July 15, 2019: Nation not so divided, hope to inmates, study on spiritual influence
Monday, July 15, 2019
Here are the latest headlines, brought to you by The Christian Post.
— Apologist launches new initiative to bring people to the table
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias launched a new initiative that welcomes people from both sides of the aisle to engage in “crucial issues of the day through the prism of a Christian worldview.”
During the first meeting of “At the Table,” U.S. Senate Chaplain Barry Black pushed back at the notion that the nation is as divided as many make it out to be.
He said: “I know what bad looks like and this is not as bad as it's been.”
Sen. Tim Scott from South Carolina noted that what gets little media attention are the partnerships, friendships and the breaking of bread together between Republicans and Democrats.
— Hillsong NYC, Prison Fellowship bring hope to inmates
Earlier this month, Hillsong NYC and Prison Fellowship teamed up to bring a worship event to inmates at New York City’s infamous Rikers Island detention center.
Some 21 inmates came forward to respond to the Gospel.
The worship night was part of Prison Fellowship’s Hope Events, which are one or two-day evangelism events held at hundreds of prisons across the country each year.
— Mothers contribute more to kids’ spiritual growth than fathers, study shows
A new study by the Barna Group revealed that mothers contribute more to their children’s spiritual growth than fathers do.
According to the study, 68% of practicing Christians said it was their mother’s faith that influenced them, versus 46% for fathers; and 37% credited their grandparents.
Notably, 59 percent of respondents said they were Christian as an adult because a member of their household “passed their faith down to me.”
— ‘Nones’ increasing nationwide, evangelicals grow in 3 states
According to a new analysis of data from the Cooperative Congressional Election Study, the nones — or those with no religious affiliation — have grown the most in 46 states and in Washington, D.C.
The nones have increased by 7.3% over the last 10 years. Meanwhile, evangelicals have declined by 7.4% since 1993. The only states where evangelicals saw growth in the past decade were South Dakota, Wyoming and Alaska.
Eastern Illinois University political science professor Ryan Burge said he’s often asked “how large will the nones get?” While Burge expects that they will plateau, the nones will still mark “the most dramatic unbroken streak of growth … in the last five decades … and the United States will be altered forever, both socially and politically, because of it.”
— Pro-lifer blasts media bias at White House summit
Pro-life activist Lila Rose was at a White House summit last week where she called out the media and big tech companies for the censorship of conservative viewpoints.
Rose said her organization, Live Action, has been barred from doing any advertising on Twitter. She said Twitter would only reinstate their accounts if they stopped calling for the defunding of Planned Parenthood and stopped sharing pro-life content.
Live Action’s Pinterest account was also suspended.
“This double standard and bias is a growing problem in big tech, even though they say that they are politically neutral and they don't discriminate,” Rose said.
To read more stories from a Christian perspective, visit christianpost.com.
