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Be Alert! Commercialization of the Word and Rising Religio-Fascism Part 2
Published by Moriel Ministries
January 27, 2008
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Shalom in Christ Jesus,
1 Corinthians 3:7-15
So then neither the one who plants nor the one who
waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.
Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but
each will receive his own reward according to his own
labor.
For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field,
God's building. According to the grace of God which
was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a
foundation, and another is building on it. But each
man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man
can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid,
which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the
foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood,
hay, straw,
each man's work will become evident; for the day will
show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the
fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any
man's work which he has built on it remains, he will
receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he
will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as
through fire.
Jeremiah 23:1
"Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and
scattering the sheep of My pasture!" declares the
LORD.
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1) The Evolved "Modern Pagan Man"
Paleontologists speak of Neanderthal Man,
Australopithecus and many
other pre-human forms that were supposedly
forbearers to modern-day
homo sapiens. All of this supposedly happened over
many millions of years
ago. Of course, removed from literal biblical
interpretation, we know this
whole field of study remains highly imaginative and
speculative.
MIDNIGHT CALL - Money: Ends & Trends - By
Wilfred J. Hahn - January 2005
There is already a long
legacy of the Bible having
trumped scientific skepticism
on many issues, whether
historical, scientific or otherwise.
All of the Bible has proven true,
except that which remains unfulfilled
--- or remains to be scientifically
discovered or proven. As
everything that has already been
fulfilled or discovered has proven
to be 100 percent accurate, it
takes only a small leap of faith to
acknowledge that the rest of the
Bible that science still argues with
will also prove accurate. That truism
applies to science, therefore
also to the theory of evolution.
With respect to physical evolution,
the Bible doesn't mention
any different species of humans,
sub-humans or any developmental
biological stages of mankind.
As it happens, there simply isn't
any hard proof for the theory of
evolution. It remains a religion.
Nor is there any difference between
ancient humanity and that
of today. Man's basic characteristics,
both physical and temperamental,
have not changed one
iota.
With respect to humans, the
Bible only makes one major racial
distinction - that between Jew
and Gentile. Even more importantly,
the Bible makes one other
distinction between humans -
between the pagan and the righteous.
It's here that we see the real
evidence for evolution, although
a spiritual version - paganism.
That's our launch point for our
study. Virtually all anthropologists
agree that today the earth's
sphere is populated by the so-
called modern man. In contrast,
Bible prophecy speaks of the
"Modern Pagan Man" of the end-
times. Today, he is the fittest creature
inhabiting and dominating
the earth's new economic sphere.
Finding Ancient Pagan Man
To discover the "Modern Pagan
Man," let's first examine the character
and behavior of the ancient
pagan. The Bible offers a detailed
description. However, to get a
balanced and accurate picture, we
need to do a brief word study.
There is no specific word in the
Bible for "pagan." In fact, we cannot
even find the word "pagan" in
some Bible translations (for example,
the King James Version,
International Standard Version,
American Standard Version and
others). Why? Because it is a
word that originated later in New
Testament times.
Today, we commonly take the
word "pagan" to mean a heathen
person who worships other gods
or idols and is outside the Christian
or Jewish faith. In biblical
times, a heathen was also a Gentile
(though there were believers
in God who were not Hebrew).
Before Christ died for the sins of
all and extended salvation to the
Gentiles, the Gentiles and heathen
were essentially the same. At
the beginning of the New Testament
era, most Jews still considered
their newfound salvation
through the Messiah as a progressive
fulfillment of the existing
Jewish faith (the religious world
had not yet definably split into
Jews and so-called Christians). It
took a little while before it was
broadly recognized that there
were Christian Gentiles who were
neither heathen nor Jewish.
Therefore, at the start of the
Church Age, only one Greek
word was still used to describe
both Gentile and heathen: ethnos.
This word appears 167 times in
the New Testament. The point of
this is that in our study of the
"evolutionary" pagan, we will
only look to those verses of the
New Testament where the word
ethnos is clearly in the context of
the newer sense of the word -
"heathen."
A study of the Bible reveals
many common characteristics of
the "pagan." We will only review
five of these. All are directly
linked to the evolution of our materialistic
"Modern Pagan Man."
1. Self Interest
"If you love those who love
you, what reward will you get?
Are not even the tax collectors
doing that? And if you greet only
your brothers, what are you doing
more than others? Do not even
pagans do that?" (Matthew 5:4447)
In these verses, Jesus makes
the point that the "pagan" person
operates purely out of self interest.
Pagans' actions are motivated
by their own wants and pleasures,
the personal pursuit of happiness
and comforts. They only love
those who love them and revile
those who likewise repudiate
them.
Today, some 2,000 years later,
this pagan characteristic of self
interest has greatly evolved and is
now held up as the very force
leading the world to betterment,
continued progress and prosperity.
In fact, supposedly advanced
economic theories hold this impulse
of "self interest" in high esteem,
representing a rapid
transition having taken place in
basically less than a few hundred
years. It is a foundational tenet of
market-based capitalism, the term
used for today's type of commerce
(which, by the way, actually has
little to do with capitalism in its
original sense). The main result is
that the entire world has become
deeply commercialized. Increasingly
today, commerce is the
prime reason for existence and
the very definition of life.
What does the Bible say about
the "self interests" of "Modern
Pagan Man?" It provides a clear
message for societies who choose
to define their existence in
purely pagan terms --- in other
words, societies that have given
themselves over to the rule of
economics and Mammon. Tyre
and Babylon are poignant examples.
Neo-Babylon (in the era of
Nebuchadnezzar) was all about
business. According to studies,
Babylonia was essentially a commercial
civilization. Virtually all
of the documents that have survived
from this culture are business
documents. Another prime
example is the history of Tyre, the
extreme commercialization of
which the Bible itself provides
clear documentation. (See January
and February 2004 issues of
Midnight Call for a broader review.)
The city of Jericho may be another
and even earlier example.
Probably the most ancient habitation
in the world and one of the
most prosperous, it was the city
selected by God to be the first
conquered by the Hebrews as
they entered Canaan. In fact, this
city was the only one miraculously
destroyed and the only
Canaan conquest that was completely
annihilated - women,
children, livestock and all. God
wanted it completely expunged.
Why? Could it have reeked of
generations of idolatrous commercialism?
God didn't want any
of Jericho's culture to rub off on
Israel. Joshua even prophesied
that whoever would resurrect this
city of Jericho would suffer the
loss of his first and second born
(Joshua 7:26). Exactly as prophesied,
this occurred 600 years later
during the reign of Omri, when
Hiel of Bethel did so (1 Kings
16:34).
2. Worry About Material Things
Pagans are totally consumed
with material things, according to
Scripture. "So do not worry, saying
'What shall we drink?' or
'What shall we wear?' For the pagans
run after all these things,
and your heavenly Father knows
that you need them" (Matthew
6:31-32 and Luke 12:29-30). By
this definition, then, it would be
pagan to only preoccupy oneself
in the pursuit of possessions and
lifestyle. Scripture refers here to
only two items - food and clothing.
In the society of that day,
both defined lifestyle as well as
the necessities of life. This verse
therefore does not refer to mere
subsistence. Clothing and food
both have necessary functions. To
attribute any other value to them
is idolatrous and pagan.
Of course, in the modern age,
lifestyle is defined by many more
things than just food and clothes.
To be sure, there are premium
brands in clothing, top designer
names, the latest accoutrements.
The same is also still true for
some foods. The finest wines are
sought; the food brands that are
the most effectively advertised are
the ones people may strive to buy.
Mostly today, lifestyles are defined
by other baubles such as expensive
Swiss watches, luxury cars, the
latest gadgets, spacious,
palatial homes and much else. To
have them all is the epitome of
the successful life, the trappings
of elite existence. That's the implicit
goal and value of a society
of pagans. "Running after these
things" is today part of a highly
sophisticated culture of branding,
consumer surveys, advertising
and psychological research. In
this sense, there has been much
change over the centuries and
millennia. Here again we see evolution
in progress to the "Modern
Pagan Man." Viewing the massively
endemic commercialization
of America and other nations, it is
hard to imagine that much more
evolution could yet lie ahead.
3. Concern About Tomorrow
Societies that do not put their
faith in God, by definition, must
worry about the uncertainties of
tomorrow. The Bible says that it
should be otherwise: "But seek
first his kingdom and his righteousness,
and all these things will
be given to you as well. Therefore
do not worry about tomorrow, for
tomorrow will worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble of
its own" (Matthew 6:33-34). This
verse is connected to the two
verses before (Matthew 6:31-32),
which speak of pagan practices.
In that context we understand
that worrying about tomorrow is
a "pagan" preoccupation of the
ethnos. These worries about the
uncertainties of tomorrow have
driven a monumental amount of
economic and financial evolution
over past decades and centuries
and have clearly added to the intensity
of the commercialization
of human life.
