TruthBook Religious News Blog

By Audrey Barrick
Christian Post Reporter
Sat, Jul. 25 2009

Blacks remain the most religious ethnic group in America, a new study shows.

And over the last 15 years, African Americans have grown even more religious and orthodox in their Christian beliefs, according to The Barna Group.

Findings from surveys that included 1,272 African American respondents reveal that blacks today are more likely than they were in the early 1990s to believe that the principles taught in the Bible are totally accurate; to say that their religious faith is very important in their life; to have a biblically orthodox understanding of the nature of God; and to be born again.

African Americans were found to be the most likely ethnic group to consider themselves Christian with 92 percent saying so. Nationally, 85 percent of Americans in general consider themselves Christian. Blacks were also the most likely to be born again Christians (59 percent vs. 46 percent nationally).

Moreover, blacks had the lowest population of unchurched adults and were least likely to be Catholic.

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Labels: African-Americans, Audrey Barrick, Barna Group, Bible, Christian, church, faith, religion

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Friday, June 19, 2009

Christian Soldiers

The growing controversy over military chaplains using the armed forces to spread the Word.
By Kathryn Joyce | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Jun 19, 2009

Ever since former president George W. Bush referred to the war on terror as a “crusade” in the days after the September 11 attacks, many have charged that the United States was conducting a holy war, pitting a Christian America against the Muslim world. That perception grew as prominent military leaders such as Lt. Gen. William Boykin described the wars in evangelical terms, casting the U.S. military as the "army of God." Although President Obama addressed the Muslim world this month in an attempt to undo the Bush administration's legacy of militant Christian rhetoric that often antagonized Muslim countries, several recent stories have framed the issue as a wider problem of an evangelical military culture that sees spreading Christianity as part of its mission.

A May article in Harper’s by Jeff Sharlet illustrated a military engaged in an internal battle over religious practice. Then came news about former Defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s Scripture-themed briefings to President Bush that paired war scenes with Bible verses. (In an e-mail published on Politico, Rumsfeld aide Keith Urbahn denied that the former Defense secretary had created or even seen many of the briefings.) Later in May, Al-Jazeera broadcast clips filmed in 2008 showing stacks of Bibles translated into Pashto and Dari at the U.S. air base in Bagram and featuring the chief of U.S. military chaplains in Afghanistan, Lt. Col. Gary Hensley, telling soldiers to “hunt people for Jesus.”

In the aftermath of that report, the Pentagon responded that it had confiscated and destroyed the Bibles and said there was no effort to convert Afghans. But while the military dismissed the Bagram Bibles as an isolated incident, a civil-rights watchdog group, Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), says this is not the case. According to the group's president, Mikey Weinstein, a cadre of 40 U.S. chaplains took part in a 2003 project to distribute 2.4 million Arabic-language Bibles in Iraq. This would be a serious violation of U.S. military Central Command's General Order Number One forbidding active-duty troops from trying to convert people to any religion. A Defense Department spokeswoman, in an e-mail to NEWSWEEK, denies any knowledge of this project.

The Bible initiative was handled by former Army chaplain Jim Ammerman, the 83-year-old founder of the Chaplaincy of Full Gospel Churches (CFGC), an organization in charge of endorsing 270 chaplains and chaplain candidates for the armed services. Ammerman worked with an evangelical group based in Arkansas, the International Missions Network Center, to distribute the Bibles through the efforts of his 40 active-duty chaplains in Iraq. A 2003 newsletter for the group said of the effort, "The goal is to establish a wedge for the kingdom of God in the Middle East, directly affecting the Islamic world."

J. E. Wadkins, vice president of student life at Ecclesia College who oversees the International Missions Network Center, says they have worked with Ammerman for 20 years and reached out to him as part of their "Bibles for the Nations" mission. He estimates that in the end, between 100,000 and 500,000 Arabic Bibles were distributed in under one year, beginning not long after Saddam Hussein's ouster. "It was a really early effort there," says Wadkins, "when things first opened up."

The effort is an example of what critics call a growing culture of militarized Christianity in the armed forces. It is influenced in part by changes in outlook among the various branches' 2,900 chaplains, who are sworn to serve all soldiers, regardless of religion, with a respectful, religiously pluralistic approach. However, with an estimated two thirds of all current chaplains affiliated with evangelical and Pentecostal denominations, which often prioritize conversion and evangelizing, and a marked decline in chaplains from Catholic and mainstream Protestant churches, this ideal is suffering. Historian Anne C. Loveland attributes the shift to the Vietnam War, when many liberal churches opposed to the war supplied fewer chaplains, creating a vacuum filled by conservative churches. This imbalance was exacerbated by regulation revisions in the 1980s that helped create hundreds of new "endorsing agencies" that brought a flood of evangelical chaplains into the military and by the simple fact that evangelical and Pentecostal churches are the fastest-growing in the U.S.

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Labels: Bible, CFGC, chaplains, Christian, Kathryn Joyce, Muslims, US Army

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Saturday, June 13, 2009

A Muslim woman’s songs call for peace

ISTANBUL - When the US invaded Iraq, Habibe wanted to be a human shield, but her family kept her from sacrificing herself. Instead, she took off her black chador, donned a white one and set her protest to music.

A Muslim woman’s songs call for peace For Habibe, a young Muslim woman, Pope Benedict XVI’s statement that "Islam is a warrior religion" was the last straw. She took off her black chador and donned a snow-white one, symbolizing peace, and hit the road to tell the world that her faith was not one of war.

Born in Medina, Habibe, 33, had been ready to give up her life as a human shield when the United States invaded Iraq in 2003. Though her family just barely prevented this young woman from sacrificing himself, she was determined to not stay silent about what she saw happening.

As a covered Muslim woman whose voice was forbidden by her religion, Habibe’s singing has been controversial, but she never gave up. She started working under the leadership of famous composer Taner Demiralp and performed nine different songs that call for friendship and peace in the world, including "Talea’l Bedr-u Aleyna" (Welcome, Dear Mohammed), one of the most-loved chants of the Muslim world, in Arabic, Hebrew, Persian and English. Habibe prepared her first music video for the techno track "No War." The video, which includes verses of peace from the Koran and the Old Testament of the Bible, is already on airing on the MTV music channel and its Web site, www.mtv.com.

