Tuesday, August 14, 2012
New Book Challenges Women to Go Beyond 'Shades of Grey'
CHICAGO, Aug. 14, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ -- Even as the cyprian trilogy Fifty Shades of Grey is quickly becoming one of the fastest-selling series in recent years, a surprising new book that challenges readers to choose dignity over desire is beginning to find an audience with women everywhere.
Authored by Dr. Rosalie de Rosset, a professor of literature at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Unseduced and Unshaken: The Place of Dignity in a Young Woman's Choices is a collection of essays that will help readers to become formidable, self-possessed individuals of moral sensibility.
Readers are challenged to move beyond "impoverished" views of womanhood -- and impoverished literature, for that matter. "We have to read to begin with, but we also have to read well. Good fiction is a wellspring of delight once we have broken the habit of consuming junk," Dr. de Rosset says candidly.
Still, pop culture isn't entirely at fault, the author adds. The "acute shallowness" of many women's ministries is a tragic reality in the church today.
Theology, Dr. de Rosset notes, is a word we have associated with scholars, professors, pastors and men ... probably in that order. "The underlying presupposition is that theological, intellectual or in-depth biblical subjects are not appealing to women."
It is "soul-nurture" women need to be engaged in, she explains: "This is what Christ modeled for women so powerfully throughout His ministry on earth, both in the way He treated them and in the way He spoke to them. For that reason, the church above all other institutions, must model the habit of giving worth and dignity to every individual ... believing that each person is a valued creation of God."
Uncompromising yet unassuming, the author leads readers toward a greater understanding of who they are before God, helping them deal thoughtfully with their personhood as they make decisions about the women they will become.
Peppered with discussion-sparking questions at the end of each chapter, Unseduced and Unshaken is ideal for groups and addresses all aspects of a woman's life -- from education and leisure, to spiritual existence and the importance women must place on their intellect and their bodies. Topics include: Finding Your Voice: Knowing and Being Known; A Theology of Play: Mindful or Mindless; Reading as a Spiritual Exercise; and Sexual Dignity: Not by Accident.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Rosalie de Rosset is a professor of literature, English and homiletics at Moody Bible Institute, where she has been for 43 years. She earned her M.A. in English from Northeastern Illinois University, M.Div. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and Ph.D. in language, literacy and rhetoric from The University of Illinois at Chicago. In addition to teaching, she regularly appears on Moody Broadcasting Network programs as a guest and co-host, and speaks at conferences and seminars. She lives on Chicago's north side.
Order review copies of Unseduced and Unshaken and schedule interviews with the author by contacting Janis Backing at 312-329-2108 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 312-329-2108 end_of_the_skype_highlighting or janis.backing@moody.edu.
Christian Newswire
Monday, August 13, 2012
Poll: Churchgoers struggle in sharing their faith
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- When it comes to discipleship, those who
regularly attend church struggle with sharing Christ with
non-Christians, according to recent study of church going American
Protestants.
The study conducted by LifeWay Research found that 80 percent of those who attend church one or more times a month believe they have a personal responsibility to share their faith, but 61 percent have not told another person about how to become a Christian in the previous six months.
These distressing results came from an extensive discipleship research project focused on measuring spiritual maturity in individuals. Overall, LifeWay Research found eight biblical attributes consistently evident in the lives of maturing believers. Of those eight, "Sharing Christ" has the lowest average score among Protestant church attendees.
Three-quarters of churchgoers say they feel comfortable in their ability to effectively communicate the Gospel, while 12 percent say they don't feel comfortable telling others about their faith.
Despite a vast majority believing it's their duty to share their faith and having the confidence to do so, 25 percent say they have shared their faith once or twice over the previous six months, and 14 percent have shared three or more times during that stretch.
The survey also asked how many times they have personally, "invited an unchurched person to attend a church service or some other program at your church?" Nearly half (48 percent) of church attendees responded, "zero." Thirty-three percent of people say they've personally invited someone one or two times, and 19 percent say they've done so on three or more occasions in the last six months.
"Many times we've been told new Christians are most active in sharing their faith," said Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research.
"In reality people who have been a Christian longer have higher responses for Sharing Christ than newer Christians. While new Christians may find it natural to share their new experience, mature Christians do it intentionally," Stetzer said.
READ MORE
The study conducted by LifeWay Research found that 80 percent of those who attend church one or more times a month believe they have a personal responsibility to share their faith, but 61 percent have not told another person about how to become a Christian in the previous six months.
These distressing results came from an extensive discipleship research project focused on measuring spiritual maturity in individuals. Overall, LifeWay Research found eight biblical attributes consistently evident in the lives of maturing believers. Of those eight, "Sharing Christ" has the lowest average score among Protestant church attendees.
Three-quarters of churchgoers say they feel comfortable in their ability to effectively communicate the Gospel, while 12 percent say they don't feel comfortable telling others about their faith.
Despite a vast majority believing it's their duty to share their faith and having the confidence to do so, 25 percent say they have shared their faith once or twice over the previous six months, and 14 percent have shared three or more times during that stretch.
