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Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Four Children Gunned Down in Chicago During Zimmerman Trial

From CNS News, where there is more:

In the 20-day period of the George Zimmerman trial, four minors – three teens and a five-year-old boy - were gunned down in Chicago, according to Homicide Watch Chicago, a Chicago Sun-Times publication, which details every murder that takes place in the city.

On June 28, five-year-old Sterling Sims was killed in a double murder that also claimed the life of his mother, 31-year-old Chavonne Brown. Both were shot in their apartment, and police believe the motive was robbery.

On July 1, 16-year-old Antonio Fenner was gunned down on the sidewalk next to the body of a 32-year-old man who had gang ties. No arrests were made, and no suspects have been named. Fenner’s mother believes her son was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

On July 3, 14-year-old Damani Henard was murdered outside a high school. His body was found next to a bicycle.

On July 9, 15-year-old Ed Cooper was shot and killed while spending time with friends at the park. A gunman got out of a black van and began firing as the boys ran away. Cooper was shot in the street and continued running to a vacant lot where he died.

Just consider that last incident for a minute: How heinous is it that a man gets out of a van and opens fire on a group of boys in a park? While the death of Trayvon Martin (and any violent death) is tragic, is not this incident from Chicago considerably worse than what happened in Sanford, FL?

In the 20-day period of the George Zimmerman trial, four minors – three teens and a five-year-old boy - were gunned down in Chicago, according to Homicide Watch Chicago, a Chicago Sun-Times publication, which details every murder that takes place in the city.
On June 28, five-year-old Sterling Sims was killed in a double murder that also claimed the life of his mother, 31-year-old Chavonne Brown. Both were shot in their apartment, and police believe the motive was robbery.
On July 1, 16-year-old Antonio Fenner was gunned down on the sidewalk next to the body of a 32-year-old man who had gang ties. No arrests were made, and no suspects have been named. Fenner’s mother believes her son was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
On July 3, 14-year-old Damani Henard was murdered outside a high school. His body was found next a bicycle.
On July 9, 15-year-old Ed Cooper was shot and killed while spending time with friends at the park. A gunman got out of a black van and began firing as the boys ran away. Cooper was shot in the street and continued running to a vacant lot where he died.
- See more at: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/four-children-gunned-down-chicago-during-zimmerman-trial#sthash.xTNI7Etb.dpuf

In the 20-day period of the George Zimmerman trial, four minors – three teens and a five-year-old boy - were gunned down in Chicago, according to Homicide Watch Chicago, a Chicago Sun-Times publication, which details every murder that takes place in the city.
On June 28, five-year-old Sterling Sims was killed in a double murder that also claimed the life of his mother, 31-year-old Chavonne Brown. Both were shot in their apartment, and police believe the motive was robbery.
On July 1, 16-year-old Antonio Fenner was gunned down on the sidewalk next to the body of a 32-year-old man who had gang ties. No arrests were made, and no suspects have been named. Fenner’s mother believes her son was in the wrong place at the wrong time, because no one in her family knew the other victim or what Fenner’s association was to him.
On July 3, 14-year-old Damani Henard was murdered outside a high school. His body was found next a bicycle.
On July 9, 15-year-old Ed Cooper was shot and killed while spending time with friends at the park. A gunman got out of a black van and began firing as the boys ran away. Cooper was shot in the street and continued running to a vacant lot where he died.
- See more at: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/four-children-gunned-down-chicago-during-zimmerman-trial#sthash.xTNI7Etb.dpuf

In the 20-day period of the George Zimmerman trial, four minors – three teens and a five-year-old boy - were gunned down in Chicago, according to Homicide Watch Chicago, a Chicago Sun-Times publication, which details every murder that takes place in the city.
On June 28, five-year-old Sterling Sims was killed in a double murder that also claimed the life of his mother, 31-year-old Chavonne Brown. Both were shot in their apartment, and police believe the motive was robbery.
On July 1, 16-year-old Antonio Fenner was gunned down on the sidewalk next to the body of a 32-year-old man who had gang ties. No arrests were made, and no suspects have been named. Fenner’s mother believes her son was in the wrong place at the wrong time, because no one in her family knew the other victim or what Fenner’s association was to him.
On July 3, 14-year-old Damani Henard was murdered outside a high school. His body was found next a bicycle.
On July 9, 15-year-old Ed Cooper was shot and killed while spending time with friends at the park. A gunman got out of a black van and began firing as the boys ran away. Cooper was shot in the street and continued running to a vacant lot where he died.
- See more at: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/four-children-gunned-down-chicago-during-zimmerman-trial#sthash.xTNI7Etb.dpufvv

