Can we stop the next attack?
The widely reported Time Magazine article is available on the web |
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In October an intelligence alert went out to a small number of government agencies. The report said that terrorists were thought to have obtained a 10-kiloton nuclear weapon from the Russian arsenal and planned to smuggle it into New York City...
Counterterrorism experts and government officials interviewed by Time say that America's luck will probably run out again, sooner or later. "It's going to be worse, and a lot of people are going to die," warns a U.S. counterterrorism official. "I don't think there's a damn thing we're going to be able to do about it."
"We're as vulnerable today as we were on 9/10 or 9/12," says presidential counselor Karen Hughes. "We just know more."
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Sudan jihad forces Islam on Christians |
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Villagers in several areas of the northeast Upper Nile region say that when
women are captured by government forces they are asked: "Are you Christian
or Muslim?"
Women who answer "Muslim" are set free, but typically soldiers gang-rape
those who answer "Christian" then cut off their breasts and leave them to
die as an example for others.
Read
a letter
by Dennis Bennett, Director of Servant's Heart, to key U.S. leaders on
this subject.
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Reports from second meeting of Theological Task Force
By John H. Adams, Presbyterian Layman
Online |
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Taskforce has no comment on four pertinent overtures
Four overtures to the 2002 General Assembly dealing with stormy issues
in the Presbyterian Church (USA) were in the packets of the Theological
Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity when it met in Dallas on Feb.
28-March 2, but the members of the panel shunned them during the public
portion of their meeting.
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Theological task force evades tough questions
The Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity studied Scripture,
worshiped, sang hymns, prayed, hugged (a lot), fine-tuned the way it
would communicate with the Presbyterian Church (USA), mapped
data-collection strategies, etc.
What it did not do to any significant degree during its meeting March
30-Feb. 2 in Dallas was begin to come to grips with the controversies in
the denomination.
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Confessing Church Movement
Recap and picture pages of the National Celebration |
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Overview of every day of the Celebration, link to the preview of the New CCM Regional Networks Central Hub. |
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Reflections on the National Celebration of the Confessing Church Movement
By Marcia Slentz-Whalen |
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"What a revitalizing experience it was! Three days of intensely God-glorifying, Holy Spirit-infused worship and work and study centered on Jesus Christ! Such a rich Spiritual diet compacted into such a short period of time...
"Despite the claims from some in the denomination, this gathering of faithful Presbyterians from all over the nation was themost positive event in this troubled denomination’s recent history. Far from encouraging schism, the Confessing Church Movement represents the PC(USA)’s best hope for unity and peace...."
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| Pastor Blair Moffett responds to survey on "essential tenets of the Reformed faith." |
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In January, 2002, the editor of ReFORM magazine, a publication of Presbyterians for Renewal, send out a letter soliciting suggestions for what the "essential tenets" of the Reformed faith should be understood to be.
The Rev. Blair Moffett, pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Stamford, Connecticut offers an understanding.
"...Second, the "essentials" are not absolutes, defined once and for all. Rather, they are specific judgments rendered in particular cases by governing bodies. Oddly, this means that the "essentials" may be different, even contradictory, from case to case..."
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| More Light Update - January/February issue |
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Highlights: Strong More Light Women • Historic Ordination • Historic Call • Celebrating Virginia Davidson • Another Beginning • PCUSA Moderator
Speaks • Prisons • Commentary • Our National Field Organizers.
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Overtures to the 214th General Assembly
Proposals to make changing the PC(USA) Constitution harder
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Overture 02-01. On Amending G-18.0301c to Require Two-Thirds Vote of the General Assembly Before Transmitting Book of Order Amendments to the Presbyteries for Vote
From the Presbytery of Mission — email your response |
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Overture 02-22. On Amending the Book of Order to Require a Two-Thirds Majority for Book of Order Changes
From the Presbytery of the Foothills — email your response
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Overture 02-06. On Amending G-13.0103, G-13.0104, and G-18.0301 to
Allow Amendments to the Book of Order and Book of Confessions Every
Fifth Year
From the Presbytery of Olympia — email your response
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Overture 02-24. On Amending G-15.0301a, G-18.0201a, G-18.0301 to Provide For Greater Consensus in the Church Before Amending the Constitution
From the Presbytery of New Harmony — email your response
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Overture 02-28. On Amending G-18.0301a., c., d., and e. to Require
Two-Thirds Affirmative Vote at Each Phase
From the Presbytery of Trinity — email your response
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| New "Sourcebook" details PC(USA) resources |
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Within the next three weeks, every Presbyterian Church (USA) congregation will receive a sample copy of a free catalogue that lists nearly all the resources of the denomination and of its validated mission partners. |
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Sex cases may cost church $100 million
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The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, already in fiscal distress from years of spiraling costs, now faces the prospect of paying more than $40 million to settle 140 pending sexual molestation claims against priests and perhaps tens of millions of dollars beyond thatto settle new claims that are pouring in.
