What happens when you take a non-observant Jew writing for a liberal media outlet and you add a sudden insight that he doesn't know the holy book of his childhood nearly as well as he thought he did? You get a potentially interesting series of articles.

Like many lax but well-educated Jews (and Christians), I have long assumed I knew what was in the Bible—more or less. I read parts of the Torah as a child in Hebrew school, then attended a rigorous Christian high school where I had to study the Old and New Testaments. Many of the highlights stuck in my head—Adam and Eve, Cain vs., Abel, Jacob vs. Esau, Jonah vs. whale, 40 days and nights, 10 plagues and Commandments, 12 tribes and apostles, Red Sea walked under, Galilee Sea walked on, bush into fire, rock into water, water into wine. And, of course, I absorbed other bits of Bible everywhere—from stories I heard in churches and synagogues, movies and TV shows, tidbits my parents and teachers told me. All this left me with a general sense that I knew the Good Book well enough, and that it was a font of crackling stories, Jewish heroes, and moral lessons.

So, the tale of Dinah unsettled me, to say the least. If this story was strutting cheerfully through the back half of Genesis, what else had I forgotten or never learned? I decided I would, for the first time as an adult, read the Bible. And I would blog about it as I went along. For the millions of Jews and Christians who know the Bible intimately, this may seem obscene: Why should an ignoramus write about the stories and lessons that you know by heart and understand well? I don't intend any kind of insult. My goal is not to find contradictions, mock impossible events, or scoff at hypocrisy. Nor am I quite stupid enough to pretend that Judaism (or Christianity) is just the Bible. Jews are not only the People of the Book but the People of Many Books. There is the rest of the Hebrew Bible—the Prophets and Writings, the vast commentary of the Talmud, the stories of the midrashim, and thousands and thousands of years of other law and story and commentary. This 4,000years' worth of delving and discussion is totally unfamiliar to me—I can't hope to compete with its wisdom. Nor is there any shortage of modern advice on how to read the Bible. (Just look up "How to read the Bible" on Amazon.) There are experts to tell you why the Bible is literally true, others to advise you how to analyze it as history, and still others to help you read it as literature. You can learn how to approach it as a Jew, a Catholic, an evangelical Protestant, a feminist, a lawyer, a teenager.

So, what can I possibly do? My goal is pretty simple. I want to find out what happens when an ignorant person actually reads the book on which his religion is based. I think I'm in the same position as many other lazy but faithful people (Christians, Jews, Moslems, Hindus). I love Judaism; I love (most of) the lessons it has taught me about how to live in the world; and yet I realized I am fundamentally ignorant about its foundation, its essential document. So, what will happen if I approach my Bible empty, unmediated by teachers or rabbis or parents? What will delight and horrify me? How will the Bible relate to the religion I practice, and the lessons I thought I learned in synagogue and Hebrew School?

I'll spend the next few weeks (or months) finding out. I'll begin with "in the beginning" and see how far I get. My wife, struck by my new biblical obsession, gave me a wonderful Torah translation and commentary for Hannukah, the Etz Hayim, which was prepared by conservative Jewish scholars. I'll read that and dip into the King James and other translations on occasion. (But I'll avoid most commentary, since the whole point is to read the Bible fresh.) I'm sure I'll repeat obvious points made by thousands of biblical commentators before; I'll misunderstand some passages and distort others—hey, that'll be part of the fun. I hope you'll tell me how I've screwed up by e-mailing me at plotzd@slate.com.

I have to wish David Plotz good luck -- and point out to him that there are those who spend a lifetime studying scripture yet continue to find new aspects to it. It is sort of like any relationship -- if it does not remain fresh, the relationship dies. So it is with the most important of texts.

Plotz makes a good start with an examination of the Creation narratives.

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I had the privilege of attending a lecture given by Jaroslav Pelikan on the early fathers of the Church many years ago, while I was a student in the seminary. I was fascinated by the breadth of his knowledge and the depth of his insight.

And then I got to fix drinks for him and the rest of the audience in my capacity as a bartender at the conference center at the seminary. Professor Pelikan was a delightful, friendly old man who made a point of asking the two of us tending bar how we had enjoyed the lecture – and tipped generously.

Yale professor Jaroslav Pelikan, one of the world's foremost scholars of the history of Christianity, has died of lung cancer, his son said Monday. He was 82.

Pelikan wrote more than 30 books, using sources in nine languages and dealing with literary and musical as well as doctrinal aspects of religion.

"For a man as talented and accomplished as he was, he was also exceptionally kind and genuinely humble," said his son, Michael. "The more he learned, the more amazed he was by how much he did not know."

Pelikan died Saturday at his home in Hamden, his son said.

A Lutheran convert to Eastern Orthodoxy, Pelikan was a former president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and was appointed by President Clinton to serve on the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities.

His works include the acclaimed five-volume text, "The Christian Tradition," which followed the story of Christianity from its origins to modern times.

Pelikan's "Whose Bible Is It?", published in 2005, explored how people of different faiths interpret the Bible. He said language and cultural differences led to varying interpretations of the Scripture.

His conclusion, he said in an interview with National Public Radio last year, was that, "Christians and Jews need each other in an effort to understand the sacred text they share."

It is sad to see such a great intellectual light has gone out – but I rejoice in the certainty that Pelikan stands in the presence of the God who he contemplated so deeply during his earthly life.

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Now I am no advocate of censorship, but I do wonder what Australian censors would consider to be inciting violence if these books do not meet the criteria of that nation's anti-terrorism laws.

One of the books, Defence of the Muslim Lands, carried an endorsement from Osama bin Laden on its back cover and promoted "wiring up one's body" with explosives for "martyrdom or self-sacrifice operations".

The Criminal West, written by Australian Muslim Omar Hassan, claimed to be called Australian was something to be ashamed of and Western culture is the culture of wolves, injustice and racism.

It also claims Australian police are rapists who bash young boys and spoke of a conspiracy involving politicians to turn young Muslims into drug addicts.

The Ideological Attack claims there was a barbaric onslaught against Muslims by Jews, Christians and atheists.

Again, these are all books that the Australian government has said are just hunky-dory under its anti-terrorism law and other statutes which ban books promoting hatred and violence.

On the other hand, it is illegal in Australia to quote the Koran to prove that Islam is a religion which promotes hatred of Christians and Jews, and which is promotes violence against non-Muslims -- and Christians have been convicted for doing so.

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Once again, the atheist Red Chinese choose confrontation over reconciliation with the legitimate authorities of the Catholic Church.

China's state-approved Catholic Church welcomed the installation Sunday of another bishop who was not approved by the pope, exacerbating the strain in Beijing's relations with the Vatican.

Bishop Zhan Silu, also known as Vincent Zhan, celebrated Mass for 500 Catholics and officials in a church in the southern city of Ningde to mark his formal appointment as head of the Mindong diocese. Hong Kong Cable TV showed Zhan holding a gold staff and wearing the pointed hat, or miter, used by bishops.

The welcoming ceremony compounded tensions in Vatican-China relations. Just a few months ago, Catholics had expressed hope that back-channel communications and concessions by the Vatican would end a rift between Rome and a separate Chinese church set up by the Communist government a half-century ago.

In recent weeks, China's state-approved Catholic hierarchy ordained two other bishops without papal assent, drawing a threat of excommunication from the Vatican and aggravating the split.

"They had to know that this would cause a serious reaction, a breakdown in the efforts to normalization," Richard Madsen, an expert on China-Vatican ties at the University of California at San Diego, said of the ordinations. "This shows at some level, they just didn't want relations to go forward."

In the fallout, the Vatican put on hold a review of Zhan's appointment that could have led to his approval by Pope Benedict XVI, a church official in Hong Kong said on condition of anonymity because of his involvement in the Rome-China dialogue.

Seems to me that the butchers in Beijing don't want to be seen as allowing too much religious freedom to the ever growing Christian population of China, so they are intentionally weakening relations with the Vatican -- relations that had been leading to Vatican acceptance of many officially sponsored episopal candidates.

For more on the status of Chinese Catholics loyal to the Vatican, click here.

UPDATE: More on this story here.

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Four Chinese bishops have been excommunicated for their role in the non-canonical consecration of bishops for the state-controlled counterfeit “Catholic” organization operated by the Beijing regime.

However, as is often the case, the headline assigned to the article does not accurately reflect the reality of the situation.

The Vatican on Thursday excommunicated two bishops ordained by China's state-controlled church without the pope's consent, escalating tensions as the two sides explored preliminary moves toward improving ties.
The Vatican also excommunicated the two bishops who ordained them, citing church law.

Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls cited Article 1382 of the Roman Catholic Church's canon law. That article states that "both the bishop who, without a pontifical mandate, consecrates a person a bishop, and the one who receives the consecration from him, incur a 'latae sententiae excommunication,'" which means they are automatically excommunicated.

As was often pointed out in my canon law classes, such excommunications are automatic and not a matter of official discretion. Technically, the person committing the offense excommunicates themselves by engaging in certain serious offenses. The act of unauthorized consecration of a bishop (an offense against the unity of the Church), like the act of procuring an abortion (an offense against innocent human life), is one of such gravity that knowingly committing the prohibited act results in the penalty. As such, it is incorrect to say that “the Vatican excommunicated” these men.

Earlier, Navarro-Valls said Pope Benedict XVI was deeply saddened by news of the ordinations, which have occurred in recent weeks.
"It is a great wound to the unity of the church," Navarro-Valls said in a statement.

Chinese Foreign Ministry officials were not available to comment on the excommunications. But earlier, a duty officer referred to an April 30 statement issued after the Vatican criticized the first ordination.

"The criticism toward the Chinese side by the Vatican is groundless," that statement said. "We hope the Vatican can respect the will of Chinese church and the vast numbers of priests as well as its church members so as to create good atmosphere for the improvement of Sino-Vatican ties."

On Wednesday, the official church, known as the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, ordained Liu Xinhong as bishop at the city of Wuhu's St. Joseph's Church in the eastern province of Anhui.

