The Benedict Option Can’t Save Your Faith Or Family

From The Federalist-

“The Benedict Option” rightly tells the reader there is no salvation in politics, our culture has morally collapsed, and Christians have amalgamated their faith with American popular culture. Dreher believes American Christians’ only viable choice is what he has dubbed the “Benedict Option.” He uses the monastic Benedictine spirituality and way of life as a prescriptive template for all Christians.

This includes such measures as: stable local living in small intentional Christian communities—“the Christian village”; cutting back on pop culture consumption; orienting the family towards God; creating sacramentally vibrant worship; pulling the kids out of public school and educating them classically either through private school, home school, or co-op; practicing hospitality and Christian neighborliness; buying from other Christians even if it costs more; building Christian employment networks; refusing to compromise to satisfy the whims of the young; fighting pornography—the list goes on. In short: avoid vice, and take up virtue.

It sounds nice on the surface, but that’s not how it often works out in practice. This option, no matter what you call it, leads to gospel amnesia, not to a flourishing Christian culture.

More here-

http://thefederalist.com/2017/03/28/benedict-option-cant-save-faith-family/

Time for Christians to Unplug from Our Secular Culture

From Crisis Magazine-

Much of what I say today you probably already know. But that doesn’t prevent a good discussion, so I hope you’ll bear with me.

As I sat down to write my talk last week, a friend emailed me a copy of a manuscript illustration from the thirteenth century. It’s a picture of Mary punching the devil in the nose. She doesn’t rebuke him. She doesn’t enter into a dialogue with him. She punches the devil in the nose. So I think that’s the perfect place to start our discussion.

When most Catholics think about Mary, we have one of two images in our heads: the virginal Jewish teen from Galilee who says yes to God’s plan; or the mother of Jesus, the woman of mercy and tenderness, “our life, our sweetness and our hope.” We can too easily forget that Mary is also the woman clothed in the sun who crushes the head of the serpent. She embodies in her purity the greatness of humanity fully alive in God. She’s the mother who intercedes for us, comforts us and teaches us—but who also defends us.

More here-

http://www.crisismagazine.com/2016/time-christians-unplug-secular-culture

Catching smiles: Arizona church embracing role as ‘Pokemon Go’ stop

From Arizona-

An Arizona church that found itself dropped in the center of all the “Pokemon Go” hubbub is welcoming players with open arms and Wi-Fi.

Father Tim True, the rector at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Yuma, had no idea about the craze until he talked to his teenage daughter about it.

“She started to explain the game to me,” he said. “She said that she was going outside and having a lot of fun with it. I thought, ‘Well. that’s interesting.’

“I thought ‘OK, some other game on her device. OK, that was fun.’ I wasn’t paying much attention to it.”

But True started to pay attention after he found out the church was a Pokestop, which is an essential place for players to stop and recharge to continue the game. He said, rather than get surly about being selected, he decided to have fun with it and embrace the players.
More here-

http://ktar.com/story/1172001/catching-smiles-arizona-church-embracing-role-as-pokemon-go-stop/

Also Miami-

http://www.miamiok.com/news/20160713/gotta-catch-em-all-pokmon-go-frenzy

‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’: Midstate woman recalls role in iconic special

From California-

The first time Shively watched it was in December 1965. That was the first time the special came on the air.

“We didn’t know what to expect, so my brother and my mom and dad sat there glued,” she remembered.

She had a good reason; one of the voices in the children’s choir that begins and ends the 25-minute show is hers.

Shively was a 12-year-old in the choir at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in San Rafael, outside San Francisco.

More here-

http://abc27.com/2015/11/30/a-charlie-brown-christmas-midstate-woman-recalls-role-in-iconic-special/

Does Starbucks really need to be the center of this year's war on Christmas?

From Las Vegas-

With Halloween gone and Thanksgiving on its way, the first salvo in what some claim to be America's annual war on Christmas is coming from an unexpected direction.

The Pacific Northwest, actually, where Starbucks is making some Christmas lovers wonder not only WWJD (what would Jesus drink?) but, more importantly, from what sort of cup would he drink it?

The flashpoint: The coffee retailer's replacement of its usual holiday-themed cups with this year's model, which is totally bereft of snowflakes and other Christmastime iconography and represents the season via nothing more than the company's green logo set against a deep red field. (See a review of the past several years' worth of Starbucks cups here.

Already, some Christians are calling the stark, unicolored cups an example of political correctness run amok and part of what they consider to be a continuing war on Christmas (which, like Christmas shopping season, seems to be arriving earlier and earlier each year).

More here-

http://www.reviewjournal.com/life/religion/does-starbucks-really-need-be-the-center-years-war-christmas

Pope’s attaché scores coup of interview with Colbert

From Detroit-

During the last few years, the Rev. Thomas Rosica’s days have been consumed by three things: his enhanced role as Pope Francis’ English-language attaché, his stewardship of Windsor’s Assumption University, and his popular Canadian Catholic television show.

