We can humbly seek their wisdom without treating them as mascots for one position or another.On September 11, 2020, I found myself under a large tent, where 51 ministers of the Reformed Presbyterian Church had assembled for a COVID-era presbytery. They gathered to receive charges against me, initiating an ecclesiastical trial. I had published a book that affirmed the possibility of theistic evolution—a view regarded by some as dangerous.Through that process, I became personally (and painfully) aware of how heated Genesis 1 controversies continue to be. My trial was ultimately dropped, but I was compelled to resign my pastorate and leave that denomination.I still love the Reformed Presbyterian Church and am grateful for my decades as a student and minister among its people. But I grieve that such passions for certain interpretations of Genesis 1 lead to damaged relationships and truncated ministries. It should not be so.There are already plenty of Genesis 1 studies on offer (including my own, called The Liturgy of Creation). But what the church really needs are more resources to help us engage these discussions more responsibly. Andrew J. Brown’s latest book, Recruiting the Ancients for the Creation Debate, is just such a resource.Brown, an Old Testament lecturer at Melbourne School of Theology, takes no sides on the question of whether the six days of creation are literal or figurative days. Recruiting the Ancients is not an attempt to solve creation controversies. Instead, it surveys what historic church authorities had to say on the subject, arguing that they shouldn’t be enlisted as straightforward allies of this or that contemporary position.The book is based on Brown’s earlier book on the same topic (The Days of Creation: A History of Christian Interpretation of Genesis 1:1–2:3), ...Continue reading...

On Tuesday, Louisiana Right to Life was informed by YouTube that our channel, established approximately in 2013, had been deactivated without warning. They? claimed? they found “severe or repeated violations of [their] harmful and dangerous policy” on our page after we uploaded a? video? exposing the online abortion-pill crisis. Louisiana Right to Life immediately appealed their decision. Then, on […]The post YouTube Deletes Pro-Life Group's Channel Over Abortion Video, Denies Appeal appeared first on LifeNews.com.

By Tyler Durden Established in 1944, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) supports countries' economic growth by providing financial aid and guidance on policies to enhance...These Are The 10 Countries Most In Debt To The IMF

Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com Have a Florida condo? Can you afford a $100,000 or higher special assessment for new safety standards? After the...Florida Condo Owners Dump Units Over Six-Figure Special Assessments

Technocracy seeks to take over the entire planet. The late Rosa Koire saw Sustainable Development, aka Technocracy, as “the blueprint, the comprehensive plan of action...WHO Needs A Treaty? “One Health” Is Already Firmly Established In America

By Mac Slavo This article was originally published by Rhoda Wilson at The Daily Exposé. AI search summaries show that on the same day the...HAARP's Aurora Switch Was Turned On Last Week To Create “Artificial Airglows”

By Mac Slavo This article was originally published by Rhoda Wilson at The Daily Exposé. AI search summaries show that on the same day the...HAARP's Aurora Switch Was Turned On Last Week To Create “Artificial Airglows”

By calling or circumstance, millions in the “sandwich generation” feel the weight and cost of tending to aging relatives. Shanoah Bruner is among the quarter of American adults who find themselves in the “sandwich generation,” raising children under 18 and supporting aging parents.At her home in the Indianapolis suburbs, the 40-something mom lives with her husband, tween and teen daughters, mother-in-law, and biological father.The caretaking role comes naturally to Bruner. She was raised in a family that regularly opened their home to others and served their church and community. Plus, she worked in assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing for over 20 years.“I grew up in a very Christian home where, you know, people meant more than possessions,” she said. “So that’s just how I look at it, and it’s definitely rewarding for me, though that’s not the case for everybody.”As baby boomers descend into their twilight years, their kids are taking them in or helping manage care from afar. Sixty-six percent of caregivers are women like Bruner, most of them in their mid-to-late 40s, who also work outside the home.The demanding needs of caregivers and their loved ones offer believers a chance to provide support and gospel hope. Churches, nonprofits, and government and parachurch organizations have resources, and individual Christians can provide personal, tangible love in action.In 2022, the first Bible study specifically for dementia caregivers was published. Some churches are implementing caregiver workshops. The Caregiving Support Network hosts a program to “sponsor a caregiver,” and there’s even a dedicated “Caregiver’s Prayer.”Richard Gentzler Jr., an expert in ministry for aging adults, paraphrased former First Lady Rosalynn Carter when he wrote that ...Continue reading...

