 |
|
|
|
 |
| |
| |
| |
Tuesday,
July 21, 2009
Come
to this page first...
it is
the quick and easy way to miss nothing
of
All the National PC(USA) news
Something we may have overlooked? Please, tell
us |
| |
Defining
church
– by Bethany Furkin
/ PNS
Calvin’s concepts need re-emphasizing, Joe
Small tells Calvin Jubilee
|
| |
MONTREAT,
NC – In the final lecture of the Calvin Jubilee
here, Joseph Small, director of Theology Worship
and Education, discussed the definition of the
word “church” – or the lack thereof.
In his speech,
“Calvin and the Shape of the Church,”
Small said that there isn’t a cohesive definition
of the word and that the variety of mainline,
emerging and mega-churches can be confusing and
lead to fragmentation.
Calvin referred
to the church as “mother” – one
that nourishes, feeds and protects, Small said,
adding that the church is central in all of Calvin’s
writings. |
| |
| |
| Letters
from PCUSA missionaries and Young Adult Volunteers |
|
•
|
Brenda
Harcourt in Kenya |
|
•
|
Rachel
Sterrett in China |
| |
| Scripture
readings for today – from
the Lectionary |
| |
"...As
the eyes of servants
look to the hand
of their master,
as the eyes of a maid
to the hand of
her mistress,
so our eyes look to the LORD our God,
until he has mercy
upon us..."
"The same thing occurred in Iconium, where
Paul and Barnabas went into the Jewish synagogue
and spoke in such a way that a great number of
both Jews and Greeks became believers. But the
unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned
their minds against the brothers..."
"...the measure
you give will be the measure you get, and still
more will be given you. For to those who have,
more will be given; and from those who have nothing,
even what they have will be taken away..." |
| |
Today
in the Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study
General
Assembly Mission Council |
| |
"A
young family called to mission service finds a
path to live out that calling in a university
founded by Presbyterian mission workers generations
ago. An elderly New Orleans resident is proud
of the home rebuilt for her by Presbyterian volunteers.
A Swahili-speaking congregation in Kansas is nurtured
and fed. These are but a few of the compelling
stories of God at work in and through the General
Assembly Mission Council (GAMC) in recent months...." |
| |
|
| |
|
News of all other churches.
in the USA and worldwide.
and their interaction with
the world around them.
Included: opinions, resources
|
|
Voices
from the entire spectrum
Therefore:
Always something to like,
always something to dislike,
always something to ponder...
|
|
| |
Somalia:
Convert from Islam shot dead / Compass
Islamic extremist rebel group hunts down underground
church leader |
| |
Muslim
extremists early yesterday morning killed a Christian
convert in Mahadday Weyne, Somalia, 62 miles north
of Mogadishu.
Al Shabaab
Islamist rebels shot Mohammed Sheikh Abdiraman
to death at 7 a.m., eyewitnesses told Compass.
They said the Islamic extremists appeared to have
been hunting the convert from Islam, and when
they found him they did not hesitate to shoot
him.
The sources told
Compass that Abdiraman was the leader of an underground
“cell group” of Christians in Somalia. |
| |
Religious
artifacts in Cyprus in 'great peril'
By Julia Duin / The Washington Times |
| |
Religious
artifacts on the divided island of Cyprus are
in "great peril," according to a U.S.
Helsinki Commission document to be released Tuesday
afternoon.
Thousands of Orthodox
icons, manuscripts, frescoes and mosaics have
been looted from churches, chapels and monasteries
in northern Cyprus, ending up on international
auction blocks, says the document, the result
of a lengthy investigation by the Helsinki Commission
and titled "Destruction of Cultural Property
in the Northern Part of Cyprus and Violations
of International Law." |
| |
A
Shiite schism on clerical rule
Iraqis see their concept gain on Iran's
By Anthony Shadid / The Washington Post |
| |
NAJAF,
Iraq – As Iran simmers over its disputed
presidential election, Shiite clerics in Iraq
are looking across the border with a sense of
satisfaction that they have figured out a more
durable answer to a question that has beset Shiite
Islam for centuries: What role should religion
play in politics?
Three decades after
the Iranian revolution brought to power one notion
of clerical rule – and six years after the
fall of Saddam Hussein helped enshrine another
version of religious authority here – the
relationship between religion and the state in
Iraq, clerics here say, seems more enduring than
the alternative in neighboring Iran.
The authority of
clerics in Iraq... lacks any legal basis. It is
derived instead from prestige, the notion that
millions look to Sistani as their spiritual authority.
The most devout of his followers consider his
edicts to carry the force of law. The tall, ascetic,
Iranian-born Sistani is thought to adhere to what
is sometimes called the quietist school of Shiite
Islam, in which the clergy disavow an overt role
in politics. Often, politicians are left guessing
what Sistani's position – if he has one –
might be. |
| |
| UK:
Christian
doctor is axed from panel over failing to back
gay adoption – by
Andy Dolan / The Daily Mail |
| |
A
doctor has been removed from an adoption panel
because she refuses to endorse applications by
homosexual couples.
Dr Sheila Matthews,
who is a Christian, was told that her beliefs
on gay adoption were incompatible with equality
legislation and council policies.
The paediatrician
had asked to be allowed to abstain from voting
in cases involving same-sex couples.
She has appealed
against the decision and says she may be forced
to go to an employment tribunal on the grounds
of religious discrimination. |
| |
Health
bill might direct tax money to abortion
By Robert Pear and Adam Liptak / The New York
Times |
| |
WASHINGTON
– An Obama administration official refused
Sunday to rule out the possibility that federal
tax money might be used to pay for abortions under
proposed health care legislation.
