Why “Mainstream UMC” Is Wrong About Exit Paths By Thomas Lambrecht In an article riddled with factual errors and distortions, Mainstream UMC (the “centrist” caucus in the UM Church) called for “an end to disaffiliations through paragraph 2553.” They maintain that enough local churches have disaffiliated, and it is time
The 2008 American National Election Study (ANES) asked U.S. adult citizens who self-identified as Christians the following yes/no question, “Do you believe that when people take Holy Communion, the bread and wine become the body and blood of Jesus Christ, or do you believe that does not happen?” At that
What the Regionalization Agenda Tells Us about the Future of the UMC, Part 2 By Thomas Lambrecht In last week’s Perspective, I surveyed a recent article by Mainstream UMC (a centrist advocacy group within The United Methodist Church) outlining the case for the regionalization of the church. This important article
To read more from Daniel, visit his blog: Sic Et Non. Cover image via ChurchofJesusChrist.org. On 11 September 1857, accompanied by a few Native Americans that they had recruited, a group of territorial militiamen in southern Utah—all of them Latter-day Saints—deliberately massacred a wagon train of emigrants who were traveling
From being a limited concern of Neo-Scholastics in the mid-twentieth century, the alleged heterodoxy of Henri de Lubac (1896–1991) and other ressourcement theologians has become a rallying cry of self-proclaimed traditionalists in the twenty-first. Despite his acceptance by the hierarchical Church, aspects of the French cardinal’s life and thought remain misunderstood
To read more from Larry, visit LDS365. The section “Truth Will Make You Free” in the For the Strength of Youth guide explains that God wants us to always be learning and seeking truth. But when we have questions, how can we find answers? Having questions is not a sign of weakness
Brett Robinson: Hello, world! The advent of ChatGPT (on its fourth iteration as of this week) and generative AI has introduced some vexing questions about the role of language in online environments. How do we know who’s “speaking?” A person or a machine? What do authorship and originality look like in
We are currently amid what has been termed the largest consultation process in human history. Launched at Pentecost 2021, the Synod on Synodality—the hallmark of Pope Francis’s pontificate—will take place this October, just months away. The Working Document for the Continental Stage has been compiled from submissions from national Bishops’ Conferences.