In the 20-day period of the George Zimmerman trial, four minors – three teens and a five-year-old boy - were gunned down in Chicago, according to Homicide Watch Chicago, a Chicago Sun-Times publication, which details every murder that takes place in the city.
On June 28, five-year-old Sterling Sims was killed in a double murder that also claimed the life of his mother, 31-year-old Chavonne Brown. Both were shot in their apartment, and police believe the motive was robbery.
On July 1, 16-year-old Antonio Fenner was gunned down on the sidewalk next to the body of a 32-year-old man who had gang ties. No arrests were made, and no suspects have been named. Fenner’s mother believes her son was in the wrong place at the wrong time, because no one in her family knew the other victim or what Fenner’s association was to him.
On July 3, 14-year-old Damani Henard was murdered outside a high school. His body was found next a bicycle.
On July 9, 15-year-old Ed Cooper was shot and killed while spending time with friends at the park. A gunman got out of a black van and began firing as the boys ran away. Cooper was shot in the street and continued running to a vacant lot where he died.
- See more at: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/four-children-gunned-down-chicago-during-zimmerman-trial#sthash.xTNI7Etb.dpuf

The report of these incidents in Chicago is right in line with the thought that kept coming to me throughout the George Zimmerman trial: How many people were killed in cities all over the US today, and the so-called mainstream media didn't even bother to cover them, much less whip us into a frenzy about them, the way they did with the death of Trayvon Martin? Many of these killings were "black-on-black" crimes, which are epidemic in many of our major cities--and which point to a major social ill in our society--yet the media chooses to ignore them, thereby making sure most people don't even know or care about them.

For me, the real lesson of the George Zimmerman trial is that, increasingly, we have a situation in this country where the only crimes the public cares about are the ones that the media choose to make them care about--stories that are selected and reported according to the media's own social narrative, political agenda, ideology, etc. Additionally, the media collaborate with special interest groups who share that same ideology--and even the White House--to present Americans with a manufactured reality designed to manipulate the way we think, feel, and vote. 1984 may have arrived a little late, but it is finally here.

In the 20-day period of the George Zimmerman trial, four minors – three teens and a five-year-old boy - were gunned down in Chicago, according to Homicide Watch Chicago, a Chicago Sun-Times publication, which details every murder that takes place in the city.
On June 28, five-year-old Sterling Sims was killed in a double murder that also claimed the life of his mother, 31-year-old Chavonne Brown. Both were shot in their apartment, and police believe the motive was robbery.
On July 1, 16-year-old Antonio Fenner was gunned down on the sidewalk next to the body of a 32-year-old man who had gang ties. No arrests were made, and no suspects have been named. Fenner’s mother believes her son was in the wrong place at the wrong time, because no one in her family knew the other victim or what Fenner’s association was to him.
On July 3, 14-year-old Damani Henard was murdered outside a high school. His body was found next a bicycle.
On July 9, 15-year-old Ed Cooper was shot and killed while spending time with friends at the park. A gunman got out of a black van and began firing as the boys ran away. Cooper was shot in the street and continued running to a vacant lot where he died.
- See more at: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/four-children-gunned-down-chicago-during-zimmerman-trial#sthash.xTNI7Etb.dpuf

FFour Children Gunned Down in Chicago During Zimmerman Trial - See more at: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/four-children-gunned-down-chicago-during-zimmerman-trial#sthash.xTNI7Etb.dpuf

Monday, July 15, 2013

Conservative Anglican and Lutheran Bodies Issue Joint Affirmation of Marriage

As I mentioned in my last post, the Anglican Church in North America, and three Lutheran bodies: recently issued a joint Affirmation of Marriage. The Affirmation is the result of ongoing study and discussion between the LCMS, the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), Lutheran Church—Canada (LCC) and the North American Lutheran Church (NALC). It was released after an ecumenical summit on “Biblical Teaching on Marriage and Sexuality,” May 3-5 in Dallas, which included leaders from each of the church bodies. The Affirmation is heartening to read.

An Affirmation of Marriage

by Anglican Church in North America, Lutheran Church-Canada,

North American Lutheran Church and The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

The Sacred Scriptures teach that in the beginning the blessed Trinity instituted marriage to be the life-long union of one man and one woman (Gen 2:24; Matt 19:4-6), to be held in honor by all and kept pure (Heb 13:4; 1 Thess 4:2-5). God’s Word assures us that each time one man and one woman join themselves together in the union of the marriage commitment and relationship, God himself has joined them as one. It is important to see that marriage is not only a grace-filled institution of the church, but part of the very fabric of God’s creation which extends to every time and place on earth and includes every man and woman who are joined together in this “one flesh” commitment and bond. Marriage is created by God and is not simply a social contract or convenience.

Flowing from the gift of marriage is another precious gift of God, the gift of children. “Be fruitful and multiply” (Gen 1:28) is as much a word of divine blessing as it is a command. Children are the most obvious, distinctive and natural gift of marriage, for the child is in every sense the “one flesh” of the mother and father. Marriage lived out according to God’s purpose is therefore also, just as naturally, the optimal setting for the child. Within the gift of marriage children receive the blessing of a father and mother who nurture and care for them, modeling a life in which the distinctive uniqueness and created differences of male and female serve to complement one another.