As a physician, I witness countless first and last breaths. As a Christian, I am constantly reminded of how God breathes life into us through his Spirit.The scalpel sliced through the uterine wall. The amniotic sac ruptured, and fluid flowed across the blue surgical drapery toward me. The obstetrician’s fingers curled around the baby’s head while my gloved hands pressed firmly against the mother’s abdomen. The baby was larger than we had expected. I shifted my full body weight against the mother’s belly, and, at last, the newborn’s head slipped through. Her shoulders quickly followed, and there she lay, eyes taking in the bright world for the first time.Before she could cry, she took her first breath. Air rushed in, pushing aside fluid that had filled her lungs from six weeks of gestation. The oxygen diffused through the blood vessels of the alveoli, tiny air sacs within her lungs, relaxing the pulmonary arteries and allowing blood to course through her lungs for the first time. The short vessel connecting her lung arteries and heart began to close. Pressure built in her heart, causing the tiny hole between its chambers to snap shut.She breathed more vigorously than anyone else in the operating room, her purple hue softening to a rich pink. Squinting against the glaring light above, she cried again. What a foreign world this is—where air becomes breath, and then breath returns to air.Ruach is a Hebrew word meaning breath, wind, or spirit. (In the Septuagint, an ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, it is rendered as pneuma or pneumon, the roots from which we get many English words pertaining to lungs.)In Genesis, ruach is both the Spirit of God bringing light and order into an unordered world (1:1–4) and the breath of life that God breathes into Adam (2:7). Psalm 33:6 says, “By the word of ...Continue reading...

Saima Bibi was serving tea to guests at her quarters in Punjab Province, Pakistan when her Muslim employer dragged her outside and pushed her towards an electric chaff cutter, tearing off her ear and cutting most of her scalp, her husband said.

A heralded Catholic football player defends traditional moral values at a Catholic college—how novel—and within no time he’s being bashed all over the place. Had he endorsed transgenderism, or Hamas, he would now be praised to high heaven. The man is Harrison Butker, the phenomenal kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs. Butker is not in […]The post Harrison Butker is Right: Abortion is Bad, Traditional Families are Good appeared first on LifeNews.com.

ABC's The View was pulsing with anti-Catholic bigotry during Thursday's show, as pretend-moderate co-host Sara Haines lashed out and smeared Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker and his Catholic faith as “extremists” and “cult-like.” His crime? Giving a commencement address at Catholic, Benedictine College where he talked about – among other things – how some women find […]The post The View Host Sara Haines: Harrison Butker’s Pro-Life Christian Views are Like a “Cult” appeared first on LifeNews.com.

Technocracy seeks to take over the entire planet. The late Rosa Koire saw Sustainable Development, aka Technocracy, as “the blueprint, the comprehensive plan of action...WHO Needs A Treaty? “One Health” Is Already Firmly Established In America

Technocracy seeks to take over the entire planet. The late Rosa Koire saw Sustainable Development, aka Technocracy, as “the blueprint, the comprehensive plan of action...WHO Needs A Treaty? “One Health” Is Already Firmly Established In America

