|
|
|
|
|
All the national PC(USA) news
"from left to right"
|
| |
|
nothing today!
|
| |
|
Presbyweb is a subscription site.
The entire first month is free!
We use an honor system.
Please, click here for the info you need.
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
News of and for the wider Church,
in the USA and around the world
plus: opinions, resources
| |
| Bishop describes 'explosion' in Cuban Methodist Church |
| |
The day after his election as bishop in 1999, he said he saw a vision of a map of Cuba with churches like plants "popping up" over the island. He said he heard God say, "I'm going to multiply the Methodist Church."
The denomination grew from 96 pastoral charges in 1999 to the present 203. The number of churches has increased from 150 to 600, with most new groups meeting in homes.
"We used to think in the '70s and '80s that 16 members was a big church," the bishop said. "They were hard years. We wondered if the church would disappear. Many people left. But God stayed with us."
At one point, he said, there were only two ordained pastors.
75 percent of pastors and 60 percent of its members are under 35. |
| |
Believe it, or not – By Nicholas D. Kristof, The New York Times
"...we're in the middle of another religious Great Awakening..." |
| |
"... perhaps the most fundamental divide between America and the rest of the industrialized world: faith. Religion remains central to American life, and is getting more so, in a way that is true of no other industrialized country, with the possible exception of South Korea...
"The faith in the Virgin Birth reflects the way American Christianity is becoming less intellectual and more mystical over time...
"My grandfather was fairly typical of his generation: A devout and active Presbyterian elder, he nonetheless believed firmly in evolution and regarded the Virgin Birth as a pious legend. Those kinds of mainline Christians are vanishing, replaced by evangelicals..." |
| |
| Cagle cartoons: Bible and Homosexuality – by Cam Cardow |
| |
This Cam Cardow cartoon was published in The Ottawa Citizen. |
| |
'God' lives as pop slogan
From athletes to TiVo, the Almighty's name is taken in a new vein |
| |
Seen God lately? Look closer at the signs in the stands or the beer in your hand. According to some, he's everywhere.
Fans of European soccer star David Beckham show their appreciation by filling the Internet with "Becks is God" posts. St. Louis Cardinals phenom Albert Pujols has been praised with an "Albert is God", and Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong similarly with "Lance is God" signs. A Belgian beer is described as "God in a bottle"... |
| |
Ten Commandments in Pennsylvania
Court lets religious plaque remain |
|
PHILADELPHIA - A federal appeals court refused to reconsider a ruling that allowed a decades-old Ten Commandments plaque to remain on the facade of a suburban courthouse.
A three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel had ruled in June that the 1920 plaque did not constitute an official endorsement of religion and could remain because county commissioners who wanted to keep it were motivated by historic preservation.
The full court on Wednesday unanimously refused to reconsider that ruling.
|
|
|
Ten Commandments in Alabama
Chief justice won't remove Commandments |
|
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court said Thursday he will not remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state judicial building, defying a federal court order to remove the granite monument.
"I have no intention of removing the monument," Roy Moore said at a news conference. "This I cannot and will not do."
Moore said he will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to stop any removal.
|
|
|
Ten Commandments in Wisconsin
Mayor vetoes council's decision to appeal Ten Commandments case |
| |
The mayor of La Crosse, Wisc., said a verse from the Bible partially inspired his decision Wednesday to veto a measure the city council passed in favor of a Ten Commandments display at a local park.
Mayor John D. Medinger said he consulted the Bible before he made his decision and was struck by a verse from the Gospel of St. Matthew, which read, "Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."
"I felt comfortable that Jesus would say, 'The park belongs to Caesar and the monument belongs to God, and it should be moved,'" Medinger told CNSNews.com.
Related link: Council's vote extends battle for Commandments The city of La Crosse [WI] will begin preparing for another legal battle after the Common Council voted Thursday to override the mayor's veto and appeal a federal court order to remove the Ten Commandments monument from Cameron Park.
|
|
|
| U.S. answers to higher law – By Rob Schenck, USA Today |
|
The Founders knew liberty could be afforded only to a people restrained internally by a moral governor. No matter how many laws we have against murder, how many police we have to catch the culprits, how many courts we have to prosecute and punish them and how many prisons we have to lock them up, only a conscience informed by a law greater than a human law can stop a murder before it happens. Displaying the Ten Command-ments on public property is an admission by all of us of this truth.
|
| |
Debate over Bible follows gay bishop OK
The Bible has no sex ethic, says Walter Wink |
| |
In the heftiest conservative book on the subject in recent years, "The Bible and Homosexual Practice" (Abingdon), Robert A. J. Gagnon of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary argues in detail that all same-sex variants were well known in the ancient world – so it's obvious the Bible opposed same-sex activity across the board, not just certain types.
But the Rev. Walter Wink of New York's Auburn Theological Seminary, a United Methodist clergyman, disagrees with Presbyterian Gagnon's reading of Scripture.
"The Bible has no sex ethic," Wink says. "It only knows a communal love ethic" exemplified by Jesus' command to love your neighbor as yourself, which requires Christians to understand gays' experiences.
|
|
|
| Other Baghdad battles ahead for Christians |
| |
Baghdad's Christian leaders are also worried about the growth of new independent churches, potentially aggravating relations with Muslims.
Saddam forbade group meetings in private homes – a ban that applied to grassroots church meetings. The regime also prohibited building two churches of the same denomination in any one neighborhood.
