Category: News & Culture

Wikipedia, Reddit, BoingBoing, Mozilla, MoveOn.org and many others have all gone dark for the day. It’s part of a move to boycott two controversial anti-piracy bills: the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and its senate counterpart, the Protect IP Act (PIPA). If you’re one of the nearly two billion people who use the internet, then the chances are these two bills could make a big impact on your life, if they are passed.

PIPA and SOPA Explained

PIPA and SOPA call for a crackdown on copyright infringment by restricting access to sites that host pirated material. SOPA targets overseas “rogue” sites that offer illegal digital downloads of movies and music. Battling piracy is nothing new (Napster, anyone?) but taking action against foreign sites can be difficult. Meantime, critics of SOPA say its a matter of defending online freedom. Jon Tennent, a Campus Ambassador for Wikipedia, says, “These bills are overreaching… It’s a dangerous legal environment […]

It’s a school merger that’s making national headlines. It will combine the overwhelmingly black Memphis city school district and the majority-white Shelby county schools. It’s a result of actions by the Memphis school board and City Council, a March referendum and a federal court order. It’s the largest school district consolidation in American history, and it comes with major challenges – namely bridging rifts in race and class. But our guest poster today says Christ is doing something new there. Maxie Dunnam was the President of Asbury Theological Seminary from 1994 to 2004 and is currently the Senior Pastor Emeritus of Christ United Methodist Church in Memphis, Tennessee, which has more than 6,000 members. Dunnam writes:

We are experiencing a dynamic birthing and creative expression of ministry and mission in Memphis.  Ours is a very troubled city. Poverty and the huge racial divide play the most monumental role in our many […]

This warning should be considered by anyone who intends to discuss the actions being carried out in Texas today by Ed and Lisa Young at Fellowship Church.

Ed and Lisa Young are hosting a 24-hour bed-in. That’s right. They are putting a bed on top of their church, getting into it, talking about sex, and streaming it live on the Internet today. Really, it’s not a joke.

The most searched Google term on Monday was John 3:16. You can thank Tim Tebow for that.

This followed the Denver Broncos play-off win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night. The Broncos’ victory came in a dramatic fashion. It was the quickest overtime score in NFL playoff history. After the exciting game, Twitter lit up with some interesting numbers. It was widely reported that Tebow threw for 316 yards against the Steelers, and The Associate Press tweeted Tebow’s average of 31.6 yards per completion. Both echo Tebow’s favorite bible verse. Before I got too carried away, a friend quickly pointed out that chapter and verse numbers are not inspired and were added to the Bible much later. I appreciated the insight.

It all started when Tebow wore the scripture reference on the black marks under his eyes during the National Championship Game in 2009. After that game the term “John 3:16” was […]

Last week 45,000 young people, ages 18-25, gathered in Atlanta, Georgia to celebrate freedom in the name of Jesus at the Passion 2012 Conference. Centered on Isaiah 26:8 (“Yes, Lord, walking in the way of Your Truth, we wait eagerly for You, for Your name and Your renown are the desire of our souls.”), the Passion Movement has been growing since it began in 1997. The Passion team is led by founder Louie Giglio in a mission to spread the name of Jesus and spiritual awakening to college campuses around the globe.

This year the conference sold out, filling the Georgia Dome with 45,000 eager and excited students. Faced with the startling truth that 27 million men, women and children are the victims of slavery and human trafficking in the world today, these students took a stand to make a difference.

“This year at Passion 2012, we want to bring this darkness […]

In this week’s Saturday Post, J.D. Walt takes a page from the airport security world and asks if it might work in our homes or businesses in a slightly different fashion.