So today I heard more about the growing number of people who reply to surveys about religious affiliation as “none”. The CBC radio show Tapestry investigated this on the show this afternoon.

In the US about 30% of younger people use this description, while in Canada that number is more like 25%. However, for the whole population the number is about the same for both countries at 20%.

And there is a new name for some in this category, SBNR’s. Read more…

The early followers of Jesus referred to their cause as The Way which we know from a legal argument Paul made in court: “These people cannot even prove their accusations to you. But I’ll admit to you that I’m a follower of the way {of Christ}, which they call a sect” (Acts 24:13-14 God’s Word). The Jewish leadership called it the “Nazarene sect”, certainly a pejorative term containing both ethnic and religious bigotry.

Today we use the term “Christianity” to refer to people who belong to that religion which has roots in Jesus Christ. Read more…

Remember, Saul, who later changed his name to Paul to indicate his changed life, persecuted the followers of Jesus. Something that gets glossed over all the time is that he did so under the watchful eye of the religious institution. Even more, the religious leaders wrote a letter of authority so that Saul could go to other countries to persecute believers.

Saul even authorized, on at least one occasion, the murder of a believer (Stephen). Stephen’s crime was, well, that he didn’t believe the right thing. Stephen was not convicted of a criminal offense, a social abuse or failure to live up to his potential. The only “crime” Saul accused him of was believing in Jesus Christ as Saviour. Read more…

I have had an increasing sense of living here on earth on a temporary visa. “This world is not my home, I’m just a-passing through…” says the hymn that has always resonated with me at some level. The song becomes more true all the time. Read more…

Today is All Saints Day. Very recently The Vatican made a saint of Kateri Tekakwitha. As a student of history I read biographies of those people the institution of Christian religion has elevated to such honour. I respect them for their faith lived. They inspire me. But… Read more…