5 current google trends [and the church]

One of my favorite things to do is to check out Google Trends. It’s not only interesting to see what other people are searching, but sometimes this stuff actually gives me ideas on things to write!

The amazing thing about tools like Google Trends (and Twitter’s trending topics) is that there are few ways to get a better understanding about what people want to know.

The reason I think this is important for the church is that we must be skilled in how to talk about these topics from a Biblical Christian worldview.

So here’s the top five searches from Google Trends from earlier today, and some Christian discussion on each of these topics.

1. ovine

O-what? Yeah, me too. There apparently were lots of searches by people just trying to understand what that word means. Well, it means ‘sheep-like’. It’s a word used to describe Dolly, the first cloned mammal. It turns out that the six year-old cloned sheep died of a disease normally only common in sheep twice her age.

It seems like it would be a blow for advocates of cloning. But does that give the church a reason to celebrate? Be careful how you answer this one. While the event may help support the Christian position, we still need to be careful to focus on doing the right thing rather than trying to ‘be right’.

2. trap or die 2 mixtape download

This one makes me feel old. This is a new release by Young Jeezy. It seems that the first one was a bit controversial, making this release pretty highly anticipated. Young Jeezy seems to be very loyal to the streets and the way of life that he’s come from.

While the loyalty is admirable, it saddens me that people feel stuck in that place. I don’t know that I’m saying that the church should try to provide a ‘way out’, but it’s probably more important to think about how to bring life to places where there is the lack of hope.

3. phillies fan tasered video

Okay, the video of this one was actually pretty funny to me… for about a minute. Then I think about what this says about our culture. I guess that the dude even called his dad about this stunt before he did it, and his dad told him that it wouldn’t be a good idea.

Not only did this guy not heed his father’s advice, but he exhibited a ‘me first’ mentality that too many people seem to take these days. His attitude showed complete disregard for anyone other than himself. Sure, there’s the question of excessive force, but does anyone else see the problem with this guys lack of respect for anyone or anything other than his own selfish desires?

4. stephanie miller

I don’t follow her at all, but Stephanie has a liberal news/comedy radio show. I think that she started trending in searches because of a guest appearance by MSNBC’s Contessa Brewer. Brewer expressed frustration over the fact that the person arrested for the Times Square bombing (attempt) is of Pakistani descent.

Interesting… rather than be frustrated by people attempting to blow up heavily populated areas, she’s concerned about the nationality of the criminal that tried to do it. She’s upset because of how people might react towards Pakistanis. Sounds like a little misdirected anger if you ask me.

5. bret michaels press conference

So I’m a child of the 80′s and loved the rock music from that era. And if you’re anything like me, then you surely know all about Bret Michaels from the band Poison. More recently you may have seen him on The Celebrity Apprentice raising money to help find a cure for diabetes (a disease that both he and my son have).

Bret is one crazy (and successful) dude, but he’s been in the hospital recently with a brain hemorrhage or something. I find it hard not to pray for someone with the influence that he has. I pray that God would draw him close, shake him up, and use this experience to draw other people closer to Himself.

final thoughts/questions

What do you think about these trending search topics? How would you address these things in conversation with someone who doesn’t hold the same worldview that you have? What do you think about this exercise of occasionally reviewing search engine trends?

[dillon burroughs] on evangelizing to other faiths

What do you do when you encounter someone of another faith when sharing yours? Many people think they need to know everything there is about the other faith in order to refute it . But rarely does someone change their faith system because someone who knows a lot about it told them all of the reasons that they were wrong.

In this portion of our conversation with Dillon, we discuss a couple of ways that Christians can be effective when evangelizing those from other faith systems:

1. Listen to them and ask questions about what they believe. This approach doesn’t require you to know anything about the other person’s faith when you approach conversation with them. As we discussed in the previous portion of this series (on the value of listening in evangelism), listening first shows the other person that you are interested in them.
2. Share the Bible. Often people of other faiths come to faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior after reading the Bible (particularly the Gospels). It’s always a good idea to have some New Testaments handy to give away when in situations like this.