Peter R. Orszag,
the White House budget director, asked whether
he was prepared to say that “no taxpayer
money will go to pay for abortions,” answered:
“I am not prepared to say explicitly that
right now. It’s obviously a controversial
issue, and it’s one of the questions that
is playing out in this debate.”
"There is
no doubt,” the National Right to Life Committee
said, “that coverage of abortion will be
mandated, unless Congress explicitly excludes
abortion from the scope of federal authority to
define ‘essential benefits.’”
In the three House
committees that approved comprehensive health
care bills last week, Republicans tried unsuccessfully
to restrict coverage of abortion. |
| |
Churches
make tough decisions in bad economy
By John Jessup / CBN News |
| |
WASHINGTON
-- Each week, hundreds walk through the doors
of Metropolitan Baptist Church to worship in the
heart of the nation's capital.
It's been a witness
to history. Freed slaves formed the congregation
during the Civil War almost 150 years ago. Since
then, the church survived the Great Depression,
two World Wars, and 28 presidents.
Now, this body
of believers faces its own challenge: moving.
"We did not
seek this land. It was literally offered to us
and that is why we call it God's land in largo,"
said Dr. H. Beecher Hicks, Jr., pastor of Metropolitan
Baptist.
A growing congregation
led to the planned move into Maryland. The project,
once considered a blessing, has become an urgent
prayer burden.
Construction crews
completed more than 50 percent of the new building
when the economy imploded and credit dried up.
|
| |
Losing
my religion for equality – Women
and girls have been discriminated against for
too long in a twisted interpretation of the word
of God.
By
Jimmy Carter |
| |
"...my
fellow Elders and I, who come from many faiths
and backgrounds, no longer need to worry about
winning votes or avoiding controversy – and
we are deeply committed to challenging injustice
wherever we see it.
"The Elders
are an independent group of eminent global leaders,
brought together by former South African president
Nelson Mandela, who offer their influence and
experience to support peace building, help address
major causes of human suffering and promote the
shared interests of humanity. We have decided
to draw particular attention to the responsibility
of religious and traditional leaders in ensuring
equality and human rights and have recently published
a statement that declares: "The justification
of discrimination against women and girls on grounds
of religion or tradition, as if it were prescribed
by a Higher Authority, is unacceptable."
|
| |
| "Money,
greed, and God" – Book
review by Michael Kruse |
| |
"Doesn’t
my wealth make someone else poor? Aren’t
we exhausting the earth’s resources? Isn’t
capitalism based on greed? Hasn’t Christianity
always opposed Capitalism? The answer to all of
these questions is “no.”
"For centuries
people believed diseases were carried by odors
and were certain that the earth was a flat area
surrounded by water. The surface evidence is quite
compelling. While we would consider most adults
who hold such beliefs today a bit daft, one can
hardly blame our ancestors.
"Yet when
it comes to economic issues, a multitude of intellectuals
and theologians embrace the equivalent of “flat
earth” economics … all the while dismissing
those who contradict “self-evident”
realities as nefarious characters with sinister
agendas...
"Jay Richards
has just published, Money,
Greed, and God: Why Capitalism Is the Solution
and Not the Problem .
This book is an excellent corrective to “flat
earth” economic thinking. His clear and engaging
writing (and sense of humor) make his work accessible
to everyone..." |
| |
The
problem of animal rights
By Jeff Mirus / Catholic Culture |
| |
"In
a recent issue of First Things, Mary Eberstadt
raises the question of why the pro-animal folks
are not more pro-life. She identifies several
significant historical and ideological reasons
for this divergence of interests, but she also
argues that there ought to be a strong correlation
between the natural impulse to be concerned about
animals and a corresponding impulse to be concerned
about babies... . In some ways Eberstadt’s
analysis is a laudable attempt to find common
ground. But in the end, I believe her approach
falls into the sentimentality trap.
"It seems
to me necessary, in any discussion of our concern
for animals, to minimize the role of mere sentiment.
In fact, I would say the same about our discussion
of abortion. While there may be many things that
we can do to move this or that person to abhor
abortion, what we really want is for people to
oppose abortion because they have made a correct
moral judgment that abortion is seriously wrong.
In contrast, Eberstadt takes the opposite tack..." |
| |
The
'pleasure' principle: Britain's advice to teens
By Chuck Colson |
| |
"...a
branch of Britain’s National Health Service
in Sheffield just published a leaflet titled Pleasure.
The leaflet’s writers were concerned that
– what with all the warnings about safe sex
and all – teenagers might forget “the
principal reason that many people have sex”
in the first place: because it’s pleasurable.
"Oh, sure.
We all know that teenagers need to be reminded
of what their hormones are screaming at them.
"But the real
magical thinking comes in here. According to the
leaflet, daily sexual gratification is good for
you. Since we all need plenty of cardiovascular
exercise, why not meet that need with sex?...
"Whatever
the authors of this pamphlet had in mind, it certainly
wasn’t the physical, emotional, or moral
health of teenagers. Instead, their writings reflect
the teachings of Margaret Sanger and Alfred Kinsey,
whose sexual views were based not on science,
but on an intensely held personal belief system.
Sanger and Kinsey’s
ideology elevated sexuality into a means of salvation.
The goal of sexual liberation was not merely sensual
gratification. It offers a complete worldview
that aims at freeing the inner self from the evils
of repression and then renewing all society. |
| |
| Letters
from readers – email
us |
|
|
|
|
Copyright © 2009 CHURCHandWORLD.com Inc.
|
|
|
|
