Saturday,
September 30 2006 | The
UN assembly clapped politely as Iranian madman prayed for Islam's 'perfect man'...and
the apocalypse
| | Charles
Colson in Town Hall: President "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran [a]t the end of
his September 21 address to the General Assembly... prayed that Allah would send
'the perfect human being promised to all by you.' That 'perfect human being' Ahmadinejad
prayed for was the Mahdi, a Shiite messianic figure. ...in Shiite eschatology,
the Mahdi’s return will be preceded by an apocalypse that leaves much of the world
dead. Since Ahmadinejad isn’t some nutcase in a backwoods cabin but, rather, the
president of an oil-rich nation actively pursuing nuclear weapons, his prayer
should have sent shivers down spines. What we got instead is polite applause and
business-as-usual." | |
Hmmmm. I wonder if there might
be best-sellers in this "perfect man" conception of the Shiites? It seems to dovetail
nicely with the Da Vinci Code and the Left Behind series. Friday,
September 29 2006 | Charges
dismissed against Welsh evangelist arrested for distributing Bible's teachings
on homosexuality
| | Daily
Mail, UK: Stephen Green "was arrested, detained in a cell for four
hours and then charged after handing out leaflets at Cardiff's Mardi Gras earlier
this month entitled 'Same-Sex Love, Same-Sex Sex: What Does The Bible Say?' Mr
Green, who is now considering taking civil action against the police, said: 'I'm
quite pleased the CPS had the good sense to drop this case at an early stage.
The police should never have arrested me in the first place, let alone charged
me.' He added: 'To have the Gospel trampled on in the capital city of Wales is
a big wake-up call to evangelists.'" |
| A
previous report on this sorry development was originally featured in Xnmp on September
10. Thursday,
September 28 2006 | Canadian
legislators say Vatican Council II taught them to vote for gay marriage
| | LifeSite
News via Catholic Exchange: "Three Canadian Members of Parliament who
identify themselves as Catholic have cited what they are calling their 'religious
faith' as the reason they supported the change in law identifying homosexual unions
as 'marriage' in Canada....'It was said that I voted for same-sex marriage in
spite of my faith,' Tony Martin told Maclean’s. 'In fact, that vote flowed out
of my faith.' Bethune writes that Martin cited the 'themes' of the Second Vatican
Council in the 1960’s for inspiration, saying it was 'all about tolerance, openness
to the world and social justice.'" | |
Though I have no truck
with the Catholic doctrine of papal infallibility, I have to say I have more confidence
in the interpretive abilities and authorities of any of the recent popes to discern
Christian doctrine in general and the sense of Vatican II in particular, over
like powers of any politicians in any country I'm acquainted with. I just can't
imagine how or why anyone would vote for anyone who thinks so highly of himself
in an area in which he has no expertise. Vatican II surely
did open a pandora's box for the Catholic church, which even the beloved John
Paul II was unable to close again. Wednesday,
September 27 2006 | American
RC Archbishop sees positive outcomes in controversy over the Pope's Islamic references
| | Catholic
World News: "The controversy stirred by Pope Benedict's speech in Regensburg
has proved "providential," according to the president of the Pontifical Council
for Social Communications, because the net result has reinvigorated dialogue between
Catholics and Muslims. Archbishop John Foley [said]...that the media coverage
had provided opportunities for a fast-paced exchange, making it possible for the
Pope to clear up misinter-pretations of his remarks. In the two weeks since the
Regensburg speech, he observed, Islamic leaders had reacted to the first reports
about the text, the Vatican had issued some explanatory statements, the Pope himself
had twice clarified his meaning, and the Pontiff had met with ambassadors from
Islamic countries to follow up on the discussion. At each step in this process,
the archbishop said, the Holy See had been able to use the means of mass communication
to advance understanding. Archbishop Foley concluded that proper media coverage
can help help people 'acquire a deeper understanding of our neighbors of other
religions.'" | |
There have been several suggestions by columnists
and Papal observers that this kind of dialog is what the Pope had been hoping
to provoke from the beginning. Tuesday,
September 26 2006 | Wannabe
Blair successor touts his Christian roots but assures voters he's no believer
| | AFP
via Yahoo: "Gordon Brown, in a big pitch to become Britain's next prime
minister, played up his reputation for being a dour, hard-working man driven by
his Scottish Presbyterian background....John Rentoul, a political columnist for
the Independent on Sunday, said Brown was careful to omit the word 'kirk', the
Scottish word for church, in addition to distancing himself from religiosity.
