May 27, 2007
Lina Joy has been disowned by her family, shunned by friends and forced into hiding - all because she renounced Islam and embraced Christianity in Muslim-majority Malaysia.Now, after a seven-year legal struggle, Malaysia's highest court will decide on Wednesday whether her constitutional right to choose her religion overrides an Islamic law that prohibits Malay Muslims from leaving Islam.
Either way, the verdict will have profound implications on society in a country where Islam is increasingly conflicting with minority religions, challenging Malaysia's reputation as a moderate Muslim and multicultural nation that guarantees freedom of worship.
So it is very simple -- do basic norms of human rights recognized repeatedly under international law apply to those who have the misfortune of being born and raised Muslim? Or does forced submission to Islam trump the right to accept freedom in Christ?
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May 26, 2007
1) Christians reject the sort of violence promoted by Islam, because Farrakhan was not stoned to death or beheaded.
2) St. Sabina Catholic Church and its pastor have long since strayed from faith in Christ and into some fuzzy spirituality.
"Even though I am a Muslim -- I don't apologize for that -- I'm also a Christian," he told the crowd at 1210 W. 78th Pl. "Islam considers the Bible a sacred book.""A good Muslim is a Christian, and a good Christian is a Muslim," he added later, stressing the common aspects of the faiths. "Whenever Christ's name is mentioned, I feel at home."
Calypso Louie lies here -- a good Muslim accepts blasphemy against the divinity of Christ, while a good Christian must reject the blasphemous teachings of Islam.
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May 25, 2007
We Muslims should publicly show our strong disapproval for the growing number of attacks by Muslims against other faiths and against other Muslims. Let us not even dwell on 9/11, Madrid, London, Bali and countless other scenes of carnage. It has been estimated that of the two million refugees fleeing Islamic terror in Iraq, 40% are Christian, and many of them seek a haven in Lebanon, where the Christian population itself has declined by 60%. Even in Turkey, Islamists recently found it necessary to slit the throats of three Christians for publishing Bibles.Of course, Islamist attacks are not limited to Christians and Jews. Why do we hear no Muslim condemnation of the ongoing slaughter of Buddhists in Thailand by Islamic groups? Why was there silence over the Mumbai train bombings which took the lives of over 200 Hindus in 2006? We must not forget that innocent Muslims, too, are suffering. Indeed, the most common murderers of Muslims are, and have always been, other Muslims. Where is the Muslim outcry over the Sunni-Shiite violence in Iraq?
Islamophobia could end when masses of Muslims demonstrate in the streets against videos displaying innocent people being beheaded with the same vigor we employ against airlines, Israel and cartoons of Muhammad. It might cease when Muslims unambiguously and publicly insist that Shariah law should have no binding legal status in free, democratic societies.
It is well past time that Muslims cease using the charge of "Islamophobia" as a tool to intimidate and blackmail those who speak up against suspicious passengers and against those who rightly criticize current Islamic practices and preachings. Instead, Muslims must engage in honest and humble introspection. Muslims should--must--develop strategies to rescue our religion by combating the tyranny of Salafi Islam and its dreadful consequences. Among more important outcomes, this will also put an end to so-called Islamophobia.
In other words, when Islam joins the civilized world, there will be no reason for others to think ill of it. Until that happens, Muslims are not victims of irrational fear by those who believe in human rights and freedom.
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May 18, 2007
He is widely considered to have remained an Anglican because of the potential complexities of conversion while in office.Some lawyers believe the 1829 Emancipation Act, which gave Roman Catholics full civil rights, may still prevent a Catholic from becoming Prime Minister.
Clauses in the Act state that no Catholic adviser to the monarch can hold civil or military office.
It does raise an interesting issue – and one would hope that it would also raise calls for that limit on religious liberty to be changed.
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May 16, 2007
The Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, said on Wednesday he was ready to retire in a few years but will keep championing causes to help the Tibetan people, culture and environment.Speaking at Smith College in Massachusetts to about 5,000 students, faculty and invited guests of the Tibetan community, Tibet's exiled and revered spiritual leader said he already sees himself semi-retired.
"Within a few years' time, I will retire completely," the 71-year-old monk and Nobel Peace Prize winner said.
The Dalai Lama has lived in Dharamsala, India, in the outer Himalayas, since 1959. He was active in establishing there the Central Tibetan Administration, Tibet's government in exile. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.
Wearing a yellow-and-maroon robe, he said he was honored to have been recognized in the world for his "small contribution to the welfare of humanity," and suggested the elected Tibetan leadership in exile can soon carry on his mission.
The Dalai Lama says he wants greater autonomy, not independence, for his predominantly Buddhist homeland, but China considers him a separatist and accuses him of continuing to promote Tibetan independence.
Unfortunately, the article brings out the problem with such a retirement. The Dalai Lama appointed a new Panchen Lama several years ago, and the Red Chinese promptly jailed him and selected a false claimant to the office to serve as a puppet. No doubt they will try the same thing with the Dalai lama's successor.
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May 15, 2007
Above the woman’s fireplace hangs her wedding picture, taken in a Lutheran church years ago. Below it, on the mantelpiece, is a small Wiccan altar: two candles, a tiny cauldron, four stones to represent the elements of nature and a small amethyst representing her spirit.The wedding portrait is always there. But whenever someone comes to visit, the woman sweeps the altar away. Raised Southern Baptist in Virginia and now a stay-at-home mother of two in this Washington suburb, she has told almost no one — not her relatives, her friends or the other mothers in her children’s playgroups — that she is Wiccan.
Among the most popular religions to have flowered since the 1960s, Wicca — a form of paganism — still faces a struggle for acceptance, experts on the religion and Wiccans themselves said. In April, Wiccans won an important victory when the Department of Veterans Affairs settled a lawsuit and agreed to add the Wiccan pentacle to a list of approved religious symbols that it will engrave on veterans’ headstones.
But Wicca in the civilian world is largely a religion in hiding. Wiccans fear losing their friends and jobs if people find out about their faith.
I'm not a Wiccan, and I don't agree with their theology. That said, I don't have a problem with the practice of the faith and respect those friends who are open practitioners (which include at least one colleague and one student). I appreciate the interesting article.
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May 09, 2007
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and civil rights activist Al Sharpton traded angry, racially charged accusations yesterday, with Romney alleging that Sharpton had uttered "bigoted" comments about Mormonism.
* * * "Attacking me, not Hitchens, shows [Romney] is playing politics," Sharpton said. "What is bigoted about asking . . . about a denomination based on racism?"