Labels: Bible, Habibe, Islam, Koran, music, Muslims, peace

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Friday, May 15, 2009

Survey: Definition of Spiritual Maturity Vague

May 12, 2009
Survey: Definition of Spiritual Maturity Vague

By Peter Elliott

...when it comes how such spiritual maturity is defined, a new survey indicates it might just be anyone’s best guess.

A study released this week by The Barna Group and Living on the Edge indicates a startling level of ambiguity on what spiritual maturity looks like, including among pastors.

A heavy emphasis for self-identified Christians was based on following rules spelled out in the Bible. Eighty-one percent articulated this view, but conversely, half of the respondents had no clear idea how their church defined spiritual maturity. The confusion over church perception extends to two-fifths of born-again Christians who have openly professed Jesus as their Savior.

Similarly, many respondents only cited one way they live out spiritual maturity - for example, having a relationship with Jesus or applying the Bible - but largely failed to make substantive connections between expressions of faith.

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Labels: Barna Group, Bible, Living on the Edge, Peter Elliott, spirtual maturity

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Friday, May 08, 2009

Back to the Bible focuses on relationship with God, not religion

Back to the Bible focuses on relationship with God, not religion

BY ERIN ANDERSEN / Lincoln Journal Star
Monday, Apr 27, 2009 - 12:17:20 am CDT

Years before Newsweek magazine proclaimed the decline and fall of Christian America, Woodrow Kroll worried about the skyrocketing number of self-professed Christians who owned but rarely, if ever, read the Bible.

So in 2004, Kroll, president of Back to the Bible, the Lincoln-headquartered international Bible ministry program, established the Center for Bible Engagement, an organization dedicated to studying, understanding and solving what he calls “the plague of Bible illiteracy in America.”

Countering that illiteracy is the main focus of Back to the Bible as it marks its 70th anniversary, said Tami Weissert, vice president of media and communications for Back to the Bible. The organization has never been about church attendance, tithing or even “religion.” It’s always been about helping people develop “a personal relationship with God,” she said.

Back to the Bible got its start in 1939 when a young preacher from Oklahoma walked into Lincoln’s KFOR radio station and spent his last $65 for a week’s worth of air time. Thomas Epp believed he could help people work through the confusion and conflict of the world by spreading God’s Word through short devotionals.

Churches need to change their strategy from teaching content to teaching people why they need and how to have a personal relationship with God, according to a new Center for Bible Engagement report. Back to the Bible plans to help with that through its own programs such as Powered by 4 emails and 411God cell calls, and by working with ministers across the globe.

This interesting article also contains results of a survey regarding Bible literacy and engagement. Please click on "external source" for complete article.

Labels: Bible, Center for Bible Engagement, Christianity, Erin Anderson, Woodrow Kroll

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Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Easter: Sign of Our Faith in Renewal

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Please click on "external source" for complete article.

Polls over the recent decades have consistently shown that nine in 10 Americans believe in the existence of God. A Harris Poll in 2003 indicated that roughly 84 percent professed a belief in miracles, the same number as those who believed in the survival of the soul after death. (Nearly 70 percent also believed in the devil and hell.)

A Pew Forum survey in 2007 indicated 78 percent saw the Bible as being the word of God, either literally (35 percent) or not (43 percent).

A current poll conducted by Newsweek found basic religious beliefs have varied little in decades. According to Newsweek, 78 percent still found prayer to be “an important part of daily life,” and 85 percent said religion was “very important” or “fairly important” in their lives.

No matter our specific spiritual doctrines, humans do exhibit a need to maintain hope and a faith in revival. We say that it’s only natural, and we see the basis for that belief in the continual renewal of the natural world around us.

Change is a constant.

Newsweek also reported its latest poll found that only 48 percent of those surveyed thought faith would “help answer all or most of the country’s current problems.” That’s down from 64 percent in 1994. Presumably, that means we tend to see fewer possibilities for specific spiritual beliefs solving the convoluted problem of toxic assets, bundled mortgage securities and such.

Labels: belief, Bible, faith, God, Newsweek magazine, spirituality

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Friday, February 27, 2009

Survey: Parents Rely on Personal Experience Over Biblical Guidance

By Elena Garcia
Christian Post Reporter
Fri, Feb. 27 2009

Although most parents say they are trying to improve their parenting skills, few look to the Bible or church for guidance, a new study shows.

A majority of parents (60 percent) heavily rely on their own experiences growing up for parenting guidance but only one-fifth say they receive a lot of guidance from sacred text such as the Bible or Koran, the latest study by LifeWay Research found. Even fewer parents (15 percent) look to church as a source of guidance for parenting.

The vast majority (96 percent) agree they consistently try to be better parents but more than 6 in 10 completely ignore parenting seminars and over half don't care for books by religious parenting experts, according to the study.

The study also found that few (14 percent) say they are familiar with biblical teaching on parenting. Among Christian parents, those with evangelical beliefs are more familiar than Protestant parents on the Bible's parenting advice, 52 to 27 percent. Only 7 percent of Catholic parents are very familiar on what the Holy Book says about parenting.

"Christians are routinely neglecting biblical guidance and encouragement in their parenting today, relying instead on their own personal experience," McConnell commented.

When it comes to the home environment, around 7 in 10 parents describe it as supporting, positive, encouraging and active. However, an estimated 6 in 10 do not find their home environment peaceful, nearly 5 in 10 do not describe it as relaxed, and around 4 in 10 do not say it is joyful.

They study also showed that although parents spend time with their families on a daily basis, many do not engage in spiritual activities.

A modest majority of parents (57 percent) usually eat dinner together with their families everyday and 45 percent indicate they watch television together each day.

Prayer is a more common family activity than religious study, with 53 percent of parents indicating they pray together at least once monthly compared to 31 percent saying they hold religious devotionals or studies together at least monthly.

Over 80 percent of parents say they have an excellent family life but 30 percent rate their family's spiritual life as only fair or poor.

Overall, 92 percent of parents say they need encouragement but not many receive it from the Bible or church, the study showed.

Approximately 38 percent of parents who attend religious worship services weekly say they do not receive any encouragement from reading the Bible and 24 percent report not being encouraged from church.

Among Christian parents, Catholics (85 percent) are more likely than Protestants (43 percent) to not find encouragement in the Bible. Catholic parents (71 percent) are also more likely than Protestant parents (39 percent) to say church is not a source of encouragement.

