NEWS - ANTI MORMON MOCKERY CAN ACTUALLY LEAD TO TEACHING MOMENTS.

Anti-Mormon mockery can actually lead to teaching moments

Author: Dan Peterson : Defending the Faith
20 January 2011 

Two plays about Mormonism are scheduled to premiere shortly in the northeastern United States.
According to advance publicity, one of them "chronicles the days leading up to Christmas, 1825, when Joseph Smith Jr. and his father, on the run from the law as confidence men and scammers, return in disgrace to the family farm in upstate New York to save their house from being repossessed. In the process of escaping the clutches of both their creditors and the investors they'd recently fleeced, they lay the foundations of Mormonism." It purports to be "based on historical accounts of Mormonism's early years."

The other play, a musical, will likely be somewhat less reverent.

It's easy to be upset at such things. But indignation is the wrong response and, anyhow, entirely useless. We should see these and similar public attacks — homes in one southwestern American town where a temple is under construction have just been systematically blanketed with anti-Mormon propaganda — as rich teaching opportunities. Mormons are pretty rare in the Northeast; these plays are fabulous (and free) local publicity.

In the mid-1850s, a young German schoolteacher read a new book about an industrious and even heroic people with absurdly stupid beliefs. Unable, however, to believe that such good fruits could come from so bad a tree, he determined to investigate the Mormons for himself. In October 1855, Dr. Karl G. Maeser was baptized in the Elbe River, near Dresden. He later became a pivotal early leader of the church's educational system in Utah and, effectively, the founder of Brigham Young University.

Many years ago, I paid a visit to Temple Square. Entering by the south gate, I had to pass through a cordon of extremely unpleasant placard-wielding protesters. Once inside, I asked an elderly missionary what impact such demonstrations had on visitors. "Oh," he said, "I don't like to have them there, but, truthfully, our visitors tend to be much more receptive when the protesters are outside. Normally, people on our tours are a bit on their guard. But these protests are so offensive to them that they're on our side. The difference is very noticeable."

Some people will always react like that. Unfair attacks and mockery will not close their minds but, rather, pique their curiosity. Much like Maeser, they will doubt that the good fruits they see in the lives of their Latter-day Saint neighbors, friends and colleagues proceed merely from lies and absurdities.

Thus, we need to be ready to answer their questions and dispel their misconceptions. Indeed, because most potential converts have no Mormon friends or neighbors, we need to work actively to provide accurate information about the church and its teachings on the Internet and in every other public way that we can.

And we should not wait for a formal call or for the institutional church to do this on our behalf. Every member truly should be a missionary.

"For behold," said the Lord in 1831, "it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward. Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; for the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves" (Doctrine and Covenants 58:26-28).

Scriptural prophecies seem to indicate that, while the restored gospel will spread throughout the earth, church members will always be a minority. (See, for example, 1 Nephi 14:12; Matthew 24:37-41; Luke 17:31-36.) Which is to say that the majority of humankind will continue to be either ignorant of or indifferent toward its claims or, as depicted in Lehi's vision (1 Nephi 8:26-28; 11:35-36), will sneer at them and find them (and us) ridiculous. We should not be dismayed when we encounter such reactions. They were predicted many centuries ago.

I believe, though, that it's far preferable for the church to be attacked than to be ignored, to be considered weird than to be of no interest at all.

So long as the claims of the gospel are being discussed, even negatively, there are openings for teaching. When people are apathetic, there are no openings at all.

Daniel C. Peterson is a native of southern California and received a bachelor’s degree in Greek and philosophy from BYU. He earned a Ph.D in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures from UCLA after several years of study in Jerusalem and Cairo. He is a professor of Islamic Studies and Arabic at BYU and is the editor of the twice-annual FARMS Review, the author of several books and numerous articles on Islamic and Latter-day Saint topics. Peterson is also director of outreach for BYU's Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. He spent eight years on the LDS Church's Gospel Doctrine writing committee and is the founder and manager of MormonScholarsTestify.org.

