- Radical Worship
• Radical. That's the word listeners are using to describe South Africa's praise-band sensation, Tree63. The group's radical musical style, reminiscent of British rock band U2's early albums, and radical Christian message make this group one of the youth worship movement's newest champions.
Described as "The Police for the '90s" because of their raw power and passionate Sting-like vocals, Tree63 keeps its focus fixed on Christ. Their lyrics unabashedly encourage a worship-filled life. "Sacrifice" is a blatant cry of commitment. (1)- •
- A Surprising Combination
• Dr. Charles Stanley, Stephen Hill, Jesse Duplantis and Bob Harrington speak at the Height to "Heaven Goes through Grand Palace at Branson Missouri in April 2001 featuring Revival Fires Spring Camp meeting.(2)- •
- Parsley Offers Cross Cultural Ministry Education
• World Harvest Bible College, president and founder, pastor Rod Parsley, offers diploma of Arts in Religion. Concentrations of study are: Cross Cultural Ministries... Pastor Rod Parsley is taking the anointing to the nations. At World Harvest Bible College you will receive more than an education. You will receive an impartation. It’s more than information. It’s an experience! (4)- •
- Department of Agriculture Officials Audit Circle of Seven Ministries Food Pantry.
- • Food pantry is allowed to reopen states the letter from the Department of Agriculture. Terry and Betsy Holt distribute food boxes out of a garage attached to their rented home.. [What happened?] Three violations were found during the state’s review of Holt’s operation said agriculture bureau chief. The complaint was that the couple was charging for U.S. Department of Agriculture products, failing to keep federally required records about the recipients and turning away those who couldn’t pay. Pantry volunteers also accused the Holts of using proceeds to pay Terry Holt’s legal bills from his 1998 conviction on a child sexual abuse charge and three subsequent probation violations. The Holts had to undergo training sessions to correct the violations. “They needed to be re-educated because they were not following the rules,” Van Treese said. (6)
- •
- Hare Krishna, Moonies and [Scientologists] join race for federal grants and got it.
• After eight years of prison, Joseph Fabio now lives in a halfway house next to a Philadelphia funeral home where counselors have helped him steer clear of drugs, find a job in a gas station and contain the uncontrollable anger that earned him a murder sentence at age 18. His three months in the program have been “a blessing,” Fabio said. But like many residents, he complained only that, for some reason, the kitchen served nothing but vegetarian food. When told the cuisine is restricted because this halfway house is affiliated with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, or Hare Krishna, Fabio looked as if he had been ambushed by “Candid Camera..”.. To win $2.5 million in government contracts in Philadelphia, the Hare Krishnas have removed almost all evidence of their religious affiliation, said Dobson, a former monk. (7)- •
- Prosecutors Wrap Up Case Against Ministries
• Tampa - Five leaders of Greater Ministries International are accused of running a $450 million fraud that promised to double a person’s money in 18 months or less. “Get in it,” Payne said at one early 1998 meeting. “Get in it. Get in it with what you need to get in with. And not a penny more and not a penny less. You do what God told you to do. This is the thing. You are in God’s Social Security.” The program crashed in 1998 after Greater Ministries lost about $20 million in uninsured deposits at an insolvent Colorado bank. The bank failure came as Greater Ministries finally closed in on what looked like its mother lode... The combination of Greater Ministries’ money and Shefer’s government connections offered the church exclusive mining rights in Liberia. Tampa to West Africa, the effort failed to send any profit back to the United States.. (8) Tampa Tribune - 3.13.2003 front page “5 Ministries elders guilty of conspiracy, Mr. & Mrs. Payne, Mr. Whitfield, Mr. Talbert, and Mr. Hall left the federal court in the custody of federal marshals, who took the leadership of an “anointed” church to jail... The defendants’ lawyer argued their clients truly believed [that they were anointed to by God to enrich Christians] and meant no harm to anyone.. The good news is that we have come through it and our faith is in tact and we’re stronger,” Smith said. “I do not rejoice that these men convicted may not see the light of day. I hurt for them.” The verdict is not in yet.- •
- Scientologists Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman Split
• Tom and Nicole split after 10 years of marriage, but religion was not a factor.. “Scientology had nothing to do with this,” Pat Kingsley said in the Feb. 19, People magazine. Cruise, 38, is a devout Scientologist. Kidman, 33 has referred to her beliefs as a “mishmash” that includes Scientology. (9)- •
- Ongoing Success Thrills Authors of ‘Left Behind.’
