| | Despite the 'transcendent' experience, most Americans don't regularly visit churches | | Curated for you byCP Editors | | Good afternoon and Happy Election Day! It's Tuesday, November 8, and today's headlines include research suggesting that U.S. adults don't regularly visit church buildings despite viewing them as transcendent spaces, a pro-life OB-GYN's response to NPR airing segment featuring a woman undergoing an abortion, and an interview with "My Jesus" artist Anne Wilson. | | A survey from The Barna Group in partnership with Aspen Group shows that the majority of U.S. adults, including self-identifed Christians, do not regularly visit spaces they consider transcendent. The poll, which surveyed 2,000 U.S. adults in early 2022, found that 55% of respondents do not regularly visit a space they consider "transcendent," which the study defined as "a physical place that brings you closer to experiencing connection with something beyond the physical world." Only 37% of self-identified Christians said they regularly visit transcendent spaces, but 89% of practicing Christians surveyed reported Christian churches as being transcendent. By comparison, 62% of adults in the general population said the same. | | The results also showed that 70% of U.S. adults believe that nature is a transcendent space, with 74% of Christians agreeing. When asked what makes a space "transcendent," more than half (51%) of respondents said a "sense of peace or calm." The data also suggests that no population demographic—including practicing Christians (43%)—says "an awareness of a greater power" is what makes a place transcendent. Continue reading. | | P.S. Get rewarded for sharing our newsletters! We are excited to announce the CP referral program—the more you share, the more you earn. Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter to get started today! |
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| Targeting of pro-lifers shows FBI is 'rotted at its core': report | | A new report compiled by congressional Republicans suggests that the FBI is "rotted at its core," citing the targeting of pro-life activists and parents concerned about their children’s education. The "FBI Whistleblowers: What Their Disclosures Indicate About the Politicization of the FBI and the Justice Department" report, which was released by Republicans on the United States House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee on Friday, contains approximately 1,000 pages of correspondence between lawmakers and current and former agency employees and the executive branch seeking clarification and documents related to actions lawmakers view as concerning. It specifically outlines information obtained from whistleblower testimony and other sources revealing how "actions by FBI leadership show a political bias against conservatives" and also expresses concern about the FBI's embrace of an "anti-life agenda" while allowing "attacks on pro-life facilities and churches to go unabated." Read more. | | LISTEN: Is a red wave coming? An essential midterm election preview | | What’s poised to happen during Tuesday's midterm elections? In this episode of "The Inside Story," Christian Post reporter Ryan Foley takes you inside the races and referendums that truly matter this cycle, including potential upsets and shockers and what things could look like across the U.S. Listen now. | | NPR airs woman's abortion, pro-life doctor responds | | As people in Michigan consider a statewide measure to enshrine abortion as a constitutional right, NPR aired audio of a woman undergoing a surgical abortion at 11 weeks pregnant at Northland Family Planning clinic in Sterling. Although the reporter claimed the experience was much like childbirth, with dimmed lights, soothing music and encouragement from others, pro-life OB-GYN Dr. Ingrid Skop analyzed the audio and outlined how an abortion differs from childbirth. "A sharp-toothed grasping instrument, called a tenaculum, is used to grasp the cervix, providing traction as the abortionist inserts progressively larger metal dilators to stretch open the cervix. Then, as we heard on NPR, the electric vacuum aspirator is turned on so that the abortionist can suction out the unborn baby." Skop also refuted Planned Parenthood's description of the procedure as a "gentle suction," citing former abortionist Dr. Anthony Levatino's video breakdown of the procedure. Levatino, who has conducted more than 1,200 abortion procedures, explains that the electric vacuum aspirator has as much as "10 to 20 times the suction power of a household vacuum," which Skop says may explain why the mother undergoing the abortion on the NPR segment can be heard groaning in pain. Read more. |
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| Voting is putting a wedge in the door so Church can do its work | | In this editorial, Dr. Michael Brown discusses the differences between what the state can do and what the Church can do, noting, "Our vote may allow us to continue to preach in a free country" but only the Gospel can change the hearts of sinners. Brown asserts that it is important to vote for the best candidate possibile—knowing that all candidates are flawed—to help ensure the Gospel can flourish and citizens can live their best lives. Encouraging a pragmatic rather than idealistic approach, Brown writes, "You don’t buy a wedge for your door because it looks pretty but because it works." Read more. | | What it means to have a heart for God's house | | Rock Church Senior Pastor Miles McPherson explains that the "heart" is the core of one's passion and it's important for believers to have a heart for God's house. Noting that God's "house" is not just a physical building but also God's people, McPerson explains believers will know that they have a heart after God because they will want to do what God says: "You can study the Bible all you want, but if you do not do what God says, you are not living out true faith. True faith is not just about information; it is about action!" Read more. |
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| Pastor: Base identity on the cross, not your race | | A black pastor of a multiethnic church recently took to "Table Talk" to share why he believes that a Christian's identity should be rooted in Jesus, not race. During the episode, which aired on Oct. 24, Pastor Ken Claytor of Alive Church in Gainesville, Fla., told host Joni Lamb, "A lot of people, they look at themselves as a black person or a white person or a Hispanic person ... I look at myself as a born-again person, washed by the blood, who is a child of God, that happens to be black. I don't have a problem with my heritage or my race. I love what I am." Claytor, who acknowledged that Christians can be raicst due to living in a fallen world, pointed to the example of Jim Crow laws that were passed in the South, saying, "[S]ome people believed that segregation was a godly thing. Not sure what scripture they were using for that one because I got other scriptures that say the opposite." The pastor attributed racism to "not just a skin issue" but "a sin issue," adding, "And we're the only ones who have the answer to sin, and His name is Jesus. So, the Church should actually be leading the way and be the example." Read more. |
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| WATCH: 'My Jesus' artist Anne Wilson talks God's faithfulness | | In this interview with The Christian Post, artist Anne Wilson shares the story behind her powerful song "My Jesus" and opens up about how God comforted her following the tragic death of her brother. Wilson discusses her newly released first book, My Jesus: From Heartache to Hope, in which she reflects on how God's faithfulness sustained her following the loss of her brother. "God does have a plan, and He has the bigger story and a bigger picture," says Wilson. Watch now. | | | | | | Thank you for spending part of your day with us. We look forward to seeing you again tomorrow! -- CP Editors |
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