Thursday, May 30, 2013

Survey suggests Americans are becoming less religious

A new Gallup poll shows 75% of Americans believe the country would be better off if it was more religious even as the country is becoming less religious. KTBC-TV has reaction to the survey in Austin.

Son of Evangelical Leader comes out as Gay

Ed Dobson's son says he is gay. After Daniel Dobson came back from serving two Army tours in Iraq, he told his parents two years ago "I’m gay. And I still love Jesus. And nothing else changes.” Dobson says his father responded, “We still love you. And nothing else changes," according to the Grand Rapids Press. He'll speak for the first time publicly about his sexual orientation in Grand Rapids, Michigan tonight at the Wealthy Theatre. Ed Dobson is retired from pastoring a Michigan megachurch and served at a top aide to the late Jerry Falwell.

Bama Scouts not allowed at some Churches after Vote

Boy Scout troops will no longer be allowed to meet in some Alabama churches after the national organization voted to allow openly gay scout members. This includes the First Baptist Church of Helena and the First Baptist Church of Pelham. Briarwood Presbyterian Church, will take a vote on whether to allow the Boy Scouts to continue meeting at the church.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Jewel's Bible diet

Jewel says she is taking her diet cues from the Bible. The singer says she has given up fast food and unhealthy snacks to only eats things that were available during the time of Jesus. She says in an interview with In Touch magazine:
“I do the Biblical diet, which means eating whole foods like they did in the time when the Bible was being written – so grass-fed beef, but no chemicals or genetically altered foods.”

Does Stephen King believe in God?

Stephen King says the "jury's out" on whether he believes in God or not. The bestselling horror book writer told NPR during an interview:
"I went to Methodist church for years as a kid, and Methodist youth fellowship on Thursday nights. Think of a bottle of soda with the cap off for 24 hours. There weren't very many bubbles left in that stuff by then. It was pretty -- it was Yankee religion and there's really not much in the world that's any more boring than that."
King went on to say that he he is not sure about God and the afterlife. "It's certainly a subject that's interested me, and I think it interests me more the older that I get. And I think we'd all like to believe that after we shuffle off this mortal coil, that there's gonna be something on the other side. Because for most of us, I know for me, life is so rich -- so colorful, and sensual, and full of good things, things to read, things to eat, things to watch, places to go, new experiences -- that I don't want to think that you just go to darkness.... As a kid, death seemed boring to me. As an adult, I think that it seems more like a waste. As far as God and church and religion ... I kind of always felt that organized religion was just basically a theological insurance scam... I choose to believe it, yep. There's no downside to that.... If you say, 'Well, OK, I don't believe in God. There's no evidence of God,' then you're missing the stars in the sky and you're missing the sunrises and sunsets and you're missing the fact that bees pollinate all these crops and keep us alive and the way that everything seems to work together. Everything is sort of built in a way that to me suggests intelligent design. But, at the same time, there's a lot of things in life where you say to yourself, 'Well, if this is God's plan, it's very peculiar,' and you have to wonder about that guy's personality — the big guy's personality. And the thing is — I may have told you last time that I believe in God — what I'm saying now is I choose to believe in God, but I have serious doubts and I refuse to be pinned down to something that I said 10 or 12 years ago. I'm totally inconsistent."

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Bibles in China

In 1988, Amity Printing produced half of a million Bibles during its first year of operation. Last year, Amity printed 12 million copies, most of which were sent overseas. That makes Amity one of the largest printers in the world. It is the only publisher authorized by the Chinese government to print Bibles. Chinese Christians accuse Amity of not keeping up with demand in it's own country. Many house churches Christians say they have have given out thousands of Bibles on their own to try to make up for lack of available Bibles in China. Amity is owned by a government body (the China Christian Council) and a British group that produces Christian literature (the United Bible Societies).