Heterosexual Education

California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill that will add gays and lesbians to history lessons within public schools.  This is an effort to include everyone who is important in history lessons, and not discriminate based on lifestyle.  However, this new law does not come without it's opposers.

What's your opinion on the matter?  Is it good that schools are being forced to have an all-inclusive education?  Should this even have to be a law?  Is this law absolutely ridiculous?  I want to know what your thoughts are!

Religious Atonement

There has been an explosion of stories about sexual abuse within churches in the news over the past few years.  However, churches that expose themselves by admitting to this sin, also face backlash from the insurance companies and lawyers that protect them.  While churches and religion often believe in atonement and admission of sins, lawyers and insurance agents don't exactly praise such self-incrimination. So, the two forces are stuck in a battle.  The individual church must ultimately do what is right in their mind and for their congregation, even if sometimes this means losing the battle with regards to hypocrisy or self-incrimination.  Mind you, this decision is not easy, and there will be something lost by choosing either side.  But, a side must be chosen, and the church must be prepared to stand by their decision until the end because at least doing so shows conviction and faith.

Science & Religion

Science and religion are like oil and water to most people, they just don't mix.  In fact, science competes with and attempts to override religion in most cases, and vice versa.  But, this week celebrations of Galileo took place, and even the Catholic Church was involved.  In a sort of truce between the two competing forces, both joined together to celebrate Galileo's achievements.

I'm glad that such an event could occur because I don't think it always needs to be science against religion. I think there is often a middle ground, which should be explored and accepted more often.

What do you think?

Holy Confusion

Just about any Christian can tell you that Good Friday is the day Jesus was crucified on the cross, and he rose from his tomb three days later on Easter Sunday.  But, there have been debates over the phrasing "three days".  If Jesus died in the afternoon of Good Friday, and was risen by Sunday morning, how exactly does that equate to three days?  The answer comes from historians and theologians who have been wrestling with this question.  They say that "three days" is the length of time because of the way that people conceived of time back then, along with other plausible theories.

I had never really thought about this wording until I saw this article this morning, but once it was brought to my attention, I definitely had an "aha!" kind of moment.  I know this is the type of thing that non-Christians or atheists would use to attempt to poke holes in our faith, and I'm glad that some answers have been found to clarify the confusion.  Plus, I learned something new today, and that is always a good thing.

Holy Sports

Looks like the wide world of sports just may be getting a little more religious.  More and more professional teams are promoting religious sports outings such as Christian night, Jewish night, etc. in order to drive group ticket sales.

I think this is a good idea in theory, but it does have the potential to offend many people.  Plus, a good question raised in the article is just how inclusive and diversified these nights will be?

Fat Religion

Generally, participating religion is seen as a positive life influence, it makes people happier and healthier.  However, a new study shows that it also might make people heavier.  The article mentions several theories, but I think it left out an important religious message that could correlate: God loves you for you.  People who are religious generally believe in a God who accepts them as they are.  God doesn't want people to change themselves dramatically as long as they are being faithful to him.  So, it just might be the religious people don't see their weight as a problem because they don't think God sees it as a problem either.

Dance Dance

Pole dancing for Jesus just may be the newest trend in the world of religion.  The question is, how religious are these pole dancing classes really?  I know there has been an explosion in new, cutting edge  forms of worship and praise recently, but I think this may be going too far.

What do you think about pole dancing for Jesus?  Does this count as spiritual worship to you?

Bieber's Religious Fever

I stumbled upon an article on Justin Bieber in the religion section of USA Today online this afternoon.  The fact that this teen heartthrob (admittedly, his music is catchy, but I'm definitely not a crazed fan) was in the religion section of a major paper had me intrigued.  The article describes the religious undertones of Bieber's new big screen flick, and I applaud this.  My roommate who has seen this movie confirmed this articles claims saying that religion was definitely an undertone and not blaring obnoxious.  She also was surprisingly impressed and motivated by the movie.

But, back to religion.  I'm currently enrolled in a Sociology of Religion course, and I'm an active Episcopalian, so I find religion important.  But, I do not approve of people who push their religion on others.  The 1st Amendment protects our right to freedom of religion, and I believe that pushing religion on people does against this right.  Yes, you have the right to practice your religion.  Yes, you have the right to talk to others about it and even recruit new members.  But, no, you don't have the right to force religion on a captive audience.

Though, that's just my take, what's yours?