'He's trying rather unsubtlly to portray himself as different from Blair in that
he doesn't go on about his faith, in the sense that Blair was more explicitly
a Christian,' Rentoul told AFP. 'He's trying to align himself with this agnostic
majority who have nominally a Christian upbringing but wouldn't necessarily describe
themselves as believers,' he said. 'He's performing a rather clever balancing
act.'" | |
It's none of our business who the British elect,
and I don't want to give the impression conservative Christians in the United
States are interested in somehow influencing politics abroad. But on a day when
there was no "new" news (just headlines furthering already reported
stories like the Pope's dealings with Islam and Mel Gibson's finally letting his
liberal biases burst out), it's worth reading an item like this. Imagine the candor
in a national supportive newspaper reporting "he's trying to align himself
with [the] agnostic majority...[who] wouldn't necessarily describe themselves
as believers." Monday,
September 25 2006 | NBC
censors cutting out God references in 'Veggie Tales' Saturday morning kids' show
| | AP
via CNN.com: "Two weeks ago, NBC began airing 30-minute episodes of 'VeggieTales'
on Saturday mornings. The show was edited to comply with the network's broadcast
standards, said NBC spokeswoman Rebecca Marks. 'Our goal is to reach as broad
an audience as possible with these positive messages while being careful not to
advocate any one religious point of view,' she said. 'VeggieTales' creator Phil
Vischer, who was re-sponsible for readying episodes for network broadcast, said
he didn't know until just weeks before the shows were to begin airing that non-historical
references to God and the Bible would have to be removed. Had he known how much
he would have to change the show—including Bob and Larry's tagline, 'Remember
kids, God made you special and he loves you very much,' that concludes each episode—Vischer
said he would not have signed on for the network deal." |
| "Positive
messages" without reference to God perverts what was created as Christian
to something secular humanistic. That, of course, is the unstated religious bias
of NBC and CBSABCFOXCW et al. Sunday,
September 24 2006 | Columnist
says both sides in midterm elections are making pitches to ‘Values Voters’
| | Adelle
M. Banks, Religion News Sservice via NWANews.com: "As conservative Christian
groups gear up for their 'Values Voters Summit' in the nation’s capital this weekend,
critics on the liberal end of the spectrum are hosting events to say they have
values, too. 'We love the same God, read the same Bible and all aspire to follow
the same Christ,' said the Rev. Robert Franklin, an Emory University professor
and member of the newly formed Red Letter Christians, which is named for the red-colored
words of Jesus in many Bibles. Rather than focusing only on abortion and homosexuality,
voters also care about issues like poverty, racial discrimination and HIV / AIDS,
say supporters of progressive groups like Sojourners / Call to Renewal, Catholics
in Alliance for the Common Good and Faith in Public Life. Tony Perkins, president
of FRC Action, the legislative arm of the Washington-based Family Research Council,
which is co-sponsoring the conservative summit that is expected to draw 1, 400
attendees, said, 'Those are our values, too.'" |
| The first
time I encountered the term "Red Letter Christians" it was used as a term of derision,
which it should be. So to find it accepted as a self-adopted name for a group
of "liberal values voters" seems like a joke. "Is Christ divided?" For "Red
Letter Christians are people who follow only the red passages in the Red Letter
Editions of the New Testament; in other words, only those words reportedly uttered
by Jesus himself. If Christ is not represented by His Apostles and if their words
in the New Testament are not under His agency and regarded as faithful extensions
of His teaching, the church is a fiction and neither "conservative" or "liberal"
Christians are worth defending or holding up as banners of the truth. Saturday,
September 23 2006 | Muslims,
Evangelical Christians will keep Ramaden in different ways
| | AP
via MSNBC: "When Muslims begin the holy month of Ramadan this weekend,
Christians worldwide will be praying along with them. But Muslims may not welcome
the support. In a campaign called the '30 Days Muslim Prayer Focus,' Christians
will be asking God to help Muslims accept Jesus. The project is organized by a
loose association of evangelical groups that include Youth With A Mission, which
works in about 150 countries. In the U.S., the National Association of Evangelicals
is asking the thousands of churches and ministries it represents to participate."
