Korean pop group BTS is one of the most internationally acclaimed bands making music today. They’re one of the main reasons K-pop is popular in the West to begin with, and this year they’ve continued racking up awards and high placement on the charts.
In their work and in the narrative fiction surrounding it, the group is inspired by the spirituality of self-realization, psychology, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Greek mythology and more. In today’s top story, ReligionUnplugged Intern Myrian Garcia takes a deep dive into the texts that influence the group and the stories they tell in the BTS Universe. You don’t want to miss it.
This week, we also feature an update on the first two episodes of the LOTR prequel show “Rings of Power.” Contributor Joseph Holmes reviews the first two episodes and says that, so far, the show lacks the storytelling and emotional depth that made the original series so compelling. Read more here, and read why it’s important that the show contains elements of Christianity.
One final update: last Thursday, culture reporter Jillian Cheney appeared on an episode of ABC’s “The Con” focusing on disgraced televangelist Jim Bakker. She’s written about Bakker’s new TV show and interviewed his former band director. You can watch her episode on Hulu if you have a subscription or free on ABC.com starting Friday.
See you next week! If you like what you read, share this with your family and friends.
(ANALYSIS) K-pop group BTS is having its best year yet. The seven-member Korean boy band topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart, broke 13 new Guinness World Records hitting a total of 23 and visited the White House. The band draws on the spirituality of self-realization, psychology, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Greek mythology and more to create its fictional universe. by Myrian Garcia
(REVIEW) ReligionUnplugged film contributor Joseph Holmes reviews the Sept. 1 premiere of “Rings of Power,” inspired by “The Lord of the Rings.” Religious fans have wondered how badly the Amazon series would depart from Tolkien’s Catholic worldview and original characters, but the biggest issue Holmes sees is that the first two episodes are simply boring.
(ANALYSIS) Celebrity news coverage and religion couldn’t be more polar opposites most of the time. Coverage of actors, models and others in the entertainment industry often resembles a list for the seven deadly sins. In the case of actor Shia LeBeouf, his recent conversion to Catholicism has become part of his redemption story.
Climate scientists increasingly promote “collective efficacy,” which is how people involved in a broader social or communal movement can bring about positive change. Such social movements include churches and faith groups. Churches, like commercial and industrial buildings, waste 30% of the energy consumed according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Four former employees of Midland Christian School in Texas and a current employee who says he was demoted from his assistant principal role filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Midland and three police officers.
(ANALYSIS) Religions and cultures across the globe are rife with dragon lore. In fact, across the vast majority of religions, there is mythic trope some scholars call “Chaoskampf.” This term, used by mythologists, refers to a pervasive motif involving a heroic character who slays a primordial chaos “monster.”
NFTs. Online gaming. Cryptocurrency. Compassion International is exploring these and other innovations as it connects with new supporters and prepares itself for Web 3.0, the Metaverse, and beyond. With fewer Americans donating to charity, the 70-year-old, $1 billion ministry is working to find new ways to engage younger believers.
“Mother Teresa: No Greater Love” will be in nearly 1,000 theaters across the United States for an exclusive two-day only event Oct. 3-4. The documentary is part of Fathom Events’ “Saint Series,” a collection of films that delves into the lives of saints.
On Tuesday, the director of Christian ministry World Vision’s work in Gaza was sentenced to 12 years in prison for allegedly transferring ministry funds to the terrorist organization Hamas. Mohammad el-Halabi, who has already spent six years in prison as his trial waged on, plans to appeal the decision.
(ANALYSIS) A scholar visited Taliban-ruled Afghanistan to document the lives and stories of everyday Afghans. What he found is that the Taliban have less authority on the ground than they project to the media, fostering uncertainty about the government’s stability and longevity.
The U.S. State Department is investigating claims that Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area, a refugee resettlement agency in the Washington, D.C., region, has mistreated Afghan refugees.
Recently Wycliffe USA announced it would be joining with eight other groups to work on a Bible translation effort in Southeast Asia. The project involves seven of the region’s language communities.
A desire to fulfill the Great Commission drove a minister to West Africa’s fertile fields of souls. Three decades ago, the first Church of Christ opened its doors in this town of less than 20,000, a few hours northeast of Ghana’s coastal capital, Accra. Today, Greater Dzodze has expanded to more than 30 congregations with an estimated 5,000 members.
