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Religious News Verses: Churching the Unchurched; The Bets Are On

Posted by God Discussion Reporter in In The News on 10 26th, 2009 | no responses

A former restaurant is now a church known as "the Village," the joint effort of two Protestant denominations in Toledo, Ohio. Based on the observations of the Rev. Cheri Holdridge, who spent a year going to different churches to see how welcoming they were to newcomers, the Village is a coffee style church without pews, altars and crosses. The church is meant to serve the needs of people who have given up on religion but not God. The Village Church posts its activities on its website.

The Friendly Atheist points out the double standards with the Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity and other days of silence promoted in public schools.

Now that Christians who aligned with the American Family Association are "on high alert" after the Senate's passage of expanded hate crimes legislation that includes gays and lesbians, Ed Brayton has issued a challenge, starting with a $100 bet:

I am willing to bet that not a single minister will be convicted in this country under the hate crimes legislation for preaching against homosexuality. And since we can't have such bet be open-ended, here are my proposed terms. We start with $100 for the first year. At the end of the first year, if someone has been convicted of such a "crime" I'll pay up. If not, you can either up or go double or nothing on the second year.

Every year that goes by without such a conviction, the amount of the bet doubles. You can bail out at any time, admit that you were wrong and pay the accumulated money owed. And if, at any time, someone is convicted merely of speaking out against homosexuality in this country, I pay up whatever amount of money is currently on the line based on the above formula. At the end of ten years, the loser pays up and the bet is concluded.

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Religious News Verses: Churching the Unchurched; The Bets Are On

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