Christianity

A fraught history of violence, threats, and persecution — Countries surround Japan with millions of Christian adherents. The Philippines is the world’s fifth-largest Christian nation, with 93% of the population identifying with the faith. Korea’s population is 29% Christian. Even China, where Christianity is banned, has a 2.5% representation, with over 44 million suspected Christians practicing their faith illegally…

Rick Warren’s fight for gender equality in the church — Once upon a time, in the sunny land of California, a megachurch named Saddleback emerged under the leadership of Pastor Rick Warren. It grew to become one of the largest and most influential churches in the whole of the United States, drawing tens of thousands of worshippers with its message…

The silent frustrations of faithful clergy — When I was a pastor, I would avoid my email inbox for as long as possible on Monday morning. That’s because I knew that invariably there would be a message from some disgruntled congregant who was ticked off by something from the services the day before. Betty Bloggs thinks the…

*Editor’s Note: All characters in this series are deployed under pseudonyms to protect the identity of the parties involved. The lamp. I couldn’t stop looking at it and the prize it held — light. There was so much power in what light could do for a room, what it could…

Christians believe that Jesus accepts everyone except LGBTQ+ people — The Head Elder of my church, the man who organized things and controlled the money, was divorced. In Luke 16:18, Jesus says… Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery I didn’t care that he was divorced…

“Students, before we go on winter break, I want to make sure that if you have any questions about your salvation, we get them answered.” Coach Mike Kinsey spoke those words to his sophomore Bible class on a cold, overcast December day in 2009. My heart was only lukewarm towards…

“Religion is man’s quest for the divine, but the path he chooses to reach it is often shaped by his own beliefs and biases.” Introduction Religion has been a part of human civilization for thousands of years, providing guidance, hope, and comfort to people all over the world. However, throughout history…

I just finished watching the “Shiny Happy People” doc on Amazon’s Prime Video about the Duggar family and Bill Gothard. Oof. That was a TOUGH watch because it reminded me of so much that I went through growing up in an abusive home, and then going to Teen Mania’s…

by Marcus Joseph Tuesday, June 6, 2023 In my book In Search of Truth, that will come out sometime this year, I will blow the lid off of the entire LGBTQIA+ movement’s true origins and the reality they face. Many will naturally deny my allegations — my allegations that, indeed…