Googling God, the Pope’s msg to sad millennials + the hipster Christian Barbie

Screen Shot 2015-09-25 at 2.02.36 pmSearching for God?
It has been a bad decade for God, at least so far. Despite the rising popularity of Pope Francis, who was elected in 2013, Google searches for churches are 15 percent lower in the first half of this decade than they were during the last half of the previous one. Searches questioning God’s existence are up. Many behaviors that he supposedly abhors have skyrocketed. Porn searches are up 83 percent. For heroin, it’s 32 percent. Read more from this article in the New York Times … 

Living out faith
“Many Australians are uncomfortable talking about religion or God. Sometimes we are surprised when one of our sporting heroes, like Jarryd Hayne, comes straight out and says: ‘‘All the glory goes to God, because without him none of this is possible.’’ Some commentators are quick to criticise. But there are many Australians who are very serious about religious belief. Sometimes this is good, when we see Salvation Army volunteers serving the poor. On the other hand, we see religion driving atrocities by Islamic State terrorists. How can we work out whether religion is a good or a bad thing? How do we balance religious commitments with other values our society holds dear?” Read the full opinion piece in The Newcastle Herald … 

The Pope’s advice to sad millennials in Cuba
“Veterans of the pope beat often talk about how to cover Francis, and there’s one piece of advice they always give: When this pope looks up from his prepared comments and says something along the lines of, “I’m going to speak from the heart,” that’s when you know things are about to get spicy.” Read the full piece from The Atlantic … 

Fuel your faith every Friday with our weekly newsletter

Is that a hipster Barbie or a Christian one?
Screen Shot 2015-09-25 at 2.01.31 pmAn instagram account of a brunette Barbie doll, called “Socality Barbie” has gone viral this week. The Barbie has been nicknamed “Hipster Barbie”, but “Socality” is actually a rather hard-to-define, self-defined “movement” of Christians seeking authentic online community, as this SBS writer points out: “But Socality Barbie is not a garden variety hipster. She is parodying something far more specific and much more niche, than your standard, latte-sipping, pendleton-blanket-owning, inner city cool hunter. Socality (or Hipster) Barbie is a good Christian dolly. She’s parodying a movement created to “connect and create influencers for the message of the Gospel.” Read the SBS comment piece here, and also the Socality movement’s response to the Socality Barbie instagram account, here