| |
Note the accompanying "Keeping the Faith"
piechart which tracks the growth of Christianity and Islam since 1900. Friday,
September 22 2006 | Court:
Democrats, Sierra Clubbers, but not Christians protected by First Amendment
| | AP
via CNN: "a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
overturned [an earlier court's] ruling in a 2-1 decision. 'Prohibiting Faith Center's
religious worship services from the Antioch meeting room is a permissible exclusion
of a category of speech,' Judge Richard Paez ruled. The Alliance Defense Fund,
which is defending the church group, called the decision "astounding." The group,
he said, would consider appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court or asking the appeals
court to reconsider. 'Religious people...whether they're Jewish, Muslim or Christian
or any other faith under the sun, this is not what the First Amendment was intended
to do, to authorize censorship of speech in public,' said Gary McCaleb, an ADF
attorney. The county's policy allows the public to use free meeting rooms at its
libraries but prohibits 'religious services.' Groups such as the Sierra Club,
Narcotics Anonymous and the East Contra Costa Democratic Club have used the county's
library facilities.'" | |
I would say of course, as I
always do when cases like this come to the fore, the machinations of the Sierra
Clubs, Narcotics Anonymous
chapters, and the Democratic Clubs are not less religious, even if they're
less altruistic or other worldly than the Faith Centers. Note that I don't say
they're less worshipful or cultic, because I don't know that to be the case, at
all. But they all have a view of sin, of redemption, and the purpose of life or
achieving a better life. And for government or its courts to entangle themselves
into approving or disapproving the doctrines and practices of various faith groups
and decide which ones are kosher and which not is a path to destruction. And yes,
we should add, it's fascistic. Thursday,
September 21 2006 | Evangelical
Hispanic leader wonders why 'Anglo' Christians are not kinder to those sharing
their values
| | Tim
Stafford in Christianity Today: Samuel "Rodriguez would far prefer
to have evangelical politicians, rather than [Senator Teddy] Kennedy, line up
behind him for photo-ops. It pains him to seem to threaten retaliation. But he's
only offering a dose of reality. Immigration is a family issue for Hispanics.
That illegal immigrant is, for them, beloved Uncle Carlos, a hard-working family
man and deacon at the church. It's hard to build alli-ances with people who want
to put Uncle Carlos in jail. Rodriguez empha-sizes that he's not defending violations
of the law. He is all for border con-trol and immigration enforce-ment. He feels,
however, that the argument has become anti-immigrant and anti-Hispanic. 'I'm very
disappointed. We need dialogue on why white evangelicals are so threatened by
people who are so fundamentally in accord with their values.'" |
| I said
some time back that with the falling repopulation rate among America's majority
ethnic groups, we'd be better off welcoming people who share our values than importing
populations who do not. This scenario has already become the most troubling crisis
in Western Europe's largest states. Wednesday,
September 20 2006 | Turkish
political leader calls the Pope both a 'Hitler'. . . and a Zionist
| | Mac
Johnson in Human Events: "From London to Lahore, howls and threats
have been directed at the Pope, as well as Christendom in general. But one of
the strangest protests arose from a member of the Turkish ruling party, Salih
Kapusuz, who compared the Pope to Hitler for his remarks. Apparently, he meant
this as an insult, but one never knows for sure quite how to take such a reference
in a part of the world where anti-Semitism is served up like potatoes at every
meal. For example, a government-owned Saudi newspaper reported the arrest of Nazi
war criminal Adolf Eichmann in 1960 under the headline 'Arrest of Eichmann, who
had the honor of killing six million Jews.' Kapusuz’s reference was made even
more ridiculous by the claims in the Iranian state news agency that the Pope’s
remarks show that he is not really a Christian, but is actually a ZIONIST! Yes,
Pope Hitler II, Zionist." | |
The controversy over
the Pope's lecture and the Muslim world's violent reactions has inspired a spate
of better-than-usual columns thinking through some of the big issues of our terror-dominated
era, like this one. Several of such columns have confirmed my statement (based
on memory rather than revised research) yesterday that the Orthodox Emperor Paleologus
made his observations about the Prophet Mohammed in a calm, rational discourse
with an Islamic leader of his time (1391). Tuesday,
September 19 2006 | Delegates
of Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches discuss reunion in Belgrade
| | Serbiana.com:
"Representing the world's 1.1 billion Catholics and more than 250 million
Christian Orthodox, sixty bishops, metropolitans and cardinals, 30 from each side,
convened in the Serbian capital Belgrade for a renewed 'theological' dialogue
while acknowledging that much wider issues are involved. 'East and West have been
estranged from each other since the 11th century,' said Orthodox Metropolitan
John Zizioulas, referring to the historic schism in 1054 when the spiritual leaders
in the Vatican and in Constantinople, now Istanbul, Turkey, severed ties over
the rising influence of the papacy." |
| I
think the Gospel impels
Christians to seek reunion, unity, but I remain skeptical about this approach
(bottom-up seems more biblical, and more practical, than this high-level conclave
approach to impose it from the top down). Monday,
September 18 2006 | Britain's
two leading newspapers at odds over the rightness of Pope's remarks
| | William
Rees-Mogg, London Times: "JOURNALISTS SHOULD NOT criticise
Pope Benedict XVI for his lecture at Regensburg. He has done only what every sub-editor
on the Daily Mail does every day. Confronted with a long and closely written text,
he inserted a lively quote to draw attention to the argument. We all do it. Sometimes
the quote causes trouble, but more often it opens up an argument that is needed.