NEWS - A GIANT LEG UP: BYU STUDENTS INVENT NEW PROSTHETIC LEG

 i aways enjoy a really good "feel-good" story and this one is one that i can see going beyond the people in it, but extending far and wide across the globe...

its neat to hear of advancements for the betterment of humanity. 

a product in need, at a low cost. almost everyone can afford these that need them.

this IS good. :)

MICHELLE

A giant leg up: BYU students invent new prosthetic leg

Aaron Olsen- Jan 19, 2011

The cost of prosthetic legs is about to get much cheaper.

A group of students at Brigham Young University have designed a below-the-knee prosthetic leg using PVC

Dave Williams is the director and has been with the group since its founding. “It started about two and a half years ago,” he said. “I was president of the BYU Biomedical Engineering Club and we were looking for research and service opportunities.”

Williams said the club came up with the idea to create low-cost, durable prosthetic legs. They sponsored a design competition on campus and applied for grants to begin experimenting. In January 2009, BYU’s Office of Research and Creative Activities awarded the 10 or so students with four out of eight of the grants they applied for, amounting to $6,000.

But raising the money wasn’t the difficult part; preliminary engineering proved quite the challenge.

“We thought we could make it out of bamboo composite,” Williams said. “That didn’t work.”

Within the next year, the club discovered PVC pipe to be easily moldable, durable and cheap. After some trial and error, adding a bolt to eliminate cracking, the design was ready for testing. pipe, polypropylene and a single bolt. Now these students head a nonprofit organization, 2ft Prosthetics (pronounced “two feet”), which manufactures and distributes the plastic limbs for a meager $25 each. The typical below-the-knee prosthetic leg costs begin at $10,000 and can reach as high as $15,000.

The legs are made by baking PVC pipe in a household oven at 250 degrees for several minutes. The pipe is then cut by scissors and molded into leg form.

Bruce Jeppson lost his leg in April of 2002 to a burn. The decision to amputate came after a poor prognosis for recovery. Jeppson spent $14,000 on a prosthetic limb at the time. Around this time last year, he was invited to be the “guinea pig” for 2ft Prosthetics’s clinical trials.

“For price, there’s no comparison,” Jeppson said. “It’s a little more squishy, like walking on a pillow.” But, Jeppson notes, comfort and mobility are the same. Jeppson said he was “glad to be a part” of the clinical trials, and that the people at 2ft Prosthetics were “way helpful” and “way cool.”

The 2ft Prosthetics team recently toured the facilities of Funter Prosthetics in San Salvador, El Salvador, the country’s largest rehabilitation and prosthetics clinic. This gave them a chance to test their legs in other climates. Williams said he saw many amputees in El Salvador crawling on their hands or hobbling on crutches. “People without a leg, they’re seen as broken, no good. This will help them provide for their family.”

2ft Prosthetics is looking to expand by training clinics worldwide in producing their leg design, and perhaps even develop more limbs. They plan to begin distribution in El Salvador and Tonga this summer.

The need is huge. According to the Amputee Coalition of America, there are an estimated 1.7 million amputees in the United States, with lower-limb loss accounting for 97 percent of all dysvascular limb loss discharges. Across the globe, landmines, disease, warfare, natural disasters and accidents destroy hundreds of thousands of limbs each year. Some experts estimate the number of people living with limb loss to be upwards of 3 million globally.

You can learn more about the organization and donate at www.2ftprosthetics.blogspot.com, www.2ftprosthetics.org, or www.youtube.com/user/2ftProsthetics. 2ft Prosthetics is filing for 501© (3) status, which would allow donors a tax write-off for all donations.

NEWS -MORMON MISSIONARY SHOT, KILLED IN JAMAICA

 its such a tragedy, when we hear about the loss of a missionary serving a mission for our faith (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints aka Mormon). i dont think anyone in our faith likes to ever hear the news of one who was dedicated to the Lord, and spreading the Message He has to the world, having been taken before we feel it was time.

But, as members of my faith, we believe, their loss is never truthfully in vain.

we believe, they go onto the next life (what we call the Spirit World) and they teach others, who have never had the chance to hear about Jesus Christ , the message.

so, those souls can know and understand the Lord the way we do.

my heart, and sympathy goes out to Elder Walkers family, in their time of sorrow and great distress. And i pray, they keep his spirit alive and use his memory for the betterment of those of us left behind. His service to his fellow bothers and sisters here, shouldnt stop with his mortal death, but continue as he would have wanted it.

my prayers are with his friends and family during this difficult time.

