Christianity in the United States

Fuller Seminary Receives $1.25M Gift as part of Compelling Preaching Initiative from Lilly Endowment Inc.

Retrieved on: 
Monday, October 30, 2023

The program is being funded through Lilly Endowment’s Compelling Preaching Initiative.

Key Points: 
  • The program is being funded through Lilly Endowment’s Compelling Preaching Initiative.
  • Specifically, the Fuller team seeks to document compelling preaching both across and within these four ethnic traditions.
  • "We are deeply grateful to Lilly Endowment Inc. for their unwavering commitment to the art of compelling preaching,” said Fuller President David Emmanuel Goatley.
  • Fuller is one of 81 organizations receiving grants through this competitive round of the Compelling Preaching Initiative.

Universalism or tribalism? Michael Gawenda's memoir considers what it means to be a Jew in contemporary Australia

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, October 26, 2023

Like Gawenda, I am the son of Jewish refugees, although I grew up in a totally secular home.

Key Points: 
  • Like Gawenda, I am the son of Jewish refugees, although I grew up in a totally secular home.
  • I think of myself as Jewish, although on the census forms I tick “no religion”.
  • I am also friends with several of the people he criticises, particularly Louise Adler and Peter Beinart.
  • Gawenda came out of a specifically left Jewish tradition, that of the Bund, which was secular, socialist and, in its origins, opposed to Zionism.
  • Most of his examples revolve around left hostility to Israel, which as we have seen recently can too easily turn into crude antisemitism.
  • He is particularly critical of former foreign minister Bob Carr, whom he claims exaggerates the power of the Israeli lobby.
  • While Carr may be prone to exaggeration, my own experience suggests the most active supporters of Israel in Australia are capable of bullying and intimidation.
  • Gawenda claims many on the left lack “a genuine and consequential commitment to Israel’s survival as a Jewish majority state”.

An age of tribalism

  • Gawenda taps into the underlying anxiety all Jews feel whenever debate about Israel moves into antisemitism, as happened in very ugly ways in the past few weeks.
  • Of course, Israel also has some strong defenders among people who are antisemitic, such as sections of the American Christian right.
  • There is hard evidence antisemitism is growing in Australia and I wish Gawenda had spent more time analysing it, rather than relying on overseas examples.
  • Currently, our universities are arguing about which definition of antisemitism to adopt, rather than thinking through how best to tackle the root causes of antisemitism and racism.
  • My Life as a Jew is so focused on opposition to Israel it passes over the more pervasive low-level antisemitism we encounter all too often.
  • As Freud observed: “Only in logic are contradictions unable to coexist; in feelings they quite happily continue alongside each other”.


Dennis Altman received a small ARC grant forty years ago to research the deabtes about Israel within the Australian student movement

And I have acknowledged my connections to several people criticised by Gawenda, which should also have included Bob Carr

Wesleyan Impact Partners Receives $1.25 Million Grant from Lilly Endowment

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, October 10, 2023

Lilly Endowment Inc., a philanthropic foundation committed to supporting causes of community development, education, and religion, granted Wesleyan Impact Partners $1.25 million to fund the Phygital Preaching Fellows initiative as part of Lilly Endowment’s Compelling Preaching Initiative.

Key Points: 
  • Lilly Endowment Inc., a philanthropic foundation committed to supporting causes of community development, education, and religion, granted Wesleyan Impact Partners $1.25 million to fund the Phygital Preaching Fellows initiative as part of Lilly Endowment’s Compelling Preaching Initiative.
  • “Wesleyan Impact Partners works to empower the church to achieve its mission through an ecosystem of congregations, clergy, and spiritual entrepreneurs.
  • "We are honored to receive this grant from Lilly Endowment and support their distinguished mission of helping individuals, families, and communities thrive and flourish,” said Dr. Maggie Jackson, Wesleyan Impact Partners Board Chair.
  • Wesleyan Impact Partners Learning and Innovation initiative began with a Lilly Endowment grant awarded in 2003 to the Texas Methodist Foundation.

Fuller Receives Grant to Empower Asian American Mental Health Initiatives

Retrieved on: 
Monday, July 24, 2023

This grant, generously funded by The John Templeton Foundation, will support their collaborative project titled "Innovating Forward: Faith-Based Mental Health Partnerships," fostering the development of mental health and well-being within the Asian American Christian community.

Key Points: 
  • This grant, generously funded by The John Templeton Foundation, will support their collaborative project titled "Innovating Forward: Faith-Based Mental Health Partnerships," fostering the development of mental health and well-being within the Asian American Christian community.
  • Daniel Lee, the founding Academic Dean of Fuller's Center for Asian American Theology, has been instrumental in shaping the Center since its inception, with a profound background in theology and Asian American studies.
  • By bridging the gap between the Asian American Christian community and mental health professionals, this project aims to facilitate the growth and flourishing of individuals, families, and communities.
  • "This partnership between the Asian American Center and the Department of Marriage and Family Therapy exemplifies Fuller's dedication to innovative interdisciplinary initiatives that positively impact our communities."

