| January 21, 2009
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God will send a deluding influence |
2 Thessalonians 2:7-14
For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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John 14:6-7
Jesus *said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him."
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John 16:13-14
"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. "He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.
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| Shalom in Christ Jesus, |
The apostasy is at full
throttle and all one needs to do is gaze at the headlines of the past few weeks
and compare them with what the Bible states and they will see this is true.
However, very few people
have spiritual eyes to actually see this truth and those that do must humbly thank The Lord Jesus Christ Himself. For the Scripture declares:
For consider your calling, brethren, that there were
not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God
has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has
chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and
the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that
are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast
before God.
-1 Corinthians 1:26-29
This verse has frequently
been on my heart lately as I have continually been reminded that I am nothing
without the Lord. In the eyes of the world I am a loser and that is what I was
until I found Christ. Even my natural talents that the world would generally
approve of for some reason never brought me as far as they would the average
person because I just did not have the 'right look' or talk the right talk etc.
I have come to understand what a blessing it is to be 'called' to join Jesus
"outside the camp, bearing His reproach"
BE/\LERT!
Scott Brisk
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| Most US Christians define own theology |
More than half say other faiths can also lead to salvation
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR - By Jane Lampman - January 14, 2009
American individualism has made its imprint on Christianity.
A sizable majority of the country's faithful no longer hew closely to orthodox teachings, and look more to themselves than to churches or denominations to define their religious convictions, according to two recent surveys. More than half of all Christians also believe that some non-Christians can get into heaven.
"Growing numbers of people now serve as their own theologian-in-residence," said George Barna, president of Barna Group, on releasing findings of one of the polls on Jan. 12.
In the Barna survey, 71 percent of American adults say they are more likely to develop their own set of religious beliefs than to accept a defined set of teachings from a particular church. Even among born-again Christians, 61 percent pick and choose from the beliefs of different denominations. For people under the age of 25, the number rises to 82 percent.
Many "cafeteria Christians" go beyond the teachings of Christian denominations to embrace parts of other world religions.
Half of Americans also believe that Christianity is now just one of many faith options people can choose from (44 percent disagree with that perception). Residents of the Northeast and West were more likely than those in the South and Midwest to say Christianity has lost its status as the favored American religion.
Christians expressed a variety of unorthodox beliefs in the poll. Nearly half of those interviewed do not believe in the existence of Satan, one-third believe Jesus sinned while on earth, and two-fifths say they don't have a responsibility to share their faith with others.
The most striking divergence from orthodoxy, however, was first revealed in the 2007 US Religious Landscape Survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. That comprehensive survey of 35,000 Americans found a majority of Christians saying that people of other religions can find salvation and eternal life.
The results stirred controversy among some Christian leaders for whom Jesus as the only path to salvation is a paramount teaching. Some questioned whether those surveyed about "other religions" might have been thinking of Christian denominations or traditions - such as Protestants referring to Roman Catholicism - rather than non-Christian faiths.
Pew undertook a follow-up survey, which it released in late December. That poll found 65 percent of American Christians (including 47 percent of Evangelicals) do indeed think that many different religions can lead to eternal life. Among these Christians, 80 percent cited one non-Christian faith as a route to salvation; 61 percent named two or more.
The survey also asked about views on how one obtains eternal life. Among all adults with a religious affiliation, 30 percent say correct beliefs are what counts, 29 percent say salvation depends on one's actions during life, while 10 percent say both are essential. Those who emphasize the impact of actions are more inclined to believe that practitioners of non-Christian faiths can achieve eternal life. Most of those who emphasize beliefs say non-Christian paths do not lead to heaven.
The poll confirms a broad rejection of religious exclusivity. Among all religious adults interviewed, 65 percent say many religions lead to eternal life and only 29 percent say theirs is the one true faith. Sixty-nine percent of all non-Jews say Judaism can lead to eternal life and 52 percent of non-Muslims say that of Islam.
Forty-two percent of religious Americans also say atheists are able to find eternal life.
While some people hail these findings as heartening for American pluralism, others see them as a wake-up call. R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary writes on his blog about biblical Christianity's role in countering such inclusive views and helping people find the true Christian way. Others point to the power of egalitarian American culture.
"It's just part of a 200-year working out of ideas about personal autonomy and equality that are sort of built into the American experience," says Alan Wolfe, director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College. "The notion that someone is going to burn in hell because they have their own beliefs is just not resonant within our larger political ideals."
Original Report
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In This Alert
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| Most US Christians define own theology |
| Americans accept 'array of faiths,' abandon biblical teaching |
| 1 in 3 'Christians' says 'Jesus sinned' |
| UK 2050: Church attendance 'to fall by 90%' |
| Most Britons do not believe in the nativity, survey shows |
| Bible 'expert' proclaims: Jesus is not God |
| Warren's 'inclusive' prayer ignites reactions |
| 61% in Poll Back Rick Warren as Invocation Pick |
| Inaugural prayer slam prompts Obama smile |
| Obama's Path to Faith Was Eclectic |
| Rev. Sharon Watkins and Gay Bishop Gene Robinson to Participate in Obama Inauguration |
| An open letter to Rick Warren |
| Rick Warren talks to Muslim group about tolerance |
| Restless Intellectual Yoked Catholics and Evangelicals |
| Bush talks of belief in God, evolution |
| Evangelical leader supports 'gay' civil unions |
| Detroit Churches Pray for 'God's Bailout' |
| SUVs at altar, Detroit church prays for a bailout |
| Using Calvinism to endorse ungodly lifestyle, Mega-Church Marketing, EC Fashion, and Vulgar Language |
| At the Apollo, a Theater Gets Religion |
| Evangelist Todd Bentley romantically involved with nanny; seeks divorce from wife |
| Church tries Goth Liturgy |
| Christian Zionists: The Real Terrorists |
| Turn old churches into gyms, cafes and multi-faith centres, says Culture Secretary |
| Islam is real threat to church, says Synod member |
| Florida Woman Says Former Church Plans to Make Her Sins Public |
| Evangelicals adopting Advent |
| Santa's Little (Slave) Helper |
| [False Christ Alert] Maitreya: Share International Reveals Christmas Miracle |
| Will Department of Defense Turn to Meditation to Bring World Peace? |
Live Teaching Engagements
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Must See Video: Islamic Madness!
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Hamas terrorists...using children as shields
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| Americans accept 'array of faiths,' abandon biblical teaching |
ONE NEWS NOW [American Family News Network] - By Allie Martin - January 16, 2009
A new survey finds Christianity is no longer the default faith of most Americans. ...
According to Barna, the survey also finds that many Americans are adopting their own ideas about faith, apart from God's Holy Word.
"What we find is that people are deriving their biblical literacy and their views of spirituality from conversations that they have with friends, and they give that equal weight to things they might get in church or from other religious settings," he points out. "They'll get their faith views from their own personal reflections as well as from their personal experiences and observations." ...
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Also:
Christianity Is No Longer Americans' Default Faith
THE BARNA RESEARCH GROUP - THE BARNA UPDATE - January 12, 2009
Ventura, California - For much of America's history, the assumption was that if you were born in America, you would affiliate with the Christian faith. A new nationwide survey by The Barna Group, however, indicates that people's views have changed. The study discovered that half of all adults now contend that Christianity is just one of many options that Americans choose from and that a huge majority of adults pick and choose what they believe rather than adopt a church or denomination's slate of beliefs. Still, most people say their faith is becoming increasingly important as a source of personal moral guidance.
