What's lost when people stop talking about faith in public?

When people stop talking about their faith in public, they miss out on helping people in need and correcting unfair stereotypes, faith leaders said.

...Fear of how other people will respond to religious discussion guides — or, rather, halts — many believers' attempts to bring up their faith with family, friends or strangers. When they sense someone disagrees with them about religion, nearly 1 in 4 U.S. Christians (24 percent) avoid the subject altogether, according to a new survey from Pew Research Center.

These findings likely satisfy those who think faith has no place in polite conversation, but religious leaders and scholars say we shouldn't celebrate when a first date, holiday dinner or phone call passes with no mention of religion. Discussions about belief in God, prayer and theology play an important role in society, helping people venture beyond their comfort zones and gain new understanding, they said.

"It's part of faith itself to be able to articulate our beliefs in an atmosphere where we can be heard," said Diane Moore, director of Harvard Divinity School's Religious Literacy Project.

Read more by clicking HERE


1 Peter 3:15
“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:”

2 Timothy 1:8
“Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;”

Going to church could help people live longer

Fitting a worship service into your weekly schedule could extend your life, according to a new study on church attendance and mortality published this week in JAMA Internal Medicine.

"Over a 20-year span, the study surveyed a group of more than 76,000 female nurses, most of whom were Catholic and Protestant. At the end of 20 years, more than 13,000 of them had died. The women who went to religious services more than once a week, it turned out, were 33 percent less likely to be in that group who died, compared to those who never attended services," The Washington Post reported.

Church attendance appeared to boost health in a variety of ways, helping believers practice health habits.

"Women who started going to services then became more likely to quit smoking and less likely to show signs of depression … even when the researchers controlled for a long list of other variables, from age and exercise habits to income and other non-religious social engagement," the Post reported.


Read more about this at the Advocate Press by clicking HERE



Proverbs 10:27
“The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.”

Proverbs 9:10, 11
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.

Proverbs 3:1, 2
My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.

Will the Traditional Christian Belief of Eternal Hell Be Minority View Soon?

Belief in eternal punishment in a literal hell is declining among Christians in America. By contrast, belief in heaven is in great shape.

In a National Geographic article published earlier this month and now making the rounds among Christians, writer Mark Strauss outlines the shifting Christian perspective toward believing that those who don't accept Christ die a spiritual death as well as a mortal one instead of being punished eternally in hell.

Noting a 13 percentage point drop over the past 20 years in Americans who believe in a fiery underworld, the author notes that the stats present "a conundrum that continues to tug at the conscience of some Christians, who find it difficult to reconcile the existence of a just, loving God with a doctrine that dooms billions of people to eternal punishment."


Read the whole article at the Christian Post by clicking HERE


At God Inspires, we believe that Jesus was the Word made flesh, and if He said it, it's truth.

Revelation 21:8
“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”