MICHELLE

Mormon missionary shot, killed in Jamaica

 Elder Jermaine Luther Walker is shown on the right.

Jan. 17, 2011

By Scott Taylor, Deseret News

KINGSTON, Jamaica — An LDS Church missionary was accidentally shot and killed in stray crossfire Monday while serving in his native country of Jamaica.

Elder Jermaine Luther Walker, from the town of Savannah La Mar and serving in the Jamaica Kingston Mission, was confirmed as the fatality by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
According to church spokesman Scott Trotter, Walker and seven other missionaries were returning to their apartments after an activity on their "preparation day," an "off-day" for Mormon missionaries from regular proselytizing.

NEWS - WHY I CANT STOP READING MORMON HOSEWIFE BLOGS (Im One of These Bloggers Too!)

 i am a prolific blogger, running right now, about 8 different blogs, considering an entirely different one to add the the batch. why do i like to blog so much? pretty much says the reason in tis article, to keep a history of my life and events in blog format. 

actual WRITTING, makes my hand cramp, and typing has opened up the format for my expression! 

i do ALLOT of expressing in my blogs...ideas, thoughts, dreams, rants, raves, ventting, you name it, its done in my blogs...i LOVE to blog. and i often..CROSS BLOG (which is quite different from "cross dressing"...lol

MICHELLE

Why I can't stop reading Mormon housewife blogs

I'm a young, feminist atheist who can't bake a cupcake. Why am I addicted to the shiny, happy lives of these women?

By Emily Matchar



At first glance, Naomi and Stacie and Stephanie and Liz appear to be members of the species known as the "Hipster Mommy Blogger," though perhaps a bit more cheerful and wholesome than most. They have bangs like Zooey Deschanel and closets full of cool vintage dresses. Their houses look like Anthropologie catalogs. Their kids look like Baby Gap models. Their husbands look like young graphic designers, all cute lumberjack shirts and square-framed glasses. They spend their days doing fun craft projects (vintage-y owl throw pillow! Recycled button earrings! Hand-stamped linen napkins!). They spend their weekends throwing big, whimsical dinner parties for their friends, all of whom have equally adorable kids and husbands.

But as you page through their blog archives, you notice certain "tells." They're super-young (like, four-kids-at-29 young). They mention relatives in Utah. They drink a suspicious amount of hot chocolate. Finally, you see it: a subtly placed widget with a picture of a temple, or a hyperlink on the word "faith" or "belief." You click the link and up pops the official website of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Yep, Naomi and Stacie and Stephanie and Liz are Mormons. They're members of a large, close-knit network of Mormon lifestyle bloggers -- young stay-at-home-moms who blog about home and hearth, Latter-day Saint-style. From Rockstar Diaries (Naomi) to Underaged and Engaged (Stacie) to Nie Nie DialoguesSay Yes to Hoboken (Liz), Mormon lifestyle bloggers occupy their very own corner of the blogosphere. (Stephanie) to 

Their lives are nothing like mine -- I'm your standard-issue late-20-something childless overeducated atheist feminist -- yet I'm completely obsessed with their blogs. On an average day, I'll skim through a half-dozen Mormon blogs, looking at Polaroids of dogs in raincoats or kids in bow ties, reading gratitude lists, admiring sewing projects.

I'm not alone, either. Two of my closest friends -- both chronically overworked Ph.D. candidates -- procrastinate for hours poring over Nat the Fat Rat or C. Jane Enjoy It. A recent discussion of Mormonism on the blog Jezebel unleashed a waterfall of confessions in the comments section from other young non-religious women similarly riveted by the shiny, happy domestic lives of their Latter-day Saint sisters.

"They have lovely homes, picture-perfect kids, loving, super-attentive husbands, and things seem very normal and calm," writes a commenter named BrookeD, who admits to reading five Mormon blogs daily.

"I thought I was the only one!!" responds another commenter.
"THANK YOU," adds a third. "I'm another closet non-Mormon reader of Mormon mommy blogs."

