faith – Page 138 – Godinterest

August 11, 2014January 15, 2024

Jesus! We Can Help You Share Him Online.

Share Jesus Without Fear

Do you want to share Jesus without fear? Perhaps the thought of sharing your faith in Jesus Christ causes feelings of fear and guilt in your heart.

Matthew 28:19-20 says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

This command illustrates God’s desire to include us in His wonderful plan to redeem mankind.

“We believe that the Gospel and social media should go together like peanut butter and jelly. The purpose of this site is to help YOU.”

With so many people in the world connected online, the Godinterest website aim is to help Christians share their faith in Jesus. People can then engage with the content you post and have an opportunity to become a follower of Jesus.

This means that whenever you post meaningful content about Jesus on Godinterest you provide an opportunity for others to be part of the greatest story on earth.

Rethink Sharing Your Faith

Everyone who interacts with the content you post will be presented with an opportunity to engage with the gospel.

This Is Just The Beginning

Interact with those who response to the media you post.

Start the conversation about what it means to be a follower of Jesus and if it’s appropriate, try to help connect them with either your church or a local church group in their area.

Also encourage them to use Godinterest to share the really great news about Jesus with their friends.

Note: If this seems overwhelming, don’t stress! You don’t have to do everything at once, and you don’t have to be perfect. Try sharing existing content with Friends and Family.

Question: What avenues have you discovered to share Jesus with the online world? What have you found challenging in doing so?

August 10, 2014January 15, 2024

Hashtags: Why, Where, When?

The other day, when I was browsing my Godinterest, we noticed a post from a person that contained a frankly ridiculous number of hashtags. The post looked silly, unprofessional and the company in question seemed to be using hashtags because, you know, it’s social media and you use #hashtags! Now we’re not saying that they don’t have their uses, but it seems they have become so synonymous with social media that people have started to use them but don’t appear to know why?

Why?

At their core, hashtags are essentially a way of indexing or grouping together posts on the same topic. They’re a way of reaching people outside of your own following, but within a particular subset of people you’re trying to target. And clearly, if you manage to get your content in front of the right people then your engagement rates should rise, which then leads to more followers and eventually more traffic to your site. But clearly, this approach only works on certain platforms.

People use the hashtag symbol # before a relevant keyword or phrase (no spaces) in their posts to categorize those posts and help them show more easily in Godinterest Search.
Clicking on a hashtagged word in any message shows you all other posts marked with that keyword.
Hashtags can occur anywhere in the post body – at the beginning, middle, or end.
Hashtagged words that become very popular are often Trending Topics.

Example: In the section below,

#Jesus (10,715)
#GOD (9,832)
#LOVE (7,233)
#FAITH (6,595)
#Bible (6,411)
#christian (6,250)
#Godislove (5,411)
#JesusSaves (4,955)
#jesuschrist (4,373)
#jesusislord (4,263)
#godisgood (3,701)

Ready to see what’s happening on Godinterest?

August 10, 2014October 24, 2017

Exodus: Gods and Kings’ Bold and Compromising Re-enactment’

After Darren Aronofsky’s bible story re-imagining, Noah, became one of the most divisive films of 2014 – ruffling the feathers of both religious viewers and hardcore cinephiles alike – the release of 20th Century Fox and director Ridley Scott’s Moses movie, Exodus: Gods and Kings, was destined to carry another wave of controversy into theaters.

Ridley Scott’s version of the Exodus story focuses on the tenuous rivalry between Moses and Ramses.

“You have to work awfully hard to make a hash of the Moses story. Yet that’s what director Ridley Scott did with “Exodus: Gods and Kings,” the Biblical tale most memorably put on film in Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 version, “The Ten Commandments.” (There was a silent film by DeMille, and subsequent TV movies and an animated retelling.)”

Though Exodus: Gods and Kings doesn’t have the art-house edge or in-your-face craziness of Darren Aronfosky’s Noah, it still won’t be an easy sell for by-the-book evangelicals.

A lot of Christians have completely dismissed the film from the outset because of the films many deviations from the narrative in Exodus 1-14. Moses wields a sword but not a staff; Moses is chatty but Aaron has almost no lines; Moses kills lots of people and fights in the Egyptian army; no “staff-to-snake” scene; no repeated utterances of “let my people go”; no “baby Moses in the Nile” scene.

