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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

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.

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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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.

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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).

Editorials

Pick up the phone, not the cow pie

Why is it that so many well-intentioned, ethically-minded people behave so badly, so often? Nowhere is that more the case than during national election campaigns. The best and brightest work countless hours, empty their savings accounts, and promise to enact ennobling legislation, all aiming to fulfill their high call to civic service. But in the process they trash their opponents by slinging false accusations like competitors in a cow-pie-tossing competition. 

 

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MySpace, Facebook: Churches learning new ways of communicating with youth

Here's a whiff of reality.

Half of all the communications that Rhett Smith receives on his cell phone are text messages.

Smith -- who's in charge of the college ministry at Bel Air Church in the Los Angeles area -- no longer posts much information on his church's Web site, because he knows that many young adults won't bother to look there.

Instead, Smith relies heavily on MySpace.com and other social networking sites to communicate with students -- they're already there, so he's created his own MySpace page. But increasingly he's seen folks migrating from MySpace to Facebook.com -- "Facebook has really exploded," Smith said -- so now he's there too. He understands: social networking, at whatever the hot place of the month, is the way to get out the word.

 

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PC(USA) delegation shares thoughts, concerns from the Middle East

LOUISVILLE -- Sharing joys, concerns, hopes, and prayers was the focus of a letter sent January 19 by the members of a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) delegation in the Middle East at that time. General Assembly Council (GAC) Chair Allison Seed, General Assembly Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick and GAC Executive Director Linda Bryant Valentine were visiting Lebanon, Israel, and Palestinian territories in an effort to show their continued support for the region's Christians and to get a first-hand look at the area's dynamics.

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Presbyterian pastors establish Institute for Civility in Government

I (Tomas Spath) preached a sermon not too long ago in which I admitted I cannot speak with certain members of my family. When I open my mouth, I get either a loud verbal "NO!!!" or the silent treatment.

To my surprise, as the congregation left that Sunday morning approximately 85% of the congregants admitted that they too had a similar problem with their siblings or parents.

I shared this experience with my retired pastor father who was preaching at an interim post and he decided to do the same. He admitted from the pulpit that he was having difficulty maintaining a conversation with certain members of his family. To his surprise, about 85% of the congregants in his church also admitted the same!

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.

Voices

Hope in the simple things: A Columbia Common Ground update

   It started over a cup of coffee. 

In the summer of 2004 two friends from seminary, both serving at the time as associate pastors in prominent downtown congregations, met for coffee in Richmond during General Assembly. (See these friends' thoughts in "Montreat meeting focuses Columbia grads on future" in the May 30, 2005, Outlook). After catching up, the conversation turned to the events of the Assembly. Both were incredibly frustrated with the politically-charged atmosphere, as well as the enormous amounts of time spent huddling and strategizing instead of praying and working together to make our church a healthier, more faithful place.

Voices

Burglary and Evangelism

Let me tell you about my friend, Ben. He was an older man who had recently lost his wife. Returning home from a long trip, Ben found his sliding-glass door at the rear of his home shattered and a back door damaged. A neighborhood twelve-year-old had committed the crime. Ben came to see me about it because the investigating officers wanted to remove the boy from his home and place him in a home for troubled kids.

Movie Reviews

Film brings new life to Anne Frank’s diary

 

c. 2007 Religion News Service

 

Of all the actors, athletes and hip-hop performers venerated by urban teenagers in Southern California, most improbable of all, perhaps, was a 13-year-old girl by the name of Anne Frank.

So goes the inspiring story behind "Freedom Writers," a recent movie starring Hilary Swank. The film's Jan. 5 release was timed to precede the nation's commemoration of another figure in the ongoing fight against racial prejudice: Martin Luther King Jr.

Movie Reviews

“Freedom Writers” and “Sweet Land”

 

Both are about people struggling to survive in a hostile environment. Both are about people who start out very awkwardly, but slowly learn to care for each other. Both are about experiencing racial discrimination, both overtly and covertly. Both are about learning to succeed in small but important ways, like relying on hard work, and refusing to be beaten down, and withstanding the criticism and rejection of others. Both are about taking pride in one's own story, one's own struggle, one's own life. Both are about gaining respect by maintaining dignity, integrity, and self-reliance. Oh, and getting by with a little help from your friends.

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