Across the Web 9/30/23

No, Next Question
‘Do Jesus and Paul contradict one another?’ (Christian Post, 9/27)

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
‘NYPD robocops: Hulking, 400-lb robots will start patrolling New York City’ (Ars technica, 4/12) Skynet Smiles

RIP Ducky
‘David McCallum, Star of ‘NCIS,’ ‘The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,’ Dies at 90’ (Varity, 9/25)

News You Can Use
‘How to protect your heart from your sinful nature’ (Christian Post, 9/23)

History You Weren’t Taught
‘Defenders of the West’ author: Crusades were a response to Muslims who launched “brutal holy wars” against Christians’ (Christian Post, 8/27)

Across the Web 9/22/23

Evangelism
‘Over 1,000 students attend Texas A&M Corpus Christi worship event; 124 baptized’ (Christian Post, 9/22)

Celebrities
‘Danica McKellar Opens Up about Her Faith Journey’ (Christian Headlines, 9/14)

Lost and Found
‘4 exceptionally preserved Roman swords discovered in a Dead Sea cave in Israel’ (AP, 9/6)

You Can’t Do That
‘Pastor jailed 23 days for owning Bible; radical Hindus angered Christians aren’t ‘worshiping idols’ push for prosecution’ (Christian Post, 9/21)

Couldn’t Consent But Now They Can Sue
‘Lawsuit filed against UNMC, Nebraska Medicine over trans teen’s … surgery in 2018’ (WOWT, Omaha, 9/13) Disfiguring surgery would fix her at 16 they said.

Skynet Bounces
‘Mini explosions give this little robot a big bounce’ (Popular Science, 9/15)

Across the Web 9/1/23

No, Next Question­

‘Is Christianity really a white man’s religion?’ (Christian Post, 8/31) There are cultural aspects that different cultures think is Christianity, but Christianity was born in Asia.

Still Child abuse
‘Over 3,600 12-to-18-year-olds underwent sex-change surgeries from 2016 to 2020, study shows’ (Christian Post, 9/1)

Short Ethics Discussion
Unnatural behavior does not exist?; You are an image bearer, not an instinct factory’ (World, 9/1) Can’t do ethics with the mindset of today’s culture of naturalistic positivism

RIP
‘Died: ‘Jesus Calling’ Devotional Author Sarah Young; The missionary wife’s “listening prayers” comforted and inspired millions. (Christianity Today, 9/10) No matter what one thought of her messages from God, she was a popular writer and a believer

We’re Glad to be Doing Our Part
‘Just 12% of Americans — mostly men — are eating half of our beef supply: new research’ (New York Post, 8/31)

Across the Web 8/25/23

It’s All About Me
Prosperity gospel on the rise among US churchgoers, survey finds’ (Christian Post, 8/25) It is a focus on the material and a law orientation to walking with Jesus. If I do these things (including giving to the church), God will bless me in the material realm. It is heresy

Persecution in the Hindu World
Mob vandalizes Delhi church during Sunday mass and beats churchgoers, including women’ (Christian Post, 8/23) Despite India landing a rover on the South Pole of the Moon. And one of our Republican candidates admires Modi, the Hindu Nationalist who is Prime Minister of India

Get Ready
Greg Laurie says the rapture is next event on prophetic calendar: ‘Get right with God‘ (Christian Post, 8/16)

That’s Good
Boko Haram frees 49 women kidnapped in Nigeria’s Borno state’ (Reuters, 8/25) Although paying a ransom just encourages more of this sort of thing. Although 3 million Nigerian naira is only 3,891.86 USD.

Across the Web 5/27/23

Umm
‘Most Americans don’t like Christian celebrity culture, megachurches: study’ (Christian Post, 5/26) In our observation, churches are consolidating like airlines (unless the government says no) banks, Pharma and other businesses. It appears Christians like celebrity culture, megachurches etc.

RIP
‘Died: Superstar Billy Graham, Teenage Evangelist Who Became a Wrestling Legend’ (Christianity Today, 5/22)

RIP
‘’Queen of rock ‘n’ roll’ Tina Turner dies at 83’ (Reuters, 5/24) She also had a major turn in her life in Dallas

Christmas In uh, May
‘Santa Claus’ home church in Turkey reopens to the public after restoration by gov’t’ (Christian Post, 5/23)

Across the Web 4/21/23

This week saw several servants of Jesus pass into His presence

RIP
Charles Stanley, Baptist pastor and televangelist, dies at 90’ (Christian Post; Christianity Today, 4/18)
RIP
Founder of OM International, Global Missions Evangelist George Verwer Passes Away at 84’ (Christian Daily, 4/18) A Tribute to George Verwer (Desiring God 4/19) It’s by John Piper but we’ll let that slide
RIP
‘Died: Ron Hamilton, Better Known as Patch the Pirate’ (Christianity Today, 4/21)

 Something about Freedom of Religion and Speech
‘Chicago will pay $205K to settle evangelism lawsuit with Wheaton College students’ (Christian Post, 4/21)

 Skynet Smiles Broadly
‘AI bot, ChaosGPT, tweets out plans to ‘destroy humanity’ after being tasked’ (New York Post, 4/19)

Across the Web 4/14/23

CCTV on the Job
‘Iranian officials install cameras to identify women not wearing head coverings’ (World, 4/10)

Nigerian Disaster
‘Nigeria Witnesses Tragic Loss of 50,000 Christians in 14-Year Religious Conflict’ (Christian Daily, 4/13) The 6th worst country where it’s hardest to follow Jesus, although some of the richest pastors in the world are in Nigeria

And Here
‘63 churches attacked in the first 3 months of 2023: report’ (Christian Post, 4/13)

Today’s Adventure
‘Brave Adventurer Discovers Long-Lost Article Hidden Beneath Labyrinth Of Ads, Pop-Ups, Privacy Policies’ (Babylon Bee, 4/14)

It’s Good Friday

It is Holy week and today is Good Friday. As we celebrate His death and resurrection let us all remember the sacrifice Jesus made for us. Thank Jesus for His love that motivated His emptying Himself and becoming a man, so He could be the lamb who takes away the sin of the world. Let us walk in His steps as we love, witness and serve. Seek a good assembly to worship Him on Resurrection Sunday.

