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But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
- 2 Peter 2:1-3
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Shalom in Christ Jesus,
 For the introduction of this alert is an article by Moriel's Danny Isom. I thank you all for the encouraging prayers and emails regarding Jacob's health and my wife's shoulder surgery. We all have much to be thankful for always (including this past Thanksgiving weekend in America) despite the encroaching 'last days' evil that must come. I pray you are blessed and encouraged as well. May the Lord bless you and keep you, BE/\LERT! Scott Brisk
Where Are All the Servants? MORIEL MINISTRIES - By Danny Isom
"But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. But the greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted." (Matthew 23:8-12)
And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called 'Benefactors.' But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves." (Luke 22:24-27)
It was not that long ago when we could purchase the "Benny Hinn Olive Oil" in exchange for a $200 donation which not only netted a bottle of extra virgin olive oil with Benny's portrait prominently displayed on the label, but a promise to plant an olive tree in our name in Israel. But not to worry if you missed out on the olive oil. A quick glance at Mr. Hinn's website reveals quite a number of products which are readily available. For instance, we are offered the "Holy Land Candle Lantern" which is "accompanied by a scroll with a special message from Pastor Benny" and is "filled with the fragrance of frankincense". Then there is the "Sword of the Word Letter Opener" purported to be "perfect for your home office or workplace". And let us not forget the "Ten Commandments Tablet Paperweight" which is "perfect in time for holiday gift-giving". I only selected three from many pages of items for sale through his website. But taken together with the activities of his ministry and teachings which are a matter of public record, not to mention his millionaire lifestyle of mansions and private jets, can you seriously look me in the eye and state with confidence that he meets the biblical criteria which Jesus Christ Himself set forth for spiritual leaders? Does the purveyor of Christian knick-knacks embody what you would call a "servant"? Jacob Prasch published the article "What Are We Left With?" in regard to the domination of the Christian leadership landscape by the likes of Hinn, Haggard, Bentley and a list shamefully too long to repeat here, which provides the answer, "What we are left with is a Christianity that is not scripturally Christian". I would offer that this should be no surprise since these Christian leaders, being the furthest thing from the picture of a servant, are not scripturally leaders to begin with. In Dr. Bill Walthall's article "Ted Haggard and Ted Bundy: More in Common Than a First Name" he highlights the fact that the chief characteristic of people like Ted Haggard is narcissism, the almost pathological need to be simultaneously in the public eye and in control, the complete antithetical example of Christ's calling to be a servant. This is a particularly poignant article with clear applications to many more so-called Christian leaders than just Haggard. And yet the overwhelming response to these and similar articles has been a public outcry that Haggard and his ilk are simply sinners who are being unfairly targeted for their human frailties and in need of our support to restore them to their former positions of leadership. Why is it that so many Christians fail to see that these are two separate issues? The authors of the articles mentioned above never assert that Brother Haggard cannot and should not be restored to fellowship as a member of the Body of Christ; the issue revolves around whether or not such should be restored to a position of authority and ministry. These two things are not one and the same.
"Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous
wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs
from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A
good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does
not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their
If, like Jacob Prasch and Bill Walthall, someone should attempt to make the case that personalities such as Haggard or Bentley are not scripturally qualified to once again assume positions of leadership and influence, the most likely response encountered is, "You're judging! You can't judge! Why are you judging them?!?" I suppose it should be no surprise that those who cannot hold leaders accountable to the Christ-given standard of servanthood should be equally incapable of implementing the Christ-given command to be a spiritual fruit inspector. No one has ever said that these men are not qualified to be Christians should they repent and seek Him with all their heart, but this all seems to be an extension of our culture that you can do or say anything without having to step down from office if you simply apologize. Politicians and celebrities commit and utter incredibly insensitive and blatantly evil things in the course of practically every news cycle and we are told to forget about it because they apologized. Is that biblical? Does forgiveness of sin automatically mean there are no consequences for that sin?
And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. (1 Timothy 3:7)
When it comes to Christian leadership Paul provides a standard by which to measure whether someone can be restored or not to such positions. Can you see that when the likes of Haggard, Bentley, or Bakker are exposed and brought down by secular sources that by definition they have forever lost "a good reputation with those outside the church" and have forever fallen "into reproach"? In such cases can you see that their fall was literally due to allowing themselves to succumb to "the snare of the devil"? Then you should be able to see that the call for them to cease from pursuing a return to power and authority is not an assault on their personal Christianity but the very thing Scripture demands from them personally. If you really loved them - and I am referring to the definition of love as provided in Scripture - you would demand they never seek a return to power for their own good. There are many ways in which the church in the Western world has assimilated the methods and thinking of a consumer-driven culture to infiltrate and replace the very teachings of Christ. One of the most prominent is that we no longer seem to seek and encourage leaders who by biblical definition are servants, but instead cherish the same qualities and qualifications as those of a corporate CEO or Hollywood celebrity. Few exceptions are the churches who would these days embrace someone whose resume was dominated with the likes of "a humble servant of Christ". I suppose it is just as rare as the number of applicants who actually aspire to being able to claim that qualification. (I think we should especially love and support the few that we are still fortunate enough to have in our midst.) But the question still begs, "Where are the servants?" I appreciate that the average Christian is so willing to forgive someone of even the most egregious sin. Having been forgiven our own embarrassing list of sins it is a testimony to the work of the cross that we should be so unwilling to hold the sins of others against them. But why is this attitude so often offered without any balance of the requirement for accountability to God's Word and ways? We do not love our children any less when for their own good we hold them accountable to our rules and standards; why is it any different when it comes to our leaders and fellow believers? But can I also offer that if we were ranking and selecting our leaders according to the degree to which they conform to the biblical standard of the shepherd/servant that we would have far fewer Haggard's and Bentley's to begin with? There is a kind of "chicken and the egg" thing feeding this phenomenon. Since we do not expect our leaders to conform to scriptural models or requirements - in fact we most often discourage it by encouraging them to mimic more coveted worldly attributes - we repeatedly reap what has been sown. In His Love, Servant@WalkWithTheWord.org Originally posted on the MORIEL website JUNE 28TH, 2010 http://moriel.org/MorielArchive/index.php/discernment/church-issues/popular-teachers/where-are-all-the-servants
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Megachurches: Supersizing faith
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 | | Inside Lakewood Megachurch |
THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION [Cox Enterprises] - By Shelia M. Poole - November 12, 2010
Rock climbing walls, kids' spaces that resemble small Disneylands, bookstores, state-of-the-art sound systems.
It's church -- supersized.
In metro Atlanta and elsewhere, the number of megachurches, which have long been defined as having a weekly attendance of 2,000 or more, are still drawing huge numbers of worshippers and receiving millions of dollars in the collection plate.
"Megachurches have really succeeded because they service all needs of the community, the spiritual and the social," said Lerone A. Martin, an assistant professor of American religious history at Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis.
Donald Wilcock, a business analyst, started attending First Baptist Church Atlanta three years ago. The church is large enough -- it seats 2,800 -- that Wilcock, 31, is able to take part in several small groups. ...
These religious behemoths have received greater attention of late after a flurry of well-publicized litigation against one of the most mega of megachurches, the 25,000-member New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia. New Birth is named as a defendant in five lawsuits, four of which allege that its prominent pastor, Bishop Eddie L. Long, coerced four young men into having sex.
Another megachurch, The Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, Calif., founded by the Rev. Robert Schuller in the mid-1950s, recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection listing more than $43 million in debt, including a $36 million mortgage.
