An Ecumenical Ministry in the Parish of St Patrick's Catholic Church In San Diego USA

米国サンディエゴの聖パトリックカトリック教会教区におけるエキュメニカル宣教

Friday, December 11, 2015

Most Popular Bible Verse of 2015


Donald Trump Is No Hitler
He may be a buffoon, says David Harsanyi at The Federalist, but that doesn't mean he's a contemporary version of the brutal Nazi dictator. It's all too common to compare movements and people one doesn't like with the Nazis or their leader. The analogies are usually weak and insufficient, and this applies to the various commentaries that suggest that, given Trump's incendiary rhetoric, if he's elected, he could become the next Hitler.
 
Banning Some Guns May Be the Answer
Because banning all guns is not according to this piece by a Jesuit writer, which begins,
When I entered the Society of Jesus, I was surprised to find out our community was filled with guns. This is not a metaphor. Between backs of the closet, under beds and I-don't-even-want-to-know-where there were at least a couple dozen rifles to be found in my novitiate, and who knows what else.
 
Why Plumbers and Dentists Don't Need a Story
I shouldn't like this article, because, as a journalist, story is more or less my business. But I admit that the piece made me laugh as the author recounts how so many professionals think their job is to better "tell their story." (If you don't have a subscription to The Financial Times or The Browser, which gives you such access, then type "Stories are best for the Bible" into Google, and follow the link to the ft.com site. You'll have to answer a few marketing questions before you get to read the article.)
 
Most Popular Bible Verse of 2015
That would be Romans 12:2: "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will."

According to an annual user activity report by YouVersion (summarized here in a CT Gleaning), "the verse that was bookmarked, shared, and highlighted more than any other in the app's history was also the top verse for the US and Brazil in 2015" in the most popular online Bible app.
 
'Contemporvant' Worship
Non-liturgical churches like to imagine that they don't have a worship liturgy—a worship order and routine that helps them glorify God. This can be shown to be false in many ways, but humor is perhaps the best way. Contemporary worship is no exception. The issue is not whether churches should practice a set liturgy but whether their set liturgy enables people to glorify God or someone else.
 
Grace and peace,
 
Mark Galli
Mark Galli
Mark Galli
Editor, Christianity Today

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