The introduction of insurance
services is just one such example.
No doubt, the vast array of insurance
products available does provide
useful services. Also, in
recent decades we have seen a
boom in sophisticated financial
instruments that in turn have underpinned
an unprecedented rise
in global financial wealth. Many
of these instruments are based on
mathematical concepts that seek
to overcome the uncertainties of
tomorrow. Few people are either
expert or aware of these trends in
the wild jungles of advanced economic
and financial innovation.
Meanwhile, back on Main Street,
life is clearly different as a result
of these many services that cater
to the "uncertainties of tomorrow."
Today, no one would think
of not having life, home or auto
insurance. Most agree that it is
unwise not to have an IRA or a
pension to protect against the un-
certainties of retirement. Just taking
the few services mentioned
leads to at least five different purchases
on a monthly installment
plan. To the extent that a chronic
worry about the future has led to
increasing commercialization and
idolatry is clearly pagan. This intensification
of "worries over tomorrow"
is therefore an identifier
of "Modern Pagan Man."
4. Self Indulgence and
Debauchery
The Bible clearly refers to
people who live lives of dissipation
and indulgence as being
pagan in character. Paul identified
the Hebrews as having
acted like pagans when they
had parties and revelries while
Moses was up on the mountain
(Exodus 32). "Do not be idolaters,
as some of them were; as
it is written: 'The people sat
down to eat and drink and got
up to indulge in pagan revelry'"
(1 Corinthians 10:7).
Apostle Peter took the same
view: "For you have spent
enough time in the past doing
what pagans choose to do -
living in debauchery, lust,
drunkenness, orgies, carousing
and detestable idolatry. They
think it strange that you do not
plunge with them into the
same flood of dissipation, and
they heap abuse on you" (1 Peter
4:3-4).
Reveling, debauchery, bacchanalian
feasts and wild sensuality
were seen as being part of the
worship exercises of the pagans.
(The Amplified Bible also mentions
frivolousness and hilarity.)
These aspects of paganism are
highly promoted today. Why? It's
good for business --- good for
economic growth. Morality is not
the relevant question. Revelry and
frivolity adds to economic growth
whatever forms it may take. And
businesses on the leading edge in
this regard often are the most successful.
Television programs and
movies that cater to this trend are
an example, and many more
could be listed. It's part of a sophisticated
economic culture. Increasingly,
these pagan "lifestyle"
activities may include mindless
entertainment, drugs, pornography
--- and much, much more.
The "Modern Pagan Man" guiltlessly
consumes and indulges.
5. Ultra Competitiveness
The Bible pictures pagans as
being competitive. They are seen
vying for the fulfillment of their
personal wants. As already reviewed,
"they run after" the
things they want (Matthew
6:31). Jesus indirectly points to
another competitive behavior of
the pagans: "[---] whoever wants
to become great among you
must be your servant, and whoever
wants to be first must be your
slave-just as the Son of
Man did not come to be served,
but to serve, and to give his life
as a ransom for many" (Matthew
20: 26-28). Apparently, He said
this while in Jericho - the city
rebuilt from the ruins of ancient
Jericho. In contrast, "The kings
of the Gentiles lord it over them;
and those who exercise authority
over them call themselves
benefactors" (Luke 22:25). By
inference, pagan society is
marked by "oneupsmanship,"
the desire to be the "top-dog" as
society would define it, and to
rule over others. Achieving
these goals requires competitive
behavior.
Of course, we recognize that
competition is one of the most
venerated principles on earth today
--- for better or worse. Of
course, nothing is wrong with
striving for improvement if the
motivations are healthy and balanced.
However, the type of competitive
behavior identified here is
the jungle rule, "survival of the
fittest." It is a type of competition
that is devoid of charity or love
for others. This form of competitiveness
is deeply imbedded in
pagan society - our society. Even
something as simple as buying a
security on a stock exchange for
the sake of gain embodies the notion
that one person's success can
only come at the price of another
person's misfortune. Be that as it
may, that's the accepted way of
"Modern Pagan Man."
Having reviewed just five of
the pagan characteristics of ancient
mankind we indeed see
proof of evolution. Yes, all the basic
characteristics of mankind remain
the same. Yet, we do see that
there has evolved a modern, sophisticated
pagan. Anyone who
truly understands the workings of
the great global commercialization
that reigns today must face the
true extent of the paganization of
today's world. Brief as our description
has been in this article, the
world of "Modern Pagan Man"
sets a stark contrast to the primitive
heathen of ancient times.
Does the society we see today
already witness the "Modern Pagan
Man" that the Bible depicts
during the endtimes? And, if so,
what does the future hold for the
modern pagan?
The Endtime Pagan
The Bible prophesies many
things that will happen to the
"Modern Pagan Man" and his
endtime world.
"'Ethnos' will rise up against
'ethnos'" (Mark 13:8, Luke 21:10).
The word ethnos here is commonly
translated as "nation." In
other words, there will be much
unrest, warring and competition
as pagans will rise up against pagans.
The ethnos will be holding
Israel in bondage during the latter
days and will be judged (Acts
7:7), this being the same period
referred to by Jesus as the "time of
the Gentiles" (the time of the ethnos)
(Luke 21:24). The pagans
will set up vain systems that conspire
against God: "Why do the
nations (ethnos) conspire and the
peoples plot in vain?" (Acts 4:25,
Psalm 2:1). They are going to be
angry that God will unleash His
wrath upon them and reward the
saints. Revelation 11:18 clearly
says the ethnos are destroying the
earth. What form of destruction
referred to here is not clear. On
balance, it seems to be referring to
physical destruction. Could this
include such phenomena as pollution,
environmental damage and
other results of overconsumption?
The pagans are the ones who are
in alignment with the endtime
commercial and political regime
portrayed as Babylon the Great
found in Revelation 17:18. It is
the ethnos who "drink of the wine
of the wrath of Babylon the Great's
fornication" (Revelation 14:8,
KJV). All pagans are deceived by
the sorceries of this global regime
of which the "merchants were the
great men." (Revelation 18:23).
Thoughts to Ponder
The descriptions of the ethnos
in the last days already align with
what we see unfolding in the
world today. Surely, an anthropologist
examining the records of the
time described in Revelation
17:18 would name that era the
time of the "Modern Pagan Man."
It is clearly a civilization marked
by extreme consumption, endless
wants, materialistic idolatry and
a fixation on wealth. The evolution
of this "pagan" is truly advanced.
But this description
already fits the description of the
human species of our time.
How many of us might find
similarities with the modern pagan
way of life? It is an important
and timely question. Only the
ethnos (and the surviving Jews)
are the ones who in the end -
after the Great Tribulation - finally
come and worship before
God. "---for all 'ethnos' shall
come and worship before thee;
for thy judgments are made manifest"
(Revelation 15:4, KJV).
After all, "Every knee shall
bow," says the Bible (Isaiah
45:23). All the ethnos will sing a
new song: "You are worthy to
take the scroll and to open its
seals, because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased
men for God from every
tribe and language and people
and nation. You have made them
to be a kingdom and priests
to serve our God, and they
will reign on the earth" (Revelation
5:9-10).
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2) Obama's church: More about Africa than God?
Chicago congregation has 'non-negotiable
commitment' to 'mother continent'
WORLDNETDAILY - By Ron Strom - January 9, 2008
While some election commentators are looking
carefully at the level of devotion Sen. Barack Obama
has to Islam, it is the strong African-centered and race-
based philosophy of the senator's United Church of
Christ that has some bloggers crying foul.
Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago is where
Obama was baptized as a Christian two decades ago,
even borrowing the title for one of his books, "The
Audacity of Hope," from a sermon by his senior pastor,
the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.
The first paragraph of the "About Us" section of the
church's website mentions the word "black" or "Africa"
five times:
We are a congregation which is Unashamedly
Black and Unapologetically Christian. --- Our roots in
the Black religious experience and tradition are deep,
lasting and permanent. We are an African people, and
remain "true to our native land," the mother continent,
the cradle of civilization. God has superintended our
pilgrimage through the days of slavery, the days of
segregation, and the long night of racism. It is God
who gives us the strength and courage to
continuously address injustice as a people, and as a
congregation. We constantly affirm our trust in God
through cultural expression of a Black worship service
and ministries which address the Black
Community.
Focus on the African continent continues in two of the
10-point vision of the church:
1- A congregation committed to ADORATION.
2- A congregation preaching SALVATION.
3- A congregation actively seeking RECONCILIATION.
4- A congregation with a non-negotiable
COMMITMENT TO AFRICA.
5- A congregation committed to BIBLICAL
EDUCATION.