Part of the tragedy of contemporary cultural perspectives in Europe and North America is a growing bifurcation of marriage and child-bearing. Growing numbers of men avoid or abdicate fatherly responsibility. Growing numbers of women choose to have and/or raise children apart from marriage. Just as frequently encountered is the pervasive assumption of married couples that postponing or purposefully rejecting children is compatible with the marriage bond. In these different ways, children appear to have value only to the extent they fulfill parental desires.

While the gift of procreation is a profound and beautiful testimony of the blessedness of marriage and reveals one of marriage’s most fundamental purposes, marital goodness is not limited by procreation. Where procreation is not possible, many couples choose to adopt a child into their family and, regardless of intention, also reflect the divine love which leads God to adopt us as His own (Rom 8:15; Gal 4:5).

So also, a childless couple exhibits, richly and beautifully, the blessings and goodness of man and woman living in complementarity. Although as an individual male and an individual female they are different, even to the point of often seeming to be alien to the other, their sexual and emotional bond enacts a life of self-giving openness to each other, protected by the bond of faithfulness. The committed love of marriage always reveals God’s intention that individuals are called into community, since marriage takes us beyond our individual identities so that we give ourselves to another who is distinctively different from us.

The beauty and significance of marriage go beyond its earthly effects — as rich and wonderful as they are. God gave marriage as a picture of the relationship between Christ and His bride, the church. In sustained and exalted language, Ephesians 5:21-33 connects godly marriage with the glorious relationship of Christ and His church. As a man and woman relate to one another with rich love and profound respect, their one flesh union hints of and is intended to signify the union of Christ and His bride, the church. But Christ and His bride also indicate the fullness of divine intention for marriage. Speaking of Christ as bridegroom and church as bride, the apostle notes that husbands are called to sacrificial love toward their wives and wives to a willing respect for their husbands.

In responding to the bitter reality of divorce, the Word made flesh, our Lord Jesus, reaffirms the gift of marriage and then reminds us of an obvious implication: “Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate” (see Matt 19:3b-6). His warning is necessary because the beautiful gift of marriage — like all of God’s created goodness — can be and is marred by sin, which Jesus describes as “hardness of heart” (Matt 19:8). Yet, sin does not have ultimate power. Christians recognize that marriage is lived under the cross. Husbands and wives are not exempt from the suffering that comes with faithfulness in marriage. Rather, trusting in the promises of Christ Jesus and clinging to each other in love, marriage is the arena for husband and wife to live together in repentance and faith.

God’s intention for marriage is also skewed when it is spurned as unimportant for human well-being, or repudiated as a godly gift, or twisted into forms that no longer correspond to the gift God has intended. Rather, God gives marriage to humanity for its well-being. He commends biblical marriage for couples to make a deep commitment to one another before God for a lifetime of giving to each other.

In faithfulness to Christ and in recognition of God’s desire to continue to bless men and women in the gift of holy marriage, the church through the ages has sought to encourage godly, joyful, faithful preparation for marriage according to God’s plan and work. This is in obedience to the Scriptures, which call men and women to an appropriate discipline of desire. Our human inclination is one of self satisfaction, but God’s Word calls us to a higher purpose — serving God and others (see Rom 6:12-14; 1 John 4:20). To serve the other requires the discipline of our bodies, which obviously includes sexual desires (see Rom 13:13). Therefore both biblical and wider human traditions of most cultures have emphasized the importance of chaste relationships which reserve sexual intimacy for marriage.

In such ways Scripture holds forth a vision of human life as male and female — one which invites us to see that as embodied creatures, our Creator intends great joy for us. Joyful, fulfilled life as men and women requires a paradox, however, for it demands the discipline of our bodies so that our desires do not rule us. This is so because the source of deepest human joy comes as our lives reflect their highest purpose in serving God and our neighbor (Matt 22:38-39).

May 2013

Approved by:

The Reverend John F. Bradosky, Bishop

The North American Lutheran Church

The Reverend Robert Bugbee, President

Lutheran Church–Canada

The Most Reverend Robert Duncan, Archbishop

The Anglican Church in North America

The Reverend Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, President

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Official participants in the ACNA-LCMS-LCC-NALC “Marriage Summit”

(May 3-5, 2013, Dallas, Texas):

The Anglican Church in North America

The Very Reverend Dr. Jonathan S. Riches

The Rt. Reverend Dr. Ray R. Sutton

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

The Reverend Dr. Frederic W. Baue

The Reverend Dr. Joel D. Lehenbauer

The Reverend John T. Pless

The Reverend Larry M. Vogel

Lutheran Church–Canada

The Reverend Dr. John R. Stephenson

The North American Lutheran Church

The Reverend Mark C. Chavez

The Reverend Dr. David Wendel

Posted May 28, 2013, by

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Office of the President

The Incredible, Shrinking ELCA

Over at Steadfast Lutherans, the Rev. Kevin Vogts writes about what he calls the "Biggest Split in American Church History," referring to what has happened to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America since their endorsement of homosexual pastors in 2009, homosexual “marriage” in 2011, and the election last month of their first homosexual bishop. What has happened in the ELCA is the same thing that has happened in every formerly mainline denomination that has adopted a revisionist approach to morality in the face of current cultural pressures.

