In Nigeria, two things matter to many voters about those seeking presidential office: the ethnic background of the aspirants and the religion they profess. In fact, in the calculation of some, the latter is more important than the former. Ahead…
Japanese Christians seek global help for 1 million hours of prayer during Olympics
An international prayer movement has been launched in support of the Tokyo Olympic Games, with Japanese Christians inviting the global church to unite for one million hours of prayer. Japan1Million is an international prayer movement led by the Japan international Sports…
Among Syrian Christians, severe persecution yet perseverance
Editor’s note: It is exceedingly rare for BNG to run any article without a clearly identified byline for the author. What follows is a rare exception to this policy, in order to publish the current testimony of a Christian pastor…
In Nigeria, the politics of religion and the search for peace are never-ending
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has in recent weeks attracted global attention for a series of mind-boggling, alarming crimes: At least 76 farmers were beheaded by the terrorist group Boko Haram in a farm in Zabarmari, Borno State, in late…
Muslims held to double standard in cases of faith-based violence
Americans hold double standards about cases of religiously motivated violence, with white evangelicals most inconsistent and the religiously unaffiliated the most consistent. In a recent survey by the Public Religion Research Institute, Americans were asked if people who perpetrate acts…
With 1 ‘none’ and a slew of Christians, Congress fails to reflect society
Church consultants and researchers for years have warned churches that they need to reflect the communities around them. Thom Rainer, president of LifeWay Christian Resources, said he discovered that while conducting research for his book Autopsy of a Deceased Church….
Christians, Muslims fear backlash from Brussels attacks
The deadly explosions in Brussels Tuesday morning had some American Muslims and Christians awaking with dismay. “I’d like to say I was surprised, but I wasn’t,” said Joe Bradford, founder of the Houston-based nonprofit American Muslims Care. The previous arrests…
Congregations on the edge of Christian faith
We need more congregations on the edge of Christianity who avoid becoming a churched culture congregation, but rather focus on the edge where the “gones”, dones, and nones dwell. In a previous post entitled Are You Really as Progressive a…
Jesus is not the same as Christ
A holistic, inclusive, compassionate, justice oriented Christian vision would be adopted by more Christians if more Christians more carefully understood and distinguished between the pre-Easter Jesus and the post-Easter Christ. The appearance stories in the Gospels (probably a late developing…