• Tim LaHaye and Jerry B Jenkins? Wild. Out of control. Beyond their imagination. Frenzied, fabulous and far out. An unbelievable ride. Those are my words. In a phone interview with the dynamic due, LaHaye told me: “This is the most exciting experience we’ve ever had.”.. November’s release of “The Mark” - is more than $ 25 million. The entire product line, which includes children’s versions and audio tapes, comes to $36 million... “Our great desire is to make the Bible come to life using fiction,” LaHaye says. “One of the great satisfactions that we get is people who will say, ‘I’m a Bible reader, but I never read Revelation, and now I’ve gone back and read it.” They tell us we’ve made it interesting, and they can understand most of it.”.. The Christian fiction market has been ghettoized, but I think we’ve opened a lot of doors,” he says. (10)- •
- Graham Crusade Nets More than $3 Million
• Jacksonville, FL - The Billy Graham Crusade raised more than $3 million during its four day run here in November, an independent audit shows. “I hate to see this come to an end,” said Ginger Soud, a city council woman who chaired the crusade’s executive committee. Soud said the final budget showed donations were about $209,000 more than expected. An estimated 250,000 people turned out to hear Graham, 81.[ED NOTE: Each crusade is a separate corporation and most of them bring between $2 and $3 million. Billy's son Franklin W Graham is president of Samaritan's Purse, a world-wide organization. It has $38 million in assets and $77 million income in 1998 (guidestar.com)] (15)- •
- Sculptor Says He Saw ‘Glory Dust’ While Making Statue of Christ.
• A Charismatic sculptor who created an acclaimed statue of Christ washing Peter’s feet is putting the finishing touches on what he calls the masterpiece of his career. “God is using this piece of art to bring attention to the word from Revelation
19 that
He’s coming back on that white horse,” said Max Greiner
Jr. The 18-foot-tall bronze statue was commissioned by Trinity
Broadcasting Network [TBN] and is to be unveiled in March. The
golden particles covered his skin and clothing. He stored the
shirt, shoes and socks he wearing to prove the incident occurred.
Charismatic’s asked him to leave after he spoke about gold
dust. (17)
- •
- Pastor Jack Hayford and Pastor Eddie Long Working to “Restore Unity Of The Spirit of God”
- • After the Azusa revival, the Pentecostal church fragmented into denominations, Fisher said. At Solemn Assembly 2001, a broad cross section of the Pentecostal-charismatic movement will be represented - from Roman Catholic charismatic movement to the United Pentecostal Church. In addition non charismatic evangelical Christians will attend. Organizers say the goal of the conference is to transcend denominational and racial barriers... Conference leaders say that through a time of “reflection, repentance, restoration and reconciliation” they hope to see believers come together in unity of the Spirit of God, not of doctrine or culture. (18)
- •
- Mideast Reconciliation Walk
- • Groups of Western charisma tics and evangelical Christians are traveling the “dark and bloody grounds” of the Middle East, trying to personify the conciliatory love the Christ commanded. Apologizing for the HISTORICAL MISREPRESENTATION OF CHRISTIANITY. During the crusades they offered an apology to Muslims, Jews and Eastern Christians for atrocities committed against their forefathers by WESTERN Christians during the Crusades... The reception included political as well as religious leaders and grassroots.. Reconciliation Walk participants are encouraged to “live” the gospel message, rather than “proclaim” it.” People believe your life rather than your words,” said Green. (19)
- •
- Henry Lyons former head of the National Baptist Convention,
- • USA who is currently serving a prison sentence for racketeering and grand theft, was replaced from the pastorate of his church by Joaquin Marvin, who also has a criminal record for passing forged checks, the St Petersburg Times reported. (20)
- •
- Founder of Brownsville Revival School of Ministry Ousted.