? Temple Baptist Church - 5-15-2024John 16:7-15? Introduction:? A. Once again, let me reiterate that this will not be a Systematic Theology study of Pneumatology. But because of the context found in John 14-16, we find some important things about the Person and Word of the Holy Spirit. The Person is the Holy Spirit and when speaking of the work of the Holy Spirit, the name the Holy Ghost is used.? B. Last week, I “scratched the surface” on two things: the Work of the Comforter to the comfortless. The disciples' hearts were “filled with sorrow.” Two words need to be explained: Comforter and comfortless:? 1. Comforter (παράκλητος? paraklētos? par-ak'-lay-tos)? in the Greek means to be summoned to the side of or to come to the aid of the comfortless. Our Lord said that it was “expedient” that He went away but would pray the Father to send the Comforter in Christ's stead. While Christ comforted the disciples for 3 ½ years, the Comforter would abide with them forever.? John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;? 2. Comfortless in the Greek comes from the word Greek word? ὀρφανός? orphanos? or-fan-os'? from which we get our English word orphan. Orphans have no families but the child of God has a spiritual family: our Father which is in heaven; our Saviour and Friend who love us; and the Holy Spirit that indwells us. Aren't you glad that you are not an orphan.? John 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.? Psalms 27:10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.? All of our sorrows, come what may! Death, sickness, persecutions, trials and tribulations, personal failure, discouragement, disappointment, defilement, both real and imagined. He will not leave us comfortless: orphaned!? C. The Second name given to the Holy Spirit is the “Spirit of truth,” which I will look at in a little more detail tonight.? John 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.? D. Why do people not get saved and why do some saved never grow? The verses that we read to night are the problem.? 1. There are those who reject Christ CANNOT know the truth. “seeth him not … neither knoweth him”? 1 Corinthians 2:11-14 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. (12) Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. (13) Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. (14) But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.? 2. Both lost and the carnal saint oft times who reject the Bible CANNOT know the truth! The truth is available in our day.? Zechariah 7:11-12 But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. (12) Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts.? Acts 7:54-57 When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. (55) But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, (56) And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. (57) Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,? E. The Work of the Spirit of Truth:? 1. Verse 8.? John 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:? a.? The Holy Spirit teaches us about Sin.? John 16:9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;? 1)? The Truth about Adamic Sin.? Romans 5:12a Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin;? Psalms 58:3 The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.? 2) The Truth about Willful Sin.? Romans 5:12b and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:? Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;? 3) The Truth about Recompense for Sin.? a) Temporal Recompense.? Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.? b) Eternal Sense. Revelation 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.? b. The Holy Spirit teaches us about Righteousness.? John 16:10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;? 1) Lack of Righteousness of the Sinner.? Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.? 2) Perfect Righteousness of the Saviour.? Romans 10:3-4 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. (4) For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.? 3) Imputed Righteousness of the Saint.? Romans 4:20-25 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; (21) And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. (22) And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. (23) Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; (24) But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; (25) Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.? 3. The Holy Spirit teaches us about Judgment.? John 16:11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.? a) The Judgment of Satan and fallen angels. Matthew 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:? Revelation 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.? b) The Judgment of Sinners and their works.? Revelation 20:11-15 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. (12) And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. (13) And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. (14) And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. (15) And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.? 2. Verse 12-13.? John 16:12-13 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. (13) Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.? a. In Depth Teaching. “he will guide you into all truth”? Colossians 1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;? b. In Inspired Revelation. “and he will shew you things to come.” The canon of Scripture was not Plenary until after the death of the Apostles as they would continue to write under the inspiration of God in their lives. After their death, the canon of Scripture was Plenary, complete.? 2 Peter 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.? c. In Prophecy. Eschatology. Things to come. Knowing what the future holds and Who holds the future, we can face tomorrow and all our tomorrows in faith confidence through faith. “I do not know what tomorrow holds, but I know Who holds tomorrow and Who holds my life in His hands!”? Romans 8:38-39 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, (39) Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.? ? 3. Verse 14. John 16:14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.? a. The Holy Spirit does not speak of or exalt Himself. Be careful around people who constantly speak of the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost.? b. The Holy spirit ALWAYS glorifies the Saviour and not Himself! We certainly honor and love Him, but He only speaks of and directs us to our Lord.

