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Welcome! At Signs and Wonders we sift through the World Wide Web looking for evidence of emerging religious futures. Our mission is to provide our readers -- religious futurists, ministers, and just plain spiritual people -- with a guided tour of the web, stopping wherever we see the future of faith unfolding before our eyes. We update this site every three days or so, so come back again and join us on our next trip. If you want to comment on anything you read here or discuss religious futures in general, come over to our forum. |
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April 18, 2000 [feature] -- Art and Worship by Cody Clark at 10:21 AM (EST)  From Next Wave magazine, an essay on the relationship between art and worship. A gallery of modern Jesus art. And a photo essay on spiritual body art among young Christians. editor -- More hits on the trend of making religion an experience through the use of arts and culture. [political] -- "Pro-Death" political movement emerging. by Cody Clark at 10:14 AM (EST) Should Humans extend their lifespans beyond the current limits? A coalition of people spanning the tradtional left-right political spectrum are concerned by ethical, theological, and ecological problems brought about by the spectre of the technological conquest of Human Death. "The finitude of human life is a blessing for every individual whether he knows it or not." says one bioethicist. editor -- An interesting emerging issue to track. It will be interesting to see how the Churches weigh in on this issue. [economic] -- Contributions to Churches and Non-Profits are Steadily Declining by Cody Clark at 10:03 AM (EST) From Barna Research, a survey of tithing habits indicates that the median amount of money given to non-profits and churches by the typical adult last year was $300 - a 14% decline from 1998 levels. The decline in the mean total giving dropped from $1377 to $1045 per adult, a 24% decline from 1998. editor -- This supports a trend we're tracking of the steady decline in mainstream churchgoing. The large difference between the median and the mean suggests a core of dedicated donors and a declining population of average donors -- the core faithful will hold on, but it looks like the numbers of marginal and new churchgoers are dwindling. |
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