It was the second ordination in three days without the consent of the Vatican, which traditionally appoints its own bishops. On Sunday, China's official church ordained Ma Yinglin as a bishop in the southwestern province of Yunnan.

The Red Chinese stand ready to ordain another twenty men as bishops over the objections of the Vatican. It therefore seems clear that the recent moves by the Communist regime in Beijing may have been a subterfuge designed to undermine papal authority over Chinese Catholics. In consecrating these bishops, the Chinese government is acting to set up a rival episcopal hierarchy which will perpetuate the Communist-instigated schism in Red China that has endured for over half a century.

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Perhaps there is hope for a more moderate Islam in parts of the Muslim world. Certainly, this bodes well for the status of women in that kingdom, given the terrible treatment of women in many Islamist communities.

Fifty women have graduated as Muslim preachers, part of a concerted effort by authorities in Morocco to promote moderate Islam in a country grappling with extremism.

Another 150 men graduated Wednesday as imams, or prayer leaders. The 50 female religious guides, or morchidat, won't lead prayers in mosques, which is reserved for men, but will be sent around the country to teach women -- and, occasionally, men -- about Islam.

While Moroccan officials said the appointment of female state preachers was a rare experiment in the Muslim world, others said it was unprecedented in Morocco and the majority of other Arab countries.

"Your duty ... is to prevent intrusion by foreign agents trying to violate our values and traditions," Ahmed Taoufiq, minister of Islamic Affairs, told the graduates Wednesday.

"You must be committed to the faith and politics of the state which the people have chosen. This choice includes the policies of the Amir al Moumenin (Commander of the Faithful) who runs deep in our veins," said Taoufiq, referring to the religious title of King Mohammed VI.

The training of the preachers is part of a campaign launched by the young king, a descendant of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad, to strengthen state-controlled mosques while undermining radical clerics who preach Islamic extremism. He has vowed that no foreign religious doctrine would be tolerated in the North African kingdom, which is a close ally of the United States and a partner in its war against terrorism.

I applaud King Mohammed VI for his efforts to bring Islam into the modern world, and to place greater emphasis on its positive aspects rather than the more blood-thirsty side highlighted by bin Laden and his ilk.

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Looks like the hope of religious freedom in Red China is fading, as the puppet "Catholic" organization set up by the government continued to consecrate bishops in defiance of papal authority on the matter.

For the second time in four days, China's government-sponsored Catholic church consecrated a new bishop without the pope's approval Wednesday, casting a deeper chill on what had been promising efforts to end half a century of hostility between China and the Vatican.

The new bishop, Liu Xinhong, was installed as Anhui province's top prelate in a morning ceremony at St. Joseph's Church in Wuhu, in eastern China, according to a church official who declined to be identified. His ascension followed the consecration Sunday of Ma Yinglin as bishop of Kunming, in southwestern China's Yunnan province, in spite of a request from the Vatican for more time to consider whether he could meet the pope's approval.

Elevation of the two bishops without Vatican approval was organized by the official Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, which oversees about a third of China's more than 10 million Catholics under the authority of the Communist Party and the government's Religious Affairs Bureau. The other 6 million or 7 million Chinese Catholics, who recognize the Vatican's leadership in matters of faith, worship in churches not approved by the government, sometimes called underground or home churches, and do not fall under the association's purview.

The entire problem could have been avoided by waiting for Vatican approval, which was likely forthcoming. This is therefore best seen as a deliberate slap at the Vatican, and an unnecessary provocation.

Expect to see talks between the Vatican and Red China end as a aresult of this perfidious interference with religious matters.

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While I’ve condemned Viacom/MTV for running this series, I emphatically reject any attempt to ban the series through coercive means.

German Catholic leaders launched legal steps on Tuesday to prevent youth music channel MTV from broadcasting a controversial cartoon series which depicts the Pope as a pogo-stick-riding maniac.

Outraged bishops from Pope Benedict XVI's home state of Bavaria filed a legal injunction against the broadcaster, which plans to show the first episode of the satirical series "Popetown" on Wednesday evening.

The injunction says "Popetown" -- which was dropped in Britain after a wave of protest -- is insulting to Catholics since it shows the Pope bouncing through St. Peter's in Rome on a cross-like pogo stick and satirizes religious ceremonies.

"In this way the Catholic faith and the Catholic church are exposed to ridicule, which is justified neither by the freedom of opinion, of art, of the press nor of broadcasting," the archdiocese of Munich and Freising said in a statement.

The youth music channel said it plans to show one episode and will then gauge viewers' appetite for more.

"We will initially broadcast this first episode and then will make a decision based on the feedback of the viewers," said Mats Wappmann, a spokesman for MTV in Berlin.

The bishops also attacked the television channel for an advertising campaign which showed Jesus apparently getting down from the cross to sit in an armchair and watch the program.

The advert's tagline read: Have a laugh instead of hanging around.

Christianity has survived much worse hits than this and survived quite nicely. Given that it is based on divine truth and not Satanic falsehood, the Church will not be harmed by this trash. Allow free will to be exercised by the German people, and allow the free market to take its toll on the despicable folks who decided to run the series.

Oh, and by the way – quit acting like a bunch of Muslims.

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While IÂ’ve condemned Viacom/MTV for running this series, I emphatically reject any attempt to ban the series through coercive means.

German Catholic leaders launched legal steps on Tuesday to prevent youth music channel MTV from broadcasting a controversial cartoon series which depicts the Pope as a pogo-stick-riding maniac.

Outraged bishops from Pope Benedict XVI's home state of Bavaria filed a legal injunction against the broadcaster, which plans to show the first episode of the satirical series "Popetown" on Wednesday evening.

The injunction says "Popetown" -- which was dropped in Britain after a wave of protest -- is insulting to Catholics since it shows the Pope bouncing through St. Peter's in Rome on a cross-like pogo stick and satirizes religious ceremonies.

"In this way the Catholic faith and the Catholic church are exposed to ridicule, which is justified neither by the freedom of opinion, of art, of the press nor of broadcasting," the archdiocese of Munich and Freising said in a statement.

The youth music channel said it plans to show one episode and will then gauge viewers' appetite for more.

"We will initially broadcast this first episode and then will make a decision based on the feedback of the viewers," said Mats Wappmann, a spokesman for MTV in Berlin.

The bishops also attacked the television channel for an advertising campaign which showed Jesus apparently getting down from the cross to sit in an armchair and watch the program.

The advert's tagline read: Have a laugh instead of hanging around.

Christianity has survived much worse hits than this and survived quite nicely. Given that it is based on divine truth and not Satanic falsehood, the Church will not be harmed by this trash. Allow free will to be exercised by the German people, and allow the free market to take its toll on the despicable folks who decided to run the series.

Oh, and by the way – quit acting like a bunch of Muslims.

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Once again, we see that Islam and freedom are incompatible.

A bloc representing the world's Islamic nations is marking World Press Freedom Day Wednesday by calling for urgent action to establish international law or a code of conduct aimed at preventing media from defaming religion.

The Saudi-based secretariat of the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) said in a statement it was committed to press freedom, but that journalists should be deterred from premeditatedly vilifying, defaming and violating the rights of others."

Citing the controversy earlier this year over the printing of cartoons depicting Mohammed, the OIC said the publication of the sketches and its ramifications provided "absolute evidence of the consequences of non-abidance with these regulations."

It said the caricatures had insulted "a faith embraced and revered by over one-fifth of the world population, and a religion that advocates peace, tolerance and moral virtues."

I’d like to remind them that their faith is rejected and reviled by at least three-fifths of the world population. But they think Islam is special, and entitled to more respect than any other faith. As if to emphasize that fact, consider some events “coincidentally” scheduled on the day which is designated to celebrate press freedom.

In Yemen, the editor of the Yemen Observer will mark World Press Freedom Day Wednesday by appearing in court, where prosecutors earlier called for the death sentence for insulting Islam.

Muhammad al-Asadi was arrested last February after his English-language weekly published the cartoons -- in thumbnail size and obscured with a thick, black cross -- to illustrate its news reports on the controversy.

Editors of two Arabic-language papers in Yemen are also on trial, and are due to appear in court later in May. Print editions of all three papers have been frozen for the past three months, although the government this week agreed to allow printing to resume.

Such an example shows quite clearly why we in the West must actively resist the imposition of Muslim values upon our civilization – and why kid-glove treatment of Islam and Islamic cultures must be rejected as an obstacle to freedom around the world.

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After all, if global warming is truly a ‘religious issue’.

The left-wing Center for American Progress (CAP) Tuesday enlisted the help of clergy members to argue that "global warming" is not just an environmental issue. "At its core, it's an ethical, moral and religious issue," said John Podesta, president of CAP and a former White House chief of staff under President Bill Clinton.

Podesta added that it is our duty to "protect the environment, to protect God's earth, and to protect the poorest people."

CAP plans to try to raise public awareness to the allegedly drastic climate change. It will attempt to place liberal climatologists on popular television programs and sponsor public service announcements. Partnering in that effort are religious leaders.

John Carr, secretary of social development and world peace for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said that as a result of climate change, the world's poorest people are suffering from famine and drought.

"John Paul II said it was a moral and ethical challenge. When the pope says something is a priority, you do something about it," said Carr.

Who do they think they are, trying to impose their religious values on me?

After all, liberals have been telling us for years that legislating morality is un-American and a violation of the rights of those whose faith and values tell them something different. Could it be that such rhetoric – usually trotted out to oppose conservative Christians who seek to protect unborn human life or oppose sexual immorality

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After all, if global warming is truly a ‘religious issue’.

The left-wing Center for American Progress (CAP) Tuesday enlisted the help of clergy members to argue that "global warming" is not just an environmental issue. "At its core, it's an ethical, moral and religious issue," said John Podesta, president of CAP and a former White House chief of staff under President Bill Clinton.