Sharpton called on Romney to address whether the Mormon Church ever supported segregation. "He needs to clarify the truth or non-truth of what I was presented," Sharpton said.
No, he does not, Al -- and you need to crawl back under the rock from which you slithered. But not until you have been called to account for your history of racism and anti-Semitism -- Tawana Brawley, Yankel Rosenbaum, Freddy's Fashion Mart, and the Duke Lacrosse case, for starters.
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Pope Benedict on Wednesday warned Catholic politicians they risked excommunication from the Church and should not receive communion if they support abortion.It was the first time that the Pope, speaking to reporters aboard the plane taking him on a trip to Brazil, dealt in depth with a controversial topic that has come up in many countries, including the United States, Mexico, and Italy.
The Pope was asked whether he supported Mexican Church leaders threatening to excommunicate leftist parliamentarians who last month voted to legalize abortion in Mexico City.
"Yes, this excommunication was not an arbitrary one but is allowed by Canon (church) law which says that the killing of an innocent child is incompatible with receiving communion, which is receiving the body of Christ," he said.
"They (Mexican Church leaders) did nothing new, surprising or arbitrary. They simply announced publicly what is contained in the law of the Church... which expresses our appreciation for life and that human individuality, human personality is present from the first moment (of life)".
Under Church law, someone who knowingly does or backs something which the Church considers a grave sin, such as abortion, inflicts what is known as "automatic excommunication" on themselves.
You can be for and facilitate abortions, or you can be Catholic. You cannot be both. I applaud Pope Benedict XVI for having the courage to say so – and I hope that America’s bishops will have the integrity to follow his lead.
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Pope Benedict on Wednesday warned Catholic politicians they risked excommunication from the Church and should not receive communion if they support abortion.It was the first time that the Pope, speaking to reporters aboard the plane taking him on a trip to Brazil, dealt in depth with a controversial topic that has come up in many countries, including the United States, Mexico, and Italy.
The Pope was asked whether he supported Mexican Church leaders threatening to excommunicate leftist parliamentarians who last month voted to legalize abortion in Mexico City.
"Yes, this excommunication was not an arbitrary one but is allowed by Canon (church) law which says that the killing of an innocent child is incompatible with receiving communion, which is receiving the body of Christ," he said.
"They (Mexican Church leaders) did nothing new, surprising or arbitrary. They simply announced publicly what is contained in the law of the Church... which expresses our appreciation for life and that human individuality, human personality is present from the first moment (of life)".
Under Church law, someone who knowingly does or backs something which the Church considers a grave sin, such as abortion, inflicts what is known as "automatic excommunication" on themselves.
You can be for and facilitate abortions, or you can be Catholic. You cannot be both. I applaud Pope Benedict XVI for having the courage to say so – and I hope that America’s bishops will have the integrity to follow his lead.
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May 08, 2007
"As for the one Mormon running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyways, so don't worry about that; that's a temporary situation," Sharpton said Monday during a debate with Hitchens at the New York Public Library's Beaux-Arts headquarters.
So -- will the sensitivity police get after the so-called civil rights leader? or does he get a pass on this, like he does on anti-white, anti-Jew, anti-Asian comments in his past?
This is not to say that disagreeing with Mormon beliefs/theology is an act of bigotry -- it isn't, and I do (including in a conversation with a dear Mormon friend yesterday). However, the sort of marginalization of Mormons Sharpton is talking about seems to cross more lines than skepticism about that faith. Would such a statement stand unchallenged if it wer made about a Muslim candidate by a conservative Christian leader?
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May 07, 2007
A court in Azerbaijan has jailed two journalists for writing and printing a newspaper article that was critical of the Islamic religion and the Prophet Muhammad.
Samir Sadagatoglu, chief editor of the Senet weekly newspaper, was sentenced to four years in prison on Friday, while Rafik Tagi, a journalist at the paper, was given three years.The court ruled that their article 'Europe and us' was insulting to Islam and Muslims for saying that European societies were more successful than Muslim ones because Christian teachings were based on peace and tolerance while Islamic values, based on the teachings and actions of Muhammad, were not.
And so to prove the peaceful, tolerant nature of Islam, the journalists are going to jail. Where, of course, they might find themselves subjected to this tolerant fatwa from an authrotitative Islamic source.
"Such a person is an apostate in view of his confessions, if he is a Muslim," Lankarani ruled in a fatwa - or religious ruling - published on his website.
"If he had been an unbeliever (Kafir), he is considered as someone who has insulted the Prophet and in any case, given his confessions, it is necessary for every individual who has an access to him to kill him.
"The person in charge of the said newspaper, who published such thoughts and beliefs consciously and knowingly, should be dealt with in the same manner. We pray to Almighty Allah to grant Muslims and Islam protection from the evils of their enemies."
And if this is the true face of Islam, I pray that God will protect the rest of the world from it.
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May 06, 2007
A controversial religious figure who claims he is Jesus Christ incarnate with a following of millions with "666" tattoos on their bodies, filled an amphitheater in Orlando this weekend, and promised joy, peace and prosperity.Orlando police officers stood guard around the Lake Eola amphitheater as Dr. Jose Luis De Jesus Miranda, 61, arrived in the city Saturday.
Miranda, who has been banned from three countries, told Local 6 News cameras and a cheering crowd that he was Jesus Christ reincarnated.
His followers believe that Miranda's life and his teachings replace those of Jesus of Nazareth, Local 6's Jamie Guirola said.
Miranda is a recovering heroin addict from Puerto Rico. Am i the only one who wonders about lingering after effects of his drug use?
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May 02, 2007
Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori is confronting Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola head-on with a new demand that he not install Truro Church rector Martyn Minns as head of a parallel denomination this coming weekend.
* * * "Such action would violate the ancient customs of the church" in terms of the sacrosanct boundaries of individual bishops, the presiding bishop wrote in a letter released yesterday.
Excuse me, but the Episcopal Church has been jettisoning the ancient customs and teachings of the church and of Scripture for decades, and has only accelerated the process in recent years. As such, I can’t decide whether “laughable” or “hypocritical” is the best adjective to describe her demand.