• Michael Brown, of Pensacola, FL was voted out by the school’s board in late December 2000 after a dispute over denominational accountability with the Assemblies of God (AG).. In Brown’s statement to graduates and students. he said: “ [it was] a totally misleading picture of me, my character and my relationship to the .. board and [John] Kilpatrick.” Brown said that eight out of ten faculty members had resigned and as many as 1,000 students plan to attend his new school. (21)- •
- Let the Multitudes Come
• An unprecedented crowd of million people gathered in Lagos, Nigeria, for a Reinhard Bonnke crusade in November. The evangelist believes that this move of the Holy Spirit will sweep the entire African continent. The vast crowd’s happiness can be traced to the source of the smoke: a large metal drum in which lie smoldering ashes of a mini-mountain of occult fetishes. The good-luck charms and amulets have been cut from hundreds of wrists and waists and consigned to the flames as people who once relied on them for protection and prosperity are consumed by a greater fire.. Bonnke was banned from Nigeria for nine years because the crusade provoked Muslims to deadly riots. CFAN workers had to leave the country. Bonnke has been able to unite churches that tend to be competitive.. (22)- •
- Freemasonry
• A writer addressing Midnight Call Magazine: Your ignorance of Freemasonry overwhelms me. Of course, I realize that every one is down on everything that they are not up on. You are not up on Freemasonry. Another thing that rather shocked me is that you don’t even know the definition of a cult. A cult is a religious organization or denomination where Jesus is not Lord. The best-known cults are Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Church of Jesus Christ of Letter-day Saints. There are many others. These are the best known in my area. Since Freemasonry is not a religious organization or a denomination, it could in no way qualify as a cult.
Since I no longer tolerate your insults on this subject; place cancel my subscription...
Answer: “You are not up on Freemasonry” is correct; however, your Grand Commander, 33rd degree Freemason Albert Pike, is. “Every Messianic temple is a temple of religion.” Based on your own definition, “A cult is a religious organization.. where Jesus is not Lord.” qualified Freemasons as a cult. (25)- •
- Dobson Recalls Recent Visit to Vatican
- • It was hard for me to leave, said Dobson of Focus on the Family, in recalling his visit at the Vatican.
An invitation from Rome came to a group of Influential Protestant organizations to speak on November 28, 2000 at the Pontifical Council for the Family, founded by Pope John Paul Ii in 1981. “I felt very comfortable with my new Catholic friends,” Dobson said in an interview in Colorado Springs, CO. “I’m in complete harmony with the Vatican [on traditional marriage and sexual morality].” (32)
Change Agent Dobson heads: Focus of the Family radio broadcasts (prepared for Christian radio stations and aired three times a day on KQCV in Oklahoma City), 1) Family News in Focus (geared for secular radio stations on other stations as well); 2) Focus on the Family Citizen: monthly newsletter aimed at political action; 3) Christian Impact Project; 4) with its Christian Impact Seminars; 5) Family Planning Councils. Dr. James C. [ED NOTE:His income $110,900.000, $104 million in donation, surplus $6.7 millions in 1998 (guidestar.com)]. Dobson comes from a deeply rooted tradition of Preaching the Holy Scriptures, but chose psychology instead and is now a practicing politician. H.B. London Jr., the Senior Pastor of he Pasadena First Church of the Nazarene, who has invited Roman Catholic Church members to speak at his church, has also been an avid supporter of Foster and the New Age ecumenical Renovare' group. London has as of last November “left the pulpit to join Focus on the Family as liaison to pastors and churches . Dobson’s political machinery called Community Impact Project involves mixed religious / political groups in thirty states and growing. The Community Impact Project groups are openly networking with the ecumenical religions of ultimately every stripe. (33)- The Berean Call, February 2001, Religion News Service,12/2000: "It was a striking image to one observer: evangelical Protestant powerhouses James Dobson and Chuck Colson visiting the headquarters of the Catholic Church, the very institution Protestants rebelled against centuries ago. Dobson and Colson joined a global cast of business executives and Catholic politicians, lawyers and scholars last month for a three-day conference at the Vatican on the world economy's impact on families.. Conference participant the Rev. Robert Sirico, a Catholic priest and president of the Action Institute, said Vatican officials told him they could not recall a similar meeting involving such high-level evangelical Protestants taking place at the Vatican. [TBC: asks: Two questions: How does this Catholic sponsored conference profit a family which follows the false gospel of Rome? What exactly are Colson and Dobson advancing by their participation?]
- •
- Focus on the Community Services
- • Focus on the Family applied and got exempt status for faith-based services: "Focus on the Community Services" in 2000 (www.guidestar.com).