6- A congregation committed to CULTURAL
EDUCATION.
7- A congregation committed to the HISTORICAL
EDUCATION OF AFRICAN PEOPLE IN DIASPORA.
8- A congregation committed to LIBERATION.
9- A congregation committed to RESTORATION.
10- A congregation working towards ECONOMIC
PARITY.
Commented Florida blogger "Ric" in discussing vision
No. 4: "Commitment to Africa? I thought Christians
were to have a commitment to God alone?"
The blogger continued: "First off just by this 10-point
layout describing Barack Obama's church, we see that
on some issues they are not clear. Even though it
sounds good to the reader, it still leaves one
guessing and not knowing where they truly stand as a
congregation.
"Second, the church seems to place Africa and African
people before God, and says nothing about other
races in their community or a commitment to help the
people in their community.
"Third, the church seems to promote communism by
the term they use called 'economic parity.' Is this what
Barack Obama truly believes?"
On another page on the website, Pastor Wright
explains his theology, saying it is "based upon the
systematized liberation theology that started in 1969
with the publication of Dr. James Cone's book, 'Black
Power and Black Theology.'
"Black theology is one of the many theologies in the
Americas that became popular during the liberation
theology movement. They include Hispanic theology,
Native American theology, Asian theology and
Womanist theology."
Wright rebuts those who might call his philosophy
racist, saying, "To have a church whose theological
perspective starts from the vantage point of black
liberation theology being its center is not to say that
African or African-American people are superior to any
one else.
"African-centered thought, unlike Eurocentrism, does
not assume superiority and look at everyone else as
being inferior."
The church's official mission statement says it has
been "called by God to be a congregation that is not
ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ and that does
not apologize for its African roots!"
The Jan. 6 Sunday bulletin had an announcement
about how to register for the winter Bible study held by
the "Center for African Biblical Studies."
Another page in the 36-page bulletin announced
the "Black and Christian New Member Class." All
those wanting to become full-fledged members of
Trinity "MUST complete your new member class!"
warned the announcement, which included a
schedule of class times. There was no mention of
what class a prospective member might take if he or
she were not black.
Demonstrating the church's quest toward "economic
parity," one of the associate pastors, the Rev.
Reginald Williams Jr., wrote a blurb in the bulletin
decrying the powers that be for not making "fresh food
stores" available in the black neighborhoods of
Chicago.
Wrote Williams in a discussion of infant mortality in
the black community: "In West Englewood, one of the
five worst areas in the city, McDonald's restaurants
abound, while fresh food stores are lacking. The
same resources should be made available in each
and every neighborhood in this city.
"This is an issue which we must all attack. We must
push our policymakers for programs for health
education, good stores for proper nutrition and access
to health care."
The thought for the day on the same page was a
quote from former Rep. Shirley Chisholm: "Health is a
human right, not a privilege to be purchased."
Obama recently talked about his faith with the
Concord, N.H., Monitor.
"I've always said that my faith informs my values, and
in that sense it helps shape my worldview, and I don't
think anyone should be required to leave their
religious sensibilities at the door," Obama told the
paper last week. "But we have to translate those
concerns into a universal language that can be
subject to argument and doesn't turn into a contest of
any one of us thinking that God is somehow on our
side."
The candidate told the Monitor he doesn't buy
everything his pastor proclaims, saying: "There are
some things I agree with my pastor about, some
things I disagree with him about. I come from a
complex racial background with a lot of different
strains in me: white, black, I grew up in Hawaii. I tend
to have a strong streak of universalism, not just in my
religious beliefs, but in my ethical and moral beliefs."
Obama's popularity has soared in the last several
days, with journalists from NBC even admitting to
getting caught up in the "feel good" aura of the
campaign.
As WND reported, the network's Brian Williams noted
on MSNBC yesterday: ""[Reporter] Lee [Cowan] says
it's hard to stay objective covering this guy.
Courageous for Lee to say, to be honest. --- I think it is
a very interesting dynamic."
* Emphasis Added
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3) Between Pulpit and Podium, Huckabee Straddles Fine Line
How does he decide when to say, ''I am not going to
answer that,'' and when to do his Houdini routine
NEW YORK TIMES [NYTimes Group/Sulzberger] - By
David D. Kirkpatrick from Washington and Michael
Powell from South Carolina - January 19, 2008
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Mike Huckabee mentioned his
faith only glancingly in his stump speech this week at
North Greenville University in Tigerville, S.C.
Discussing presidential decisions that will matter
after he is long gone, he added: "By the way, I have
made arrangements for what happens after that, and
it's all good. It's all good."
No one missed his allusion to the afterlife at North
Greenville, a Southern Baptist college, where the
college president pulled back Mr. Huckabee to expand
on his "salvation experience" as a 10-year-old at
summer Bible school.
"I didn't want to get dirty, because I have never felt so
clean in my life," Mr. Huckabee told a hushed crowd of
several hundred. - - -
Some evangelical observers say they marvel at Mr.
Huckabee's knack for making even the most
conservative tenets of orthodox Southern Baptist faith,
about creation, the accuracy of the Bible or gender
roles, sound downright moderate when he is
speaking in television interviews or at public debates.
"He is like Houdini," said Oran P. Smith,
president of a
Christian conservative group, the Palmetto Family
Council, admiring Mr. Huckabee's recent defense of
an official Southern Baptist statement about the family
that he endorsed eight years ago.
The statement said, "A wife is to submit herself
graciously to the servant leadership of her husband,"
and "serve as his helper in managing the household
and nurturing the next generation."
Many Southern Baptists understand that to mean that
just men are meant to occupy certain leadership roles
like church pastor.
But in a debate last week in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Mr.
Huckabee said the position required no subordination
at all. It meant, he said, both husbands and
wives "mutually showing their affection and
submission as unto the Lord."
"Biblically," he added, "marriage is a 100-100 deal.
Each partner gives 100 percent of their devotion to the
other."
Mr. Smith said, "It was masterful." He was "still
struggling," Mr. Smith added, to understand just how
Mr. Huckabee had put together his answer. - - -
In debates and other interviews, Mr. Huckabee has
frequently complained he is unfairly singled out for
theological questions. "Everybody says religion is off
limits, except we always can ask me the religious
question," he said in the recent Republican debate in
Myrtle Beach.
And he has deflected some religious questions like
his views about the eternity awaiting non-Christians.
He has definite views about that, he said, but they are
not relevant to public office. - - -
But although his closing speeches barely mention
religion, his final commercials here, on television and
Christian radio, have entirely focused on his Christian
credentials. "Faith doesn't just influence me," Mr.
Huckabee says in one commercial. "It defines me."
He has indeed made an art of escaping politically
delicate questions about theology. He has said he
favors the biblical account of creation over Darwinian
evolution, but he also said he considered the two
approaches largely compatible, with God's potential
role limited to the original jump-start, a view many
liberal Christians endorse.
"Did he take the rib out of Adam?" Mr. Huckabee told
Charlie Rose in an interview. "I have no reason to
believe he didn't. But I don't know."
He said there was "a strong body of science that really
can put forth the argument for an evolutionary
process," but also "room for believing" in God as "a
prime mover" in the process.
Such answers may not be complete statements of
Southern Baptist orthodoxy, Mr. Smith of the Palmetto
Family Council said, but a fuller statement of
a "judgmental" faith is not likely to win Mr. Huckabee
many votes outside the evangelical world.
The real question, Mr. Smith added, is, How does
he
decide when to say, ''I am not going to answer that,''
and when to do his Houdini routine?
* Emphasis Added
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4) Huckabee Splits Young Evangelicals and Old Guard
NEW YORK TIMES [NYTimes Group/Sulzberger] - By
David D. Kirkpatrick - January 15, 2008
WASHINGTON - Much of the national leadership of the
Christian conservative movement has turned a cold
shoulder to the Republican presidential campaign of
Mike Huckabee, wary of his populist approach to
economic issues and his criticism of the Bush
administration's foreign policy. But that has only fired
up Brett and Alex Harris.
The Harris brothers, 19-year-old evangelical authors
and speakers who grew up steeped in the
conservative Christian movement, are the creators of
Huck's Army, an online network that has connected
12,000 Huckabee campaign volunteers, including
several hundred in Michigan, which votes Tuesday,
and South Carolina, which votes Saturday.
They say they like Mr. Huckabee for the same reason
many of their elders do not: "He reaches outside the
normal Republican box," Brett Harris said in an
interview from his home near Portland, Ore.
The brothers fell for Mr. Huckabee last August when
they saw him draw applause on "The Daily Show With
Jon Stewart" for explaining that he believed in a
Christian obligation to care for prenatal "life" and also
education, health care, jobs and other aspects
of "life." "It is a new kind of evangelical conservative
position," Brett Harris said. Alex Harris added, "And we
are not going to have to be embarrassed about
him."