Vogts cites Dr. James Nestingen, a highly respected scholar and retired ELCA seminary professor (Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN), who recently concluded that promoting acceptance of homosexuality has replaced the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the primary mission and message of the ELCA. Those who are all too familiar with the trajectory of the Episcopal Church, the United Church of Christ, and other denominations can relate to Dr. Nestingen's perspective.

The argument is the same in every denomination: Members are told that they must move into the 21st century on these issues, or otherwise they will be so out-of-step with modern society that it would mean the demise of their denomination. (By the way, this is the same deceptive reasoning behind similar disturbing changes recently in the Boy Scouts of America.) But, as Pastor Vogts points out, the ELCA has now released some startling statistics that show the exact opposite has actually happened:

When the ELCA was formed in 1988 they had 5.2 million members, but they are now down to only 4 million members–a staggering loss of over 1.2 million members, or 23% of their membership. They have also lost 1,500, or 13%, of their congregations, from approximately 11,000 to 9,500. As they “celebrate” this year the 25th anniversary of the ELCA, the fact is that during that time they have lost more members and congregations than make up many entire denominations!
Of these losses, over 500,000 members and 1,000 congregations have left the ELCA in just the last four years, triggered by their endorsement of homosexuality beginning in 2009. This is actually the biggest denominational split in American church history, and is directly attributable to that decision.
Another measure of the ELCA’s decline is that in 1988, 2.1% of all Americans were members of the ELCA, but by 2011 that figure had fallen to 1.3%. The National Council of Churches reports that the ELCA has “the sharpest rate of membership decline” among all mainline Protestant denominations. Like Avis car rental which used to advertise “We’re Number 2–But We Try Harder!” the LCMS has historically always been the second-largest American Lutheran church body. However, at the ELCA’s current rate of losing members–nearly 6% in 2010–in just a decade the LCMS will surpass the ELCA as the largest American Lutheran church body, and a few decades after that the ELCA will cease to exist.
Even among those congregations remaining in the ELCA average weekly worship attendance from 2003 to 2011 dropped 26%. The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod has 2.3 million members and the similarly conservative Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod has 300,000 members, yet even with our smaller combined membership of 2.6 million the LCMS and WELS have more people actually sitting in the pews each Sunday than the ELCA with 4 million members.
Donations to the ELCA on the national level were $88 million in 2008 but plunged to only $40 million in 2011.
Luther Seminary, the ELCA’s largest seminary, located in St. Paul, Minnesota, announced that last year they had a $6 million operating deficit on a budget of $27 million. This was due largely to a recent sharp decline in donations to the seminary, reportedlyincluding a couple that for many years had given $1 million a year to the seminary but stopped their donations after the ELCA’s endorsement of homosexuality. The seminary was forced to cancel many of its programs and lay off a third of the faculty and staff.
Since the ELCA’s endorsement of homosexuality, many other Lutheran church bodies around the world have severed their historic ties with the ELCA, and are instead seeking new relationships with the LCMS. This includes many of the largest and fastest-growing Lutheran church bodies in the world, such as the Lutherans in Ethiopia with over 6 million members–nearly as many as all American Lutheran church bodies combined. The center of world Lutheranism is shifting from Europe and America to Africa, Asia, and South America, and the LCMS is becoming the theological leader of these growing Lutheran church bodies. While the ELCA is becoming increasingly isolated in world Lutheranism, at our national convention this month the LCMS will enter into formal fellowship with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Liberia, Siberian Evangelical Lutheran Church, and the Lutheran Church of Togo.

Read all of Pastor Vogts' article here.

One could ask, "when will the leaders of the denominations that are engaged in this mad lemmings' rush over the cliff ever learn?" But the truth is that these same leaders are so blindly committed to their ideology that they will never learn. Their minds were made up long ago, and even the obvious facts regarding the destruction of their denomination will not deter them. Sadly, it follows the pattern noted by St. Paul, in his Letter to the Romans, nearly 2000 years ago:

²¹For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²²Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. ²⁴Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, ²⁵because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
²⁶For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; ²⁷and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
²⁸And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. ²⁹They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, ³⁰slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, ³¹foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. ³²Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. (Romans 1:21-32)

In stark contrast to the direction of the ELCA, the Anglican Church in North America, and three other Lutheran bodies: the Lutheran Church-Canada, the North American Lutheran Church and The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, recently issued a joint Affirmation of Marriage. It is heartening to read.

