The much-discussed Evangelical Manifesto, “an open declaration of who Evangelicals are and what they stand for,” has been released. Several high-profile evangelicals (perhaps most notably Os Guiness) helped to bring it into being, and it’s already been heavily debated on blogs and in the news.
It’s a blunt and ambitious document; its statements about the relationship [...]

A couple of things regarding persecution came across the wire in the past week or so.  First, the Internet Monk explores the question, “Are American Christians ‘Persecuted?’”  He looks at persecution in Biblical times and persecution today in third-world countries, and contrasts that with what American Christians tend to call “persecution.”
I would suggest that the culture war [...]

A very insightful reflection from The Suburban Christian, Albert Hsu, about Gary Gygax’s (co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons who died on March 4) effect on culture.
Mr. Hsu used to role play himself until a Bill Gothard rally convinced him to rid himself of his D&D paraphernalia. Reading this post makes me think [...]

In talking about the upcoming Ben Stein movie, John Derbyshire made a provocative comment yesterday about creationists, intelligent design, and the theory that intelligent design is a backhanded way of promoting creationism without playing the religion card:
[It’s something] I’ve said before here, and repeated as politely as I could in panel discussions with creationists: they’re [...]

John Seel has a good article at Provocations asking how Christians can—and should—go about the task of influencing the culture around us. He starts out with a critique of the legislation-focused, “moral majority”-style strategy that Christians have employed throughout the last several decades:
...by focusing on mobilizing majorities and legislative coercion, these faith communities have alienated [...]

I’ve seen a lot of interesting online discussion this week about Child-Man in the Promised Land, an article by Kay Hymowitz that argues that single young men today are trapped in a state of endless adolescence, failing to mature into productive members of society. The evidence is pretty damning. From Hymowitz’ essay:
...the new SYM [single [...]

Some in the religious press are pointing out an obvious trend of major motion pictures with a decidedly pro-life bent. I certainly saw that in the ribald Knocked Up (nominated for the dirtiest movie with a good, final message), but hadn’t considered it in other movies, like Children of Men. Of course, the incredible success [...]

The Westboro Baptist Church has “graced” the pages of Think Xian before. But I was sent the following and wanted to pass it on…not that I think there are any sympathizers here. (Although some may agree with their beliefs but not their methods.)
Apparently WBC was “inspired” by the soap operish murder scenario of the pregnant [...]

What happened to Christianity in Europe? It’s a question we’ve discussed here a few times in the past. It’s of course a major exaggeration to say that the church in Europe is dead. But there’s no denying that Europe is less culturally religious than the U.S., and nobody seems to know exactly why.
In the wake [...]