Please
let us know how the service can be improved. August
31 2004 | Billy
Ray Cyrus speaks out on the dark vs. light warfare in entertainment
Inspiration
from several angles.
August
30 2004 | Clintons promote their 'liberal
Christian' view at Riverside Church
Talk
about preaching to the choir. Riverside Church was built for and endowed by the
Rockefellers,
for a mythical, amorphous transdenominational "liberal Protestant" congregation
of Manhattanites. It can rightly be called the mother church of just about everything
liberal, unorthodox, and post-Christian in American Protestantism. Many
more conservative observers have called the showplace church the seat of the one-world
church as the Rockefellers-endowed United Nations building across town is the
seat of the one-world government. Though that may have been John D's intention,
all such claims are surely premature. At
risk of joining the conspiracy ranks of Mrs. Clinton, I'll not entertain speculations
about the fact that NBC, owner of the website the linked story appears on, is
headquartered in Rockefeller Center. (Cue Twilight Zone Theme.) August
29 2004 | Anti-Muslim
laws greet schoolchildren returning to French schools
The
unitary, antipluralistic vision of France's modernist-humanist cultural ideal
is at root facistic, tending to force a cookie-cutter citizen forced to conform
to state ideals rather than free to pursue persoanl philosophies and ideals. How
ironic that the French, so vocal about "egalitarianism" and so oppressed
by Hitler's Fascism less than 60 years ago, have fallen into it themselves so
quickly. Of course Islamic nations like Saudi Arabia and Iran are even more fascistic,
more unitary, less pluralistic. Maybe that's Chirac's justification of denying
basic human rights. But remember Martin Niemoller's summation:
In
Germany they came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't
a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't
a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I
wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak
up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one
was left to speak up.
In France, first they targeted the Muslims.... (Unless, if you take recent news
accounts, of course, first they targeted the Jews....) But first, Chirac's government
targeted France's Muslims. And
under our second mission, media criticism, why does the Guardian writer call the
Muslim Groups "pressure groups"? Wouldn't just "Muslim groups"
suffice? Couldn't she feed us our manipulated news a little more subtly, so we
can keep cherishing the illusion that our media are impartial? Yeah. Sure. August
28 2004 | Both
parties are wooing the 'values voters,' but by what values?
Points
well made. August
27 2004 | 'Pilgrim
Pope' looking to ease tensions between Orthodoxy and Catholicism
The
insight that John Paul II, because of his Eastern European background, may be
the Pope most interested in restoring communion between Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism
for some time is a point well taken. My amateur Orthodox POV is that at most the
Pope can hope for an opening of talks about intercommunion, but this would not
culminate in the span of at least several generations. Though
there have been many articles on these ecumenical developments, this is the most
thorough report we've seen. August
26 2004 | Billionaire
founder of University of Phoenix declares yet another culture war
Interesting
how often the godless blame religion for the world's wars, when in fact it's often
they who start the wars, on Christians and other religious people.
August
25 2004 | Former
Archbishop of Canterbury supporting conservative U.S. Episcopalians
It's
of interest that this remarkably fair report comes from a gay movement website.
This
would be an excellent time to review your servant's faq
on this issue and the related ones of abortion, pornography and libertine advocacy.
August
24 2004 | Newsweek
cover story calls antiquities trade 'unearthing the Bible'
Though
archaeology has proven the trustworthiness of far more once-suspected references
in the Bible than it has thrown into new dispute, Newseek's take is incorrect,
though it will probably sell more magazines than a more honest approach. It isn't
necessary to "unearth" the Bible, though it is always instructive to dig into
our roots through whatever means are available. Last
week, a widely published Associated
Press report claimed that some archaeologists believe they have unearthed
in Israel a cave "used by John the Baptist" in his ministry. Some of the
"scientists" even crowed: ''John the Baptist, who was just a figure from the Gospels,
now comes to life.'' Such "scholarship" raises red flags to anyone familiar with
the New Testament, or to whom John has never ceased to be "alive," thank you very
much. The Bible indicates clearly that John conducted his very short ministry
at the Jordan River (he and Jesus were simultaneously in their respective mothers'
wombs [Luke 1:26-40], and John was executed by Herod before Jesus was crucified
[Matthew 14:1-13]). There
is no biblical mention of baptisms in a cave. The rational explanation of the
cave and its uncertain artifacts is that it was used by a later congregation of
the church for use as a chapel or baptistry, which of course would commemorate
John, the original Christian baptizer, a saint who is on the icon screens of Orthodox
churches all over the world as the forerunner to and the cousin of Jesus Christ.
August
23 2004 | 'Devout
Christian' claims his co-workers at MIT facility harrassed him
The
charges, if substantiated, are evidence of the humanist and probably atheist dedication
to diversity. Any
Democrat want to call foul?