Lifeway Research findings are based on a national survey conducted among 1,200 parents with children under 18 at home.

Labels: Bible, children, Elena Garcia, LifeWay Research, parenthood, religious experience

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Friday, January 23, 2009

Americans accept 'array of faiths,' abandon biblical teaching

Allie Martin 1/16/2009 6:30:00 AMBookmark and Share

A new survey finds Christianity is no longer the default faith of most Americans.

The survey was conducted by The Barna Group, which found that half of Americans believe Christianity is just one of many options for genuine faith. George Barna, the group's founder, believes the study confirms that more Americans are adopting a pluralistic mindset.

"Americans are increasingly very accepting of a diverse array of faiths," he notes. "They're less likely to think that Christianity is right or accurate in what it teaches."

According to Barna, the survey also finds that many Americans are adopting their own ideas about faith, apart from God's Holy Word.

George Barna"What we find is that people are deriving their biblical literacy and their views of spirituality from conversations that they have with friends, and they give that equal weight to things they might get in church or from other religious settings," he points out. "They'll get their faith views from their own personal reflections as well as from their personal experiences and observations."

The survey reveals that most Americans still call their faith an important source of personal and moral guidance.

Labels: Allie Martin, America, Barna Group, Bible, Christianity, faith

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Friday, July 11, 2008

Study: Bible Still Recognized as Top 'Holy' Book

By Elena Garcia
Christian Post Reporter
Thu, Jul. 10 2008

A new Barna survey shows that more Americans accept the Bible as "holy" or "sacred" than they would other books.

Respondents of the survey for The Barna Group identified around 12 books they thought fit the bill as "sacred literature" or "holy books." The list included expected titles such as the Bible and the Koran and others such as Quiet Strength by football coach Tony Dungy.

However, the Bible stood out by far from other texts with 84 percent of Americans deeming it a holy book.

Only three books were recognized as holy by at least 1 percent of Americans. The Koran trailed behind the Bible in second place with 4 percent; the Book of Mormon as labeled by 3 percent as sacred/holy; and the Torah was deemed holy by 2 percent of the public.

Most of the other books listed in the survey failed to even garner 1 percent of the public's vote.

While only 7 percent of Christians in the study would categorize a book other than the Bible as holy, around 40 percent of non-Christians would point to the Bible as holy.

The study also found that men, conservatives, older Americans, and individuals who had lower income and education levels were more likely than their counterparts to accept the Bible as holy.

Not surprisingly, the study found that adults under 25, residents of the West and liberals were the groups most likely to consider non-Bible books as holy.

Barna said this rings true because these groups "tend to be the most experimental in spirituality.

And among the different types of Christians responding to the survey, evangelical Christians appeared to hold the firmest conviction in the holiness of the Bible. A high 99 percent said the Bible was sacred.

Overall, people's responses in the study demonstrate America’s singular connection to Christianity, concluded Barna.

Barna noted that while Christians in America are "only moderately committed to Christianity and to the church they attend most often, they have no inclination to embrace anything besides the Bible as sacred, especially if it originated from a different faith tradition."

Labels: Barna Group, Bible, Elena Garcia, Koran, Torah

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Saturday, April 19, 2008

Christian Science is a 'kind and gentle religion'

By REBECCA AUBUT
Standard-Times correspondent
April 19, 2008 6:00 AM

In the late 19th century, after a severe fall that allegedly caused a spinal injury, Mary Baker Eddy turned to the Bible for support and then unexpectedly recovered. Even in childhood, Ms. Eddy was said to have heard the voice of God calling to her. Inspired by her recovery, Ms. Eddy spent the next few years devoted to biblical study and healing; the culmination of which led to the publication of her book "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" and the birth of a new religious way of teaching, Christian Science.

At the core of Christian Science is the teaching that God and God's creation are entirely good and spiritual, and that God's infinite goodness, realized in prayer, heals.

The church's universal system of prayer-based Christian healing created roots by establishing a mother church in Boston, The Church of Christ, in 1879. New Bedford's branch of Christian Science began in 1893 and by 1910 had built and dedicated a church on County Street. By the mid-seventies another Christian Science church was built in the North End of New Bedford.

Here is 274 Union St., New Bedford, the group's main meeting area and the heart and soul of the congregation, their Reading Room. Reading Rooms were established early on for Christian Science members, as well as to be a place for people to come in and learn about Christian Science, says Ms. Booth.

A third generation Christian Science member, Ms. Booth opens the Reading Room's doors three times a week. Along with Marcia Albert, a member of Christian Science since the mid-eighties, she is happy to talk about the history of Christian Science

And though services seem to be dominated by study and reading, as Ms. Booth said, "Mrs. Eddy, with her writings, says that it's not intellectual in the sense that you don't have to be brilliant to embrace Christian Science."

Even with its deep spiritual outlook on life, Christian Science membership has continued to dwindle. Ms. Booth says the church doesn't count the number of its members and that despite a small, older congregation and the closing of many area branches, she still has faith that the church and its beliefs will always have a following.

"I know that the church will flourish, maybe not in this area, but in another community and grow," she said. "I don't have any doubts. It's well established and the writings stand by themselves because it's founded on the Bible; it can't help but go on."

Labels: Bible, Christian Science, healing, Mary Baker Eddy, religion

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Sunday, March 30, 2008

Faith news

March 29, 2008

— One in every ten voters in America believes Barack Obama to be a Muslim, a survey has revealed. White evangelical Protestants and Americans from the Southern, mid-Western and rural states are the most likely to hold this view, according to the poll commissioned by the Pew Research Centre.

— A hotel in Nashville is removing the Bible from its bedrooms and offering guests a “spiritual” reading menu instead. Reports in the Tennessee press say the Hotel Preston will invite guests to call room service to ask for the religious book of their choice. The selection offered will include the Koran, Book of Mormon, the Torah, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism as well as the King James Bible. “Our guests come from different places and they definitely come from different cultures, backgrounds, ethnicities, so we want everyone to feel welcomed and comfortable,” said Dina Nishioka, public relations director for Hotel Preston.