With a megachurch, the "ripple effect is larger," said John Vaughan, founder and owner of Church Growth Today, a Bolivar, Mo.-based newsletter and research organization. When large organizations run into tough times "people know the name and they're more apt to know someone who knows the church or goes there. I believe you could write about 500 small churches in Atlanta and people might not read the article. But you can write about one church of that size and people all over the city will know who they are."
Megachurch budgets can be huge. Lakewood Church in Houston, led by the Rev. Joel Osteen, has an average weekly attendance of 43,500 and an annual budget of $70 million, according to an article in Forbes magazine last year. North Point Ministries has an annual budget of about $40 million, which includes the three campuses of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Buckhead Church in Atlanta and Brown's Bridge Community Church in Cumming.
By comparison, the city of Alpharetta has an operating budget of $50.3 million for the 2011 fiscal year.
More than 60 percent of the nation's megachurches are in the Sunbelt, with Texas, California, Georgia and Florida leading the way, according to the Hartford Institute for Religion Research in Connecticut.
Experts track the appearance of megachurches back to the 1950s; the churches' growth often tracked that of the community and demographic shifts. As suburban populations exploded, so did the number of church pews.
New Birth, which has a multimillion-dollar ministry that reaches the faithful in several countries, is such a church. When Long became pastor in July 1987, the church had 300 members. In time that number grew to 8,000, then to 25,000. ...
The church holds two Sunday services in its cavernous sanctuary, which seats 10,000. Long leans on the podium, mike in one hand, iPad in the other. His gravelly voice quickly whips up the congregation, which had already been warmed up by prayer and by music.. He preaches about the trials and tribulations of life. God, he once told them, doesn't send a storm and leave. God is there to help them, he said, to weather life's storms.
Like Long, many megachurch pastors are men with dynamic and magnetic personalities, according to the Hartford Institute. The typical megachurch pastor has an "authoritative style of preaching and administration and is nearly always the singular dominant leader in the church" supported by up to dozens of associate ministers.
Church governance is typically divided into three types, according to George Thompson, a professor of leadership and ministry practice at Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta:
- Congregational, in which the congregation is independent of any other structure and is its own final authority.
- Episcopal, in which bishops represent the top of the hierarchy of authority that extends to the parishes or congregations.
- Presbyterial, in which governance at all levels is shared between ministers and elected elders.
Megachurches exist in nearly all denominations as well as independently, though it is typical for them to defer a large share of power to the pastor, Thompson said.
For example, in 1994 Long took away the deacon board's authority, with the approval of the membership. In his book "Taking Over," Long said the deacons had been "telling the man of God when to jump and how high."
Other churches have other approaches. North Point Community Church, led by the Rev. Andy Stanley and established in 1995, sits on a large campus in the midst of an Alpharetta office park. The church's three campuses -- the two others are Buckhead Church in Atlanta and Brown's Bridge Community Church in Cumming -- attract more than 20,000 adults and 6,000 children each Sunday, according to North Point's website.
The church has a board of elders, which meets monthly and has the final say in church matters. Bob Strickland, executive director of multi-site ministries, said the board is the only body that can dismiss Stanley as pastor. (No Stanley family members serve on the board). For day-to-day operations, the church has a management team that includes Stanley, Strickland and two others; and a 10-member leadership team.
"We know that people have options about how they spend their Sundays. Our goal was to have a church that would be the No. 1 option for people for to come to on Sunday morning," Strickland said.
On a recent Sunday, members swayed to the sounds a Christian band. The theme of the service was "Game Plan," and ushers dressed in referee shirts. Then came the pastor, "Andy," dressed casually in jeans and a shirt, to deliver a sermon about following the game plan God has set for your life.
"They make a concerted effort so you don't feel lost," said Linda McGrue, a military veteran and member at North Point for about three years. "It does not make me feel bad if he [the pastor] doesn't know me by name, because he still recognizes me as a member of the body and he still considers me important."
But megachurches aren't for everyone, or even for most people. According to Church Growth Today's Vaughan, 95 percent of the Christian, non-Catholic churches in the United States have a weekly attendance of 350 or fewer people.
"People have a thing that bigger equals better," said the Rev. Timothy McDonald, senior pastor of First Iconium Baptist Church, whose membership is roughly 1,500. "That's just not true. The church is about relationships. Megachurches are not geared towards relationships. By their very nature, they're not personal. I pray to God that we don't become a megachurch."
McDonald, who was called by the membership in 1984, said the church body has the final say in significant church matters. "As long as things are running smoothly, the church body lets the pastor run things," he said. But, if it's a matter concerning the pastor -- say, a financial problem or a scandal of some sort -- the church body may step in and remove the pastor by vote.
At All Nations Life and Praise in Stockbridge, the Rev. Keith Brooks recently welcomed his 480th congregant. Brooks thinks small works better for some people.
"They expect more from you," he said.
Brooks says he tries to be there through all stages of his congregants' lives -- christening, wedding, funeral. He also issues a quarterly statement of church spending and finances that is available to every member.
"I've always had the type of pastor I could go to and he could minister to me one on one."
Brooks said he tries to do the same. "I try to remember everyone by name," he said. "A shepherd should know his sheep."
Edited :: See Original Report Here
http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/megachurches-supersizing-faith-725857.html
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Imagine This: "What we're doing now is we're trying to walk what we preach..."
Crystal Cathedral megachurch files for bankruptcy
| ASSOCIATED PRESS - By Amy Taxin - October 18, 2010
GARDEN GROVE, Calif. - Crystal Cathedral, the megachurch birthplace of the televangelist show "Hour of Power," filed for bankruptcy Monday in Southern California after struggling to emerge from debt that exceeds $43 million.
In addition to a $36 million mortgage, the Orange County-based church owes $7.5 million to several hundred vendors for services ranging from advertising to the use of live animals in Easter and Christmas services.
The church had been negotiating a repayment plan with vendors, but several filed lawsuits seeking quicker payment, which prompted a coalition formed by creditors to fall apart. ...
The church, founded in the mid-1950s by the Rev. Robert H. Schuller Sr., has already ordered major layoffs, cut the number of stations airing the "Hour of Power" and sold property to stay afloat. ...
The church was founded at a drive-in theater and attracted congregants with its sermons on the power of positive thinking. Its worship hall opened in 1970 and remains an architectural wonder and tourist destination.
The "Hour of Power" telecast, filmed in the cathedral's main sanctuary, at one point attracted 1.3 million viewers in 156 countries.
Church leaders said the Crystal Cathedral's Sunday services and weekly-telecast "Hour of Power" will continue while in bankruptcy.
Other megachurches have also suffered from the downturn and reduced charitable giving.
Crystal Cathedral saw revenue drop roughly 30 percent in 2009 and simply couldn't slash expenses quickly enough to avoid accruing the debt, said Jim Penner, a church pastor and executive producer of the "Hour of Power." ...
Now, the church is avoiding credit entirely and spends only the roughly $2 million it receives each month in donations and revenue, Penner said. The church still hopes to pay all of the vendors back in full, he said.
"What we're doing now is we're trying to walk what we preach, we're paying cash for things as we go," he said.
Unedited :: Link to Original Posting
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101018/ap_on_re_us/us_crystal_cathedral
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Great OxyMorons of the faith
The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." - Psalms 14:1a
Atheist Ministers Struggle With Leading the Faithful
|  Two Active Ministers Say They No Longer Believe in God but No One Knows
ABC NEWS [American Broadcasting Companies, Inc./The Walt Disney Company] - By Dan Harris and Wonbo Woo - November 9, 2010
"I am an atheist," says "Jack," a Southern Baptist with more than 20 years in ministry.
