Prophecy today faces a crisis. Too many skeptics, scientists, and people educated since the discovery of electricity seem to think it’s all twaddle. Worse, too many who do believe in predicting what tomorrow will be like fall back on crutches like planetary alignments, or tarot-
Wandering through a Christian bookstore last week, I discovered amid the stacks of Bibles and discounted Dr. Oz books this foot-high ceramic centerpiece. A truly weird clash of universes—the blissful religiosity of Jesus in a manger, and Santa Claus, the patron saint of-
The Holy Spirit meets Let’s Make a Deal this Easter as the affable Pastor Bill Cornelius, of the Bay Area Fellowship Church in Corpus Christi, Texas, hands out over $2 million in donated gifts during his Sunday service to boost attendance. The goodies include 16 cars
‘Tis the season for really bad sex advice. Face it, Christmas, or Hanukah for that matter, are not the best occasions for talking about sex. The holidays are a time for schmaltz: sappy songs, achingly wholesome TV specials, and fashion crimes that range from horrid reindeer sweaters to garish wreath broaches. Sex doesn’t fit well into this milieu.
Santa Claus, a.k.a. Saint Nicholas, an alleged toymaker and gift-giver based at the North Pole, is at the center of a wealth redistribution scheme of global proportions. The “Father Christmas Plan” calls for the world-wide dispersal of unearned income (usually in the guise of nutcrackers, bicycles,
You know you’re losing the PR game when you’re facing a moral crisis similar to Jimmy Swaggart’s, and his reaction demonstrated more integrity than your own. Such is the dilemma confronting Pope Benedict XVI in the face of the priest molestation scandal. When Swaggart was outted back in 1988 for doing things with a prostitute that would embarrass Ron Jeremy, the televangelist huckster walked out to center stage of his ministry of 7,000 in Baton Rouge, admitted “moral failure,” resigned his post before the world, and blubbered to the Lord for forgiveness. Then he asked for donations.
There’s one thing all end of the world predictions have in common: they’ve all been wrong. But throughout history there’s always been some fanbase that gets strangely jazzed about the end of the world. This is not good. If you think The End is near, you tend to do things that help it along and you ignore long-