Podesta added that it is our duty to "protect the environment, to protect God's earth, and to protect the poorest people."

CAP plans to try to raise public awareness to the allegedly drastic climate change. It will attempt to place liberal climatologists on popular television programs and sponsor public service announcements. Partnering in that effort are religious leaders.

John Carr, secretary of social development and world peace for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said that as a result of climate change, the world's poorest people are suffering from famine and drought.

"John Paul II said it was a moral and ethical challenge. When the pope says something is a priority, you do something about it," said Carr.

Who do they think they are, trying to impose their religious values on me?

After all, liberals have been telling us for years that legislating morality is un-American and a violation of the rights of those whose faith and values tell them something different. Could it be that such rhetoric – usually trotted out to oppose conservative Christians who seek to protect unborn human life or oppose sexual immorality

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Look what has been done to preserve the basilica at Assisi – using videogame technology.

A trip to Italy to see the famous frescoes of the 13th-century Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi could cost a person a couple of thousand dollars. This summer, St. Louis University's Institute of Digital Theology can give you the same experience on a $50 compact disc.

Well, almost the same experience. Of course you won't get the smell of the Umbrian countryside, the sound of St. Francis' beloved birds or - most important - the taste of olive oil-soaked bread and prosciutto crudo with a glass of Orvieto. But if it's architectural and artistic detail you're after, two young professors from SLU's Theological Studies department will get you as close as you can get without visiting the real thing.

The duo is using the same technology that video game creators use "to get things to explode" to better illuminate the detail in the basilica's stained glass or ceiling crevices. "It's the minor details that make this a real experience," said Jay M. Hammond.

Hammond and James R. Ginther, the other half of the team, have used 5,000 digital images to map the basilica's upper church. Just as in any modern video game, users will be able to explore the space by controlling their own three-dimensional point of view. Hammond and Ginther also have added a feature that will allow a user to "fly" around the basilica to see details higher up in the church that wouldn't be visible to an actual visitor.

Money raised from the CD sales will allow the duo to do the same for the lower church, crypt and the entire outside of the basilica. "This is version 1.0.," said Ginther. Version 2.0 will allow users to travel between levels and through the actual hallways and byways of the basilica. The St. Francis project is a pilot program and is being used to launch the Institute of Digital Theology.

I stand amazed and awed at the use of the profane to preserve the sacred.

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Red China forcibly severed the relationship between Chinese Catholics and the Vatican in 1951. Those who have remained loyal to the Pope have suffered persecution, imprisonment, and martyrdom at the hands of the atheistic Communist regime in Beijing. In recent years, there has been movement on the part of the Chinese government (which rigidly controls the "official" Catholic Church in China) to permitting Chinese Catholics to end the government-imposed schism. Hope has been rising that there might be, at last, freedom of worship and autonomy under the aegis of Vatican approved bishops.

Unfortunately, this hope seems to have been dashed today.

China's state-sanctioned Roman Catholic Church ordained a new bishop Sunday, rejecting the Vatican's request to delay the appointment and threatening efforts to restore official ties between the sides after five decades.

China's Foreign Ministry defended the official church's right to ordain bishops without Vatican input and called the Holy See's criticism of such appointments "groundless."

The ordination could damage recent efforts to restore Sino-Vatican ties, cut in 1951 after the Communist Party took control in China. One of the stumbling blocks in improving relations has long been a dispute over who has the authority to appoint bishops.

"The recent ordination of bishops at some diocese have been unanimously well-received by church members and priests," the Foreign Ministry said in a faxed statement. "The criticism toward the Chinese side by the Vatican is groundless."

China's church - the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association - held a ceremony for the new bishop, Ma Yinglin, in the city of Kunming in southwestern Yunnan province.

Hong Kong Cable TV showed Ma wearing his new bishop's hat and carrying an ornate gold staff as he waved to the faithful.

Lett me make one thing clear -- there is no "state-sanctioned Roman Catholic Church". There is a counterfeit Catholic Church used as a propaganda piece by the Red Chinese. Roman Catholics are persecuted for their faith, for they refuse to join the state-controlled body.

Will the UN, or the nations of the world, stand up and condemn this fundamental violation of religious freedom and intereference in the internal affairs of the Catholic Church by a govenrment which officially denies the that God exists?

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A number of mainline Protestant churches are calling for reparations to African-Americans for slavery, an institution eliminated in this country 140 years ago.

The Episcopal Church, at its upcoming General Convention in June, will consider whether to endorse reparations for 250 years of American slavery.
The two-million member Episcopal Church is the embodiment of the declining and aging Protestant denominations whose elites prioritize left-wing politics. And, like the other "mainline" denominations, it is largely white and upper-middle class. To compensate for their failure to attract racial minorities, Religious Left prelates often adopt radical race-related causes. It is the perfect issue for anti-American religious elites. Obsess over a social sin of past centuries that will portray the United States and Western Civilization in the most sinister light. Meanwhile, ignore or minimize the personal sins and spiritual needs of leftists. Mainline prelates feel "prophetic" and "relevant" when they adopt causes such as reparations for slavery.
Proposed Episcopal Church Resolution A124 would admit to the “the complicity of the Episcopal Church” in slavery and the church’s “economic benefits” from it. It asks for a study as to how, “as a matter of justice,” the church can “share those benefits with African American Episcopalians.”

* * *

A policy statement of the 8 million member United Methodist Church specifically endorses U.S. House of Representatives bill 40 from Congressman by Michigan Democratic Congressman John Conyers, which advocates slavery reparations.

* * *

The 3 million member Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), in a more organized fashion, maintains a website dedicated to supporting slavery reparations. Officially, the denomination supports the Conyers’ bill and cites the need for recompense for other victims groups, including Native Americans, Alaskan Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans and Puerto Ricans. But the website admits that a 2003 poll of Presbyterians revealed that 85 percent of church members and 68 percent of pastors oppose federal government reparations for the descendants of slaves. Seven percent supported reparations for descendants of African slaves, while 4 percent supported reparations for the other victim groups.

Reparations for slavery is an absurd notion, rooted in the idea that those who were never slaves should be compensated by those who never owned slaves. It is a notion that I uncategorically reject.

However, if those churches believe in reparations, there is nothing stopping them from acting on the matter. If they believe that their institutions are tainted by the slavery, then they must act.

Liquidate your assets. Give them to those you feel are deserving of them.

And leave the rest of us alone.

After all, wouldn’t forcing the rest of us to pay for crimes we did not commit involve imposing the religious values of the Religious Left on Americans with common sense?

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A number of mainline Protestant churches are calling for reparations to African-Americans for slavery, an institution eliminated in this country 140 years ago.

The Episcopal Church, at its upcoming General Convention in June, will consider whether to endorse reparations for 250 years of American slavery.
The two-million member Episcopal Church is the embodiment of the declining and aging Protestant denominations whose elites prioritize left-wing politics. And, like the other "mainline" denominations, it is largely white and upper-middle class. To compensate for their failure to attract racial minorities, Religious Left prelates often adopt radical race-related causes. It is the perfect issue for anti-American religious elites. Obsess over a social sin of past centuries that will portray the United States and Western Civilization in the most sinister light. Meanwhile, ignore or minimize the personal sins and spiritual needs of leftists. Mainline prelates feel "prophetic" and "relevant" when they adopt causes such as reparations for slavery.
Proposed Episcopal Church Resolution A124 would admit to the “the complicity of the Episcopal Church” in slavery and the church’s “economic benefits” from it. It asks for a study as to how, “as a matter of justice,” the church can “share those benefits with African American Episcopalians.”

* * *

A policy statement of the 8 million member United Methodist Church specifically endorses U.S. House of Representatives bill 40 from Congressman by Michigan Democratic Congressman John Conyers, which advocates slavery reparations.

* * *

The 3 million member Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), in a more organized fashion, maintains a website dedicated to supporting slavery reparations. Officially, the denomination supports the ConyersÂ’ bill and cites the need for recompense for other victims groups, including Native Americans, Alaskan Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans and Puerto Ricans. But the website admits that a 2003 poll of Presbyterians revealed that 85 percent of church members and 68 percent of pastors oppose federal government reparations for the descendants of slaves. Seven percent supported reparations for descendants of African slaves, while 4 percent supported reparations for the other victim groups.

Reparations for slavery is an absurd notion, rooted in the idea that those who were never slaves should be compensated by those who never owned slaves. It is a notion that I uncategorically reject.

However, if those churches believe in reparations, there is nothing stopping them from acting on the matter. If they believe that their institutions are tainted by the slavery, then they must act.

Liquidate your assets. Give them to those you feel are deserving of them.

And leave the rest of us alone.

After all, wouldnÂ’t forcing the rest of us to pay for crimes we did not commit involve imposing the religious values of the Religious Left on Americans with common sense?

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Back when I was still teaching English, I would sometimes teach Chaim Herzog's wonderful book, The Chosen. For those of you not familiar with the book, it deals with the friendship between two young Talmud scholars in New York City -- one the son of a liberal professor, the other the annointed heir of the head of a Hasidic community. It is a short, easy read, but also a fantastic teaching tool on many levels. I'd encourage folks to read it.

I cannot help but flash back to that novel as I read about the death of Satmar Grand Rebbe Moses Teitelbaum,, who led the largest Hasidic sect for many years. The body was not yet cold when a serious power struggle erupted between two of the rebbe's ons over the control of the group -- which has assets of over a billion dollars.

A Hasidic king was buried Monday night, even as two of his sons fought in secular and religious courts to claim his throne.

Satmar Grand Rebbe Moses Teitelbaum, the 91-year-old leader of the world's largest and most powerful ultra-orthodox Hasidic sect, had been dead only three hours when thousands of Hasidim -- bearded and wearing black felt hats -- jammed into the main synagogue in Brooklyn for his funeral.

The scene was from another age -- 17th-century Eastern Europe, to be precise. Teitelbaum's sons loosened high-pitched wails and bowed again and again in prayer toward his wooden coffin. Male mourners, pressed so tightly together that breathing was difficult, surged across the floor, pushing, shoving, elbowing to get closer to the casket.