In the end, the combination of past, pending, and new claims is expected to cost the archdiocese more than $100 million, according to estimates from advisers to Cardinal Bernard F. Law and others who are familiar with church finances. Of the $40million in pending settlements, less than $10 million is covered by insurance. |
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| Radical new views of Islam and the origins of the Koran |
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A handful of experts have been quietly investigating the origins of the Koran, offering radically new theories about the text's meaning and the rise of Islam.
"Between fear and political correctness, it's not possible to say anything other than sugary nonsense about Islam," said one scholar at an American university who asked not to be named.
As long ago as 1977, John Wansbrough of the School of Oriental and African Studies in London insisted that the text of the Koran appeared to be a composite of different voices or texts compiled over dozens if not hundreds of years. |
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| No. 11: Thou shalt argue over the 10 |
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You have to do a little looking to find the Ten Commandments.
They hang on an outside wall of the Chester County Courthouse in West Chester, on a worn bronze plaque 6 feet high. A fixture since 1920, when a church group put it there, the plaque has gotten scant attention from passersby.
But a 72-year-old atheist named Sally Flynn noticed it...
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March: On Poverty
Part of NCC's 10-year mobilization against poverty
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During the 31 days of March, ending on Easter Sunday, the National Council of Church (NCC) will spotlight events, statistics, sermons, Scripture and successful initiatives related to poverty. A special section of the NCC web site carries more than 100 pages of material related to the theme, including a day-by-day journal of poverty information.
"We know what to do about poverty, and why we ought do it. So why haven't we Americans solved the issue of widespread poverty among the citizens of the richest nation in the history of world?"
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AIDS and the evangelical
By Stephanie Salter, San Francisco
Chronicle
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Are you listening, Cousin Pittypat? All the rest of you Cousin Pittypats out there? That's one of your guys [Franklin Graham], doing what he says Jesus commands him to do. I believe you call it "preaching The Good News."
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Israel now bars building mosque near Nazareth church |
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Under stiff pressure from the Vatican and a united front of Christian factions in the Holy Land, the Israeli government reversed earlier decisions and declared today that a mosque being built by Muslim militants near a Roman Catholic basilica would not go ahead.
The Muslims promptly said they would not halt construction, ensuring that the five-year-old dispute over the mosque would not end soon. For the Israeli government, which has more than enough problems after 17 months of conflict with the Palestinians, the potential for a confrontation with Israeli Arabs - and in defense of Christians, at that - was clearly unwelcome. |
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The vote on Amendment 01-A: 41 yes - 115 no (3/2)
Details on our acclaimed, fast-loading Vote chart
See Graph: Cumulative Presbytery Votes by month (updated 3/2)
and the Chart of votes per Synod (updated 3/2) |
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Results of this week :
YES: Monmouth (switch, voted "no" on 97-A)
NO: Pines; Grace; Mission; Kendall; Atlantic Korean; Savannah; South Dakota; Detroit (switched sides, a big surprise); Philadelphia; Charlotte; Cherokee
If the remaining presbyteries vote on 01-A as they did on 97-A, amendment 01-A will fail by 48 yes - 125 no
(See our analysis "Will results be close to those of 97-A?")
Please,
to us. Thank you!
Official tally on all 8 amendments |
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| Letters from readers |
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Bruce M. Williams "With Amendment 01-A having gone down to a clear defeat, it is also clear that Jack Rogers should consider resigning, for the sake of the peace and unity of the church he is charged to represent..." |
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Earl C. Apel responding to Earl Tilford, writing on the conflict about the ordination of practicing homosexuals: "...it comes down to peaceful, civil disobedience in the manner of the Civil Rights movement... we... will take our place at those lunch counters and other places forbidden by the ruling institutions with dignity and grace..." |
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William R. Thurman, Jr. offers a few observations in response to statements by proponents of Amendment 01-A after the defeat of that proposal.
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Jim Henkel "...every pastor and elder who has affirmed this [Confessing Church] Movement, needs to be keenly aware of the potential cost of the stand we have taken. If the decision of the Central Florida PJC is sustained upon appeal, pastors who refuse to recant the essential tenets of the CCM will lose their jobs..." |
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Donald Hurray "I have read Don Stroud's report lamenting the defeat of Amendment A. It not only laments but condemns those who in good conscience believe that the bible declares marriage or chastity to be God's will for humanity..." |
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Paul A. Becker, Jr responds to "Chris Brundage’s dangling assertion. “The rule of faith weighs against same-sex intimacy. And the rule of love bends toward it…”" |
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Doug Ramaker "...Hal Porter finds that spirituality would come from a sexual relationship... As a currently celibate heterosexual I don't find my spirituality hindered..." |
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Fenton G. Cates on Sebastian case: "...Why was a battery of lawyers other than complainant's own counsel deemed necessary and by whom? Who was paying their fees and expenses?" |
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