Mr. Huckabee, who was a Southern Baptist minister
before serving as governor of Arkansas, is the only
candidate in the presidential race who identifies
himself as an evangelical. But instead of uniting
conservative Christians, his candidacy is threatening
to drive a wedge into the movement, potentially
dividing its best-known national leaders from part of
their base and upending assumptions that have held
the right wing together for the last 30 years.
His singular style - Christian traditionalism and the
common-man populism of William Jennings Bryan,
leavened by an affinity for bass guitar and late-night
comedy shows - has energized many young and
working-class evangelicals. Their support helped his
shoestring campaign come from nowhere to win the
Iowa Republican caucus and join the front-runners in
Michigan, South Carolina and national polls.
And Mr. Huckabee has done it without the backing of,
and even over the opposition of, the movement's most
visible leaders, many of whom have either criticized
him or endorsed other candidates.
"Some of them have been openly hostile to him, and
others merely lukewarm in their hostility," said John
Green, a scholar with the Pew Forum on Religion and
Public Life.
If Mr. Huckabee can continue to galvanize evangelicals
around his novel message while attracting other
Republicans and perhaps independents, he will do
more than advance his own campaign. He will also
challenge the establishment of the Christian
conservative political movement. - - - -
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5) Huck takes heat for having CFR adviser
Candidate turns to globalist Richard Haass for foreign
policy advice
WORLDNETDAILY - January 10, 2008
Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is
getting more heat both online and in person from
critics who scold the former governor for consulting
the president of the Council on Foreign Relations on
issues of international affairs.
Last month, Huckabee confirmed to CNN's Wolf
Blitzer that he consults CFR President Richard Haass
on foreign affairs matters - a fact that has circulated
among bloggers and anti-globalism activists.
"Who are your principal foreign policy advisers,
Governor," asked Blitzer.
Huckabee responded: "Well, I have a number of
people from whom I get policy. I'm talking to Frank
Gaffney. I talk to Richard Haass."
The National Expositor website pointed out Haass
penned a column in the Taipei Times that called on
sovereign nations to cede power to global bodies.
"States must be prepared to cede some sovereignty to
world bodies if the international system is to function,"
Haass wrote. "This is already taking place in the trade
realm. Governments agree to accept the rulings of the
WTO because on balance they benefit from an
international trading order even if a particular decision
requires that they alter a practice that is their
sovereign right to carry out.
" --- [S]overeignty must be redefined if states are to
cope with globalization. At its core, globalization
entails the increasing volume, velocity, and
importance of flows - within and across borders - of
people, ideas, greenhouse gases, goods, dollars,
drugs, viruses, e-mails, weapons and a good deal
else, challenging one of sovereignty's fundamental
principles: the ability to control what crosses borders
in either direction. Sovereign states increasingly
measure their vulnerability not to one another, but to
forces beyond their control."
Haas then argues that sovereignty "needs to become
weaker."
Writes the CFR chief: "States would be wise to
weaken sovereignty in order to protect themselves,
because they cannot insulate themselves from what
goes on elsewhere. Sovereignty is no longer a
sanctuary."
Haass also strikes a global-socialism note in arguing
that world neighbors must provide for one another:
"Necessity may also lead to reducing or even
eliminating sovereignty when a government, whether
from a lack of capacity or conscious policy, is unable
to provide for the basic needs of its citizens. This
reflects not simply scruples, but a view that state
failure and genocide can lead to destabilizing refugee
flows and create openings for terrorists to take root."
The National Expositor railed against the Huckabee-
Haass connection, asking, "Who needs individual
rights in the techno-futuristic world police state? And
you thought liberty was in jeopardy now? Just wait till
you see what your children will have to deal with. Get
activated, folks. These police state freaks want to
shape your future into a control grid enforced through
the fear-based reaction to sponsored false flag
terror." - - -
Columnist Chuck Baldwin hammered Huckabee for
his CFR connections in a commentary last week,
mentioning that the candidate spoke before the
Council last fall.
Wrote Baldwin: "As you read Huckabee's speech, you
will find that he is George W. Bush on steroids! This is
a man who intends to meddle in the affairs of nations
around the world like you can't believe. Talk about
entangling alliances: Huckabee intends for our State,
Energy, Housing, Education, Justice, Treasury, and
Transportation departments to spend untold billions
of tax dollars on just about anything and everything,
including schools, medical facilities, roads, sewage
treatment, water filtration, electricity, and legal and
banking systems in countries all over the globe. And
that is exactly the kind of man the Council on Foreign
Relations wants in Washington."
The CFR itself has downplayed the Huckabee-Haass
connection, with spokeswoman Lisa Shields telling
USA Today Haass has "briefed Huckabee on foreign
policy issues as well as [briefing] many other
candidates" in both parties. Shields stressed that the
relationship was not exclusive and that Haass was
not affiliated with the campaign. - - - -
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7) Sarkozy sparks French debate over God and faith
REUTERS [Thomson-Reuters] - January 18, 2008
PARIS - President Nicolas Sarkozy's increasingly
frequent and positive references to God and faith have
drawn fire from critics who accuse him of violating
France's separation of church and state.
Sarkozy, a taboo-breaker whose whirlwind love life
has distracted the media for weeks, broke with
traditional presidential reserve about religion to stress
France's Christian roots in a speech in a Rome
basilica just before Christmas.
In Riyadh on Monday, he hailed Islam as "one of the
greatest and most beautiful civilisations the world has
known" and described his Saudi hosts as rulers
who "appeal to the basic values of Islam to combat
the fundamentalism that negates them".
His praise for a kingdom that enforces and
propagates a strict version of Islam, during a visit
aimed at securing lucrative export contracts, was the
last straw for his critics.
"This is not respect for the separation of church and
state," Socialist opposition leader Francois Hollande
said.
"This is an ideological stand that makes religion into
an instrument to promote French products civilian
nuclear plants for Muslim countries," he said. "Mixing
religion and foreign policy is illogical and
wrong."
Jean-Louis Debre, a leading Gaullist who is now
head of the Constitutional Council, indirectly chided
Sarkozy by saying the 1905 law separating church and
state was a good one and that it was "opportune to
make sure its balance is not upset".
FAITH EQUALS HOPE FOR SARKOZY
At issue is Sarkozy's break with a French tradition that
sees faith strictly as a private affair. This began with
the 1905 law and grew into a kind of political
correctness that made bringing religion into public
affairs a major taboo.
The president calls this a negative "laicite" -- the
French term for church-state separation implies that
taboo as well -- and wants a "positive laicite" that
values the hope that faith brings and allows state
subsidies for faith-based groups.
The dispute flared up in the National Assembly on
Wednesday, with Socialist Jean Glavany attacking the
Riyadh speech: "A speech citing God not only on every
page, but on every line, creates a fundamental
problem for the republic."
Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie responded by
saying the government wanted "to help all
spiritualities to express themselves, including those
based on atheism".
Although the 1905 law aimed at undercutting the vast
influence the Roman Catholic Church once wielded in
France, Church leaders now are reserved about any
reforms that could upset the status quo and revive anti-
clerical movements.
By contrast, the five-million-strong Muslim minority, the
largest in Europe, would appreciate reforms that
would help them finance mosque building and
expand training for imams.
The twice-divorced president defines himself as
a "cultural Catholic", an infrequent churchgoer who
says he values the moral and social role that religion
can play in society.
"Someone who believes is someone who hopes," he
said in the speech in Rome's Basilica of Saint John
Lateran. "It is in the republic's interest to have many
men and women who hope."
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8) New campaign debate: Is Satan Jesus' brother?
Mormon church weighs in on Huckabee suggestion
WORLDNETDAILY - December 12, 2007
WASHINGTON - Satan has reared his ugly head in the
2008 presidential campaign - literally.
Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee
has prompted angry denunciations of religious bigotry
by rival Mitt Romney as well as an official retort from
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for
speculating in a New York Times Magazine interview
this weekend that Mormons believe Jesus and Satan
were brothers.
Stirred by the debate, the Associated Press sought
clarification from Kim Farah, a spokeswoman from the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
She said the question is usually raised by those who
wish to smear the Mormon faith, but she evaded a
direct answer to the question: "We believe, as other
Christians believe and as Paul wrote, that God is the
father of all. That means that all beings were created
by God and are his spirit children. Christ, on the other
hand, was the only begotten in the flesh and we
worship him as the son of God and the savior of
mankind. Satan is the exact opposite of who Christ is
and what he stands for."
More to the point, the official website of the LDS
church explicitly makes the sibling connection
between Jesus and Lucifer a matter of official Mormon
doctrine.