Good Friday…
Why Good Friday is Good (Christian Post,  4/7)

He really Rose Again
Four Points of Reality (Crossway, 3/31)
Four objections debunked (Christian Post, 4/7)
Why it matters today (Christianity.com, 8/22/22)

Web of failure

A Failed City
Bob Lee killing highlights San Francisco crime fears’ (BBC, 4/7) It takes a rich tech and money mogul’s violent death to bring serious attention to the disaster that “the City” has become. We can remember when San Francisco was the beautiful city by the bay. We went to the theater, Ice Capades, visited Golden Gate Park, China Town, Height Ashbury, the Presidio, Lombard Street (the crookedest street in the world), museums, and various other great places of interest. Today it has become a violent, lawless place overrun by the homeless and criminals. The reasons are legion starting with family and culture decline, failed criminal justice, and failed leadership. Bob Lee had moved to Miami to escape the crime in San Francisco. It is sad he made a trip back

A Failed Culture

Wrestling with hard truths; Nashville Christians cling to the hope of the gospel amid overwhelming sorrow’ (World, 4/7) This attack on a Christian School in Nashville resulting in the deaths of 3 children and 3 adults (reporting of which seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth, we wonder why) apparently was not random, but an attack on Christians. Determining what happened can inform us as we try to find ways to compassionately treat the mentally ill. A similar situation in Colorado Springs was thankfully stopped in the planning stages. Apparently, violence is becoming a feature if one speaks out about truth. And now the honesty: Mainstreaming transgenderism and making it the way to gain value and attention while denying it is an emotional illness and sin against God’s creation, is not working out all that well

Everyone needs Jesus, who died for the sin of the world and rose again.

All who believe in Him, have eternal life

 

Around the web 3/31/23

Changes
‘Poll shows American values changed drastically during pandemic’ (Christian Post, 3/29) A Wall Street Journal Poll shows Religion, hard work, family and having children, patriotism are all down dramatically, love of money and self apparently up.

Nashville Tragedy and Mental Illness
Nashville Tragedy Shows Why It Isn’t Compassionate To Fuel Mental Illness; Behind all the partisanship of the shooting story is an unavoidable reality: Our modern mental-health crisis is out of control’ (The Federalist, 3/28) We know from experience that dealing with mental illness is uh, challenging. … However we as a culture and society need to find compassionate answers that do not aggravate the issues one is having and provide safe care if needed. How that works out is an extensive and serious discussion with hard choices. Few seem to be even broaching the subject

A True Headline
‘Trump to face criminal charges, sending US into uncharted waters’ (Reuters, 3/31) No matter what one thinks of former President Trump, the headline by Reuters is accurate. Perhaps it is wise to be very careful as a country when politicians of the opposing party arrest a former President. It is indeed an uncertain course that New York’s elected DA has set the country on. Yes, when there is a breaking of the law even billionaires with private jets and gold lavatories need to be held accountable. As do past and present politicians. We sincerely hope there is not a degeneration into a tit for tat. With Congress pursuing the present President and son, it looks like a possible scenario. Unfortunately, that can degenerate into authoritarianism and a descent to a life not good at all.

Free Speech
‘Free speech organizations caution against impending TikTok ban; Joint letter calls for less drastic security measures’ (World, 3/28) It appears that there are serious privacy and security concerns with Tic Tok (and other apps). Legislation and banning may well violate First Amendment free speech rights. Another thing to be careful of. Religious freedoms are right there too.

Good News
‘American missionary pilot, 2 others released from Mozambique prison’ (Christian Post, 3/16)

Around the Web 3/24/23

No, Next Question
‘Is It Time to Quit “Quiet Time”?’ (Christianity Today, 3/13) Biblical literacy is most certainly more than personal time with the Bible and God, but quitting such devotion will hamper … devotion. Web tip, type archive.is/ before the www to sneak behind a pay wall to read an article

Good News
American missionary abducted in Niger released after 6 years in captivity’ (Christian Post, 3/23)

We thot Missouri Was the “Show Me” State
‘Skeptics demand proof after megachurch pastor claims prayer regrew woman’s amputated toes’ Christian Post, 3/25) We certainly think God heals today, and NT gifts have likely not ceased, but miracles in the Bible were often fully documented in the open (Acts 3.1-10) and were related to the witness to Jesus among unbelievers (Acts 3.11-26) Most were not in support of a “gospel” that is about health and wealth. Or for the glorification of a church or “faith healer” (Acts 4.1-22)

We Left and Came to Texas Years Ago
11 Great Reasons To Stay In California’ (Babylon Bee, 3/24) We love CA and our relatives there. Unfortunately, this humorous take is too close to true … maybe that is what makes it sadly humorous