— A German security agency has published a teenage comic illustrated with Manga cartoon sketches as an attempt to combat the appeal of Islamic extremists. One hundred thousand copies of Andi, a comic relating the adventures of a schoolboy with a Muslim girlfriend who is influenced by a radical preacher, have been published and distributed to every secondary school in Germany. They have been produced by the intelligence and security department of the interior ministry of North-Rhine Westphalia. Spokesperson Hartwig Moller explained: “We had to make clear we weren't aiming against Muslims, but only those people who want to misuse Islam for political aims." The magazine is intended for use in citizenship and religion lessons for 12-16 year olds.

— Yale University is running a course on the theology of Harry Potter. Danielle Tumminio, a graduate from Yale Divinity School has devised a study programme that examines Christian themes of sin, evil and resurrection in JK Rowling's seven Harry Potter books. She described the course as “a critical endeavour” adding that she did not wish to “indoctrinate students.”

— A church magazine in Canada has become the first sponsor in North America of a travelling exhibition devoted to the life and work of Charles Darwin. David Wilson, editor of The United Church Observer, decided after learning the exhibition had attracted no corporate funding that the magazine should sponsor the exhibition. “There is nothing in the exhibit that threatens or diminishes religion. If anything, it shines a light on the inherent beauty and wonder of a creation that is constantly and eternally evolving,” he explained. Darwin: The Evolution Revolution is on display at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto until until August 4 and will later come to the Natural History Museum in London.

— The governing body of the Church of Wales is to vote on whether women should be ordained as bishops. The Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan said: "I do not personally see how, having agreed to ordaining women to both the diaconate and priesthood, the church can logically exclude women from the episcopate.” The vote will take place on Wednesday when the governing body is due to meet.

Labels: Barack Obama, Bible, bishops, Darwin, Harry Potter, Islam, women

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Monday, March 24, 2008

The Doctor Is In: God, the 'Wonderful Counselor'

Author and therapist points troubled souls toward Great Physician

Longwood, FL (PRWEB) March 23, 2008 -- Presenting Jesus as the best mental health therapist on the face of the planet, and the Bible as the best mental health book, Therapy with God: Wonderful Counselor, Comforter, Friend (paperback, 978-1-60477-587-7; hardcover, 978-1-60477-588-4) by Susan Henderson McHenry teaches you, step by step, how to meet with Him on every page, how to see yourself through His eyes, and how to turn to Him for lasting freedom from mental, emotional, and spiritual suffering.

"In my therapy with clients, I have discovered that although they love the Lord, they don't know how to go directly to Him for their mental health therapy," says McHenry, a licensed mental health therapist. "I have written this book with the goal of bridging that gap. As the reader applies the techniques in Therapy with God, they will learn to see Jesus on every page of their Bibles, find a deep and abiding love of Scripture and Jesus, and learn to find biblical solutions to their struggles and suffering."

McHenry said most of the books on the market either help people grow closer to God, but do not have mental health as a focus, or, conversely, they address mental health and teach what the Bible says, but don't teach readers how to go into the Bible to find answers for themselves. Her book is unique in that it interweaves, in a single volume, how to apply what they learn in the Bible directly to their mental, emotional, and spiritual issues for lasting change. It specifically targets people who know that Jesus is the answer, but do not know how to go to Him for help.

Xulon Press, a part of Salem Communications Corporation, is the world's largest Christian publisher, with more than 4,000 titles published to date. Retailers may order Therapy with God: Wonderful Counselor, Comforter, Friend through Ingram Book Company and/or Spring Arbor Book Distributors.

Labels: Bible, Jesus, mental health, Susan Henderson McHenry, Xulon Press

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Friday, March 14, 2008

Bypassing 'Big Pharma' with Alternative Medical Treatment

Holistic, non-toxic therapies gain ground in wake of drug recalls

March 14, 2008 --

Pamela Hoeppner, author of The Breast Stays Put ($15.99, paperback, 978-1-60477-103-9), is living proof that alternative treatments can not only keep you healthy but win the battle against cancer. She, along with two other new authors from Xulon Press, is spreading the word that people must take charge of their own healthcare and now have choices other than conventional medicine. In the wake of the healthcare crisis and repeated drug recalls, Americans are discovering the body's miraculous ability to heal itself through non-toxic and alternative therapies, or what one physician has called "the medicine of the 21st century."

After running her own successful business in Wellness Alternatives, Hoeppner faced the unthinkable. She was diagnosed with a malignant, fast-growing breast cancer. She declined all conventional treatment and chose an alternative approach with an impressive track record-- Protocel®. In her inspiring book, she shares her courageous story of overcoming a deadly diagnosis and provides prevention and treatment information. "With the Internet, and the world of alternative medicine it opens up only a click away, people today are taking charge of their lives, especially their health, and they're searching for options. The Breast Stays Put was my way of telling the world, 'You do have options--I found my answer--and I'm living proof that bona fide options and choices exist!'"

Author Ricki Pepin's son suffered for more than a decade with an unexplained, disabling illness. Desperate for answers, Pepin embarked on an intensive search for answers amid confusing and often conflicting medical data. She discovered seven biblical principles that she believes is God's prescription for healthy living. God's Health Plan: The Audacious Journey to a Better Life ($17.99, paperback, 978-1-60266-698-6; $27.99, hardcover, 978-1-60266-699-3), is based on her effort to find help for her child. "It's about wholeness and restoration of mind, body and spirit," says Pepin. "It's about adding life to your years, not just years to your life."

The seven principles encompass food choices, medical care alternatives, and environmental stewardship practices that will create healthier lives and a replenished world. Pepin believes we stand on the brink of a medical paradigm shift from fighting disease to maintaining health, but individuals face enormous frustration as they begin to take charge of maintaining their own health. "There is so much information available in the health industry today, and it is often hard to decipher what is true and what is mere hype," Pepin says. "This book will help ordinary people to sift out the fads and fallacies and find God's principles on health, which can lead to their own physical and spiritual restoration."

In the midst of confusing modern-day diets, food restrictions, and unnecessary fear-inducing food warnings, What the Best Doctor Recommends (paperback, 978-1-60477-552-5) reaches out to the many disillusioned souls who struggle with unnecessary food-related battles. Written by "Ms. Abigail" (penname), the book presents time-tested biblical secrets to eating--secrets which have been programmed within us since creation. It offers a simple, realistic, and logical solution for today's broad spectrum of dieting debates and health issues. Those principles helped the author completely overcome all her food-related issues on a physical, mental, and emotional level. "My mission is to spread a message of hope, one that lifts the confusion and relieves the frustration that countless diets and food restrictions have created in the lives of many," says Ms. Abigail.