“Getting past the obvious issues that Scott willfully to decided to cast white actors in the roles of Egyptians for no good reason, this movie’s problems go beyond that. But at least the plagues are good.”

Scott willfully to decided to cast white actors as Egyptians and non-white actors as slaves/servants, and an inexplicable preponderance of British accents.

With an atheist as its director and a lead actor who regrettably suggested Moses could be seen as “schizophrenic” and “barbaric,” the film more than invites skepticism from biblically faithful filmgoers. The hardhearted “Ramses” approach is thus the expected response from dubious Christian audiences. Is another approach is possible?

Worse, “Exodus” is ultimately undone by its horrible script, credited to four people. The movie’s technical achievements can’t drown out 21/2 hours of awfulness. I walked out as I watched Moses chisel the tablets of stone while some creepy little boy poured tea. Need I say more?

“The only way this gets a positive rating is if it’s NOT compared to the classic “Ten Commandments”, otherwise it’s a shameful, waste of a remake. I barely got halfway through it before pulling the plug on its awfulness.”

In the end, should “Exodus: Gods and Kings” just be ignored? As Ramses said in the ’56 version: “So let it be written, so let it be done.

August 7, 2014January 15, 2024

Proper Church Fashions? Find Tips On Godinterest

This is a guest post by Paula Mooney. It first appeared in LuckMag and is published here with permission of Paula to whom we are grateful.

The other day I was thinking about the time when I was in the basement of my old church attending some sort of training session for us “leaders,” as churches are apt to call volunteers who are led like sheep to the slaughter into ministry work. I had donned my favorite white sweater, one composed of yarn that was knitted or crocheted into a pattern that allowed small rectangular spacing in between each section. I wasn’t crazy – I knew I’d be spending time around some holier-rolling-than-thou saints – therefore, I probably wore some kind of tank top underneath. (Unlike the time I wore the same sweater to my former job in California with just a bra underneath, and my female boss at the time kept glancing down during our conversation.)

But back to the church basement. All of a sudden, this older geezer of a man sidled up next to me and chimed, “Are you cold? Are you cold?” Before I could even open my mouth to begin to formulate an answer, he responded for me to his own inquiry. “The reasons you’re cold we’ve already discussed,” he said, proudly referring to a discussion the teacher had just had with us members about appropriate church attire. I couldn’t tell if his statement reflected genuine grandfatherly concern for his “sister in Christ” or a kind of Pharisee-like creepiness.

Either way, I probably could’ve found some guidance for dressing in the fashion section for women on Godinterest.com, if the site would’ve existed back then. Years later, at a different church, I’d find myself being admonished a bit more gently and less directly in another ministry meeting, all because my cute white t-shirt with the “blinged-out” bedazzled cross on the front was apparently a little too fitted.

Ah well”¦church fashions may always be a point of controversy, especially in light of all the hubbub surrounding famous Christians like Erica Campbell and Meagan Good lately, two beautiful women whom I believe dress just fine for the entertainment industry. Besides, I hate it when some places of worship go overboard with talk about women “tempting their brothers to fall.” At least some are progressive enough to ban the men from wearing muscle shirts. At least they realize that some of the men’s Christian fashions we uncover can be just as provocative:

Okay, back from that trip to muscle-land.

My main point is that I’ve learned that dressing for church might have evolved over the years, but no matter what, just because you wear a skirt down to your ankles doesn’t mean you’re not a sinner in need of saving, and simply because a bit of dcolletage shows doesn’t mean you’re in a hand basket heading to hell.

Following the unction of the Holy Spirit guides us into what’s really proper attire for us to wear – whether it’s for a Sunday morning service, a Saturday night contemporary celebration, or any other day of the week. In the same way that God looks upon the heart, it’s more important to start there in gleaning where a person’s coming from, and not sum them up in one judgment based solely on their wardrobe.

August 7, 2014January 15, 2024

5 films that will make 2014 ‘the year of the Bible’

Paramount’s “Noah” and “God’s Not Dead” are among the top four films at the American Box Office. And with a slate of Christian-centric films on Hollywood’s agenda, 2014 has been dubbed by industry press as the year of biblical movies.