- •
Colson and Others Endorse Witchcraft Themes
• You say you don’t know me? Well, then, what about Charles Colson, he who is so beloved by the Southern Baptists, by the Catholics, by the Episcopals, by all the Christian world? On his daily Breakpoint radio program (11.2.1999), Colson and recently advised parents to disregard the naysayers. The Harry Potter books are fine examples of good Christian-oriented literature, said the smooth, silver-tongued Colson. They are, he smugly added, highly recommended. If that were not enough, we also have James Dobson’s Focus on the Family recommending the Harry Potter books as wholesome.On another occasion, Linda Beam said simply to leave the books on the shelf. Billy Graham, chimed in, calling the Harry Potter series a “Book of Virtues with pre-adolescent funny bone.” The magazine also praised the books as “wonderful examples of compassion, locality, courage, friendship, and even self-sacrifice.”
Today on the news CNN 3.33.2001 Queen Elisabeth of England and her son, showed up at the publisher of the Potter Books and highly recommended them for the children world-wide.
These gushing recommendations were made in spite of the blatant and clear witchcraft prevalent in the Harry Potter books. In one scene in the novels, we find a professor whose leg is mangled by the three-headed dog. In another, a mysterious figure drinks blood from a unicorn carcass. In the books we see young Harry lying, breaking rules, making fun of and mocking adults, and seeking revenge. To defeat his foes, Harry uses magic and witchcraft rituals and methods. On his forehead, notable, is the rune symbol of the satanic lightning bolt.
“inventive”. (35)- “I was eager to get to Hogwarts first because I like what they learned there and I WANT TO BE A WITCH.” (Gioia Bishop, age 10 [San Francisco Chronicle, 7-26]) “I like the third book because here [Harry] meets his godfather and Professor Lupin, a really cool guy [This really “cook guy” is a shape-shifter who turns into a werewolf]..” Harry Libarle, age 7 (Ibid.) “Dressing up as wizards and witches, concocting fantasy potions and telling stories were just a few of the games Rowling played as a child with Ian Potter..” Harry Potter and the source of inspiration. Might Harry Potter seem as real as life to his young fans around the world? Do children accept Harry’s lessons in practical witchcraft as an open door to an occult reality? Many Christian leaders have denied any such danger, but author J.K. Rowling admits that this happens. In an interview with Newsweek, she said, “I get letters from children addressed to Professor Dumbledore [headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the books” setting], and it’s not a joke, begging to be let into Hogwarts, and some of them are really sad. Because they want it to be true so badly they’ve convinced themselves it’s true.”.. Two Nritish reports this phenomenon show us the obvious: popular forms of occult entertainment “have fueled a rapidly growing interest in witchcraft among children.”
•
Power Team Founder Divorces and Accused of Assault
• One of TBN’s favorites, John Jacobs, founder of the world-renowned strongman evangelistic ministry The Power Team, has divorced his wife of 16 years, Ruthanne. The Jacobs have one son, Trey, age 3... Jacobs was leading youth weight lifter when he founded The Power Team 22 years ago... His team have taken part .. at more than 10,000 school assemblies and in hundreds of evangelistic crusades in churches across the United States and overseas. Jacobs said in a statement that the divorce.. stemmed from irreconcilable differences... I was in personal counseling for five years, and I’m sorry there was nothing I could do to avoid it. Ruthanne Jacobs declined comment. She did not want a divorce and was devastated. Many have left the ministry. (36)
A Texas grand jury will consider a case of alleged assault by strongman evangelist John Jacobs, founder of the Power Team. Jacobs is said to have twice slammed a member of his staff into a wall at the ministry’s headquarters in Dallas. A Power Team statement denied the assault charge. (37)- •
- Bill Bright has Terminal Illness
• Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, has been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, a terminal lung disease. Campus Crusade spokesman James Woelbern said the disease was confirmed after Bright, 79, had extensive testing at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Doctors believe the condition developed during treatment Bright received for prostate cancer. Bright recently announced that he plans to step down in August 2001 as president of the mission organization, which has 22,000 workers internationally. (38)
Bill Bright built a $48 million dollar retreat for more than 50 ministries in 1997 on 285 donated acres. An Anonymous donor gave $5 million to the project. Guidestar in 1998 showed $200 million annual budget.- •
- MorningStar Ministries in Dispute over Tax Status