The question is not whether the quotation from the Byzantine emperor Manuel II
Palaeologus is offensive: it is....There is every reason to discuss it. I am more
afraid of silence than offence." Giles
Frazer, The Guardian: "John Paul II's pontificate was largely
defined by his relationship with a global conflict between west and east. Last
Tuesday evening, in a badly judged speech before a home crowd of Bavarian academics,
Benedict XVI may well have set the parameters of his own period as Pope, pitching
himself into a debate over Islam that has prompted outrage throughout the Muslim
world." | |
Because
of the dual links this time, they are within the excerpts (click on the bold bylines),
rather than the main head. The main Times heading is "The Pope Was
Right," and Rees-Mogg's conclusion "I am more afraid of silence than
offence" is virtually a byword in American conservative philosophy.
The Guardian (under the head "The unmistakable whiff of Christian triumphalism")
usually sounds like it is aligned with the U.S. Democratic Party. See if you don't
see quotes from this Guardian article in the Democratic talking points
this week. Sunday,
September 17 2006 | IRS
investigating liberal Calif. church; CBS News discovers the 'L' word
| | AP
via CBS News: "In a sermon two days before the 2004 election, Regas did
not urge parishioners to support President Bush or challenger John Kerry but was
critical of the Iraq war and Bush's tax cuts, Bacon said in an interview last
November when the investigation was announced. 'He explicitly said, "I am
not telling you how to vote." That is the golden boundary we did not cross,'
he said." | |
I
support the war on terrorism including its front in Iraq and think no serious
Christian could have voted for John Kerry, supporter of abortion and opponent
of justice in public education. I also believe the so-called Bush tax cuts have
revived the American economy and bolstered the government's tax base without creating
crippling new tax burdens on everyday people. Clearly, the former rector George
F. Regas is wrong about most of what I believe in the public justice sector of
life. But
I also believe the IRS is out of control in this case and must be reined in. The
church must be allowed to be the voice of conscience and it goes without saying
that it must also be allowed to be wrong from time to time and even more importantly,
that it's not the job of any government agency to determine when it is right and
when it is wrong. The church, and every "religious" institution in our
Republic, has a responsibility to study and speak out on the moral issues of the
current generation, short of endorsing candidates for specific offices. This is
why they have their tax-exempt status, because they contribute mightily
to the same goals government exists to promote. And they must be allowed to preach
their perception of the truth and of what's best for our society without fear
of government reprisals. Saturday,
September 16 2006 | University
of Virginia cartoonist removes cartoons from web, apologizes for offending
| | AP's
Zinie Chen Sampson via Washington Times: "A University of Virginia
student newspaper yesterday removed from its Web site cartoons featuring Jesus
Christ that prompted a barrage of e-mails to the paper and school from people
who thought the comics were blasphemous. The Charlottesville university and the
Cavalier Daily received about 2,500 messages about the comics, many of
them form-letter e-mails that were overwhelmingly from people outside the school
community. The strips were removed at the request of the artist, university student
Grant Woolard. 'The sole intent of my comic strip is to present situations that
provoke thought and amusement,' Mr. Woolard said in a statement on the newspaper's
Web site (www.cavalierdaily.com). 'As this comic did not achieve that goal, I
have requested that it be taken down from the Cavalier Daily website. I
apologize for the offense that this comic has produced.' The Jesus cartoons ran
in the Cavalier Daily's Aug. 23-24 editions and featured 'Christ on a Cartesian
Coordinate Plane,' with the figure of Jesus crucified on X and Y axes of a mathematical
graph.' Another, 'A Nativity Ob-scene,' showed Joseph and the Virgin Mary talking
about Mary's rash, with her saying, 'I swear, it was immaculately transmitted!'" |
| It's
not often such a story
comes to a happy resolution. The story quotes Catholic League President Bill Donohue,
who had publicaly called for a retraction and an apology for the cartoons, as
saying he was satisfied. "Obviously, I would have liked it to be a little more
complete," he said. "They're young, they're college kids. The message has been
delivered and we don't expect to revisit this again." A University of Virginia
spokesperson said that dealing with the controversy is part of the student editors'
learning experience. But
where is the Washington Post in all this? Not apologizing so far as I can
tell. (See yesterday's entry.) And
what of the day's hottest religion-related story, Muslim outrage over comments
by Pope Benedict? (See the blog.) Friday,
September 15 2006 | Washington
Post calls blasphemous cartoons in student newspaper 'Christian themed'
| | Susan
Kinzie, Washington Post Staff Writer: "Two cartoons that ran in
a University of Virginia student newspaper recently have sparked thousands of
e-mails to the school and the paper with complaints that they are offensive and
blasphemous. Third-year student Grant Woolard drew the comics for the Cavalier
Daily, one of which is called 'Christ on a Cartesian Coordinate Plane,' with
a drawing of the X and Y axes over his figure on the cross. The other, 'A Nativity
Ob-scene,' is of Joseph and the Virgin Mary talking about a bumpy rash she has,
with her saying, 'I swear, it was immaculately transmitted!'" |
| Click
the linked heading above to see the headline used by the Post: UNIVERSITY
OF VIRGINIA
Christian-Themed Cartoons Draw Ire
Angry
E-Mails and Calls Flood Student Newspaper, School No
bias here, eh? Suggesting that the Mother of our God had a sexually transmitted
disease is "Chrtistian-themed"?