Mormon leaders – whose church is often associated with the GOP – push back against one-party politics

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, July 11, 2023

In a letter that local leaders read during worship meetings nationwide, the church’s president and his two counselors instructed church members not to vote solely for one political party.

Key Points: 
  • In a letter that local leaders read during worship meetings nationwide, the church’s president and his two counselors instructed church members not to vote solely for one political party.
  • Latter-day Saints, often known as Mormons, have overwhelmingly supported Republicans in recent decades.
  • But as a political scientist who studies religion, including the LDS church, I believe the letter highlights an important trend in American Christianity.

GOP fans – but not always

    • According to the Cooperative Election Study, 60% of LDS church members identify as Republican and only 23% as Democrats.
    • However, Mormons do not always align perfectly with the priorities of other Republicans.
    • For example, they are more moderate on immigration policy, and while opposed to abortion, the church has never called for a total ban.
    • It is no coincidence that the most prominent LDS politician in the country, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, has long been a thorn in Trump’s side.

Eyes on the future

    • One might argue that this is nothing new, since the LDS hierarchy has previously encouraged more two-partyism.
    • “It’s not in our interest to be known as a one-party church,” one elder told The Salt Lake Tribune during a 1998 interview.
    • Part of the explanation likely stems from concern over the hold that Trump, and the Trumpian approach to politics, has on the Republican Party.
    • Public surveys, however, find that the number of Latter-day Saints in the U.S. is actually declining, not just the growth rate.
    • If there were ever a case to expect religion to inform people’s politics, this is it – with eyes on the 2024 election.

Mission trips are an evangelical rite of passage for US teens – but why?

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, June 21, 2023

Their T-shirts sport biblical verses or phrases like “Here I am, send me” or “Called to serve,” and the teens may gather for prayer before boarding.

Key Points: 
  • Their T-shirts sport biblical verses or phrases like “Here I am, send me” or “Called to serve,” and the teens may gather for prayer before boarding.
  • According to some estimates, as many as 2 million youth and adults per year participated in Christian mission trips before the pandemic, including overseas trips and trips to poor communities at home.
  • While it is difficult to confirm these numbers, mission trips are now especially commonplace within evangelical churches, with larger and more affluent churches offering multiple trips throughout the year.

‘White man’s burden’

    • Protestant missionaries spread throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific, seeking to win souls for Christ.
    • But they left lasting impacts through the many institutions they established around the world, including schools, universities and hospitals.

Missions 2.0

    • Historically, mission work was a lifelong calling and profession, one that often meant never coming home.
    • Career missionaries continue to have a role in missions today, sometimes financially supported by denominational organizations like the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Missions Board or by donations from individual churches.
    • Another distinctive feature of short-term missions is their approach to faith.

Sacred and secular

    • The language used to describe and promote trips is remarkably similar to secular overseas volunteering or “voluntourism,” as well as gap-year programs before college.
    • Another similarity is that both Christian and secular programs usually involve some kind of service project: building a house, digging a well or leading recreational activities for children.

‘Walk with the poor’

    • Not all evangelicals see the value of mission trips.
    • Warning against a “white savior” attitude, they suggest that the purpose of short-term missions is to “walk with the poor” and build lasting relationships that will lead people to Christ.

Beyond the bubble

    • Trip organizers want to open American Christians’ eyes to realities of the world outside of their bubbles.
    • Yet their messages tends to imply the effects of poverty can be overcome through personal faith in Christ.
    • Trip leaders felt that such information would bore participants and detract from the spiritual aims of the trip.

Philos Project Leads Delegation to Armenia Amid Crisis

Retrieved on: 
Friday, June 16, 2023

The trip, which comes nearly six months after Azerbaijan initiated a blockade of Armenian Christians in the adjacent Nagorno-Karabakh region was led by Philos Project President Robert Nicholson and former Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback.

Key Points: 
  • The trip, which comes nearly six months after Azerbaijan initiated a blockade of Armenian Christians in the adjacent Nagorno-Karabakh region was led by Philos Project President Robert Nicholson and former Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback.
  • Since December 12th, Azerbaijan's blockade of the Lachin Corridor has cut the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, largely Armenian Christians, off from the outside world.
  • That same month Nicholson began examining the challenges Armenians face in an in-depth series on his podcast , The Deep Map .
  • "We cannot allow the crisis in Armenia to be dismissed as a simple territorial dispute," said Philos Project Founder Robert Nicholson.