Read Full Report |
| 1 in 3 'Christians' says 'Jesus sinned' |
Barna poll shows adults develop their own beliefs
WORLDNETDAILY - By Bob Unruh - January 16, 2009
Half of Americans who call themselves "Christian" don't believe Satan exists and fully one-third are confident that Jesus sinned while on Earth, according to a new Barna Group poll.
Another 40 percent say they do not have a responsibility to share their Christian faith with others, and 25 percent "dismiss the idea that the Bible is accurate in all of the principles it teaches," the organization reports.
Pollster George Barna said the results have huge implications.
"Americans are increasingly comfortable picking and choosing what they deem to be helpful and accurate theological views and have become comfortable discarding the rest of the teachings in the Bible," he said.
"Growing numbers of people now serve as their own theologian-in-residence," he continued. "One consequence is that Americans are embracing an unpredictable and contradictory body of beliefs."
The results are a dramatic departure from the nation's foundings, when leaders held prayer meetings in the halls of Congress and attributed to Almighty God the victory in the Revolutionary War.
Barna noted the millions of people who describe themselves as Christian and believe Jesus sinned, or those who say they will experience eternal salvation because they confessed their sins and accepted Christ as their savior, "but also believe that a person can do enough good works to earn eternal salvation." ...
For the study, "born-again Christians" were defined as people who said they had made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that was still important in their life today and who also indicated they believed that when they die they will go to heaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. The results highlight the significant shift in beliefs held by Americans, the study said. ...
Read Full Report |
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UK 2050: Church attendance 'to fall by 90%'
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THE GUARDIAN [Guardian Media Group, UK] - By Jamie Dow - December 21, 2008
In one of the most holy weeks in the Christian calendar, a report says that in just over a generation the number of people attending Church of England Sunday services will fall to less than a tenth of what they are now.
Christian Research, the statistical arm of the Bible Society, claimed that by 2050 Sunday attendance will fall below 88,000, compared with just under a million now.
The controversial forecast, based on a "snapshot" census of church attendances, has been seized upon by secular groups as proof that the established church is in decline. But the Church of England has rejected the figures, saying they were incomplete and ignored new ways of worshipping outside the church network. ...
Keith Porteous-Wood of the National Secular Society said: "Church attendance has already been in decline for over 60 years, all over Britain, in all major denominations and across all age groups, except the over-65s. Independent statisticians now have enough data to predict confidently that the decline will continue until Christianity becomes a minority sect of largely elderly people, in little more than a generation." ...
Read Full Report
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| Most Britons do not believe in the nativity, survey shows |
Most Britons do not believe the Biblical story of the birth of Jesus, a study has found.
LONDON DAILY TELEGRAPH [Barclay] - By Ben Leach - December 20, 2008
Young people were particularly doubtful about the nativity, with 78 per cent of 16-24-year-olds saying they were not convinced of its historical reliability.
Overall, 70 per cent were sceptical of the baby's birth in a manger to a virgin mother, according to the poll of 1,000 people by the British Marketing Research Bureau.
Almost a quarter of those questioned who described themselves as Christians admitted they did not believe certain aspects of the Bible's teaching about Jesus.
The survey was commissioned by St Helen's Church in Bishopsgate, London, which has produced a film of "sound evidence" supporting the Bible's account. The Rev Charlie Skrine, curate of the church, said the survey showed that "most of the UK believes that the accounts of Jesus's birth aren't good history".
He added: "Combined with a general lack of understanding about the real meaning of Christmas, this leaves people without the hope that Jesus offers."
Simon Gathercole, a new testament scholar at Cambridge University, said people were sceptical because they were not aware the origins of Christianity were anchored in real history.
He added: "Jesus was born while Augustus was emperor of Rome just before Herod died. We're talking about events that are anchored in real history not in ancient Greek myths."
A separate study by Mothers' Union, a Christian charity, showed that more parents encourage their children to believe in Father Christmas than in the nativity. ...
Read Full Report |
| Bible 'expert' proclaims: Jesus is not God |
Says most Christians wrong about divinity by misinterpreting Scripture
WORLDNETDAILY - January 10, 2009
A national radio show discussing Bible truth took a heated turn Christmas Eve when a so-called biblical expert proclaimed that Jesus Christ is not God.
The assertion came during the Dec. 24 broadcast of the Jesse Lee Peterson Show, as Peterson had on several guests, one of whom was "the Bible Go-to Guy" who emphatically declared that Jesus is not really God.
"You are breaking some serious news here on this program if you're saying that [the Bible says] Jesus Christ is not God," said a stunned Joe Kovacs, author of "Shocked by the Bible: The Most Astonishing Facts You've Never Been Told."
"It is serious news. And He is not [God]," responded the Bible Go-to Guy. ...
A five-minute excerpt of the program that sparked the debate about whether or not Jesus is God can be heard by clicking the play button here
Joe Kovacs defends Jesus as God on Jesse Lee Peterson Show
Kovacs' entire 43-minute appearance on Peterson's show can be heard here online, with Kovacs joining the program at the 1:44:14 mark explaining the details of Jesus' birth. The issue of the divine identity of Christ commences at the 2:06:00 mark.
"Everyone is certainly free to believe whatever they wish," says Kovacs. "If people don't think Jesus is God, that's their own choice. But let's not pretend the Bible doesn't say Jesus is God, because it does. When the Bible says 'the Word was God,' it means exactly what it says. Jesus, who is known as 'the Word,' was and is God. Even Jesus' other name of Emmanuel literally means 'God with us.' (Matthew 1:23)
"The Jews of His day even sought to kill Jesus because He called Himself "I AM," the actual name of God. (Exodus 3:14, John 8:58) ...
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Warren's 'inclusive' prayer ignites reactions
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Pastor quotes from Jewish, Christian, Muslim scriptures
WORLDNETDAILY - By Drew Zahn - January 20, 2009
Pastor Rick Warren's invocation at President Obama's inauguration today has ignited a flurry of critiques for using words from the Jewish, Christian and Muslim holy texts as well as including the name of Jesus - in several languages.
Leading up to the prayer, bloggers and commentators debated whether Warren - an evangelical pastor blasted by the homosexual community for his opposition to same-sex marriage - would draft a prayer that was inclusive of the many Americans of differing religions, moralities and politics or whether it would be solely reflective of evangelical Christian theology.
Following the prayer, some criticized him for being too inclusive.
Islam expert Robert Spencer at JihadWatch.org, an organization dedicated to bringing public attention to jihad theology and defending Western society, criticized Warren for including a common refrain from Islam's Quran - "You are the compassionate and merciful one.".
"'The compassionate, the merciful' is, of course, a reference to the invocation at the beginning of every chapter of the Qur'an except one: Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim, 'In the name of Allah, the compassionate, the merciful,'" Spencer writes. "Making sure everyone feels included - terrific. But the prayer indicates yet again that there is little general awareness of the reasons why the term 'Judeo-Christian-Islamic values' is a misnomer."
Warren also included the foundational Jewish prayer Shema Yisrael, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one," and the prayer beginning with the words "Our Father," revered by Christians as the Lord's Prayer.
Warren also drew criticism from those who thought the prayer was too evangelical or that the pastor, by his very presence, excluded the "lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender" audience members.
In a forum on the Dallas Morning News' website, a poster named Alex writes, "Not exactly inclusive. Invoking Jesus 'who taught us to pray' alienates all non-Christians. And Catholics don't say 'For thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory for ever and ever.' And his previous statements about LGBT Americans and those who are pro-choice [are] divisive as well." ...
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See Also:
Rick Warren's prayer
Transcript of presidential inauguration prayer by Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, Calif.
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| 61% in Poll Back Rick Warren as Invocation Pick |
THE WASHINGTON POST [Wash Post Group/Graham] - By Jon Cohen - January 20, 2009
President-elect Barack Obama's selection of the Rev. Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his inauguration was initially met with a torrent of criticism because of the evangelical pastor's views on homosexuality, but most Americans support the choice.