Thursday,
September 14 2006 | Rosie
O’Donnell: ‘Radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam’
| | Scott
Whitlock on NewsBusters: "'The View,' a program [on ABC television] that
is supposed to represent the perspectives of women, is now almost completely in
the control of Move-On-type liberals. Elisabeth Hasselbeck, the show’s token Republican,
meekly submitted to the liberal onslaught....O’Donnell saved her harshest comments
for the war on terror. After Hasselbeck had the temerity to mention the threat
of extreme Islam, Rosie responded with her slap at Christianity: O’Donnell: 'And
just one second, radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam
in a country like America.' This proved too much for even [Joy] Behar. She replied,
in a somewhat bewildered manner...'But, but Christians are not threatening to
kill us. There’s that difference. This group is threatening to kill us.' Hasselbeck
also appeared surprised by O’Donnell’s comment. She maintained, 'We are not bombing
ourselves here in the country.' The comedienne had a clever retort...'No, but
we are bombing innocent people in other countries. True or false?'" |
| Though
it's hard to imagine any conservative requesting tickets for a taping of "The
View," it's still scary that the audience went into wild applause at O'Donnell's
innane and obscene illogic. No, "we" are not bombing any innocent civilians (intentionally)
in Afghanistan or Iraq, as Islamofascists do constantly in Israel and have done
in Spain, England, New York, Washington, and many other locations. Not only did
our government give days of warnings to Baghdad before beginning the bombing of
targets selected for their connection with Saddam Hussein's military and headquarters,
we did it with standard military hardware, not by cleverly disguised civilian
automobiles, jet airliners, bags and luggage aimed expressly at civilians. Wednesday,
September 13 2006 | Despite
conventional wisdom. new studies say that God is winning in America's culture
war
| | Deann
Alford in Christianity Today: "Conventional wisdom holds that
America's religious landscape has grown more secular over time. But Baylor [University]
sociologists are citing survey findings that support their long-held hunch that
decades of other surveys have painted a picture of the landscape that's imprecise
at best. According to a statement from the survey's scholars: 'Past survey research
has tended to consistently depict Americans as a highly religious people, while
some of these same surveys have shown that the percentage of Americans indicating
no particular religious affiliation has doubled over the last two decades.'" |
| There's
a lifelong recognition in my consciousness of a paradox. On one hand, the generation
of World War II adults (when I was from pre-school through elementary school age)
was widely perceived as godless. Very few men I knew, either in my extended family
or in the community, were even nominally what would be called "religious." Church
was by and large a women's and children's affair. Yet while the Playboy-style
soft pornography born in that timeframe has morphed into the hardcore glut of
dehumanizing smut filling the Internet today, while the "Wonderful Life," "Father
Knows Best" style of movie and television programming has morphed into "Kill Bill"
and "Wife Swap," still the church has seemed to become a more real-life entity
with lots more masculine leadership, whole families, and willingness to confront
the culture it has more often reflected than enlightened. Is
a puzzlement. Tuesday,
September 12 2006 | Gasp!
Producer of ABC-TV miniseries on 9/11 outed as an evangelical Christian!