"I live out my life as if there is no God," says "Adam," who is part of the pastoral staff of a small evangelical church in the Bible Belt.
The two, who asked that their real identities be protected, are pastors who have lost their faith. And these two men, who have built their careers and lives around faith, say they now feel trapped, living a lie.
"I spent the majority of my life believing and pursuing this religious faith, Christianity," Jack said. "And to get to this point in my life, I just don't feel like I believe anymore."
"The more I read the Bible, the more questions I had," Jack said. "The more things didn't make sense to me -- what it said -- and the more things didn't add up."
Jack said that 10 years ago, he started to feel his faith slipping away. He grew bothered by inconsistencies regarding the last days of Jesus' life, what he described as the improbability of stories like "Noah's Ark" and by attitudes expressed in the Bible regarding women and their place in the world.
Ed. Note: There is no inconsistency, if you have a biblical worldview things actually make more sense. These men likely never believed in the first place, or their faith was not based on scripture.
BE/\LERT!
"Reading the Bible is what led me not to believe in God," he said.
He said it was difficult to continue to work in ministry. "I just look at it as a job and do what I'm supposed to do," he said. "I've done it for years."
Adam said his initial doubts about God came as he read the work of the so-called New Atheists -- popular authors like the prominent scientist Richard Dawkins. He said the research was intended to help him defend his faith.
"My thinking was that God is big enough to handle any questions that I can come up with," he said but that did not happen. ...
Adam said he now considers himself an "atheistic agnostic." "I don't think we can prove that there is not a God or that there is a God," he said. "I live out my life as if there is no God."
He and Jack said that when speaking to parishioners, they tried to stick to the sections of the Bible that they still believed in -- the parts about being a good person. Both said that they would like to leave their jobs though they can't afford to. ...
Jack said that his secret left him feeling isolated but that he would certainly lose a lot of friends when he professed to no longer being a Christian. His wife doesn't know and he said it was possible he could lose her as well.
"It's going to be very confusing for her," Jack said. "It's going to be very devastating and it's going to take us a while to work through it."
Adam said his wife knew that he was struggling with his faith but not that he had lost it completely.
"It's a very tough situation to be in," he said. "I can't think of another career that is so dramatically affected by a change in one's opinions or thoughts."
"At first I feared if I lose my faith, I'm gonna become some terrible person," Adam said. "As I lost my faith ... I realized that really had no bearing on who I am and my character and my actions. I live no differently than I did when I was a fervent believer."
Adam and Jack were included in a report by philosopher Daniel Dennett, a professor at Tufts University and well-known atheist, and his co-researcher, Linda LaScola. They are continuing their research into non-believing clergy. ABC News contacted the two pastors through Dennett and LaScola, verified their identities and positions, and interviewed them separately.
Edited :: See Original Report Here
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/atheist-ministers-leading-faithful/story?id=12004359
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My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge... - Hosea 4:6a
Survey: Americans don't know much about religion
| ASSOCIATED PRESS - By Rachel Zoll, AP Religion Writer - September 28, 2010
A new survey of Americans' knowledge of religion found that atheists, agnostics, Jews and Mormons outperformed Protestants and Roman Catholics in answering questions about major religions, while many respondents could not correctly give the most basic tenets of their own faiths.
Forty-five percent of Roman Catholics who participated in the study didn't know that, according to church teaching, the bread and wine used in Holy Communion is not just a symbol, but becomes the body and blood of Christ.
More than half of Protestants could not identify Martin Luther as the person who inspired the Protestant Reformation. And about four in 10 Jews did not know that Maimonides, one of the greatest rabbis and intellectuals in history, was Jewish.
The survey released Tuesday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life aimed to test a broad range of religious knowledge, including understanding of the Bible, core teachings of different faiths and major figures in religious history. ...
Respondents to the survey were asked 32 questions with a range of difficulty, including whether they could name the Islamic holy book and the first book of the Bible, or say what century the Mormon religion was founded. On average, participants in the survey answered correctly overall for half of the survey questions.
Atheists and agnostics scored highest, with an average of 21 correct answers, while Jews and Mormons followed with about 20 accurate responses. Protestants overall averaged 16 correct answers, while Catholics followed with a score of about 15.
Not surprisingly, those who said they attended worship at least once a week and considered religion important in their lives often performed better on the overall survey. However, level of education was the best predictor of religious knowledge. ...
On questions about Christianity, Mormons scored the highest, with an average of about eight correct answers out of 12, followed by white evangelicals, with an average of just over seven correct answers. Jews, along with atheists and agnostics, knew the most about other faiths, such as Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism. Less than half of Americans know that the Dalai Lama is Buddhist, and less than four in 10 know that Vishnu and Shiva are part of Hinduism.
The study also found that many Americans don't understand constitutional restrictions on religion in public schools. While a majority know that public school teachers cannot lead classes in prayer, less than a quarter know that the U.S. Supreme Court has clearly stated that teachers can read from the Bible as an example of literature.
"Many Americans think the constitutional restrictions on religion in public schools are tighter than they really are," Pew researchers wrote. ...
Edited :: See Original Report Here
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=1187078
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Survey Finds Lots of Spiritual Dialogue But Not Much Change
Poll reveals shallow, emotional faith that does not carry over into life outside of church related activities
| THE BARNA RESEARCH GROUP > THE BARNA UPDATE - September 27, 2010
The explosion of communications devices and technology in the past decade has substantially expanded the amount of public dialogue related to all kinds of issues, including religion. Yet, even though Americans spend lots of time discussing and debating religious beliefs and spiritual practices, a new survey by The Barna Group shows that all of that interaction has translated into very little change in people's faith life.
Few Admit to Changes
People's political beliefs change occasionally, as they are confronted with new information or creative policy options that address public problems. But among the adults randomly sampled for the nationwide survey, just 7% said they could think of any religious beliefs, practices, or preferences they had altered during the past five years. ...
Changes Specified
The specific shifts in religious life identified by the 7% who acknowledged any kind of change was dominated by people's sense of commitment to their faith. Less common transitions related to positions on political matters affected by their faith interpretations; new insights into morality; and increased tolerance for other's views. ...
On the other hand 16% said they had moved away from Christianity; 11% noted that their feelings about or perceptions toward churches had deteriorated; and 8% admitted to decreasing their religious activity. Another 8% claimed to have changed churches or denominations during the past five years. Among those whose appreciation of or respect for churches declined, a majority specified the sexual abuse scandals within the Catholic church as the dominant factor in their change of heart.
Roughly one out of every ten people who recalled making a change noted that their faith experiences had led them to either switch their position related to homosexuality (evenly divided between those who went from opposition to support, and the other half undergoing the opposite shift) or they had changed their position on some other political or social issue due to their religious convictions. Two out of every three people who claimed to have changed such a point of view indicated that the change related to their stand on homosexuality. ...
Patterns of Interest
George Barna, founder of the Barna Group, analyzed the results and observed several interesting patterns from the data.
The most obvious result was that according to adults, they have experienced very little, if any, change in their religious life over the five-year period. That raises questions about the impact of church-related activity - not so much whether or not impact can be achieved, but if the courses of action currently pursued are capable of facilitating and reinforcing significant change. These results are consistent with a pattern identified in Barna's studies over the years: most of the religious beliefs, behaviors and expectations that define a person's life have been developed and embraced by the age of 13; relatively little changes after that time. The current study underscores how little movement there is in people's religious thinking once they become an adult.
