The appeal of Christian piety, the world’s smallest Bible + the church grown from living trees

SNIPPETS

New York Times writer T. M. Luhrmann thinks young evangelicals are, perhaps surprisingly she says, part of an “edgy rebellion”.

“’Young people are told that they are standing up for Christ and resisting America’s sexualised culture by claiming virginity as a countercultural, radical stance.’ Their choice to submit is a choice to create a new social order from within.” Read more … 

The world’s smallest Bible fits on the tip of a pen 

“They’re calling it the Nano Bible and reading it would require an electron microscope. The teeny tiny text started as an experiment in miniaturisation, to see how much data can be stored in very, very small spaces.” Check out the Nano Bible here.

The artisan Christian life

Erwin McManus, the lead pastor of Mosaic Church in the US is in Australia next month for the SPARC Conference for Christian creatives. He’ll be back next year as part of Hillsong Conference 2016. He writes on the Hillsong Collective this week that Christians must risk, create and dream.

“When we engage life as a creative act we are most like God- when we choose to create that which is good and beautiful and true.” Read more … 

Do customs and rituals matter?

ABC Open is asking for contributions on whether customs and rituals really matter.

“Did you practise a cultural or religious tradition as a child? Do you still? Should children be taught to practise the traditions of their parents – like fasting for Ramadan, wearing a crucifix, eating a vegan diet or not celebrating birthdays. Or is it, as Richard Dawkins might argue, a form of ‘child abuse’? Whether you’re an atheist or a believer, how did you teach your children your traditions and beliefs? How did you react when your kids started making different choices? Is there an inherent value in continuing religious and cultural traditions? Like non believers who still baptise their children. Or is it the next generation’s role to question and reject?” Submit your opinion here. 

The church that truly breathes, because it’s made from living trees

A New Zealand man has, quite literally, grown a church … from trees. See more here.

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