| | TPM
Muckraker: "The director of ABC's controversial 'Path to 9/11' docudrama
has ties to an evangelical Christian group whose goals include 'transform[ing]
Hollywood from the inside out,' according to research by readers of prominent
blogs. 'Path' director David L. Cunningham is also involved in 'The Film Institute,'
an offshoot of the Hawaii-based global evangelical group, Youth With a Mission." |
| Time
to crank up the ole Hollywood blacklisting machine? But this time it's right-leaning
members of the industry—especially Christians; especially conservative Christians—who'll
be barred from seeing the light of theatrical or broadcast release of their creative
endeavors if blogs like this and Digby, DailyKos, and Democratic Underground have
their way. Monday,
September 11 2006 | Eulogy
for priest who died while ministering to victims of 9/11 attacks indicative of
trend
| | Terry
Mattingly, Scripps Howard religion writer: "'While he was ministering
to dying firemen, administering the Sacrament of the Sick and Last Rites, Mychal
Judge died,' said Father Michael Duffy, at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church
in New York City. '...Look how that man died. He was right where the action was,
where he always wanted to be. He was praying, because in the ritual for anointing
we're always saying, "Jesus come," "Jesus forgive," "Jesus
save." He was talking to God and he was helping someone. Can you honestly
think of a better way to die? I think it was beautiful.'" |
| Mattingly
recalls the eulogy for Fr. Mychal Judge as an example of how eulogies in general
are changing. But on this anniversary of our great national tragedy, it's worth
pondering for its historical qualities. Sunday,
September 10 2006 | British
police accused of persecuting Christian critics of gay lifestyle and agenda
| | Gudrun
Shultz via Catholic Exchange: "South Wales Police admitted Mr. Green
was arrested because [his] pamphlets contained Bible quotes condemning homosexual
activity....the police confirmed the Christian had not behaved in a violent or
aggressive manner, according to the Daily Mail, but said Mr. Green was
arrested by the South Wales Minorities Support Unit because 'the leaflet contained
Biblical quotes about homosexuality.' 'I am astonished that South Wales Police
have a special unit dedicated to silencing those who disagree with homosexuality,'
Mr. Green told the Daily Mail. He questioned the close connections between
the police and homo-sexual groups, saying, 'Maybe they work a bit too closely
when an evan-gelist can be victimized simply because he is giving out leaflets
quoting verses from the same Bible police officers swear on in court....British
police have led a series of initiatives in the past few months against those who
have spoken out in opposition to homosexual activity, the Daily Mail reported,
including warnings, home visits and investigations. Sir Iqbal Sacranie was investigated
after an interview in which he said homosex-uality was harmful. Author Lynette
Burrows received a warning after saying homosexuals did not make ideal adoptive
parents on BBC Radio. A Christian couple received a police warning, in a home
visit by officers, after they complained about their local council’s homosexual
rights policies." | |
The
United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) has of course
no First Amendment comparable to that of the United States Constitution, though
it has a much longer tradition of tolerance of diverse opinions, and of religion,
than of the gay agenda and civil rights based on sexual preference or identification. Saturday,
September 9 2006 | Pope
Benedict's message: the faithful must know Jesus as a friend
| | By
Carol Glatz Catholic News Service: "Even though Jesus had told the apostles,
'Whoever has seen me has seen the Father,' Philip still asked Jesus to show them
God the Father so as to know and see him, the pope said. Jesus assured Philip
that 'I am in the Father and the Father is in me,' adding his surprise that 'you
still do not know me, Philip?' Pope Benedict said. Jesus, in fact, invited all
the apostles not just to listen to him, but to be with him, to take part in his
life and become his friends so that they would know God, said the pope. The pope
said, 'The important thing is to learn Christ, not only and not just by listening
to his teachings, but even more so by knowing him in person, that is, his humanity
and divinity, his mystery, his beauty.' This friendship with Jesus and truly getting
to know him is like any real friendship in that 'it necessitates closeness, it
even exists in part' on being close to each other, the pope said." |
| I'm
sure many wondered if, because he was known as a theological "hard-liner,"
the former Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) would lack the dedication
to personal knowledge of and fellowship with God that made Pope John Paul II was
famous for. This homily should sit will with evangelicals, and Eastern Orthodox,
as well as the many Catholics who were much inspired by John Paul. At
the same time, Benedict XVI has been reassuring conservatives who've wondered
if he would become more liberal once in the highest office in his church. This
headline seems to allay such fears: Gay
marriage is folly, declares Pope. Friday,
September 8 2006 | LA
Times essay explores Calvary Chapel fundamentalist / evangelical parting
of ways
| | By
Christopher Goffard: "There was no shattering epiphany, no Saul-on-the-road-to-Damascus
moment. It was a slow drift from his father's boom-ing certainties to a universe
of questions with murky answers. About the time he opened a church in Dana Point
in 1975, [Chuck] Smith Jr. began reading widely, making friends with Christians
of different backgrounds. He began to consider that when Jesus spoke of the kingdom
of heaven, he was referring to the rewards of a selfless life, here and now —
