Though China is officially atheist, Christianity is growing, with believers now outnumbering communists. That’s good news for a huge Bible publisher that supports charities in China and Africa. In the soulless gray industrial zone near Nanjing’s South Railway Station are the sounds of rattling and roaring inside Amity Bible Printing Co. Without interruption, the printing Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Bible’
Space, the Bible, alien life and the Pope’s astronomer
Friday, October 17th, 2014
Science and religion have often appeared at loggerheads, but Papal astronomer Brother Guy Consolmagno says there is no need for conflict. Brother Consolmagno said while literal readings of the Bible suggested the world was young, the perpetration of that belief, despite the scientific evidence to the contrary, was simply “bad theology”. “It’s almost blasphemous theology,” Read more
Catholics and Methodists encouraged to go back the Bible
Friday, August 29th, 2014
The Catholic archbishop of Suva, Peter Chong has set up teams around the country that have been trained to emphasise the use of the Bible in Catholic parishes. “As we know, we Catholics are not very good with the Bible and the current age is not to be blamed because over the years we have Read more
Bible Sunday in Melanesia one way to combat fundamentalism
Friday, August 15th, 2014
Helping Melanesian Catholics better appreciate the Bible is one way of combating propaganda from sects and increasing fundamentalism in the region. That was one of the outcomes hoped for from a Bible Sunday organised by the bishops of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands for August 3. The day was intended to move “the Read more
Prophet Jonah’s burial site destroyed by militants
Tuesday, July 29th, 2014Islamic militants have blown up a shrine traditionally regarded as the burial place of the Old Testament prophet Jonah. ISIS militants ordered everyone out of the mosque of the Prophet Younis (Jonah) in Mosul in Iraq on July 24, before blowing it up. The mosque was built on an archaeological site dating back to the Read more
US Presbyterians vote to allow same-sex marriage in church
Tuesday, June 24th, 2014
The Presbyterian Church in the United States has voted to allow their clergy to perform same-sex marriages in states where this is legal. The General Synod of the Presbyterian Church (USA) voted 76-24 on June 19 in favour of the move. It also approved new language in its constitution, changing references to “a man and Read more
‘Let him Easter in us’
Tuesday, April 22nd, 2014
We have reached our celebration of Easter, the centre of the Church’s liturgical year and the source of Christian life and faith. Yet Easter often appears as the poor relation of Christmas. Whether you believe or not, there is something about Christmas that manages to touch everyone. But without Easter there would be no Christmas. Read more
Noah: 5 other flood stories
Tuesday, April 8th, 2014
Noah did its job. It brought an ancient biblical story about a cataclysmic flood to life for audiences today. Was it biblical? Was it the least biblical Bible movie ever made? These questions flare up in what is frankly a flat and over-rehearsed debate about the Bible in [Western] life. Honestly, does it matter whether Read more
Rejoice, Jerusalem!
Tuesday, April 1st, 2014
The fourth Sunday in Lent, Laetare Sunday, is my favourite Sunday in Lent, and not just because of the pink vestments that insecure clergy sometimes attempt to convince you are “rose.” So many of the rich images, words, and themes that will recur at the Easter Vigil are hinted in the day’s readings and prayers — the Read more
Word of God stops bullets – literally
Tuesday, March 11th, 2014A biblical booklet in a shirt pocket apparently helped an Ohio bus driver survive a shooting, and authorities were looking for three suspects. The driver for the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority told Dayton police he was standing outside the bus when the men shot at him three times, with one bullet hitting his leg. Read more