• Rick Joyner’s MorningStar is halting plan to develop a retreat and conference center on 400 acres of mountain property in Wilkes, N.C., after local government officials denied the group tax-exempt status. Wilkes officials say that more than half of MorningStar’s annual gross income comes from subscriptions and sale of books and tapes. Joyner said he is bracing himself for a long and difficult legal battle because the county’s position may have implications for other ministries. “The county is trying to set legal precedent,” he told the Wilkes Journal-Patriot. “They are getting into defining what is a ministry.” Though Joyner hopes for a settlement, the ministry is considering taking civil rights action in the case. (39)- •
- Presbytarians Recognize Gay Bonds
• A proposal to bar Presbyterian clergy from officiating at commitment ceremonies for gay couples was defeated in a vote tally released Wednesday. That leaves clergy free to conduct such rites as long as they are not confused with marriages. The voice is a victor for the liberal side in a conflict that has divided the 3.6 million-member Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for 24 years. “Many of us lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender people of faith are grateful - as our hetero-sexual sisters and brothers are - for the opportunity to have our committed relationships recognized in the faith community of which we are an integral part,” said the groups More Light Presbyterians and All May Freely Serve. The only other major U.S. Christian denomination that permits same-sex blessings is the United Church of Christ, though in practice the Episcopal Church also allows them. (40)- •
- Assemblies of God Tackles Problem of Porn Addiction Among Ministers
• The denomination says it will embrace guidelines to deal with the ‘dramatic increase’ of ministers lured by pornography. Pornography and sexual addiction among ministers is a volatile issue faced by evangelical and liberal denominations alike. “The problem is no better in Pentecostal churches,” says Steve Gallagher, founder of Pure Life Ministries. A national survey reveals a somber statistic: About 20% of all ministers are involved in the behavior. Many fall prey to it through Internet...(pornographic material has been discovered on church computers). At a July meeting in Springfield, Mo., Richard D. Dobbins, a Christian Psychologist and the president of Emerge Ministries, addressed 193 AD leaders about dealing with sexual problems. (43)- •
- Mormonism Turns Up In Charisma Magazine?
• Mormonism is the fastest growing faith group in American history according to U.S. News of World Report, which predicts that if present trends continue there could be 265 million members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints worldwide by 2080. Mormons have launched a major expansion program to keep up with growth, opening 32 temples across the country this year. (44)- •
- Becoming Global Christians in the 21st Century
• “.. Our community of “faith” must be a global one in which Americans, Europeans, Middle Easterners, Africans, Asians and Latins offer one another mutual edification, correction, teaching, protection, encouragement and life. Each of us must make a conscious attempt to connect with the body of Christ globally. One way to do this is to share in the labors of the global church by supporting a ministry in another part of the world... (45)- •
- United By The Alpha Course
• The Holy Spirit melts divisions in South Africa. A popular course on basic Christianity named Alpha, has brought church together and begun a process of healing... the cross-cultural congregation of St. Peter was segregated.. it was much an apartheid church.. the “whites only” areas have been removed.. the Alpha course - a study of basic Christianity pioneered by a charismatic Anglican minister in England - has created opportunities for different churches and cultures to work together... We believe Alpha has built bridges in many ways. They are taking Alpha into the schools for black pupils. . The Alpha manual has translated into three African languages and intends to have four on video by 2001. In South Africa, the Holy Spirit is getting to the people’s level, especially cross-culturally, bringing people together.. “ De Stadler says, “This is just the beginning. As Alpha, anointed by the Holy Spirit, continues to build bridges between churches and cultures, it is expected to transform communities.. cities and provinces in South Africa and beyond.” (46)- •
- Giving Money for “Prayers” to be Offered for the Dead.
• “The Roman Catholic Church cannot take credit for being the first to invent the money-making doctrine of Purgatory. It adopted it from paganism - from Babylonian, Greek and Roman mythology. Pagan Rome had a feast of purification called “Sacrum Purgatorim,” Go wherever we may, in ancient or modern times we shall find that paganism leaves hope after death for sinners who, at the time of their departure, were consciously unfit for the abodes of the blest. For this purpose a middle state has been feigned, in which, by means of Purgatorial pains, guilt unremoved in time may in a future world be purged away, and the soul be made meet for final beatitude.
