Late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert said in a recent television interview that a scripture completely changed his life while he was having what he referred to as a serious crisis of faith.
Colbert said Matthew 6:27 was shared with him by a person handing out Gideon Bibles in Chicago.
China this week announced it is restricting the sale of Bibles from online bookstores as part of a policy it says will protect religious freedom.
A report published by the Australian Broadcasting Company says a paper released by the government, titled China’s Policies and Practices on Protecting Freedom of Religious Belief, says Chinese religious communities, “should adhere to the direction of localizing the religion, practice the core values of socialism, develop and expand the fine Chinese tradition and actively explore the religious thought which accords with China’s national circumstances.”
Bibles began disappearing from online bookstores as the statement was released.
William Nee, a China researcher at Amnesty International re-tweeted a government notice saying as of March 30, Bibles are banned from sale on Taoboa, Dangdang, the Chinese version of Amazon and others.
UCA News, a catholic publication, reports that the Chinese government white paper on religion is the first issued in over 21 years. It says the ban of on-line sales has been in place, but is now being enforced. Bibles can only be sold in churches licensed to sell them.
An advertisement campaign for The Franciscan University of Steubenville’s MA Theology and MA Catechetics programs has been rejected by Facebook. The reason given by the social media site? An image of Jesus on the cross is shocking, sensational and has excessive violent content.
The image at issue features the San Damiano Cross with a crucified Jesus. Facebook sent the university a notice that says, “”Your image, video thumbnail or video can’t contain shocking, sensational, or excessively violent content.”
The university released the following statement on its website:
The San Damiano Cross. Jesus in glory, reigning from his cruciform throne. This is what the monitors at Facebook consider excessively violent, sensational, and shocking.
And indeed, the Crucifixion of Christ was all of those things. It was the most sensational action in history: man executed his God.
It was shocking, yes: God deigned to take on flesh and was “obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:8)
And it was certainly excessively violent: a man scourged to within an inch of his life, nailed naked to a cross and left to die, all the hate of all the sin in the world poured out its wrath upon his humanity.
“but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews, an absurdity to Gentiles. But to those who are called, both Jew and Gentile, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:23-24)
As Father Mike Schmitz points out in today’s #ShareJesus message, it was not the nails that held Jesus to the cross: he was God, he could have descended from the Cross at any moment. No, it was love that kept him there. Love for you and for me, that we might not be eternally condemned for our sins but might have life eternal with him and his Father in heaven.
This is sensational, this is shocking. This is only possible because of the excessive violence that he endured for us.
“He was despised and rejected of men.” It was ever thus and will ever be, for those who do not see with the eyes of faith, and love with a love unquenchable.
Facebook later said a spam detection tool was responsible for the ads rejection.
Have you ever had an atheist complain that Christians cherry pick the Bible and only follow the parts with which they agree? I read the work of an on-line atheist this week. He wrote that nearly everyone, from every denomination of Christianity, cherry picks the Bible.  Is this the case? Do most Christians edit the Bible to meet their desires?
Well, over the decades I’ve visited a very large sample of churches, including Pentecostal, Baptist, Catholic, and others – a very nice sampling of congregations – and I have yet to meet a serious Christian who picks and chooses what parts of scripture he or she accepts. I’m not saying there are none who do this. I am saying it is unfair to say most Christians do this; and it is based on a very self-inflated opinion of one’s own ability to understand the Bible.
It’s been my experience that the cherry-picking compliant comes from those who believe no one could read the Bible and walk away with a different understanding than they have reached. To be clear, I am not saying the Bible means whatever you want it to mean. I am saying the opposite. The Bible has one meaning, and it is possible to misunderstand it. An atheist who complains of Christian cherry picking is often doing exactly what they claim Christians are doing; they are editing the Bible to meet their desires.
The next time a non-believer makes this claim, look at it as a door they’ve opened to discuss scripture. Have them show you the scripture and explain their belief. If they are honest and not simply looking for an argument, you may end up with a chance to share your faith. If it becomes apparent they are not interested in truth, and only want to “win” an argument, do as Matthew 10:14 says and shake the dust off your feet.
What do you think?
The sanctuary of a Colorado church was filled with the sounds of worship and praise just days after three people were arrested for causing over $80,000 in damage to the building. The congregation of the North Huron Christian Center and Destiny Outreach Ministries held an Easter Sunday service in spite of the senseless vandalism.
Sarah Crawford, a church member, posted online, “WOW!! It’s been amazing to be a part of the cleanup efforts at Destiny Outreach Ministries over the past few days!! All the generosity of time, resources, and finances has blown us away!”
The three people arrested for causing the damage face felony charges including second-degree burglary and criminal mischief. Police have not released a motive for the vandalism.
A Gofundme page has been set up to help the church cover the cost of the damage.