In a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, 61 percent said they back Obama's invitation to Warren, who gained prominence for his book "The Purpose Driven Life." About a quarter of those polled, 23 percent, oppose the choice, and 16 percent expressed no opinion. Party affiliation had little effect on respondents' views about Warren -- 66 percent of Democrats and 60 percent of both Republicans and independents expressed support for Obama's choice.
The poll results also suggested that Warren and Obama are likely to have a huge audience. Nearly three-quarters of the respondents said they will watch or listen to the inauguration, far exceeding the roughly six in 10 who planned to watch on television when Bill Clinton took the oath of office in 1993, the last time a Democrat took over the White House. ...
Read Full Report |
| Inaugural prayer slam prompts Obama smile |
WORLDNETDAILY - By Chelsea Schilling - January 20, 2009
Outrage is erupting over the inauguration benediction by Rev. Joseph Lowery, an 87-year-old civil rights pioneer, for asking God to help mankind work for a day when "white would embrace what is right."
Lowery, known for co-founding the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Martin Luther King Jr., opened with a quote from the "Black National Anthem." He then asked God to encourage America to make "choices on the side of love, not hate, on the side of inclusion not exclusion, tolerance not intolerance" after President Barack Obama took the presidential oath.
Then he ended his prayer with, "Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around - when yellow will be mellow - when the red man can get ahead, man - and when white will embrace what is right."
Obama reacted to the benediction with a smile.
The crowd cheered and boomed with a loud "Amen." ...
Read Full Report |
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Obama's Path to Faith Was Eclectic
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 President-Elect Will Reach Out to Diverse Set of Religious Leaders for Advice
THE WASHINGTON POST [Wash Post Group/Graham] - By Eli Saslow - January 18, 2009
The presidential inauguration ceremony on Tuesday will begin and end with prayers from two men whom Barack Obama considers role models, advisers and dear friends. One, Joseph Lowery, is an 87-year-old black liberal Methodist from the Deep South who spent his career fighting for civil rights. The other, Rick Warren,9 is a 54-year-old white conservative evangelical from Southern California who fights same-sex unions.
The two religious icons are, Lowery said, "usually on opposite sides of the chart." But Obama will step onstage with them, set his hand on a Bible and feel comfortable in the vast space in between.
For the president-elect, religion has always been less about theology than the power God inspires in communities that worship Him, friends and advisers said. It has been more than three months since he sat through a Sunday church service and at least five years since he attended regularly, but during the transition, Obama has spoken to religious leaders almost daily. They said Obama calls to seek advice, but rarely is it spiritual. Instead, he asks how to mobilize faith-based communities behind his administration.
Obama grew up the son of an atheist, spent two formative years in a predominantly Muslim school, worked out of an office in a Catholic rectory, accepted Jesus at a traditionally black church and married the cousin of a Chicago area rabbi. His personal journey to faith is a modern amalgamation that friends expect to be reflected not just at his inauguration but in his governing: Obama will reach out to a diverse set of leaders and try to join them in unconventional ways, unconcerned about their theological and political differences. ...
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Also:
TRANSCRIPT: Obama's inaugural address
"... For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. ..."
See Here
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| Rev. Sharon Watkins and Gay Bishop Gene Robinson to Participate in Obama Inauguration |
ASSOCIATED CONTENT - By Tina Molly Lang - January 12, 2009
Playing All Sides
In a perhaps calculated spirit of ecumenism, Barack Obama has invited Rev. Sharon Watkins and Bishop Gene Robinson to participate in the inaugural activities. This move was possibly intended to offset the controversy over Rick Warren. In any case, Obama's inaugural selections of Rev. Sharon Watkins and Bishop Gene Robinson demonstrate that he is a masterful politician who is effectively playing all sides.
Rev. Sharon Watkins: Liberal Protestant
Rev. Sharon Watkins will deliver the sermon at the National Prayer Service the day after inauguration. The event will take place at the National Cathedral on January 21. According to Associated Press, Rev. Sharon Watkins will be the first woman to hold such an honor. Rev. Sharon Watkins belongs to the Disciples of Christ, a left-leaning mainline Protestant denomination. Prominent members of the Disciples of Christ have included James Garfield and Lyndon Johnson. The Disciples of Christ is "influenced by its founding ideals of our unity in Christ with openness and diversity in practice and belief."
Bishop Gene Robinson: Openly Gay Episcoaplian
Bishop Gene Robinson is another ecumenical choice for the inauguration. Gene Robinson will give the invocation for the welcome-event on Sunday afternoon. Bishop Gene Robinson is the only openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church. ...
Read Full Report |
| An open letter to Rick Warren |
WORLDNETDAILY - By Joseph Farah - December 22, 2008
Editor's note: The following is a column adapted from a letter Joseph Farah wrote to Rick Warren last week about his agreement to offer the invocation at the inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama on Jan. 20.
I'm writing to share my profound and abject revulsion at your agreement to offer the invocation at the inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama as president Jan. 20.
I understand you want this to be a time of "healing" for our nation. I understand you consider Obama to be your "friend." I understand your desire to bring "civility" to our society.
However, when we read the Bible, we see there are times for men of God to stand up to leaders, like Nathan did to King David, and confront them with the absolute truth of God's word and His laws. That's what all Christians should do when confronted with leaders embracing evil.
Evil?
That's a strong word.
But I use it advisedly.
Let's focus on just one of Obama's evil policies, though there are dozens more we should consider. ...
God will not bless the Obama administration's plans for murder, no matter what you say on Jan. 20. It's time for Rick Warren to decide whether he stands with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob or if he stands with the world and his "friend," Barack Hussein Obama.
Read Full Report |
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Rick Warren talks to Muslim group about tolerance
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Defends Obama's invitation that he give inaugural invocation
ASSOCIATED PRESS - By Christina Hoag - December 21, 2008
LONG BEACH, Calif. - Rick Warren has told a Muslim group in California that 'You don't have to see eye to eye to walk hand in hand.' And at the same gathering, Warren also admitted he's a big fan of lesbian activist Melissa Ethridge and has all her albums.
Under fire for opposing gay marriage, the influential evangelical told the Muslim Public Affairs Council's annual convention Saturday that he loves Muslims, people of other religions, Republicans and Democrats, and he also loves "gays and straights."
The 54-year-old pastor and founder of Saddleback Church in Southern California told the crowd of 500 that it's unrealistic to expect everyone to agree on everything all the time.
"You don't have to see eye to eye to walk hand in hand," said Warren.
Warren also defended President-elect Barack Obama's invitation that he give the invocation at the Jan. 20 inauguration in the keynote speech he delivered at the Muslim Public Affairs Council's annual convention in Long Beach. ...
Toward the end of his speech on Saturday, Warren also talked about singer Melissa Ethridge, who performed earlier in the evening. Warren said the two had a "wonderful conversation" and that he is a huge fan who has all her albums.
The openly lesbian gay rights activist even agreed to sign her Christmas album for him, he said. ...
Warren has won kudos from some liberal quarters by focusing less on traditional conservative issues such as abortion and gay rights, and instead calling on evangelical leaders to devote more attention to eradicating poverty, fighting AIDS in Africa, expanding educational opportunity for the marginalized, and global warming. ...
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Also:
PRESS RELEASE: Rick Warren & Juan Cole to Address 'New Era' at MPAC Convention on Dec. 20
MUSLIM PUBLIC AFFAIRS COUNCIL - Press Release - November 5, 2008
The Muslim Public Affairs Council today announced that best-selling author Rick Warren and legal scholar Juan Cole will serve as speakers during MPAC's 8th annual national convention on Saturday, December 20th in Long Beach, CA.
