A significant event since no Arabic speaking saints have been canonized for a very long time.
AP – Holy Land Christians celebrate sainthood of Arab nuns.
Category: church history
Jeb Bush at Liberty University. Faith and Republicans
Jeb Bush, a devout convert to Roman Catholicism, spoke at Baptist Liberty University. The article notes that most Republican candidates court conservative Protestants, which make up 34% of the Republican vote. Jeb Bush at Liberty University: Why presidential hopefuls court Evangelicals (+video) – CSMonitor.com.
Raul Castro Professes Return to Catholicism. Pope Francis
Raul Castro signaled a personal change in his relations to the Catholic Church after carefully following the teaching of Pope Francis. Castro also noted that Cubans are now free to exercise their faith, noteworthy changes for an atheistic, Catholic nation.
Castro: Ready to go back to church after meeting with Pope Francis.
Significant Decline in Christian Affiliation. Pew Research Center
This study, released today, has significant finding about the decline of Christian affiliation but does not provide explanations for the declines discovered in their surveys. I would suggestion the following reasons:
Personal rather than political reasons
The breakdown of families, which normally have held people in churches
Church-life feeling more hurtful than helpful
Social norms that caused people to say they were religious in the past are fading. People are more comfortable admitting they are unaffiliated.
America’s Changing Religious Landscape | Pew Research Center.
Back Story on Garissa Martyrs. Kenyan Church
This article helps one understand how the attacks on Christians in Garissa came about due to the presence in Kenya of a large refugee camp for Muslims from war-ravaged Somalia.
World’s largest refugee camp in Kenya at risk of closing.
How to Visit the Vatican Museums. Rick Steves
Travel expert describes better ways to see these busy sights in Rome, including a little history on Italy. Great photos.
The Crusades in Political Speech. Obama
This article Edward B. Driscoll, Jr. opened by taking Obama to task for criticizing the Crusades. The article continues by describing an eight-part video on the Crusades in The Western Story. A criticism one might provide is that the facts and perspective in the article are definitely western in perspective. The Byzantine and Eastern Christians saw things different as did, of course, the Muslims. Broadening the perspective would help.
Liesborn Prayer Wheel Surfaces. Medieval Church
A medieval scribe drew this organized selection of prayer thoughts on an opening page of a great Gospel book in c. 980. One apparently starts with the Lord’s Prayer in the outermost circle and makes one’s way to the center circle, which simply has “God” in it.
A medieval prayer wheel surfaces, but how it was used is anyone’s guess – The Washington Post.
Cursillos in Christianity Movement. Roman Catholic
The Cursillos movement started in Majorca, Spain (1944) with a focus on training lay people.
Malaysia to Investigate Protest at Lutheran Church
Muslim protesters outside Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Kuala Lumpur insisted that the church remove its cross, which it did after the protest. The Malaysian government is not investigating the actions against the Christians, who are a minority in this region.
Malaysia orders probe after protest forces church to take down cross.
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