Thursday, June 06, 2013

Valedictorian tears up speech, recites Lord's Prayer instead

Roy Costner IV wrote a speech for his graduation, submitted it to the school for approval and was prepared to read it to the crowd at this week's Commencement ceremony. But the South Carolina valedictorian stunned everyone when he tore up his prepared words and recited the Lord's Prayer instead. "I’m so glad that both of my parents led me to the Lord at a young age," he said before starting the prayer, his words quickly drowned out by the crowd's cheers. Costner was reportedly protesting the of the Pickens County School District’s decision not to include prayers at this year's graduation ceremonies, after they had received complaints from several atheist groups. A district spokesman said Costner wouldn't face disciplinary action. "We’re not going to punish students for expressing their religious faith," he said.

Several YouTube videos of the event have gone viral:

Tuesday, June 04, 2013

The Release of the Spirit

I was led recently to rediscover a book I last read when I was in college: Watchman Nee’s The Release of the Spirit. Nee wrote this book after a long period of silence that followed a time when he had been terriblly mistreated by fellow Christians. Nee was someone who never defended himself against false accusations and attacks. Like Jesus, he was silent at such times, entrusting himself to God, as 1 Peter 2:4-12 teaches. When Nee resumed his ministry, however, he delivered a series of powerful messages on brokenness, which provided the content for the book, The Release of the Spirit. I’m re-reading this book, almost 40 years after I first read it as a young man.

(You can order the book or read it online.)

If you want to know about God, get a PhD in systematic theology. If you want to know God and the deep things that pertain to walking with him, then, after meditating on Scripture, I can recommend no better place to start than with Watchman Nee. His orientation to the inner life is reminiscent of Julian of Norwich, John of the Cross, or Teresa of Avila; but he seems to speak even more directly to Christians in our time.

When I first read the book, it was obviously a work of great piety; but at 18 years of age, I had less experience to which the truths in this book could pertain. It remained somewhat theoretical to me. Today, I am reading it with different eyes. I am reading it as one who has tasted the message in my own experience, and its words have a whole new meaning to me.

Here’s an excerpt:

So the Treasure is in the earthen vessel, but if the earthen vessel is not broken, who can see the Treasure within? What is the final objective of the Lord’s working in our lives? It is to break this earthen vessel, to break our alabaster box, to crack open our shell. The Lord longs to find a way to bless the world through those who belong to Him.

Brokenness is the way of blessing, the way of fragrance, the way of fruitfulness, but it is also a path sprinkled with blood. Yes, there is blood from many wounds. When we offer ourselves to the Lord to be at His service, we cannot afford to be lenient, to spare ourselves. We must allow the Lord utterly to crack our outward man, so that He may find a way for His out working.

Each of us must find out for himself what is the mind of the Lord in his life. It is a most lamentable fact that many do not know what is the mind or intention of the Lord for their lives. How much they need for Him to open their eyes, to see that everything which comes into their lives can be meaningful. The Lord has not wasted even one thing.

To understand the Lord’s purpose, is to see very clearly that He is aiming at a single objective: the breaking of the outward man.

However, too many, even before the Lord raises a hand, are already upset. Oh, we must realize that all the experiences, troubles and trials which the Lord sends us are for our highest good.

A word about Watchman Nee, for those who may not know the name: Nee-To-Sheng of Fuzhou, China was a church leader and Christian teacher who worked in China, beginning in the 1920's. Nee published many books expounding the Bible, including The Normal Christian Life and Sit, Walk, Stand, traveled throughout China establishing churches, and held many conferences and trainings for Bible students and his fellow workers. Following the Communist Revolution, Nee was severely persecuted for his faith and spent the last 20 years of his life in prison. Nee was honored by Christianity Today magazine as one of "The 100 Most Influential Christians of the Twentieth Century."

Friday, May 24, 2013

Pope Francis a Universalist??? [Updated]

[Update: The comments I have received on this piece state that the words that make Pope Francis sound like a universalist were taken out context in the various media in which they have been quoted. I certainly hope that is true. And articles such as this one have quoted Vatican spokesmen and have attempted to put the matter in perspective. This article, too, attempts to put the matter in a theological context. But having read the Pope's full remarks in several publications, I still have to say the language is, at best, far more ambiguous than one might wish. Given the controversy this has caused in several quarters, I would very much like to see some clarification from Pope Francis himself.]

I was cautiously optimistic at the election of Pope Francis though somewhat concerned that he had not been vetted well enough theologically. (Yes, I know, he was a cardinal archbishop; but there have been plenty of others from among those ranks who have gone off the rails. And, when it comes to being a theologian, Pope Francis is certainly no Joseph Ratzinger or Karol Wojtyła.) So, for me, the jury has remained out.