Second, one of the most unusual outcomes of the study was the balance in the nature of changes related to people's religious commitments. The percentage of individuals who experienced increased commitment to Christianity was nearly identical to the percentage of adults who underwent a decrease in their commitment to the Christian faith. This suggests that there is more change happening than may be apparent by simply observing the end result in the nation's faith views and actions; some of the transitions cancel out each other's effect. Yet, given the fact that only 7% of adults could think of any instances of change in their religious life, the larger conclusion that might be drawn is that religious leaders are not provoking people to think deeply and practically about the major issues of life and culture from a religious perspective. The data reflected relatively generic shifts that had occurred in lives, without much evidence of a deeper level of intellectual or spiritual struggle taking place.
Third, people's emotion and devotion related to religion represent the areas of the greatest change, while the least amount of movement is exhibited in relation to the integration of faith into every dimension of life and the recalibration of personal biblical interpretation or spiritual perspectives. It also appears that when theological views are altered, such shifts are largely due to having wrestled with the personal and moral implications of a high-profile, real-world issue, such as abortion or homosexuality.
Fourth, because the survey revealed that more than two-thirds of adults say their religious faith is very important in their life, and a large majority regularly talks to others about matters of faith, the nature of their religion-focused reflection and discussions may not be as substantive or thoughtful as some observers might imagine. People do not appear to be turning to religion as often as assumed for answers to troubling questions. Adults do not seem to spend much time pondering the relationship of their faith to current cultural challenges and developments. Much of the personal reflection and even conversation related to faith relate to deriving a greater sense of comfort and support from their religious beliefs, traditions, and relationships. ...
Edited :: See Original Report Here
http://www.barna.org/transformation-articles/433-survey-finds-lots-of-spiritual-dialogue-but-not-much-change
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But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.
- 2 Corinthians 11: 3-4
Another Jesus
Hipster Faith
| To remain relevant, many evangelical pastors are following the lead of hipster trendsetters. So what happens when 'cool' meets Christ?
CHRISTIANITY TODAY [CTI Publications] - By Brett McCracken - September 3, 2010
Here's a riddle: A young man walks into a building. From the outside, it looks like a nondescript, run-down, abandoned warehouse. Inside he finds mood lighting, music with throbbing bass, and young people wearing skinny jeans and superfluous scarves. A bar off to the side offers drinks of some sort, and a frenetically lit stage is shrouded in fog. Jumbo screens display what appear to be music videos. Everywhere people text on their iPhones.
A young woman with a nose ring and a vaguely Middle Eastern tattoo comes up andintroduces herself. She makes awkward (but refreshingly earnest) small talk about her passion for community gardens and food co-ops. She asks him if he has heard Arcade Fire's new album, and compliments him on his bushy beard and lumberjack look. Beards like that are cool, she says. Eventually she asks him for his contact information.
Question: Is the man in a bar? Or is he in a church?
It could go either way.
Welcome to the world of hipster Christianity. It's a world where things like the Left Behind book and film series, Jesus fish bumper stickers, and door-to-door evangelism are relevant only as a source of irony or nostalgia. It's a world where Braveheart youth-pastor analogies are anathema, where everyone agrees that they wish Pat Robertson "weren't one of us" and shares a collective distaste for the art of Thomas Kinkade.
The latest incarnation of a decades-long collision of "cool" and "Christianity," hipster Christianity is in large part a rebellion against the very subculture that birthed it. It's a rebellion against old-school evangelicalism and its fuddy-duddy legalism, apathy about the arts, and pitiful lack of concern for social justice. It's also a rebellion against George W. Bush-style Christianity: American flags in churches, the Ten Commandments in courtrooms, and evangelical leaders who get too involved in conservative politics, such as James Dobson and Jerry Falwell.
The new subculture of young evangelicals-I call them "Christian hipsters"-grew up on Contemporary Christian music (CCM), Focus on the Family's Adventures in Odyssey, flannel graphs, vacation Bible school, and hysteria about the end times. Now all of that is laughable to them, as they attempt to burn away the kitschy dross of the megachurch Christianity of their youth-with its emphasis on "soul-winning" at the expense of everything else-and trade it for something with real-world gravitas.
They prefer to call themselves "Christ-followers" rather than "Christians." They cringe at the thought of an altar call, and the prospect of passing out tracts gives them nightmares. ...
Edited :: See Original Report Here
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/september/9.24.html
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Author: More teens becoming 'fake' Christians
| CNN [Turner Broadcasting/Time Warner] - By John Blake - August 27, 2010
If you're the parent of a Christian teenager, Kenda Creasy Dean has this warning:
Your child is following a "mutant" form of Christianity, and you may be responsible.
Dean says more American teenagers are embracing what she calls "moralistic therapeutic deism." Translation: It's a watered-down faith that portrays God as a "divine therapist" whose chief goal is to boost people's self-esteem.
Dean is a minister, a professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and the author of "Almost Christian," a new book that argues that many parents and pastors are unwittingly passing on this self-serving strain of Christianity.
She says this "imposter'' faith is one reason teenagers abandon churches.
"If this is the God they're seeing in church, they are right to leave us in the dust," Dean says. "Churches don't give them enough to be passionate about."
What traits passionate teens share
Dean drew her conclusions from what she calls one of the most depressing summers of her life. She interviewed teens about their faith after helping conduct research for a controversial study called the National Study of Youth and Religion.
The study, which included in-depth interviews with at least 3,300 American teenagers between 13 and 17, found that most American teens who called themselves Christian were indifferent and inarticulate about their faith.
The study included Christians of all stripes -- from Catholics to Protestants of both conservative and liberal denominations. Though three out of four American teenagers claim to be Christian, fewer than half practice their faith, only half deem it important, and most can't talk coherently about their beliefs, the study found.
Many teenagers thought that God simply wanted them to feel good and do good -- what the study's researchers called "moralistic therapeutic deism."
Some critics told Dean that most teenagers can't talk coherently about any deep subject, but Dean says abundant research shows that's not true.
"They have a lot to say," Dean says. "They can talk about money, sex and their family relationships with nuance. Most people who work with teenagers know that they are not naturally inarticulate."
In "Almost Christian," Dean talks to the teens who are articulate about their faith. Most come from Mormon and evangelical churches, which tend to do a better job of instilling religious passion in teens, she says.
No matter their background, Dean says committed Christian teens share four traits: They have a personal story about God they can share, a deep connection to a faith community, a sense of purpose and a sense of hope about their future.
"There are countless studies that show that religious teenagers do better in school, have better relationships with their parents and engage in less high-risk behavior," she says. "They do a lot of things that parents pray for."
Dean, a United Methodist Church minister who says parents are the most important influence on their children's faith, places the ultimate blame for teens' religious apathy on adults.
Some adults don't expect much from youth pastors. They simply want them to keep their children off drugs and away from premarital sex.
Others practice a "gospel of niceness," where faith is simply doing good and not ruffling feathers. The Christian call to take risks, witness and sacrifice for others is muted, she says.
"If teenagers lack an articulate faith, it may be because the faith we show them is too spineless to merit much in the way of conversation," wrote Dean, a professor of youth and church culture at Princeton Theological Seminary.
More teens may be drifting away from conventional Christianity. But their desire to help others has not diminished, another author says.