“Son of God” | 20th Century Fox (February 2014)
In the Holy Land, the Roman occupation has produced a cauldron of oppression, anxiety and excessive taxes levied upon the Jewish people. Fearing the wrath of Roman governor Pontius Pilate (Greg Hicks), Jewish high priest Caiaphas (Adrian Schiller) tries to keep control of his people. That control is threatened when Jesus arrives in Jerusalem, performing miracles and spreading messages of love and hope. Those who fear that Jesus will inspire a revolution decide that he must die.

“Noah” | Regency Enterprises (November 2014)
When God decides that mankind has become too sinful and must be wiped off the Earth, he chooses Noah (Russell Crowe), a pious man, for a great task. Noah must build an ark large enough to hold his wife (Jennifer Connelly), adopted daughter (Emma Watson), sons (Logan Lerman, Douglas Booth, Leo McHugh Carroll) and their wives — plus breeding pairs of every animal. When the task is completed, Noah and his family witness God’s wrath in the form of an apocalyptic flood.

“Heaven is For Real” | Sony Pictures (April 2014)
Small-town businessman, pastor and volunteer firefighter Todd Burpo (Greg Kinnear) and his wife, Sonja (Kelly Reilly), are struggling to make ends meet during a tough year. After their young son, Colton (Connor Corum), undergoes emergency surgery, Todd and Sonja are overjoyed at the child’s miraculous recovery. However, the Burpos are unprepared for what happens next — Colton says that he went to heaven and back, and tells his parents things that he couldn’t possibly know.

“Exodus” | 20th Century Fox (December 2014)
Twentieth Century Fox has kept a tight lid on Ridley Scott’s “Exodus.” All we know is that the film is an adaptation of the biblical story of the ancient Israelite people’s liberation from Egypt. Christian Bale will star as Moses, and Sigourney Weaver will co-star. Critics won’t be able to help themselves from comparing the film to the 1956 movie “The Ten Commandments” starring Charlton Heston. The question will be whether this film can duplicate the classic’s box office success.

“Mary, Mother of Christ” | Lionsgate Films (December 2014)
The long awaited prequel to “The Passion of The Christ” is scheduled to arrive before Christmas after a long set of delays. Under the reign of terror of Herod the Great and against all odds, Mary and Joseph survive as young parents in one of the most treacherous times in history. From Mary’s youth to her struggles as a young mother caring for her child, Jesus, up to the age of four years old. We will peer into Mary’s life at ages 8, 15, 19 and 27. (Written by Aloe Entertainment) We are determined to make the familiar story new to our eyes and our hearts. It’s as if in the past we were taught to love this family, rather than sharing their lives in big and small ways and letting a natural empathy develop. One of the visual leitmotifs we are intent on is seeing the tiny fragile element of Mary who is essentially up against doubters who want to stone her to death, a fallen angel trying to harness all his persuasive power to try and get her to doubt her faith, and a mad King named Herod who will unleash rivers of blood in his intent in finding and killing her son. We must think of Mary as this very young, very vulnerable warrior. For the first time we will see how she has to stand on her own to protect her assignment in a way that reflects the legendary courage mothers are known for protecting their own.

The increase in biblical movies is a testament to the ongoing power of those ancient narratives to capture the hearts and minds of the masses. And it also reminds us that Hollywood is driven by money more than by agendas.

The film industry is a mirror reflecting what society desires: sex, violence, and great stories with a touch of God in the mix.

The Bible’s stories are an enduring draw, so Hollywood is doing what it has always done best—turning a buck by giving audiences what they want.

August 6, 2014January 15, 2024

How To Promote Your Christian Game Via Social Media

Blessedly, if you type the word “Christian” into the iTunes App Store, you’ll receive a boatload of results to choose from. While many of the offerings represent different versions of the Bible, there are also plenty of apps that fall into the games category that arise also, such as a very well reviewed game called “Bible Trivia” that helps people get their Jesus quotes straight and memorize verses in an interesting manner. With the popularity of TV shows like The American Bible Challenge, it’s no wonder people are taking to their iPhones and iPads to continue the fun and test their biblical acumen using mobile device games.

Apparently, the success of that “Bible Trivia” app – with its in-app purchases – along with others like it, proves that the buying public is willing to shell out hard-earned cash in order to beef up on their study of Scripture. This is great news for makers of Christian games, and if you’ve decided your calling is to use this exciting type of medium that is the gaming industry to spread God’s word all over the world, you might be wondering how to actually use social media to help bring about buzz for your new game.