In Greece the doctrine of Purgatory was inculcated by the very chief of the philosophers. Thus Plato, speaking of the future judgment of the dead, holds out the hope of final deliverance for all, but maintains that, of “those who are judged,” “some” must first “proceed to a subterranean place of judgment, where they shall sustain the punishment they have deserved;” while others, in consequence of a favorable judgment, being elevated at once into a certain celestial place, :shall pass their time in a manner becoming the life they have lived in a human shape.” In pagan Rome, Purgatory was equally held up before the minds of men; but there, there seems to have been no hope held out to any of exemption from its pain...”
Q How long should we pray for the dead? “A dear member of our family died recently, and a question arose about our prayers for the dead. I think I read once that we should never stop praying for our dead relatives because the person receives benefit of our prayers at the time of death, even if the prayers are said 30 years later. Did I understand correctly?” A - Yes you did. As far as we can know, there is nothing like time in our sense of that reality - hours, days, years - in eternity. Supposedly, we will be out of a dimension where such measures of time make sense.
Thus, any answer to your question cannot be based on a parallel between events here and the duration of events after we die. In its prayers and liturgies (the Eucharistic Prayers at every Mass are good examples), the church basically just walks around that question and continues to pray always for all who have died Excellent reasons exist for this tradition. Perhaps the most fundamental is that our prayers for the dead, as all our prayers, go to a God who is eternal, who has no beginning or end, for whom there is no past or future. Everything, from the beginning of time to the end of the world, is one eternally present moment for God. We cannot imagine God saying, for example, “If you had just said that prayer a week ago I could have done something about it, but now it’s too late.”
- As Thomas Aquinas explained, God is present in the whole
of reality, the whole span of time and place, in one infinite
act of divine knowledge. When we pray for someone, therefore,
considering that universal reach of God’s presence and being,
our prayers are not limited by time. They extend back - and forward
- to the beginning of a person’s life, through to the end,
and into eternity.
For the same reason we pray constantly (again, the Eucharistic Prayers are excellent examples) for a good and holy death for ourselves and others. The fact that death may be years away doesn’t matter. It is worth remembering, finally, that prayers for our loved ones are also always prayers of thanks, praising God for his goodness to that person and for all the good done for others in and through that individual’s life on earth. [taken from - “The Compass,” - the official newspaper of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay, WI, November 10, 2000 (48)- •
- Cardinal Admits He Doesn't Know If He Is Going To Heaven
• John Cardinal O’Conner, the late Archbishop of New York, was quoted in the New York Times as saying, [quoting official Catholic Church teaching] “Church teaching is that I don’t know at any given moment what my eternal future will be. I can hope, pray, do my very best, but still don’t know. Pope John Paul II doesn’t know absolutely if he will go to heaven, nor does Mother Theresa of Calcutta. (49)- •
- President Bush States the Pope as the Highest moral Authority on Earth with a Mission of Reconciliation
• Now in spite of the fact the Catholicism denies the power of God by declaring that His Word is lacking and in need of human input, interpretation and administration, President Bush declared declared the Pope as the highest moral authority on earth with a mission of reconciliation [C-SPAN 3.22.2001 Dedication, Pope John Paul II Cultural Center]. Bush stated that the pope bears a message the world need to hear, that the pope has a passion of truth, that the pope's power is of a baby in a stable, of a man on a cross with a message of liberation to the world.Associated Press stated on 3.23.2001: "Bush, a Methodist, praised the pope as "never more eloquent than when he speaks for a culture of life." AP neatly left out the nine faiths represented at the multimedia, multicultural center."Always. the pope points us to the things that last and the love that saves. We thank God for this rare man, a servant of God and a hero of history,.. I may not be a parishioner, but I'm proud to live in your archdiocese," Bush said.- The reason the Pope received a Cultural Center in Washington D.C.is Presidential Libraries. Adam Cardinal Maida told the Pope that he needed one too. Maida wanted to capture the time of the pope's faith and other religions was the reason this cultural center came into existence. Private parties donated $65 million to build it. It contains a history of the Roman Catholic Church and nine other faiths to prove that the Pope was reaching out to them.