So why, exactly, are these blogs so fascinating to women like us -- secular, childless women who may have never so much as baked a cupcake, let alone reupholstered our own ottomans with thrifted fabric and vintage grosgrain ribbon? It's not as though we're sniffing around the dark side of the faith, à la "Big Love." And it's not about religion. As someone married to a former Saint (my husband left the church as a teenager), I certainly have no illusions about what life as a Mormon would be like, and I'm sure it's not for me, which makes my obsession with these blogs all the more startling.

Well, to use a word that makes me cringe, these blogs are weirdly "uplifting." To read Mormon lifestyle blogs is to peer into a strange and fascinating world where the most fraught issues of modern living -- marriage and child rearing -- appear completely unproblematic. This seems practically subversive to someone like me, weaned on an endless media parade of fretful stories about "work-life balance" and soaring divorce rates and the perils of marrying too young/too old/too whatever. And don't even get me started on the Mommy Blogs, which make parenthood seem like a vale of judgment and anxiety, full of words like "guilt" and "chaos" and "BPA-free" and "episiotomy." Read enough of these, and you'll be ready to remove your own ovaries with a butter knife.

"It seems that a lot of popular culture wants to portray marriage and motherhood as demeaning, restrictive or simple, but in the LDS church, motherhood is a very important job, and it's treated with a lot of respect," says Natalie Holbrook, the New York-based author of the popular blog Nat the Fat Rat. "Most of my readers are non-LDS women in their late 20s and early 30s, college educated, many earning secondary degrees on the postgraduate level, and a comment I often get is, 'You are making me want kids, and I've never wanted kids!'"

Indeed, Mormon bloggers like Holbrook make marriage and motherhood seem, well, fun. Easy. Joyful. These women seem relaxed and untouched by cynicism. They throw elaborate astronaut-themed birthday parties for their kids and go on Sunday family drives to see the fall leaves change and get mani-pedis with their friends. They often have close, large extended families; moms and sisters are always dropping in to watch the kids or help out with cake decorating. Their lives seem adorable and old-fashioned and comforting.

"I've gotten e-mails from readers thanking me for putting a positive spin on marriage and family," Holbrook says. "It's important to acknowledge the hard parts -- and I think we all do -- but why not focus more on the lovely and the beautiful? That positive attitude is a very common theme throughout all aspects of the Mormon faith."

This focus on the positive is especially alluring when your own life seems anything but easy. As my friend G. says, of her fascination with Mormon lifestyle blogs, "I'm just jealous. I want to arrange flowers all day too!" She doesn't, really. She's just tired from long days spent in the lab, from a decade of living in a tiny apartment because she's too poor from student loans to buy a house, from constant negotiations about breadwinning status with her artist husband. It's not that she or I  want to quit our jobs to bake brownies or sew kiddie Halloween costumes. It's just that for G., Mormon blogs are an escapist fantasy, a way to imagine a sweeter, simpler life.

There's been a lot of talk in recent years about "the New Domesticity" -- an increasing interest in old-fashioned, traditionally female tasks like sewing, crafts and jam making. Some pundits see this as a sign that young women yearn to return to some kind of 1950s Ozzie and Harriet existence, that feminism has "failed," that women are realizing they can't have it all, after all. That view is utterly nonsense, in my opinion, but I do think women of my generation are looking to the past in an effort to create fulfilling, happy domestic lives, since the modern world doesn't offer much of a road map. Our parents -- divorced, stressed-out baby boomers -- are hardly paragons of domestic bliss. Nor are the Gen X "Mommy War" soldiers, busy winging snowballs of judgment at each other from across the Internet. (Formula is poison! Baby wearing is child abuse!)
If those are the options, I'll take a pass, thanks.

Enter the Mormon bloggers, with their picture-perfect catalog lives. It is possible to be happy, they seem to whisper. We love our homes. We love our husbands.

Of course, the larger question is, are these women's lives really as sweet and simple as they appear? Blogs have always been a way to mediate and prettify your own life; you'd be a fool to compare your real self to someone else's carefully arranged surface self. And Mormons are particularly famous for their "put on a happy face" attitude. The church teaches that the Gospel is the only authentic path to true happiness. So if you're a faithful follower, you better be happy, right?