Mehanni said thousands of new, small churches may open in Iraq, and "many people in America might be happy about that." But he worries that the Christian community will lose clout as it diffuses into the countryside. There are only a relative handful of official churches in the country.
|
| |
Film Forum – by Jeffrey Overstreet
Critics punish The Magdalene Sisters |
| |
Plus: What critics in the religious press are saying about Freaky Friday, S.W.A.T., Le Divorce, war movies, Harry Potter, The Passion, and more. |
| |
| Row seethes in Bethlehem over keys to the birthplace of Jesus |
| |
"We claim we are the possessors of the keys, we are the guardians of the door [at the Church of the Nativity]," Archbishop Aristarchos, of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem told Ecumenical News International.
He acknowledged that the Greek Orthodox monks at the site had changed the locks and refused to share the keys, evoking the outrage of the Catholics and Armenians. |
| |
BreakPoint with Charles Colson
A clean slate? – Success speaks for itself |
| |
"Prison has been a revolving door. Prisoners arrive, serve their time, and leave, and 70 percent commit new crimes. A recent study found that inmates who had graduated from Prison Fellowship's InnerChange Freedom Initiative, or IFI, are breaking that pattern...
"A success story? It certainly is, but not according to the online news and comment site Slate.com. The title says it all – Faith-Based Fudging: How a Bush-promoted Christian prison program fakes success by massaging data." |
| |
| Doctor says obesity can be won by asking 'What Would Jesus Eat' |
| |
"The gluttonous spirit is deadly," Dr. Don Colbert, physician and nutritionist, said. "I've seen so many diseases related to dietary excess, so why not go back to the owner's manual, the Bible,to see what Jesus ate?"
Jesus essentially ate a Mediterranean diet rich in whole grains, fish, fruit and vegetables and modest amounts of olive oil, meat and wine, Colbert says. |
| |
| Helping African AIDS orphans by switching new long distance phone service... |
| |
People are asked to switch to Africa's Child's long distance service – state to state service is 5.9¢ a minute, no monthly fees. 10% of the revenue is donated to World Vision's African orphan relief programs. |
| |
| Zimbabwe government official hails church for its programs |
| |
A Cabinet minister yesterday applauded the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe (ELCZ) for its role in the provision of health services and assistance in poverty alleviation and drought relief programmes.
The Minister of Health and Child Welfare Dr David Parirenyatwa said this in his congratulatory message to ELCZ, which marked its centenary celebrations yesterday. |
| |
| Gibson 'softens' crucifixion story in new Jesus film |
| |
Paul Lauer, marketing director for Gibson's Icon Productions company, said Gibson has edited the film to show more "sympathetic" Jewish characters who were not calling for Jesus to be crucified. |
| |
| Hugh Hewitt: Anti-Catholic Test in the U.S. Senate |
| |
"...The Senate Democrats refuse to trust William Pryor, even though he has pledged to set aside his personal beliefs in ruling on cases where Supreme Court precedents control and mandate a decision opposite his faith.
"Many judges have to do exactly what Pryor has pledged to do. The Senate Democrats have created an anti-Catholic test..." |
| |
| ELCA membership declines 1.21 percent in 2002 |
| |
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has just over 5 million members. In 15 year they suffered a loss of a quarter million members. The PCUSA, with roughly half as many members has lost roughly twice as many in the same period. The 2002 loss in the ELCA was a record 61,871 members.
Related link: Chart of ELCA membership statistics 1987-2002 |
| |
| National Association of Church Design Builders (NACDB) announces conference |
| |
Topics to be addressed by leaders in each field include:
• Architecture and Construction Trends for the 21st Century Church
• Project Master Planning
• Financial Feasibility and Sources of Financing
• Sound, Light and Acoustical Treatments for the 21st Century Church
• More... |
| |
On Mars Hill Audio site:
Subject: Homosexuality – definitions, commentary, references etc |
| |
"For a number of years, under the aupices of the Institute on Religion and Public Life, Richard John Neuhaus convened a discussion group of a number of Christian and Jewish theologians, philosophers, and ethicists to discuss a variety of timely topics pertinent to the preservation of public morality. The group came to be known as the Ramsey Colloquium."
"The Homosexual Movement: A Response by the Ramsey Colloquim," is a brief summary of their reflections on sexuality. |
|
|
| |
| Letters from readers |
|
•
|
Jon S. Evans "I appreciate Mr. Koster's comments. However, he is very, very wrong in one of his statements. He states: "The shame is that so far [G-06.0106b] has been used to filter out only self-affirmed practicing homosexual persons."
"This is flat out untrue..." |
|
•
|
Earl C. Apel "Paul C. von Wedel challenges me in his letter on two points: (a) whether there really is a tradition of ambiguity in the PC (USA) and (b) the value of an individual's walk with Christ..." |
|
•
|
Rob Harrison "...It also needs to be said that the issues to which Mr. Koster refers don't divide as neatly along left/right lines as he presumes..." |
|
•
|
Noel K. Anderson "The PUP-force's consideration of a consensus-model appears to be an attempt to apply win/win thinking at the heart of a lose/lose debate, and it certainly aims to preserve the feelings of everyone involved, but it will only prolong the very conflicts the PUP-force was called to address. Bad idea..." |
|
•
|
Jeffrey C. Francis "...If folks on the Theological Task Force want to make decisions by "consensus", fine, but do it as members of the Quaker tradition NOT as a part of our unique Presbyterian system and form of government." |
copyright © 2002 Presbyweb
|
