By Greg Gibson

6 Evangelism Courses Reviewed
Six popular evangelism courses compared and contrasted: Alpha, Christianity Explained, Christianity Explored, Coming Alive, Discovering Christianity, and Simply Christianity. And, the winner is…Evangelism Courses Comparison Chart and Evangelism Courses Comparison Guide by Greg Gilbert at 9Marks.

Without the Gospel…
“Without the gospel everything is useless and vain; without the gospel we are not Christians; without the gospel all riches is poverty, all wisdom folly before God; strength is weakness, and all the justice of man is under the condemnation of God. But by the knowledge of the gospel we are…” Calvin on the Gospel by John Calvin.

Recession Inspires Doubts of Prosperity Gospel
“In times of record-high foreclosures and Treasury Department scrambling to shore up loan-refinancing initiatives, the Prosperity Gospel can sound as if it comes from preachers who live under rocks, not in mansions: ‘God wants to give you your own house,’ big-cheese pitchman Joel Osteen announced in 2007′s Your Best Life Now…Yet he artfully disappears for housing-crisis questions like ‘Why, if God wants to reward the faithful with material possessions, are so many believers in foreclosure?’ These high rates in particular have made some Doubting Thomases of Prosperity’s controversial centerpiece: the belief in ‘positive confession,’ or the idea that the faithful can ‘name it and claim it…’ God and the Recession by Slate Magazine.

Pope Seeks Global Government, Economy, and Religion
“Pope Benedict XVI today called for reforming the United Nations and establishing a ‘true world political authority’ with ‘real teeth’ to manage the global economy with God-centered ethics…the pope says such an authority is urgently needed to end the current worldwide financial crisis. It should ‘revive’ damaged economies, reach toward ‘disarmament, food security and peace,’ protect the environment and ‘regulate migration’…The encyclical also echoes Benedict’s many speeches, saying that to reach sound a global economy every responsibility and commitment must be rooted in the values of Christian truth.” (GG: Didn’t we try a Roman Catholic theocracy once before? Do you remember the result? Persecution, imprisonment, and martyrdom to dissenters like Anabaptists and Reformers. Two of the threats that Rome fears most are freedom of worship and speech. Oh, how soon we forget history! P.S. Does the title remind you of Rev. 13 and 17?) Pope Calls for God-Centered Global Economy by USA Today.