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The Presbyterian Outlook

The Presbyterian Outlook

Creating and curating trustworthy resources for the church, the Presbyterian Outlook connects disciples of Jesus Christ through compelling and committed conversation for the proclamation of the Gospel.

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Movie Reviews

Excerpts from an interview with John Dau (‘God Grew Tired of Us’)

Outlook:  How has your faith helped you in your whole journey?

JD:  My faith has been central to me.  From the very beginning, in Sudan, I was baptized when I was two years, or one year.  And later, in the camp, when we formed into 93 groups, of about a thousand each, every group had a covenant box, like the people of Israel on their journey.  And the box was in the middle of the gathering, and we would pray together every day, from 6 in the evening until 9 in the evening, singing songs to the Almighty in our native language, though in the camp they taught us English.  Then, on Sundays, we would all gather together, outdoors, with just the fence around us, and worship the Lord.  We are the Gentiles, not the Jews, and we believe that Jesus Christ is for all people. 

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Iraqi artists take refuge in Jordan

 

©2007.  The Media Line Ltd.  All Rights Reserved.

 

 

The sound of gunfire echoes in his head. The smell of gunpowder and flashing images of the dead haunt him like ghosts that can never be exorcised. He still hears the artillery pounding and the frightened children crying.

He could no longer bear to see his country plunged into the abyss of lawlessness.

When his paintbrush, and even his own fingers, would not obey his restless mind, Mohammad Mahredin, one of Iraq's pioneer contemporary artists, slowly and painfully abandoned hope of a sorrow-free Iraq and decided to bid farewell to his country.

.

Voices

Living the Hosea life: An open letter to my Presbyterian friends

All his friends would have understood if he had left her. She was unfaithful, wandering, adulterous--plain and simple, she was a whore. The children, who all bore his name, didn't all look very much like him. He was always having to go after her, always having to hunt her down in bars and strip joints and other men's houses. He was always having to bail her out of some mess or another--and, that wasn't cheap or easy. So, everyone would have understood if he had left her. Some would have even applauded. Some would have said, "Well, it's about time! She's been playing him for a fool for way too long!"

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Former Executive of the Synod Of The Mid-Atlantic dies in traffic accident

The Rev. Roger Harp, pastor at First Church, Grand Island, Neb., and former Synod Executive/Stated Clerk/Treasurer of the Synod of the Mid-Atlantic died tragically Sunday afternoon in a traffic accident on Interstate 80 while on his way to pick up his wife in Lincoln, Nebraska.  His vehicle apparently crossed the median on the interstate and struck a westbound tractor trailer.

Roger served as Synod Executive/State Clerk/Treasurer at the Synod of the Mid-Atlantic (the Middle Governing Body of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A) from August, 2003 until December of 2006 when he began to feel led to "seek to conclude my ministry in a parish setting, if possible." 

Editorials

Ash Wednesday: Not just for Catholics anymore

Ash Wednesday ain't what it used to be.

In my hometown, Ash Wednesday was an annual coming out party for the Catholics.  On that one day each year, everybody knew who they--myself included--were.

The ash smudges on foreheads seemed a perfect metaphor for all things Catholic. Translation: Ash Wednesday proved for all to see that Catholics do guilt well.        

Guilt drove my Catholic self to church. What the priests implied, the nuns made explicit: salvation hinges upon doing good, or alternatively, for expending painstaking effort to demonstrate remorse for "any act of rebellion against a known law." 

Voices

Lent Is For Listening

Lent is for listening.

   A season of hushed voices and uncomfortable silences;

      of hearing and overhearing ~

         hearing the creak and groan of the church building;

            overhearing the muffled cough, the stifled sigh ~

               in worship, the silenced infant's cry.

            Outside the oblivious, uncooperative, noisy world goes on,

                  white noise distracting.

Voices

Reading for Lent

 

Lent offers the church a time each year to consider the wondrous love of Jesus Christ and what it means to follow in his way. These resources (some specifically for Lent, others not) may prove useful for individuals and groups who read, pray, plan worship, and study during this season.

 

The Beatitudes for Today, by James C. Howell.  WJKP, 2006. ISBN 0-664-22932-8. Pb., 124 pp.  $14.95.

In 14 chapters, Howell reflects on what it means to be blessed in the way of Jesus Christ. His work considers not only what Jesus says, but also what he does not say, ever with an eye to the shape of God's blessing in real human lives. Includes discussion questions at the end of each chapter.

Voices

Let’s not blame religion for all the world’s ills

c. 2007 Religion News Service

   

(RNS) It's easy to characterize religion as a bloodthirsty enterprise. History seems to be strewn with the wreckage of witch hunts, crusades and religious jihad. If God does exist, a caller to my Southern California radio show offered, he ought to be tried for crimes against humanity.

 "New atheists" such as "Letter to a Christian Nation" author Sam Harris and "The God Delusion" author Richard Dawkins seem to blame religion -- particularly Christianity -- for all the world's ills. But nothing could be further from the truth.

Voices

The Sower

(Matthew 13:1-23. Mark 4:1-20, Luke 8:4-15)

 

I never actually heard him speak that day,

although, over the next few months,

I listened to him many times.