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Crow has the right to her opinions. But it makes no more sense for Burke and the Catholic institutions he oversees to lend Crow a platform than for Planned Parenthood to appoint Burke emcee of its next Gala for Choice.Some critics have argued that Burke had no business objecting to Crow because many Catholics disagree with his views on these issues. Yet Burke's stance reflects more than his private opinion; it is also the official teaching of the Catholic Church. The Church holds that abortion is a serious moral evil because it destroys innocent human life, and it opposes embryonic stem cell research and cloning for the same reason. Church teaching insists that one must never cooperate in these acts or give even tacit approval to them. There are no exceptions allowed — not for socially conscious rock stars, not for fiscally conscious charity organizers, not even for bishops operating under the glare of media scrutiny.
* * * Burke's resignation from the foundation board clarified how seriously the Catholic Church takes its teaching about the sanctity of human life from its earliest stages. That teaching may not be popular or politically correct, but Burke has the right to defend it. To vilify him for speaking out because he wears a bishop's mitre is the epitome of religious intolerance. Such intolerance should frighten religious believers and free speech defenders of all political persuasions.
I wrote a much shorter letter to the editor in Chicago back during my seminary days, defending Joseph Cardinal Bernardin against charges that his statements in defense of unborn human life were unAmerican. I'm glad to see this much more complete defense of Archbishop Burke in a major daily.
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May 01, 2007
Across the country, on secular campuses as varied as Colgate University, the University of Wisconsin and the University of California, Berkeley, chaplains, professors and administrators say students are drawn to religion and spirituality with more fervor than at any time they can remember.More students are enrolling in religion courses, even majoring in religion; more are living in dormitories or houses where matters of faith and spirituality are a part of daily conversation; and discussion groups are being created for students to grapple with questions like what happens after death, dozens of university officials said in interviews.
A survey on the spiritual lives of college students, the first of its kind, showed in 2004 that more than two-thirds of 112,000 freshmen surveyed said they prayed, and that almost 80 percent believed in God. Nearly half of the freshmen said they were seeking opportunities to grow spiritually, according to the survey by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Compared with 10 or 15 years ago, “there is a greater interest in religion on campus, both intellectually and spiritually,” said Charles L. Cohen, a professor of history and religious studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, who for a number of years ran an interdisciplinary major in religious studies. The program was created seven years ago and has 70 to 75 majors each year.
University officials explained the surge of interest in religion as partly a result of the rise of the religious right in politics, which they said has made questions of faith more talked about generally. In addition, they said, the attacks of Sept. 11 underscored for many the influence of religion on world affairs. And an influx of evangelical students at secular universities, along with an increasing number of international students, means students arrive with a broader array of religious experiences.
Interestingly enough, the New York Times doesn't spend any time about efforts of colleges and universities to squelch the autonomy and religious expression of conservative religious groups -- something that can be documented by the number of successful lawsuits against schools by such groups and their student members.
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April 29, 2007
Is it significant that the five Supreme Court justices who voted to uphold the federal ban on a controversial abortion procedure also happen to be the court's Roman Catholics?It is to Tony Auth, the Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist for the Philadelphia Inquirer. He drew Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. wearing bishop's miters, and labeled his cartoon "Church and State."
Rosie O'Donnell and Barbara Walters hashed out the issue on "The View," with O'Donnell noting that a majority of the court is Catholic and wondering about "separation of church and state." Walters counseled that "we cannot assume that they did it because they're Catholic."
And the chatter continues, on talk radio and in the blogosphere. In the latter category, no one has stirred it up quite like Geoffrey R. Stone, former dean and now provost of the University of Chicago's law school.
Once again we see, anti-Catholicism, long described as the anti-Semitism of the intellectual (or rather, I would suggest, the pseudo-intellectual) remains the most persistent prejudice in the American psyche.
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April 27, 2007
Having arranged to meet these three Christians on Sunday morning for a Bible study, they brutally martyred Tilman Ekkehart Geske, Necati Aydin, Ugur Yuksel.
After Necati read a chapter from the Bible the assault reportedly began. "The young men tied Ugur, Necati, and TilmanÂ’s hands and feet to chairs as they videoed their work on their cell phones," ICC said, adding that what "followed in the next three hours is beyond belief."ICC said the men were "disemboweled, and their intestines sliced up in front of their eyes. They were emasculated and watched as those body parts were destroyed." The group added that "fingers were chopped off" and "their noses and mouths and anuses were sliced open" as part of what it called "satanic torture."
It added that "possibly the worst part was watching as their brothers were likewise tortured. Tilman was stabbed 156 times, Necati 99 times and UgurÂ’s stabs were too numerous to count."
Finally, their throats were sliced from ear to ear, and their "heads practically decapitated," ICC said.
Such brutality would be shocking – were it not all too common among those who have taken to murdering non-Muslims in the name of the Islamic faith. Let us hope that the government of Turkey will vigorously deal with these perpetrators of these horrific actions. And may the blood of these martyrs be a spring that nurtures the Christian faith in Turkey, and draw more and more to the truth of the Christian faith.
H/T Jawa Report, Christian Persecution Blog
UPDATE: Will there be justice for Christians in Turkey? I think it is doubtful, given the arrest of four street evangelists in Turkey for attempting to spread the Gospel. Especially when you get quotes like this from senior officials of the Ministry of "Justice".
“Missionaries are more dangerous than terror organizations,” Niyazi Guney, Ministry of Justice director general of laws, reportedly commented only a day after the murders.
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April 26, 2007
Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) proposed an amendment protecting freedom of religion: "Nothing in this section limits the religious freedom of any person or group under the constitution," the amendment read, but that, too, was defeated.
Why on earth would anyone refuse to vote for an amendment stating that the law is to be interpreted consistent with the requirements of the First Amendment – unless it is the intent of those backing it that the law be used to limit rights guaranteed under the First Amendment. The failure of the amendment is therefore reason enough to oppose this legislation.
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April 25, 2007
Hypocrites! What else can you call a group that complains that judges applying the Constitution and the clear (as mud) standards set out in Roe v. Wade to uphold an act of Congress are guilty of imposing their religion upon the American people – and then insist not only that THEIR religious values should be enacted but also that legislation be passed to forbid medical personnel from abiding by their own values?
A coalition of religious leaders took on the Catholic Church, the U.S. Supreme Court and the Bush administration on Tuesday with a plea to take religion out of health care in the United States.They said last week's Supreme Court decision outlawing a certain type of abortion demonstrated that religious belief was interfering with personal rights and the U.S. health care system in general.
The group, calling itself the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, said it planned to submit its proposals to other church groups and lobby Congress and state legislators.
"With the April 18 Supreme Court decision banning specific abortion procedures, concerns are being raised in religious communities about the ethics of denying these services," the group said in a statement.