For all his greatness, we should most seek to imitate the late pastor's humility and indifference to fame.In spring of last year, many of us saw a photo of the late Timothy Keller sitting on a park bench. The photo was used on the cover of Collin Hansen’s biography of Keller, and it circulated around the internet in May when he passed away—on social media, blogs, and even Keller’s personal website.What most of us didn’t see, however, was the banana peel lying on the bench only a couple feet from Keller. The peel has been cropped from most versions of the photo, and understandably so. Who wants to see an ugly brown bit of organic waste in an author’s photograph?I confess that if I were a world-famous pastor and best-selling author having my picture taken by a professional photographer, I would most certainly have moved the banana peel before someone took my picture. Who wouldn’t? But Keller didn’t seem to care.I believe this points to a deeper character trait of Keller’s, which many observed during his lifetime of ministry: an indifference to fame and to curating an image—something many of us struggle with in the social media era. This is also part of why, I believe, he finished his race so well.Finishing well in life and ministry has been historically difficult for believers, especially for those in positions of leadership. Think of Gideon or Solomon in the Old Testament, Demas in the New Testament, or, of course, the many church leaders today who have infamously failed to persevere.The esteem that leaders receive from the Christian community can allow for hidden flaws to grow like rust on the hull of a ship, unnoticed and unaddressed at first. But as these leaders reach greater influence, greater weight is placed on these flaws—which can reach ...Continue reading...

Māori Christians in New Zealand bristle at newly translated portions of the Bible that use the names of local deities.Last year, Bible Society New Zealand (BSNZ) released a 109-page booklet with 10 Bible passages published in a contemporary Māori translation for the first time. The version used the names of atua Māori, or Māori gods and deities, in place of words like heaven, earth, land, and sea. Genesis 1:1, for example, says that in the beginning, God made Rangi-nui (Sky Father) and Papatūānuku (Earth Mother) instead of rangi and whenua respectively.The changes, meant to appeal to younger Māori, stirred debate. While some readers praised the changes (“The terms are more relatable,” wrote one respondent in a BSNZ survey), many, including Māori theologians and church leaders, decried the use of atua Māori in the Scriptures as “twisted” and “blasphemous.”The aim of publishing He Tīmatanga (A Beginning) was not to present a final translation but to offer a draft for feedback, said Clare Knowles, translation coordinator at BSNZ. Publishing these passages was part of an effort that began in 2008 to “retranslate the entire Bible into Māori [in] today’s language.”While Māori speakers in New Zealand have a Bible translation in their language, it was last revised in 1952. The most recent edition in 2012 mainly focused on reformatting the text with updated paragraphs, spelling, and punctuation, but the content has largely remained the same since missionaries first translated the Bible into Māori in the 19th century.“Imagine if the only English translation we had was the King James Version. … This is a bit like the situation with Te Paipera Tapu, the Māori Bible,” Knowles wrote in an article promoting He Tīmatanga.In New Zealand, about 8 percent of the population speak Māori, ...Continue reading...

Asian Christians must navigate ethical dilemmas in everyday life. This recent book can help.There are rules to follow in every culture, particularly in Asia, where many children must bear the responsibility of maintaining harmony within the home and familial structure. To deviate from the norms or traditions of any Asian society requires a bold willingness to try to demonstrate to one’s fellow citizens what is and is not working in their culture. As a Christian living or ministering in an Asian context, how can one manage these complex situations?The contributors to Asian Christian Ethics, an anthology published in 2022, grapple with the challenges Asian Christians face in their particular social contexts, often characterized by strictly defined societal ranking and hierarchy, religious violence against Christians, or suffering among marginalized groups. The theologians, pastors, and missiologists who authored this volume come from the Philippines, Malaysia, China/Hong Kong, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Korea, plus one perspective from Palestine. The writers, many of whom studied in the West and are familiar with Western ways of thinking, provide valuable insight into Asian mindsets.Each chapter begins by examining what Scripture teaches on a particular social issue. Then the writers draw on their expertise to address the ethical challenges surrounding that issue within a specific cultural context.Marriage and divorceIn “Water Is Thicker Than Blood,” Bernard Wong offers insights on the changing views of traditional marriage. He notes that divorce has become more prevalent in Asian society (though not yet as normalized as in Western cultures) and that young adults are waiting longer to get married, with over 90 percent of 20-to-24-year-olds still single in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and ...Continue reading...