Sign-up: https://godinterest.com

July 31, 2014January 15, 2024

Facebook Has More People than Any Major Religion Except Christianity

Written by Michael J. Coren

The number of Facebook monthly users has surpassed the followers of Islam, and is closing in on the most numerous religion, Christianity. The Pew Research Center reports that Christianity counts 2.3 billion people among its adherents, followed by Islam with about 1.8 billion. By comparison, Facebook reports it now has 1.32 billion daily active users and 2.01 billion monthly active users as of June 2017—all supported by a staff of just 20,658 people.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg believes his platform could fill the void left behind by the decline of religious and civil communities in the US. Americans are becoming less religious, join fewer community groups, and report record low levels of trust in their fellow citizens. “That’s a lot of people who now need to find a sense of purpose and support somewhere else,” he said this June at a Chicago rally for creators of Facebook groups.

Zuckerberg has even approvingly cited religions role in society, perhaps implying a similar goal for Facebook. “People who go to church are more likely to volunteer and give to charity—not just because they’re religious, but because they’re part of a community,” he said in June. “A church doesn’t just come together. It has a pastor who cares for the well-being of their congregation, makes sure they have food and shelter. A little league team has a coach who motivates the kids and helps them hit better. Leaders set the culture, inspire us, give us a safety net, and look out for us.”

Facebook is growing at an order of magnitude faster than any established denomination. No major religion is expected to grow faster than 1.4% per year (Islam) over the next two decades, predicts Pew. Yet Facebook, despite rivaling them in size, has steadily grown its global user base by about 22% each year. Of course, Facebook’s expansion will slow as it increases in size (see the “law of large numbers“), but even a drastic drop in this pace means Facebook users will exceed the number of Christians before the decade is out.

As it grows, Facebook has gone so far as to change its mission statement from its focus on making “the world more open and connected” to “bring[ing] the world closer together,” Zuckerberg said in an interview with CNN Tech this June. The company’s CEO has ramped up his campaign to portray Facebook as a force for harmony, rather than division, in public life after an election season which saw the social network accelerate the spread of inaccurate news and conspiracy theories. The CEO not known for public outreach announced a 50-state US tour in January to “get out and talk to more people about how they’re living, working and thinking about the future.”

Facebook already owns three of the five largest online communities in the world: its own network, WhatsApp, and Instagram. The other two, Chinese services WeChat and TenCent, have about 2 billion users between them. To fuel this growth, Facebook has gone on a relentless acquisition spree of any platform where it sees its future audience heading next. For now, that means Facebook can sustain meteoric growth while counting about a quarter of the world’s population as its users. It shows no signs of stopping.

Godinterest is a work in progress. We do hope we get it right, and we firmly believe that getting it right means using our voice online, even on controversial topics. The Christian voice is important, and silence does no one any good. It’s worth the trouble to figure out how to do this, even if it means stumbling along the way.

We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:14-16)

July 19, 2014January 15, 2024

Anti-Christian Bigotry on the Rise, Godinterest Attacked!

LONDON, ENGLAND – Hackers attempted unsuccessfully to disrupt Godinterest.com from April – August 2014 with a series of attacks that continued over a period of 4 months. The hackers used a denial-of-service (DDoS) attack using multiple systems to flood the bandwidth or resources of Godinterest. Flooding our system with traffic and successfully took the website offline for half an hour each time.

The attack, while achieving nothing significant, was the most successful attack against the Godinterest website since being featured in the Huffington Post, Evening Standard, Washington Times, Jezebel and Wikipedia. Previously, the website’s mail system was hacked which resulted in the loss of user data.

Godinterest places a premium on security, which protects the site and its data, but the website is under constant attack. Hackers often attempt to bring down the news, prayers, and Bible portions of Godinterest, presumably because they are opposed to the mission.Among those who work for the organization, the evidence is clear. The forces of evil are hard at work against all those who share the Catholic message. From Pope Francis and the Vatican, to our bishops, to Catholic Online itself, evil works tirelessly to destroy good.

Evil is enjoying some success online as Godinterest faces increasing censorship of its news and Bible readings.

What is happening is deeply upsetting and is a result of the growing trend to suppress Christian speech across the internet and on social media.

Christians who value Godinterest and freedom of speech are encouraged to support religious freedom.

We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:14-16)

July 18, 2014January 15, 2024

Teaching Christianity in Christian Schools Is ‘Extremist’?