Barbara A. Lewis, author of "The Teen Guide to Global Action," says Dean is right -- more teens are embracing a nebulous belief in God.
Yet there's been an "explosion" in youth service since 1995 that Lewis attributes to more schools emphasizing community service.
Teens that are less religious aren't automatically less compassionate, she says.
"I see an increase in youth passion to make the world a better place," she says. "I see young people reaching out to solve problems. They're not waiting for adults."
What religious teens say about their peers
Elizabeth Corrie meets some of these idealistic teens every summer. She has taken on the book's central challenge: instilling religious passion in teens.
Corrie, who once taught high school religion, now directs a program called YTI -- the Youth Theological Initiative at Emory University in Georgia.
YTI operates like a theological boot camp for teens. At least 36 rising high school juniors and seniors from across the country gather for three weeks of Christian training. They worship together, take pilgrimages to varying religious communities and participate in community projects.
Corrie says she sees no shortage of teenagers who want to be inspired and make the world better. But the Christianity some are taught doesn't inspire them "to change anything that's broken in the world."
Teens want to be challenged; they want their tough questions taken on, she says.
"We think that they want cake, but they actually want steak and potatoes, and we keep giving them cake," Corrie says.
David Wheaton, an Atlanta high school senior, says many of his peers aren't excited about Christianity because they don't see the payoff.
"If they can't see benefits immediately, they stay away from it," Wheaton says. "They don't want to make sacrifices."
How 'radical' parents instill religious passion in their children
Churches, not just parents, share some of the blame for teens' religious apathy as well, says Corrie, the Emory professor.
She says pastors often preach a safe message that can bring in the largest number of congregants. The result: more people and yawning in the pews.
"If your church can't survive without a certain number of members pledging, you might not want to preach a message that might make people mad," Corrie says. "We can all agree that we should all be good and that God rewards those who are nice."
Corrie, echoing the author of "Almost Christian," says the gospel of niceness can't teach teens how to confront tragedy.
"It can't bear the weight of deeper questions: Why are my parents getting a divorce? Why did my best friend commit suicide? Why, in this economy, can't I get the good job I was promised if I was a good kid?"
What can a parent do then?
Get "radical," Dean says.
She says parents who perform one act of radical faith in front of their children convey more than a multitude of sermons and mission trips.
A parent's radical act of faith could involve something as simple as spending a summer in Bolivia working on an agricultural renewal project or turning down a more lucrative job offer to stay at a struggling church, Dean says.
But it's not enough to be radical -- parents must explain "this is how Christians live," she says.
"If you don't say you're doing it because of your faith, kids are going to say my parents are really nice people," Dean says. "It doesn't register that faith is supposed to make you live differently unless parents help their kids connect the dots."
'They called when all the cards stopped'
Anne Havard, an Atlanta teenager, might be considered radical. She's a teen whose faith appears to be on fire.
Havard, who participated in the Emory program, bubbles over with energy when she talks about possibly teaching theology in the future and quotes heavy-duty scholars such as theologian Karl Barth.
She's so fired up about her faith that after one question, Havard goes on a five-minute tear before stopping and chuckling: "Sorry, I just talked a long time."
Havard says her faith has been nurtured by what Dean, the "Almost Christian" author, would call a significant faith community.
In 2006, Havard lost her father to a rare form of cancer. Then she lost one of her best friends -- a young woman in the prime of life -- to cancer as well. Her church and her pastor stepped in, she says.
"They called when all the cards stopped," she says.
When asked how her faith held up after losing her father and friend, Havard didn't fumble for words like some of the teens in "Almost Christian."
She says God spoke the most to her when she felt alone -- as Jesus must have felt on the cross.
"When Jesus was on the cross crying out, 'My God, why have you forsaken me?' Jesus was part of God,'' she says. "Then God knows what it means to doubt.
"It's OK to be in a storm, to be in a doubt," she says, "because God was there, too."
Unedited :: Link to Original Posting
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/08/27/almost.christian/index.html
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'Don't drink Vodka, drink God-ka'
Sloshfest: The ravers who get high on God
|
 | | John Crowder |
THE SUN (UK) [News Corporation/Murdoch] - By David Lowe - January 21, 2010
WILD-EYED and out of control, the clubbers flail wildly to a booming beat.
With sweaty clothes clinging to their backs, some people even pass out.
While this could easily be mistaken for a dodgy booze and drug-fuelled party, there is something very different about Sloshfest.
The revellers are party loving Christians who don't drink or take drugs - but say their euphoria is down to the power of God and their seeming drunkenness due to "God-ka" and the "yum rum of Heaven".
Last weekend around 600 people attended the annual rave-like event - where no alcohol or drugs are available - at the dowdy Dolphin Club in Barry Island, South Wales. Now in its fourth year, it attracts visitors from alternative churches around the UK.
Sloshfest organiser David Vaughan invited me along to experience the religious revolution first-hand.
The 38-year-old from nearby Pontypool is a former drug-user who makes no apologies for painting God as a party animal who wants to win over youngsters with supernatural highs.
Bizarrely, David greets me at the door wearing a monk outfit - he is joined by dozens of dancing pirates, an Abraham Lincoln, a unicorn, winged fairy and a court jester draped in Christmas lights.
After leading me to a quiet room away from the madness, David says: "This behaviour and message is bringing liberation to a world that doesn't want Christianity as it has been.
"People are looking for something relevant to them. If you like to party, drink and take drugs, our advice is, 'Don't drink Vodka, drink God-ka'.
"There is no greater high than the Most High. When you come into God's presence there is an intoxication that is overwhelming.
"It is filled with life and brings you to another level of joy unspeakable, liberating you from fears and inhibitions you find in the world. It is a blissful sense of liberty.
"This isn't offensive to the Lord, but it is to the religious folk who attend a dead organisation.
"Heaven is going to be wild. God will show up and be the life of the party. We want to see fun coming back into the Church."
Christians who claim to get high on the Holy Spirit and drunk on Heaven's wine have caused outrage in the USA.
Dozens of complaints about blasphemy have been posted on YouTube videos of the movement's best-known advocate, John Crowder.
The former alcoholic, whose fans are dubbed "Crowderites", is at Sloshfest and typically slurs through sermons about "smoking the Baby Jesus", being "whacked out" and "tokin' on the Holy Ghost".
Event organiser David reveals God guided him to establish Emerge Wales, the group behind Sloshfest, which calls itself "A rising supernatural movement in the UK who are burning for Jesus". ...
Back in the main room the party is pumping, with dry ice, airhorns and dazzling disco lights adding to the debauched atmosphere. ...
Even bigger cheers are reserved for talented American singer Ben Dunn who takes the stage for a set of high-octane Christian tunes.
Amid the chaos a woman dressed as a pirate queen crawls past muttering. Strangely, despite no sign of alcohol or drugs being consumed, she and many other worshippers
look spaced out, with red, puffy eyes and a vacant stare. Standing up, she shakes my hand and slurs: "I'm Mrs Jesus. I love my husband.
"He makes me so happy. I love him but I'm a bit drunk." ...
In 2005, John Crowder wrote The New Mystics, a religious book promoting Sloshfest-style ecstatic worship and mystical Christianity.
His ideas appealed to people like David Vaughan around the world and a second volume, The Ecstasy Of Loving God, followed last year. While John holds no official position within the movement, his influence is undeniable - both books are selling at the Sloshfest memorabilia stall. ...