On January 7, 2001 the Jubilee year was announced to be ended. Pope John Paul II signed an 80-page letter, written like a diary to all Catholics. ".. Pope John Paul II shut the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica on Saturday.. 25 million people made the Jubilee pilgrimage to Rome... The pope wrote, encouraging Catholics to try to shape "history according to God's plan." (50) Anyone who did not get to repent during the Jubilee year will have to wait till the next opportunity.- •
- Center honoring Pope John Paul II opens this week in D.C.
- • WASHINGTON -- Throughout his 22-year papacy, Pope John Paul II has left his mark on just about everything -- politics, religion, pop culture. This month, the ailing pontiff will stamp his imprint -- quite literally -- on the nation's capital with a glitzy new $65 million cultural center and museum dedicated in his honor. The Pope John Paul II Cultural Center -- part museum, part think tank and part interactive tribute -- is scheduled to open Thursday.
The center, just off the campus of Catholic University and nestled on a wooded 12-acre site, is the brainchild of Detroit Cardinal Adam Maida, who shares his Polish roots with the pope. After 11 years of planning and fund raising, Maida beams with pride when talking about his signature project. "When the popes of the 15th and 16th centuries wanted to tell the story of faith, Michelangelo was brought to Rome to paint [the Vatican]," Maida said at a preview of the center. "We wanted to do the same thing, but in an interactive way that would mean something to people."
..he
[the pope] said, "Washington, in our time and for the foreseeable
future, is the crossroads of the world," Maida recalled.
The 100,000-square-foot center will house rotating exhibits from
the Vatican's extensive museum collections, as well as permanent
exhibits on the intersection of faith and culture, and a policy
institute devoted to promoting the legacy and ideals of John
Paul.
The center was entirely funded through private contributions and will be affiliated with but largely independent of the church... `The Washington Post' calling it "an architectural landmark of a high order -- an at-times exhilarating demonstration of architecture's power to move the soul." [ED NOTE It was explained as harboring a soul within a body during the opening ceremony].. Inside two theaters, guests view an orientation about the center and can program a bar-coded key around the center's seven themes which reflect the teachings of the pope, including "The Dignity of the Human Being," "The Church as Defender of Human Rights" and "The Unity of Christians." [ED NOTE interesting how this news service omits the fact there were nine themes of other religions to bring out the ecumenical character of the Roman Catholic Church and its pope ]..
- There is little mention, however, of the church's sometimes
troubled past or the sensitive issues that continue to stir controversy.
Muslims will not find answers to the Crusades, or Jews to the
Inquisition, or women to the men-only priesthood. Bishop Bernard
Harrington of Winona, Minn., the center's liaison to the nation's
Catholic bishops, said the center is not intended as a place
to resolve theological disputes... (76)
- •
- Episcopalian - Lutheran Alliance Gets Under Way - Lutheran pastors will receive the Episcopal spirit by laying on of hands..
• After more than three decades of debate, the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America inaugurated an alliance Saturday that will allow them to share clergy members, churches and missionary work... The agreement stops short of a merger, because each church will retain its own structure and worship style. But the compact, known as "Called to Common Mission," brings together two denominations that have long been separated by fundamental differences over the role and authority of bishops. [Ed Note: What the paper should have said that they were separated by doctrinal differences]. "We live in an ecumenical age in which many of the historical divisions between Christian bodies are slowly but surely being overcome," said Presiding Bishop Frank T. Giswold III, the Episcopal Church's top officer... The agreement between the two churches requires new Lutheran bishops and clergy members to be ordained by Episcopal bishops in a laying on of hands. In return, the Episcopal Church has agreed to accept all the current Lutheran pastors and bishops who have not been consecrated in the Episcopal tradition.(51)- •
- A New Wave Is Coming Over Brownsville
• In a letter from a friend: "we heard that Pastor John Kilpatrick of Brownsville 'got the glory again'. This time the 'glory' was so thick (like a fog) that it stuck in his throat." A mass account of people entering into altered states of consciousness during a "revival" service was the heading in a newsletter. Sitlen Movie by Rev. High E. "Bud" Williams October 10, 1999, Columbus Mississippi.Tim, a video camera man in training, did not abandon his post though there were no sounds and no action to record because of the invisible anesthesia-like fog that overcame the entire congregation at House of Restoration. An airplane mechanic for the loyal military base, Tim fought to stay conscious and stand upright as the unseen shroud rippled through the church, pinning thirty-five worshipers to their seats. Wave after wave of God's glory reverberated from front to back. Even the children were silent, in a suspended state of animation, both the older ones in the service and the young ones in the adjoining room.