Upstairs, Satmar women watched, unseen, from behind wooden screens.

Outside the synagogue, loudspeakers pumped out the sons' eulogies and prayers into the night air, their cries echoing off the tenement walls of the Williamsburg neighborhood. More than 20,000 Satmar followers packed the streets, sat shoulder-to-shoulder on brownstone stoops, climbed trees or watched from rooftops and balconies.

* * *

But no one has devised a clear process for picking a new grand rebbe -- succession wars and angry splits are common among Hasidic sects. In theory, the grand rebbe anoints a successor, a rabbinical court agrees, and the choice meets with approval.

In the case of the Satmar, Teitelbaum's eldest son, Aaron -- who is chief rabbi in Kiryas Joel -- expected to succeed his father. But in his later years, Moses Teitelbaum came to see Aaron as headstrong and, perhaps, not capable of leading the entire sect.

So the father appointed a younger son, Zalmen, to run the Williamsburg congregation, splitting his empire.

Aaron never fully accepted the decision. Save for a few brief words of commiseration Monday evening, the middle-aged brothers have not spoken to each other in more than seven years, say advisers to the two men. Most Satmar Hasidim have lined up behind one brother or the other -- the sides are known as the "Zalis" and "Aaronis" -- and the past decade has been punctuated by fistfights, broken legs and arms, torched cars and homes.

May God grant these men the grace and wisdom to settle their differences amicably, for the sake of their followers and their father's memory.

And may I suggest to them that they consider which woman Solomon decreed to be the rightful mother of the babe -- the one who indicated her willingness to give up her on child, not the one willing to see it cut asunder.

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Certain commenters have, in the past, argued that I shouldn't talk about Canadian policies that infringe upon the religious liberties of Christians in their business practices and public speech. I've been told that since such abuses are not occurring here in the United States, that such abuses are irrelevant -- especially when they have to do with the freedom of Americans to speak out against homosexual marriage or special rights for homosexuals, or to conduct their business in a manner which does not give aid and comfort to what they view as the homosexual political agenda.

One such case in Canada had to do with a Christian printer who refused to print material for a homosexual rights group. Canadian governmetn authorities forced the printer to do the printing job, and also imposed monetary damages upon the business owner. But of course, I'm told, such an abuse of human rights by govenrment officials could never happen here.

Until it did, in Arlington Virginia -- literally a stone's throw from our nation's capital, and the charters of freedom that ennunciate the principles of liberty upon which this nation is founded. Unfortunately, they have been rendered null and void in Arlington. That is the message of the so-called Arlington Human Rights Commission to Tim Bono of Bono Film and Video.

In a case similar to a Canadian Christian printerÂ’s punishment for declining a job for a homosexual activist group, an Arlington, Virginia, video duplicator has been ordered by the Arlington County Human Rights Commission to do a job for a lesbian activist.

The April 18 order follows a March 9 hearing in which Tim Bono of Bono Film and Video cited constitutional freedom of religion protection in refusing to duplicate two pro-homosexual films for lesbian activist Lillian Vincenz, according to the Family Policy Network (FPN), which is seeking clients for a class-action suit against the county.

Bono, a Christian, said he did not want to violate his Biblical values by assisting the promotion of homosexual behavior. Bono Film & Video informs potential customers that the firm does not duplicate material that the firm deems obscene, could embarrass employees, hurt the companyÂ’s reputation, or that runs counter to the company's Christian and ethical values, Bono told FPN.

After Bono rebuffed her request, Vincenz asked Arlington County officials to force Bono to duplicate her videos. The Arlington Human Rights Commission began an investigation and held a public hearing on March 9 to discuss the alleged discrimination.

As of April 25, neither Bono nor Vincenz had responded to the commissionÂ’s order, Raul Torres, executive director of the Human Rights Commission, told Concerned Women for AmericaÂ’s Culture & Family Institute (CFI).

If Bono refuses to do the job, “after a reasonable amount of time, the commission can reassemble and discuss why the remedy was not done,” Raul said. The commission could then forward the case to the full county Board of Commissioners and ask them for permission to file a discrimination complaint in Arlington Circuit Court, he said.

In other words, what has happened here is that a Christian business owner has been directed to produce material that runs directly contrary to his religious beliefs. A right guaranteed by the US Constitution has been overthrown in the name of promoting "tolerance" for homosexuality. But where is the tolerance for Christianity?

And by the way -- whatever happened to what we were all once told was a guiding principle of the homosexual rights movement, that all that was being asked was for homosexuals to be left alone. It was supposed to be a matter of "live and let live." But instead of tolerance, what is now demanded is acceptance by all and subservience by those who disagree.

Whatever happened to the First Amendment and freedom of religion? What about Tim Bono's right to be left alone? What of his freedom to practice his religion in his professional life?

And whatever happened to "it can't happen here"?

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Just say no to Muslim demands for unreasonable accommodations.

About 200 Muslim women who have memberships to the Fitness USA chain of athletic clubs have signed a petition asking the gyms to honor what they say was a promise to provide separate exercise times for women and men.

Arrwa Mogalli, 28, of Dearborn, said she bought a $1,465 lifetime membership after being promised that a Lincoln Park facility would be open only to women on certain days.

The gym in this Detroit suburb opened a new part of the center this month to both sexes every day.

"I felt like all the money I just spent ... has gone to waste," Mogalli said.
The women are asking the chain to restore single-sex exercise days for the entire gym or to put up a divider so men and women cannot see each other while exercising.

"In Islam, there are codes of modesty for both genders," said Ammerah Saidi, 23, of Dearborn. "When you're working out, you're not dressed modestly, and you're bending in provocative ways, so you can't be working out with the opposite gender."

The company is reviewing the women's concerns, said Jodi Berry, administrative director for Fitness USA. But the company said that the women's written contracts say nothing about gender.

What next – a day that exclude non-Muslims because the Koran forbids friendship between Muslims and infidels?

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You must be kidding!

Facilities in a prison are being built so Muslim inmates do not have to face Mecca while sitting on the toilet.

The Home Office said two new toilet blocks are being installed as part of a refurbishment at Brixton jail in south London.

Faith leaders had told prison bosses it was unacceptable for Muslim inmates to face Mecca while using the toilet.

"The refurbishment has been carried out with due consideration for all faiths", a Home Office spokeswoman said.

"Following consultation with faith leaders within the prison, various small adjustments were made to ensure the faith issues of all prisoners are taken into account."

She added: "The money spent did not affect the overall cost of the refurbishment programme."

What next – building codes that contain the same “sensitivity” towards Islam?

I have a business proposition for any interested parties. I want to start manufacturing institutional toilets. The name of the company will beÂ….

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What else can you call this?

Islamic religious leaders in this city have signed a petition calling on the new Hamas cabinet to shut down the local YMCA under the pretext that it is involved in "missionary activities." The Hamas-controlled municipality has expressed its support for the call.

The campaign against the YMCA began earlier this week when arsonists set fire to some of its offices.

The right to proselytize is a human right. So is the right to convert. It seems clear that the terrorcratic regime that rules the Palestinian Authority does not recognize such basic principles spelled out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the governing documents of every civilized nation. It is time for the farce that is the “peace process” to end, and for Israel to step in as guarantor of the rights of Palestinians in the Gaza and the West Bank.

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Using a concentration camp as a venue for a rock opera about Jesus just seems wrong.

The Anti-Defamation League said on Thursday that it was "appalled" by plans to present the musical "Jesus Christ Superstar" at the Majdanek Concentration Camp outside Lublin, Poland.

"We are appalled at the poor taste behind the decision to present this musical at the site where Jews were enslaved and killed. A site such as Majdanek, the second largest Nazi concentration camp in Europe, cannot be treated as if it were a public park or an entertainment venue. It is a sacred place dedicated to the memory those who suffered and to the more than 230,000 Jews and others killed within its gates," ADL National Director Abraham H. Foxman - himself a Holocaust survivor - said in a statement.

Foxman called on the organizers of this event to move it to another venue.

I usually find myself in disagreement with Foxman, who has shown an increasingly rabid hostility towards Christianity in recent years. However, it may well be that Abe Foxman, like a boken clock, is right twice a day.

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One need not be a member of the LDS Church to be pleased that these historical treasures have been recovered.

Four early editions of the Book of Mormon stolen in two separate thefts have been recovered, police said.

Thirteen historical religious books, including two first editions of the Book of Mormon that were published in 1830, were taken last week from the Daughters of Utah Pioneers museum. Two others have been missing since last November when a small safe was reported stolen from the LDS Institute of Religion at the University of Utah.

Early Tuesday, Utah Highway Patrol dispatchers heard from an anonymous caller who said police should check in a mailbox near a high school, said patrol Lt. Tony Garcia.

Inside the box was an envelope with no postage and "attention President Hinckley" _ Gordon B. Hinckley is president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints _ written on the front. Two copies of the Book of Mormon stolen from the museum were inside, Garcia said.

The two copies of the Book of Mormon stolen from the LDS institute last fall were recovered at a home Tuesday where a SWAT raid was conducted, said Midvale police Sgt. Steve Shreeve.

"It was wonderful news," said Allan Gunnerson, the institute's director.

The value of the books is thought to be between $800,000 and $1 million.

Eleven of the stolen books were recovered last week when a book store owner told investigators he paid $11,000 for two first editions of the Book of Mormon. He also gave police the seller's name. Officers traced the man's driver's license number and then staked out a Magna home, where they made an arrest and recovered nine more books.

On Friday, police booked Robert M. Lindsay, 48, for investigation of felony theft and possession of stolen property.

While not exactly the Dead Sea Scrolls, these rare editions of the Mormon holy book are important for scholars and those of the Mormon faith. I am pleased that they have been returned, safe and unharmed, to Mormon authorities so that htey may be conserved and preserved for furture generations of the scholars and the faithful.