The phenomenon of the happier-than-thou Mormon housewife blogger is so well-recognized it's even spawned a parody blog, Seriously So Blessed, whose fictional author brays things like "We have non-stop fun all the time and are LOVING married life!" and "Speaking of fall, I kind of sometimes want to start a non-profit to help moms who go all of fall without blogging pics of their kids in pumpkin patches, because it seriously breaks my heart!"

So why are Mormon women such prolific bloggers? "It probably has something to do with the fact that Mormons are the world's biggest journal-keepers," says my husband, offering a partial explanation. Church elders have long encouraged members to keep regular journals for the dual purposes of historical record-keeping and promoting spiritual insight, and as a result Mormons are champion journalers and scrapbookers. In the 2000s, church elders began officially promoting new media technologies like blogs as a way of spreading the gospel, and the Mormon blogging community soon became so large it earned itself a punny nickname: the Bloggernacle.

For many LDS women, blogging about the domestic arts is a natural fit. As ex-Mormon designer Emily Henderson explains on her blog, The Brass Petal, growing up in large families engenders an attitude of make-do thriftiness -- homemade bread, recycled soda can Christmas ornaments, Salvation Army fashion. With the rise of DIY culture across secular America, all of a sudden those skills have become trendy, even bankable.

"Blogging is something they/we can do that feels productive, can potentially make money for our families and can be done from the home at any time," Henderson writes. For young Mormon women, who face immense cultural pressure to stay home with children rather than pursue a career, blogging about their adventures in homemaking becomes a sort of creative outlet, a way of contributing to the larger world beyond the home.

The bloggers I read may be as happy with their lot as they seem. Or not. While some Mormon women prosper under the cultural norms for wife- and mother-dom, others chafe. Utah is, after all, the state with the highest rate of prescription antidepressant use, a statistic the president of the Utah Psychiatric Association attributes to the pressure among Mormon women to be ideal wives and mothers. The creator of Seriously So Blessed, an anonymous Mormon woman, addresses this pressure in an online archive of Mormon women interviews called the Mormon Women Project: "In any highly homogeneous culture we all feel pressure to be and look and think and act a certain way," she says. "You start to think you need to be absolutely perfect in every area."

Clearly, life for the Mormon wife is not all crafts and cupcakes. Even if it were, I seriously doubt that crafts and cupcakes are all that much fun when you do them all day, every day.
But the basic messages expressed in these blogs -- family is wonderful, life is meant to be enjoyed, celebrate the small things -- are still lovely. And if they help women like me envision a life in which marriage and motherhood could potentially be something other than a miserable, soul-destroying trap, I say, "Right on." I won't be inviting the missionaries inside for hot cocoa now or ever, but I don't plan on stopping my blog habit any time soon.

Emily Matchar is a Chapel Hill, NC-based writer whose work has appeared in Men's Journal, Gourmet, Babble and lots of others.

NEWS - WOULD YOU VOTE FOR SOMEONE JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE LDS/MORMON ?

Would You Vote for Someone Just Because They’re Mormon?

Ashley Evanson - 2 days ago

Buzz about the 2012 presidential election is already in full swing. But with no real Republican front-runner, really, anyone is game. We’ve been hearing Mitt Romney’s name tossed around as a potential for a while now, but two weeks ago we started hearing another familiar name: Jon Huntsman.

While Huntsman doesn’t have the same national profile as Romney, he has gained status as the ambassador to China and might become more of a threat in the upcoming year. Can you imagine—TWO Mormons (gasp) both running for president?

Now, I understand my next thought doesn’t apply to every Mormon, BUT, I know of a lot of members who vote for politicians based on the fact that they, too, are LDS. And honestly, I know that I’ve been unjustifiably biased toward LDS politicians for the sole reason that we share a religion.

But what if Romney and Huntsman go head to head in 2012? Who will the Mormons vote for?! If their only choice was Romney, I bet a fair number of Mormons wouldn’t really give the other candidates a second thought. But throw Huntsman into the picture and we might actually have to do more research on each candidate’s stances. If they both end up running, it will be interesting to see how members react to the situation over the next two years. Do I sense a hint of BYU vs. Utah-style rivalry in the air?

there was a poll provided, im not saying which way i voted, but the numbers speak for themselves i think
 

NEWS - SISTER LDS/MORMON MISSIONARIES GET A NEW WARDROBE

Sister missionaries get a new wardrobe

For years, the dress standard for sisters missionaries has been a consistent guideline and entirely unchanging. In recent months however, the Church has implemented new changes to the approved apparel.

