25 Most Viewed CultureWatch Articles

With a new year upon us it might be worthwhile looking at what you, the reader, have been looking at – a least on my website. Most blogsites have various means to track visitors or visits, and that is true of mine. So I can see which articles are the most popular – by day, week, month, quarter, year, or all time.

Let me offer you the last of those categories. But first a bit of background. I set up this website in April of 2006. So we are talking here about almost 13 years’ worth of writing. To be exact, this is my 4613th article. If the average length of my posts are perhaps 1400 words each, that comes to nearly 6.5 million words.

Well, that has kept me off the streets at least. And some of you are loyal readers, coming back each day to see my latest offerings. Thank you for that. Without you this site would not exist. So let me report on what have been the 25 most viewed articles of all time.

Assuming the counter that determines this is accurate, the most visits were of course to my home page, which I will not count here. But that by far leads the way with 2,285,589 visits. As to the actual articles, let me offer a few words first.

Some seem rather odd to be in the top 25. They would not have been my choice. But I assume that other sites or pages or groups or individuals linked to some of these pieces and directed a lot of traffic to them. Maybe some online college course linked to some of the pieces, telling the students that this was a great example of a brilliant, intelligent and logical article.

Then again, maybe it was linked to as an example of a lousy, stupid and illogical article! Whatever the case, these seem to be my most viewed articles (once again assuming that the means to tabulate all this is accurate). Here then are the 25 top posts for all time:

1. On Leaving Church – 462,706 views
   As I have said before, this is by far my most viewed, most liked, most shared, and most commented on article – ever. It has over 500 comments, and it continues to draw interest from around the world. It really seems to have struck a nerve, speaking as it does about people who still love and follow Jesus but who have stopped going to traditional churches.
   https://billmuehlenberg.com/2014/12/26/on-leaving-church/
2. Difficult Bible Passages: Mark 16:17-18 – 48,057 views
   This is one of those more curious choices. It has to do with one of the disputed endings to Mark’s gospel, and the bit about snakes and poisons, etc. The manuscript evidence can be examined, and so on, but for some reason various folks must be linking to this piece a lot.
   https://billmuehlenberg.com/2012/06/02/difficult-bible-passages-mark-1617-18/
3. Halal Certification: Follow the Money – 41,925 views
   Now this one I can understand. The issue of halal certification in the West is very worrying indeed, and this is a clear case of following the money trail. Many folks obviously share my concern about this.
   https://billmuehlenberg.com/2014/09/02/halal-certification-follow-the-money/
4. Jihad and ‘Backlash’ Baloney – 40,487 views
   Concerns about Islam, jihad and creeping sharia continue here. This piece had to do with yet another jihad attack in Australia, and the usual moronic claims by the media that we must basically say and do nothing about it, lest we offend and upset Muslims living here. Um, no, we are not the ones causing a backlash here – the jihadists are the ones doing this.
   https://billmuehlenberg.com/2014/12/17/jihad-and-backlash-baloney/
5. Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore and Christianity – 35,923 views
   This is perhaps another somewhat inexplicable entry. It was written on the day that the leader passed away, and soon after I was on one of my speaking visits there. I guess it caught the interest of many – at least many Singaporeans. No one doubts what an incredible leader Lee Kuan Yew was. There is somewhat less clarity as to where exactly he stood on Christianity. But the piece looked at Christianity as a whole in the city-state as well.
   https://billmuehlenberg.com/2015/03/23/lee-kuan-yew-singapore-and-christianity/
6. Fake Christians, Fake Marriage – 33,298 views
   Given how often I have written about homosexuality, this is only one of two direct pieces on this topic found in this list. It looks at how sham Christians – in this case, Bono and U2 – have come out supporting the homosexual agenda and homosexual marriage. So the article is as much about a corrupt and compromised church as it is about fake marriage.
   https://billmuehlenberg.com/2015/05/23/fake-christians-fake-marriage/
7. On God’s Immanence and Transcendence – 33,126 views
   Another perhaps odd inclusion, being just a basic theological piece. Those kinds of articles normally do not get all that much interest, but others must be linking to this article for various reasons – be they Christians or those of other religious traditions.
   https://billmuehlenberg.com/2013/08/05/on-gods-immanence-and-transcendence/
8. Sonia Kruger: Crucified for Speaking Some Truth About Islam – 33,123 views
   Another piece on Islam, and this one about an Australian television personality who was blasted for daring to suggest that we might have an Islam problem here in Australia, and for recommending that we ease up on taking in Muslim migrants. While the lamestream media crucified her for this, the great bulk of the Australian population fully supported her.
   https://billmuehlenberg.com/2016/07/18/sonia-kruger-crucified-speaking-truth-islam/
9. Daughters and Their Dads: The Vital Relationship – 33,033 views
   While this piece of course at least indirectly deals with homosexuality, its main focus is to examine all the social science research we have telling us how important fathers are to their daughters, and how girls raised without their biological dads suffer in so many areas.
   https://billmuehlenberg.com/2014/08/27/daughters-and-their-dads-the-vital-relationship/
10. The Case Against Euthanasia – 32,305 views
    This is one of those articles that I assume mainly is run with by high school students who have to write on a controversial topic. So they type in the words as found in my title, and they get my link appearing early on in a net search. While I am glad so many students may be utilising this article, I often wonder how many just pinched whole slabs of it and passed it off as their own writing!
    https://billmuehlenberg.com/2002/02/01/the-case-against-euthanasia/
11. Sin, Forgiveness and Consequences – 29,875 views
    Although biblical and theological in nature, I can see why many might be interested in this topic. As I explain in my intro: “Now to freely forgive is the biblically correct position. But it is an altogether different matter to suggest that once forgiven, a person is free from any consequences of his or her sin.”
    https://billmuehlenberg.com/2007/10/14/sin-forgiveness-and-consequences/
12. Seven Things You Must Know about the Safe Schools Program – 29,442 views
    I fully understand why many would view this piece. The so-called Safe Schools programs are reprehensible – even diabolical. Which is why I have written 47 articles on this important topic thus far. And many more will likely be forthcoming.
    https://billmuehlenberg.com/2016/03/17/seven-things-you-must-know-about-the-safe-schools-program/
13. Difficult Bible Passages: Matthew 19:12 – 27,590 views
    As mentioned, theological pieces are not usually my most viewed articles. But this is the second of three pieces on difficult Bible passages to make this list. It is indirectly at least about homosexuality, since it deals with the somewhat mysterious matter of the words of Jesus about eunuchs. Theological revisionists seek to use this text to justify homosexuality, but they are clearly on shaky ground.
    https://billmuehlenberg.com/2009/10/30/difficult-bible-passages-matthew-1912/
14. The Importance of Mothers – 24,367 views