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1 Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.

2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”

3 Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb.

4 So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first.

5 And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in.

6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there,

7 and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself.

8 Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed.

9 For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.

10 Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.

11 But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb.

12 And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

13 Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”

14 Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.

15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”
She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher).

17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’”

18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord,
and that He had spoken these things to her.

19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

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EXULTET
(RealAudio)

Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing choirs of angels!
Exult, all creation around God's throne!
Jesus Christ, our King is risen!
Sound the trumpet of salvation!

Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor,
radiant in the brightness of your King!
Christ has conquered! Glory fills you!
Darkness vanishes for ever!

Rejoice, O Mother Church! Exult in glory!
The risen Savior shines upon you!
Let this place resound with joy,
echoing the mighty song of all God's people!

My dearest friends,
standing with me in this holy light,
join me in asking God for mercy,
that he may give his unworthy minister
grace to sing his Easter praises.

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give him thanks and praise.

It is truly right that with full hearts and minds and voices
we should praise the unseen God, the all-powerful Father,
and his only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

For Christ has ransomed us with his blood,
and paid for us the price of Adam's sin to our eternal Father!

This is our passover feast,
When Christ, the true Lamb, is slain,
whose blood consecrates the homes of all believers.

This is the night,
when first you saved our fathers:

you freed the people of Israel from their slav'ry,
and led them dry-shod through the sea.

This is the night,
when the pillar of fire destroyed the darkness of sin.

This is night,
when Christians ev'rywhere,
washed clean of sin and freed from all defilement,
are restored to grace and grow together in holiness.

This is the night,
when Jesus broke the chains of death
and rose triumphant from the grave.

What good would life have been to us,
had Christ not come as our Redeemer?

Father, how wonderful your care for us!
How boundless your merciful love!

To ransom a slave you gave away your Son.

O happy fault, O necessary sin of Adam,
which gained for us so great a Redeemer!

Most blessed of all nights,
chosen by God to see Christ rising from the dead!

Of this night scripture says:
"The night will be as clear as day:

it will become my light, my joy."

The power of this holy night dispels all evil,
washes guilt away, restores lost innocence,
brings mourners joy;
it casts out hatred, brings us peace,
and humbles earthly pride.

Night truly blessed,
when heaven is wedded to earth

and we are reconciled to God!

Therefore, heavenly Father, in the joy of this night,
receive our evening sacrifice of praise,
your Church's solemn offering.

Accept this Easter candle,
a flame divided but undimmed,
a pillar of fire that glows to the honor of God.

Let it mingle with the lights of heaven
and continue bravely burning
to dispel the darkness of this night!

May the Morning Star which never sets
find this flame still burning:
Christ, that Morning Star,
who came back from the dead,
and shed his peaceful light on all mankind,

your Son, who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.
more...

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50 Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man.

51 He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God.

52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before.

54 That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.

55 And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid.

56 Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.

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16 Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison.

17 And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head,

18 and began to salute Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

19 Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him.

20 And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.

21 Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross.

22 And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull.

23 Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it.

24 And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.

25 Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him. 26 And the inscription of His accusation was written above:

THE KING OF THE JEWS.

27 With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left.

28 So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with the transgressors.”

29 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days,

30 save Yourself, and come down from the cross!”

31 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save.

32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.”
Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.

33 Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.

34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

35 Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, “Look, He is calling for Elijah!”

36 Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down.”

37 And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.

38 Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

39 So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!”

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17 Now on the first day of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”

18 And He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.”’”

19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.

20 When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve. 21 Now as they were eating, He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.”

22 And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, “Lord, is it I?”

23 He answered and said, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me.

24 The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”

25 Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, “Rabbi, is it I?”
He said to him, “You have said it.”

26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”

27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.

28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

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Muslims went on a rampage because of some relatively innocuous cartoons of the false prophet Muhammad. Claims were made that no one would ever accept such insults directed at Jesus.

Well, guess what – MTV has engaged in blasphemy against Jesus during the holiest of Christian seasons. Will there be violence?

We already know the answer.

As Christians around the world prepare for Easter, magazine readers in Germany were confronted this week by full-page advertisements depicting Jesus, wearing a crown of thorns but descended from the cross, enjoying a television program.

"Laughing rather than hanging around," (Lachen statt rumhaengen) reads the tagline of the ad, which has drawn strong protests in Germany, where two-thirds of the population identifies as Christian.

The ad promotes MTV's plan to broadcast a cartoon lampooning the pope and Vatican hierarchy. The series, Popetown, was considered too controversial to be aired in Britain, and it caused an uproar in the one country where it has appeared, New Zealand.

Coming at a time when the dust has yet to settle from the furor over newspaper cartoons caricaturing Mohammed, the row has prompted some Germans to ask why their faith should be an easy target.

The Deutsche Welle broadcaster quoted Joachim Herrmann of the Christian Social Union party as saying that MTV would have thought twice before poking fun in a similar way at Muslims.

No, they would not have thought twice. MTV would not have dared engage in similar conduct regarding Muhammad – or Allah.

German Christians are outraged.

A German Christian magazine, Verse One, has instituted an online protest and boycott campaign.

"After the events surrounding the Mohammed cartoons we had thought there was agreement that media should show consideration for the religious feelings of believers, whether Muslims, Jews, Buddhists or Christians," said Verse One publisher Birgit Kelle.

"Obviously we were mistaken."

Kelle, a Protestant, said the issue did not concern "our Catholic brothers and sisters" alone. If Christians did not defend themselves - with arguments, not force - "this will never stop."

Ms. Kelle, there was no agreement to show consideration for the believers of any religion except Islam. Christian feelings were never even a consideration, only Muslim feelings? Why? Because we Christians do not engage in murderous behavior towards those who dare dissent from our religious beliefs. Offending Muslims, on the other hand, can be fatal.

Does MTV have the right to show this insulting series, and to run this blasphemous ad? Yes, it does.

But we have the right to retaliate economically. Let’s bring down MTV and its corporate parent, Viacom.

UPDATE: We really do need to go after Viacom, which is the parent company of both MTV and Comedy Central. The company's hypocrisy regarding treatment of Jesus and Muhammad is outrageous!

Banned by Comedy Central from showing an image of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the creators of "South Park" skewered their own network for hypocrisy in the cartoon's most recent episode.

The comedy _ in an episode aired during Holy Week for Christians _ instead featured an image of Jesus Christ defecating on President Bush and the American flag.

In an elaborately constructed two-part episode of their Peabody Award-winning cartoon, "South Park" creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker intended to comment on the controversy created by a Danish newspaper's publishing of caricatures of Muhammad. Muslims consider any physical representation of their prophet to be blasphemous.

When the cartoons were reprinted in newspapers worldwide in January and February, it sparked a wave of protests primarily in Islamic countries.

Parker and Stone were angered when told by Comedy Central several weeks ago that they could not run an image of Muhammad, according to a person close to the show who didn't want to be identified because of the issue's sensitivity.

The network's decision was made over concerns for public safety, the person said.

Comedy Central said in a statement issued Thursday: "In light of recent world events, we feel we made the right decision." Its executives would not comment further.

In other words, Vacom/Comedy Central is unwilling to risk offending Muslims by showing their false prophet Muhammad, but are more than willing to offend Christians by allowing Jesus to be depicted in a patently offensive manner in the midst of Holy Week, only a few hours before the beginning of the Easter Triduum! This only serves to underscore the utter moral bankruptcy of the company, coming as it does at the same time as Viacon/MTV is running the above ad in Germany.

Viacom Delenda Est!

A CLARIFICATION: I was contacted via email by someone asking why I am not angry with Matt Stone and Trey Parker, who chose to create and include the blasphemous depiction of Jesus (which also insulted the flag and the president) in the episode. I'll be honest, I'm not real happy about what they did, but I understand their purpose. They gave Comedy Central the opportunity to treat the religion of most Americans with the same sensitivity they show the religion of America's enemies. Comedy Central proved their point beautifully with its willingness to broadcast the much-more-offensive image of Jesus immediately after censoring the tame Muhammad image. There was, I must say, no other way to make the point plain to all but the most dhimmified individuals. I'm therefore willing to give Stone and Parker a pass on this one.

On the other hand, the decisions of the Viacom dhimmis to run the Jesus segment after censoring the Muhammad segment cannot be justified or excused -- especially when taken in context with the German Jesus ad (and the series it advertised) run by Viacom/MTV.

Viacom Delenda Est!

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Muslims went on a rampage because of some relatively innocuous cartoons of the false prophet Muhammad. Claims were made that no one would ever accept such insults directed at Jesus.

Well, guess what – MTV has engaged in blasphemy against Jesus during the holiest of Christian seasons. Will there be violence?

We already know the answer.

As Christians around the world prepare for Easter, magazine readers in Germany were confronted this week by full-page advertisements depicting Jesus, wearing a crown of thorns but descended from the cross, enjoying a television program.

"Laughing rather than hanging around," (Lachen statt rumhaengen) reads the tagline of the ad, which has drawn strong protests in Germany, where two-thirds of the population identifies as Christian.

The ad promotes MTV's plan to broadcast a cartoon lampooning the pope and Vatican hierarchy. The series, Popetown, was considered too controversial to be aired in Britain, and it caused an uproar in the one country where it has appeared, New Zealand.

Coming at a time when the dust has yet to settle from the furor over newspaper cartoons caricaturing Mohammed, the row has prompted some Germans to ask why their faith should be an easy target.

The Deutsche Welle broadcaster quoted Joachim Herrmann of the Christian Social Union party as saying that MTV would have thought twice before poking fun in a similar way at Muslims.

No, they would not have thought twice. MTV would not have dared engage in similar conduct regarding Muhammad – or Allah.

German Christians are outraged.

A German Christian magazine, Verse One, has instituted an online protest and boycott campaign.

"After the events surrounding the Mohammed cartoons we had thought there was agreement that media should show consideration for the religious feelings of believers, whether Muslims, Jews, Buddhists or Christians," said Verse One publisher Birgit Kelle.