Xulon Press, a part of Salem Communications Corporation, is the world's largest Christian publisher, with more than 5,000 titles published to date. Retailers may order the books mentioned above through Ingram Book Company and/or Spring Arbor Book Distributors.

Labels: Bible, cancer, God's Health Plan, medicine, mind-body connection, Ms. Abigail, Pamela Hoeppner, Ricki Pepin, spirituality, The Breast Stays Put, What the Best Doctor Recommends, Xulon Press

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Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Leader's Insight: A Broad and Diverse Bloc

New research shows five kinds of Christians in America.
by Eric Reed, Leadership managing editor

A new report in the Fall issue of Leadership journal shows great disparity among people in the United States who call themselves "Christian." In fact, this nationwide survey of more than 1,000 self-identified adherents reveals five distinct types of practitioners with very different views on salvation, the Bible, morality, and the cultural impact of their faith.

For news reporters and news consumers, this diversity requires careful attention to the variety of opinion among people generally labeled "Christian." Not all Christians think alike on cultural issues, and the survey makes the reasons clearer.

The survey was conducted for Christianity Today International (publisher of Leadership journal) and Zondervan Publishers by the research firm Knowledge Networks. It is one step in the development of NationalChristianPoll.com, a new research database for surveying the opinions of Christians in the United States on a variety of issues.

Who Are my Christian Neighbors?

While between 70 and 80 percent of people in the United States identify themselves as Christian according to a number of studies, what those people mean by the term varies widely. Respondents to our new survey were almost evenly divided among five categories:

Active Christians (19%): Committed churchgoers, often in positions of church leadership; believe salvation comes through Jesus Christ; Bible readers.

Professing Christians (20%): Similar beliefs to Active Christians, but less committed to church attendance; focus more on personal relationship with God and Jesus, less on Bible reading or faith sharing.

Liturgical Christians (24%): High level of spiritual activity; regular churchgoers, recognizing the authority of the church; predominantly Catholic and Lutheran.

Private Christians (24%): Largest and youngest segment; believe in God and have spiritual interest, but not within the church context; only one-third attend church at all, almost none are church leaders.

Cultural Christians (21%): God aware, but do not view Jesus as essential to salvation; affirm many ways to God; express little outward religious behavior.

We found that almost 9 in 10 Active and Professing Christians said "accepting Christ as Savior and Lord" is key to being a Christian, while Liturgical, Private, and Cultural Christians favored a more general "believing in God" as important to being a Christian. For half or more of the people in America who call themselves "Christian," Christ is not the defining figure in their faith.

Labels: Bible, Christianity Today International, Eric Reed, faith, lChristianity, morality, salvation

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Friday, October 19, 2007

Unprecedented Muslim call for peace with Christians

By Peter Graff
Thu Oct 11

LONDON (Reuters) - More than 130 Muslim scholars from around the globe called on Thursday for peace and understanding between Islam and Christianity, saying "the very survival of the world itself is perhaps at stake."

In an unprecedented letter to Pope Benedict and other Christian leaders, 138 Muslim scholars said finding common ground between the world's biggest faiths was not simply a matter for polite dialogue between religious leaders.

Relations between Muslims and Christians have been strained as al Qaeda has struck around the world and as the United States and other Western countries intervened in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Such a joint letter is unprecedented in Islam, which has no central authority that speaks on behalf of all worshippers.

The list of signatories includes senior figures throughout the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe and North America. They represent Sunni, Shi'ite and Sufi schools of Islam.

Among them were the grand muftis of Egypt, Palestine, Oman, Jordan, Syria, Bosnia and Russia and many imams and scholars. War-torn Iraq was represented by both Shi'ites and Sunnis.

Mustafa Cagrici, the mufti who prayed with Benedict in Istanbul's Blue Mosque last year, was also on the list, as was the popular Egyptian television preacher Amr Khaled.

"MAINSTREAM VOICES DROWNED OUT"

The letter was addressed to the Pope, leaders of Orthodox Christian churches, Anglican leader Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and the heads of the world alliances of the Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist and Reformed churches.

A Vatican official in Rome said the Roman Catholic Church would not comment until it had time to read the letter.

Aref Ali Nayed, one of the signatories and a senior adviser to the Cambridge Interfaith Program at Cambridge University in Britain, said the signatories represented the "99.9 percent of Muslims" who follow mainstream schools and oppose extremism.

The overture to Christians could be followed by similar letters addressed to Jews or secularists, he added.

Pope Benedict sparked Muslim protests last year with a speech hinting Islam was violent and irrational. It prompted 38 Muslim scholars to write a letter challenging his view of Islam and accepting his call for serious Christian-Muslim dialogue.

Benedict repeatedly expressed regret for the reaction to the speech, but stopped short of a clear apology sought by Muslims.

The new letter argues in theological terms, giving quotes from the Koran and the Bible that show both Christianity and Islam considered love of God as their greatest commandment and love of neighbor as the second greatest.

"The basis for this peace and understanding already exists," it said. "It is part of the very foundational principles of both faiths: love of the one God and love of the neighbor."

Labels: Bible, Christianity, God, Islam, Koran, Muslims, Peter Graff, Pope Benedict, Vatican

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Thursday, September 27, 2007

Survey: U.S. to be 'Christian nation'

USNewswire

A recent survey found that 65 percent of Americans believe that the nation's founders intended the U.S. to be a Christian nation and 55 percent believe that the Constitution establishes a Christian nation, according to the "State of the First Amendment 2007" national survey released this month by the First Amendment Center.

The 11th annual survey also found:

Ninety-seven percent deemed the right to practice one's own religion essential or important.

Ninety-eight percent deemed the right "to speak freely about whatever you want" essential or important.

Seventy-four percent of Republicans endorse the notion of a constitutional provision for a Christian nation; 50 percent of Democrats and 47 percent of independent voters agree.

Fifty-eight percent of respondents support teacher-led prayers.

Fifty percent would allow schools to teach the Bible as a factual text in a history class.

The telephone survey of 1,003 respondents was conducted between Aug. 16 and 26. Sampling error is plus-or-minus 3.2 percent.