"On first hearing, the doctrine that Lucifer and our
Lord, Jesus Christ, are brothers may seem surprising
to some - especially to those unacquainted with latter-
day revelations," says the statement. "But both the
scriptures and the prophets affirm that Jesus Christ
and Lucifer are indeed offspring of our Heavenly
Father and, therefore, spirit brothers. Jesus Christ
was with the Father from the beginning. Lucifer, too,
was an angel "who was in authority in the presence of
God," a "son of the morning." (See Isa. 14:12; D&C
76:25-27.) Both Jesus and Lucifer were strong
leaders with great knowledge and influence. But as
the Firstborn of the Father, Jesus was Lucifer's older
brother. (See Col. 1:15; D&C 93:21.)"
But Romney interprets the question from Huckabee -
rhetorical or not - to be a display of religious bigotry.
"But I think attacking someone's religion is really
going too far," he said on NBC's "Today" show. "It's
just not the American way, and I think people will reject
that." - - -
Are theological questions fair game?
Huckabee, a Baptist minister and former Arkansas
governor, has surged in public opinion polls ----
.
He made the comment before Romney gave a major
speech last week trying to dispel fears about his
church, particularly among conservative Christians, an
important voting bloc. Romney said he believes Jesus
Christ is the son of God and savior of mankind, and
that his White House would not be controlled by his
church.
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9) Focus: Romney 'acknowledged' Mormons not Christian
"Mitt Romney has acknowledged that Mormonism is
not a Christian faith...."'
ASSOCIATED PRESS - By Rachel Zoll - January 25,
2008
An executive for one of the nation's leading evangelical
groups says in a video voter guide that Mitt Romney
has "acknowledged Mormonism is not a Christian
faith," although the GOP presidential candidate has
said he follows Jesus Christ and his church insists it
is Christian.
Tom Minnery, senior vice president of government and
public policy at Focus on the Family Action, said in an
interview Friday that the comment was his
interpretation of Romney's December "Faith in
America" speech that was meant to reassure voters
about his religion.
Minnery said that he spoke with the campaign after the
video was posted this week and they did not contest
his view or ask him to retract the statement. - - -
Romney has long been dedicated to The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving as a New
England area bishop and helping build a Mormon
temple outside Boston, among other services.
Minnery made the comments in "Focus Action
Candidate Commentary," a series of short videos
meant to help voters understand the positions of
leading Democratic and Republican presidential
candidates on issues important to social
conservatives. - - -
Romney is treated favorably in the videos, compared
with fellow Republican contenders John McCain, Rudy
Giuliani and Mike Huckabee. - - -
Minnery argues that the media has been unfair to
Romney, then says, "Mitt Romney has
acknowledged
that Mormonism is not a Christian faith and I
appreciate his acknowledging that. He said, 'But on
the social issues, we are so similar,' and that is true.'"
Minnery based his interpretation on the section of
Romney's December speech in which the former
governor professes "that Jesus Christ is the Son of
God and the Savior of mankind," then acknowledges
that religions differ on their beliefs about Christ
and "each religion has its own unique doctrines."
Mormons feel maligned by claims that they aren't
Christian. The scriptures of Latter-day Saints include
the Old and New Testament, but also include sacred
books that contain the revelations of their 19th century
founder Joseph Smith.
The church said in a statement Friday that "all of our
dreams and future aspirations are centered in our
belief in Jesus Christ."
Also
See this Statement by Focus on the Family Citizen Link
Romney's Faith, Eyed Warily by Religious
Right,
Wins Him Sympathy From Jewish Republicans
FORWARD - By Jennifer Siegel - October 24, 2007
Washington - As a diehard Republican who lived in
Los Angeles County for more than two decades,
Jonathan Lange is accustomed to defending
politicians he favors against attacks from the left. But
in the course of recent discussions about Mitt
Romney, the 45-year-old businessman admits he has
also grown plenty alarmed by the views of the
Christian right.
"It bothers me as a Jew that so many people
allegedly, or so the story goes, won't support a
Mormon," Lange said last week at a presidential
forum hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition in
Washington. His sympathy for Romney was echoed
throughout the event, and while Rudy Giuliani may
have received the lion's share of the attention, many
attendees said they wanted to learn more about
Romney, a challenger with a record of success in
business, a Harvard pedigree and, like them, the
problem of having to explain one's religion.
As the former Massachusetts governor continues his
quest to win over Christian conservatives deeply
suspicious of his Mormon faith, Jewish Republicans
are sounding a note of tolerance within the GOP. Many
long ago came to view their party's Evangelical wing
as a close ally in the fight to protect Israel. At the same
time, though, some Jewish Republicans say they
would be uneasy if Romney fails with the party's base
solely because of misgivings about his faith. - - -
- - - In advance of the "Values Voters" summit
organized in
Washington last week by the conservative Family
Research Council, Romney picked up the
endorsement of Bob Jones III, chancellor of the
fundamentalist Christian Bob Jones University in
Greenville, S.C.
"As a Christian, I am completely opposed to the
doctrines of Mormonism," Jones told The Greenville
News. "But I'm not voting for a preacher, I'm voting for
a president." - - - -
Read
Full Report
Romney responds to Hezbollah remarks
Posted
on the Be Alert! Weblog
Evangelical Supporter Seeks to Rally Brethren for
Romney
Posted on
the Be Alert! Weblog
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10) Questions and Answers About Americans' Religion
More than 8 out of 10 Americans identify with a
Christian faith
GALLUP POLL [Gallup Inc.] - By Frank Newport -
December 24, 2007
PRINCETON, NJ -- This time of year provides an
opportunity to answer frequently asked questions
about exactly where America stands today in regard to
religion, based on Gallup's extensive
archives.
Christmas is obviously a Christian holiday. But
what
percentage of Americans today identify with a
Christian religion?
About 82% of Americans in 2007 told Gallup
interviewers that they identified with a Christian
religion. That includes 51% who said they were
Protestant, 5% who were "other Christian," 23%
Roman Catholic, and 3% who named another
Christian faith, including 2% Mormon.
Because 11% said they had no religious identity at all,
and another 2% didn't answer, these results suggest
that well more than 9 out of 10 Americans who identify
with a religion are Christian in one way or the
other.
Has this changed over time?
Yes. The percentage of Americans who identify with a
Christian religion is down some over the decades.
This is not so much because Americans have shifted
to other religions, but because a significantly higher
percentage of Americans today say they don't have a
religious identity. In the late 1940s, when Gallup
began summarizing these data, a very small
percentage explicitly told interviewers they did not
identify with any religion. But of those who did have a
religion, Gallup classified -- in 1948, for example --
69% as Protestant and 22% as Roman Catholic, or
about 91% Christian.
It's one thing to identify with a religion, and another
to be actively religious. What percentage of Americans
are actually members of a church?
Sixty-two percent of Americans in Gallup's latest poll,
conducted in December, say they are members of
a "church or synagogue," a question Gallup has been
asking since 1937.
And how has that changed over time
It's down in the recent years of this decade and down
a little more compared to the time period prior to the
late 1970s. In the 1937 Gallup Poll, for example, 73%
of Americans said they were church members. That
number stayed in the 70% range in polls conducted in
the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. By the 1970s, however,
the number began to slip below 70% in some polls,
although as recently as 1999, 70% said they were
church members. Since 2002, self-reported church
membership has been between 63% and
65%.
OK, but being carried on a church's roll doesn't
necessarily mean one is active in that church, does it?
It does not. That carries us into the realm of self-
reported church attendance, which is a complex
arena. Scholars over the years have argued about the
precise validity of self-reported attendance data. Some
argue that respondents either a) deliberately over-
report the frequency of their church attendance
because it is socially desirable, or b) generalize and
guess at the frequency of their church attendance
rather than pinning it down specifically.
Having said that, the most recent Gallup assessment
shows that when given a choice between five
response categories to describe how frequently they
go to church -- "once a week," "almost every
week," "about once a month," "seldom," and "never" --
only 17% of adult Americans say they never attend
church. In other words, more than 8 out of 10
Americans say they attend church or other worship
services at least "seldom."
But attending church could mean attending a wedding
or a funeral, for example.
Yes. The question simply asks: "How often do you
attend church or synagogue?" and doesn't specify for
what reason. So some of those who say they seldom
attend could be reporting that they go for weddings or
funerals rather than to personally worship.
How many Americans can be classified as
frequent church attenders?
Based on the responses to this question, about a
third say they attend once a week, with another 12%
saying they attend almost every week. This means
that about 44% of Americans report what can be
called frequent church attendance -- almost every
week or every week.
Are there other ways of measuring church
attendance?
Yes. Gallup has long used a somewhat controversial
question: "Did you, yourself, happen to attend church
or synagogue in the last seven days, or not?" In recent
years, between 40% and 45% of Americans have
said "yes" to that question, yielding an estimate that is
similar to the one derived from the question reviewed
above about frequency of attendance.
