Catching up on the news
The Eclectic Web
A lot of interesting stories hit the web every day. The list below are a few that address issues that might be of interest to fundamentalist Baptists and also may have slipped ‘below your radar’. The topics we cover in this of The EW are:
- Television and Culture
- History
- Persecution
- Gender Issues
- Abortion
- Boy Scouts
- Feminism, Women’s Issues
- Prosperity Gospel
- Catholic Pope – Christian?
Television and Culture
I Have a Character Issue – Anna Gunn complains of her hate-mail as she plays a despicable character to another despicable character in some television show.
History
Tom Christian, Descendant of Bounty Mutineer, Dies at 77 – descendant of the famous mutineer, friend of the descendant of the infamous Captain Bligh, convert to Seventh Day Adventism, overall a fascinating story and an interesting man.
Persecution
Sentenced to death for a sip of water – Asia Bibi, in an excerpted piece from her memoirs, tells a horrifying story.
Bolivia Imposes Animist Worldview on Christian Churches
Protestant leaders in Bolivia once welcomed how President Evo Morales reduced religious discrimination by severing the Andean government’s longstanding ties with Roman Catholicism. However, now they fear that pre-Colombian animism is replacing Catholicism as the official state religion.
Gender Issues
SBC leader confronts ‘gender confusion’ – a story from a less conservative news source about conservative Paige Patterson and his remarks in a Sept 4 chapel service.
Abortion
‘It breaks my heart every day’ – the story of a “mum” from the UK who was told to abort her supposedly ‘brain dead’ baby and his survival.
Boy Scouts
Boy Scout alternative, Trail Life USA, launches ‘premier’ Christian group for boys
Feminism, Women’s Issues
A Grown-Up, Not Sexed-Up, View of Womanhood – from a surprising source, a fairly conservative reaction
Prosperity Gospel
The Prosperity Gospel Is Surprisingly Mainstream – book review from Christianity Today (usual disclaimers apply),
Kate Bowler’s book Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel (Oxford University Press) moves beyond conventional wisdom to tell a more complex story about the movement. Part history, part theological analysis, part sociology, part ethnographic study, Blessed explores how this movement came to be, analyzes its central teachings, traces its networks, and notes its appeal.
Other CT stories on the Prosperity Gospel Movement:
Largest Measles Outbreak Linked to ‘Health and Wealth’ Megachurch
Irish Prosperity Gospel Church Collapses Under €18 Million Debt
Prosperity Gospel | Topics | Christianity Today (a further index)
Catholic Pope – Christian?
Pope Francis assures sceptics: You don’t have to believe in God to go to heaven
Publication of links in The Eclectic Web feature does not imply endorsement of the viewpoint or contents of any of the websites linked. The links are provided as a matter of interest to Christians.