Labels: Bible, Christian, First Amendment Center, prayer, religion, survey

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Sunday, August 19, 2007

Olympic City in Midst of Revival?

By George Thomas
CBN News
August 18, 2007

CBNNews.com - BEIJING - Seven days a week, the machines at the Nanjing Amity Printing Company churn out copies of what some claim is one of China's best-selling books - the Bible.

Forty-three million Bibles have been printed legally in Communist China since 1987. Once a banned book, today some 3 million copies are printed and distributed each year across the country.

And this year, Chinese Christian leaders are hoping to print a special edition of the Bible to make available to the hundreds of thousands of athletes and visitors expected to attend next year's Olympic Games.

Dr. Cao Shengjie of China Christian council oversees the printing of Bibles in China. He said, "And so for this very important occasion, we hope we can print a special edition, maybe the four Gospels in English and Chinese, bilingual."

Lui Bainian, a top leader of China's officially sanctioned Catholic organization, wants to take it a step further and place these Bibles in some of the major hotels in Beijing.

"I want our visitors to know that we have religious freedom here and this is a small step to meet their religious needs during the Olympic," Bainian said.

The Chinese capital has hundreds of hotels. One of the biggest in town, the Minzu hotel, is entertaining the idea of making the Bibles available to Olympic guests.

"We are doing our preparations and once we know where our guests are coming from, we will be ready to meet their spiritual needs," Minzu Hotel General Manager Chen Guoyao said.

The Beijing Olympic Committee is also getting religious. It plans to provide Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, and Muslim services.

CHINA CONNECTION:
China's Great Bible Debate

"I think the needs of various religious groups will be taken into consideration and as a matter of fact, for example, inside the Olympic Village, we are going to set up a religious service center," Sun Weide, deputy director of communications for the Beijing Olympic committee said.

Shengjie says it is important for people outside of China, especially Christians, to know the real situation of Christianity in China.

And what they will see is a China that's experiencing unprecedented religious fervor. When athletes and visitors arrive in Beijing next year for the Olympic Games, they will find a city and a nation in the middle of what some are calling a spiritual awakening.

Despite the government's official doctrine of atheism, millions of Chinese are turning to religion.

"People now feel more freer, more open to express their religious convictions," said Tong Shijun, professor of philosophy at East China Normal University.

Tong Shijun teaches at a prominent university in Shanghai. He's just completed the first major survey on religious beliefs in China. And according to his findings, 31.4 percent of those surveyed said they were religious - putting the number of believers in China at about 300 million.

Christianity is also growing fast. Twelve percent, or 40 million people, described themselves in the poll as followers of Christianity, much higher than official figures given by the Chinese government.

What is fueling these conversions? Chinese experts say that a growing number of people are turning to religion to better cope with the country's rapid social and economic changes.

He Hong is an economics student in Shanghai who recently spent an afternoon at a local Christian bookstore.

"Today in our country, more and more people, especially the young people have a yearning for spirituality" Hong, a Shanghai university student, explained. "So many of my friends feel empty in their hearts. We feel so much pressure to get a job, have a better education."

According to Shengjie, so many of them are turning up at church looking for answers.

"People can easily think that to have a better living and to earn more money is the goal of life but the church, we will tell people that the man does not live by bread alone, we need the Word of God," Shengjie said.

Buddhism, Taoism, and other religions are also experiencing growth. Shijun believes that the government is starting to recognize the role religion could play in society.

"In the last couple of decades the situation is that religious life is recognized to have a positive role in society, generally speaking, as long as these religious groups abide by the national and local laws," he said.

Strict limitations on religion remain, however. For example, China only recognizes government registered churches and considers unregistered house churches illegal.

Still Chinese Christian leaders hope next year's Olympic Games will be an opportunity to showcase China's diverse and growing religious tapestry.

"Our expectation is to have more friendship and fellowship," Shengjie said.

Labels: Bible, China, Christian, George Thomas, Olympic Games, religion, Tong Shijun

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Tuesday, June 12, 2007

A pious nation?

Though the United States is considered a deeply religious country, a glance at America today reveals a society divided by wealth and poverty, tainted by violence and often oblivious to the common good. A country of believers? Perhaps. But saying is one thing, doing quite another.

By Tom Krattenmaker

There can be no doubting the piety of American society in this, the first decade of the 21st century. It's old news by now: The powerful influence of conservative Christians on culture and politics. An outwardly Christian president in the White House. Survey data showing the vast majority of Americans pray, believe in God and consider religion important in their lives.

"Pious," however, means something different than "religious." While both convey devotion to God and ultimate truth, "pious" also suggests showiness, sanctimony, even hypocrisy — a gap between words and action. Such a gap, unfortunately, seems glaringly on display when we survey the social landscape around us. If one is to judge by our care for the common good, American society today is more pious than consistently and truly religious.

Let's start with violence, a phenomenon hard to square with New Testament teachings about living in peace and Old Testament commandments not to kill one another.

The massacre at Virginia Tech this spring might seem an extreme case. Defenders of gun rights warn against overreaction, claiming that mass shootings, however horrific, are quite rare. In truth, Virginia Tech-style massacres happen every day, albeit in less dramatic form. Statistics show that gun violence kills close to 30,000 people a year in America, or about 80 a day — more than double the number slain in Blacksburg, Va. Is this what one should expect of a country guided by Jesus, the "Prince of Peace"?

Then there is the violence projected by our government. Here, too, it is impossible to claim that America is a peaceful nation in the image of Christ. Under the Bush administration, the United States has pursued an aggressive foreign policy and a war in Iraq that theologians struggle to justify with Christian doctrines about morally defensible war. Certainly, the case can be made that dangerous forces left our government with no choice but to fight. But the question must be raised again: Is our behavior as a nation consistent with our ostensibly Christian character?

'Do unto others'

Although debates have raged for centuries over the essential meaning of Christianity and other religions, few would argue against the central importance of the Golden Rule. This is not merely the bias of a liberal writer. Asked by CNN recently to define Christianity, Richard Land, leader of the theologically conservative Southern Baptist movement, said, "It means to do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

How as a society are we living up to this religious imperative? We could do better. There is something deeply irreligious about the growing gap between our wealthiest and poorest citizens.