Why is this question controversial?
Sociologists and other scholars have attempted to
calibrate the "last seven days" response against other
ways of measuring church attendance, and have
argued that it produces an overestimate. Some
scholars actually traveled around an Ohio county and
totaled the attendance at every church in that county,
even including counting cars in parking lots.
They found that the actual "warm bodies" in churches
added up to a significantly lower number than what
the residents of that county had reported in a survey.
Other scholars have looked at church attendance as
reported in time diaries where people mark down
everything they do day after day. In these instances,
the diary entries for church attendance appear to be
less than the 40% to 45% figure that people report in
response to survey questions.
Nevertheless, the self-reported data give us a useful
measure to trend over time. We find that it's
remarkably stable. The high point in "last seven day
attendance" appears to have come in the 1950s,
when at one point 49% of Americans said they had
attended church in the last seven days. In 1940, at the
end of the Depression and just before America's
involvement in World War II, the figure was 37%, and
has been in the high 30% range in just a couple of
years since then.
But in general, year after year, roughly the same
percentage of Americans -- in the low 40% range --
report to survey interviewers that they have gone to
church within the last seven days.
Are there other measures of the actual impact of
religion in Americans' daily lives?
Yes. One measure Gallup has tracked over time asks
respondents to indicate how important religion is in
their own lives -- very, fairly, or not very
important.
This year, 56% of Americans have said religion is very
important. Only 17% say religion is not very
important.
Has this changed over time?
Yes. A couple of measures of this question from the
1950s and 1960s indicated that at that time, over 70%
of Americans said religion was very important in their
daily lives. That percentage dropped into the 50%
range by the 1970s, and since then it has fluctuated
somewhat, but has generally been in the 55% to 65%
range.
The responses to the "importance of religion"
question -- taken together with some of the previous
data discussed -- seem to suggest a pattern by which
at least 80% of Americans are religious on one
indicator or the other.
Yes. To summarize, more than 8 in 10 Americans
identify with a religion and 8 out of 10 say that religion
is at least fairly important in their daily lives; more than
8 out of 10 say they attend church at least "seldom";
and again more than 8 out of 10 identify with a
Christian religion.
Do you ask Americans about the influence of
religion in society?
Yes, since 1957 Gallup has periodically asked this
question: "At the present time, do you think religion as
a whole is increasing its influence on American life or
losing its influence?"
In December of this year, 32% said religion was
increasing its influence, and 61% losing its influence,
with the rest volunteering that it was staying the same
or not giving an answer.
How does that compare historically?
There's been a lot of variance in these responses over
the decades. Back in 1957 -- during the halcyon days
of the Eisenhower administration -- 69% of Americans
said religion was increasing its influence. And in
December 2001 -- just months after the 9/11 terrorist
attacks on the United States -- 71% said religion was
increasing its influence in American life, which is the
highest reading on that measure in Gallup Poll
history. But by 2003, the percentage saying religion
was increasing its influence had dropped back into
the 30% range and though it has been as high as
50% since then, it is just 32% today.
On the other hand, in a couple of polls conducted in
1969 and 1970, only 14% said religion was
increasing its influence -- the lowest readings on
record. That of course was during an era replete with
hippies, protests, Woodstock, drug use, and other
indications of a less than devout, religious population.
Another time period with a low "increasing its
influence" percentage was in the early 1990s.
Survey Methods
Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,027
national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Dec. 6-
9, 2007. For results based on the total sample of
national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that
the maximum margin of sampling error is �3
percentage points. In addition to sampling error,
question wording and practical difficulties in
conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the
findings of public opinion polls.
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11) Some Christian pastors embrace Scientology
CNN [Turner Broadcasting/Time Warner] - From
Diana Miller and Gary Tuchman - November 1, 2007
TAMPA, Florida -- Some Christian congregations,
particularly in lower income, urban areas, are turning
to an unlikely source for help -- the Church of
Scientology.
Scientologists do not worship God, much less Jesus
Christ. The church has seen plenty of controversy and
critics consider it a cult. So why are observant
Christians embracing some of its teachings?
Two pastors who spoke recently with CNN explained
that when it comes to religion, they still preach the
core beliefs of Christianity. But when it comes to
practicing what they preach in a modern world,
borrowing from Scientology helps.
The Rev. Charles Kennedy, of the Glorious Church of
God in Christ, a Pentecostal church in Tampa, Florida,
and the Rev. James McLaughlin, of the Wayman
Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in
Houston, Texas, are among the theological hybrids. - -
- -
Read Full Report Posted on the Be Alert!
Weblog
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12) No joke: Clowns spread the Gospel
ASSOCIATED PRESS - By Matt Sedensky - December
25, 2007
TAMPA, Fla. -- The clown walked into church like he
owned the place.
KoKoMo stood proudly in the sanctuary of Carrollwood
Baptist, his huge white shoes planted firmly, his head-
to-toe sequins glimmering, his nose and wig as red
as a Christmas bow.
It was no joke. KoKoMo was decked out for
God.
The Rev. Tom Rives adopted his alter ego about 35
years ago and has used it ever since. The message
delivered in his high-pitched voice is weighty for a
clown: It is of love and salvation.
Rives believes clowning is a means to teach about
Christ. "People who wouldn't talk to a preacher will talk
to a clown," he says.
KoKoMo and a troupe of clown friends have also
shown up at prisons, hospitals, fairs and shopping
malls here. The King's Clowns, as they call
themselves, aim to proselytize while entertaining,
disarming their audiences with their silly characters. - -
-
"Hi!" he squeals. "I'm KoKoMo the Clown!"
What follows is an hour-long series of skits performed
by the clowns, each with a Christmas theme and a
Christian message: Be thankful. Honor Christ daily.
Remember it is more blessed to give than
receive.
In between acts, KoKoMo enlists the help of children
to pull off magic tricks. He transforms a giant playing
card into one displaying an image of Christ. A stuffed
dove is brought to life. A little girl's jaw drops when
KoKoMo turns numerous colored scarves into one
multicolored piece of fabric. - - - -
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13) Rethink Conference: Christian Leaders Help Bring About Robert Schuller's Dream of an All-Inclusive Spirituality
LIGHTHOUSE TRAILS RESEARCH PROJECT -
Coming From the Lighthouse Newsletter - January 21,
2008
Rethink Conference: Crystal Cathedral, California
January 17, 2008
Robert Schuller once said: "Standing before a crowd
of devout Muslims with the Grand Mufti, I know that
we're all doing God's work together. Standing on the
edge of a new millennium, we're laboring hand in
hand to repair the breach." He made that statement in
his 2001 biography, My Journey (p. 501), and
today he
has taken a giant step forward in seeing his dream of
an all all-inclusive spiritual body come true. What's
more, Christian leaders and organizations are helping
to bring it to pass.
This past weekend, the Rethink Conference at
Schuller's Crystal Cathedral began. This three day
event was hosted by Schuller and popular emerging
futurist Erwin McManus.
In addition to McManus, the Rethink Conference has
several other Christian leaders speaking: Gary
Smalley, Henry Cloud, Chuck Colson, and Kay
Warren, to name a few. While the speaker list
includes several names outside the Christian camp
(Larry King, George Bush Sr., Rupert Murdoch, etc.), a
majority of the speakers, both Christian and non-
Christian, are proponents mystical spirituality. The
reason this is important to know is because Schuller's
vision of an all-inclusive global religious body cannot
happen without mysticism. It is in fact the vehicle
through which Schuller's dream will occur. He
discloses a little more of this vision in his book:
I met once more with the Grand Mufti (a Muslim), truly
one of the great Christ-honoring leaders of faith. ... I'm
dreaming a bold impossible dream: that positive-
thinking believers in God will rise above the illusions
that our sectarian religions have imposed on the
world, and that leaders of the major faiths will rise
above doctrinal idiosyncrasies, choosing not to focus
on disagreements, but rather to transcend divisive
dogmas to work together to bring peace and
prosperity and hope to the world. (p. 502).
In order for this "bold impossible dream" to occur,
change agents such as Schuller and McManus realize
that Christianity needs to be redefined. Thus, the term
rethink. McManus has believed this for some time. In
an interview, he stated:
My goal is to destroy Christianity as a world
religion
and be a recatalyst for the movement of Jesus
Christ.... Some people are upset with me because it
sounds like I'm anti-Christian. I think they might be
right! (1) [*]
It's easier to understand what McManus means by this
by reading this next statement from him:
The Barbarian Way was, in some sense, trying
to
create a volatile fuel to get people to step out and act.