"Obviously we were mistaken."

Kelle, a Protestant, said the issue did not concern "our Catholic brothers and sisters" alone. If Christians did not defend themselves - with arguments, not force - "this will never stop."

Ms. Kelle, there was no agreement to show consideration for the believers of any religion except Islam. Christian feelings were never even a consideration, only Muslim feelings? Why? Because we Christians do not engage in murderous behavior towards those who dare dissent from our religious beliefs. Offending Muslims, on the other hand, can be fatal.

Does MTV have the right to show this insulting series, and to run this blasphemous ad? Yes, it does.

But we have the right to retaliate economically. LetÂ’s bring down MTV and its corporate parent, Viacom.

UPDATE: We really do need to go after Viacom, which is the parent company of both MTV and Comedy Central. The company's hypocrisy regarding treatment of Jesus and Muhammad is outrageous!

Banned by Comedy Central from showing an image of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the creators of "South Park" skewered their own network for hypocrisy in the cartoon's most recent episode.

The comedy _ in an episode aired during Holy Week for Christians _ instead featured an image of Jesus Christ defecating on President Bush and the American flag.

In an elaborately constructed two-part episode of their Peabody Award-winning cartoon, "South Park" creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker intended to comment on the controversy created by a Danish newspaper's publishing of caricatures of Muhammad. Muslims consider any physical representation of their prophet to be blasphemous.

When the cartoons were reprinted in newspapers worldwide in January and February, it sparked a wave of protests primarily in Islamic countries.

Parker and Stone were angered when told by Comedy Central several weeks ago that they could not run an image of Muhammad, according to a person close to the show who didn't want to be identified because of the issue's sensitivity.

The network's decision was made over concerns for public safety, the person said.

Comedy Central said in a statement issued Thursday: "In light of recent world events, we feel we made the right decision." Its executives would not comment further.

In other words, Vacom/Comedy Central is unwilling to risk offending Muslims by showing their false prophet Muhammad, but are more than willing to offend Christians by allowing Jesus to be depicted in a patently offensive manner in the midst of Holy Week, only a few hours before the beginning of the Easter Triduum! This only serves to underscore the utter moral bankruptcy of the company, coming as it does at the same time as Viacon/MTV is running the above ad in Germany.

Viacom Delenda Est!

A CLARIFICATION: I was contacted via email by someone asking why I am not angry with Matt Stone and Trey Parker, who chose to create and include the blasphemous depiction of Jesus (which also insulted the flag and the president) in the episode. I'll be honest, I'm not real happy about what they did, but I understand their purpose. They gave Comedy Central the opportunity to treat the religion of most Americans with the same sensitivity they show the religion of America's enemies. Comedy Central proved their point beautifully with its willingness to broadcast the much-more-offensive image of Jesus immediately after censoring the tame Muhammad image. There was, I must say, no other way to make the point plain to all but the most dhimmified individuals. I'm therefore willing to give Stone and Parker a pass on this one.

On the other hand, the decisions of the Viacom dhimmis to run the Jesus segment after censoring the Muhammad segment cannot be justified or excused -- especially when taken in context with the German Jesus ad (and the series it advertised) run by Viacom/MTV.

Viacom Delenda Est!

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Posted by: Greg at 11:13 AM | Comments (21) | Add Comment
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You have to love the wonderful treatment of women under Islam. Consider this case from Germany.

A 19-year-old Turkish man has been jailed for nine years and three months by a German court for shooting his sister in a so-called "honour killing".
Ayhan Surucu had confessed to shooting his sister Hatun Surucu, 23, at a bus stop in a Berlin suburb last year.

Two other brothers were cleared of charges of conspiring to murder her.
Prosecutors said the brothers felt dishonoured by their sister, who lived on her own with her son after leaving a cousin she had been forced to marry.

The death of the 23-year-old shocked Germany and led to street protests by Turkish women.

Her own brother – in order to protect the “honor” of his family from the “disgrace” of his sister choosing to live in a manner not condoned by the family’s religion.

The Berlin court's presiding judge Michael Degreif said Hatun Surucu was killed "because she lived her life as she saw fit" and had adopted Western ideas of sexual equality, the AFP news agency reports.

Her killer, Ayhan Surucu, had told the court he shot his sister because he disapproved of her lifestyle and her morals, but added that he regretted his actions.
He said she infuriated him by saying that she had the right to live as she pleased and to sleep with whom she wanted.

"It was too much for me. I grabbed the pistol and pulled the trigger," he told the court in September. "I don't even understand what I did anymore."

We understand – because thousands of women are murdered every year by members of your faith for precisely the same reason.

* * *

Here we have another example of Islamic frustration with basic human rights norms.

Indonesian police asked Playboy magazine on Thursday to stop publishing its local edition in the capital out of fears it could inflame Muslim anger, police and the magazine said.

Ponti Carolus, the director of Playboy's publishing company, said the magazine would think about the request.

"Give us 24 hours and we will let you know our decision," he told reporters at city police headquarters after meeting the police chief. "We are very glad to have input from the Jakarta police. It was quite wise."

Previously, police and government officials said that there were no laws to ban the magazine, which does not feature any nudity and is no more risque than scores of other local and foreign publications already for sale in the world's most populous Muslim country.

Can you imagine the police in Indonesia – or any country on earth – ordering a publication to shut down because Christians are offended?

We all know the answer there.

Because Christians do not regularly murder those who violate Christian religious beliefs.

So I have to ask, based upon these two stories -- is Islam compatible with the civilized world? If not, will the civilized world be required to force Islam to change -- or to treat it like a cancer?

Posted by: Greg at 11:12 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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You have to love the wonderful treatment of women under Islam. Consider this case from Germany.

A 19-year-old Turkish man has been jailed for nine years and three months by a German court for shooting his sister in a so-called "honour killing".
Ayhan Surucu had confessed to shooting his sister Hatun Surucu, 23, at a bus stop in a Berlin suburb last year.

Two other brothers were cleared of charges of conspiring to murder her.
Prosecutors said the brothers felt dishonoured by their sister, who lived on her own with her son after leaving a cousin she had been forced to marry.

The death of the 23-year-old shocked Germany and led to street protests by Turkish women.

Her own brother – in order to protect the “honor” of his family from the “disgrace” of his sister choosing to live in a manner not condoned by the family’s religion.

The Berlin court's presiding judge Michael Degreif said Hatun Surucu was killed "because she lived her life as she saw fit" and had adopted Western ideas of sexual equality, the AFP news agency reports.

Her killer, Ayhan Surucu, had told the court he shot his sister because he disapproved of her lifestyle and her morals, but added that he regretted his actions.
He said she infuriated him by saying that she had the right to live as she pleased and to sleep with whom she wanted.

"It was too much for me. I grabbed the pistol and pulled the trigger," he told the court in September. "I don't even understand what I did anymore."

We understand – because thousands of women are murdered every year by members of your faith for precisely the same reason.

* * *

Here we have another example of Islamic frustration with basic human rights norms.

Indonesian police asked Playboy magazine on Thursday to stop publishing its local edition in the capital out of fears it could inflame Muslim anger, police and the magazine said.

Ponti Carolus, the director of Playboy's publishing company, said the magazine would think about the request.

"Give us 24 hours and we will let you know our decision," he told reporters at city police headquarters after meeting the police chief. "We are very glad to have input from the Jakarta police. It was quite wise."

Previously, police and government officials said that there were no laws to ban the magazine, which does not feature any nudity and is no more risque than scores of other local and foreign publications already for sale in the world's most populous Muslim country.

Can you imagine the police in Indonesia – or any country on earth – ordering a publication to shut down because Christians are offended?

We all know the answer there.

Because Christians do not regularly murder those who violate Christian religious beliefs.

So I have to ask, based upon these two stories -- is Islam compatible with the civilized world? If not, will the civilized world be required to force Islam to change -- or to treat it like a cancer?

Posted by: Greg at 11:12 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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We've just gotten done with the Rahman case. We were repeatedly assured that there is no religious compulsion allowed by Islam. Let's see how much respect for religious freedom REALLY exists in other parts of the Islamic world.

Let's consider this case from Malaysia, wher ethe Becket Fund is trying to defend the right of a Malay woman to adopt the religion of her choice, legally marry, and have children.

On Thursday, April 13, 2006, MalaysiaÂ’s Federal Court will hear the case of Azlina binti Jailani, an ethnic Malay who formally converted from Islam to Christianity in 1998. That same year, she took the sacrament of marriage with a Catholic man. Her joyful demeanor prompted her to change her name, and today she is known as Lina Joy.

The Civil Marriage provision of the 1976 Law Reform Act prohibits Muslims from solemnising or registering marriage under civil law. Because Lina Joy bore a Muslim name, the Civil Registry of Marriages would not accept her application for marriage. Lina eventually managed to have her legal name changed. However, her identity card stated that she was a Muslim pursuant to a new regulation, despite her affirmative declaration that she was a Christian. The designation could not be removed until Lina Joy obtain an order from the Syariah Court stating that she had become an apostate.

Lina Joy took the matter to the civil courts. The court of first instance dismissed Lina JoyÂ’s application on two main grounds. First, Malays could not renounce Islam at all because they were defined by the Federal Constituion to be persons of the Islamic faith. According to the High Court, a MalayÂ’s religion and beliefs are determined by birth, not by choice.

The second ground was jurisdictional. The High Court ruled a conversion out of Islam is a religious matter that could only be dealt with by the Syariah Court. The High Court based its finding on Article 121, which states that the civil courts “shall have no jurisdiction in respect of any matter within the jurisdiction of the Syariah courts.”

Lina Joy appealed to the Court of Appeal, which dismissed her case. On April 13, the Federal Court will hold a hearing, where The Becket Fund's Director of International Advocacy, Angela C. Wu, will join her team of Malaysian lawyers and advocates, to decide whether or not to accept Lina’s last chance of appeal. If the Federal Court does not accept the case, Lina will officially and forever be considered Muslim—at least, until the Syariah Court sees fit to recognize her conversion, and designate her an apostate—legally labeling her as someone who defies God.