that the Gospels' core message was real-world compassion, not preparation for
the afterlife. For years, Smith Jr. said, he had preached about hell uncom-fortably,
half-apologetically, because he couldn't understand why a loving God would consign
his children to eternal flames. It felt like blackmail for a pastor to threaten
people with hell-scapes from the Middle Ages to induce piety. Now, he came to
believe that the biblical images used to depict hell's torments — such as the
'lake of fire' and the 'worm that does not die' — were intended to evoke a feeling
rather than a literal place." | |
I
can seldom link to Los Angeles Times articles because their access usually
requires registration (which I believe should be resisted on "moral" grounds)
but this linked worked to get in when I received it; I hope it still does when
you try. If it doesn't, since the mail here is usually small to none, let me know
and I'll send you the text via email (jrk @ nantyglo.com; this offer will expire
on September 15, 2006). Anyone
involved in the 1970s "Jesus People" revival (as I was, at UC Santa
Barbara and Stanford) knows Calvary Chapel of Costa mesa as probably that movement's
defining congregation. The story was that Chuck Smith was pastor of a tiny Baptist
Church near the beach, and when the revival began, he'd walk the beach talking
to young people, so many of whom responded in faith that the church soon outgrew
its location and became one of the first magachurches of the era. And other miraculous
happenings were so frequent that the Baptist affiliation was left for a new (Calvary
Chapel) Pentecostal brand. So
what's the significance of this in-depth article? Please look on the blog. Thursday,
September 7 2006 | 'Extreme
convert' Stephen Baldwin plans 'hardcore' faith-based reality show on VH1
| | Interview
by Kimberly Maul in The Book Standard: "TBS: What will your new
VH1 reality show be about? SB: I met with the president of VH1 recently
to pitch him another reality concept for a show and I was there with my manager
and my producing partner and this gentleman started asking me questions about
my walk of faith and what I’m doing. I’m in there for one thing and I came out
of there—this is six months ago— entertaining the notion of doing Stephen Baldwin
as a reality show about launching my own ministry for next year. It’s a done deal,
the show’s going forward. But we don’t know what the name of it is going to be
or anything like that. So, right now it’s kind of in development. It’s exciting
too to do a kick butt rock-and-roll ministry concept for VH1." |
| Celebrity
conversions are always a cause for fascination. This interview gets into some
aspects of what if might be like to be a famous person known for faith. Wednesday,
September 6 2006 | California
LBGT no longer interested in 'live and let live'
| | Jennifer
Roback Morse in Townhall.com: "The gay caucus of the California State
Assembly is not interested in live and let live. This is an aggressive, intrusive
movement that brooks no disagreement. Consider the following recent developments.
The CA State Assembly passed legislation banning discrimination in state operated
or funded programs on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender
identity. The bill, SB 1441, makes no provision for religious exceptions. Religious
universities and schools will be required to take no notice of same sex conduct,
or risk losing any student financial assistance from the state. This legislation
was sponsored by Democratic state senator, Sheila Kuehl. This bill curtails the
ability of Christian schools to maintain their religious identity. Even now, a
California Lutheran high school is being sued because it suspended two female
students who were having a sexual relationship, in violation of the school’s code
of conduct." | |
Sexual
anarchy, rebellion (against traditional religious, cultural, and humanist mores)
is the vanguard of today's liberalism (which calls itself "progressive"), because
its leaders know that in sexuality human beings are most susceptible to debilitating
attacks. Those missteps, uniquely, can quickly destroy a life in a variety of
ways, especially in those who don't know or beliee in repentance. Thus LBGT is
the advance team for the liberal crusade for world domination; it's the only part
of sexual progressivism that has its own political platform and even a "persecuted
minority" it can exploit to fend off opposition from wouldbe tolerant people. Tuesday,
September 5 2006 | Column:
After accepting evangelical students, Georgetown University demotes them to second
class
| | Scripps
Howard religion writer Terry Mattingly: "The banned groups may be able
to maintain some presence on the world-famous Jesuit campus if they can find evangelical
or conservative Protestant professors to serve as official sponsors, said Kevin
Offner of the InterVarsity staff. The problem is that they are having trouble
finding faculty members who will stand with them. 'What we want to know is if
different religious groups are going to be treated alike,' said Offner. 'To what
degree do Catholic, Jewish and Muslim students on campus have access to national
organizations that support them in their faith, while there's this funny stuff
going on with the Protestants?'" | |
The
irony is that this ban of groups like InterVarsity Christian Fellowship has been
enacted by the liberal Protestant establishment at Georgetown, even though the
University is Jesuit Catholic. Monday,
September 4 2006 | Christian
population in Middle East has fallen to two percent, and still declining
| | Jeremy
Reynalds, ASSIST News Service: "George is just one of the nearly 100,000
Assyrian Christians who are the original people of Iraq, Joseph said, the people
of Nineveh and one of the last major Christian communi-ties in the Middle East.