Surely, conservative-minded believers will respond that charity and philanthropy flourish today, that Christian compassion is best expressed through means other than government. They're partly right. Americans, religious and secular alike, have reached out impressively to Gulf Coast flood victims. We have donated billions of dollars to charities, churches and educational institutions. Americans shovel snow from neighbors' driveways, volunteer at soup kitchens and shell out for more expensive energy-saving light bulbs to curb our impact on global warming. On the national policy level, President Bush has on occasion lived up to his creed of "compassionate conservatism," especially with his efforts to combat AIDS and poverty in Africa.

But stories of individual big-heartedness cannot forgive a general direction in our politics that leaves shocking numbers of children without health insurance and decent educations.

The Bible has been playing a prominent role in the intensifying debate over immigration. Until very recently, the most outwardly religious people took what can be argued is the irreligious stance. According to 2006 polling data, white evangelicals — a group characterized by its taking the Bible very seriously — favored a more conservative (read: inhospitable) policy toward immigrants than other U.S. citizens. This, in spite of numerous passages in the Bible that emphasize hospitality to strangers and compassion for all God's people.

Compassion and faith

As is happening on this and other issues, the myth of the evangelical monolith is being exposed. More evangelicals are publicly embracing care for the earth and service to the poor, broadening an agenda that seemed stuck on hot-button social issues. And groups from across the Christian spectrum have been speaking up for immigrants. May these compassionate stands of religious America become ever more the norm.

For now, we have what we have: A society of decent individuals who usually do the right thing — but a culture nonetheless marred by violence, greed and politics that often display a hard-heartedness unbecoming a country like ours. We may disagree about the manifestations of our social morality deficit — conservatives will emphasize abortion and sexual immorality; liberals, economic injustice — but we can surely agree that we're capable of something finer.

Given that many social ills have grown worse during a time of Christian revival in the public arena, it's tempting to blame religion. Tempting, and also wrong. It's increasingly obvious that those who led us to our current state have heeded political ambition and expediency — citing faith when it's helpful, jettisoning it when it's inconvenient.

And on goes the pointless argument about whether America is a "Christian nation." Whether this country is Christian depends entirely on how we define the terms, of course. Our Constitution: secular. Our history and culture: religious.

And what do we mean by "religious"? If we're talking about rhetoric, volume and public display, it has been a very religious time indeed. If we mean behavior that creates peace, extends compassion to the less fortunate and reaches out to strangers outside our borders, we have a way to go. If we are a Christian nation, shouldn't we more consistently behave like one?

Tom Krattenmaker, who lives in Portland, Ore., specializes in religion in public life and is a member of USA TODAY's board of contributors.

Labels: Bible, charity, Christian, compassion, faith, God, Golden Rule, government, Jesus, piety, politics, religion, Unites States, violence

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Monday, June 11, 2007

Back of the Book

Back of the Book
by Dr. George Barna

Barna's Annual Tracking Study Shows Americans Stay Spiritually Active, But Biblical Views Wane

It is hard to miss Americans’ comfort with and interest in spirituality. Most adults say that their religious faith is very important in their life. Two-thirds of the nation’s adult population firmly embraces the idea that their most important purpose is to love God with all their heart, mind, soul and strength. However, a deeper look at people’s full array of spiritual beliefs and behavior calls into question the sincerity of their commitment.

Every year, The Barna Group explores the state of America’s faith, examining various facets of people’s spiritual activity, faith identity, commitment and religious perspective. According to the 2007 survey, while their spiritual activities and religious identity have changed little compared to recent years, the area undergoing the most change is what Americans believe.

How Beliefs Have Changed

The 2007 study of the nation’s core beliefs found that five out of six theological perspectives have shifted in recent years away from traditional biblical views. This includes perspectives about three spiritual figures: God, Jesus, and Satan.

Most Americans still embrace a traditional view of God. Currently two-thirds of Americans believe that God is best described as the all-powerful, all-knowing perfect creator of the universe who rules the world today (66 percent). However, this proportion is lower than it was a year ago (71 percent) and represents the lowest percentage in more than twenty years of similar surveys.

Few adults possess orthodox views about Jesus and the Devil. Currently, just one-third of Americans strongly disagree that Jesus sinned (37 percent) and just one-quarter strongly reject the idea that Satan is not a real spiritual being (24 percent). Each of these beliefs is lower than last year and among the lowest points in nearly two decades of tracking these views.

The other changes in beliefs include greater reluctance to explain their faith to other people (just 29 percent strongly endorse this view) and the willingness to reject good works as a means to personal salvation (down to 27 percent from 31 percent).

Given these shifts, it is ironic that the only religious belief that was unchanged from previous years was the belief that the Bible is accurate in all the principles it teaches. Not quite half of Americans (45 percent) strongly assert this perspective.

The 2007 study showed that among the ten activities studied, Americans are most likely to pray. More than four out of every five Americans (83 percent) said they had prayed in the last week. This was followed by attending a church service (43 percent) and reading the Bible outside of church worship services (41 percent). Notably, just one-quarter of adults possess an active faith, meaning they engage in all three of these activities (pray, attend church, and read the Bible) in a typical week.

Perspectives on the Research

David Kinnaman, who directed the study, indicated that "most Americans do not have strong and clear beliefs, largely because they do not possess a coherent biblical worldview."

This report is based upon telephone interviews with a nationwide survey by The Barna Group with a random sample of 1006 adults, age 18 and older, conducted in January 2007. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate sample is ±3.2 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level. Statistical weighting was used to calibrate the sample to known population percentages in relation to demographic variables.

George Barna is an author, pastor and the founder of The Barna Group in Ventura, Calif., a firm specializing in conducting research for Christian ministries and non-profits

Labels: Americans, Barna Group, belief, Bible, faith, God, Jesus, prayer, religion, Satan

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Friday, May 11, 2007

Study: Mothers Spiritually Active; Fathers Lag Behind

Mothers are among the most spiritually active segments of the America population, a new study found. They also outpace fathers in spiritual activity and commitment for the most part.

Audrey Barrick Correspondent
Monday, May. 7, 2007 Posted: 2:48:PM PST

Mothers are among the most spiritually active segments of the America population, a new study found. They also outpace fathers in spiritual activity and commitment for the most part.

The Barna research group revealed that three-quarters of women who are raising children said faith is very important in their life while only two-thirds of fathers agreed. The majority of mothers also said they have been greatly transformed by their faith compared to less than half of fathers.