Significantly, Lina Joy never applied to the Syariah Court to recognize her conversion, and instead has applied to the civil courts for marital recognition without a Syariah determination of her faith. She argues that it is not the place of any court to tell her what she believes.

Lina Joy, 42, is fearful to start a family, because any children would be designated Muslim. They could then be taken away from her because they are not raised in the Muslim faith. Further, they would potentially be evidence of adultery.

With Lina JoyÂ’s hearing next week, Malaysia is once again at a critical point in deciding whether constitutional or Syariah will prevail, and whether it is indeed up to the state, de jure and de facto, to tell Malaysians what they believe.

Constitutionally designated as a member of Islam, with no legal ability to convert without a ruling from a Muslim court -- sounds like compulsion tome. In addition, such a ruling would still arguably leave her cildren designated as Muslims, which would mean she and her husband could not legally raise them or pass on their religion to them. Such a system certainly sounds like one which compels one to remain a Muslim -- even though we are told that there is no compuslion permitted under Islamic law.

And then there is this story from Saudi Arabia, in which the human right to practice one's religion and pass it on to one's children is denied by law.

A Catholic Indian priest was yesterday forced to leave Saudi Arabia. He was discovered by the religious police as he organized a prayer meeting in the lead-up to Easter. Arrested on 5 April, he remained in police custody for four days and on Saturday 8th April he left for India. The practice of any religion other than Islam is forbidden in Saudi Arabia. Meetings held privately in peopleÂ’s homes, among friends, are also banned.

The priest, Fr George Joshua, belongs to the Malankara rite of Kerala (India). His visit to Catholic Indians in the Saudi Kingdom was planned with his bishopÂ’s permission.

On 5 April, Fr George had just celebrated mass in a private house when seven religious policemen (muttawa) broke into the house together with two ordinary policemen. The police arrested the priest and another person.

The Saudi religious police are well known for their ruthlessness; they often torture believers of other religions who are arrested.

AsiaNews sources said there were around 400,000 Indian Catholics in Saudi Arabia who were denied pastoral care. Catholic foreigners in the country number at least one million: none of them can participate in mass while they are in Saudi Arabia. Catechism for their children – nearly 100,000 – is banned.

Often, for feasts like Easter and Christmas, Catholics plan holidays in the Emirates, Bahrain or Abu Dhabi, where at least for once, they are free to attend mass.

No right to worship. No right to teach their faith to their children. And for Muslims, no right to convert. The mere act of holding a religious service -- in private in the privacy of one's home -- is denied. At least if one is not a Muslim. Sounds like a set of regulations designed to coerce folks to accept Islam. In the land where the Koran was allegedly divinely given to Muhammad.

It's very hard, of course, for Christians to preach among the Muslims of the world. Look at the lengths that these missionaries are going to keep from offending the Muslims where they are working.

Carlos and Viviana were among five people from the Baptist University of the Americas to go on a mission trip three years ago to a West African country. The majority of the population is Muslim and includes people of Arab and African descent.

A missionary couple from Mexico who used to live in San Antonio are there permanently. The BUA declined to give their names for concern that the government would crack down on them. They also asked that the country not be identified.

The couple sends emails to friends in the U.S. in secret code. They took Muslim names. In fact, they gave all the visiting members on the mission trip Muslim names. The cross-cultural techniques have reportedly worked with about 20 converts from Islam to Christianity.

The couple entered the country, where poverty is pervasive and slavery still exists, by offering agricultural help.

Who knows what would happen to them if they dared be open about their missionary activity. Muslims kill Christian missionaries around the world every year. It is a mission field in which martyrdom remains a real possibility.

And, of course, guess who objects to Christian missionaries trying to spread their faith among the Muslims of the world? Why, the friendly folks from CAIR, who claim that Islam is compatible with religious freedom!

This approach, even if led by Latinos, still draws skepticism from some Muslims who have seen a variety of methods by Christians seeking the same objective of conversion, said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim advocacy group in Washington.

Men growing beards. Women wearing head coverings. Bibles placed on wooden stands like Korans. Churches built to resemble mosques.

"It's a new twist on an old approach," Hooper said. "They want to appear as Muslim as possible to kind of blur the lines."

Hooper said he doesn't believe humanitarian help from evangelical mission groups is unconditional.

"If the Bible is handed out with a sack of rice, they're going to take the sack of rice and the Bible if their kids are starving," he said. "We have no problem with someone coming to a Muslim and saying, 'I think Christianity is better.' But we object to going into a vulnerable population with a disproportionate power relationship."

Hooper should remember that Islam has historically been spread not by preaching and good works, but by the sword.

I begin to wonder if, given the actions of religious and civil authorities in majority Muslim countries and Islam's demand that it be given primacy over all other religious faiths, Islam itself should be treated like Fascism, Nazism and Communism -- as a totalitarian ideology that must be suppressed in the name of defending human rights and dignity.

Posted by: Greg at 12:04 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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We knew it would happen.

The discovery and publication of an ancient text, authored by members of a heretical sext and rejected by Christianity some 17 or 18 centuries ago, would lead to calls by those outside of Christianity to reinterpret Christian teaching.

Thus the publication of the so-called Gospel of Judas, while interesting, presents a challenge and a threat to Christianity.

Over the past two millenniums, the figure of Judas in art and religious literature increasingly became a thinly disguised caricature for the Jewish people and a tool for generating anti-Semitism, particularly in Europe, where Passion plays re-enacting the crucifixion often provoked murderous riots called pogroms directed at Jewish neighborhoods. The hatred culminated in the Nazi-directed Holocaust during World War II.

It's fitting that National Geographic chose to broadcast a documentary at the start of this Holy Week detailing the discovery of an 1,700-year-old Christian text depicting Judas in an entirely different light. Found bound in leather in an Egyptian cave more than 30 years ago, the painstakingly restored papyrus sheets written in Coptic portray Judas as the disciple entrusted by Christ to carry out the steps necessary for his sacrifice and resurrection, a notion echoed in several passages of the four Gospels of the Bible.

The documentary bluntly confronts the shameful history of Christian anti-Semitism and details how the image of Judas has been employed to stir up hatred and intolerance over the centuries. By contrast, instead of a plot with a despised villain, the Gospel of Judas focuses entirely on Christ's love and willing sacrifice.

Houston Rabbi Amy Weiss describes the document as "an opportunity that has presented itself, and the question is, what will be done with it next?" If major Christian evangelical ministers were to confront the issue of the anti-Semitic characterization of Judas in public sermons, she believes it would have a very positive effect.

So here we have it -- the MSM and Jewish leaders demanding that Chrisstians reinterpret the teachings of Christianity in the light of an ancient heresy to create a more PC version of their faith.

And in the process ignoring decades of theological development on the vry issu that they want reconsidered -- the role of the Jews in the arrest, trial and execution of Jesus of Nazareth.

Because you see, the twentieth century saw a major reevaluation of that very issue by Christians of all stripes. It saw the retranslation of Scripture in a manner that made it clear that it was certain religious and political factions, not the Jewish people as a whole, who played a culpable role in the judicial murder of the Lamb of God. Anti-Semitism was formally repudiated by the Second Vatican Council over four decades ago. Today, it is evangelical Christians who are the leading supporters of Israel and friends of the Jews among Christians. Indeed, it is the liberals in the mainline denominations who flirt with anti-Semitism -- but not based upon the Gspel, but upon their politically correct support for Palestinian terrorists and consequent attacks on Israel.

So the work that some claim needs to be done is a fait accompli -- without resort to the heretical writings of a Gnostic sect.

Posted by: Greg at 10:33 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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A wholesome, healthy, Godly message -- no wonder the Board of Supervisors in Sodom-by-the-Bay were so threatened.

DETROIT -- Tens of thousands of teenagers were urged to enlist in a war against a culture that popularizes sex, drugs and violence during an evangelical Christian youth rally Saturday at Ford Field. The event, called Battle Cry, was part modern revival meeting and part rock 'n' roll concert.

Ron Luce, an author, Christian broadcaster and a member of a federal anti-drug abuse commission appointed by President Bush, urged the teens to abstain from sex until they are married, refrain from using drugs and alcohol and withstand the seductions of modern, popular culture.

"I organized a bunch of people from Central Michigan University and we just said, 'Hey, let's go serve the Lord,' " said Mark Morsehead, a freshman from White Lake. "And I was like, 'Well, I want to give back and show them God's love.' So that's why I'm here."

The rock 'n' roll -- including performances by a U2 sound-alike called Delirious, from England, who blasted Christian lyrics throughout the cavernous stadium -- was juxtaposed with Luce's lengthy condemnation of MTV, which he said bombards teens with messages encouraging them to engage in sexual activity.

"I want to encourage you to focus on how is it that you can make your voice heard in this culture," Luce said.

"We want you to understand: You don't have to let your generation be manipulated and molded by the worldliness that is so prevalent."

Well, Jesus said we would be reviled for his name's sake, and that some would find his message foolish.

Posted by: Greg at 08:16 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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The Gnostics were a heretical sect of Christians whose views were ultimately repudiated by mainstream Christianity in the early days of the Church. One of the many Gnostic texts known only from obscure references in other works was the so-called "Gospel of Judas". Well, that book has been found in Egypt, translated, and is available to those who wish to know more about the beliefs of the Gnostics and other groups which flourished and died out in the early days of Christianity.

An early Christian manuscript, including the only known text of what is known as the Gospel of Judas, has surfaced after 1,700 years. The text gives new insights into the relationship of Jesus and the disciple who betrayed him, scholars reported today. In this version, Jesus asked Judas, as a close friend, to sell him out to the authorities, telling Judas he will "exceed" the other disciples by doing so.

