Christianity

Percentage of Late-Nov. Media Mentions of 'Christmas Shopping Season' at a 10-Year Low
By Tom Blumer | November 24, 2015 | 11:31 PM EST

As we head into the Christmas shopping season, yours truly regrets to inform readers that the relative frequency of late-November media mentions of the "Christmas shopping season" is at the lowest level in all of the years I have been tracking it — probably meaning that it's at an all-time low, period.

This is Year 11 of an effort which began in 2005. Each year has involved Google News searches on "Christmas shopping season" and "holiday shopping season" (both terms in quotes). In the past few years, after Google News merged its archive with its regular one-month news results, I've made sure to only search on the past month. As seen in the graph which follows, this year's result is down to one "Christmas" mention for every 16.5 "holiday" mentions:

On CNN, The Blaze's Sexton Schools Liberal Marc Lamont Hill on Islam
By Matthew Balan | November 24, 2015 | 6:08 PM EST

On Monday's CNN Tonight, Buck Sexton of The Blaze exposed the left's special treatment of the Islamic faith, after liberal commentator Marc Lamont Hill attacked Bill Maher for his views on Islam. Hill claimed that "Islam is premised on some very basic fundamental values that are in line with what America articulates as its own value." Sexton countered by underlining that a "large portion" of Muslims subscribe to "ideas that, under normal circumstances, would be considered bigoted by American liberals."

HBO's Maher Mocks 'Jesus Freaks,' God's Fingers 'In Every War in Human History'
By Brad Wilmouth | November 21, 2015 | 2:57 PM EST

On Friday's Real Time with Bill Maher, host Maher closed the last show of the season mocking Dr. Ben Carson and other "Jesus freaks" as he used a quote from Dr. Carson about "God's fingers" pushing him to the presidency, with the HBO host charging that God has been to blame for "every war in human history," including the Paris terrorist attacks.

Before giving his anti-religion commentary, Maher raised the issue of religion at the end of the show's regular "New Rules" segment as he took aim at Dr. Carson, calling him "Dr. Giggles," and a "dingdong." Maher:

Harry Smith Cites Scripture to Rebuke Republicans on Refugees
By Mark Finkelstein | November 21, 2015 | 12:17 PM EST

I turned on MSNBC this morning in the admittedly masochistic hope of seeing Melissa Harris-Perry, only to find Harry Smith--of all people--hosting continuing coverage of the Paris attacks and related issues.

After running clips of Ted Cruz, Ben Carson and Mike Huckabee questioning the admittance into the US of Syrian refugees, Smith immediately displayed on screen and read the passage of Matthew 25 that begins "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat . . . I was a stranger and you invited me in," etc.  Smith then turned to the Rev. Jacqui Lewis, pastor of the hyper-liberal Middle Collegiate Church in NYC's East Village, and asked this hyper-leading question: "is this as important a piece of the New Testament as exists?" Surprise! Lewis agreed that it "absolutely" is.

Sally Kohn: Christian Fundamentalists, Similar to ISIS, Perpetually Hostile
By Michael McKinney | November 20, 2015 | 3:07 PM EST

On Friday, Sally Kohn took to The Daily Beast to argue that we should all be heartened by the fact that  “The Religious Fundamentalists Are Losing.” In making her case, Kohn compared Christian ‘hardliners’ – you social conservative ones who are pro-life and pro-traditional marriage – with DAESH, or ISIS as many in the West know it.

Colbert Accuses GOPers of Being Unchristian on Syrian Refugees Comparable to KKK
By Curtis Houck | November 20, 2015 | 12:25 PM EST

On the heels of news that he’s slipped to third place in the network late night comedy show ratings due to his alienation of right-leaning voters, Late Show host Stephen Colbert proved why it’s the case on Thursday as he accused Republicans of not being Christians for wanting to put a hold on the U.S. accepting Syrian refugees, contending it's comparable to the KKK as an example of Christians committing acts of terrorism.

Liberal Journalists on CNN: U.S. Has Been 'Racist' To Refugees Since 1939
By Matthew Balan | November 19, 2015 | 3:20 PM EST

On Wednesday's CNN Tonight, Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times and liberal analyst Rula Jebreal bewailed the latest poll that found that 53 percent are opposed to letting in 10,000 Syrian refugees. Kristof hyped that "this almost exactly matches up a poll in January 1939 of whether or not to admit 10,000 mostly Jewish children into the U.S.....in retrospect, we clearly acknowledge that was a shameful period in American history." Jebreal slammed this majority as "racist," and cried, "They're weaponizing fear! That poll reflects fear."

ABC’s Jonathan Karl to Ted Cruz: Isn’t It ‘Un-American’ to Put Restrictions on Syrian Refugees?
By Curtis Houck | November 17, 2015 | 10:18 PM EST

In a combative exchange that aired on the Tuesday edition of ABC’s World News Tonight, chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl hinted to Republican Senator Ted Cruz (Tex.) that he was “un-American” for suggesting that only Syrian refugees who are Christian should be admitted the United States while a moratorium would be placed on those that are Muslim.

Chad Henderson Walls Off Twitter Account After NewsBusters Criticizes His Tweet on GOP Candidates' Readiness
By Tom Blumer | November 14, 2015 | 10:56 PM EST

We'll have to live without Chad Henderson's tweets for the time being. Once again, Henderson, as he did in 2013, has taken his Twitter account private, limiting it to "confirmed followers." This time he likely did so in reaction to a NewsBusters post earlier this afternoon by P.J. Gladnick.

Henderson first gained notoriety during the initial Obamacare sign-up process in late 2013 when he claimed to have "enrolled" himself and his father when virtually no one else could even access the HealthCare.gov web site. The press unskeptically lapped up the Organizing for Action volunteer's story until Reason.com's Peter Suderman shredded it. It turned out that Henderson had only set up a profile for himself and had not purchased any health care plan. Henderson resurfaced on Twitter after the Paris terrorist attacks yesterday, asking: "Do Trump, Rubio, and Carson have the experience and knowledge to prevent and react to a similar Paris attack? Not at all, folks."

Canadian Columnist Slams 'Selfish' Believers for Praying for Paris
By Matthew Balan | November 13, 2015 | 7:41 PM EST

Doug Saunders, a leftist international-affairs columnist for Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail, attacked the many people on Twitter who were calling for prayers for the citizens of Paris in the wake of the terrorist attacks in the French capital on Friday evening.

Cosmopolitan's Porno Holiday Gift
By Bill Donohue | November 13, 2015 | 3:30 PM EST

The cover story of the December edition of Cosmopolitan is titled, "Sex Wish List." The article contains 24 sexual suggestions, all of which exploit the Christian and Jewish holidays. Most conspicuously, it includes a "Sex-Vent Calendar," a rip-off of the Advent calendar prized by Christians.

Jesus Christ: The Key to Unlocking All of Scripture
By David Limbaugh | November 10, 2015 | 11:57 PM EST

For years, I have wanted to write a book to share my enthusiasm for the Old Testament and explain how it is foundational to the New Testament as the first act of a two-act play. I have wanted to show the many ways Christ is foreshadowed in the Old Testament My new book, The Emmaus Code: Finding Jesus in the Old Testament, is the culmination of a project I began some 20 years ago.