Under Putin that all changed. In the intervening years, he has transformed Russia back into an imperial power with global ambitions. One of his key tools in that transformation has been the Russian Orthodox Church.
Read moreSo here's a little free advice. Before you get furious at the next thing the conflict merchants want you to get furious about, remind yourself of the simple fact that this is a fundamentally good and decent country, in which all manner of good things have happened and are continuing to happen even though no one wants to tell you about them. More importantly, the only thing that can actually ruin this country is believing the people peddling despair to you for their own power or profit.
Read moreContemporary liberalism has no way of looking death in the face, no way of answering it back with the words "where is your sting?", no way of singing the Nunc Dimittis. No wonder we are all so afraid. --- Giles Fraser
Read moreChurch attendance in the US: seldom/never; monthly/yearly; and weekly or more.
Nearly 2/3 of Latter-day Saints report attending services weekly or more.
About half of all Southern Baptists attend weekly or more. For most mainline denominations (PCUSA, TEC, ELCA), weekly attendance is about a third. Only 28% of Catholics go to mass weekly. 1% of atheists attend some sort of service weekly! --- Ryan Burge
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
www.virtueonline.org
January 14, 2022
If you had any hesitation why the Anglican Church in North America and GAFCON was needed, then what took place this week should remove any doubt or uncertainty in your mind.
Read moreVOL's No. 1 story of the year was the revelation that Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury had tried, unsuccessfully, to manipulate the Anglican Communion into accepting homosexuality, but met resistance in the person of Nigerian Primate Peter Akinola. It was all documented in a book by the African Archbishop; Who Blinks First?: Biblical Fidelity Against the Gay Agenda in the Global Anglican Communion. Williams lost.
Read moreAs a percentage of the population of England, the Church of England was at its high point, when there were accurate records, in the 1851 census when we were about 20 per cent of the population, roughly a couple of percentage points less than what were then called the non-Conformist churches. We are today around about a little less than two per cent of the population. -- Archbishop Justin Welby
Read moreThe Gospel has brought hope, as it has done throughout the ages; and the Church has adapted and continued its ministry, often in new ways - such as digital forms of worship. --- Her Majesty The Queen
Read moreHalf of young people ages 13 to 25 surveyed said they don't think that religious institutions care as much as they do about issues that matter deeply to them, according to a report released by the Springtide Research Institute, a nonpartisan nonprofit. Those issues include racial justice, gender equity, immigration rights, income inequality and gun control. --- Wall Street Journal
Read moreThe Pharisaic spirit still haunts every child of Adam today. It is easy to be critical of Christ's contemporaries and miss the repetition of their vainglory in ourselves. Yet deeply ingrained in our fallen nature is this thirst for the praise of men. It seems to be a devilish perversion of our basic psychological need to be wanted and to be loved. We hunger for applause, fish for compliments, thrive on flattery.
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