The Wall St. Journal has this article called “The Backlash Against Tithing.”  This doesn’t directly fit in the sacred/profane focus of this blog, but it came up in my church this past week so I thought I’d post it.

This artlie is an interesting approach to the subject of money in churches.  While it skirts the differences between so called “prosperity gospel” movements and other Christian expressions, the article does a great job of showing how much money is required to keep the lights on in a megachurch.

Whether or not 10% is a hard a fast rule, this article offers some interesting perspectives.

Incidentally, my priest shared this weekend that the 10% rule is clearly old testament.  When we look at the New covenant after Christ, there’s no talk of 10%.  There is plenty of examples of selling everything you own…

No, I’m not talking about Walt Disney.

The LA Times has this article about the new Billy Graham museum. The 40,000 square foot facility is a shrine to America’s most famous evangelist. Billy Graham packed stadiums with a simple message of salvation. The museum uses a talking cow to do the same trick. The $27-million
museum
also boasts
a splash of
Disney, and
that’s troubled some
of Graham’s admirers.The $27-million museum also boasts a splash of Disney, and that’s troubled some of Graham’s admirers.

While Graham gave his blessing once he was persuaded that the museum would serve as a “perpetual crusade,” many followers, including family members, are wondering if the facility should be a little less gimmicky.

The Times quotes Graham as saying, “I’m humbled that anyone would want to honor me in this way,” he said in an e-mail interview. He added that he’d instructed Franklin and other museum designers “to point people to Christ rather than to make it too much about me.”

This brings to mind the Holy Land theme park, “Where Jesus Walked” that made the news in 2005. I don’t know the status of the proposed development outside of Jerusalem, but I do remember wondering if there was a way to make Christianity any more commercial.

Despite Billy Graham’s blessing, I fear a talking cow isn’t the best way to spread the gospel. But then, I go to a church where the services haven’t changed in 1600 years.

Last Sunday, I introduced my daughter to the art of Frieda Kahlo and Enrique Grau. Mind you, she’s only eight months old, but I’ve now established she’s a big fan of mid-century Cuban art. We went from image to image, I would point out something of interest–at her age it’s more like a cat than example of cubism, but we’re starting young. She made her little noises and would reach for the paintings she particularly liked. She was engaged in the experience and thankfully wasn’t so loud that she interrupted the church service in the background. Read the rest of this entry »

This is at least the 3rd time a governor has prayed for rain in Georgia.  Will it work? Did it the last two times?  I guess it has rained since…

Slate has the details here.

“Of the 20 religions with the highest growth rates from 1990 to 2001, a pagan religion, Wiccan, had the highest growth rate, 1,575 percent. ” So reported this story on CBS Phoenix.

Click Here to read the story and watch a video from a ceremony.

Could the growth of this religion have to do with a search for the sacred not encountered in mini-mall religious services? I think so…

Sister Anne Flanagan of the Daughters of St. Paul in Chicago and her love for technology is profiled in the San Francisco Gate. She blogs, texts and prays for programmers she reads about in the newspaper. 

I think we all could learn from her balance of technology and the more contemplative part of her vocation–moreover, how she uses technology to enhance her acts of service.

“[Sister Anne] roams the Internet looking for cool technology, although, she wryly notes, “a vow of poverty tends to limit one’s access.”

I love the discussion of how a vow of poverty curtails online activities, but does not exclude them.