Hey, Fr. Gregory! Wowzers! Those are crazy statistics!! Physicists don't know the Scriptures, yes, but all the modern Bible scholars whom I object to, e.g. Erhman and the Jesus Seminar, want to destroy the Scriptures.
Btw, I saw your Fb post on WSJ Pope Francis on the Ukraine and Russia. At least he isn't Paul III!!! I have more questions here, but they will wait!!
These are indeed "crazy statistics!" Actually, these statistics show how crazy the Christian community has become.
Regarding the recent comments by Pope Francis praising the Russian (i.e., Czarist) Empire, the WSJ reports the Vatican has walked back the comments:
**The Vatican on Tuesday sought to tamp down a controversy over Pope Francis’ praise for the Russian empire under 18th-century czars who subjugated Ukraine, while the Kremlin welcomed the pontiff’s words.
Pope Francis’ words of praise for czarist Russia, made in a video address last Friday, weren’t meant as an endorsement of imperialism, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said on Tuesday.
“The Pope intended to encourage young people to preserve and promote all that is positive in Russia’s great cultural and spiritual heritage, and certainly not to exalt imperialist logic and ruling figures,” Bruni said, adding that the pope had mentioned czars “to indicate some historical periods of reference.”**
On the other hand, "Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reacted favorably to Pope Francis’ comments. 'The pope knows Russian history, and this is very good,' Peskov said Tuesday, according to Russian state news agency TASS. Russian authorities are working 'to bring this legacy to our youth, to remind them of it. And that the Pope speaks in unison with these efforts is very gratifying,' Peskov said."
Frankly (see what I did there!), I don't think Pope Francis understand Russian history (or, for that matter, much about the Catholic Church in America).
Fr. Bless. Fr. Gregory, once again, thank you for your insightful writing. Like Noah Kapley, I had no idea things “progressed” like this in the Protestant Evangelical movements - though with little hindsight, it seems to make sense. Years ago, I sent my daughter to notably “conservative” Protestant Evangelical Christian University in the south. On the center of the campus there is beautiful bronze statue of Christ Jesus holding a towel and wash basin. During her second year someone on campus draped a rainbow flag on the statue. My daughter mentioned that she was not so much surprised that someone draped a rainbow flag on the statue as much as the fact that no one seem to be bothered by it.
Good to hear from you Adam and thank you for your comment.
The stats are a sad reflection on the state of American Christianity (Catholic, Mainline Protestant, and Evangelical). For what it's worth, American Orthodox Christianity looks pretty much the same as what's reported here.
Oh yes, Father. I know that we Orthodox are a mess too. Having known so many Protestant Evangelicals (clergy and laity) for over a span of 30 years, it’s hard for me to think that any of my former peers are embracing this.
Hey, Fr. Gregory! Wowzers! Those are crazy statistics!! Physicists don't know the Scriptures, yes, but all the modern Bible scholars whom I object to, e.g. Erhman and the Jesus Seminar, want to destroy the Scriptures.
Btw, I saw your Fb post on WSJ Pope Francis on the Ukraine and Russia. At least he isn't Paul III!!! I have more questions here, but they will wait!!
Hi Noah!
These are indeed "crazy statistics!" Actually, these statistics show how crazy the Christian community has become.
Regarding the recent comments by Pope Francis praising the Russian (i.e., Czarist) Empire, the WSJ reports the Vatican has walked back the comments:
**The Vatican on Tuesday sought to tamp down a controversy over Pope Francis’ praise for the Russian empire under 18th-century czars who subjugated Ukraine, while the Kremlin welcomed the pontiff’s words.
Pope Francis’ words of praise for czarist Russia, made in a video address last Friday, weren’t meant as an endorsement of imperialism, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said on Tuesday.
“The Pope intended to encourage young people to preserve and promote all that is positive in Russia’s great cultural and spiritual heritage, and certainly not to exalt imperialist logic and ruling figures,” Bruni said, adding that the pope had mentioned czars “to indicate some historical periods of reference.”**
On the other hand, "Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reacted favorably to Pope Francis’ comments. 'The pope knows Russian history, and this is very good,' Peskov said Tuesday, according to Russian state news agency TASS. Russian authorities are working 'to bring this legacy to our youth, to remind them of it. And that the Pope speaks in unison with these efforts is very gratifying,' Peskov said."
Frankly (see what I did there!), I don't think Pope Francis understand Russian history (or, for that matter, much about the Catholic Church in America).
My Jewish ancestors migrated to America to avoid Czarist pogroms into Latvia.
Fr. Bless. Fr. Gregory, once again, thank you for your insightful writing. Like Noah Kapley, I had no idea things “progressed” like this in the Protestant Evangelical movements - though with little hindsight, it seems to make sense. Years ago, I sent my daughter to notably “conservative” Protestant Evangelical Christian University in the south. On the center of the campus there is beautiful bronze statue of Christ Jesus holding a towel and wash basin. During her second year someone on campus draped a rainbow flag on the statue. My daughter mentioned that she was not so much surprised that someone draped a rainbow flag on the statue as much as the fact that no one seem to be bothered by it.
The Lord bless you!
Good to hear from you Adam and thank you for your comment.
The stats are a sad reflection on the state of American Christianity (Catholic, Mainline Protestant, and Evangelical). For what it's worth, American Orthodox Christianity looks pretty much the same as what's reported here.
Oh yes, Father. I know that we Orthodox are a mess too. Having known so many Protestant Evangelicals (clergy and laity) for over a span of 30 years, it’s hard for me to think that any of my former peers are embracing this.