The convention will explore the theme of "A New Era, A New Role", featuring leading thinkers, media professionals, and community leaders on the historic possibilities facing all Americans at this unique point in the history of our nation and our community. ...
"We have seen unprecedented levels of political and civic participation among Muslim Americans who want to be a contributing part of addressing our nation's challenges," said MPAC Executive Director Salam Al-Marayati. "The convention is an important and unique opportunity to explore how we can all be a part of a better future for all Americans, and for the world." ....
See Full Release
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| Restless Intellectual Yoked Catholics and Evangelicals |
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL [News Corporation/Murdoch] - By Stephen Miller - January 10, 2009, page A6
REMEMBRANCES: Richard John Neuhaus 1936-2009
The Rev. Richard John Neuhaus, a Catholic priest, author and editor of the journal First Things, experienced at least three conversions in his life -- from Canadian to U.S. citizen, from Lutheran to Catholic and from liberal to conservative -- as if he were simply too intellectually questing to stay still.
Father Neuhaus, who died Thursday at age 72, was a crusader for everything from school vouchers to limiting judicial activism. The Public Square, his monthly column in First Things, was laced with sarcasm, idealism and the sheer joy of intellectual engagement, and he helped pioneer the religious right through a distinctly Catholic strain of neoconservatism. ...
In Father Neuhaus's writings, the free market was wed to Christian values, and the Catholic broke bread with the evangelical Protestant. Each association represented an amelioration of historic tensions. His 1994 book "Evangelicals and Catholics Together," co-authored with born-again former Watergate figure Charles Colson, has been credited with helping to forge an ecumenical alliance that translated into votes for Republicans.
"What Richard John Neuhaus helped a lot of us understand is that whatever differences Catholics and evangelicals had, they paled into insignificance compared to the pervasive darkness that was enveloping the broader culture," said Ralph Reed, former director of the Christian Coalition.
"This infrastructure of ecumenical conversation he helped create will last," said Deal Hudson, director of InsideCatholic.com, formerly Crisis magazine. He added, "His legacy will equal or surpass any bishop of the late 20th century."
Father Neuhaus wrote just a month after the September 2001 terrorist attacks that the West "is now being compelled to recognize itself more clearly for what most Muslims perceive it to be -- the Christian West, or Christendom." He was a close if informal adviser to President George W. Bush, who referred to him, as did many, simply as Father Richard.
Even though he was not himself evangelical, Time magazine named Father Neuhaus one of America's most influential evangelicals in 2005 and noted that the president cited him more than any other living authority when interviewed by religious publications. A senior administration official told Time that Father Neuhaus's views had been influential on abortion, stem-cell research, cloning and the defense-of-marriage amendment. ...
Father Neuhaus's conversion to Catholicism was perhaps prefigured by his publication of "The Catholic Moment" in 1987. Lutheranism, he had contended since his seminary days, had historically been a reform movement of Catholicism, and he was simply rejoining the mother ship.
He was an ardent supporter of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI and a subtle critic of the Second Vatican Council, which he contended had been "gravely distorted" so that "much of what is called Roman Catholic Christianity is in fact apostate." He formulated Neuhaus's Law: "Where orthodoxy is optional, orthodoxy will sooner or later be proscribed."
Yet such proclamations belied the ecumenical quality of the intellectuals he gathered, both in print at First Things and in person at monthly colloquies he sponsored at New York's Union League Club. "He believed everybody's voice should be heard in politics. He was probably the greatest humanist of our age," said Mr. George.
Mr. Novak has written that Father Neuhaus "bore with grace the charge of having become 'neo-conservative,' when the term was intended as an insult, and even turned that charge into a positive advantage, carving out a new blend of Christian orthodoxy and political realism."
Mr. Reed recalls attending multiple meetings in the mid-1990s at the Union League Club, where Catholics and evangelicals met under Father Neuhaus's aegis.
"That was an epochal moment in the history of protestant and Catholic relations," said Mr. Reed. "He had the ideas and the thinking, but he didn't have the troops. And those of us in the grassroots organizations did. So it was a very happy marriage to a sublime intellect. I loved the guy."
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* Emphasis Added
See Also:
Evangelicals and Catholics Together
ONE NEWS NOW [American Family News Network] - By Marcia Segelstein - January 10, 2009
"Evangelicals and Catholics Together" is the name of the document penned by the Rev. Richard John Neuhaus and Charles Colson. ...
Father Neuhaus died yesterday at the age of 72. National Review Online calls him "the most influential Catholic and Christian theologian and writer in America during the second half of the 20th century." ...
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| Bush talks of belief in God, evolution |
ASSOCIATED PRESS - December 9, 2008
President George W. Bush said his belief that God created the world is not incompatible with scientific proof of evolution.
In an interview with ABC's "Nightline" on Monday, the president also said he probably is not a literalist when reading the Bible although an individual can learn a great deal from it, including the New Testament teaching that God sent his only son.
Asked about creation and evolution, Bush said: "I think you can have both. I think evolution can - you're getting me way out of my lane here. I'm just a simple president. But it's, I think that God created the earth, created the world; I think the creation of the world is so mysterious it requires something as large as an almighty and I don't think it's incompatible with the scientific proof that there is evolution."
He added, "I happen to believe that evolution doesn't fully explain the mystery of life."
Interviewer Cynthia McFadden asked Bush if the Bible was literally true.
"You know. Probably not. ... No, I'm not a literalist, but I think you can learn a lot from it, but I do think that the New Testament for example is ... has got ... You know, the important lesson is 'God sent a son,'" Bush said.
"It is hard for me to justify or prove the mystery of the Almighty in my life," he said. "All I can just tell you is that I got back into religion and I quit drinking shortly thereafter and I asked for help. ... I was a one-step program guy."
The president also said that he prays to the same God as those with different religious beliefs.
"I do believe there is an almighty that is broad and big enough and loving enough that can encompass a lot of people," Bush said.
When asked whether he thought he would have become president had it not been for his faith, Bush said: "I don't know; it's hard to tell. I do know that I would have been - I'm pretty confident I would have been a pretty selfish person."
Bush said he is often asked whether he thinks he was chosen by God to be president.
"I just, I can't go there," he said. "I'm not that confident in knowing, you know, the Almighty, to be able to say, Yeah, God wanted me of all the other people."
He also said the decision to go to war in Iraq was not connected to his religious believes.
"I did it based upon the need to protect the American people from harm," Bush said.
"You can't look at the decision to go into Iraq apart from, you know, what happened on Sept. 11. It was not a religious decision," he said. "I don't view this as a war of religion. I view this as a war of good, decent people of all faiths against people who murder innocent people to achieve a political objective."
He said he felt like God was with him as he made big decisions, but that the decisions were his.
"George W. Bush has to make these decisions."
Original Report
Also:
Bush Is a Book Lover
A glimpse of what the president has been reading
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL [News Corporation/Murdoch] - By Karl Rove - December 26, 2008
... Each year, the president also read the Bible from cover to cover, along with a daily devotional. ...
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| Evangelical leader supports 'gay' civil unions |
Claims Christians should 'give biblical point of view a different slant'
WORLDNETDAILY - December 5, 2008
An influential evangelical leader is coming under fire for saying in a National Public Radio interview he believes in homosexual civil unions and that Christians who oppose same-sex marriage and abortion may still find reasons to support Obama.
Richard Cizik is chief lobbyist and vice president for governmental affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals, representing 45,000 U.S. churches from 59 denominations. He told NPR Dec. 2 he is "shifting" on "gay" marriage, he has an aversion to Sarah Palin and that he voted for Obama in the Virginia primary, LifeNews reported. ...