Edited :: See Original Report Here
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/2817306/The-ravers-who-get-high-on-God.html?print=yes
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Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts - 2 Peter 3:3
In election's shadow, rally draws laughs, activism
|  ASSOCIATED PRESS - By Hope Yen and Calvin Woodward - October 30, 2010
WASHINGTON - In the shadow of the Capitol and the election, comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert entertained a huge throng Saturday at a "sanity" rally poking fun at the nation's ill-tempered politics, fear-mongers and doomsayers.
"We live now in hard times," Stewart said after all the shtick. "Not end times."
Part comedy show, part pep talk, the rally drew together tens of thousands stretched across an expanse of the National Mall, a festive congregation of the goofy and the politically disenchanted. People carried signs merrily protesting the existence of protest signs. Some dressed like bananas, wizards, Martians and Uncle Sam.
Stewart, a satirist who makes his living skewering the famous, came to play nice. He decried the "extensive effort it takes to hate" and declared "we can have animus and not be enemies."
"We live now in hard times, not end times."
Screens showed a variety of pundits and politicians from the left and right, engaged in divisive rhetoric. Prominently shown: Glenn Beck, whose conservative Restoring Honor rally in Washington in August was part of the motivation for the Stewart and Colbert event, called the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. It appeared to rival Beck's rally in attendance.
Colbert, who poses as an ultraconservative on his show, played the personification of fear at the rally. He arrived on stage in a capsule like a rescued Chilean miner, from a supposed underground bunker. He pretended to distrust all Muslims until one of his heroes, basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who is Muslim, came on the stage.
"Maybe I need to be more discerning," Colbert mused. He told Stewart: "Your reasonableness is poisoning my fear." ...
Edited :: See Original Report Here
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101030/ap_on_en_tv/us_stewart_colbert_rally
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Walking away from church
Organized religion's increasing identification with conservative politics is a turnoff to more and more young adults. Evangelical Protestantism has been hit hard by this development.
| LOS ANGELES TIMES [Tribune Company] - By Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell - October 17, 2010
The most rapidly growing religious category today is composed of those Americans who say they have no religious affiliation. While middle-aged and older Americans continue to embrace organized religion, rapidly increasing numbers of young people are rejecting it.
As recently as 1990, all but 7% of Americans claimed a religious affiliation, a figure that had held constant for decades. Today, 17% of Americans say they have no religion, and these new "nones" are very heavily concentrated among Americans who have come of age since 1990. Between 25% and 30% of twentysomethings today say they have no religious affiliation - roughly four times higher than in any previous generation.
So, why this sudden jump in youthful disaffection from organized religion? The surprising answer, according to a mounting body of evidence, is politics. Very few of these new "nones" actually call themselves atheists, and many have rather conventional beliefs about God and theology. But they have been alienated from organized religion by its increasingly conservative politics.
During the 1980s, the public face of American religion turned sharply right. Political allegiances and religious observance became more closely aligned, and both religion and politics became more polarized. Abortion and homosexuality became more prominent issues on the national political agenda, and activists such as Jerry Falwell and Ralph Reed began looking to expand religious activism into electoral politics. Church attendance gradually became the primary dividing line between Republicans and Democrats in national elections.
This political "God gap" is a recent development. Up until the 1970s, progressive Democrats were common in church pews and many conservative Republicans didn't attend church. But after 1980, both churchgoing progressives and secular conservatives became rarer and rarer. Some Americans brought their religion and their politics into alignment by adjusting their political views to their religious faith. But, surprisingly, more of them adjusted their religion to fit their politics.
We were initially skeptical about that proposition, because it seemed implausible that people would make choices that might affect their eternal fate based on how they felt about George W. Bush. But the evidence convinced us that many Americans now are sorting themselves out on Sunday morning on the basis of their political views. For example, in our Faith Matters national survey of 3,000 Americans, we observed this sorting process in real time, when we interviewed the same people twice about one year apart. ...
Throughout the 1990s and into the new century, the increasingly prominent association between religion and conservative politics provoked a backlash among moderates and progressives, many of whom had previously considered themselves religious. The fraction of Americans who agreed "strongly" that religious leaders should not try to influence government decisions nearly doubled from 22% in 1991 to 38% in 2008, and the fraction who insisted that religious leaders should not try to influence how people vote rose to 45% from 30%.
This backlash was especially forceful among youth coming of age in the 1990s and just forming their views about religion. Some of that generation, to be sure, held deeply conservative moral and political views, and they felt very comfortable in the ranks of increasingly conservative churchgoers. But a majority of the Millennial generation was liberal on most social issues, and above all, on homosexuality. The fraction of twentysomethings who said that homosexual relations were "always" or "almost always" wrong plummeted from about 75% in 1990 to about 40% in 2008. (Ironically, in polling, Millennials are actually more uneasy about abortion than their parents.) ...
Edited :: See Original Report Here
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-1017-putnam-religion-20101017,0,6283320.story
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'Jesus was HIV-positive': South African pastor sparks outrage with bizarre claim
| LONDON DAILY MAIL [Associated Newspapers/DMGT] - November 2, 2010
A South African pastor has provoked outrage after beginning a recent sermon with the claim that Jesus Christ was HIV-positive.
Xola Skosana stunned his congregation in Cape Town's Khayelitsha township with the bold statement, news of which then quickly spread across the country.
And Christians have reacted angrily, claiming it portrays Jesus as sexually promiscuous. ...
Pastor Skosana, whose non-denominational Hope for Life Ministry is part of a growing charismatic movement in South Africa, insists his message is more about giving hope than anything else.
By making the claim, he hopes to remove the stigma attached to HIV suffers in his country.
More than 5.7million people live with the virus in South Africa - more than in any other country. Pastor Skosana himself lost two sisters to Aids. ...
To conclude his sermon, he says: 'The message to the church is that it is not enough for us to give people food privately and give them groceries, we must create an environment that's empowering because most people who are HIV-positive will not necessarily die of Aids-related sickness but more of a broken heart, out of rejection.'
Despite the angry reaction from some Christians others have come to the pastor's defence.
Reverend Siyabulela Gidi, the director of South African Council of Churches in the Western Cape, added: 'What Pastor Skosana is clearly saying is that Christ at this point in time would be on the side of the people who are HIV-positive - people who are being sidelined by the very church that is attacking him.
'Pastor Skosana has fortunately got the country talking, he's got the world talking and that is what theology is all about.'
Aids activists have also given the sermon their backing.
'It takes away the stigma that HIV is a sin and that it's God's punishment,' said Vuyiseka Dubula, general secretary of the Treatment Action Campaign, a South African Aids activist group.
'To associate Jesus with HIV is powerful, particularly for those who go to church'
Edited :: See Original Report Here
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1325894/Jesus-AIDS-South-African-Pastor-Xola-Skosana-sparks-outrage-virus-claim.html?printingPage=true
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As in the days of Lot
Megachurch Pastor Comes Out Of Closet
| WSB -TV ABC 2 ATLANTA, GEORGIA [Cox Enterprises] - October 29, 2010
ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga. -- The pastor of a Rockdale County megachurch has publicly announced he is gay.
Jim Swilley, bishop of Conyers' Church in the Now, said he hopes his coming out will change attitudes toward homosexuality.
"I know a lot of straight people think it is a choice. It is not," Swilley told Channel 2's Diana Davis.
Swilley, 52, founded the church 25 years ago. He seemed the stereotypical picture of a pastor, with four kids and a wife who doubled as his associate pastor. But Swilley said he's known he was gay since he was little boy. He said his wife, Debye, also knew his secret from the start.