Additionally, mothers were more likely than fathers to be born-again Christians, to say they are absolutely committed to Christianity, and to embrace a personal responsibility to share their faith in Jesus Christ with others.

In a typical week, mothers are more likely than are fathers to attend church, pray, read the Bible, participate in a small group, attend Sunday school, and volunteer some of their time to help a non-profit organization, the study showed. Fathers were only equally active with mothers when it came to volunteering to help at a church.

The Barna study further measured differences between younger and older mothers. Moms from the Buster generation (ages 23-41) show less passion for spirituality and less commitment to Christianity than moms from the Boomer generation (ages 42-60). Young moms are less likely to volunteer to help at a church, to read the Bible or to attend worship services at a church and they are less inclined to describe their faith as very important in their life compared to Boomer moms

Buster moms are in the crux of that challenge, being much more spiritually minded than young dads, but still wrestling with the Christian faith in ways Boomers did not. If moms are the spiritual backbone of families today – and they often are – it is imperative to find new approaches that help moms connect faith and family, especially for young mothers.

"Most Buster moms are currently married, but three out of ten are not and one-sixth have never been married, which is double the proportion found among Boomer moms. On a further note, the study found that among even younger moms – ages 18-22 – four out of five are not married. That shows how millions of young moms do not have the support of a husband when parenting, the study noted."Still, moms of every generation deserve an enormous amount of credit for empowering the spiritual pursuits of their family and, in turn, energizing faith in America," Kinnaman stated.

"Compared to men, women are more likely to communicate about faith, prioritize activities that develop their faith and that of their children, and they are more vulnerable about their needs and emotions."There is still room for growth among moms,” noted the report director, however.

“Church leaders and parents still need to focus on outcomes and the depth of their parenting efforts. Yet our nation would not be the same without the significant spiritual influence of mothers. Imagine the impact on our society if fathers were to simply match the intensity of their parenting peers."

An earlier study by the research group showed that parenting based on one's faith in God produced the most desired outcomes for Christian children exemplifying Christian morals and attitudes.

The latest Barna study is based on ten nationwide surveys on 10,035 adults, age 18 and older, conducted from January 2005 through January 2007.

Labels: Audrey Barrick, Barna Group, Bible, children, Christianity, faith, fathers, mothers

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Tuesday, April 24, 2007

COURTNEY E. MARTIN: For girls who hate their bodies - a spiritual crisis

The Christian Science Monitor
Brooklyn, N.Y. --

Worried talk about the next generation of high-achieving, health-neglecting "perfect girls" is everywhere.

Girls Inc. just published the results of its depressing, nationwide survey called "The Supergirl Dilemma," which reveals that girls' obsession with thinness has gotten significantly worse in the past six years. Despite the efforts of the Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty - well-intentioned, though undeniably market-driven - and Love Your Body Day events sweeping every school from San Francisco to Syracuse, 90 percent of teenage girls think they are overweight today, compared with 24 percent in 1995, according to a recent ELLEgirl survey.

So what gives? Is it our celebrity-obsessed, extreme makeover culture? Is it the newest version of the age-old story of dysfunctional family relationships? Is it peer pressure - mean girls critiquing one another's every lunchtime indiscretion? Is it the $30 billion a year diet industry?
It is, in truth, all of the above. But there is also another profoundly important - yet little noticed - dynamic at work in the anxious, achievement-oriented lives of America's perfect girls: They have a sometimes deadly, often destructive, lack of faith.

So many perfect girls were raised entirely without organized religion, and the majority of the rest of us - I reluctantly admit to my own membership in the perfect girl club - experienced "spirituality" only in the form of mandatory holiday services with a big-haired grandmother or unconscionably elaborate and expensive bat mitvah parties, where everything but the Torah is emphasized.

Overlay our dearth of spiritual exploration with our excess of training in ambition - never mind SAT prep courses; today, even community service is linked to college application brownie points - and you have a generation of godless girls. We were raised largely without a fundamental sense of divinity. In fact, our worth in the world has always been tied to our looks, grades, and gifts - not the amazing miracle of mere existence.

In this climate, we feel perpetually called to perfect our own "body projects" - the term used by historian Joan Jacob Brumberg. Thinness and achievement stand in for the qualities of kindness and humility. We think that our perfect bodies - not God's grace or good works - will get us into heaven. We have no deeply held sense of our own divinity, so we chase after some unattainable ideal. Perfect girls, as a result, feel they are never enough. Never disciplined enough. Never accomplished enough. Never thin enough.

The worst of this can be seen in the frightening Web sites that purport to be support groups for girls with anorexia and bulimia. Such sites claim that these two disorders are a religion, not a disease, and pray to false gods named after them: Ana and Mia. Though highly deluded and dangerously ill, girls who frequent these sites have taken the black hole at their centers and filled it with an obsessive faith in the power and purity of thinness. In essence, they are crying out to our godless culture, showing us just how damaged a child can be who is thrown to the wolves of advertising and amoral media without any spiritual armor.

I'm not calling for a return to conservative religion or restricting dogma. I'm envisioning an inspired movement toward community where girls are nourished with dinner-table conversations about the values of kindness and charity; where girls undergoing puberty are encouraged to embrace the miraculous, complex, and perfectly imperfect bodies they possess; and where girls can find inspiration - not condemnation - in religious texts.

For starters, the Bible has something to teach the perfect girl who calculates beauty in terms of pounds and dress sizes: "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight" (I Peter 3:3,4). (New International Version)

And Buddha, the man often portrayed as blissful with his belly, has a paradigm-shifting message for the average American woman accustomed to self-hate: "You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection."

A supermom of an elite college hopeful told New York Times reporter Sara Rimer, "You just hope your child doesn't have anorexia of the soul." While she is spot on in her fears, she seems woefully shortsighted about her responsibilities. It is we, all of us, who have the power to resurrect a society that values spirit above skinniness. We have to start doing it - one prayer, one family hike, one heart-to-heart discussion about what really matters - at a time.

Courtney E. Martin is the author of "Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters: The Frightening New Normalcy of Hating Your Body."

Labels: anorexia, Bible, body image, Buddha, bulimia, Courtney E. Martin, girls, Joan Jacob Brumberg, teenagers