Though some theologians have hypothesized this, scholars who have studied the new-found text said, this is the first time an ancient document defends the idea.

The discovery in the desert of Egypt of the leather-bound papyrus manuscript, and now its translation, was announced by the National Geographic Society at a news conference in Washington. The 26-page Judas text is said to be a copy in Coptic, made around A. D. 300, of the original Gospel of Judas, written in Greek the century before.

Terry Garcia, an executive vice president of the geographic society, said the manuscript, or codex, is considered by scholars and scientists to be the most significant ancient, nonbiblical text to be found in the past 60 years.

Analyses by various experts in the field of ancient documents confirm that the codex is real, and its contents are fit with the Gnostic world-view.

The most revealing passages in the Judas manuscript begins, "The secret account of the revelation that Jesus spoke in conversation with Judas Iscariot during a week, three days before he celebrated Passover."

The account goes on to relate that Jesus refers to the other disciples, telling Judas "you will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me." By that, scholars familiar with Gnostic thinking said, Jesus meant that by helping him get rid of his physical flesh, Judas will act to liberate the true spiritual self or divine being within Jesus.

The codex, known as the Codex Tchacos (after the purchaser of the manuscript) was discovered in the 1970s, but only recently became available to scholars.

As pointed out in the Washington Post, the Gnostic work clearly sets itself at odds with the mainstream of Christianity. Only the initiated are let into the secret knowledge (Greek gnosis) which truly elevates one spiritually to the true worship of the true God.

The other apostles pray to a lesser God, Jesus says, and reveals to Judas the "mysteries of the kingdom" of the true God. He asks Judas to help him return to the kingdom, but to do so, Judas must help him abandon his mortal flesh: "You will sacrifice the man that clothes me," Jesus tells Judas, and acknowledges that Judas "will be cursed by the other generations."

Having studied some of the Gnostic writings from Nag Hammaddi during my seminary days, I'll be curious to read this translation and see how the Gnostic "Gospel of Judas" fits with other Gnostic works.

Posted by: Greg at 11:01 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I cannot believe that the Chicago Tribune would even consider printing this.

A Muslim's conversion to Christianity is not a crime punishable by death under Islamic law, contrary to the claims in the case of Abdul Rahman in Afghanistan.

While there is long-established doctrine that apostasy is punishable by death, that has also long been questioned by Islamic criminal justice scholars, including this writer.

There are 1.4 billion Muslims who live in more than 140 countries. They constitute the great majority in 53 countries that declare themselves to be Muslim states. Most of these states have constitutions that guarantee freedom of religion, as does the Afghani constitution. Most of these states have criminal codes that do not include apostasy as a crime. Among them are: Algeria, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey.

Other Muslim countries, however, criminalize apostasy on the basis of doctrinal constructs established in the 7th and 8th Centuries, which have been mildly questioned over the years or simply sidestepped. States that recognize it as a crime punishable by death include Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Sudan. However, there are no known cases in recent times in which someone charged with apostasy in these countries has been put to death.

Which means, of course, that Islamic law DOES recognize that apostasy is a crime to be punished by death -- but that the penalty has not been recently applied, has not been announced to the public when applied or -- as often happens -- has been applied by a lynch mob rather than a court.

In other words, the entire article is a falsehood from start to finish.

UPDATE: JAmes Arlandson refutes the argument made in the Tribune quite effectively. And let's not forget the position of these Afghan religious leaders. I would have to say that the position taken in the Tribune piece is a minority one -- and that of a small minority at that.

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The Muhammad Cartoon Controversey has led one company to refuse to sell a magazine at its stores -- two of America's largest retailers of books and magazines.

Borders and Waldenbooks stores will not stock the April-May issue of Free Inquiry magazine because it contains cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that provoked deadly protests among Muslims in several countries.

"For us, the safety and security of our customers and employees is a top priority, and we believe that carrying this issue could challenge that priority," Borders Group Inc. spokeswoman Beth Bingham said Wednesday.

The magazine, published by the Council for Secular Humanism in suburban Amherst, includes four of the drawings that originally appeared in a Danish newspaper in September, including one depicting Muhammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban with a lit fuse.

Islamic tradition bars depiction of Muhammad to prevent idol worship, which is strictly prohibited.

The spokesman for the chain couches the decision -- taken before the magazine even arrived in the stores, in terms of corporate choice -- but in doing so deny any number of Americans the choice to read the magazine.

Bingham said the decision was made before the magazine arrived at the company's stores. Borders Group, based in Ann Arbor, Mich., operates more than 475 Borders and 650 Waldenbooks stores in the United States, though not all regularly carry the magazine.

"We absolutely respect our customers' right to choose what they wish to read and buy and we support the First Amendment," Bingham said. "And we absolutely support the rights of Free Inquiry to publish the cartoons. We've just chosen not to carry this particular issue in our stores."

This isn't the first act of dhimmitude by borders that I have encountered recently. They've been tracking a different aspect of knuckling under to Muslim sentiment in other areas as well, according to the guys over at Colossus of Rhodey. They have discovered that there seems to be a practice at Borders of shelving the Koran out of order in the religious books section, so that it is placed above the scriptures of all other faiths. This is done lest Muslims be offended that their book is being placed in a subordinate position to any other book. The responses they got from the company avoid answering the question of whether or not this is a policy in the chain -- to paraphrase, the response was sort of "well, its what the stores all do, but I don't think its written policy -- and we'll make sure that any store that has them shelved differently gets those Korans back on the top shelf where they belong."

I think that the spokesman for Free Inquiry says it well.

"What is at stake is the precious right of freedom of expression," said Paul Kurtz, editor-in-chief of Free Inquiry. "Cartoons often provide an important form of political satire ... To refuse to distribute a publication because of fear of vigilante violence is to undermine freedom of press _ so vital for our democracy."

From where I stand, I think the stores should carry the magazine. If the concern is that Islamofascists are going to cause trouble, Muslims should be banned from the stores. After all, they are the source of the threat, not the cartoons.

And I wonder -- how will the chains mark Banned Book Week in the future -- or will they?

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Abdul Rahman has been freed from his cell, but has not been seen since his release. He is, one would presume, in hiding from the mob seeking his blood for the "crime" of choosing to reject the falsehood of Islam for the Truth of Christianity.

Now it appears that at least one country is prepared to offer him asylum. That nation is Italy.

The whereabouts of an Afghan man who had been threatened with the death penalty for converting to Christianity was unknown Wednesday, as at least one nation began considering granting him asylum status.

Italy is considering granting asylum to Abdul Rahman, The Associated Press reported.

Italy's Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini on Wednesday will press for Rahman to be granted asylum there, the government said in a statement, according to the AP.

Rahman was released Monday after being held by Afghan authorities for his conversion from Islam to Christianity, punishable by death in Afghanistan, which follows Islamic law.

Many Muslim clerics in the country called for his death, and said even if he were freed his life would be in danger.

Muslim clerics condemned Rahman's release, saying it was a "betrayal of Islam" and threatened to incite violent protests.

Rahman had requested asylum in a Western country ahead of his release, according to the United Nations. He has previously lived in Europe.

"Mr. Abdul Rahman has asked for asylum outside Afghanistan," a statement from the office of U.N. Special Representative to Afghanistan said Monday. "We expect that this will be provided by one of the countries interested in a peaceful solution to this case."

Abdul Rahman should be airlifted to the United States, where he can live in freedom. That this has not already been done is shameful -- and a betrayal of our heritage as a land of religious freedom.

But then again, maybe Rahman would not have been any safer in this country.

Posted by: Greg at 10:34 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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It seems that even the notoriously liberal San Francisco Chronicle finds the condemnation of teenagers based upon their religious beliefs to be out of bounds.

THE IRONY was obviously lost on the clueless San Francisco supervisors when they passed a resolution warning that a Christian youth gathering could "negatively influence the politics of America's most tolerant and progressive city."

Spare us the doomsday hyperbole, supervisors.

We can safely report that the politics of San Francisco suffered no discernible shift in ideological alignment from the convergence of 25,000 Christian teenagers listening to rock 'n' roll music and words of inspiration. There was no evidence of any surge in support for the Iraq war, affection for President Bush or oil drilling off the California coast. The medical-marijuana clubs were still doing business as usual, public dancing was still legal, the petition gatherers were still working Market Street for the latest save-the-planet cause.

The supervisors' reaction to the evangelical Christians was so boorishly over the top that only one word could describe it:

Intolerant.

Not, mind you, that the quoted politicians are particularly contrite.

Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, was quoted telling counterprotesters Friday that the gathering Christians were "loud, they're obnoxious, they're disgusting and they should get out of San Francisco." On Monday, however, Leno struck a more reasoned tone, acknowledging that his rally cry was "not one of my prouder moments." He said the youth group was "welcome in San Francisco," even though he does worry that its religious rhetoric could "under a cloak of love" feed a "fearful world's appetite for hate."

No, nothing this group of kids did fed hate – that was your job, Mr. Assemblyman, and the job of the idiots on the Board of Supervisors who engaged in nothing short of hate-speech under the guise of promoting “tolerance.”

But the best part of this is the conclusion of the Chronicle editorial.

The gathering was not an "act of provocation," as the supervisors claimed. It was a get-together of young evangelicals whose lifestyles and religious views just happen to be in the minority here -- apparently making them open season for politicians to chastise.

The young people who came to San Francisco to affirm their faith and enjoy a day of rock music deserved better. They deserved to be welcomed by a city that was as tolerant and progressive as its sanctimonious supervisors like to profess.

I wholeheartedly agree with the Chronicle on this one. In fact, I can think of only one thing more that these young people deserved – and that would have been for the San Francisco Chronicle to have printed this editorial while Battle Cry was still in session, rather than a couple of days after the event was over.

And by the way -- too bad the paper could not find its way clear to condemn the other act of religious intolerance by the Board of Supervisors. I guess that anti-Catholicism is still an acceptable, even fashionable, prejudice in Sodom-by -the-Bay

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