It's pretty hard to get a whole group of people moving
together as individuals who are stepping into a more
mystical, faith-oriented, dynamic kind of experience
with Christ. So, I think was my attempt to say, "Look,
underneath what looks like invention, innovation and
creativity is really a core mysticism that hears from
God, and what is fueling this is something really
ancient." That's what was really the core of The
Barbarian Way. (from Relevant magazine)
To put this in plain terms, there is a three step
process in making this new vision become a reality.
First, reeducation: convince Christians that the
Christianity of today has to be thrown out and replaced
by a whole new way of thinking. Second, get these
new thinking Christians to incorporate mysticism into
their lives and hear the voice of a new kind of God, not
one that is described in the Bible but one that is found
through altered states of consciousness. McManus
put it this way: "I build my life not on the Word of God,
but the voice of God. The Scriptures are to me the
instrument that God has placed in history for me to
learn the voice of God." (2) The voice of this mystical
god will direct people to the final step of the process,
and that will be to bring about a supposed kingdom of
God where all will be one, and where man finally
realizes his own divinity. Unfortunately, it will be a
kingdom built, not on the truth of the Word of God, thus
not on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The rethinking of Christianity is taking place right now
before our very eyes. The mystical practices are now
being implemented by countless people around the
world, including huge numbers of professing
Christians through the spiritual formation movement.
It is just a matter of time before this new age dream
will take effect, and a great spiritual delusion will
overtake the masses.
Roger Oakland, author of Faith Undone (the
hard-
hitting expose on the emerging church), spent a day at
the Crystal Cathedral listening to speakers share their
hopes for the rethinking of Christianity. Oakland heard
one popular evangelical speaker say that the
emerging church is energizing
Christianity. - - - -
* Emphasis Added
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14) Evangelical tourism could bring 10 million visitors a year
Marketing the Holy Land
THE JERUSALEM POST [Mirkaei Tikshoret/CanWest] -
By Sharon Wrobel - January 22, 2008
The government is not doing enough to expand the
economic potential of evangelical tourism, which
could bring 10 million tourists a year to Israel,
according to Economic Models CEO Ya'acov Sheinin.
"The main problem of tourism in Israel today is not the
intifada or terrorism, but the [lack of] development of
Israel as a holiday or religious vacation destination,"
he said Monday at the Herzliya Conference in
Herzliya's Daniel Hotel.
Even before the Oslo Accords, when Israel was in an
excellent position, Sheinin said, only about 1.4 million
tourists came to Israel.
"Tourists sites - not including Eilat - in Israel are not
attractive enough," he said, "and they cannot compete
with other popular holiday countries such as Turkey,
Greece or Thailand, although we have a relative
advantage in terms of the wealth of historical and
religious sites, like no other country."
"Since the 1980s, the rate of growth in the area of
tourism has barely reached 2.9 percent, while in the
rest of the world it is 4%," Sheinin added. "If we were
to grow at the pace of the rest of the world, we would
have been able to attract 3.3 million tourists a year, but
today we only have 2.3 million."
He said there were three groups of tourists visiting
Israel: Jewish relatives; business/vacation,
or "normal" tourists; and evangelical-historical
tourists.
In the first group, Sheinin said, Israel has done a good
job. Today, 10% of the Jews in the world come to
Israel every year, he said.
"But with respect to evangelical or religious and
historical tourism, a group that has the biggest
potential, we haven't taken advantage of that potential,
although Israel is holy to about 2 billion people around
the world," he said. "Our aim should be to make
Christians come to the holy land at least once in their
lives on the journey of Jesus' life. Out of the 2 billion,
there are about 500 million Christians from rich
nations; that if we were to convince them to come, that
would be another potential 10 million tourists per
year."
In terms of marketing and publicity, there was nothing
more popular than the Holy Land, Sheinin said, but
not enough tourists were coming to Israel, mainly
because of lack of investment into making historical
sites more attractive and the lack of hotels.
"There is a need for an additional 70,000 rooms," he
said. "But today there are no entrepreneurs who are
prepared to invest in this venture when there are only
5 million tourists a year and potential geopolitical
risks. Hence, if there is a market failure, it requires
governmental intervention providing a safety net for
private entrepreneurs by saying, 'If an external security
event occurs, then the state will pay you for your
overhead payments.'" - - - -
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15) Senate urges evangelists to file with accountability agency
COURIER-NEWS, Bridgewater, NJ [Gannett] - Staff
report - January 24, 2008
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has urged six
televangelists whose non-profit ministries are under
investigation by the Senate Finance Committee to
register with the Evangelical Council for Financial
Accountability.
The ministries are run by Benny Hinn, Kenneth
Copeland, Eddie Long, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar and
Paula White.
Grassley also commended the financially ailing Oral
Roberts University for accreditation from the
Evangelical Council for Financial
Accountability.
"Oral Roberts University is taking a huge step in the
right direction by seeking membership in the
Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability,"
Grassley said. "The mission of this council, to earn
the public trust in certain tax-exempt organizations,
contributes to public confidence in our nation's tax
policies. Likewise, regular review of the tax laws by
policy makers, including the laws governing the tax-
exempt sector, is important to sustaining public
support for tax-exempt status."
On Nov. 5, Grassley wrote to six media-based
ministries for information regarding expenses,
executive compensation, amenities given to
executives and board governance to ensure
accountability to donors and to taxpayers. None of the
six ministries are accredited by the Evangelical
Council for Financial Accountability.
About 2,000 faith-based organizations are members
who pay membership fees and agree to meet council
accountability standards.
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16) And Again! Church official: No land to Jews!
Cancellation of property sale could affect dividing
Jerusalem
WORLDNETDAILY - By Aaron Klein - December 7,
2007
JERUSALEM - The man enthroned here as Greek
Orthodox patriarch has been asked by church leaders
to cancel the sale to Jewish groups of land
comprising much of a key entrance to Jerusalem's
Old City, a church official told WND yesterday.
"The deal must be canceled and Theofilos knows this.
We as a church will fight any smuggling of real estate
to Jewish organizations," Atallah Hanna, the church's
archbishop of Sebastia, told WND in an interview.
Ownership of the land in question - two hotels that
comprise a large section of the Jaffa Gate, the
principal entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem - could
be crucial in the future status of Jerusalem during
upcoming Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
Following last month's U.S.-backed Annapolis
summit, Israel is widely expected to evacuate eastern
Jerusalem neighborhoods for the creation of an
eventual Palestinian state. Previous U.S.-backed
proposals have allotted Jewish-owned sections of
Jerusalem to Israel and Arab-occupied real estate to
the Palestinians.
The question of the ownership of the Jaffa Gate
properties is at the center of a debate in Israel
regarding whether to recognize Theofilos III, elected
patriarch in 2005 amid charges of church
irregularities. Theofilos also has been quoted by
church officials as opposing the sale of Jerusalem
property to Jews.
A top church official close to Theofilis, speaking to
WND yesterday on condition of anonymity, said
Theofilos' leadership will stand against selling land to
Jews.
"Any deal that can serve the judiazation of Jerusalem
is against the policy Theofilis wants the church to
adopt," said the official. "All the priests and patriarchs
must take this into consideration. Eastern Jerusalem
is for the Palestinians." - - - -
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17) Pub program lets chaplains discuss problems over pours
HARRISBURG PATRIOT-NEWS [Advance/Newhouse] -
By T.W. Burger - January 26, 2008
CARLISLE - Perhaps the last person you want to see
at the bar is your minister.
Or maybe that's just what you need.
Chuck Kish, 44, a senior pastor at the Bethel
Assembly of God in Carlisle, is launching a program
at the Market Cross Pub next month to put chaplains
in bars. They'll offer help to folks who might have
ended up there for reasons other than relaxing and
socializing.
Kish said he and the chaplains he trains will not be
there to preach against "the evils of drinking" or to
evangelize.
"We're simply going to be there to help anybody who
wants it. Sometimes people really just want
somebody they can talk to who is not going to be
judgmental, but be sympathetic," Kish said from the
dining room of the Carlisle pub. "Some people may
think this would be a strange place to find a chaplain.
But we need to go where the people are."
Kish said chaplains will work in teams, one male and
one female.
About five years ago, Kish and a few others became a
corps of volunteer chaplains for the North Middleton
Twp. and Carlisle police departments. He said he
believes that putting chaplains where people's lives
are under stress can help.
"Sometimes, just having a chaplain present can de-
escalate things," he said. "Sometimes people come
to a bar because they're really hurting about
something. Bartenders and the owners are pretty
good about reading their customers, some of whom
they've known for years.
"So on the first Friday of every month, from 9 p.m. to
midnight, we plan to be here so somebody can
say, 'You know, there's a chaplain over there. Maybe
you'd like to talk to him -- or her.'"
Kish is starting out in one location to get a feel for
what works and what doesn't, and then he'll expand
the program to other spots in the Carlisle region.