From 1978 to 2008, he fought for legal recognition and freedom to worship for the Anabaptist denomination. Nguyen Quang Trung spent 30 years trying to get the Mennonite church recognized and registered by the government of Vietnam so that believers could meet and worship legally. When he finally succeeded, he celebrated the triumph with the words of the apostle Paul: “If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord” (Rom. 14:8).Nguyen, a pastor and two-time president of Hội Thánh Mennonite Việt Nam (Vietnam Mennonite Church), died on March 23 at age 84. He was known for his “patient persistence” and “tireless efforts to promote and legally confirm a Mennonite presence in Vietnam,” Gerry Keener, former head of Eastern Mennonite Missions, told Anabaptist World.Nguyen was born in Gia Dinh, an industrial area outside Saigon. His mother died when he was five. His father was a committed Christian who raised him in the Evangelical Church of Vietnam, part of the Christian and Missionary Alliance.In his 20s, Nguyen found himself drawn to the Mennonites, spending a lot of time in a reading room established by the Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities. He took classes on English and the Bible and learned the Anabaptist teachings about nonviolence.“The same Spirit that empowered Jesus also empowers us to love enemies,” the missionaries taught Nguyen, “to forgive rather than to seek revenge, to practice right relationships, to rely on the community of faith to settle disputes, and to resist evil without violence.”Nguyen embraced the idea that Christians should “follow Christ in the way of peace” and practice “nonresistance,” even if they faced persecution and death.The ...Continue reading...

One of the founding leaders of Victory megachurch, he never stopped running to share the gospel.Ferdinand “Ferdie” Cabiling, a bishop at one of the Philippines’ largest megachurches who ran across the Philippines to raise money for disadvantaged students, died April 1, the day after Easter. He was 58 years old.Dubbed “the Running Pastor,” the moniker describes not only Cabiling’s epic race but how he lived his life and served as an evangelist. For 38 years, he was a vocational minister of Victory Christian Fellowship of the Philippines, which has nearly 150 locations in the country. The branch he led, Victory Metro Manila, averaged more than 75,000 people each Sunday. [Note: The author is a member of Victory Church and was a part of the late pastor's small group in 2014.]In the past two years, his focus was on teaching evangelism to Victory leaders. Every time he received a teaching invitation, his answer was always yes, said his assistant, Faye Bonifacio.“He was a maximizer,” Bonifacio said, noting that Cabiling developed a habit of taking short naps while parked at a gas station between long drives. “Because he liked to drive, he did a lot in a day.”Hours before his death, Cabiling had visited a church member at a hospital an hour away from his hometown of Cuyapo before parking his car at a gas station, likely for a break before heading to his next destination. It was there that an attendant found his lifeless body and rushed him to the hospital he had just visited. Cabiling had died of a heart attack.“He was a serious man of passion, action, and conviction,” wrote Steve Murrell, the founding pastor of Victory, the flagship church for the charismatic-leaning Every Nation Churches and Ministries, which has churches and campus ministries in ...Continue reading...

From 1978 to 2008, he fought for legal recognition and freedom to worship for the Anabaptist denomination. Nguyen Quang Trung spent 30 years trying to get the Mennonite church recognized and registered by the government of Vietnam so that believers could meet and worship legally. When he finally succeeded, he celebrated the triumph with the words of the apostle Paul: “If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord” (Rom. 14:8).Nguyen, a pastor and two-time president of Hội Thánh Mennonite Việt Nam (Vietnam Mennonite Church), died on March 23 at age 84. He was known for his “patient persistence” and “tireless efforts to promote and legally confirm a Mennonite presence in Vietnam,” Gerry Keener, former head of Eastern Mennonite Missions, told Anabaptist World.Nguyen was born in Gia Dinh, an industrial area outside Saigon. His mother died when he was five. His father was a committed Christian who raised him in the Evangelical Church of Vietnam, part of the Christian and Missionary Alliance.In his 20s, Nguyen found himself drawn to the Mennonites, spending a lot of time in a reading room established by the Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities. He took classes on English and the Bible and learned the Anabaptist teachings about nonviolence.“The same Spirit that empowered Jesus also empowers us to love enemies,” the missionaries taught Nguyen, “to forgive rather than to seek revenge, to practice right relationships, to rely on the community of faith to settle disputes, and to resist evil without violence.”Nguyen embraced the idea that Christians should “follow Christ in the way of peace” and practice “nonresistance,” even if they faced persecution and death.The ...Continue reading...

