My latest article on how I, as a Christian Scientist, find Christ Jesus relevant today — and not just on Christmas, but every day — published in the Dearborn Press and Guide. Here’s the link: Is Christ Jesus relevant today?
By: Richard Evans, Manager, Christian Science Committees on Publication Boston, MA — When Christian Scientists convened in Boston, Massachusetts, Monday, June 6, for the annual meeting of their denomination, they faced a question that many mainline Christian churches also confront: can church be relevant today? Their perspective on this question—as on just about everything else—runs
She “was no ordinary woman. Behind her Victorian-era velvet and lace dress was a 21st century power suit.” March is Women’s History Month. And so, appropriately, Ingrid Peschke, a regular health blogger on the Huffington Post, “highlights an often overlooked 19th century woman for her significant contributions to religion and health.” Peschke continues, “Her strength of character,
Courtesy of nimdok
The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that in the U.S. 88% believe in God, 82% believe religion is important in one’s life, and 75% pray at least once a week, but only 39% attend a religious service at least once a week.
I’ve been asking myself, “is church relevant to me?” The answer is yes. So this leads to the more important question, “how is church relevant to me?”
“It is the information at the core of religion where Believers and Non-Believers still have room to grow.” This was the conclusion drawn by Byron Pitts in his report on The CBS Evening News With Katie Couric on Tuesday, September 28, 2010 covering the survey on religious knowledge in the U.S. conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. With today’s news cycles, that seems like long ago, but Byron’s conclusion caught my attention.
As a Christian Scientist I am a Christian and I strive to follow Jesus’ teaching to love one another. So, a question I have to ask myself is, “do I love enough to gain a basic understanding of the core beliefs that are important to my neighbors?” While we will all likely have areas where we need to agree to disagree, it seems to me that we would all be better off if we had a better understanding of one another’s core beliefs. I took the test that was given as part of this survey, and while I did quite well, I did not get 100% correct. So I must admit that I still have room to grow.