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Check out the rest of this conversation in the christian evangelism 101 series.

mock trial: carrie prejean v. the world

Alright…  I know that there is a lot being said these days on the topic of gay marriage, especially since Miss California Carrie Prejean has openly shared her personal views on the topic. Just for the record, here’s how it went down…

Perez Hilton: Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit. Why or why not?

Carrie Prejean: Well, I think it’s great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. And you know what, in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that’s how I was raised and that’s how I think it should be—between a man and a woman. Thank you very much.

It is not the argument on gay marriage that I want focus on here. There is enough being said about that already. Besides, as a Christian man who is active in his faith, I’m sure that you can figure out where I stand.

I want to focus on the public response to Prejean’s position. Prejean has been on trial by the world for stating her views. So let’s consider the evidence in this case…

Exhibit A:
The First Amendment of the United States clearly states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Argument: Prejean has the right to express and exercise her religious beliefs, and to say what she would like to say.

Exhibit B:
Prejean’s statement in response to the Hilton question. Translation = “I am glad that we live in a place where people have choices. This is my position. You don’t have to feel the same way that I do.”

Argument:Prejean was asked to share her views, and she did so in a respectful way.

Exhibit C:
Giuliana Rancic, an E! News anchor, Twittered that, “I know i’m a journalist, and i should be objective … but she is an ignorant disgrace and she makes me sick to my stomach.”

Argument: Umm…   WHAT?! This is not even close to being a productive statement in any way! It is nothing but a personal attack on someone because they don’t agree with their views! And there are many others like this…

Closing Argument:
I am amazed at the hypocrisy that Prejean’s opponents display. I wonder what the backlash would have been like if Prejean had responded to Hilton (who is openly homosexual) with a statement similar to Rancic’s. Imagine if Prejean said something like, “Ugh! Your homosexual lifestyle is disgusting! I think that all of you are going to burn in hell!”…

The truth is that Prejean did not respond that way. She responded to the question very respectfully, and in a way that doesn’t disparage anyone.

On the other hand, responses towards her are personal attacks that accuse her of being some aweful person that makes others sick to their stomach.

For discussion:
There this standard in America that says that people should be tolerant of other people’s views. So why is it then that people like Prejean get blasted for having a view? Isn’t that the definition of intolerance?

To me if you expect people to be tolerant of your views, then you should also be tolerant of their views as well. Tolerance does NOT mean that other people should HAVE your views, only that we should respect the fact that we have different ones. What gives?

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Related article: in defense of christian marriage

why we think it's ok to cheat and steal

In my opinion, one of the most interesting discussions related to religious studies is that of morality. I won’t deny the fact that many power-hungry people throughout history have used Christianity and the name of Jesus in the wrong way for selfish gain. However, the message of the Christian Bible is one of love and restoration.

Particularly in the New Testament world where the civil and ritual laws are not specifically renewed from the Old Testament, the moral laws do still stand providing guidance to us for what a Christian life should look like.

In fact, every ‘good’ Christian knows that they shouldn’t do things like lie, cheat, and steal. But many of us (probably all of us) still do it anyway. Why do people, knowing that it is wrong, still do these things? Behavioral economist Dan Ariely actually studied this, and shares his findings here… 

YouTube Video :: Video :: Dan Ariely: Why we think it's OK to cheat and steal (sometimes)

Ariely’s findings here are interesting, but it raises even more questions in my mind. But I first think it is appropriate to examine myself in light of this research. I must ask these questions of myself before I ever point my finger at others accusing them of this type of behavior…

I know that my faith leads me to be honest, but do I give in to the ‘norm’ of my environment, and feel comfortable with my own dishonesty as long as I know others are not being truthful as well? What should the Christian response be to this sort of behavior? Should we justify ourselves based on other people’s behavior, or let the Word of God continue to be our standard?

I certainly feel like as Christians we should be aware of these tendencies that we all have. We should also regularly evaluate ourselves and make sure that we are using the right benchmarks for morality. Thoughts?

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