So please understand —  says the Catholic priest who will answer countless media questions for Pope Francis during his upcoming visit to the U.S. — if he isn't really up on all of the happenings on the late-night cable comic scene.

But in spite of that, on Sunday, Rosica debuted a one-hour interview with comic Stephen Colbert — the brand new host of CBS's "The Late Show," and who previously parodied himself as “America’s most famous Catholic.” and "the pope of Catholic TV."

More here

http://www.freep.com/story/news/2015/09/13/pope-windsor-detroit-windsor-priest-and-stephen-colbert/72022982/

Writer John Green takes a shine to Pittsburgh

From Pittsburgh-

They came carrying hardcover books, freshly ripped pieces of notebook paper and the occasional pocket-size U.S. Constitution.

If a student has the copy of the historical document signed by someone famous, she or he gets bonus points. And, as confirmed by the knot of Mt. Lebanon teens outside St. Paul's Episcopal Church, writer John Green more than qualifies, as do actors Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort and Nat Wolff. 

Word that "The Fault in Our Stars" had landed at the church spread through Instagram, Twitter, texts and talk among middle and high schoolers walking along Washington Road and Mayfair Drive.

Students who skipped or postponed dinner and homework and waited into the darkness met the author, a publishing and vlogging rock star. One declared, "This is, like, the best day of my life."
Mr. Green, 36, signed everything politely pressed into his hands, begged off photos due to a quickie lunch break around 8 p.m. but later returned for selfies with his fans.

Read more:

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/ae/movies/writer-john-green-takes-a-shine-to-city-705753/#ixzz2gZdpgdfH

Cecil B. DeMille's Campaign for a Godly Culture

From Christian Post-

Few matters have initiated more litigation in the courts than the presence of Ten Commandments monuments and other displays of the Decalogue across the country located on public property. The presence of most of these is the result of a joint campaign by the Fraternal Order of Eagles, working with Hollywood Royalty and movie-magnate, the late great Cecil B. DeMille. Today the radical left has erroneously argued these displays are an unconstitutional violation of the "separation of church and state" and disparage them as nothing more than a publicity stunt by DeMille to hype his movie at the time, The Ten Commandments, staring Charlton Heston. But if DeMille's motives were purely carnal, then his history with the film certainly didn't show him acting like it.

According to Bruce Feiler's research in his book, America's Prophet: Moses and the American Story, DeMille was working to counter the direction of the times. He writes:

"The undermining of the central plank of American life that began in the late nineteenth century did not abate in the early decades of the twentieth century. Even as World War I triggered a temporary surge in faith, and Darwinism and other forms of modernity led to the blossoming of fundamentalism, the Bible continued to recede as the ultimate source of authority in contemporary life. Americans attended church in extraordinary numbers and espoused a near universal belief in God, but they relied less on the Bible as the chief source of public rhetoric. By the close of the 1930s, one scholar wrote, Americans had grown accustomed to using 'a secular rather than theological vocabulary when issues really seemed worth arguing about.'"

More here-

http://www.christianpost.com/news/cecil-b-demilles-campaign-for-a-godly-culture-104033/

Superman Takes A Deliberate Christ-Like Turn In New Film

From NPR-


The new Superman movie features startlingly overt Christ-like images. Warner Brothers has encouraged the comparisons with a distinctive PR campaign targeting Christian audiences, all the way down to a website where pastors can crib a sermon that likens Superman to Jesus Christ: How might the story of Superman awaken our passion for the original superhero who ever lived and died and rose again?

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And I'm Melissa Block. Warner Bros.' new smash film "Man of Steel" is creating buzz at church. It's the story of Superman's interplanetary origins. A being with supernatural powers is sent to Earth to save humanity from evil. He becomes a force for truth and justice. The movie is chock-full of messianic imagery and the Warner Bros. publicity machine is pitching directly to a Christian audience. As NPR's John Burnett reports, if Jesus saves, Hollywood has learned that Jesus also sells.

JOHN BURNETT, BYLINE: Here's Superman floating in water in a crucifixion pose. Here's Superman consulting a priest with a stained-glass image of Jesus over his shoulder. Here's Superman at age 33, no less, trying to save mankind.

More here-

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=194330396

KNIGHT: Living in the devil of a time

From The Washington Times-

Given the sheer volume of bizarre cultural shifts just in the past few weeks, it’s time for another “if I were the devil” column.

If I were Beelzebub, I’d work to destroy Western civilization, because its chief religions, Christianity and Judaism, have a timeless book that reminds people of my existence. I’m most effective when unacknowledged.

To this end, I’m working to do away with institutions that are in the way of my goal of destroying humanity. These pesky confederations include churches, observant temples, private groups and governments that support so-called traditional values such as honor, fidelity in marriage, strong families, personal responsibility, civic pride, charity and patriotism.