Cizik refused to reveal which candidate received his vote in the general election, ...
Cizik told NPR a candidate's character and party values are more significant to him than specific issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage. ...
Cizik, named one of Time's most influential people, called Palin's stance on the environment "ignorance." He also said she lacked humility, unlike Obama. Prior to the election, he told the Independent, "Not everyone in the evangelical movement is fawning over Sarah Palin."
When NPR asked Cizik about whether his views could change on "gay" marriage, he said, "I'm shifting I have to admit. In other words I would willingly say that I believe in civil unions. I don't officially support redefining marriage from its traditional definition, I don't think."
According to the report, Cizik suggested Christians should redirect their focus away from the debate about "gay" marriage.
"Maybe we need to reevaluate this and look at it a little differently," he told NPR. "I'm always looking for ways to reframe issues. Give the biblical point of view a different slant." ...
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| Detroit Churches Pray for 'God's Bailout' |
NEW YORK TIMES [NYTimes Group/Sulzberger] - By Nick Bunkley - December 7, 2008
DETROIT - The Sunday service at Greater Grace Temple began with the Clark Sisters song "I'm Looking for a Miracle" and included a reading of this verse from the Book of Romans: "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."
Pentecostal Bishop Charles H. Ellis III, who shared the sanctuary's wide altar with three gleaming sport utility vehicles, closed his sermon by leading the choir and congregants in a boisterous rendition of the gospel singer Myrna Summers's "We're Gonna Make It" as hundreds of worshipers who work in the automotive industry - union assemblers, executives, car salesmen - gathered six deep around the altar to have their foreheads anointed with consecrated oil.
While Congress debated aid to the foundering Detroit automakers Sunday, many here whose future hinges on the decision turned to prayer.
Outside the Corpus Christi Catholic Church, a sign beckoned passers-by inside to hear about "God's bailout plan." Roman Catholic churches in the Detroit area distributed a four-page letter from Cardinal Adam Maida, the archbishop, offering "some pastoral insights and suggestions about how we might prepare to celebrate Christmas this year when economic conditions are so grim." ...
Last week Cardinal Maida gathered 11 Detroit-area religious leaders, representing Christian, Jewish and Muslim congregations, to call on Congress to approve the $34 billion in government-backed loans that the automakers have requested. ...
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| SUVs at altar, Detroit church prays for a bailout |
REUTERS [Thomson-Reuters] - By Kevin Krolicki and Soyoung Kim - December 7, 2008
DETROIT - With sport-utility vehicles at the altar and auto workers in the pews, one of Detroit's largest churches on Sunday offered up prayers for Congress to bail out the struggling auto industry.
"We have never seen as midnight an hour as we face this week," the Rev. Charles Ellis told several thousand congregants at a rousing service at Detroit's Greater Grace Temple. "This week, lives are hanging above an abyss of uncertainty as both houses of Congress decide whether to extend a helping hand."
Local car dealerships donated three hybrid SUVs to be displayed during the service, one from each of the Big Three. A Ford Escape, Chevy Tahoe from GM and a Chrysler Aspen were parked just in front of the choir and behind the pulpit.
Ellis said he and other Detroit ministers would pray and fast until Congress voted on a bailout for Detroit's embattled automakers. He urged his congregation to do the same.
Other Detroit-area religious leaders -- including Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders convened by Cardinal Adam Maida -- have urged Congress to approve an auto aid package. ...
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| Using Calvinism to endorse ungodly lifestyle, Mega-Church Marketing, EC Fashion, and Vulgar Language: Who would Jesus smack down? |
INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE [NYTimes Group/Sulzberger] - By Molly Worthen - January 12, 2009
Mark Driscoll's sermons are mostly too racy to post on GodTube, the evangelical Christian "family friendly" video-posting Web site. With titles like "Biblical Or-l S-x" and "Pleasuring Your Spouse," his clips do not stand a chance against the site's content filters. No matter: YouTube is where Driscoll, the pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, would rather be. Unsuspecting sinners who type in popular keywords may suddenly find themselves face to face with a husky-voiced preacher in a black skateboarder's jacket and skull T-shirt. An "Under 17 Requires Adult Permission" warning flashes before the video cuts to evening services at Mars Hill, where an anonymous audience member has just text-messaged a question to the screen onstage: "Pastor Mark, is m-st-rb-tion a valid form of birth control?"
Driscoll doesn't miss a beat: "I had one guy quote Ecclesiastes 9:10, which says, 'Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.' " The audience bursts out laughing. Next Pastor Mark is warning them about lust and exalting the confines of marriage, one hand jammed in his jeans pocket while the other waves his Bible. Even the skeptical viewer must admit that whatever Driscoll's opinion of certain recreational activities, he has the coolest style and foulest mouth of any preacher you've ever seen.
Mark Driscoll is American evangelicalism's bête noire. In little more than a decade, his ministry has grown from a living-room Bible study to a megachurch that draws about 7,600 visitors to seven campuses around Seattle each Sunday, and his books, blogs and podcasts have made him one of the most admired - and reviled - figures among evangelicals nationwide. Conservatives call Driscoll "the cussing pastor" and wish that he'd trade in his fashionably distressed jeans and taste for indie rock for a suit and tie and placid choral arrangements. Liberals wince at his hellfire theology and insistence that women submit to their husbands. But what is new about Driscoll is that he has resurrected a particular strain of fire and brimstone, one that most Americans assume died out with the Puritans: Calvinism, a theology that makes Pat Robertson seem warm and fuzzy.
At a time when the once-vaunted unity of the religious right has eroded and the mainstream media is proclaiming an "evangelical crackup," Driscoll represents a movement to revamp the style and substance of evangelicalism. With his taste for vintage baseball caps and omnipresence on Facebook and iTunes, Driscoll, who is 38, is on the cutting edge of American pop culture. Yet his message seems radically unfashionable, even un-American: you are not captain of your soul or master of your fate but a depraved worm whose hard work and good deeds will get you nowhere, because God marked you for heaven or condemned you to hell before the beginning of time. Yet a significant number of young people in Seattle - and nationwide - say this is exactly what they want to hear. Calvinism has somehow become cool, and just as startling, this generally bookish creed has fused with a macho ethos. At Mars Hill, members say their favorite movie isn't "Amazing Grace" or "The Chronicles of Narnia" - it's "Fight Club."
Mars Hill Church is the furthest thing from a Puritan meetinghouse. This is Seattle, and Mars Hill epitomizes the city that spawned it. Headquartered in a converted marine supply store, the church is a boxy gray building near the diesel-infused din of the Ballard Bridge. In the lobby one Sunday not long ago, college kids in jeans - some sporting nose rings or kitchen-sink dye jobs - lounged on ottomans and thumbed text messages to their friends. The front desk, black and slick, looked as if it ought to offer lattes rather than Bibles and membership pamphlets. Buzz-cut and tattooed security guards mumbled into their headpieces and directed the crowd toward the auditorium, where the worship band was warming up for an hour of hymns with Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." ...
Mars Hill has not entirely dispensed with megachurch marketing tactics. Its success in one of the most liberal and least-churched cities in America depends on being sensitive to the body-pierced and latte-drinking seekers of Seattle. Ultimately, however, Driscoll's theology means that his congregants' salvation is not in his hands. It's not in their own hands, either - this is the heart of Calvinism.
Human beings are totally corrupted by original sin and predestined for heaven or hell, no matter their earthly conduct. We all deserve eternal damnation, but God, in his inscrutable mercy, has granted the grace of salvation to an elect few. ...