It wasn't only because of missionaries from the West, says a Tongan Australian theologian.Christian overseas missionaries were more successful in Oceania—the region spanning the Pacific Islands, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and New Zealand—than anywhere else in the world.In particular, people in the Pacific Islands (which include Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Vanuatu, Tonga, and more) were receptive to the gospel because “their ancestors’ strong beliefs in a divine presence and in the afterlife made them very open to Christian faith,” wrote Jacqueline Ryle, a contributor to the 2021 reference volume Christianity in Oceania. Tongan Australian theologian Katalina Tahaafe-Williams says her research reveals the same: The growth of Christianity in the region was not because of white Europeans but rather due to Indigenous missionaries who translated Christianity in a way that made sense to locals.Tahaafe-Williams, who lives in Sydney, served as the Indigenous coeditor for the book alongside prominent global Christianity scholars Kenneth R. Ross and Todd M. Johnson.“Our goal was to recruit Indigenous writers from all over the region to contribute to this volume,” she explained. “It was my task to connect with potential authors, theologians, leaders, and church members from the Pacific Islands … we were very committed to finding, however challenging it might be, authors who were part of that particular culture, thereby making the work very authentic.”CT Global books editor Geethanjali Tupps spoke with Tahaafe-Williams on why Christianity flourished in the Pacific Islands, how migration patterns have impacted the church, and why the region shouldn’t serve as the poster child for climate change issues.Continue reading...

Missouri has passed a law stopping public funds like Medicaid from going to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers operating in the state. The nation's largest abortion provider pushed back on the new law, saying it serves "nearly half of all patients who rely on family planning safety-net providers in the state."

A United Nations watchdog organization published a series of chat room posts by Palestinians purportedly accusing U.N. Relief and Works Agency staff members of stealing humanitarian aid intended for civilians and selling it or hoarding it in their homes.

One of the founding leaders of Victory megachurch, he never stopped running to share the gospel.Ferdinand “Ferdie” Cabiling, a bishop at one of the Philippines’ largest megachurches who ran across the Philippines to raise money for disadvantaged students, died April 1, the day after Easter. He was 58 years old.Dubbed “the Running Pastor,” the moniker describes not only Cabiling’s epic race but how he lived his life and served as an evangelist. For 38 years, he was a vocational minister of Victory Christian Fellowship of the Philippines, which has nearly 150 locations in the country. The branch he led, Victory Metro Manila, averaged more than 75,000 people each Sunday. [Note: The author is a member of Victory Church and was a part of the late pastor's small group in 2014.]In the past two years, his focus was on teaching evangelism to Victory leaders. Every time he received a teaching invitation, his answer was always yes, said his assistant, Faye Bonifacio.“He was a maximizer,” Bonifacio said, noting that Cabiling developed a habit of taking short naps while parked at a gas station between long drives. “Because he liked to drive, he did a lot in a day.”Hours before his death, Cabiling had visited a church member at a hospital an hour away from his hometown of Cuyapo before parking his car at a gas station, likely for a break before heading to his next destination. It was there that an attendant found his lifeless body and rushed him to the hospital he had just visited. Cabiling had died of a heart attack.“He was a serious man of passion, action, and conviction,” wrote Steve Murrell, the founding pastor of Victory, the flagship church for the charismatic-leaning Every Nation Churches and Ministries, which has churches and campus ministries in ...Continue reading...