Theology

One of the greatest challenges facing the world today – one that kills nearly 5,000 children every day – is the lack of access to clean water. But today on U.N.-designated World Water Day, we'll look at one Oklahoma-based group that is providing a fresh solution that is saving lives and giving hope to hundreds of thousands of people in impoverished communities around the world.

Water4, established in 2008 by Richard and Terri Greenly, has for years been equipping, training, and empowering locals in Central America, Africa and parts of Asia to drill water wells on their own and in surrounding communities. The initiative is aimed at eradicating the global water crisis, which kills a child every 21 seconds, largely due to Diarrheal disease, which is more deadly than Tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and Malaria combined.

Water4's upcoming documentary about the group's work, called "This is Normal," directed by Derek Watson, gives a first-hand account of the families in Africa living with the very real realities of the clean water crisis every day. The film also chronicles Water4 President Richard Greenly's motivation in starting up the group, and how the project has spread around the world. more >>

NEW YORK – The Christian Post had the opportunity to interview Diogo Morgado and Darwin Shaw, the actors behind Jesus and Peter, in the hit "The Bible" miniseries on The History Channel, at the Tuesday evening opening night gala of "The Bible Experience" in New York, a unique exhibit combining props from the miniseries with the world's largest private collection of biblical texts and artifacts.

Morgado, the 33-year-old Portuguese actor, made his first appearance as Jesus in last Sunday night's episode. He has been receiving positive reviews for his portrayal of the most famous figure in history, and spoke with CP about the role at Tuesday's event.  Meanwhile, Shaw, the British stage actor who landed the role of Peter, told CP that he developed a unique brotherhood with Morgado, which he hopes will come alive on screen.

"The Bible Experience" in New York runs from March 20-27 and can be viewed for free at 450 W. 14th St. in Manhattan, while "The Bible" continues for two more episodes on The History Channel before the grand finale on Easter Sunday. more >>

Matthew Vines, a Harvard-educated gay Christian who sparked a great deal of controversy in the church community last year with his in-depth analysis on why the Bible does not condemn homosexuality, has launched a new leadership training conference aimed at teaching Christians how to lead LGBT-friendly churches and communities.

In a video announcing the project, Vines says The Reformation Project will "train, connect and empower gay Christians and their allies to reform church teaching on homosexuality from the ground up."

Vines gained a wide recognition and stirred controversy last year with his hour-long YouTube video, which has gained over half a million views, where he presented a detailed argument on why he believes the Bible does not condemn gay people. more >>

Several news sites have accused televangelist Pat Robertson, host of CBN's "The 700 Club," of pushing a prosperity gospel after he encouraged viewers to join the Club for $20 a month following a story about a Christian family that came out bankruptcy.

Opposing Views and Raw Story both claimed that Robertson was asking "poor families who could not pay their bills" to "send him $20 a month," but the actual CBN video where the televangelist explains his comments does not quite tie in with those alleged statements.

"They were faithful," Robertson concluded following a CBN report on the story of D.L. and Deborah Hobby, a Christian husband and wife who kept on tithing despite going bankrupt. Eventually, their business started to rebound, and two years later they were back on their feet – thanking God for giving them hope that things can get better. more >>

Phillip Pullman, the famous atheist author behind the best-selling His Dark Materials trilogy, has recently said that Jesus Christ is a great speaker that children in school can learn from.

"Jesus was a great storyteller. To invent the story about the Good Samaritan, you hear it once, you never forget it, you tell it to somebody else and it still has the same effect. The man was a genius of storytelling, if nothing else," Pullman said at the Oxford Literary Festival on Sunday, according to The Australian News.

Pullman, who is an honorary associate of the National Secular Society and supporter of the British Humanist Association, insisted that it is "very important" that children be familiar with biblical stories, as well as classic folk tales. more >>

An emeritus professor of the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands is claiming in his newly-released book that a 1,200-year-old Egyptian text depicts Jesus as a shape-shifter and Pontius Pilate as a compassionate person.

The author also claims that the text describes the reason behind Judas' kissing of Jesus, as well as offers a different timeline for the Easter season, stating that Jesus was arrested on a Tuesday rather than a Thursday.

Roelof van den Broek makes these claims in Pseudo-Cyril of Jerusalem on the Life and the Passion of Christ. more >>