Church Politics

In stark contrast to most mainstream Christian leaders, especially those of the Roman Catholic Church in the U.S., a coalition of 22 Christian, Jewish and Muslim institutions has emerged expressing support for President Barack Obama's controversial contraception mandate that affects many faith-based institutions.

Catholics for Choice, Episcopal Divinity School, Jewish Women International, Methodist Federation for Social Action, Muslims for Progressive Values, the Planned Parenthood Clergy Advisory Board, and several others said in a Wednesday statement that the Obama administration was correct in requiring institutions that do not have purely sectarian goals to offer comprehensive preventive health care.

National leaders have the responsibility to "help improve the health of women, their children, and families," the groups wrote in the joint statement. "Hospitals and universities across the religious spectrum have an obligation to assure that individuals' conscience and decisions are respected and that their students and employees have access to this basic health care service. more >>

Reverberations from a pastors theological roundtable continue as Christian leaders share their thoughts on the Elephant Room held more than a week ago – some saying the event resulted in harmful side effects.

While co-host Pastor Mark Driscoll wrote this week that he believes he learned more about leadership during his "24 hours in Chicago for the Elephant Room than any other experience" of his life, other pastors, such as Tim Raymond, state the event lifted "up men with minimal theological commitments as examples to pastors."

Raymond, who is the pastor at Trinity Baptist Church in Muncie, Ind., wrote in his post published on the Credo Magazine Website on Wednesday, that although he did not want to evaluate the "gospel according to [Bishop TD] Jakes" (one of the pastors participating in the Elephant Room), he wanted to warn Christians of the danger from the event's inclusivity. more >>

Conservative and liberal Christians say their own views on issues like abortion and same-sex marriage would differ greatly from Jesus if he were walking among them today, according to a recent survey. In addition, respondents believe that Jesus would be more compassionate than they are toward undocumented immigrants and the poor. 

In a survey published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), 787 respondents who identify as Christian were asked to use a 100-point scale ranging from liberal to conservative and to identify where on the scale they believe "a contemporary Jesus" would fall on certain issues. 

The study, authored by Lee D. Ross, a professor of psychology at Stanford University for more than 30 years, apparently shows how people's political views are often separated from the teachings of their faith.  more >>

Two groups are scheduled to protest the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. on Thursday morning. GetEQUAL, a homosexual activist group and Occupy DC will organize outside of the Washington Hilton Hotel to stand against The Fellowship Foundation, also known as "The Family" and "the rich and famous."

Started in the 1953 and held on the first Thursday in February, the National Prayer Breakfast attracts the district's most powerful residents including the president, members of Congress, lobbyists and top business leaders. Every president since Dwight D. Eisenhower has participated in the annual event.

Notable dignitaries who have keynoted the event in past years include Mother Teresa, Bono and Tony Blair. more >>

The Roman Catholic Church and Oriental Orthodox Churches in the U.K. have welcomed an "unprecedented" move towards unity this week.

The Churches have launched a new book entitled "Joint Statements" outlining areas of theological agreement between the two denominations.

The book was developed by the Catholic-Oriental Orthodox Regional Forum (COORF) and presented by the body's co-chairs Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the U.K., and the Catholic Archbishop of Southwark Kevin McDonald. more >>

Accurately translating the Bible from its original sources to modern-day languages has been the cause of much debate, especially in America, where political speech influences almost every aspect of society. But is it ever necessary to make Scripture "adapt" to the times to get the "good news" across?

Some experts argue that accuracy and truthfulness should be the strict points of concern when translating and interpreting the Bible; others, who see cultural influences as inevitable, have taken up projects to ensure the word of God is presented in the language most relevant to whichever culture it speaks to.

The Conservative Bible Project on Conservapedia.com, a website upholding conservative ideals, tailored after the Wikipedia model of users contributing their own information in building articles, is an effort to remove what it calls "liberal-bias" from modern Bible translations in America and emphasize conservative values – two of which it identifies as accepting the "logic" of a real, eternal hell and expressing free market parables. more >>