"They are imposing their points of view," Barbara Kavadias, director of field services for the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, told reporters in a telephone briefing.
She noted that the five Supreme Court justices on the majority in the 5-4 decision were all Catholic men -- Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Anthony Kennedy, Justice Samuel Alito, Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Antonin Scalia.
All were appointed by conservative Republican presidents who oppose abortion, including President George W. Bush.
The group also complained about Catholic-owned hospitals that refuse to sterilize women who ask for it, refuse to let doctors perform abortions and do not provide contraception.
"Doctors, pharmacists and nurses are also increasingly exercising a so-called 'religious or moral objection,' refusing to provide essential services and often leaving patients without other options," the group said in a statement.
In other words, they not only want to disqualify Catholics and other conservative Christians from holding public office (or at least bringing their values with them), but they want to require that Catholic hospitals quit being Catholic and that Catholic and other conservative Christian medical professionals stop acting on their religious beliefs.
I think that this response says it best.
Marie Hilliard of the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia said she had grave concerns about the report."There is no recognition of the true meaning of the separation of church and state, which mandates that the free exercise of religion, including that of the provider, be respected," she said.
And at the risk of offending these hypocritical religious bigots in pastor’s robes, may I heartily say “Amen!”
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April 23, 2007
The Wiccan pentacle has been added to the list of emblems allowed in national cemeteries and on goverment-issued headstones of fallen soldiers, according to a settlement announced Monday.A settlement between the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Wiccans adds the five-pointed star to the list of "emblems of belief" allowed on VA grave markers.
Eleven families nationwide are waiting for grave markers with the pentacle, said Selena Fox, a Wiccan high priestess with Circle Sanctuary in Barneveld, Wis., a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
The settlement calls for the pentacle, whose five points represent earth, air, fire, water and spirit, to be placed on grave markers within 14 days for those who have pending requests with the VA.
Speaking as a Christian who loves my country and its Constitution, my only question is "What took so long?" This should have been settled as soon as the issue was raised.
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April 22, 2007
Imam Fouad ElBayly, president of the Johnstown Islamic Center, was among those who objected to Hirsi Ali’s appearance.“She has been identified as one who has defamed the faith. If you come into the faith, you must abide by the laws, and when you decide to defame it deliberately, the sentence is death,” said ElBayly, who came to the U.S. from Egypt in 1976.
* * * Although ElBayly believes a death sentence is warranted for Hirsi Ali, he stressed that America is not the jurisdiction where such a crime should be punished. Instead, Hirsi Ali should be judged in a Muslim country after being given a trial, he added.
“If it is found that a person is mentally unstable, or a child or disabled, there should be no punishment,” he said. “It’s a very merciful religion if you try to understand it.”
Yeah, merciful if you are willing to submit to the barbarism of sharia and not use your head on pain of having it separated from your shoulders for daring to reject its false teachings.
Not content to seek this heroic woman's death, though, ElBayly and other Islamic leaders also sought to ban her speech at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. Fortunately, university officials let the lecture go on, but the mere fact that they were even willing to hear and consider their anti-freedom point of view is distressing. They should have been told to pound sand, and given precisely the amount of consideration that the KKK or American Nazi Party would be given if they came around demanding a speech be canceled.
ElBayly's statements leave me wondering if there is any possibility of his being deported back to Egypt. Regardless, his Islamist mosque must be put under intense surveillance and scrutiny, just like any Christian Identity pukes receive.
And I wonder -- where are the denunciations of such hate by so-called mainstream Muslims? Or are they silent because ElBayly accurately reflects the true nature of Islam?
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April 19, 2007
Elections Canada has begun to contact Muslim organizations to gauge their feelings on how to accommodate veiled women if photo identification becomes necessary to cast a federal ballot, Sun Media has learned.
Sameer Zuberi, with the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations, said he spent 30 minutes on the telephone with an Elections Canada representative on Tuesday.
"They asked about how we can deal with this and what are the ways we can deal with it," said Zuberi.
Zuberi said veiled Muslim women should be given the option of unveiling in front of another woman.
Of course, there is this little bit of absurdity from the representative of another group.
Khaled Mouammar, president of the Canadian Arab Federation, said veiled women should not be asked to show their faces.
"If somebody comes in with a valid ID then it doesn't matter how you're dressed," said Mouammar.
Never mind, of course, that the veil would obscure the identity of the individual in question – making the question of whether they possess a valid ID something more than an academic exercise.
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April 15, 2007
The Vatican's ambassador to Israel will attend a Holocaust memorial service at the Yad Vashem museum, reversing an earlier decision to boycott the event, officials said Sunday.Vatican officials had said they would skip the Sunday event because of a caption at the Holocaust museum describing the wartime conduct of Pope Pius XII.
Officials from Yad Vashem, the Vatican's Embassy and the Israeli Foreign Ministry confirmed Sunday that the ambassador, Monsignor Antonio Franco, would attend.
The caption next to the picture of Pius reads, "even when reports about the murder of Jews reached the Vatican, the pope did not protest."
Pius "maintained his neutral position" with two exceptions, the caption says, criticizing "his silence and absence of guidelines." The exceptions were appeals to the rulers of Hungary and Slovakia toward the end of the war.
The boycott had threatened to upset fragile relations between Israel and the Vatican.
As I've said, this is a bad move, because the original decision was the correct one. Such blood libel should not be allowed to stand -- and no nation should participate in any event at Vad Yashem as long as such a lie appears.
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April 09, 2007
On a marquee outside and on a banner inside, Pilgrim United Church of Christ proclaims, “All are welcome.” Sustained by the belief that embracing all comers is a living example of Christ’s love, Pilgrim now faces a profound test of faith.In late January, Mark Pliska, 53, told the congregation here that he had been in prison for molesting children but that he sought a place to worship and liked the atmosphere at Pilgrim.
Mr. PliskaÂ’s request has plunged the close-knit congregation into a painful discussion about applying faith in a difficult real-world situation. Congregants now wonder, are all truly welcome? If they are, how do you ensure the safety of children and the healing of adult survivors of sexual abuse? Can an offender who accepts Christ truly change?
“I think what we have been through is a loss of innocence,” said the Rev. Madison Shockley, Pilgrim’s minister. “People think of church as an idyllic paradise, and I think that is a great part of that loss.”
