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At an Alpha training conference in Detroit, a dozen people came forward to testify to the power of the Alpha program. One couple had been close to divorce when they encountered Alpha. The course inspired them to salvage their marriage and become active in a church. A young man said he had tried various spiritual …
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Both superior and appellate courts earlier granted summary judgment for the church. Neither wanted to have to distinguish between religious conversion and brainwashing. Molko and Leal appealed, and in October 1988 the California Supreme Court ruled six to one that the two have the right to a jury trial. The California decision was appealed to …
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It’s probably safe to surmise that most people write Marjoe off as a curiosity. Born-again Christians tend to dismiss him as an embarrassing black sheep to be prayed for, or as a pernicious false prophet. But to write Marjoe off is to miss the valuable lesson he has to teach us. In the era of …
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Some years ago, when Episcopal Church leaders thought they were experiencing a communications problem, an elaborate plan for consultation with diocesan decision-making bodies was undertaken. At that time there was a noticeable decline in the number of Episcopalians in America. This program was designed to let “the grass-roots people speak” and to set future priorities …
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Most Christians in Israel do not proselytize among the Jews; but a few high-keyed evangelists have created in the minds of Israelis the illusion that many Christians are actively seeking to convert Jews. Text: Hardly a month goes by but that some article about Christian missions in Israel appears in the news media. Lately, for …
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Something happens to the converted alcoholic or the converted charismatic that brings about change, sometimes a quick illumination, but often a rather gradual and increasingly insistent spiritual awakening. The spiritual conversion experienced by both of these groups is intended to carry the individual along in a “new” way of life, and it does for those …
Continue reading “Parallel Conversions: Charismatics and Recovered Alcoholics”
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She calls herself “Lord Zealous.” Her religious master on the west coast gave her that name; his “family” insists on helping her forget her real name. She meets with me only because I will call her “Lord Zealous.” Since she is not my daughter, I find this merely embarrassing but not impossible. As we converse …
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The conversation was about whether money helped or whether it stood in the way of getting into heaven. Most of those talking admitted that they were looking for a way to have their money and heaven, too. When they asked their leader for his opinion, he said that it was easier for a camel to …
Continue reading “The Needle’s Eye: Christians and Their Money”
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Evangelism in the U.S. today, as practiced by the denominations, is a very different thing from what it has been in the past — and it is constantly changing. In recent months I have served the Evangelism Working Group of the National Council of Churches as a part-time consultant, compiling a report on what the …
Continue reading “What the Mainline Denominations Are Doing in Evangelism”
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The current cohort of American teenagers between he ages of 13 and 17 is lonely, spiritually hungry and intensely aware of the threat of violence. That’s the profile that emerges from a recent Gallup Youth Survey. Young people fear for their safety at school more than ever, despite dramatic increases in security measures. Nearly one …