Encouraging brighter colors, patterns and even accessories, the Church hopes to make sister missionaries’ appearance more inviting to investigators.  With completely new photos, the changed apparel guidelines have proliferated as they have been sent out to sisters recently receiving their mission calls, and current missionaries have been notified by their mission presidents.

In addition to the unchanged guidelines of retaining modesty by ensuring clothes are neither too tight or too loose, sheer or sloppy, the new standard is meant to enhance the perpetual tradition of presenting oneself as dignified, well-groomed and clean in appearance.

“The Church provides dress and grooming standards for Elders and Sisters alike, which are current with acceptable styles yet maintain an appearance of dignity, professionalism and modesty,” said Scott Trotter, spokesperson for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In conforming to current acceptable style, the updated guidelines encourage sisters to wear brighter colors and patterns, simple accessories and dub nylons as optional. Skirt length has also been modernized with the rule that they can rise above mid-calf, but are still required to cover the knees when sitting or standing.

Although there are revisions, sisters are still required to maintain their appearance of modesty, wearing conservative outfits that consist of professional suits, skirts, blouses, jackets, sweaters and dresses.

Dana Blackburn, a sister recently called to the Calif., San-Fernando Spanish-speaking mission, said, “It’s been a long time coming. They changed all the things making sister missionaries feel like they’re dressing drab.”
     
Blackburn is among the ranks of newly called sisters who are excited to shop for their missionary wardrobe. She believes that if they take the changes to heart and add bright colors, the new standard will cause sisters to dress in a way that’s more approachable and relatable to investigators.
    
“People who would listen before will still listen, but lots of people who’ve written the [sisters] off thinking, ‘here are two people who want me to join their drab-looking religion,’ will instead think, ‘here are two cute people who want to share some bright message with me,’” Blackburn said.
     
In addition to the sisters’ more welcoming appearance, the revisions will also dispel the common notion to call sisters “drab,” and perhaps cause a deviation from attention on what the sisters are wearing, to what they are saying.

“When my uncle was a mission president, he’d hear concerned women who were worried they’d have to dress like the sister missionaries if they joined the Church,” Blackburn said.
     
Over the next years when sisters receive their calls, they may be excited to discover the updated options for apparel during their 18 months of preaching the gospel—though it’s just one small reason to celebrate the joy of serving.

 this is great news! for years ive seen the sister mishies out in very boring drab clothing. now, they can have some color! wonderful! good to know!

MICHELLE

MORMANITY- LETS GET BIBLICAL: WHAT DOES THE BIBLE HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THE DEFINITION OF "CHRISTIAN"? - By : Jeff Lindsey

i really liked what Jeff Lindsey had to say here about what the bible says is the definition of CHRISTIAN. we, as Mormons are often told were NOT Christian, for whatever various reasons others deem us NOT to be so. Here, he breaks that definition down, via the Bible. the ORIGINAL word. doesnt add ANY LDSism into it, just puts it out there. your free to accept this or deny it. but truth, is..truth. and it cant be changed. 
my personal definition of Christian is: a Follower of Christ, in action, words, and thoughts...
meaning its more than just accepting Him as your personal savior, to say your Christian, also means, to act as He would do...
like the saying goes: What Would Jesus Do? WWJD.

Sunday, January 09, 2011

Let's Get Biblical: What Does the Bible Have to Say about the Definition of "Christian"?

I have long endured critics who say that we are not Christian based on the Bible. No amount of sincere witnessing of one's faith in the Savior of mankind and of one's acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Redeemer, as Son of God, as Creator, and as the promised Messiah will satisfy those who choose never to be satisfied. They will always find an objection, some reason why your Jesus is a different Jesus. But for those with open minds who have wondered if our critics are right, let's take a look at what the Bible actually says about the definition of Christians.