I'd love to say that I know what I would do in such a situation -- but I don't. And i say that as a former Catholic seminarian, married to a former UCC pastor. Forgiveness is the easy part, but dare we trust such individuals, even with the most strict limits placed upon them? Indeed, within the denomination in which I was raised, it was a willingness to forgive and trust too easily that led to a scandal that has shaken Catholicism -- and society as a whole.
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April 03, 2007
Here's the good news: The Republican party is dying. Slow, painful, twitching, secreting war and intolerance and desperation like a fetid gas, snarling and gagging like Jabba the Hutt being choked by the hard chain of progress and hope and relaxed social mores and an upcoming Generation Next that seems to sense that screaming about gays and women's rights and Muslims and drugs actually doesn't do much to move the human experiment forward in the slightest.Is this not delicious? Is this not cause for rejoicing? According to Pew Research, the percentage of young 'uns age 18 to 25 (a.k.a. Generation Next) who identify with Republicans has been in steady decline since the early '90s, and now hovers around a meager 35 percent, down from a high of 55 percent in the Reagan-toxic early-90s, and is still dropping, whereas fully 48 percent of 18-to-25-year-olds now lean Democratic ... and rising.
Seems Generation Next tend to be more socially liberal and much less worried about the trembling "sanctity" of the failed nuclear family, and are overall less inclined to align with a particular religion. Indeed, it almost makes you want to weep and sigh and go buy a large grass-fed free-range organic hybrid vibrator.
Ah, but there is a flip side. A counterargument. A dark cloud of righteous bleakness and it looms like a giant synthetic cheesecake-scented Glade PlugIn of potential misery.
It is this: According to another set of data, for the past 30 years or so, conservatives -- particularly those of the right-wing red-state Christian strain -- have been out-breeding liberals by a margin of at least 20 percent, if not far more.
It's true. The reason? Why, God loves babies, of course. White American babies, most especially. Also: issues of space, religion, sexual orientation and, of course, conscience. Or, you know, lack thereof.
IÂ’ll take Liberal Hatemongers for $500, Alex.
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April 02, 2007
The Washington-DC based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) has just learned that an Ethiopian evangelist named Tedase was beaten to death by militant Muslims on Monday, March 26th, as he and two young women were on a street evangelism assignment in Jimma, Ethiopia. This marks the second time in six months that Christians residing in Southeast Ethiopia have been attacked and killed by extremist (Wahabbi) Muslims.On Monday afternoon Tedase and two female coworkers were conducting street evangelism on Merkato Street in Jimma, Southern Ethiopia. Merkato Street runs by a Wahabbi Mosque. As the team was walking by the Mosque, a group of Muslims exited the Mosque and began to run after them to confront them. Tedase's female coworkers ran away from the mob but Tedase continued on. The Muslims caught up with Tedase, pulled him into the mosque, and savagely beat him to death. Sources from Jimma reported that Tedase was beaten with a calculated intention to kill him. This was no accident or case of mob frenzy getting out of control. His body was later taken to the hospital for an autopsy and he was buried Tuesday, March 27.
Our sources also reveal that Jimma Christians were conducting an evangelism campaign, and news of the outreach was spreading among Jimma residents as well as militant Muslim groups in the area. The Muslims that belonged to the Wahabbi sect purposefully beat Tedase to death as a message to Christians that they are ready to combat evangelism.
In the West, we grant Islam full rights along with other religions – as is appropriate, given that freedom of conscience is a fundamental human right. However, all too often Islamic nations deny such rights to Christians – or turn a blind eye to the violation of the rights of Christians by Islamic religious groups. It has been only a little over six months since a full-scale pogrom against Christians took place in the same region of Ethiopia, with no significant response from the Ethiopian government.
To register your outrage at this event:
Ethiopian Embassy, Washington D.C.
3506 International Drive, NW
Washington, DC 20008 USA
Tel: 202/364-1200
Fax: 202/587-0195
info@ethiopianembassy.org
Ethiopian Embassy, London
17 Princes Gate
London SW7 1PZ UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7589 7212
Fax: +44 (0)20 7584 7054
info@ethioembassy.org.uk
Ethiopian Embassy, Canada
#210-151 Slater Street
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1P5H3
Tel:- 613-235-6637
Fax: 613-235-4638
infoethi@magi.com
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March 31, 2007
The modern process of recognizing an individual as a saint (not making a saint -- God does that through grace) is much more laborious and cumbersome. Even then, there is the possibility of waiving deadlines in cases of merit, which has been done with the late pontiff. And that leads us to this story.
For months she was known as the "mystery nun," an unidentified member of a religious order who told a Catholic Church investigator that she was miraculously cured of advanced Parkinson's disease after she and other nuns prayed to the late Pope John Paul II.Her testimony -- describing the kind of medically inexplicable recovery that could help advance the pontiff toward sainthood -- was published anonymously on an Italian Catholic Web site. It bore the signature "A French Sister." Church officials, proceeding with a confidential inquiry into the claims, refused to name her.
On Friday morning, Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, an unassuming 46-year-old who works in a Paris maternity clinic, stepped before a bank of microphones on French national television and, in a voice choked with emotion, declared that she was the nun.
She described going to bed one night barely able to write or walk and waking up at 4:30 a.m. fully cured. "All I can say is that I was ill and now I'm healed," said Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, smiling widely. "Now the church will decide if it's a miracle."
Church officials said Sister Marie Simon-Pierre's recovery from the advanced stages of a disease with no known cure could be instrumental in the canonization process, which can sometimes take centuries to complete but has been fast-tracked for John Paul.
In Rome on Monday, Sister Marie Simon-Pierre will take part in ceremonies commemorating the second anniversary of John Paul's death and the completion of the first phase of efforts to declare the pontiff "blessed," an intermediate step toward sainthood. This step, known as beatification, requires confirmation of one miracle brought about by the posthumous intercession of the candidate.
Now let me clarify some misconceptions that some of you may have -- misconceptions that abound in this sloppy opening in the New York Times.
If the story Sister Marie Simon-Pierre told Friday is true, then Pope John Paul II exercised miraculous powers from beyond the grave. A proven physical miracle is an important qualification on the road to sainthood.
Actually, no -- no one argues that John Paul the Great exercised any miraculous powers. The miraculous powers were those of God. Rather, Catholic teaching holds that just as we on earth can pray for and intercede on behalf of our fellow man, so can the saints in heaven (all the faithful departed before the throne in heaven, not just the select few recognized by the Church). God, in His infinite wisdom and sovereign will, decides when and if He performs a miracle in response to prayer. Indeed, this dear nun says it exactly right only a few paragraphs after that sloppy writing by the Times' Elaine Sciolino.