Now Vatican Radio quotes Pope Francis' as saying that everyone is called to "do good" because all are redeemed in Christ:

"The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! ‘Father, the atheists?’ Even the atheists. Everyone! And this Blood makes us children of God of the first class! We are created children in the likeness of God and the Blood of Christ has redeemed us all! And we all have a duty to do good. And this commandment for everyone to do good, I think, is a beautiful path towards peace. If we, each doing our own part, if we do good to others, if we meet there, doing good, and we go slowly, gently, little by little, we will make that culture of encounter: we need that so much. We must meet one another doing good. ‘But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!’ But do good: we will meet one another there.”

Read it all on the Vatican Radio website.

It is worth wondering whether or not Pope Francis will soon be charged with universalism, joining the ranks of Katharine Jefferts Schori and Rob Bell. One thing for sure is that it seems a liberal Episcopalian, a lapsed Evangelical, and now the Pope (!) all appear to be saying the same thing.

P.S. I am praying we get some theological clarification of these remarks from the Pope soon.

Friday, May 10, 2013

Syrian Church Leaders call for day of prayer, May 11

From here:

Syrian church leaders have called for a day of prayer for their country and its people on Saturday, 11th May. Primarily, they are calling for prayer for peace to be restored to their country, enabling all Syrians to live in harmony within their own country.

As violent conflict continues, there are no precise figures for the number of those killed (most estimates state 70,000 or more), injured, internally displaced within Syria or who have fled to neighboring countries and beyond. It is generally reckoned that over one million have left and at least another million have been internally displaced, all from amongst a population of approximately 23 million. Atrocities have been committed by many parties.

During 2012 there was a subtle shift in how Syrian church leaders typically interpreted events. Claims of the deliberate targeting of Christians for religious reasons increased as the year progressed. Initially, most were careful to stress that there was little religious targeting. However, church leaders are increasingly fearful of the growing extremist elements within the opposition movement (e.g. Jabhat an-Nusra), and fearful that a Sunni take-over of power in Syria would lead to greater restrictions on Christians. Some fear that the Iraq scenario (involving increased levels of sectarian attack and corresponding flight of Christians) could be replicated in Syria. Church leaders have called on Christians not to leave, acknowledging that significant emigration had already occurred.

Fears within Christian communities have increased following the kidnapping of two priests (Michel Kayyal of the Armenian Catholic church and Mahar Mahfouz of the Greek Orthodox church) on 9th February and the subsequent 22nd April kidnapping of two bishops, Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim of the Syriac Orthodox Church [a member of the SAT-7 International Council, see SAT-7 News Release 30th April,] and Metropolitan Boulos Yaziji of the Greek Orthodox Church.

Syrian Christians request that we join with them in prayer, asking that:

Violent conflict will end, and reconciliation processes will begin
Those bereaved and traumatized will know the healing touch of Jesus
Those displaced will know the provision and protection of the Father; and those supporting them will know the wisdom and enabling of the Spirit
Those from all communities who have been kidnapped, including the two bishops and two priests kidnapped, will be released unharmed soon
Unity amongst Christian communities will be strengthened and that Christians will know the Lord's equipping as they respond to the overwhelming needs around them
All those choosing to use violent methods will know the Spirit's conviction of sin and respond to the Father's offer of forgiveness and new life in the Son.

Source: Middle East Concern, 9th May 2013, www.meconcern.org

We need to keep Syria in our prayers, not only on May 11, but continually.

Tuesday, May 07, 2013

He ascended into heaven...

This coming Thursday is the Feast of the Ascension of our Lord, and parishes around the world have a vital decision to make: Do we extinguish the Paschal Candle on Ascension Day or on Pentecost?

This question may sound like a liturgist's version of the game, Trivial Pursuit, but there is an important biblical and theological lesson to be learned.

The traditional view is that the Paschal Candle is extinguished on Ascension Day. This view is described in the Catholic Encyclopedia:

From Holy Saturday until Ascension Day the paschal candle is left with its candlestick in the sanctuary, standing upon the Gospel side of the altar, and it is lighted during high Mass and solemn Vespers on Sundays. It is extinguished after the Gospel on Ascension Day and is then removed.

One parish described their practice this way:

Our acolytes have been trained to stand by the Candle, wand in hand, as the Gospel lesson (Luke 24:44-53) is read. Just after these words: "Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven" the Candle is extinguished as the reader pauses. Then the final sentence of the Gospel is read: "And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God."

But in parishes that follow more recent liturgical innovations, it has become the custom to leave the Paschal Candle lighted until Pentecost Sunday. The change was prescribed in the rubrics for Novus Ordo, the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Mass promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1969, after the Second Vatican Council. The change was subsequently adopted in other liturgical churches such as Anglicans and Lutherans that had liturgical renewal movements during the 1970's. Traditional Anglicans, among others, have opposed this change.

The Physical Reality of the Incarnation

The theological trend that has coincided with these liturgical revisions has been to spiritualize Christ at the expense of his humanity. The Feast of the Circumcision of Christ, which takes place on January 1, marks the day when Jesus, in accordance with Jewish tradition, would have been presented for ritual circumcision.