Updated October 28th 2007 – A Christian organisation has been banned from a church-run primary school following complaints by non Christian parents who claim their children were being “exposed to potentially damaging ideology” and “extremist” views about sin.

Some parents apparently complained that their children were told that if they don’t believe in God, “they would not go to a good place when they died.”

Wayne Harris, national director of the Christian charity Crossteach, denies these allegations and said;

“Wherever possible we work in partnership with local churches and we reflect their teaching, always aiming to be sensitive to the local context, and recognizing that churches vary. We teach mainstream Christianity,” Wayne Harris, national director of the Christian charity Crossteach.”

“In 16 years of Christian schools work no teacher has ever raised a concern that something has been said that could be interpreted as in any way ‘hateful’ or ‘extremist’ and we strongly refute this current parental allegation. On the contrary, schools have consistently expressed appreciation for the contribution that Crossteach has made and for the quality of the work,” Harris added.

As The London Telegraph reported that another parent who wasn’t named said,

“I do know some of the children have been upset by what they have heard. No one minds Nativity plays and Bible stories but considering most of the parents at the school aren’t practicing Christians, I think the feeling is that it’s all too much.”

Furthermore the The Guardian reported:

“We recognize and respect the school’s Christian values but think there is a brand of Christianity that is abusing that respect. The basis of [our] complaint relates purely to concerns over the welfare and safeguarding of children who we believe are being exposed to potentially damaging ideology.”

The headmaster of the school said that he is “deeply saddened” to be cutting ties with the Crossteach Christian group, but that however.

“I do not believe Crossteach has done anything wrong,” Turvey added. “They do not deserve the tarnishing of their good name and allegations of extremism that have taken place over the last few months.”

Although the faith school St. Johns has a mandate to promote the Church of England and Christianity, it’s still has an obligation to follow Department for Education DfE guidelines when it comes to non-discrimination and respect and tolerance for other faiths, The Guardian noted, which in this case presumably superseded the Christian groups biblical bible teachings.

Conservative Christian parents have also clashed with Church of England schools. Nigel and Sally Rowe said last month that they’re considering taking legal actions against a school in Portsmouth after officials dismissed their concerns regarding allowing transgender children.

The Rowes have said that their son was left confused after a boy in his class began wearing a dress to school.

“Our children first said ‘they’re a boy and they’re my friend, and now I’ve got [to] say she instead of he,'” the couple explained.

The school said it must follow guidelines and “acknowledge a transgendered person’s [so-called] true gender”.

The Rowe’s stated that officials “should have provided support for the transgender child in a more discrete way with people who are trained professionals.

July 18, 2014October 7, 2017

Use Your Sense of Style to Launch a Big Fashion Career

Luck Mag | by Paula Neal Mooney

Back in the 1970s, my mother took a sense of pride in being able to use her Singer sewing machine to sew the Tartan plaid school uniform skirts that my sister and I were required to wear for attendance at St. Edmund’s Parochial Elementary School. All these years later, I still remember how she would purchase special labels from Jerome’s – a fabric store on the south side of Chicago – that read special little things like, “Sewn with love for you.”

Mommy obviously had a special knack and talent for selecting fabrics, laying them against precut patterns or even her own designs, pinning and cutting them out and sewing them until they became beautiful clothes that could rival the structure of many garments we see in retail stores today. Yet and still, as many hours as she spent in that back room creating everything from play clothes to school uniforms to our prom dresses, my mother seemed to never reach her apex in terms of that specific styling talent.

How to launch your own fashion career

Therefore, if you are reading this article and something about it piques your interest, perhaps you too embody a specific styling talent or possess designer skills that could be brought to the world at large and help you launch your own successful fashion career.

Even if you don’t sew your own clothes, you might have a knack for sketching designs and could potentially launch a career that allows others to do the dirty sewing work. Or, you may prefer to purchase ready made clothes from various retail locations and put them together in stunning outfits that look great on various body types. If so, thankfully you could become a stylist, and it’s a good thing that celebrity stylists are very popular these days.

The best news is that living in the Information Age is quite the blessing, at least compared to what it could’ve been like as a 1950s-era housewife living in Boise, Idaho. Just imagine trying to launch a fashion career when you only have snail mail or dead tree media or an automobile at your disposal for getting the word out about your fashion. These days, you can use sites like Pinterest or even its Christian cousin, Godinterest, to upload photos of your own fashions or outfits that you styled to try and bring attention to your designs.