Christian Encouragement YouTube Channel Launched by Spoonful of Courage LLC

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, April 4, 2023

Nacogdoches, Texas--(Newsfile Corp. - April 4, 2023) - Spoonful of Courage LLC has launched a new Christian encouragement YouTube channel that shares short inspirational Christian videos.

Key Points: 
  • Nacogdoches, Texas--(Newsfile Corp. - April 4, 2023) - Spoonful of Courage LLC has launched a new Christian encouragement YouTube channel that shares short inspirational Christian videos.
  • The concept behind the new YouTube platform launched by Spoonful of Courage LLC is to provide both devout Christians and those who are curious about the Christian faith with uplifting, motivating and inspiring videos that reflect the joys of a life lived through faith.
  • Spoonful of Courage has been founded by Charles W. Page, MD, known as Dr. Chuck, a Christian author, husband, father of five and practicing surgeon based in Texas.
  • Above all, Spoonful of Courage LLC advocates that Christian faith can be a salve in times of struggle and hardship.

Arab Americans are a much more diverse group than many of their neighbors mistakenly assume

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, April 12, 2023

In 2022, Joe Biden made history as the first U.S. president to recognize the month, which he did again in 2023.

Key Points: 
  • In 2022, Joe Biden made history as the first U.S. president to recognize the month, which he did again in 2023.
  • States such as Illinois and Virginia have passed legislation to make the celebration an annual event, and dozens more have commemorated it.
  • From TV stations to entertainment media, people of Arab descent are often stereotyped as violent, oppressed or exotic.

Arab Christians

    • For many in the United States, this overlap seems natural, given how often Islam is conflated with Arab identity.
    • But just as most Muslims around the world are not Arab, not all Arabs are Muslim.
    • During the first significant wave of Arab immigration to the U.S. in the late 19th century and early 20th century, families more often than not were Syrian, Lebanese and Palestinian Christians.
    • While the Arab community in the greater Detroit area, a short drive from where I live and work, is majority Muslim, that sets it apart from many other Arab communities in the U.S. Arab American Christians are themselves diverse, identifying as Protestants and Catholics, and with a variety of Eastern Christian traditions, such as Antiochian and Coptic Orthodoxy.

From Mizrahi Jews to Shiite Muslims

    • Arab Jews, often called Mizrahi Jews, have existed since ancient times and helped shape Arab heritage through their philosophical, poetic and political contributions across centuries.
    • To be sure, Israel’s establishment and its occupation of Palestinian territories has complicated Arab Jewish identities, with new forms of antisemitism becoming more common within many Arab communities.
    • Over half identify as Sunni, 16% as Shiite and the rest with neither group, according to a 2017 Pew poll.
    • Finally, many Arab Americans identify with no religion at all, or with other faiths beyond the Abrahamic traditions.

Many nations, one box

    • Arab heritage not only includes a variety of religious traditions, but encompasses a wide range of ethnic and racial identities.
    • It is difficult to make generalizations about Arabs, whose skin tone, facial features, eye colors and hair textures embody the rich histories of human migrations and settlements that characterize western Asia and northern Africa.
    • And Arab identities in the U.S. are becoming only more complex, given the diversity of national backgrounds reflected in the more recent waves of Arab immigration from the 1960s to today.

Complicated identities

    • The term Afro Arab is growing as a term of self-description for Black Arab Americans seeking to make space for their multifaceted identities and heritage.
    • Black communities are a part of every Arab country, from Iraq to Morocco.
    • These dual identities are still fraught, given the pervasiveness of anti-Black racism within some Arab communities, which often stems from the legacies of the trans-Saharan and Ottoman slave trades.
    • Still, Tunisia’s president recently provoked outrage after he gave a racist speech targeting African migrants and Black Tunisians.

500-year journey

    • Based on true accounts, Lalami narrates how he was enslaved and brought to current-day Florida by 16th-century Spanish colonizers.
    • If heritage months are an opportunity to celebrate the diversity of America, the diversity of the Arab community itself should not be overlooked.

Curiosity Ink Media Goes Ape for Animated Family Comedy Feature Heston of the Apes from Acclaimed Creator Dustin Ellis

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, June 30, 2022

Ellis and Curiosity Ink Media will oversee the writing, story development and overall direction for the film, which was penned by Ellis.

Key Points: 
  • Ellis and Curiosity Ink Media will oversee the writing, story development and overall direction for the film, which was penned by Ellis.
  • The project was announced today by Russell Hicks, Chief Content Officer of Curiosity Ink Media.
  • Dustin Ellis has a knack for hilarious and offbeat storytelling and Heston of the Apes is a prime example of his brilliance, explains Hicks.
  • As Curiosity Ink Media strives to deliver one-of-a-kind characters, situations and stories, weve gone completely ape over Dustin Ellis!