Top Ten Religious News Stories of 2011

Christianity Today has once again announced its top ten news stories for the past year.  Do you remember any of them?

1 - Rob Bell tries to legitimize universalism, prompting huge backlash.  He later announces leaving Mars Hill Bible Church.
2- States adopt 80 abortion restrictions in their 2011 legislative sessions, an all-time high (the previous record was 24).
3 - Mideast Christians conflicted about the Arab Spring, especially a anti-Christian violence follows Mubarak ouster in Egypt.
4 - John Scott, evangelical statesman, pastor, and builder of the global church, dies at 90.
5 - Beijing's Shouwang Church holds outdoor services for more than six months, enduring mass arrests as it leads China's booming house churches in unprecedented demands for religious freedom.
6 - HarperCollins, which already owns Zondervan, buys Thomas Nelson; it now has about 50 percent of the Christian book market.
7- How best to translate "Son of God" in Bibles for the Muslim world becomes a flashpoint, prompting Wycliffe to clarify standards and missionaries to pledge more civility.
8 - Tim Tebow's prominent display of faith becomes one of the sports world's major talking points.
9 - Largely Christian South Sudan votes for independence; persecution ensues for Christians in the Nuba Moutains and Khartoum.
10 - The PC (USA) votes to allow noncelibate gay pastors, prompting defections from presbyteries.  (Meanwhile, the United Methodists hold the line on same-sex unions amid a planned clergy revolt.)

From: Christianity Today, January 2012 issue, page 9.

I provided a few links for names and subjects you may wish to explore further. 

Happy New Year! to all who drop by here to read.  May the Lord richly bless you!

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