Market Cross Pub owner Jeff Goss said he did
a "double take" when Kish approached him with the
idea.
"I thought, a chaplain in a restaurant and bar? And
then I thought, that makes sense," he said. "I have a
lot of regulars, and they've all probably had some
tough times now and then."
Bartender Liz Horn, 24, said she would have no
problem suggesting a customer talk to a chaplain.
"Sometimes a bar is a place where people go when
they're down. You can usually feel people out,
especially regulars," she said.
Kish said, "You know, I'm not going to be walking
around getting into people's spaces, handing out
religious tracts. It's not that kind of operation. I'll be
there if people want to talk to me. I'm there to help.
We'll be looking for people who are over the edge."
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19) China bans Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission
BeliefWatch: Reincarnate
NEWSWEEK [Washington Post Co.] - By Matthew
Philips - August 20-27, 2007 issue
In one of history's more absurd acts of totalitarianism,
China has banned Buddhist monks in Tibet from
reincarnating without government permission.
According to a statement issued by the State
Administration for Religious Affairs, the law, which
goes into effect next month and strictly stipulates the
procedures by which one is to reincarnate, is "an
important move to institutionalize management of
reincarnation." But beyond the irony lies China's true
motive: to cut off the influence of the Dalai Lama,
Tibet's exiled spiritual and political leader, and to quell
the region's Buddhist religious establishment more
than 50 years after China invaded the small
Himalayan country. By barring any Buddhist monk
living outside China from seeking reincarnation, the
law effectively gives Chinese authorities the power to
choose the next Dalai Lama, whose soul, by tradition,
is reborn as a new human to continue the work of
relieving suffering. - - - -
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20) Explaining the Oracle's Visions
U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT [NY Daily News/M
Zuckerman] - By Kent Garber - November 16, 2007
Delphi, Greece -- When John Hale was an
archaeology graduate student at Cambridge
University in the 1970s, he was taught that the ancient
Greek accounts of the events and rituals at the Oracle
of Delphi were fundamentally flawed.
The Greek historian Plutarch had spoken of a spring
that emitted "fragrance and breeze" into the Oracle's
temple, driving the priestesses there into a frenzied
trance and prompting them to deliver prophetic
visions. But 19th- and 20th-century researchers, after
decades of searching, found no physical evidence
supporting Plutarch. "The French dug at Delphi in the
1890s and didn't find any gases," says Hale, director
of liberal studies at the University of Louisville. "Other
archaeologists had dug there and found no faults or
springs."
But that's not the end of it. In the past 11 years, a
series of more rigorous scientific investigations has
challenged-and, in effect, reversed-the accepted
orthodoxy, showing in modern detail how hydrocarbon
gases, still present at the site, might explain the
ancient Greek stories.
Credit for that goes to Hale and colleague Jelle de
Boer, a Wesleyan University geologist, whose chance
meeting led to research validating Plutarch's
accounts. The two met in 1996 at a research site in
Portugal; there, over a glass of wine, de Boer claimed
to have seen a fault line at Delphi following an
earthquake more than a decade earlier. Hale was
skeptical. "This," he recalls thinking, "would rewrite
archaeology, and Greek history, and its
religion."
A deal was struck: They would travel to Delphi, to the
rugged slopes of Mount Parnassus, and map out the
terrain. They did and, on two separate trips, they
discovered not one but two intersecting fault lines-the
first running east-west (as suggested by de Boer), the
second northwest-southeast. The base of the ancient
temple stood squarely at their intersection. Recent
seismic activity, they surmised, had revealed the
hidden secret.
Fumes. The discovery of crisscrossing fault lines
beneath the Oracle's grounds answered one question
outright. If the gases of which Plutarch spoke were
real, where did they come from? And it hinted at yet
another: the unknown nature of their composition. De
Boer posited that limestone deposits buried deep
beneath the ground might have released hydrocarbon
gases-specifically, methane, ethane, and ethylene-
into the air.
Ethylene, in particular, piqued the researchers'
interest. "Ethylene is what gives fruits their sweet
smell," says Hale, "which seems to match the note
that Plutarch had made of the odor [of the Oracle
gases]." Ethylene also has a history of mental
confabulation. "In low doses, ethylene can induce a
trance," Hale says. "Early-20th-century researchers
found that ethylene could produce an anesthetic state
twice as fast as nitrous oxide."
The researchers contacted chemist Jeffrey Chanton of
Florida State University to analyze water samples from
natural springs discovered in the faults. The analysis
detected low levels of ethylene, among other
gases. "For the descriptions in the literature of what
caused the [priestess] to come forward with her
predictions, ethyl ene is the perfect gas," de Boer
says.
Though scholars continue to debate the precise
nature of the gas-an Italian team published a paper
last year arguing that methane-induced oxygen
deprivation was the culprit-Hale says the bigger point
is that this debate is happening at all. "People were
responding to very specific phenomena in the Earth's
surface," he says. "Modern science confirms the
validity of those ancient observations, and this is a
great way of looking at ancient religion."
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22) Plan for High Schools: Less Homework, More Yoga, From a Principal Who Hates Stress
NEW YORK TIMES [NYTimes Group/Sulzberger] - By
Sara Rimer - October 29, 2007
NEEDHAM, Mass. - It was 6:30 p.m. The lights were
still on at Needham High School, here in the affluent
Boston suburbs. Paul Richards, the principal, was
meeting with the Stress Reduction
Committee.
On the agenda: finding the right time to bring in
experts to train students in relaxation
techniques.
Don't try to have them teach relaxation in study hall,
said Olivia Boyd, a senior. Students, she explained,
won't want to interrupt their work. They were already
too busy before or after school for the training. - - -
His new stress committee is starting to come up with
recommendations, like the relaxation consultants, and
is surveying students about unhealthy stress. This
term, Mr. Richards is talking up the yoga classes that
are required of all seniors. He has asked teachers to
schedule homework-free weekends and holidays.
"The irony," he said, referring to the homework
breaks, "is that students tell us they appreciate the
time because it allows them to catch up on other
schoolwork."
Mr. Richards is just one principal in the vanguard of a
movement to push back against an ethos of super-
achievement at affluent suburban high schools amid
the extreme competition over college admissions. He
has joined like-minded administrators from 44 other
high schools and middle schools - most in the San
Francisco Bay Area but others scattered from Texas to
New York - to form a group known as S.O.S., for
Stressed Out Students.
The group was formed four years ago by Denise
Pope, a lecturer at the Stanford University School of
Education and author of the book, "Doing School: How
We Are Creating a Generation of Stressed Out,
Materialistic and Miseducated Students" (Yale
University Press, 2001).
High schools in other Boston suburbs - Wellesley,
Lexington, Wayland - have taken steps similar to
Needham's, organizing stress committees and yoga
classes. Some high schools are requiring students to
get parental permission before enrolling in Advanced
Placement classes. Others are experimenting with
later start times so students can get more
sleep.
Dr. Pope advises schools to end the tradition of
student newspapers publishing end-of-the-year lists
of seniors and their colleges. "We found that there are
kids who are lying," she said, "because they're
embarrassed to say they're going to a state
school."
At Needham, there is some grumbling that measures
like homework-free holidays could erode academic
rigor. - - -
Needham began an intense self-examination a
couple years ago, after four of its young people - one
in college, two in high school and one in middle
school - committed suicide. While school officials
emphasized that the suicides were not related to
stress, the deaths heightened concerns about how
Needham's students were responding to school
pressure.
Even before the suicides, Needham school officials
had responded to youth surveys indicating troubling
rates of alcohol and drug use and depression - rates
like those at other affluent high schools - by
establishing an initiative, starting in elementary
school, to help students develop better emotional and
social skills.
"One of our big goals is to try to help students become
more resilient," Mr. Richards said. He wants to help
students learn to cope better with the inevitable
setbacks, he said, "so they don't fall apart if they get a
B-minus."
Mr. Richards, 36, arrived here three years ago from
Nantucket, where, as principal of the island's high
school, he had to push students to aim higher. For all
the academic advantages of Needham High School,
what struck him, he said, was the cost to all this
achieving and performing.
Many students were so stressed out about grades
and test scores - and so busy building r�sum�s to get
into the small number of brand-name colleges they
equated with success - that, he said, they could not
fully engage with school.
"A lot of these kids," he said, "are being held hostage
to the culture." - - -
He said he was concerned with widespread cheating,
mostly by students copying homework and failing to
cite sources fully. Cheating, experts say, is a problem
at high schools nationwide. - - -
Mr. Richards acknowledges that his efforts are a work
in progress. Still, some are skeptical.
"The stress reduction - I'm still waiting," said Harris
Feldman, a senior, as his classmates gathered for
yoga. - - - -
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Contact Information
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| Editor |
| Scott Brisk |
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