The survey also asked how many times they have personally, "invited an unchurched person to attend a church service or some other program at your church?" Nearly half (48 percent) of church attendees responded, "zero." Thirty-three percent of people say they've personally invited someone one or two times, and 19 percent say they've done so on three or more occasions in the last six months.
"Many times we've been told new Christians are most active in sharing their faith," said Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research.
"In reality people who have been a Christian longer have higher responses for Sharing Christ than newer Christians. While new Christians may find it natural to share their new experience, mature Christians do it intentionally," Stetzer said.
READ MORE
Interview: Os Guinness Warns of Loss of Freedom in America
Americans are failing to accomplish the important task of maintaining their freedom, Os Guinness argues in his new book, A Free People's Suicide: Sustainable Freedom and the American Future.
Guinness was born in China to medical missionaries and raised in England. He holds a doctorate degree from Oriel College, Oxford, has been a guest scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Studies and the Brooking's Institution, and is the author of over 25 books.In an interview with The Christian Post, Guinness talks about his new book, immigration, the role of religion in a free society, "ordered liberty," and why the tea party and Occupy Wall Street movements have more in common than you might think.
The following is an edited transcript of that interview:
CP: What was your main purpose for writing this book?
Guinness: I think the deepest issue in America is the crisis of freedom. I'm a strong believer in St. Augustine's idea that you judge a nation by what it loves supremely. And there's no question that, over many centuries, what Americans love supremely is freedom. So I think you can judge the health of a nation by the health of freedoms today.
Ky. Judge to Decide If Christians-Only Charity Is in Contempt of Court
A judge in Kentucky will soon hear arguments on whether or not a Florida-based Christian-only health care group should be held in contempt of court for operating in the state.
Medi-Share,
a charity that provides insurance help for churchgoers, will be going
to court once more as the Kentucky Department of Insurance has accused
the company of disobeying a permanent injunction against it doing
business in the state.
The case will be brought before Franklin County Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate, who recently set a hearing for Wednesday, Aug. 30.
Christine
Cape, a spokeswoman for Medi-Share, told The Christian Post that the
legal issues between Medi-Share and the Kentucky Department of Insurance
go back to 2002.
"The 2002 action was eventually heard in the
fall of 2006, which is the time at which the appellate record that the
Kentucky Supreme Court considered in making its ruling was created,"
said Cape.
"Medi-Share prevailed at the 2006 trial, and the
Kentucky Department of Insurance appealed to the Kentucky Court of
Appeals. Medi-Share prevailed at the Kentucky Court of Appeals and the
Kentucky Department of Insurance appealed to the Kentucky Supreme
Court."
President Obama Highlights Paul Ryan's Efforts to Save Medicare & Social Security
President Obama: I think Paul [Ryan], for example, the head of the Budget Committee, has looked at the budget and has made a serious proposal. Ive read it. I can tell you whats in it. And theres some ideas in there that I would agree with but theres some ideas we should have a healthy debate about because I dont agree with them. The major driver of our long-term liabilities, everybody here knows, is Medicare and Medicaid and our health care spending. Nothing comes close. Thats going to be what our children have to worry about. Now, Pauls approach, and I want to be careful not to simplify this, I know youve got a lot of detail in your plan, but, if I understand it correctly, would say, were going to provide vouchers of some sort for current Medicare recipients at the current level No?
Congressman Ryan: No we protect the program for Americans 55 and above [those in and near retirement]
Obama: I understand theres a grandfathering in.Thats why I said I wanted to make sure that Im not being unfair to your proposal. I just want to point out that Ive read it, and the basic idea would be that, at some point, we hold Medicare cost per recipient constant as a way of making sure that that doesnt go way out of whack, and Im sure there some details
Ryan: We increase the Medicare payments with a blend of inflation and health inflation. The point of our plan is, because Medicare as you know is a $38 trillion unfunded liability.
Obama: Right.
Ryan: It has to be reformed for younger generations because it wont exist. Its going bankrupt. The premise of our idea is look, why not give people the same kind of health care plan we here have in Congress? Thats the kind of reform were proposing for Medicare. [applause]
Obama: As I said before, this is an entirely legitimate proposal. There is a political vulnerability to doing anything that tinkers with Medicare. And that's probably the biggest savings that are obtained through Paul's plan. And I raise that, not because we shouldnt have a serious discussion about it; I raise that because we're not going to be able to do anything about any of these entitlements if what we do is characterize whatever proposals are put out there as 'Well, you know, that's the other party being irresponsible...the other party is trying to hurt our senior citizens.' That's why I say: if we're going to frame these in the way that allow us to solve them, then we can't start off by figuring out a) who is to blame; b) how can we make the American people afraid of the other side. And unfortunately that's how our politics works right now. Every time somebody speaks in Congress, the first thing they do, they have all the talking points, I see Frank Luntz up here, he's already polled it. I've done a focus group, they way we're going to box Obama in on this one, or make Pelosi look bad on that one. That's how we operate. It's all tactics. It's not solving problems. And so the question is: at what point can we have a serious conversation about Medicare and its long-term liability, or a serious conversation about Social Security or serious conversation about budget and debt where aren't simply trying to position ourselves politically. That's what I'm committed to doing.