The Success of Marketing via Image-Based Websites

First there was MySpace, a fun network that ruled the roost online and captured independent music fans a-plenty. In time, Facebook soon enough came along and blew that old social networking site out of the water and almost off the web. Later, in a near sneak attack, the runaway success of mostly image-based social media sites like Instagram and Pinterest would displace a portion of Facebook’s throne.
The recent major buyouts of various social sites that focused on featuring photos prominently – over and above the words and captions adjacent to them – proved that a picture really is worth 1,000 words, and that loads of pics truly possess the power to draw many eyeballs on the World Wide Web. It is no wonder that many specialized segments of websites using similar layouts and replicated business model designs of these popular image-based sites would also become a hit with users. Take for example Godinterest.com, a website that looks a whole lot like Pinterest, however, the main focus is in providing the type of image-based content that is popular with Christians, from clothing emblazoned with Scripture to inspirational quote memes to sermon videos and beyond.

Marketing via specialized social network sites

It seems natural that like-minded individuals would want to branch off from the free-for-all types of social networking websites into their own specialized interests where they can bond freely with one another over one centralized topic or theme. Expect that momentum to grow, because no one can deny the power of a viral joke, product, or even a story that has been set on fire by web users sharing it with one another.

Even entrepreneurs that appear on popular television shows such as Shark Tank admit that a lot of their marketing success could be directly attributed to social media websites where one photo has been spread of viral nature, which causes even new companies to experience quite an uptick in sales beyond their wildest imaginations. Such was the circuitous path to stardom for a company called “Grace and Lace,” whose photos of their long, thick lacy socks that extended beyond the tops of boots went viral on Pinterest and exploded the startup firm’s sales.

Therefore, taking advantage of the innate desire folks have to share good and pretty things with one another can become s bih part of a viral marketing campaign that might not cost a ton of money – even if it does take time to “pin” or upload various images to your company’s virtual board. Let’s say you’re a maker of faith-based clothing. One good marketing strategy could mean using a site like Godinterest to both gain exposure to your brand and to try and get buzz going for your line of gear for believers. It could take plenty of sharing, re-tweeting and uploading, however it may take only one interesting image or meme to spread like wildfire across the Internet, and make the time well worth the sacrifice.

This is especially a good method for entrepreneurial individuals who have a whole lot more time than money to throw at their marketing strategy.

Sign-up: https://godinterest.com

July 5, 2014January 15, 2024

Author Sees Growing Religious Censorship in U.S.

America’s religious believers are facing a growing government push to censor expressions of faith and should prepare to put up a fight, a prominent Christian leader and author told the Family Research Council Tuesday.

Too often, religious beliefs are now regarded as “toxic waste” — something to be contained and kept at bay or underground by official policy, Dr. James Tonkowich, former president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, told the District-based traditional-values organization.

Recent examples include: Houston city officials seeking subpoenas for pastors’ sermons to scrutinize their stands on sexuality; colleges harassing or ejecting Christian ministries from campus for their faith; and courts and officials forcing Christian business owners to participate in same-sex weddings.

Christians and other believers should “recognize that the world is sinful,” expect problems, and prepare to respond with “holiness, virtue and heroism,” said Mr. Tonkowich, author of “The Liberty Threat: The Assault on Religious Freedom in America Today,” from St. Benedict Press.

Don’t allow “people around us to blow us off as haters or behind the times,” he advised.

But instead be prepared to suffer, even while “taking heart” that God has taken over the world, said Mr. Tonkowich, who worked with the late Chuck Colson and his BreakPoint Radio and leadership-building Centurions Program.

This article was posted on Jan 3 2013 at Washington Times

Godinterest is a work in progress. We do hope we get it right, and we firmly believe that getting it right means using our voice online, even on controversial topics. The Christian voice is important, and silence does no one any good. It’s worth the trouble to figure out how to do this, even if it means stumbling along the way.

We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:14-16)

June 21, 2014January 15, 2024

Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?

The name Halloween derives from the Roman Catholic holiday All Saints’ Day, The Feast of All Saints, or All Hallows’ Day (hallow means “to make holy” or “consider something sacred”), celebrated on Nov. 1.