“I have been cured,” she told journalists gathered for a news conference in Aix-en-Provence. “My healing was the work of God through the intercession of Pope John Paul II.”
Now I will praise Ms. Sciolino for including this bit of information in her article.
Pope Benedict has given mixed signals on his approach to sainthood.In addition to putting the late pope’s canonization on a fast track, he fueled speculation that sainthood was imminent when he expressed hope last May during a trip to Poland, John Paul’s homeland, that the process would conclude “in the near future.”
As a cardinal, however, Pope Benedict said several times that he was not in favor of naming an excessive number of saints. He was believed to have been aligned with conservatives who looked askance on Pope John PaulÂ’s record canonization of saints during his 26-year papacy.
Here we have a conflict between different pontiff's over the canonization of (granting formal recognition of) saints. The current Pope is on record, prior to his elevation to the papacy, as wanting to proceed more slowly in granting this recognition -- perhaps, one would surmise, to preserve the special nature of the formal title of "saint". John Paul the Great, on the other hand, seemed to hold to a different position, one which was intent upon recognizing the depth and breadth of holiness that exists among the Christian faithful in this world, hence his eagerness to advance the process of recognizing men and women from around the globe for their holiness of life in order to provide the Church with many more examples of sanctity in many different nations and cultures. But in the end, each of these men was coming from the same place -- the recognition that the saints are exemplars to us all of ways to live the Christian life in fidelity with the Gospel, heroes of the faith to be emulated. And if Benedict wishes to reserve the title to a select few so that it retains its special nature, while John Paul the Great sought to demonstrate the real possibility of each of us attaining that accolade through a close and faithful walk with Christ in our daily lives, there can be no dispute that each was motivated by a desire to have the lives of the saints serve as signposts on the path to Heaven.
And on a personal note, I wait with hopeful expectation for the day when the Church canonizes these five martyrs, one of whom (Sister Kathleen McGuire) I knew when she ministered at the Newman Center in Carbondale, Illinois -- for they are undeniable proof that saints are ordinary people who do the extraordinary by faithfully following their Christian vocation wherever it may lead them.
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, March 23, 2007
Will there be an outcry over this murder over alleged desecration of a Koran – and which appears to be merely maintain good order and discipline in the classroom. Or will they continue to demand special treatment for their sacred objects that they deny to those of any other faith?
Secondary school pupils in north-eastern Nigeria have killed a teacher after apparently accusing her of desecrating the Koran, police say.The teacher, a Christian, was attacked after supervising an exam in Gombe city. It is not clear what she had done to anger the students.
The authorities, concerned that communal unrest could break out, have ordered all the city's schools to shut.
Similar accusations sparked riots in neighbouring Bauchi State last year.
At least 15,000 people have been killed in religious, communal or political violence since the country returned to civilian rule in 1999.
Frankly, there is no justification for what was done here – even if the teacher had dropped trou and defecated on the Koran, killing her would have been an inappropriate response. Where is the outrage and contrition from the Muslim community over this horrific act?
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March 22, 2007
A German judge has stirred a storm of protest here by citing the Koran in turning down a German Muslim womanÂ’s request for a fast-track divorce on the ground that her husband beat her.In a remarkable ruling that underlines the tension between Muslim customs and European laws, the judge, Christa Datz-Winter, said that the couple came from a Moroccan cultural milieu, in which she said it was common for husbands to beat their wives. The Koran, she wrote, sanctions such physical abuse.
In other words, German law now holds that Muslim men may treat their women in a barbaric fashion that degrades and violates their fundamental human dignity -- because their culture and religion are fundamentally barbaric and sanction that barbarism.
Shocking -- and a sign that we in the West must insist that the Muslim minority in our midst conform to Western legal norms and respect the fundamental human rights of all individuals if they are to be permitted to remain among us.
This is a War of Civilizations -- and we cannot let fuzzy-minded politicians and judges surrender Western Civilization to those who would take us backwards to a dark and savage place.
UPDATE: While Ruth, in her much appreciated update on the case, assures us below that wife-beating is not permitted in Islam, I think this article should be taken as casting some doubt on her assertion on the matter. After all, why would the new translation be controversial if the verse in question DID NOT condone wife-beating?
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A French court cleared a satirical weekly newspaper Thursday in a case brought by Muslims who were angered by its publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.The newspaper Charlie-Hebdo and its director, Philippe Val, were accused of "publicly abusing a group of people because of their religion." Val had risked a six-month prison sentence and a fine of up to $29,250.
The court ruled that Charlie-Hebdo showed no intention of insulting the Muslim community with the caricatures, several of which appeared first in a Danish paper and sparked angry protests across the Muslim world and in Europe.
The case drew massive attention from politicians and the media in France, which has western Europe's largest Muslim population — 5 million people — and a deep commitment to secularism and free speech.
Val said the ruling was a victory for believers in freedom of expression, and for secular French Muslims.
"This debate was necessary," he said.
Frankly, this victory for free speech should have come even if the editors had intended to publicly abuse and insult Muslims -- after all, no one has a right not to be offended, and a free people cannot be forced to conform their speech to the practices and beliefs of a particular faith without having their fundamental human rights violated.
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March 21, 2007
Responding to an ultimatum from the leaders of the worldwide Anglican Communion, bishops of the Episcopal Church have rejected a key demand to create a parallel leadership structure to serve the conservative minority of Episcopalians who oppose their churchÂ’s liberal stand on homosexuality.The bishops, meeting at a retreat center outside of Houston, said they were aware that their decision could lead to the exclusion of the Episcopal Church from the Anglican Communion, an international confederation of churches tied to the Church of England.
The bishops have a “deep longing” to remain part of the Communion, they said, but they are unwilling to compromise the Episcopal Church’s autonomy and its commitment to full equality for all people, including gay men and lesbians.
Given their willingness to compromise teh Gospel instead, it is time for folks to recognize the reality that the ECUSA is a post-Christian denomination.
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March 13, 2007
How would you feel if a cashier made you swipe your own groceries because of his/her religious beliefs?If you haev an opinion on the matter, feel free to call me at (612) 673-4308.
I'm a reporter who covers Target for the Star Tribune and the other day, I got a call from someone who said that an employee at the Target store downtown refused to run his bacon through a scanning machine. He was mighty upset, arguing that the cashier had "no right to work as a cashier at Target" if she wasn't prepared to swipe his groceries.