HANDRAHAN: Executive branch porn problem
Allen W. Dulles, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) wrote in “The Craft of Intelligence,” “sex and hard-headed intelligence operations rarely mix well.” Perhaps the boys at the Pentagon need a refresher course.
This past week, the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency warned its staff not to view porn on U.S. government computers. The Pentagon also released a report on April’s Secret Service Colombian scandal. The two are connected.
In April, I said the Colombian scandal exposed a national security problem, the epidemic of U.S. government employees viewing porn — child porn — on government networks. I suggested readers type “Transportation Security Administration,” “U.S. State Department,” “Pentagon,” “Immigration and Customs Enforcement” and “child porn” into Google’s search field to understand the scope. I neglected to include “Missile Defense Agency.”
Bloomberg quotes a cybersecurity expert saying the Missile Defense Agency’s use of porn is concerning because “many pornographic websites are infected and criminals and foreign intelligence services such as Russia’s use them to gain access and harvest data.”
The only possible response is: Duh.
In 2006, the deputy press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security was arrested for trying to seduce online someone he thought was a teenage girl. Four years later, the Securities and Exchange Commission found that 17 of 31 employees caught accessing porn at work since 2008 — one for up to eight hours a day — were senior staff.
In 2010, the Boston Globe reported that senior Pentagon staff were downloading child porn. Instead of generating a media storm, the story died. Senior staff were watching the sexual torture of small children on Pentagon computers, and Americans were not outraged?
The latest revelation of missile-defense staff using porn should have America extremely alarmed. It is not yet confirmed if child porn was involved.
READ MORE
This past week, the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency warned its staff not to view porn on U.S. government computers. The Pentagon also released a report on April’s Secret Service Colombian scandal. The two are connected.
In April, I said the Colombian scandal exposed a national security problem, the epidemic of U.S. government employees viewing porn — child porn — on government networks. I suggested readers type “Transportation Security Administration,” “U.S. State Department,” “Pentagon,” “Immigration and Customs Enforcement” and “child porn” into Google’s search field to understand the scope. I neglected to include “Missile Defense Agency.”
Bloomberg quotes a cybersecurity expert saying the Missile Defense Agency’s use of porn is concerning because “many pornographic websites are infected and criminals and foreign intelligence services such as Russia’s use them to gain access and harvest data.”
The only possible response is: Duh.
In 2006, the deputy press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security was arrested for trying to seduce online someone he thought was a teenage girl. Four years later, the Securities and Exchange Commission found that 17 of 31 employees caught accessing porn at work since 2008 — one for up to eight hours a day — were senior staff.
In 2010, the Boston Globe reported that senior Pentagon staff were downloading child porn. Instead of generating a media storm, the story died. Senior staff were watching the sexual torture of small children on Pentagon computers, and Americans were not outraged?
The latest revelation of missile-defense staff using porn should have America extremely alarmed. It is not yet confirmed if child porn was involved.
READ MORE
Study: 85 percent of films have sexual content
EDITOR'S NOTE: To read the main article about this study, visit http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38476.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- A recent study confirmed that as adolescents absorb sexual content from movies, they are more likely to attempt to live it out in real life. Statistics compiled in the study point to a major challenge for parents striving to raise godly children.
Among the data reported in the study, published in July by the Association for Psychological Science:
-- One significant influence on engagement in risky sexual behavior may be media -- specifically, movie sexual exposure.
-- Among movies released from 1950 to 2006, roughly 85 percent contained sexual content (68 percent of G-rated movies; 82 percent of PG-rated movies; 85 percent of PG-13-rated movies; and 88 percent of R-rated movies).
-- Sexual explicitness of PG-13-rated and R-rated movies has increased over the past decade.
-- Seventy percent of the sexual acts depicted in movies released from 1983 to 2003 occurred between newly acquainted partners, 98 percent included no reference to contraception and 89 percent resulted in no consequences.
READ MORE
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- A recent study confirmed that as adolescents absorb sexual content from movies, they are more likely to attempt to live it out in real life. Statistics compiled in the study point to a major challenge for parents striving to raise godly children.
Among the data reported in the study, published in July by the Association for Psychological Science:
-- One significant influence on engagement in risky sexual behavior may be media -- specifically, movie sexual exposure.
-- Among movies released from 1950 to 2006, roughly 85 percent contained sexual content (68 percent of G-rated movies; 82 percent of PG-rated movies; 85 percent of PG-13-rated movies; and 88 percent of R-rated movies).
-- Sexual explicitness of PG-13-rated and R-rated movies has increased over the past decade.
-- Seventy percent of the sexual acts depicted in movies released from 1983 to 2003 occurred between newly acquainted partners, 98 percent included no reference to contraception and 89 percent resulted in no consequences.
READ MORE
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