    As with number 9 above, this piece looks at the social science research – this time on why mothers matter. The truth is, children do best – by every social indicator – when raised in a two-parent home with a mother and a father – preferably cemented by marriage. Kids need mums and kids need dads.
    https://billmuehlenberg.com/2009/05/05/the-importance-of-motherhood/
15. Why All Human Cloning Should be Banned – 23,821 views
    Another hot potato ethical issue and another topic which I assume many high school kids – and others – may have had to write about for a school project. Once again, I am glad this piece is being seen by many, and I have had some folks sending in comments telling me how this piece – and others like it – helped them, and even resulted in some changing their minds on the matter.
    https://billmuehlenberg.com/2006/09/21/why-all-human-cloning-should-be-banned/
16. More Reasons to Keep Euthanasia Illegal – 23,561 views
    Another piece on euthanasia – the second of three on this list. It provides yet more reasons why we should not go down the road of legalising euthanasia. All three articles offer a lot of information, the full references for which can be found in my 2016 book, The Challenge of Euthanasia.
    https://billmuehlenberg.com/2009/07/29/more-reasons-to-keep-euthanasia-illegal/
17. C. S. Lewis on Real Happiness and Real Christianity – 22,300 views
    I am always happy to write about the great C. S. Lewis, and evidently many folks are happy to read about him. He wrote often on these matters, and here I examine what he had to say about all this, and I offer a number of quotes from his writings as well.
    https://billmuehlenberg.com/2014/01/30/c-s-lewis-on-real-happiness-and-real-christianity/
18. Pepsi and Dead Babies – 22,102 views
    This is not a satire piece, even though many still do not want to believe it. But it is nonetheless true that some companies do use aborted babies for many things, be it research or testing of products, etc. In this case: “Scores of prolife groups are calling for a public boycott of food giant, PepsiCo, due to its partnership with Senomyx, a biotech company that uses aborted fetal cells in the research and development of artificial flavor enhancers.”
    https://billmuehlenberg.com/2012/03/06/pepsi-and-dead-babies/
19. Palliative Care Versus Euthanasia – 19,065 views
    Another piece on this issue, looking at why we should be putting our attention and resources into palliative care instead of killing people. Indeed, it is a strange sort of compassion that says we should kill the sufferer instead of seeking to deal with the suffering.
    https://billmuehlenberg.com/2010/09/25/palliative-care-versus-euthanasia/
20. The Lament Psalms – 18,866 views
    OK, theology again, and on the lament psalms of all things. In this age of feel-good, happy-clappy Christianity which downplays anything considered to be negative, it is a bit of a surprise that some interest has been shown in this topic. But at least a third of all psalms are lament psalms, so if we want to be biblical, we need to know something about them. This is one of a number of articles I have penned on them over the years.
    https://billmuehlenberg.com/2012/02/02/the-lament-psalms/
21. Hillsong, Homosexuality and the Shrinking Gospel – 17,402 views
    As with many megachurches, the biblical understanding on vital social issues can often go missing – or get rather distorted unfortunately. I have written several pieces on what has become this international denomination, and how various leaders and pastors have not done very well on the matter of homosexuality and the biblical truth about it.
    https://billmuehlenberg.com/2014/10/18/hillsong-homosexuality-and-gutting-the-gospel/
22. Why Children Need a Mother and a Father – 15,823 views
    And a third piece on what the research tells us about this important matter. With over 50 years of social science data on this, and thousands of research papers, we know quite clearly that children really do need their own biological mother and father.
    https://billmuehlenberg.com/2010/10/18/why-children-need-a-mother-and-a-father/
23. The Frankfurt School and the War on the West – 14,654 views
    If you want to know why we have the culture wars you need to know about Cultural Marxism. And if you want to know about Cultural Marxism you need to know about the Frankfurt School. Here I explain the historical and ideological formation of this group of radical academics and activists, and their plans to subvert the West.
    https://billmuehlenberg.com/2009/05/11/the-frankfurt-school-and-the-war-on-the-west/
24. Islam, Immigration, and the Death of Sweden – 14,086 views
    My last piece on Islam in this list. Sweden is in a real bad way, because of a loss of national and cultural identity, the multi culti cult, naivety about Islam, and basically open-slather policies on immigration. The horror stories that keep coming out of there are really quite shocking. It is time for Sweden – and the West – to wake up, and real fast.
    https://billmuehlenberg.com/2017/12/03/islam-immigration-death-sweden/
25. Difficult Bible Passages: Matthew 22:11-14 – 13,876 views
    My final piece is another one in my series of difficult Bible passages, of which I now have 84 articles so far. This one looks at the words of Jesus in Matthew when he spoke a parable about wedding guests. It sounds quite harsh and unloving. So how are we to understand it? As I conclude, such strong language is often used by Jesus about the fate of the lost. Hell is real, and many are going there. We all must make a sober assessment of our spiritual condition.
    https://billmuehlenberg.com/2013/08/08/difficult-bible-passages-matthew-2211-14/

Well there you have it – my top 25. I write all the time about theology, biblical studies, ethics, culture wars, Islam, homosexuality, the life issues, and so on. And all those topics are featured in this list, which is good to see. So again, thanks for reading. I will keep writing, and maybe in a year or two we will see what the newest top 25 list looks like.

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