One of the curious features of Mel Gibson's film "The Passion" is how it is almost entirely preoccupied with the suffering and death of Jesus. We are told nothing about his message or his ministry - even the resurrection is given little attention. In their place, the camera lingers over Jesus' reaction to being whipped and even over the stripping of his flesh through torture. What does this have to say about Mel Gibson's theology and, perhaps, Christianity generally?

 

Read Article: Nietzsche vs. Gibson: Suffering, Debt, and Guilt with Jesus

Many churches in America have set up separate divisions in their organizations to administer charitable programs in their local communities. The reason for this, rather than administering the programs directly, is that creating this separation allows them to solicit and receive government funding for the projects. Government cannot give money directly to church coffers because that money could be used for religious purposes, a violation of church/state separation. Government can, however, give money to a church-run organization where the money is separated from church funds and which is run according to secular standards.

This has worked rather well for quite some time now but the Catholic Church, which benefits massively from this process, has declared that it's actually a form of money laundering. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops didn't make this statement with respect to funding church charities, but rather about an amendment offered by Brad Ellsworth (D-Ind.) to the recent health care reform bill. Ellsworth's amendment would have created a separation between government funds and funds that pay for abortion, a distinction much like that relied upon by churches which receive government funds. Read more...

After the Jewish sabbath, which occurs on Saturdays, women who were present at Jesus' crucifixion come to his tomb to anoint his corpse with spices. These are things his close disciples should have done, but Mark portrays Jesus' female followers as consistently showing more faith and courage than the men.

Read Article: Jesus' Resurrection and the Empty Tomb (Mark 16:1-8)

When atheists and theists debate the existence of gods, atheists generally ask for some sort of proof of the god or gods that the theist claims exist. Why do they do this? That is a difficult question to answer because while it is true that atheists often ask theists for proof that their god exists, sometimes they shouldn't. Asking for proof may end up confusing the important issues, causing distraction, and leading the conversation away from where it should be.

 

Read Article: Why Should Theists Prove that God Exists? Why Do Atheists Ask for Proof of God?