DISQUS

i can see how you could be surprised by having found that there was a middle-ground. i also learned of a middle-ground in college. and after many long conversations, i'm pretty convinced that both creation and evolution are possible ways that the earth was formed and they could both be in line with the bible. God could have chosen to intelligently create everything one by one in 7 literal days, or He could have chosen to create one thing in the very beginning that He'd given enough information to bring other types of life into the world. the way that scientists say the different species evolved is in line with what's recorded in Genesis.

Either way, it speaks to a genius creator and that's what we believe.

My site is www.NotYourMamasReligion.com ...it's geared toward young African-American Christians, but a good chunk of our stuff is applicable for Christians of any ethnic background. We discuss everything from the history of christianity in america and homophobia in the black church to politics, dating, and student leadership.

@Siarlys: I love your comment! So much, that I included in an article about this TC article. You make great points :)

http://www.notyourmamasreligion.com/articles_vi...

here's another question: if God allows miscarriages, does that mean He's participating in abortion? it's rhetorical. i think the discussion of abortion is getting out of hand.

while i don't want people to have abortions, i recognize (and think others should too) that most of the people who are adamant proponents of bans on abortion are NOT going to be among those adopting children, feeding babies and otherwise helping families who are going to be in serious need of help after they have these children.

Read this:
http://www.notyourmamasreligion.com/articles_vi...

is there a way to get the embed code to put this on my site? i'm starting a new section on student leadership (i.e. how college students and young adults can lead other younguns) and think this would be useful for others to read.

free copies of his book!!! wow, happy for u :) thanks for the live comments.

Hi,

I found this article really interesting, so I posted an article commenting on this piece on my site.

Link: http://www.notyourmamasreligion.com/articles_vi...

Feel free to comment here or there. Healthy discussion is always good :)

i know several couples who made it through long-distance relationships and are now happily married to each other. it's definitely tough, but well worth it to stay in the relationship. in some ways, taking out the physical elements of it is very beneficial- it forces you to learn to communicate (like you said) and to learn more about each others opinions and ideas, which you might not do if your lips were locked together (for example :) ).

an article on some things to consider before entering a long-distance relationship - http://www.notyourmamasreligion.com/articles_vi...

great article! we need more resources on how to endure (and enjoy) long-distance relationships

i hope that lots of people get to read this, because so many people don't believe that this level of love is attainable so they settle with the best of the worst and wonder why they're not that happy. good article!

i wrote an article on something similar from a biblical perspective. about how people run from submission because they think it'll leave them feeling like a doormat (i.e. their man (or woman) walks all over them). but if the couple has this kind of love for each other, submission only deepens the level of commitment to each other and trust in God for their relationship

link: http://www.notyourmamasreligion.com/articles_vi...

wow, thanks for the abundance of links. i especially like the one about Margaret Cho. I hadn't heard before that she was a Christian. ...learn something new everyday :-) ...

here are two more articles that you might find interesting - on politics and christians: should the bible be legislated?
<http://www.notyourmamasreligion.com/articles_vi...> ... and another article (tho a bit shorter) on being pro-choice vs pro-life <http://www.notyourmamasreligion.com/articles_vi...>

I've gone to several different megachurches up and down the East Coast (in Maryland, Virginia and Massachusetts), and what I've enjoyed the most about all of them is the resources and opportunities that they're able to provide. For example, the megachurch I attended in Boston, MA has a huge choir accompanied by a large instrumental ensemble, and the members are largely from the Berklee School of Music, so the Sunday worship feels almost like a concert. In the other two churches, the musicians are nationally-known gospel artists and the weekly news announcements are video produced and edited by people who work for CNN and other big news networks.

Granted that it could so happen that these people find there way to smaller churches, but if your church has several thousand people, it's more likely that they'll find their way to the larger church. And like on Captain Planet, with those powers combined (lol sorry for the reference, it just came to mind), they can take an idea from someone who knows little about music or technology and make it so much bigger and more excellent.

Like, look at Craig Groeschel's church in OK (lifechurch.tv), they have a whole team of technology people dedicated to maintaining their state of the art website that reaches people with hundreds of messages and resources all around the world. If they were a smaller church, they probably wouldn't be able to do that.

And about the anonymity that megachurches bring: I've found that that's helped me to be more intentional about finding a ministry or a group to get involved with. And getting involved with those groups helps to ensure that I'm being involved with the church and getting to know people through a ministry that's important and interesting to me, not just something that someone handed me b/c they were short on people.

So, in a way, megachurches help people to "step up their God-relationship" and take the steps to get involved. Because you might not feel needed in the salient way that you might feel in a small church (because they're so short-handed). In a megachurch, you have to figure out what's important to you of all of the many things that the church is doing and see how you can get involved with that.

And if you see a need that's not somehow being met, chances are high that a megachurch has the resources to help you start a group or a ministry (or whatever) to meet those needs.