 

It was the early springtime - don't you see? -

and I had spent the first part of that week

stumbling along behind my stubborn mule.

We were ploughing up a whole new section,

yes, that hillside that sits above the Sea of Galilee,

digging out and carting off old tree stumps,

roots and rocks and boulders,

preparing the virgin soil

to receive the precious seed.

 

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Retired missionary and her daughter killed in Kenya carjacking

 

LOUISVILLE -- A retired Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) missionary and her daughter were killed in a carjacking Saturday, Jan. 27, in Kenya.

Lois Anderson, former PC(USA) missionary in Africa, and her daughter, Zelda White, were shot in a village just a few miles outside the capital city of Nairobi, according to Doug Welch, the PC(USA)'s area coordinator for Africa.

Movie Reviews

My Oscar ballot

After reviewing scores of films in 2006, these are my selections for the best in their categories.  We will see which films and performances win honors at the 2007 Academy Awards on February 25.

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Church defection rocks Montreat community

The mecca of southern Presbyterianism has been shaken, as the Montreat Presbyterian Church (MPC) has voted its desire to leave the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). At a congregational meeting held on Sunday, January 21, the congregation voted 311 to 27 (with three abstentions) to request the Presbytery of Western North Carolina (PWNC) to dismiss them with property to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.  

Movie Reviews

‘Catch And Release’ & ‘God Grew Tired Of Us’

Both are about people dealing with grief and emotional displacement.  Both are about how easy it is to say, 'You need to move on with your life,' and how difficult that is to do.  In both, the hardship comes in unexpected places, and so does the relief.  In both, the redemptive part is how people love one another.

Movie Reviews

Breach

'Breach' is a chilling tale, based on actual events, of an FBI agent convicted of selling secrets to the Soviets.

No, it wasn't during the Cold War era. This was 1991, when our country's relationship with the former Soviet Union was supposed to be glasnost.  But we've had a spy network since before we were officially a nation---George Washington relied heavily on his 'intelligence community' during the field maneuverings of the Revolutionary War---and we still routinely spy on other countries with whom we are theoretically at peace. Most of us just don't know the extent of our network of 'operatives.' And we never will. But some of us have attained some access, and some of us have abused the privilege.

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Christianity, Islam Battle for Souls of Iranians

Fereshteh Dibaj and her husband Reza Montazemi, a Christian couple in Iran, were released from an Iranian jail last October after spending 10 days in detention.

The charges against them are still unclear, but it is likely to do with their religious affiliation. They belong to Iran's little-known Christian population, a minority that constitutes less than one percent of the country's 70 million inhabitants.

According to Amnesty, Reza's mother, who owns the house in which they live, was reportedly ordered to sign a document two days before the couple was arrested, promising that no more Christian meetings for worship, prayer or Bible study would be held there.

It should come as no surprise that Tehran's religious authorities are concerned about the Christian community.

 

Voices

An open letter to Presbyterians: Why not to leave

I observed recently that the PUP Report had not changed anything. A pastor asked, "If nothing's changed, what's the big deal?" An elder responded that we are in a spiritual battle. These comments spurred my deeper evaluation of the dynamics gripping us all.

The key to understand our dilemma is to realize the depths of that spiritual war.

Some history is helpful. In 1978 the northern Presbyterian Church issued a Definitive Guidance prohibiting ordination of  "... avowed, practicing homosexuals..."

  In 1979 the Definitive Guidance of the southern Presbyterians stated, "...unrepentant homosexual practice does not accord with the requirements for ordination..."

With reunion, these statements were incorporated as Authoritative Interpretation (AI).

Voices

We’ve been here before

 

c. 2006 Religion News Service

    

Picture a congregation gathered to decide its future.

Feelings were strong. Disharmony was rife. Carefully coordinated plans were being executed, an information war was ratcheting to a new level designed to convey unstoppable momentum.

In this church, people who once got along have drawn verbal swords. Two stood and said, "If you don't vote our way, you put your mortal souls in peril." Another was shocked that "dear friends" could speak to her that way.

Voices

Let us think about power

"Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Lord Acton has a point, but I disagree with him. I say, "Power does not necessarily corrupt, but the temptation to be corrupted by power is exceptionally strong."

Only God has absolute power, but we humans are responsible for our use of the relative power we can exercise.  "I am not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God ... unto salvation for all who believe!" (Romans 1:16)

I want both to invite you to think about power with me and to encourage you to pour your own unique content into the fascinating, vital subject.

Voices

Exercising self-restraint

I believe the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is in a particularly parlous place.

For the last three decades we have been struggling with issues related to human sexuality.  The most prominent issues have been abortion, the nature of marriage, and the ordination of non-celibate gays and lesbians. 

Voices

A new way of being Presbyterian

A couple of months ago, a recently ordained minister was being examined during our presbytery meeting. Another pastor rose to challenge a portion of his statement of faith. The new minister looked down at what he had written, indicated his words did not express at all what he intended, and quickly owned up to his mistake. With grace and good humor, he recognized the error. With grace and a bit of levity, the presbytery noted his oversight - and then approved his examination. These days, such an exchange--a timely admission and a gracious response--is not always common among Presbyterians.

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