But he was a little vague on the details, so I decided to check it out myself. At the Target store on E. Lake Street, a cashier wearing a hijab looked uncomfortable when I showed up at the cash register with a frozen pepperoni pizza. She immediately called for help, and another employee rang up the pizza and placed it in the basket.
I asked her if it was because she was Muslim, and she nodded her head. "I can't even touch it," she said.
The E. Lake store has only has a few aisles of food. How do Muslim workers adapt in Super Targets where there are full-fledged grocery sections? And is anyone other than this caller bothered by this? Are there some Muslim workers at Target who feel they have to suppress their beliefs to avoid conflicts?
Interesting -- what do you think?
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The mysterious "non-theist" member of Congress was revealed today to be hot-blooded , 75-year-old Pete Stark of California . It's not the boldest announcement in the world. Stark is consistently ranked among the most liberal members on the Hill, and hails from a decidedly leftist district, so I doubt it'll cost him many votes. Though I guess you do have to admire the guy's moxie to wait until advancing years to announce his doubt about an afterlife.
I wonder -- will Barry Lynn and the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State crowd come out and condemn Stark for talking about his (non-)r religious beliefs? Or is it only Christians of the Bible-believing variety who that organization (for years a hotbed of anti-Catholicism) want to shut up?
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March 03, 2007
The documentary, which carries the seal of approval from its executive producer James Cameron (“Titanic”), has already caused some ado, however, with bold assertions that clash with conventional Christian doctrine. Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and had a son, Judah, according to the filmmakers. And all three were laid to rest in a family tomb that is now buried deep beneath a Jerusalem apartment complex.And, of course, the filmmakers’ claim that they identified the burial remains of Jesus of Nazareth — including traces of DNA — suggests that he was not bodily resurrected, after all.
Maybe, or maybe not. The archaeological arguments are plausible but not persuasive: this is a breakthrough that relies more on “what if” than “here’s how.” And even an amateur can see that the ifs are stacked to support one hypothesis. But it is a fashionable one. Early Christian Gospels suggesting that Mary Magdalene was the wife of Jesus and a respected apostle in her own right, not a fallen woman, are the foundation of Gnostic studies by scholars like Elaine Pagels — as well as of the plot of the Dan Brown best seller “The Da Vinci Code.”
The filmmakers get around reasonable doubt with the twin pillars of cable documentaries: hokey costume drama re-enactments and state-of-the-art robotic cameras that see around corners and down dark holes. And to add a fillip of legitimacy, the Discovery Channel will follow the film with a panel discussion led by Ted Koppel.
The review here goes on to point out weakness after weakness, flaw after flaw, in the show's premise. That isn't to say that the paper endorses the resurrection or the divinity of Jesus, but rather that it recognizes the shoddy piece of work that is being foisted upon viewers.
My students have been hearing about this story in recent weeks, and quickly picked up the flaw in its argument when I offered this analogy. If I were to find a cluster of graves in Mexico City marked with the names Juan, Jose, Pedro, Miguel, and Maria, would that alone be sufficient evidence to indicate that the graves are those of a particular family? Their response was "Of course not -- those are real common names and so it could be a whole bunch of different families. You need more evidence."
And so it is with this documentary -- we likely have a family with a number of very common names, buried in a particular era. And yes, one of the men was named Jesus. The evidence does not, in and of itself, prove that he was THAT Jesus -- and the rest of the case then falls under the weight of a single unsupported assumption that constitutes th foundation of the argument.
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February 20, 2007
Several leading liberal Episcopalians said yesterday that they would rather accept a schism than accede to a demand from leaders of the worldwide Anglican Communion for what they view as an unconscionable rollback of the U.S. church's position on gay rights.The defiant reaction to the communique issued by the primates, or heads, of the Anglican Communion's 38 national churches on Monday at the conclusion of a weeklong meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, reflected a growing feeling on both sides of the dispute that time for compromise is running out.
"Yes, I would accept schism," said Bishop Steven Charleston, president of the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass. "I would be willing to accept being told I'm not in communion with places like Nigeria if it meant I could continue to be in a position of justice and morality. If the price I pay is that I'm not considered to be part of a flawed communion, then so be it."
I can't help but notice two things about Bishop Charleston's statement.
First, his apparent anger over the choice seems rather amusing, considering that he and his liberal brethren have been making precisely such demands of conservative Episcopalians for years, demanding conformity with the flawed theology of the liberal leadership of the American branch of Anglicanism.
The second thing I notice is an implicit imperialism/racism in his words -- it seems that the good(?) bishop feels that following the leadership of the thriving, vibrant Anglican communities of non-white Third World countries like Nigeria is beneath him and his liberal American colleagues.
I'll be interested in seeing what impact this communique has on court cases involving parishes that have split with liberal Anglican bishops around the country.
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Sen. Alex X. Mooney (R-Frederick) is proud of his conservative record in the Maryland legislature.But as a devout Catholic, he is also guided by his religious beliefs.
Today, as Maryland begins to debate the death penalty, Mooney finds himself wrestling with how to deal with a bill that calls for abolishing capital punishment and replacing it with life without parole.
"I am conflicted," said Mooney, a member of the Senate Judicial Proceedings committee, which is scheduled to hear testimony on the bill today. "I try to look at it from a moral and philosophical point of view. Is it right to use the death penalty when there is another option, life in jail?"
It is a wonderful piece, and raises all sorts of arguments -- pro and con -- about the death penalty/life without parole debate. But could you imagine the Washington Post running an article like this about a liberal legislator going against the grain on abortion or gay rights, and seeking to bring their Catholic religious values into the legislative process? There would be howls of outrage!
And interestingly enough, I'm not going to condemn Mooney. He is acting well-within the framework intended by our Founders, who expected legislators to consider a whole range of beliefs and values, including religious ones, as they evaluate public policy choices. Mooney is acting in the best tradition of those same Founders. It's a pity that actions such as his are not respected by the Left when it might lead to policy decisions they oppose.
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February 19, 2007
THE KGB hatched a plot to smear the late pope Pius XII as an anti-Semitic Hitler supporter and fostered a controversial play that tarnished the pontiff, according to the highest-ranking Soviet bloc intelligence officer to have defected to the West.Former Lieutenant General Ion Mihai Pacepa, who headed the Romanian secret service before defecting in 1978, has broken a silence of nearly half a century to reveal that he was involved in the operation codenamed Seat-12, a Kremlin scheme launched in 1960 to portray Pius XII "as a coldhearted Nazi sympathiser".