All Saints’ Day commemorates the saints who have not been assigned a special day in the calendar of the Roman Catholic Church. The day before All Saints’ Day was called All Hallows’ Eve, from which Halloween is derived.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the origin of Halloween goes back to a festival of the Druids, an order of pagan priests in ancient Gaul and Britain, in pre-Christian times: “In ancient Britain and Ireland, the Celtic festival of Samhain was observed on Oct. 31, at the end of summer.

This date was also the eve of the new year in both Celtic and Anglo-Saxon times and was the occasion for one of the ancient fire festivals when huge bonfires were set on hilltops to frighten away evil spirits. The date was connected with the return of the herds from pasture, and laws and land tenures were renewed. The souls of the dead were supposed to revisit their homes on this day, and the autumnal festival acquired sinister significance, with ghosts, witches, hobgoblins, black cats, fairies, and demons of all kinds said to be roaming about. It was the time to placate the supernatural powers controlling the process of nature.

The Celtic festival of Samhain, which signaled the commencement of winter, consisted of the eve of the feast and the day itself (Oct. 31 and Nov. 1). It remained popular among the Celtic people even after the Christianization of Britain in the fifth century. The Christian church in Britain adapted the feast of Samhain by adding the Christian celebration of All Saints’ Day to the festival. Until the eighth century, the Feast of All Saints was celebrated on May 13.

It seems that because the British custom to celebrate All Saints’ Day on Nov. 1 had spread to other countries, Pope Gregory IV (827-844) transferred the feast of May 13 to Nov. 1.

The New Catholic Encyclopedia claims the reason was, “because provisions were inadequate for the numerous pilgrims coming to Rome in May,” but it acknowledges that some believe “the November feast originated in Gaul and was immediately adopted in Rome.”

Irish and Scottish immigrants introduced All Hallows’ Eve observances to the United States, and after the massive immigration of the Irish during the potato famine (1845-1852), Halloween became a national festival.

The custom for children to go trick or treating from door to door also goes back to the ancient Druid priests, who would go from house to house demanding food for their own consumption as well as for offerings to their deities. If the people in a home would not provide them with food, they would speak a demonic curse over the home, and, history claims, someone in the family would die within the year.

Halloween and its customs have no roots in Scripture or in the Christian church. They are firmly rooted in the occult and in pagan practices. These connections, however, are today forgotten or made light of. Nevertheless, any practice derived from the occult is incompatible with the teachings of Scripture (Leviticus 20:6).

Since many people no longer believe in the existence of a personal devil and his demons, they feel there is no harm in making fun of these “religious relics of the past.” The children are taught that there are no such beings as witches and evil spirits and that it is fun to dress up as ghosts or goblins. The modern denial of the existence of Satan and demonic forces is clearly contrary to Scripture. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible affirms the existence of Satan and demonic spirit beings (Genesis 3:1; Job 1:6; Matthew 8:31; Revelation 12:9).

We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:14-16)

June 11, 2014October 7, 2017

Inspired by the Need for Wholesome Content Sharing, Godinterest Offers a Pinterest Alternative

By CrossMap

(LONDON, ENGLAND 2014) CROSS MAP – For those Christians, entrepreneurs and ministries that use Pinterest but want to share within a Christian environment, Godinterest could be the answer to your dreams.

Speculation is growing about the content the owners of Godinterest will and will not permit, but how does it actually differ from Pinterest?

Godinterest was founded by Dean Jones, a Christian, to allow people to post within an
environment that prohibits ill-mannered language and distasteful images.

Jones, a 35-year-old Project Manager from London, said, “Pinterest is one of the leading social media sites; however, posts on Pinterest are not always guaranteed to be suitable for the whole family. We are mindful of the values that we as Christians are bound by and therefore Godinterest will help to provide an additional cushion of safety. I see this as a ministry and to that degree, non-Christians are most welcome; however, Christianity is not up for debate.”

Godinterest strives to have Christian content and like Pinterest, people can use Godinterest to collect and share photos of their favorite events, interests and hobbies.

Coffee with God

ALLOW GOD TO SPEAK TO YOU?

In the quiet, allow God to speak to you (you might want to write your thoughts down in a journal) and if you want to, let us know how daily Bible study and ‘Coffee with God’ is helping to impact your life.

BE GRATEFUL.

It’s really simple. What is one thing today you are really grateful for? What is another? If you can list 3 things a day, you’ll see you have much more going for you than you thought. Soon your list will get so long you’ll be beaming with energy.