Theology

Ed and Lisa Young, founders of Texas-based Fellowship Church, began Friday at 6 a.m. a 24-hour "bed-in," in which the pair discuss their book, Sexperiment, and the role sex plays in marriage.

Pastor Young and his wife are doing various interviews and bringing their children and parents into the sex discussions, and they are doing so from a bed on the roof of their Grapevine, Texas, megachurch. The event is being webcast live.

Sexperiment: 7 Days to Lasting Intimacy with Your Spouse was released on Tuesday, and serves as a catalyst for people to begin a dialogue about sex and a challenge to make sex a priority in the marriage bed so couples will remain united beyond the bed. more >>

Is heaven simply some far off place that Christians go to after they die or is there something they should be actively taking part in while living to help bring heaven onto earth?

Chris Kugler, a theology major studying at a private Tennessee university, tries to answer the question in his first book, Being Christian: A Journey from the Boat to the Shore, Culminating at the Cross. In it he explores the subject of heaven.

Kugler believes the Bible tells Christians that they do have a part in preparing for God’s return, when the earth will become a “new Creation" or “new heaven.” In his book, he writes about other areas of the Bible, but chose to focus on the subject of “heaven on earth” when he recently spoke with The Christian Post. more >>

Internet televangelist Bill Keller is not a fan of fellow evangelists Joel Osteen and Franklin Graham, President of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

Bill Keller, the founder of LivePrayer.com, which has over 2.4 million subscribers, says Osteen and Graham have a duty to expose Mormonism as a cult.

“They are looked up to as prominent Christian leaders,” Keller said in an interview with The Christian Post. “When you have someone like Franklin Graham going on CNN and saying he has no problem voting for a Mormon like Mitt Romney and Osteen saying Mormons are Christian, it is clear that politics are being put before the eternal soul of man.” more >>

Although a large majority of pastors believe that God did not use evolution to create humans and think Adam and Eve were literal people, more teaching by Christian leaders on their beliefs about creation would help clear the air, said the president of LifeWay Research in reaction to his organization’s recent poll.

LifeWay’s Ed Stetzer said that the poll of 1,000 American Protestant pastors also found that ministers are almost evenly split on whether the earth is thousands or millions of years old and suggests that there is ongoing debate over the creation account in Genesis.

When asked to respond to the statement, "I believe God used evolution to create people," 73 percent of pastors said they disagree, with 64 percent strongly disagreeing and 8 percent somewhat disagreeing. Twelve percent each somewhat agree and strongly agree. Four percent are not sure. more >>

Joel Osteen told Oprah Winfrey in an interview Sunday that his message was one of hope for all people, not just those in the Christian community.

In the interview, which appeared Sunday on “Oprah’s Next Chapter,” Oprah questioned Osteen about the frequent criticism he receives for talking so much about prosperity and so little about Christ.

“There’s a belief that you’re supposed to be poor, and suffering, and show your humility. I just don’t see the Bible that way,” the megachurch Pastor said. “I see that God came and Jesus died so that we might live an abundant life and be a blessing to others.” more >>

Stephen Hawking celebrated his 70th birthday yesterday, though he was not able to attend the symposium held in Cambridge in his honor. Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, vice-chancellor of Cambridge University, made the announcement that Hawking, the guest of honor, would not be present.

The very fact that Stephen Hawking has reached his 70th birthday is an astounding fact in itself. Hawking, perhaps the world’s most famous scientist, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis [ALS], more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, at age 21. That disease usually leads to death within three years of diagnosis, making Hawking’s almost half-century experience with ALS all the more amazing.

Add to this the remarkable productivity of Hawking’s work as a scientist and public intellectual. Confined to a wheelchair most of those years, he has been dependent upon a breathing tube for years now. No longer able to speak, he has communicated for several years through a special computer device that allows him to choose words as the machine follows his cues. Most recently, those cues are communicated only through voluntary twitches of his cheek. It can take him up to ten minutes to compose a single sentence. more >>