Category: This Weeks RoundUp

This Weeks RoundUp

This Week In The Internet – Satanists are now the good guys???

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“This week in the internet” – Where The Sofa tries to make sense of some of the random things he’s come across in Christian Internet this week…

What in Gods name is happening in Christianity?

John Cooper (The dude with the beard from Skillet) has posted an amazing response to the few high profile Christian people… who have publicly made some sort of “I’m not a Christian any more type statement.

I’ve been saying for 20 years(and seemed probably quite judgmental to some of my peers) that we are in a dangerous place when the church is looking to 20 year old worship singers as our source of truth. We now have a church culture that learns who God is from singing modern praise songs rather than from the teachings of the Word.

John Cooper

Dealing with Gun issues in America. One Way.

It seems that some Churches in America have been preparing for active shooter situations, according to AP News, by training and arming their Church family:

The anxiety of one mass shooting after another has led some churches to start training and arming their worshippers with guns. Not all security experts support this approach, but it has gained momentum as congregations across the country grapple with how to secure spaces where welcoming strangers is a religious practice.

AP News

Gun Issues… Another Way…

Then there’s this interview with Shane Claiborne

Sadly, Shane has concluded that Christians in the US are more pro death than they are pro life. 

“We like to say that we are pro life,” he observes, “but we have defined that so narrowly in terms of abortion that in the US you can say you are pro life and yet be pro death penalty, pro guns, pro military, anti environment; pretty much pro death on every other issue.”

Christian Today

And thats (possibly) not the most explosive thing he says.

And then there is this…

Then there is this little article from The Guardian that basically argues that American Christianity is looking so bad… Satanists are looking good?

The forces aligned against Satan have become so objectionable that he no longer looks like the bad guy. They include such groups as the Westboro Baptist church, notorious for its hate speech against LGBTQ people, Jews, Muslims and other groups, all of which it condemns as “satanic frauds”. There’s the Trump administration, in league with the US religious right, which has been aggressively pushing anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ legislation, not to mention engaging in overt Islamophobia.

The Guardian

This all part of an article about a Documentary call Hail Satan

Hopefully the Christian Internet will be nicer and more hopeful this week…

Christian Life

Norwich Cathedral and A Helter Skelter

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You may have missed it, but it seems that Norwich Cathedral has put up a Helter Skelter…

And people aren’t happy about it…

Dr Ashenden, Missionary Bishop for the Christian Episcopal Church, said the clergy at Norwich Cathedral had been “unprofessional” and were “making a mistake about what a cathedral is good for”.

He said there was no evidence that tourists become Christians and “just to put in entertainment is naff”.

“For such a place, steeped in mystery and marvel to buy in to sensory pleasure and distraction, is to poison the very medicine it offers the human soul,” he said.

bbc.co.uk

Because it seems the Cathedral isn’t for getting peoples attention, and encouraging families to come in? Or does the amount of joy involved just get people grumpy?

Image result for Hey Duggee Helter Skelter Gif

Sofa would be happy to see big events set up like this in Cathedrals up and down the country, but lets not stop at Helter Skelters or Crazy Golf. Why not climbing walls, lego tables, and inside gardens?

Or how about a comedy night?

This Weeks RoundUp

Boris Johnson and the Post Wisdom Age?

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Boris Johnson says he knows people will question the decision to choose him as the next PM.

He says: “I know there will be people who will question the wisdom of your decision and there will be people here who will wonder what they have done.

“And I would just point out that no one person, no party, has a monopoly on wisdom.

“But if you look at the history of the 200 years of this party’s history you will see it is we Conservatives – we have had the best insights into human nature.”

BBC Website

“No one person, no party, has a monopoly on wisdom”

Well… I guess that is true to an extent, I cant help but feel it is a little worrying that our new PM is already discussing the concept of individualised wisdom.

“No one person, no party, has a monopoly on wisdom”

Does this sound a little “alternative fact” to anyone else?

This Weeks RoundUp

This Week In The Internet – The Trump Bible Edition

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Where Sofa attempts to round up the random things he’s come across in Christian Internet this week…

Did you hear the one about The Book of Trump? Yeah… Like in the Bible…

Yeah… according to USA Today a wife of a political donor is wanting a “Book of Trump”… a bit like the book of Esther, but with Donald Trump… and she’s wanting this in the Bible.

Read the writings of Miriam Adelson, the Israeli-American wife of GOP mega donor Sheldon Adelson, and you’ll find her case to expand the holy book with a story named after the 45th president of the United States. 

“Would it be too much to pray for a day when the Bible gets a ‘Book of Trump,’ much like it has a “Book of Esther” celebrating the deliverance of the Jews from ancient Persia?” Adelson wrote in a column published July 6 in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a newspaper the Adelsons own.

Adelson contends Donald Trump “should enjoy sweeping support” among U.S. Jews and Israelis – so much so that he deserves pages in the Bible. 

USA Today

Read more at USA Today.

Sacred Cell Phone Time?

“These days, we adults spend an average of 3 hours, 43 minutes on mobile devices every day.  And if the grouchiness of church leaders is any indication, churchgoers have conspired to make Sunday mornings at 9:15 one of those hours.”

Church Marketing Sucks* has had a look at using your phone in Church. Have a read if you feel guilty about looking at your phone in Church.

What happens to our online data when we die?

It’s claimed almost a quarter of us want our social media and email accounts to die when we do. A report says 24% would support so-called “data death” – with 1 in 10 worried about what happens to digital accounts when we die. But almost half want to leave friends and family a digital legacy, where they can access photos and messages. UCB’s David Peek asked Dr Bex Lewis – a senior lecturer in Digital Marketing at Manchester Metropolitan University – for her views.