August
22 2004 | Western
culture, and especially Christianity, owe a lot to the ancient Greeks
No
news here, but lots of information we all more or less know in the background,
take for granted, brought into the foreground and
appropriately brought to mind again. Presumably,
Bob Cuttino is referring to the "first part of the New Testament" chronologically
according to when written, not as it's organized. August
21 2004 | Education
Department investigating UNC for violating Christians' civil rights
By
forcing everyone to believe in "everything" as equally valid and therefore not
allowing anyone to belief in anything in particular, is obviously totalitarianism
and fascistic. So
why would a university in America want to imitate the policies of the long discredited
philosophies of the Stalinists, Nazis, and Black Shirts? Good
question. August
20 2004 | New
book attributes terrorism and other world ills to religious belief
Such
thinking has been in our midst probably forever and has been seen many times in
letters to editors and college newspaper columns. But up to now, only a few atheists
and philosophical ignoramuses have considered it tenable. Now, at least a high-ranking
member of the Clinton Administration also has bought into it and started reitering
it in his syndicated columns,
so it remains to be seen if this is a harbinger of a new dark ages or age of persecution
of people of faith. The
barbarians, someone should remind Mr. Harris, were the heathen hoardes
who sacked the Christian Roman empire...not the other way 'round. And of course
the pre-Christian Roman world was much superior to the later Christian one, he
would seem to be implying, with Robert Reich acting as his amen corner. August
19 2004 | 'Wild
and wacky' Bible 'translation' is called women-, gay- and sinner-friendly
At
least this "radical" liberal approach to Christianity, unlike the so-called
Mainline churches that try to hide their heresies under the bushel they call "scholarship,"
lets us all know where these people are coming from. August
18 2004 | International
project tracks how much religion influences sex beliefs, practices
The
most interesting item to me in this fascinating piece of research is that despite
the expected rankings of France and the United States on the "main" questions,
on some of the questions the French are more conservative, Americans more liberal,
and so on; across-the-board national predictability is lacking. Though
France is probably the world's most self-consciously secular major state in practice
(the Communists in China and elsewhere would rather be so, of course, but aren't
as successful in nurturing secular attitudes), its population is still more "churched"
than many (I think "most") other European countries. The disconnect here seems
to reinforce the evangelical claim (cf. the works of Francis Schaeffer) that Catholicism
fosters a nature/grace dichotomy that encourages people to live divided lives,
a secular "everyday" life and a Catholic Sunday "pietistic" or religious life;
a neatly compartmentalized natural/spiritual dualism. For years I taught that
this is a characteristic of Catholicism but have since seen that it's more of
a practice in the breach than a philosophical stance (of course the church doesn't
want to foster dualism despite the fact that a higher acceptance of a dualistic
way of life seems to be found there than other orthodox Christian communions).
Probably, it's an accommodation to the world, which is always dangerous. August
17 2004 | Research
finds blacks most consistently Christian segment of Americans
At
least one of the questions Barna published on the linked page is downright tricky.
I'm not sure off the top of my head how I would respond to "Satan is not a living
being (strongly disagree)." Are we being asked to affirm that we disagree with
Satan not being a living being? And what if you think he's a spiritual
being; would that be "living"? How is "living" being defined here? Do angelic
beings breathe? C. S. Lewis suggested not. So are they "living," or should be
their essence be otherwise described? I think angels, including their fallen segment
(the devil and his minions) are more ghostlike than animal-like. Otherwise,
I'm surprised that the disjunction between the religious practices of white and
black Americans is as pronounced as the research finds. For decades they have
attended church at approximately the same rate, though even that gap has widened
since the last figures I'd seen. I've long been critical of the entertainment
media (TV sitcoms and dramas especially) generally portraying black Americans
as much more "religious" than whites. Too critical, it now seems. August
16 2004 | Pope
calls on the French to preserve religion's role in modern life
Somewhere in
in this story may be found the root of all the debate in post-enlightenment politics
over "separation of church and state." And
is there evidence here that, even if church attendance in France is not spectacular,
it is still higher than in most of Europe? August
15 2004 | Greek
Orthodox Church reportedly hoping the Olympics will spur revival
As a relatively
recent (10-year) convert to Orthodoxy, it's tempting
to say more than would be prudent. Prudent enough is: Let's hope so. But...this
does shed some possible light on the American Greek Orthodox tendency to be heavily
invested in "ethnic identity." The likely guess is that most parish
councils assume that without a strong identity with their Greek roots, only two
percent of the Greek immigrants might also attend their American GO parish. August
14 2004 | University
of North Carolina forbids politically incorrect Christian fraternity
As the universities
go, so goes the liberal agenda. And as the liberals go, so goes the national agenda,
at least as far as the media/ed establishment is able to force its views on the
rest of the country. Is
this a republic or a democracy? Obviously the UNC has chosen the latter answer. August
13 2004 | Latest Pew Research finding:
the Internet is an integral part of 2004 living
Among the findings, no big
surprises, but: "88 percent say [the Internet] plays a role in their daily
lives; one-third describe it as playing a major role. Nearly two-thirds of online
users say their daily doings would be affected if they could no longer log on,
and more than half say they more frequently participate in popular activities
because they are able to do them online." August
12 2004 | 'Theology
of a few' is the left's latest Christian-bashing false catch phrase
Obviously,
the "theology of a few" as Ron Reagan called it, described only a precious few
in the recent Democratic Convention where he coined his party's new catch phrase.
