MacDeac

One of the issues facing many churches is the conflict between athletic practices/games and church activities on Sundays and Wednesdays. How do those of you who go to church resolve this conflict? Or, if you don't have kids, what is your opinion on this conflict? How should the church handle it? How should parents handle it?

There seems to be a stereotype here on YA that religious=stupid. Here is the list of the top 10 universities in the country according to US News and World Reports (duplicate numbers indicate a tie) :

1. Princeton *

2. Harvard *

3. Yale *

4. California Institute of Technology

4. Stanford

4. M.I.T.

7. Duke *

8. Dartmouth College

9. Columbia University *

9. University of Chicago *

Schools marked with an * offer graduate level degrees (according to the Association of Theological Schools) to students who intend to pursue a career in some form of full time ministry, whether that is teaching, church work, or work in a non-profit. So, the top 3 universities, and 7 of the top 10, offer advanced degrees to religious people. (I am a student at Wake Forest University's Divinity School.)

How does this affect your opinion of the intelligence of religious people?

If you still hold the opinion that religious=stupid, how do you justify that opinion?

As I browsed the questions and answers today, I am amazed by the number of WRONG answers given by Christians. For example, someone asked the question "Why does God kill people." There were numerous answers that something like, "Read your Bible, God doesn't kill people!" The people with these answers obviously had not actually read the Bible. Consider the following verses:

1 Samuel 6:19

But God struck down some of the men of Beth Shemesh, putting seventy of them to death because they had looked into the ark of the LORD.

2 Samuel 6:7

The LORD's anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God.

Acts 12:23

Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

Answering the world's questions is not as simple as "Jesus loves you!" So, how many actually check before answering?

My church is interested in attracting more younger families. Our worship service is very traditional and only has very traditional organ and choir music. So, I am particularly interested in what Christians younger than age 40 prefer. Do you like traditional music? Do you like more contemporary music? A combination of both? Let me know what type you prefer and what age category you are in. (Example: 20's, 30's, etc.)

BTW, I my screen name is the mascot of Wake Forest University where I attend divinity school. If I went to Duke University Divinity, my screen name could be Blue Devil.

This question is intended for Christians who attend church on regular basis. If this is you, what is one thing you don't like about your church, and what would you do to change it? Try to be specific. As a divinity student, I am very interested in the problems people see in their church. If you have more than one issue, go ahead and mention several. Just make sure you post one or more possible solutions.

This was an interesting question we discussed in divinity school earlier this year. As Christians, don't we go to church to worship God? If that is the case, what role should patriotic songs and symbols play in a worship service? Do American flags belong in churches, or are they the equivalent of idols? Take some time to think about it before you answer. We had a wide variety of opinions, and I am curious to see what you all think.

In a research paper I recently did on religion online, I predicted that documentaries like The Gospel of Judas and the upcoming release of the movie The DaVinci Code could lead to a renewed interest in Christian Gnosticism. For those of you who have become interested in Christian Gnosticism, what originally sparked your interest? Was it a book, documentary, or something you read online? How are you pursuing this interest? Are you talking with others online, going to meetings, etc.?

I just finished a research paper for divinity school on religion in cyberspace. One of the topics I discussed was the reality of online religious rituals, and that got me wondering how many of you here have participated in an online religious ritual of some kind? If you have, let me know what you thought about it. How did it compare to similar rituals you experienced in "the real world?" I don't care what kind of ritual it was or what religion you practice.

If so, provide scriptural references for your answer.

Please, don't answer this question if you don't know what I am asking about. If you want to know more about post-modernity and the church, I would recommend starting with Brian Mclaren's book "A New Kind of Christian."

If you have followed any of my answers, you know that I am a strong supporter of chruch/state separation. But I want to know what you think. If you support separation, some questions may not apply. Answer the following 4 questions:

How do you interpret the 1st Amendment, specifically the no establishment clause (Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion) and the free exercise clause (or prohibiting the free exercise thereof)?

If you are anti church/state separation, demonstrate a historical knowledge of the problems a united church and state have caused and why it would be different this time. Specifically, how do you stop Christians from prosecuting other Christians as heretics?

Finally, who gets to determine what the state church is and what if this group changes? (For example, does the majority get to decide? What if Islam becomes the dominant religion?)

What specific right do you currently feel is being denied to YOU(not someone else, you in particular)

I have a Yahoo Geocities virtual url service that I need to cancel, but I have no way to do it. I cannot cancel it from my wallet, I can't cancel it from the Geocities website, and messages to Yahoo have not been answered. Does anyone have a phone number I can call with issues like this one? It is really frustrating that Yahoo doesn't even have contact information on their billing page.