent His only son to die for them.”
John Lennox is the famous and brilliant Oxford mathematician and Christian apologist. David Rubin is the famous and brilliant web radio host and child of a conservative Jewish home.
What on earth might two guys of such different backgrounds have to talk about for an hour? Well, what could be more important than the question that has been center stage in Western culture ever since Nietzsche declared that “God is dead.”
This is an hour-long conversation, but I hope you will get yourself a cup of java, sit down somewhere quiet and give this delightful, stimulating and instructive conversation between two really smart, funny and honest guys your attention on this first Saturday of December 2019.
Kanye West’s latest video is a little more than two minutes long and it features the hip-hop star, his wife Kim Kardashian, the couple’s four young kids, Kardashian family matriarch Kris Jenner, Kourtney Kardashian and her kids, and Kanye West’s father.
A couple of lines in the lyrics are sure to prompt sharp criticism from those seeking to transform traditional family structures or end them entirely:
When you got daughters, always keep ’em safe Watch out for vipers, don’t let them indoctrinate …
Raise our sons, train them in the faith Through temptations, make sure they’re wide awake …
And so will this line:
Follow Jesus, listen and obey No more livin’ for the culture, we nobody’s slave.
So before the critical onslaught begins, watch the video here and make up your own mind:
Massive majorities of Americans across the political spectrum support maximum toleration and accommodation of religious practices in the public and private realms, according to a newly launched annual survey.
The accompanying chart dramatically demonstrates that support for religious freedom is overwhelmingly bipartisan, cutting across the ideological and party spectrums. The yellow areas indicate opposition, while the blue areas represent support for religious freedom.
How you choose to live with the person you spend the rest of your life with is just as important as who they are
Institute for Family Studies (IFS) Senior Fellow Bradford Wilcox lays out some basic but absolutely vital questions that point to some of the essential advantages marriage offers versus cohabitation.
Is marriage or living together more likely to result in happiness on the road of life? (Photo by Andrew Itaga on Unsplash)
“Is fidelity important to you? Having someone who always tells the truth? Has your back? Communicates well? If these are important to you, marriage looks best,” Wilcox writes.
That’s not just Wilcox’s opinion, either. He is commenting on the results of an important new study from the Pew Research Center entitled “Marriage and Cohabitation in the U.S.”
HITS Daily reports that West’s new album not only debuted in the top spot on the Top 50 Hits sales chart, it did so with more total sales than the all the other top five entries combined.
“Now that I’m in service to Christ, my job is to spread the gospel, to let people know what Jesus has done for me,” West said during a recent interview with Apple Music’s Zane Low.
“I’ve spread a lot of things. There was a time I was letting you know what high fashion had done for me. I was letting you know what the Hennessy had done for me. I was letting you know all these things but now I’m letting you know what Jesus has done for me,” he said.
A major new survey of nearly 16,000 young adults aged 18 to 35 years old living in 25 countries around the world turned up numerous positive trends but it revealed some genuinely worrisome news as well.
Photo by Anthony Tran on Unsplash
The survey — entitled “The Connected Generation” — was conducted collaboratively by World Vision, the Washington-based “global Christian humanitarian organization” for sponsoring a child, and The Barna Group, the California-based demographic research firm, and was released last month.