"I think some women marry gay men because they really think they can change them," Swilley said.
The now-divorced couple kept their secret for 21 years, but earlier this year, Swilley said Debye told him it was time to stop living a lie.
She said he should practice what he preaches and follow the church's motto, "Real people experiencing a real God in the real world."
So, Swilley came out to his kids and his congregation. He said he knew he might risk everything, but the recent rash of gay teen suicides pushed him over the edge. ...
Edited :: See Original Report Here
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/25568419/detail.html
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Christian Singer Resumes Career, Relieved of a Secret
| NEW YORK TIMES [NYTimes Group/Sulzberger] - By Samuel G. Freedman - May 14, 2010
On the cusp of summer in 2004, more than a year into his latest tour as a Christian pop star, Ray Boltz took a break for what was supposed to be a family vacation. All through the previous months, plying the country with two semi-trailers and a dozen musicians and crew members, playing hits like "Thank You" and "The Anchor Holds," Mr. Boltz had felt something unbearable, something paralyzing.
Carol Boltz, his wife of 30 years and his best friend, sensed the isolation and yet could not reckon its cause. The life Ray was leading, after all, was the life they had set out on together way back when he was a teenager with a guitar at a Christian coffeehouse near their Indiana hometown. That life had brought awards, gold records, a comfortable home for their four children. ...
Around Christmas 2004, in the midst of a family dinner, Mr. Boltz's son Phil asked, "Daddy, what's wrong with you?" This time, Mr. Boltz told the truth: "I'm gay." His wife and his children, startled though they were by the revelation, told him they still loved and supported him. Such emotions were not exactly echoed by his fans, especially after Mr. Boltz publicly disclosed his homosexuality in a 2008 article in The Washington Blade, a gay newspaper.
Now, after more than five years of self-imposed absence from stage and CD, Mr. Boltz has reached a musical and religious destination. As an openly gay man, living in a gay-friendly part of South Florida with his partner, Franco Sperduti, he has released his first album since coming out. ...
Edited :: See Original Report Here
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/15/us/15religion.html
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Making History, Twice, at Grace Cathedral
| NEW YORK TIMES [NYTimes Group/Sulzberger] - By Scott James - September 23, 2010
The installation of Jane Alison Shaw as the eighth dean of Grace Cathedral on Nob Hill on Nov. 6 is a milestone - she will be the first woman to lead the cathedral, which was founded during the Gold Rush in 1849.
Dr. Shaw will also be the cathedral's first openly gay dean. ...
While one's sexual orientation rarely raises an eyebrow in San Francisco these days, the Episcopal Church has been torn apart over the issue of full inclusion for gay men and lesbians. Dr. Shaw's elevation to lead one of the denomination's most prominent churches is "a signal moment," said The Rev. Marc Handley Andrus, bishop of the Diocese of California. "We seek to be a house of prayer for all people."
The bishop, whose diocese comprises churches in the Bay Area, said Grace Cathedral was one of the largest Episcopal churches in the United States and was " scrutinized worldwide" by the greater Anglican Communion's 80 million members. ...
Jay Johnson of the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley called Grace Cathedral "an iconic institution" and said Dr. Shaw's ascension as one of the first female deans might be more significant than her being openly lesbian. ...
Edited :: See Original Report Here
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/24/us/24bcjames.html
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UK: Druidry to be classed as religion by Charity Commission
| BBC NEWS [PSB operated by BBC Trust] - October 2, 2010
Druidry is to become the first pagan practice to be given official recognition as a religion.
The Charity Commission has accepted that druids' worship of natural spirits could be seen as religious activity.
The Druid Network's charitable status entitles it to tax breaks, but the organisation says it does not earn enough to benefit from this.
The commission says the network's work in promoting druidry as a religion is in the public interest.
The move comes thousands of years after the first druids worshipped in Britain.
Druidry was one the first known spiritual practices in Britain, and druids existed in Celtic societies elsewhere in Europe as well. ...
BBC religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott says that with concern for the environment growing and the influence of mainstream faiths waning, druidry is flourishing more now than at any time since the arrival of Christianity.
Druidry's followers are not restricted to one god or creator, but worship the spirit they believe inhabits the earth and forces of nature such as thunder.
Druids also worship the spirits of places, such as mountains and rivers, with rituals focused particularly on the turning of the seasons.
After a four-year inquiry, the Charity Commission decided that druidry offered coherent practices for the worship of a supreme being, and provided a beneficial moral framework.
The decision will also mean that druidry will have the status of a genuine faith. ...
Senior druid King Arthur Pendragon, told the BBC News website the organisation had had to "jump through hoops" to meet the commission's requirements. ...
The 56-year-old added that people were becoming more interested in finding spirituality and the decision reflected this.
"I think people are looking to their roots and looking back at the secular world certain that things don't work. ...
Edited :: See Original Report Here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11457795
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EU atheist-freemason summit 'very odd', says Europe's chief unbeliever
| EU OBSERVER [ASBL] - By Leigh Phillips - October 21, 2010
BRUSSELS - The first ever summit between representatives of secularist, atheist and masonic organisations and the leaders of the European Union's three main institutions was "very odd," Europe's top unbeliever has said.
On Friday (15 October), leaders from what the European Commission describes as "philosophical non-confessional organisations" met with the presidents of the European Commission, Parliament and Council to discuss their views on poverty and social exclusion. The first meeting of its kind, it is the secular counterpart to the summits the three institutions are now obliged by the Lisbon Treaty to regularly have with religious leaders. ...
The representatives gave short three-minute statements on the topic of poverty in the union and then lunched with the three presidents. ...
Atheist Ireland, the UK-based National Secular Society, the European Association for Free Thought and Belgium's Secular Action Centre also took part in the two-hour meeting, as well as the masonic Grand Lodges or Grand Orients of eight EU member states: Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal and Romania.
"In total, of the 18 representatives there, atheist or secularist organisations were outnumbered two to one, with five from the humanist groups and 12 from the freemasons," Mr Pollock explained. ...
Edited :: See Original Report Here
http://euobserver.com/843/31066
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Catholic Church to welcome 50 Anglican clergy
|
 | | The Pope Welcomes You! |
LONDON DAILY TELEGRAPH [Barclay] - By Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent - November 18, 2010
The Catholic Church will announce this week that 50 Anglican clergy are defecting to Rome following the Church of England's moves to introduce women bishops.
Archbishop Vincent Nichols, the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, will reveal on Friday the Vatican's plans to welcome the departing priests - including five bishops - who are expected to be received into the Catholic Church early in the new year.
Hundreds of Anglican churchgoers will join them in the Ordinariate - a structure introduced by Pope Benedict XVI to provide refuge for those diaffected with the Church of England.
The number of worshippers who leave the Church is predicted to double as the new arrangement finally begins to take shape.
The Rt Rev Andrew Burnham, the Bishop of Ebbsfleet, said clergy have become dismayed at the liberal direction of the Church of England and the way traditionalits have been treated.
"There's only a certain amount of time you can accept being described as the National Front of the Church of England," he said. ...
The majority of Anglo-Catholics are waiting until 2012 to see whether the church will pass the legislation which will allow women to be consecrated. They are hoping the plans will fail at the final hurdle. ...
Edited :: See Original Report Here
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/8131063/Catholic-Church-to-welcome-50-Anglican-clergy.html
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Five Anglican bishops join Catholic Church
| BBC NEWS [PSB operated by BBC Trust] - November 8, 2010
Five bishops are to join the Roman Catholic Church under a Vatican scheme intended to provide a welcome for disaffected Anglicans.