With each new megachurch leader flashed across national news for financial scandals, abuses and promiscuity, it is easy to become skeptical of evangelicalism entirely. But what causes dynamic pastors to abuse their power? And what can churches do to hold them accountable? On a recent episode of the Biblical Mind podcast hosted by Dr. Dru Johnson and the Center for Hebraic Thought, Katelyn Beaty, author of “Celebrities for Jesus: How Personas, Platforms, and Profits Are Hurting the Church” answers these questions. Johnson and Beaty discuss the dangers of American celebrity pastors leading large corporations with unquestioned authority.
A rise in “anti-conversion” laws is causing greater persecution of Indian Christians in states ruled by India’s Bharatiya Janata Party. There have been targeted attacks on pastors and nuns, and churches and Christian schools have been vandalized.
Two Christian women, 18 years and a half-continent apart, faced painfully similar decisions — what to do about the baby. Yet, a generation later, their work with women and children confronting difficult circumstances has brought them to different conclusions about abortion.
After years of persecution culminating in the assassination of its founder, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints migrated from Illinois to Utah in the mid-nineteenth century. Since then, the churchhas helped build the state into a religious and economic stronghold with Salt Lake City as its crown jewel. Now, the crown jewel is in peril.
Indentured laborers from India brought their specific brand of worship under the overarching Hindu and Muslim traditions when they came to Guyana in the 19th century. Now, Guyanese people of Indian descent form a little over 44% of the country’s population. It’s no coincidence the country also has the largest population of Hindus in the Western Hemisphere.
(ANALYSIS) One of the most controversial books in recent literary history, Salman Rushdie’s “The Satanic Verses,” was published three decades ago this month and almost immediately set off angry demonstrations all over the world, some of them violent. The book, “Satanic Verses,” goes to the heart of Muslim religious beliefs when Salman Rushdie, in dream sequences, challenges and sometimes seems to mock some of its most sensitive tenets.
A political storm has erupted after Jammu-Kashmir’s Chief Electoral Officer Hridesh Kumar recently announced that anybody living and working or studying in the contested Jammu-Kashmir region, even temporarily, can vote in the assembly elections, likely next year.
As church attendance numbers shrink nationwide that was made worse by the pandemic, these sister congregations in Nashville see their future under the mantra “Greater Together.”
As the Sept. 2 premiere of “Lord of the Rings” prequel “Rings of Power” grows closer, fans anticipate and fear what the show will bring. For many, the biggest question is how the show will incorporate Christianity — if it will at all. Tolkien’s Catholicism is at the heart of the original series, and many Tolkien scholars argue that God is the central character.
We visited one of the first churches in downtown Honolulu — Kawaiahao Church — that was made from white corral and dedicated in 1842. Nicknamed the “Westminster Abbey of the Pacific,” the church offers services in Hawaiian and English each Sunday. Unfortunately, my trip was from a Monday to Saturday, which meant I wouldn’t be able to visit a service. Everywhere we went in downtown and on the outskirts of Honolulu seemed infused with Houses of Worship and spiritual meaning.
In Friday’s Weekend Plug-In column, Bobby Ross Jr. starts in Nashville, Tennessee. It’s the capital of the country music universe. But it’s also sometimes called “the buckle of the Bible Belt.” Also, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
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On the Ground: An interview with Israel's Ambassador to Kenya
Senior Religion Unplugged Contributor Dr. Robert Carle is in Kenya for this episode, interviewing the Israeli Ambassador to Kenya, Michael Lotem. Lotem–along with several other ambassadors to countries in Africa and Asia– is a part of a broad expansion in foreign affairs by Israel to countries in Africa and Asia. Other recent ambassador appointments include ambassador Eitan Na’eh in Bahrain, Michael Freeman in Nigeria, Dov Segev-Steinberg in Myanmar and Tammy Ben-Haim in Bengaluru. Dr. Carle discusses the new relationships Israel is finding with institutions and communities in Kenya and the unique perspectives on what it means to become a Jewish Kenyan. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or listen directly on our website.
(REVIEW) Disgraced televangelist Jim Bakker has been broadcasting “The Jim Bakker Show” since 2003, nine years after his release from prison. Today, it reflects an empty shell of his former glory, featuring prophetic apocalyptic preaching.
Spray nozzles called bum guns, water pots called lotas in South Asia and bidets have been keeping behinds clean for many years without toilet paper, in line with Islamic and Hindu texts urging purification of the body with water.
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Any news tips for us? Is there a story you think we should be covering? We want to know! Email our managing editor Meagan at meagan@themediaproject.org.