Need A Reason to go to Church?

How about not, to find out about Jesus?

Totally not, to hang out with Gods people?

What about…

Thats it for this one… Anything I missed?

*Church Marketing Sucks. I love that name.

This Weeks RoundUp

This Week In The Internet. Another Good Omens Edition.

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Sofa’s attempt to do a round up of things unleashed into Christian Internet this week…

The Good Omens Petition

Did you hear the one about the petition by a Christian organisation to Good Omens cancelled by Netflix? The problem with that is that Netflix has nothing to do with it… they probably wished they did. But they didn’t.

I really tried to write something about it. Both the… foolishness of the above, and in defence of Good Omens.

Simply put, I couldn’t get my head around it without resorting to spoilers. and more spoilers. Glen Scrivener from Speak Life has done a great job of looking at it:

A Little Thing About Ikea

Full disclaimer time. I love ikea. Their Chocolate / Dime bar thing is like kryptonite to my wallet. They’re been in the news in Poland due to “quoting Bible verses condemning homosexuality in a case strikingly similar to Israel Folau’s battle with Rugby Australia. “

The full story is here, but I’d encourage to pay special attention to

“Mr Tomasz, a long-term employee at the Krakow store, was sacked after he refused to take down Bible verses he posted in response to a notice on the company’s intranet promoting a pro-LGBT event in May.”

Can I suggest that if you write anything on your companies intranet, its probably best to be something that the company either agrees with, or at least not something that could be seen as unprofessional?

When the Church of England Tries To Make The Internet Better…

The Church of England have released a series of guidelines to help[ create a kinder atmosphere online. According to The Guardian:

“When you’re talking on social media, put the truth out. There’s no such thing as an alternative fact: there are opinions, and there is truth.

“When you are expressing an opinion, do so with kindness. And be welcoming: don’t throw out stuff, tweet or post things, that is a shut-out. That’s not the point of social media. It is social media.”

Justin Welby – Guardian

Read more at the Guardian website.

That’s it for now. Anything out there I should have included?

This Weeks RoundUp

This Week In The Internet – The Bon Jovi Edition

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My weekly attempt at sharing things I’ve stumbled across online.

What I’ve Been Mostly Watching…

Ooooooooooooooooo we’re halfway there…

Quote that’s messed with me this week.

Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate. - Rick Warren
AZ Quotes

What I’ve listened to…

The Amazing Mid-faith Crises guys have only gone and interviewed Adrian Plass. Give it a listen.

And finally… The Hero Tweet of The Week

What have I missed?

This Weeks RoundUp

This Week In The Internet – The Good Omens Edition

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Turns out I’ve not been great at writing a weekly post recently. I guess May was one of those months. But I guess that means there’s a bumper amount of stuff to share…

What I’ve Been Mostly Watching…

Good Omens! A Good fun watch with plenty of heart. Don’t take it to seriously, and… well… There’s plenty to be said about the last episode, but that would be one giant spoiler. If you have Amazon Prime, check it out!

Quote that’s messed with me this week.

In a gentle way, you can shake the world.

Mahatma Gandhi

Bits and Pieces I’ve read…

What I’ve listened to…

Remember Stephen Baldwin? The Baldwin that isn’t Alex or William. I’ve come across him guesting on The Social Media Church podcast. Where, according to the blurb: “Being in this world, but not of it – this is what well known Hollywood actor Stephen Baldwin is driven towards. Listen to Nils Smith and Nick Runyon as they talk with Stephen about how he presses forward in his 10-year ministry, charity and other Christ-centered initiatives with boldness.” Give it a listen.

And finally… The Silly Tweet of The Week

What have I missed?

This Weeks RoundUp

This last week…

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As those regular visitors to the Sofa know, I normally attempt to do some sort of round up of stuff that has happened in the past week at this point. But its hard not to focus on the political news in the UK this weekend.

As those in the UK know, it feels like the present season of Brexit Britain has reached its season finale with the announcement that a new PM is on its way. Will the new PM kick cans, light fires, throw stones within greenhouses? Who knows… Tune in next season I guess.

In the mean time, here’s some meaningful church advertising…

This Weeks RoundUp

The Church Sofa Bubble and Squeak

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The Sofa’s weekly round up of stuff and – sometimes nonsense found online this week…

Stop Trying to Heal Me.

The BBC have had a look at what its like when people try and pray for you… no actually its a lot more complicated and serious then that…

From time to time, without warning or encouragement, I get approached in the street by Christians who tell me they want to pray for me to get my sight back. Since I became blind as a teenager this has been a regular yet annoying by-product of being an independent disabled person who can walk about on the street.

The last time this happened was on the London underground. The train was packed full of people all studiously ignoring each other when a man put his hand on my shoulder and asked if he could pray for my sight to be restored. But more about that later.

BBC

Written by a Non-Christian, but still a very sympathetic message. Read the BBC website for more.

A Hero to Christian Misfits

There have been many words written about Rachel Held Evans, The Atlantic have taken a great look at why she was a hero to Christian Misfits around the world.

What I’ve been watching this week

I could watch this again and again…

What I’ve been listening to…

The Mid-Faith Crisis guys talk about work, “…and its importance in our lives. How can we be a blessing in the workplace? What can it show us about our own stories? What’s the problem with the phrase ‘work-life balance’? And why does Nick think that it’s OK to record a podcast while eating a fish finger sandwich?“

Check out The Mid Faith Crisis to give it a listen.

Please chuck the links of anything you feel should be shared below! In the mean time, I’m going back to watching that goal…