Yet Driscoll is not an isolated eccentric. Over the past two decades, preachers in places as far-flung as Minneapolis and Washington, D.C., in denominations ranging from Baptist to Pentecostal, are pushing "this new, aggressive, mission-minded Calvinism that really believes Calvinism is a transcript of the Gospel," according to Roger Olson, a professor of theology at Baylor University. They have harnessed the Internet to recruit new believers, especially young people. Any curious seeker can find his way into a world of sermon podcasts and treatises by the Protestant Reformers and English Puritans, whose abstruse writings, though far from best-selling, are enjoying something of a renaissance. New converts stay in touch via blogs and Facebook groups with names like "John Calvin Is My Homeboy" and "Calvinism: The Group That Chooses You."
New Calvinists are still relatively few in number, but that doesn't bother them: being a persecuted minority proves you are among the elect. They are not "the next big thing" but a protest movement, defying an evangelical mainstream that, they believe, has gone soft on sin and has watered down the Gospel into a glorified self-help program. In part, Calvinism appeals because - like Mars Hill's music and Driscoll's frank sermons - the message is raw and disconcerting: seeker insensitive.
Most people who attend Mars Hill do not see themselves as theological radicals. Mark Driscoll is just "Pastor Mark," not the New Calvinist warrior demonized on evangelical and liberal blogs. Yet while some initially come for mundane reasons - their friends attend; they like the music - the Calvinist theology is often the glue that keeps them in their seats. ...
Driscoll found his way into this tradition largely on his own. He recently earned a master's degree through an independent-study program he arranged at a seminary in Portland, Oregon. Years ago, paperback reprints of old Puritan treatises in the corner of a local bookstore piqued his interest in Reformation theology. He came to admire Martin Luther, the vulgar, beer-swilling theological rebel who sparked the Reformation. "I found him to be something of a mentor," Driscoll says. "I didn't have all the baggage he did. But you can see him with a quill in one hand and a drink in the other. He married a brewer and renegade nun. His story is kind of indie rock."
Driscoll disdains the prohibitions of traditional evangelical Christianity. Taboos on alcohol, smoking, swearing and violent movies have done much to shape American Protestant culture - a culture that he has called the domain of "chicks and some chickified dudes with limp wrists." Moreover, the Bible tells him that to seek salvation by self-righteous clean living is to behave like a Pharisee. Unlike fundamentalists who isolate themselves, creating "a separate culture where you live in a Christian cul-de-sac," as one spiky-haired member named Andrew Pack puts it, Mars Hillians pride themselves on friendships with non-Christians. They tend to be cultural activists who play in rock bands and care about the arts, living out a long Reformed tradition that asserts Christ's mandate over every corner of creation. ...
Nowhere is the connection between Driscoll's hypermasculinity and his Calvinist theology clearer than in his refusal to tolerate opposition at Mars Hill. The Reformed tradition's resistance to compromise and emphasis on the purity of the worshipping community has always contained the seeds of authoritarianism: John Calvin had heretics burned at the stake and made a man who casually criticized him at a dinner party march through the streets of Geneva, kneeling at every intersection to beg forgiveness. Mars Hill is not 16th-century Geneva, but Driscoll has little patience for dissent. In 2007, two elders protested a plan to reorganize the church that, according to critics, consolidated power in the hands of Driscoll and his closest aides. Driscoll told the congregation that he asked advice on how to handle stubborn subordinates from a "mixed martial artist and Ultimate Fighter, good guy" who attends Mars Hill. "His answer was brilliant," Driscoll reported. "He said, 'I break their nose.' " When one of the renegade elders refused to repent, the church leadership ordered members to shun him. One member complained on an online message board and instantly found his membership privileges suspended. "They are sinning through questioning," Driscoll preached. John Calvin couldn't have said it better himself. ...
Mars Hill counts four of the city's top tattoo artists among its members (and many of their clientele - that afternoon, Conklin was expecting a fellow church member who wanted a portrait of Christ enthroned across his back). While other churches left people like Conklin feeling alienated, Mars Hill has made them its missionaries. "Some people say, 'You're pretty cool and you're a Christian, so I guess I can't hate all of them anymore,' " he says. "I understand where they're coming from."
Mars Hill - with its conservative social teachings embedded in guitar solos and drum riffs, its megachurch presence in the heart of bohemian skepticism - thrives on paradox. Critics on the left and right alike predict that this delicate balance of opposites cannot last. Some are skeptical of a church so bent on staying perpetually "hip": members have only recently begun to marry and have children, but surely those children will grow up, grow too cool for their cool church and rebel. Others say that Driscoll's ego and taste for controversy will be Mars Hill's Achilles' heel. Lately he has made a concerted effort to tone down his language, and he insists that he has delegated much authority, but the heart of his message has not changed. Driscoll is still the one who gazes down upon Mars Hill's seven congregations most Sundays, his sermons broadcast from the main campus to jumbo-size projection screens around the city. At one suburban campus that I visited, a huge yellow cross dominated center stage - until the projection screen unfurled and Driscoll's face blocked the cross from view. Driscoll's New Calvinism underscores a curious fact: the doctrine of total human depravity has always had a funny way of emboldening, rather than humbling, its adherents.
Molly Worthen last wrote for the magazine about classical Christian education in Idaho.
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| At the Apollo, a Theater Gets Religion |
NEW YORK TIMES [NYTimes Group/Sulzberger] - By A. E. Velez - December 14, 2008
In a neighborhood with no shortage of places to worship, a new religious service may not draw much attention. But when the program is in one of the best-known venues in Harlem - the Apollo Theater - and focuses on realities like the economy, people take notice.
Led by a prominent local minister, the Rev. Dr. Suzan D. Johnson Cook, the nondenominational worship series, called Harlem Hallelujah, began on Sunday, drawing more than 800 people to the Apollo.
Until now, the closest event to a religious service hosted on the heralded stage may have been the funeral for James Brown. "It was inevitable that church would come to the Apollo," said Nina Flowers, a spokeswoman for the Apollo.
To Dr. Cook, it is the season for change.
"It's an idea whose time has come, just like our new president," she said.
Known to many as Dr. Sujay, Dr. Cook was the first woman appointed chaplain of the New York City Police Department, the only religious leader appointed to President Bill Clinton's Initiative on Race and the first black woman to be elected a senior pastor in the 200-year history of the American Baptist Church.
"She's on the cutting edge of prophetic ministry," the Rev. Johnnie G. McCann of St. Luke's Baptist Church of Harlem told a congregation at the John Street United Methodist Church on Wednesday, where Dr. Cook has led "Wonderful Wall Street Wednesdays" services since 2001. ...
"People need spiritual translation - other than the King James Bible - that applies to their realities," said Dr. Cook, who was an adviser to President-elect Barack Obama's campaign. "Twenty-first century ministry has to have the same 'change' and relevancy that Obama's campaign had. Both our finances and our faith need revival."
To that end, Dr. Cook will host her hourlong services with no dress codes and no liturgical expectations in the Apollo, a celebrated New York landmark ...
"Let us thank Dr. Sujay for bringing God into the Apollo Theater," said Representative Charles B. Rangel, addressing the crowd on Sunday. "Although these are hard economic times, we have hope and prayer to keep us on." ...
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| Evangelist Todd Bentley romantically involved with nanny; seeks divorce from wife |
Offbeat Evangelist Seeking Counseling
THE TAMPA TRIBUNE [Media General] - By Keith Morelli - December 3, 2008
TAMPA - Todd Bentley, an atypical evangelist who drew thousands to a series of summer revivals in Lakeland, plans to divorce his wife amid revelations that he is romantically involved with the nanny of his children, according to his ministry.