But outside that Boston arena the theology he alludes to is the theology of the
Bible, of the Orthodox, Catholics, and most Protestant Christians, not to mention
more than a few Jews, so just how are he and his self-appointed press agent Donald
Messer defining "few"?
Certainly the role that "theology" plays in medicine is a debatable topic, and
whose theology is manifestly relevant to that debate. But also relevant are such
nonperipheral questions as "whose money is being appropriated" to carry out
the "theology of the libertine liberals" (which Messer is apparently advocating),
giving free condoms (with a blessing to continue fornicating promiscuously) to
the benighted masses? And by what standard is anyone— government agents,
scientists so-called, tyrants, do-gooders, and other such like—have the right
to use the religious right's tax money to advance a social policy that's basically
genocidal and then have the gall to stand up and tell them to keep quiet about
it?...To imply that they are the one minority that doesn't count or get counted?
Why is it right to point out that smoking is immoral to the extent that it contributes
to global diseases, but that promiscuous sex is not? Who
is saying, "she sinned; ergo she gets no medical help"? Certainly not I and, other
than injecting an unsupported "evident," Messer gives us no evidence
or clues to when it was said by whom. I haven't heard such a postion from any
serious Christian. And certainly it would be unChristian to say it. But on the
other hand, to point out that sexual responsibility is the easiest and most sensible
solution—and even less expensive than Messer's and the libertine party's
beloved condoms—to this global epidemic is the least anyone involved can
and should be doing. Messer
is messing with our heads. His real agenda is finding another nail to pound through
the palms of what he characterizes the "Christian right" and which he sees as
much fewer than any reasonable person would deduce. And no doubt, despite the
fact that the Bush Administration has proposed record spending to
fight AIDS in Africa, his real agenda is to shore up the Presidential aspirations
of John Kerry. Just a hunch. August
11 2004 | Book: post-modernism
has boosted religion in the United States, Europe
I'm not sure
I've ever chosen a book review before as the lead link, and this time it's not
the book (which I haven't read so can't recommend or discount) but the article
about it that's worth reading. I
might quibble over this observation: "atheism, like Marxism, has always been more
popular in Europe than in the US because of the fight against entrenched institutions."
Isn't that putting the horse behind the cart? Isn't it rather that the United
States has fewer entranched institutions, especially church-related ones, than
the European states, and therefore is less bothered by them and their history?
And isn't it also true that the apostasy that spawned the reformation had left
much of Europe disillusioned with the old order? Perhaps McGrath takes up these
points, for which reason I'd like to read this book. August
10 2004 | Actor
Stephen Baldwin attributes new outlook on life to his wife's conversion
Here
is a related article about Baldwin's conversion and the religious stories of other
celebrities. August
9 2004 | Time
mag: publicists now feeding movie-based sermon ideas to ministers
To think that
at my ordination exam a wrong answer to a question about attendance at movies
could disqualify my candidacy. (I did, however, review movies in varied publications
for many years during my former ministry career and became well known for using
movie allusions in my Christian ed programs.) August
8 2004 | Charles
Colson hails TV sleuth 'Monk' as 'example of biblical theme'
It's so seldom
we can tout anything in today's TV world. And yes, it was a slow, slow news day.
August
7 2004 | White
House Faith-Based Initiatives director goes to bat for religious freedom
This article,
despite its highly biased
headline and reporting, gets at what the liberals actually fear in the approval
of government spending on faith-based initiatives; that their agenda of civil
rights for homosexuals and cohabiting heterosexuals may be impeded. August
6 2004 | Other
side: American Christians should get used to living in a pagan nation
A less heartening
survey of some of the crises besetting the United States (the "flip side"
of yesterday's more optimistic view).
August
5 2004 | Despite
all that's bad in America, Christian influence still called formidable
A heartening
survey of whether the legendary Christian presence in America makes a difference.
The widespread professions of faith in God do produce measureable social benefits.
Cf. yesterday's
article on how Britons, Christians (Christians in Britain? It's unclear) lag
behind other world religious groups in ethical behavior. August
4 2004 | Study:
'Lifestyle cheating' found more common in Britons, 'Christians'
"A spokesman
for the Church of England told The Straits Times: 'The results of the surveys
are, sadly, signs of the times." Indeed. In which it's more common to be a Christian
in name than in ethics. August
3 2004 | 'Liberals'
jumping in to 'defend' Heinz Kerry show their true extremism
This week's
Exhibit One on behalf of one of the themes hereabouts: It's on the left that facist
totalitarianism rears its ugly head in our increasingly uncivil society. But
how could it be otherwise if your main claim to distinction as a party is that
you indirectly—even occasionally directly—encourage mothers to kill
their own children in the name of sexual freedom? August
2 2004 | Bombs
blast Iraq churches; | Christians in Iraq have
ancient history My
understanding is that the whole area encompassing modern Syria, Lebanon, Iran
and Iraq was the province of Syria in the Roman and early Christian era. The Syrian
church sent missionaries to China and the teachings of their fathers are still
quoted widely in the Orthodox world. August
1 2004 | China's
government using hardline measures against Christians
Communists—still—will
be Communists. |