The result, according to Mr Pacepa, was the 1963 play The Deputy, by Rolf Hochhuth, which argued that Pius XII had supported Hitler and encouraged the Holocaust. It ignited furious debate over the pope's attitude to Hitler.
Pius XII was clearly seen during his lifetime as a staunch opponent of Nazism, so much so that during his life the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra traveled to the Vatican to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the liberation of Rome with a concert in tribute to the Pope's work on behalf of the Jews during the war and none other than Golda Meir paid tribute to him on his death on behalf of the people of Israel.
"We share in the grief of humanityÂ…When fearful martyrdom came to our people in the decade of Nazi terror, the voice of the Pope was raised for the victims. The life of our times was enriched by a voice speaking out on the great moral truths above the tumult of daily conflict. We mourn a great servant of peace."
Because of his staunch anti-Communism, the Soviets found it necessary to tarnish the image of Pope Pius XII -- and, by implication, the likely successor to the dying Pope John XXIII, Cardinal Montini (later Pope Paul VI) who had been a close aide to Pius during much of his papacy. And while Hochhuth still defends his work and its supporting documentation, the taint of KGB involvement -- as well as the weight of historical evidence -- proves that it is a crude smear against a saintly defender of the Jewish people in the face of Nazi genocide.
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February 18, 2007
Cabbie Runs Down Students
Religious Argument Leaves One Hospitalized
Quickly -- what religion was the cabbie?
Got your answer yet? Good -- now read the story that goes along with the headline.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A local cab driver allegedly tried to run over two customers after a fight over religion became heated.The incident happened early Sunday morning on the Vanderbilt campus and left one man hospitalized and a cab driver arrested, said police
Two students visiting from Ohio were coming from a bar downtown when they got into an argument with their driver over religion, said police. After they paid the driver he allegedly ran them down in a parking lot.
Ibrihim Ahmed, of United Cab, was arrested and charged with assault, attempted homicide and theft. One of the passengers, Andrew Nelson, managed to outrun the cab but Jeremy Invus was taken to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center with serious injuries, said police.
Ahmed has been convicted of misdemeanors including evading arrest in a motor vehicle and driving on a suspended license, said police.
Ahmed was charged with theft because police said the license plate on his cab was listed as stolen. His bond is set at $300,000.
Now I'll concede that the article in question does not include the religion of the outraged cabbie, but with a name like "Ibrihim Ahmed" I'm willing to make an educated guess.
Now tell me -- how often do religious discussions regarding your faith lead to assault causing great bodily harm? Does a religion which on an almost daily basis produces outrageous acts of violence by adherents "defending the faith" really deserve to be called a "Religion of Peace"?
UPDATE: FoxNews mentions the unmentionable. Ahmed is a Sunni Muslim from Somalia.
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Radical proposals to reunite Anglicans with the Roman Catholic Church under the leadership of the Pope are to be published this year, The Times has learnt.The proposals have been agreed by senior bishops of both churches.
In a 42-page statement prepared by an international commission of both churches, Anglicans and Roman Catholics are urged to explore how they might reunite under the Pope.
The statement, leaked to The Times, is being considered by the Vatican, where Catholic bishops are preparing a formal response.
Now dialogue betweent he two churches has gone on for most of my lifetime, so I'm not surprised by the discussion. But that they have gone this far is a bit of a surprise.
Some of the key points are rather interesting.
In one significant passage the report notes: “The Roman Catholic Church teaches that the ministry of the Bishop of Rome [the Pope] as universal primate is in accordance with Christ’s will for the Church and an essential element of maintaining it in unity and truth.” Anglicans rejected the Bishop of Rome as universal primate in the 16th century. Today, however, some Anglicans are beginning to see the potential value of a ministry of universal primacy, which would be exercised by the Bishop of Rome, as a sign and focus of unity within a reunited Church.In another paragraph the report goes even further: “We urge Anglicans and Roman Catholics to explore together how the ministry of the Bishop of Rome might be offered and received in order to assist our Communions to grow towards full, ecclesial communion.”
Other recommendations include inviting lay and ordained members of both denominations to attend each otherÂ’s synodical and collegial gatherings and conferences. Anglican bishops could be invited to accompany Catholic ones on visits to Rome.
The report adds that special “protocols” should also be drawn up to handle the movement of clergy from one Church to the other. Other proposals include common teaching resources for children in Sunday schools and attendance at each other’s services, pilgrimages and processions.
Anglicans are also urged to begin praying for the Pope during the intercessionary prayers in church services, and Catholics are asked also to pray publicly for the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Now the Times article does indicate that there might not be great support for this move among rank-and-file Anglicans. Still, as divisions within the Anglican Communion over issues of sexual morality and the ordination of gays and homosexuals continue to fester, I wonder if this might not be a direction considered by the more conservative wing of worldwide Anglicanism.
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February 11, 2007
This article comes second in a four-part series on New Testament textual criticism. It answers questions about the material and process of making the pages of a document, along with the scribal art of writing. What were the scribe's utensils? How was a papyrus sheet or page made? What is parchment? Why wouldn't God protect his Word from such complications? Should I trust the New Testament?The entire series assumes the basic Christian doctrine of inspiration. The original authors of the New Testament were inspired. But we no longer have their very original manuscripts. Rather, they were transmitted by scribes and copiests who took their work seriously, but were not inspired as the original authors were. They made typical errors that all scribes and copyists do before the age of copy machines, word processors, and spell checks.
Textual criticism attempts to recover the originals, as much as humanly possible. Have textual critics succeeded? By any reckoning, we have 95% of the inspired words, and some scholars place the number as high as 97-98%. Where any uncertainties remain, they do not overturn New Testament doctrine, which are supported by other verses.That is a remarkable achievement for any text coming out of the Greco-Roman world. Web readers need to know this, so they can be reassured about their Bible when they hear its critics misleading the public about the complete trustworthiness of Scripture. The New Testament (and the Old Testament) is a highly accurate, reliable, and faithful record of the words and ideas of the original authors, as inspired by God.
This article (and the entire series) is about the later manuscripts. Let's educate ourselves about them so we won't be caught unprepared when the needlessly and heedlessly harsh critics appear in the media.
I've got to tell you, despite a degree in history and four years in the seminary, I learned things about the nature of these early manuscripts that I didn't know or had forgotten. I'd again encourage my readers to follow these articles to learn more about the New testament and the process by which we have received and understand it.
Posted by: Greg at
04:38 PM
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