The Christian population of the Middle East was approximately 20 percent in the
1950's, Joseph said, but now it has fallen to less than 2 percent. Joseph said
that ...for the Iraqi people, 'the elec-tions were neither free nor fair. The
President of Iraq said before the election that a large number of false ballots
– up to three million – have been shipped across the border from Iran to alter
the voting. Further, the U.N. designed Electoral System was carefully designed
to give small, radical parties – i.e. Moslem-dominated parties, the benefit.'
Joseph said that meeting with the U.N. Director for Human Rights in Baghdad, he
and others were given a clear message. He claimed the individual said, 'My job
is to protect the rights of the Moslems. Christians should leave.'" |
| “What
is happening today in Iraq is not a failure of democracy," Ken Joseph of
www.assyrianchristians.com said, "but a failure of the free world to stand
up to totalitarian forces that are on the march with the likes of Hamas, Hezbollah,
and others.” However, Joseph said that he believes there is still hope. “While
the southern part of Iraq has for all practical purposes been annexed by Iran,
the northern part of Iraq is going ‘gangbusters!’” Sunday,
September 3 2006 | Article
surveys members of clergy who change religions or denominations
| | Laura
Lynn Brown in NWAnews.com: "It’s not unusual these days for believers
to migrate away from the faith they grew up with. But it might be more surprising
when it happens to leaders of the flock. Three Arkansas clergy talked recently
about their experiences moving from the faith of their upbringing to one that
finally felt like home to them." | |
On
a slow news day I must confess I was led to choose this item for its story of
the Pentecostal who became Orthodox. Though I was never Pentecostal (but rather
a Reformed Protestant ordained a Presbyterian), Mr. Atchinson's journey was otherwise
very similar to my own and that of others I've interviewed since becoming Orthodox. In
a time when evangelicalism seems to be alive and liberal Christianity is withering
on the vine, so to speak, it's interesting that two of the clergy in this piece
went from more evangelical to more liberal religious homes. Though I'm not yet
ready to see a trend in this (and I wonder if it's related to the religious conservatism
of Arkansas, a form of rebellion or breaking out), it's a phenomenon worth watching.
There are facets of the post-modern generation that I can't comprehend. Even evangelical
post-moderns seem much less sure of their Christian beliefs as their parent and
previous generations. Saturday,
September 2 2006 | How
Christians overcame the Greco-Roman culture of death
| | Dr
Peter Hung Manh Tran in News Weekly, Aus.: "In contrast to the dominant
Greek traditions sketched above, Pythagoreans and the early Christians opposed
physician-assisted euthanasia in an almost Hebraic sense. The Judeo-Christian
concepts of transcendent monotheism and 'image of God' led to a new definition
of the value of life. Because humans were seen as having been created by God in
His image, all human life is sacred; taking life is an usurpation of divine power
and an insult against God. Since Christians regarded God as the sovereign creator
and sustainer of human life, His commandments were to be obeyed. From its beginnings,
Christianity opposed self-induced death out of suffering or despair. Contrary
to the myth that many people committed suicide to escape from life and be with
God, or to avoid sin, early Christians ardently opposed self-induced death. These
themes informed early Christian critiques of Graeco-Roman society (1 John 2:15–4:21)." |
| This
issue which the Australian bioethicist Tran finds the most vital social-political
question down under in his portion of the globe is no less vital in the Northern
and Western hemispheres. Friday,
September 1 2006 | Church
of England chaplain compares biblical figures, even Jesus, with Islamofascist
terorists
| | Ekklesia:
"Writing in the Blackburn diocesan newsletter, he said a number of Christian
figures had committed violent acts. 'Behind modern fanatical Islamic terrorism
lie many spiritual and religious passions and narratives also found in the Christian
tradition,' he wrote. 'Blind Samson, his hairy growth returning, commits an act
of suicidal terrorism as he destroys the pillars of the pagan temple. The people
of Israel sing their song of triumph – which we echo in the Easter vigil – as
the bodies of the Egyptians float in the Red Sea.'...The chaplain added: 'We cannot
simply ignore the violent passion of Jesus cleansing the temple with whips. We
are never told of the collateral damage possibly resulting from his actions.'" |
| The
popular email attachment that says "not one Christian fundamentalist has committed
suicide to blow up noncombatants," may not be as right as we tend to think, at
least in this "canon's" way of thinking. It is true, to give him his due, that
terrorism is not as simple as rhetoric often presents it. Though I find claims
that George Bush is the world's leading terrorist outrageous, it must be said
that terror has been part of the strategies of most people throughout history
trying to throw off oppressors or their perceived enemies. And Irish Republican
terrorism against England has not always been one-sided, it must also be said. That
doesn't make terrorism right; it's not. And it doesn't mean that each case does
not have to be considered in its own context. It must. |