Making a Feast of the day when Jesus was circumcised serves to underscore the physical humanity of Jesus as well as the Incarnation: "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). The circumcision of Jesus has traditionally been seen as the first time the blood of Christ was shed, and thus the beginning of the process of the redemption of humanity, as well as a demonstration that Christ was fully human, and also of his obedience to Biblical law.

However, more recent liturgical practice has been to make January 1 the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus. In the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church (USA) since 1979, January 1, is now called as the "Feast of the Holy Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ."

In the Church of England, the calendar of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer stipulates a festival "The Name of Jesus" to be observed on August 7. But, in the more recent Common Worship, the primary festival of the name of Jesus is on January 1, taking the place of the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ. Many Eastern Churches as well as Lutheran Churches also celebrate the Festival of the Holy Name of Jesus on January 1.

While it is all very well to celebrate a feast for the Holy Name of Jesus, the effect of replacing the Feast of the Circumcision is to replace the commemoration of an act that demonstrates Jesus' physical humanity with something that is much more easily spiritualized. (Although I have also long suspected that the impetus for the change came from clergy who were tired of having to explain to children what "circumcision" means.)

The tendency is strong in contemporary theology to shift our focus from the reality of God in the flesh to a "Cosmic Christ" or a spiritualized Jesus who can be shaped to fit whatever we want him to be. (Just Google the term "Cosmic Christ," and you'll see the sort of thing I mean.) [See also 1 John 4:1-3.]

The Physical Reality of the Resurrection

The tendency is seen much more clearly when we come to the events of Jesus' Resurrection and Ascension. The trend in contemporary theology has been to regard Jesus' Resurrection only a spiritual and not a bodily one. This necessarily has ramifications for what we believe about the Ascension.

If Jesus' Resurrection is merely a spiritual symbol that he goes on living forever, then the Ascension of his body into heaven has no historical reality. In that view, how much more appropriate is it, then, to leave the Paschal Candle lit until Pentecost Sunday, when the Holy Spirit comes to be the presence of Christ continuing to live in us?

Don't get me wrong: I know of good, otherwise orthodox parishes that wait until Pentecost Sunday to extinguish the Paschal Candle. But think about the symbolism for a minute: How does extinguishing the Candle symbolize the coming of the Holy Spirit? One doesn’t have to be a scholar in liturgics to know it better symbolizes the departure of our Lord.

The flame of the Paschal candle symbolizes the resurrected Christ as light of the world. His physical presence in the midst of his people demonstrates his victory over death and the grave. That physical presence—that resurrected body of Jesus—ascends to heaven 40 days later. We miss the physical reality of the Resurrection if we take too lightly the testimony of the Scriptures and the Creeds that "he ascended into heaven."

The Aloneness of the Disciples

Another things we can miss if we overlook the reality of Jesus' bodily Ascension is that the disciples were left alone.

In John 21, when Jesus appears to the disciples, what were they doing? They were fishing. But it wasn't fishing for recreation or to catch a few fish for a meal. They had been out all night in a boat with a net. This is commercial fishing. In Jesus' absence, the disciples had returned to their old occupations.

So in the account from Luke's Gospel, when Jesus prepares to ascend to heaven, he gives them some final instructions:

Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:45-49).

So when the Book of Acts begins, Luke picks up where he left off at the close of his Gospel, with the events of Jesus' Ascension:

He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:3-5).

He continued,

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:8-11).

Jesus tells them to stay in the city and not to depart from Jerusalem. Why is he so explicit about this? He is telling them not to go back to their old occupations (as they surely would have if they had returned to Galilee) but to await the power that would make them into apostles—that would make them into the Church. There was no need for fishermen in Jerusalem—no bodies of water, no boats, no nets, no fish. Staying in Jerusalem together meant looking forward to their new occupation, not returning to their old one. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was going to make them into what he had said when he first called them: "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men" (Matthew 4:19, Mark 1:17).

But they had to wait; they had to trust; they had to obey. And, in the meantime, they were alone.

It is important for us not to miss the fact that Jesus left the disciples alone. He had not forsaken them, but he had gone away for a season. There are times when, though Jesus has promised that he will never leave us or forsake us, we do not experience him as closely as at other times. In those times, we must do what the disciples did:

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers (Acts 1:12-14).

When times of aloneness come to us, we must be obedient; we must remain together, wait on the Lord, and pray.

The time between Jesus' Ascension and the sending of the Holy Spirit to indwell believers and form the Church was ten days. The time when Jesus left the disciples and their need to remain obedient and await the fulfillment of Jesus' promise is important to remember. We signify his absence as he ascends to heaven by extinguishing the Paschal Candle. And, though the light be temporarily gone from us, we faithfully wait.