Rumors of an extramarital affair surfaced near the end of the 15-week revival, and, in August, Bentley resigned from the board of directors of Fresh Fire Ministries. He plans to move to South Carolina, where he will undergo counseling by ministers who are focusing on his "restoration," according to a statement on the ministry's Web site last week.
Bentley is resolute in seeking a divorce from his wife, Shonnah, amid "his increased familiarity with a female staff member" during the revival in Lakeland, the letter states. "Todd admits to being 100 percent responsible for the divorce.
"With the development of more friction in his marriage relationship, Todd began to make irrational decisions," the letter states. "Alcohol, movies and leisure time spent with a few of the younger, more impressionable members of his staff and road-crew began to replace the hours of soaking in the presence of God in which Todd had engaged during the early days of the Outpouring."
The tattooed and body-pierced preacher has not seen his estranged wife or his children since July.
"To our knowledge," the letter states, "Todd's relationship with the female staff-member, who was a former intern and also, at his initiative, a live-in nanny in his house for over a year, is still ongoing." ...
"We believe that there are currently no biblical grounds for Todd to leave his wife and children," the letter states.
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| Church tries Goth Liturgy |
Saturday night service at Nanticoke place of worship is an alternate approach.
THE TIMES LEADER of Wilkes-Barre, PA [Wilkes-Barre Publishing Co./HM Capital Partners] - By Ralph Nardone - December 1, 2008
NANTICOKE -- Churches continually strive to attract fresh faces into their flocks, and one of the challenges they face is getting the attention of younger people who may have turned their backs, according to the Rev. Lou Divis, deacon in charge at St. George's Episcopal Church.
To address this quandary, the church on Main Street in Nanticoke embraced a new approach called the Goth Liturgy on Saturday night at 9. Unlike the traditional Sunday-morning service in which an organist, choir and congregation join in energetic hymns of praise, the Goth Liturgy is more "meditative," Divis said.
The church is dimly light, lined with candles and full of the aroma of burning incense. Gregorian chants from the 12th century and faith-based music from techno bands such as Depeche Mode and Love Spirals Downward played softly during the hymn segments.
The servers were dressed in black robes and the guest celebrant, the Rev. Peter D'Angio from St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Scranton, was clothed in a flowing white robe. The sanctuary had a noticeably more intimate ambiance. ...
The Goth Liturgy took off in England in the 1990s, Divis added, and may gain momentum locally if the congregations grow. Saturday night's service will be followed by several more during Advent season at St. George's, which ends at Christmas, Divis said.
Divis said the present image of Goth comes more from the music the teenagers buy. However, Goth has a steeped European history, which includes a mass conversion to Christianity hundreds of years ago.
The modern Goths are viewed as mysterious and aloof, with their white faces and black attire. The truth is that during the Middle Ages, Goth images were filled with Christian themes, D'Angio said.
Steven Englehart, 20, from Lebanon, Pa., liked the darker, more serene service, saying it provided the right "mood setting." Englehart revamped the church's sound system to pipe in the chants and new-age music. ...
Many local Goths are Christians, Divis said. And, they can feel free to attend St. George's Goth Liturgies adorned in spiked hair, black boots and eyeliner.
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| Christian Zionists: The Real Terrorists |
FRONTPAGE MAGAZINE - By P. David Hornik - December 15, 2008
The National Council of Churches (NCC), which will never specifically criticize any radical Islamist movements no matter how murderous, has found itself concerned about Christian Zionists in America. In fact, according to the NCC, Christian Zionist support for Israel is the main stumbling block to tranquility in the Middle East. The threat posed by these Christian zealots is so worrisome that the NCC has just released a special brochure called "Why We Should Be Concerned About Christian Zionism" to warn its 35 member denominations.
"The danger of this ideology is that it is a manipulation of Christian scripture and teaching," fretted Antonios Kireopoulos, the NCC's interfaith spokesman. "Unfortunately it has influence in American churches, to the point where many well-meaning Christians are swayed to support particularly destructive directions in U.S. foreign policy with regard to the Middle East." Not typically concerned about upholding orthodox theology, the NCC even claims that Christian Zionists violate the "traditional teachings of the church." ...
As the recent NCC news release summarized: "'Christian Zionism' is a dangerous movement that distorts the teachings of the Church, fosters fear and hatred of Muslims and non-Western Christians, and has negative consequences for Middle East Peace." Naturally, the NCC aims to portray pro-Israel evangelicals as mindless zealots who are eager to precipitate the End Times, not to mention bigots and paranoid ignoramuses. - - - -
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Also:
Dangers of 'Christian Zionism' are cited in new NCC brochure
New York, December 12, 2008 -- "Christian Zionism" is a dangerous movement that distorts the teachings of the Church, fosters fear and hatred of Muslims and non-Western Christians, and has negative consequences for Middle East Peace.
See Here
National Council of Churches Interfaith Relations Commission warns against 'distorted and misleading' DVD about Islam
See Here
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Turn old churches into gyms, cafes and multi-faith centres, says Culture Secretary
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LONDON DAILY MAIL [Associated Newspapers/DMGT] - October 31, 2008
Churches with low attendance should be turned into gyms, restaurants or multi-faith centres, the Culture Secretary has suggested.
Andy Burnham said churches that were falling into disuse should not simply become 'museum pieces' but be transformed into secular spaces in order to benefit the community and preserve their architectural beauty.
He cited the example of All Souls Church in Bolton, an Anglican church that found itself with a 'new, multi-faith, multi-racial community to serve'. Consequently, the building underwent a multi-million pound renovation to turn it into a community centre.
Mr Burnham said: 'We need to find new purposes with the support of the local community and we need to increase secular interest in our church heritage.
'My department worked with the Church Conservation Trust (CCT) to save All Souls.
'The CCT came up with a brilliant solution. The community did not need a museum piece but they did need somewhere to meet. They needed a gym, a health centre, space for community education and space for inter-faith learning.'
He also highlighted St Peter's Church in Liverpool which three years ago was turned into a themed restaurant called Alma de Cuba. ...
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Islam is real threat to church, says Synod member
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Divisions in the Church of England over homosexuality and women bishops are nothing compared with the threat it faces from Islam, a prominent member of its governing body has warned.
LONDON DAILY TELEGRAPH [Barclay] - By Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent in Jerusalem - June 28, 2008
Ed. Note: This person
rightly brings up the great threat Islam brings against the church but when
uniting with false brethren is no answer.
... But Alison Ruoff, an evangelical lay member of the Synod and a former magistrate who is at the Gafcon summit in Jerusalem, told The Daily Telegraph that the church needs to get past these divisions and concentrate on fighting the rise of Islam in Britain.
She says that under an Archbishop of Canterbury who said it is inevitable that elements of Sharia will be introduced in the UK, the church has not done enough to put its message across.
And she believes the Government, out of politically correct sensitivity, is not preventing the growth of Muslim communities which do not integrate with those around them.
Mrs Ruoff, who earlier this year called for a halt to mosque building in Britain, said: "The problems of homosexuality and women bishops which face the Church of England are minor compared with the threat to the church and the nation from Islam.
"The church is sleepwalking into an Islamic state. Hopefully we can unite against it. - - - -
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| Florida Woman Says Former Church Plans to Make Her Sins Public |
FOX NEWS [News Corporation/Murdoch] - By Diane Macedo - December 18, 2008
"If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. "But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. "If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
- Matthew 18:15-17
A 49-year-old Florida woman says her former church is threatening to reveal her sins to its congregation after learning that she is in a "sexually immoral relationship."
Rebecca Hancock told FOXNews.com that Grace Community Church, a non-denominational church in Jacksonville, Fla., was against her relationship with boyfriend Frank Young because the two were sexually active but not married.