When these things are compromised, I move on to the game board’s next square — economic freedom, which I cannot abide and which cannot thrive without the virtues imparted by those irritating groups just mentioned. For a look at one of my greatest successes, take a walk through what used to be Detroit.

Once free enterprise is broken to the saddle of the state, I can throttle freedom of speech, religion and association, using some of the giant corporations spawned in the unprecedented liberty created by America’s system of constitutional rights, including private property.

More here-

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jun/24/living-in-the-devil-of-a-time/

Bling or blasphemy? Upside-down and sideways crosses showing up in fashion

From Tennessee-

Fashion has taken an evil twist.

Or has it?

In celebrity circles and for some big-city fashionistas, inverted or horizontal crosses worn as jewelry or imprinted on clothing are turning heads (but not spinning them, a la "The Exorcist"). While some folks view the trend as anti-Christian, others say it's just the opposite.

"The upside-down cross doesn't bother me much," says local musician Jimmy Tawater, who was raised in an Episcopal church and still attends St. Martin's Episcopal Church on East Brainerd Road. "It was St. Peter's request that he be crucified upside down for he did not feel worthy to suffer in the same manner as his Lord."

Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Paris Jackson, daughter of the late Michael Jackson, have been photographed wearing inverted crosses on their clothing.

The Rev. Greg Ezell, an ordained minister in the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church, says he's not offended by the cross fashion trend.

More here-

http://timesfreepress.com/news/2013/jun/24/bling-or-blasphemy-upside-down-and-sideways/

Raising hell for Jesus

From Australia- (with video)

Storm the Gates of Hell is the fourth studio album by American Christian heavy metal band Demon Hunter, in which they rage and roar about broken teeth and iron fists, the wrath of God, holy days and hearts soaked in gasoline. The title track calls on the listener to "raise your glass to death" and "stand before your final day, choke on every line you pray". It's stirring stuff for fans from within the church and beyond. The US Navy Seal who claims to have "blasted bin Laden" said recently he was wearing a Demon Hunter patch when he pulled the trigger on the terrorist leader.

Members of the Seattle metal band look like you might expect, with crew cuts, bushy beards and wardrobes in several shades of black. But to promote Storm the Gates of Hell, which was released in 2007, they posed for photographs in white clerical collars. Lead singer Ryan Clark, the actual son of a preacher man, has the word "fear" tattooed on the fingers of his right hand and "hope" on the left. Drummer Tim "Yogi" Watts has a tattoo of the Bible inked into his arm and "calm down" inscribed between his knuckles.

When Watts, 35, is annoyed he uses words like "butt hole" instead of swearing. While speaking to a crowd of young Christian head-bangers at Easterfest, Australia's largest Christian music festival, he recalls the time he saw a girl thrown about the mosh pit with her nose thoroughly smashed but a beatific smile across her bloody face. "I'm in constant communication with the Lord," he says. "I know this is what I was supposed to do." At Easterfest, that means raising hell for Jesus. Also performing over the Easter long weekend in Toowoomba, 1 1/2 hours' drive west of Brisbane, are pop artists, hip-hop homies, boy bands, jazz bands, funk bands, gospel singers, indie acts and instrumentalists. The town and nearby Darling Downs area are big notches in south-east Queens-land's Bible belt, and home to various churches, religious cults and the Cobb & Co Museum.

Read more:

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/raising-hell-for-jesus-20130520-2jver.html#ixzz2UUZYOtbT

Jackie Robinson’s faith missing from ’42′ movie

From RNS-

A new film about Jackie Robinson, titled “42″ — the number he wore during his historic career — tells the triumphant story of how the Civil Rights icon integrated professional baseball by playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers. But there’s a mysterious hole at the center of this otherwise worthy film.

The man who chose Robinson for his role, and masterminded the whole affair, was Dodgers General Manager Branch Rickey, played by Harrison Ford. In their initial meeting, the cigar-chomping Rickey makes it clear that whoever will be the first African American in major league baseball will be viciously attacked, verbally and physically. So Rickey famously says he’s looking for a man “with guts enough not to fight back.” He needs someone who will resist the temptation to retaliate. Robinson agrees to go along with it.

But where did Rickey get that crazy idea and why did Robinson agree? The film doesn’t tell us, but the answers to these questions lie in the devout Christian faith of both men.

Why Robinson was chosen

For starters, Rickey himself was a “Bible-thumping Methodist” who refused to attend games on Sunday. He sincerely believed it was God’s will that he integrate baseball and saw it as an opportunity to intervene in the moral history of the nation, as Lincoln had done.

And Rickey chose Robinson because of the young man’s faith and moral character. There were numerous other Negro Leagues players to consider, but Rickey knew integrating the racist world of professional sports would take more than athletic ability. The attacks would be ugly, and the press would fuel the fire. If the player chosen were goaded into retaliating, the grand experiment would be set back a decade or more.
More here-

http://www.religionnews.com/2013/04/12/jackie-robinsons-faith-missing-from-42-movie/