The move involves three serving bishops and two retired bishops.
The Vatican has said groups of Anglicans can join Catholicism, but maintain a distinct religious identity.
There have been splits among Anglicans over homosexuality and the ordination of women. The Archbishop of Canterbury said the resignations were a "regret".
The men are all suffragan or assistant bishops rather than those in charge of dioceses.
The serving bishops are the Bishop of Ebbsfleet, the Right Reverend Andrew Burnham; the Bishop of Richborough, the Right Reverend Keith Newton; and the Bishop of Fulham, the Right Reverend John Broadhurst.
They will be joined by the former Bishop of Richborough, the Right Reverend Edwin Barnes, and the former Bishop of Ballarat in Australia, the Right Reverend David Silk.
Bishops Burnham, Newton and Broadhurst were all acting as so-called flying bishops - ministering to Church of England parishes where congregations voted not to allow a woman priest to preside at services.
BBC religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott said the announcement was "no big surprise" as it was always likely that these particular bishops' sympathies were with this "special section" of the Catholic Church called an ordinariate.
But our correspondent added that "a bishop is still a bishop" and it should be seen as a big moment for the church. ...
Christopher Knight, a theologian and member of Forward in Faith, said that the grouping counted at least 800 Anglo-Catholic priests among its members and "the signs are that more priests will leave from the Anglo-Catholic wing and their churches will be seriously affected".
The Times religious affairs correspondent Ruth Gledhill told the BBC the announcement could prompt "hundreds, possibly thousands" of lay ministers to follow the bishops' example. ...
Edited :: See Original Report Here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11709148
Related:
More "power of positive thinking"?
Anglican congregation's plan for Roman exit not seen as exodus
London - The decision by an Anglican parish in southeast England to leave the Church of England to become Roman Catholic has taken some by surprise.
The elected parochial church council of S.t Peter's, Folkestone, which has taken the unanimous decision to secede, is seeking a meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, to discuss procedure.
Earlier this year Pope Benedict XVI offered special provisions for members of the Church of England unhappy with the prospect of female bishops. ...
In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph newspaper, Bishop Broadhurst accused the Church of England of breaking promises to make provision for opponents of female bishops. ...
Read Full Report: ECUMENICAL NEWS INTERNATIONAL - By Martin Revis - October 22, 2010
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Clergy Seeks Less Tension Among Faiths
| NEW YORK TIMES [NYTimes Group/Sulzberger] - By Paul Vitello - September 2, 2010
Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan and several other religious leaders in New York City are planning to meet regularly to try to reduce the kind of tensions that have surrounded plans for an Islamic center near ground zero.
Leaders involved in preliminary discussions said the meetings would first address the conflict about the center, then broaden channels of communication among clergy members of various faiths who are committed to defusing similar flashpoints.
"Eventually, a decision will be made on the mosque one way or the other - to build it or not to build it," said Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis and a member of the discussion group. "The question is what happens to the community afterward. We have to elevate the dialogue and bring people closer together."
The meetings, which were first reported on Thursday in The Wall Street Journal, will initially involve a small group of clerics, then expand to include others. Rabbi Potasnik said the other members of the core group were Archbishop Dolan; the imam Shamsi Ali, director of the Jamaica Muslim Center in Queens; and a representative of the Council of Churches of the City of New York.
In a similar initiative, the Islamic Society of North America, an advocacy and civil rights group, has planned an interfaith conference on Tuesday at the National Press Club in Washington, said Mohammed Elsanousi, the society's director of outreach. Among those expected to attend are Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, the retired archbishop of Washington; the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, general secretary of the National Council of Churches; Rabbi Marc Schneier, founder of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding; and Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. ...
Edited :: See Original Report Here
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/03/nyregion/03dolan.html?th=&emc=th&pagewanted=print
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Faith House Manhattan:
"Experience Your Neighbor's Faith [LIE]"
| "Living Room Samhain: A Season of Harvest, a Circle of Remembrance
FAITH HOUSE MANHATTAN - Posting from website > "Living Room Gatherings" (see link below) - October 13, 2010
Contact: info@faithhousemanhattan.org
Living Room Gatherings
2nd and 4th Wednesdays each month
Currently Fall 2010 Living Room season (See here for time & location) http://www.faithhousemanhattan.org/faith_house/living-room-gatherings.html
All programs free and open to the public. Donations welcome.
Twice a month, Faith House hosts LIVING ROOM gatherings where we share holy days, learn new spiritual practices, and address current cultural and social issues. Each gathering has a specific theme and participatory elements.
This Fall we will be exploring how to cross boundaries into new spaces and meet "the other." In the US, Wiccans have been an example of a "minority" religion, often met with misunderstanding and at times with hostility. We want to learn about and from them and are welcoming them to Faith House!
The Temple of the Spiral path will lead us in a celebration the of Samhain (pronounced Sow-en, from the Irish for "Summer's end") a sacred time of remembrance and harvest, one of the Eight Holidays known to modern Neo-Pagan witches as the Wheel of the Year. At Samhain, we gather the last fruits of the growing season and pause to reflect on all we have reaped during the light half of the year. The veil between the worlds is said to be thinnest at this time and so we take comfort in the closeness of the spirits of Nature, our Gods and Goddesses, and especially our Ancestors as we face the changing season and shorter days.
The Temple of the Spiral Path represents the family of covens practicing the Shadowfolk Tradition of Witchcraft, which was founded in 1995, and includes Strangers' Gate, Shadowfolk, and North Wyldewood Covens. For fifteen years we have produced a series of open and public Wheel of the Year rituals, as well as study groups and workshops exploring many aspects of Wicca. A special focus on the bardic arts and Celtic and Norse contributions to modern Witchcraft inform our work; however, we are not limited by these influences and anchor our tradition within the rich tapestry of the Western Mystery Tradition.
http://www.faithhousemanhattan.org/faith_house/2010/09/living-room-samhain-a-season-of-harvest-a-circle-of-remembrance.html
About Faith House:
Mission
We are an experiential inter-religious community that comes together to deepen our personal and communal journeys, share ritual life and devotional space, and foster a commitment to social justice and healing the world.
Vision
In order to achieve this mission, we are growing five aspects of our local community in New York City:
1. Living Room Gatherings
Twice a month,... we share holy days, learn new spiritual practices, and address current cultural and social issues. Each gathering has a specific theme and hands-on, participatory elements.
2. Religious Spaces NYC
Once a month we ... enter new sacred spaces in New York City. ... on pre-arranged "field trips," we visit diverse religious services as well as lectures, rituals, concerts and other events.
3. Serving Together
In synergy with other faith-based and interfaith organizations, Faith House provides opportunities to ... increase environmental justice and sustainability, and promote peacemaking in New York City and around the world.
4. Nurture Relationships between Local Faith Communities
Faith House welcomes other faith communities to ... host ... "field trips" at their regular places of worship, collaborating to serve together and form relationships ...
5. Islamic Involvement
[W]e place a special emphasis on the value of leadership and participation of diverse local Muslims in all aspects of the life of Faith House. In years to come, other groups may hold this place of focused involvement.
Edited :: See Original Report Here
See more at the Faith House Manhattan website: http://www.faithhousemanhattan.org/faith_house/mission-vision-principles.html
Moriel Technical Team member and researcher John Dunn contributed to this posting.
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