When she wasn't willing to obey the church's orders to leave him, she decided to leave the church instead, allowing her two children to remain active members.
Now, she says, church elders have given her the worst ultimatum yet: In a Dec. 8 letter, they told her she either has to meet with them and end her "immoral" relationship or she will face public humiliation.
"Bottom line, on January they 4th they are going to the church publicly with my sins, and my children will be sitting in church at the time," Hancock told FOXNews.com. ...
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| Evangelicals adopting Advent |
USA TODAY [Gannett] - By Cathy Lynn Grossman - November 24, 2008
Evangelical Christians are adopting - and adapting - the rituals of Advent, the four weeks leading up to Christmas that are traditionally celebrated by Catholics, Lutherans, Eastern Orthodox and other liturgical churches.
They're giving a new, personalized spin to the prayers, candles and calendars to track the building excitement, and set a spiritual tone day by day. This year Advent begins on Sunday.
Popular evangelical authors are offering readings and composing prayers for the Advent season. And Family Christian Stores, the nation's largest Christian retailer with 301 stores nationwide, has seen sales of Advent-related items climb 35% in the past year. ...
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| Santa's Little (Slave) Helper |
DER SPIEGEL [BMG: Bertelsmann Media Group/Gruner & Jahr Magazines] - By Daryl Lindsey - December 5, 2008
Few European Christmas traditions elicit as many diverse and divergent opinions as Black Pete of the Netherlands. Santa's former slave may have been whitewashed in recent years, but many still view him as a racist caricature from the country's colonial past.
Myths about Santa's sinister helpers are as widespread in Europe as Grimm's Fairy Tales. In parts of Germany, Knecht Ruprecht brings terror into the hearts of naughty children when the gift-giving season arrives. In Austria it's Krampus, the horned devil who torments adolescents with asocial tendencies. In France, Pere Foutard does the proverbial whipping. Kids in America are threatened with coal in their stockings if they act up, but in European folklore, they are beaten with switches or stuffed in sacks. Brutal stuff. But in no country is the tale of Santa's diabolical sidekick as bizarre as in the Netherlands, home to Zwarte Piet ("Black Pete").
The story of Black Pete is unique on the continent and it is also one of Europe's oddest and most titilating Christmas traditions -- one that tends to raise the eyebrows of foreign visitors and local immigrants. No small number of people see the yuletide character as a racist emblem of Holland's colonial past. ...
Many say it was Holland's Sinterklaas who inspired America's modern-day Santa. But that's where the similiarities end. Unlike Santa, who lives at the North Pole, Sinterklaas resides in sunny Spain. The Saint Nicolas figure that both are based on was actually a real Greek bishop who hailed from the city of Mira in what is modern-day Turkey. The Dutch version, however, is much more faithful to the original. With his gold crosier, red bishop's dress and red mitre, he's far more ecclesiastical looking than his portly American counterpart. ...
Perpetually in tow is Sinterklaas' slave, Black Pete. At least that's what he was called from his 19th century origins up until the 1950s, when a new focus on cultural sensitivity led to a slight watering down of a tradition that was slowly subjected to the rigors of political correctness. ...
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| [False Christ Alert] Maitreya: Share International Reveals Christmas Miracle |
PRESS RELEASE NEWSWIRE - December 12, 2008
Ed. Note: Paul Proctor gives some analysis of this announcement, especially that of the interesting venue through which it was given - see below.
LOS ANGELES - /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- For years the world has been filled with miracles of all kinds. In April 1995 Time magazine devoted an eight-page spread to its cover story on miracles and concluded: "People are hungry for signs."
Look now for the biggest miracle of all. In the very near future a large, bright star will appear in the sky visible to all throughout the world -- night and day.
Unbelievable? Fantasy? No, a simple fact. Around a week later, Maitreya, the World Teacher for all humanity, will begin his open emergence and -- though not yet using the name Maitreya -- will be interviewed on a major US television program.
In 1988, CNN and other media reported on Maitreya's miraculous appearance to 6,000 people in Nairobi, Kenya, on Saturday, June 11. A week before the event, a remarkable sign occurred: "On Saturday 4 June a big, bright star was sighted, unusually brighter than ordinary stars," reported Kenya Times editor Job Mutungi.
For over 30 years, artist, author and lecturer Benjamin Creme has been preparing the way for the emergence of Maitreya and his group, the Masters of Wisdom. In May 1982, Creme revealed at a packed press conference in Los Angeles that Maitreya had been living in the Asian community of London since July 19, 1977.
Awaited by all faiths under different names, Maitreya is the Christ to Christians, the Imam Mahdi to Muslims, Krishna to Hindus, the Messiah to Jews, and Maitreya Buddha to Buddhists. He is the World Teacher for all, religious or not, an educator in the broadest sense.
As a modern man concerned with today's problems, Maitreya works behind the scenes of our changing world. ...
Maitreya's message can be summarized as "share and save the world". He will seek to inspire humanity to see itself as one family, and to create world peace through sharing, economic justice and global cooperation.
With Maitreya and his group working openly in the world, humanity is assured not only of survival but of the creation of a brilliant new civilization.
Original Report
Maitreya Rising?
NEWS WITH VIEWS.com - By Paul Proctor - December 19, 2008
There was a very strange announcement made recently in the form of a press release posted on the Dow Jones & Company's Market Watch website dated December 12, 2008, that bears mentioning, if for no other reason, because it reads like something from a supermarket tabloid. Come to think of it, didn't Rupert Murdoch just buy Dow Jones & Company not long ago? If you're not aware, they also publish, among other things, the Wall Street Journal. ...
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Will Department of Defense Turn to Meditation to Bring World Peace?
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FROM THE LIGHTHOUSE - The Blog of Lighthouse Trails Research - November 12, 2008
An article, "A proven enlightened counter-measure," written by Dr. David Leffler, an eight-year US Air Force veteran, now the Executive Director at the Center for Advanced Military Science (CAMS), appeared in The Aljazzera Magazine, an "independent media organisation established in 1992 in London" reporting on world events that affect the Middle East.
In the article, Leffler discusses US Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Gates' recent speech at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Gates said that "[e]nlightened counter-measures ... will bolster the internal strength of vulnerable states so they will not harbor violent networks seeking to launch the next attack." Leffler suggests that in the DoD's "struggle to eliminate violent extremism," eastern-style meditation techniques should be used:
"Extensive scientific research indicates that the best way to reduce collective societal stress, eliminate extremism and thereby snuff out war and terrorism, is to adopt an ancient strategy. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has revived the ancient Vedic technology of Invincible Defense Technology (IDT) in a non-religious manner. It has been quietly and successfully used by members of many faiths to eliminate conflict in the past."
According to research, special units would be trained using Transcendental Meditation (TM) and TM-Sidhi programs.
Leffler's article states that for this "Maharishi Effect" (ME) to take place, a certain percentage of the population would have to practice this joint-efforted meditation: "Extensive research shows that the group size needed to reduce social stress depends on population size. It needs to be at least the square root of 1% of the population." Leffler says that based on research, crime drops and quality of life goes up when the ME takes place. He gave a 1993 example where an ME intervention was studied in the U.S. capital - crime was said to have dropped by 23%.
The article says that "the U.S. is close to achieving the requisite number of IDT experts through the Invincible America Assembly in Fairfield, IA," but that economic conditions in Iowa are keeping the meditation group from full success. Countries like Holland, Bolivia, Colombia, Trinidad, and Peru are said to have enough practitioners of the TM-Sidhi program to create the Maharishi Effect in their countries. ...
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* Emphasis Original
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