The Pope preached this week about hell:
"[Hell]really exists and is eternal, even if nobody talks about it much any more,"
Amen!
Now that's the power to preach a sermon to the whole world, because the news media broadcasts it for you.
Of course, this really isn't news. Are the people of the world surprised that a Christian denomination believes in hell?
4 comments:
At first glance of the picture, I thought it was about Elton John and his little Christian bashing birthday bash.
Andy, I have no idea what that comment means! Anyway . . .
Courtesy of Glenn Beck's page:
I want to give a big Happy Birthday shout-out to Sir Elton John -- honestly, you don't look a day over 70 (well, maybe 78). I guess my invitation was lost in the mail, but Elton threw himself a little party last weekend inside the Cathedral of St. John the Divine right here in Manhattan. Unfortunately, there were so many people that he had to remove all the church pews, turn the altar into a stage, and bring in over 1,000 bottles of champagne to keep over 400 guests, like Rod Stewart, Elizabeth Hurley and Donatella Versace, nice and liquored up.
But Elton wasn't satisfied with just one night of sacrilege. On Sunday he performed at Madison Square Garden with an image of a burning church playing behind him. Now, I know you're thinking: "but Glenn, isn't Elton John the guy who said he would ban all religion because it turns people into hateful lemmings?" Uh huh. But c'mon -- he's got lots of cash! If he wants to drop a few mil to desecrate a church, then hey--who are we to judge, right?
Wrong. The Real Story is that if we don't stand up and say enough is enough, our religions will continue to rip themselves apart until there's nothing left. If I were a member of St. John the Divine I would be absolutely outraged; how dare you sell out my sanctuary for profit.
There is an epic battle being fought inside our churches right now. It's the traditional vs. the new; it's the "bible is literally the word of god" people vs. the "bible-schmible, I can pray from my lazy-boy people."
In just over a decade, weekly church attendance has dropped by over 12 percent, representing millions of people. In the last 25 years the number of people who say they have no religious preference has doubled.
The churches feel those numbers every Sunday as they look out at their empty pews and, like any business, they're trying to adjust. But religion isn't a business and when you try to make religion "fun for everyone" you end up making it spiritually fulfilling for no one.
Oh, okay. I get it now. Thanks. I guess I wasn't keeping up on my Elton John updates.
A note on the dropping church stats, I don't look at that as completely negative. In large part, many churches are losing the people who went from tradition that had become empty. Yes, there are huge mainline church buildings out there that are empty very Sunday. But, there are many more new churches popping up and growing.
It can be good to trim off the fat.
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