Monday, May 06, 2013

'Paris Syndrome' strikes Japanese

When I first read about this, I had to check the date on the news story to make sure it wasn't April 1. But, no, it appears that "Paris Syndrome" is a documented phenomenon, an illness that is related to variety of other illnesses (such as Jerusalem Syndrome and Stendhal Syndrome) that can affect travelers who arrive at a destination and who, when their destination turns out not to be what they expect, can experience a disorientation so severe that it can cause psychological disturbance. I found it to be an interesting (though strange) phenomenon, and I am wondering about the implications for missionaries who may experience culture shock.

From a BBC report:

A dozen or so Japanese tourists a year have to be repatriated from the French capital, after falling prey to what's become known as "Paris syndrome".

That is what some polite Japanese tourists suffer when they discover that Parisians can be rude or the city does not meet their expectations.

The experience can apparently be too stressful for some and they suffer a psychiatric breakdown.

Around a million Japanese travel to France every year.

Many of the visitors come with a deeply romantic vision of Paris - the cobbled streets, as seen in the film Amelie, the beauty of French women or the high culture and art at the Louvre.

The reality can come as a shock.

An encounter with a rude taxi driver, or a Parisian waiter who shouts at customers who cannot speak fluent French, might be laughed off by those from other Western cultures.

But for the Japanese - used to a more polite and helpful society in which voices are rarely raised in anger - the experience of their dream city turning into a nightmare can simply be too much.

This year alone, the Japanese embassy in Paris has had to repatriate four people with a doctor or nurse on board the plane to help them get over the shock.

They were suffering from "Paris syndrome".

It was a Japanese psychiatrist working in France, Professor Hiroaki Ota, who first identified the syndrome some 20 years ago.

On average, up to 12 Japanese tourists a year fall victim to it, mainly women in their 30s with high expectations of what may be their first trip abroad.

The Japanese embassy has a 24-hour hotline for those suffering from severe culture shock, and can help find hospital treatment for anyone in need.

However, the only permanent cure is to go back to Japan - never to return to Paris.

Friday, April 05, 2013

This. Changes. Everything.

Much has been written about the Easter blog post by the Episcopal Bishop of Washington, D.C., Mariann Edgar Budde, in which she says:

To say that resurrection is essential doesn’t mean that if someone were to discover a tomb with Jesus’ remains in it that the entire enterprise would come crashing down. The truth is that we don’t know what happened to Jesus after his death, anymore than we can know what will happen to us.

Consider for a moment the Apostle Paul's words on this very subject:

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)

The Gospel writers and the Apostle Paul are not merely telling us "how Jesus’ followers experienced his resurrection" (as Bishop Budde puts it). It is quite clear from their accounts of the empty tomb and of Jesus resurrection appearances that they are telling us what happened, and they clearly expect us to believe it as fact. If the empty tomb and the appearances of Jesus after his resurrection are not factual occurrences, then these writers are not giving us stimulating material for our own spiritual journey, they are lying to us. And it is a lie with terrible consequences.

The Apostle Paul describes consequences of there being no resurrection in these words:

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)

How much clearer can he make it that the resurrection he is preaching is either factual or else it is the most serious lie of all time? No, make no mistake about it: Paul and the Gospel authors are telling us about a tomb that is really empty and a Jesus who is really risen.

As much as I abhor the view of John Dominic Crossan, expressed in his book Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography (pp. 123-124), that wild dogs dragged the body of Jesus away and ate it, at least he attempts to do what Mariann Budde doesn't, which is to explain the fact of the empty tomb!

Nevertheless, in an effort to draw meaning from something that may or may not actually have happened, Budde continues:

What we do know from the stories handed down is how Jesus’ followers experienced his resurrection. What we know is how we experience resurrection ourselves.

I am not sure what that last sentence means. It is a kind of jargon that is in vogue among certain preachers when speaking of the resurrection--words designed to make us feel something spiritually profound while really meaning very little. But the Apostle Paul's words confront us with the fact that, if Jesus did not, in fact, rise, all of our claims of experiencing resurrection are merely wishful thinking--and a dangerous self-delusion.

I want to propose that those of us who disagree with Bishop Budde on this issue pray for her--and I hope that it is understood that I am saying this sincerely and not condescendingly. As one who came into the Episcopal Church 30 years ago, already a seminary professor with a PhD in Systematic Theology, I have had some astonishing conversations about the Resurrection with liberal Episcopalians more times than I can count. When they find out you actually believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus, they look at you in bewilderment. When they realize that you think they ought to believe it too, one of two things happens: either they regard you with abhorrence, or else (in a small percentage of cases) they stop and think that maybe there is something about Christianity they might have missed.

Mariann Budde has probably read the comments on her own blog that respond negatively to her disbelief in the bodily resurrection of Jesus, and perhaps she is thinking one of those two things. My prayer is that it dawns on her, just as it dawned on those who looked into the empty tomb or who placed their hands in Jesus' wounds: "So it really happened after all!" And their second realization: This. Changes. Everything!

(P.S. There are plenty of contemporary resources out there for anyone who wants to examine the question of the Resurrection.)