The word "Christian" occurs only 3 times in the Bible. Each occurrence, however, gives us some insight into the debate about who can be called Christian. If you're going to start casting people out from Christianity on the basis of the Bible, you had better start with what the Bible has to say about this term.

Here are the three occurrences, in order: Acts 11:26, Acts 26:28, and 1 Peter 4:16. If you're not willing to accept people's proclamation of belief in Christ as the commonsense and gracious standard for being Christian and instead want a more exclusionary definition rigorously based on the Bible, these are the key verses to understand. Now let's see what they have to teach us, in context.
Acts 11:26, in the Context of Acts 11:15-30

15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.

16 Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.

17 Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?

18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

19 Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.

20 And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the LORD Jesus.

21 And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.

22 Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch.

23 Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.

24 For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.

25 Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:

26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

27 And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.

28 And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.

29 Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea:

30 Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

In verse 26, we learn that the term "Christian" was what others called the disciples, who in the New Testament tended to call themselves "saints" rather than "Christians" per se (e.g., Acts 9:13, Eph. 2:18-20 and many others). The term obviously stuck and spread and we are certainly happy with it, though "saints" still applies in the original biblical sense. But what do we learn about these people in Antioch who were called Christians? The next verse gives us a telling clue: "And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch." OK. If we want to whittle down the definition of "Christian" based on how the Bible uses that term, we can suggest that real biblical Christians will have prophets among them, or rather be willing to receive prophets sent from Church headquarters.

The context of Acts 11 tells us more. It shows a Church suffering persecution, with active apostles and disciples reaching out to diverse geographical regions and doing missionary work. They preached repentance (note "repentance unto life" in verse 18). They had baptism by water and the gift of the Holy Ghost. They had a central organization that sent Church leaders to preach and conduct the work of the Church in remote regions. They exhorted believers to "cleave unto the Lord."

Finally, in light of a prophet warning of famine to come, the Church organized temporal relief efforts to help the saints cope with food shortages.

So far I'm feeling rather comfortable with what the Bible has to say about "Christians." Prophets, gift of the Holy Ghost, baptism, missionary work, organized central ministry with broad outreach via apostles and disciples, and organized Church welfare efforts, and perhaps even something compatible with a food storage program to cope with predicted famine in advance (might be reading too much into the text there). OK, my testimony is still intact.
Acts 26:28, in the Context of Acts 26:22-29
This is Paul's famous encounter with King Agrippa. Here's part of it:

22 Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come:

23 That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.

24 And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad.

25 But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness.

26 For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner.

27 King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.

28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.

29 And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds.

Agrippa, not Paul, the term "Christian," but that's no problem. What was the persuading that Paul was doing? He was teaching the basics: that Christ suffered for us, that he was killed and resurrected (yes, a real, physical Resurrection), that there were witnesses of the real and tangible resurrected Lord who had seen Him, and that He continued to be a light to the world. He wasn't getting into fine metaphysics or details of theology and complex interpretations of scripture, but the basics.

Paul, in his teachings, emphasizes the word of the prophets. Again, "prophets" and "Christians" are being paired in the Bible. We also ask the world, "Believest thou the prophets?" Paul, though, was referring to the writings of past prophets, though he himself as an ordained apostle called by Jesus Christ through revelation was also a modern prophet.

We also learn that outsiders like Agrippa called the Christian religion an expression of madness. Check.

Believing in the basics of Christ as Savior and resurrected Lord, accepting apostles and prophets, and being called crazy: testimony still intact.
1 Peter 4:16, in the Context of 1 Peter 4

1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;

2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

3 For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:

4 Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:

5 Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.

6 For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

9 Use hospitality one to another without grudging.

10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.

16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

Hmm. Gospel preached to the dead, list of sins to avoid and emphasis on the need to obey the Gospel, future accountability to God, and need to live in the Spirit now. I'm still OK with this. My testimony has survived yet another challenge. How's that anti-testimony doing, fellow Christian?

Fortunately, I don't require that others pass through all these hoops to be called Christian. If you sincerely believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, welcome to the club! Of course, there are some very cool things we'd like you to consider adding to your faith to strengthen your covenant relationship with the Lord and your understanding of the majesty of His Atonement, but we can talk about that later.

Posted by Jeff Lindsay: at 2:37 PM