For more than thirty minutes I lay on the floor against the wall in what I imagined to be an awkward position that was, somehow strangely comfortable - fighting off questions from within that threatened to interrupt the experience of the presence of God. How long should I allow this to go on? Will some be put off by the long silence? Should I force myself to "sober up" and preach, or simply let the Holy Spirit take over the ministry? I opted for the latter. The only one who moved, other than those in the congregation who reverently lifted their hands or jerked involuntarily, was the camera man, Tim, who panned and zoomed in and out trying to find something stirring in the revival service, a service that normally has plenty of action to record.
- This night, however, the Great Physician, operating under
a cloak of twilight sleep, silently.. surgically.. removed burdens,
fears, doubts, and suppressed destructive emotions, turning sorrow,
first into silence and then into laughter. Shrieks of laughter
almost inappropriately interrupted the halcyon hours of late
evening. Slumbering worshipers awoke, but not fully. A few lingered
trance-like, gathering their thoughts, while other gathered their
belongings.. Later, at the evening service, Tim, the camera man
who, like Joyce, was also one of Clarke's parishioners, summed
up the thoughts of many as he reflected on t he precious night's
silent movie. "You know,"he said. "We really needed
these meetings. The church needs revival." This report came
from an email to Inner-City Christian Discernment. (54)
- •
- Gold Dust Had No Healing Quality
• The second case of cancer after mysterious appearance of what many believe is heavenly gold dust. 65 year old Bob Shattles, evangelist, whose meetings were marked with “Glory Dust” recently underwent chemo therapy for liver cancer. Pastor emeritus of Souls Harvest Worship Center in Douglasville, Ga., experienced gold flakes for two years since attending Ruth Heflin’s meeting who also succumbed to cancer last September at age 60. (3) Gold fever accounts now being proven fraudulent.. While gold dust keeps appearing in charismatic meetings in the United States and abroad, metal tests puzzle those who say the substance is falling from heaven. Andy Butcher, a Brazilian evangelist at the center of the "god dust" phenomenon being reported at charismatic churches across the United States and Europe says she is unfazed by scientific reports suggesting that all that glitters is not what it seems. Two independent tests on samples of gold-colored dust that falls from Silvania Machado's head during services have found the substance to be more like plastic glitter, with no gold content.(56)- •
- Southern Baptists end talks with Catholics
• New York - The Southern Baptist Convention is halting 30 years of official doctrinal talks with the U.S. Roman Catholic Church. "We're not ecumenists. We're evangelicals committed to sharing the Gospel," said the Rev. R. Philip Roberts, who formerly handled interfaith relations with the North American Mission Board.Though the denomination's 1994 meeting endorsed talks with Catholics, Roberts said "many Southern Baptists became suspicious of these discussions." There was never any prospect of organizational union.(59)- •
- Breaking Up Isn't Hard to Do
- • Breaking Up Isn't Hard to Do religious broadcasters quietly cut historic link to National Association of Evangelicals. After a 57-year association, National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) has broken away quietly from its parent organization, the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE).
NRB contends that the two groups are headed in different directions. The breakaway in part was sparked when NAE supported the licensing of low-powered fm stations for local community groups. William Kennard, while chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), sought last year to offer community groups licenses to operate low-powered radio stations.
Larger broadcasters, including NRB members, strongly opposed the concept, saying the new stations would interfere with the signals of established outlets. In December the FCC awarded just 255 licenses to community groups. More than 1,200 had applied for licenses in 20 states... Wayne Pederson, NRB chairman, said there were several reasons for the split, including the reality that NRB has grown much larger than NAE and the organizations serve different constituencies. NAE is a coalition of 50 Protestant member denominations that promotes fellowship among 43,000 evangelical congregations. NRB links 1,300 Christian television and radio broadcasters...
Kevin Mannoia, NAE president, expressed disappointment with NRB's decision. "At this time in the life of the church in America, there is an increased need for unity and coming together for the sake of the gospel," he said. "It is a backward step.".. Clark said. "Our membership is becoming broader than NAE's. We now admit Seventh-day Adventists.(60)
The evangelical association approved a resolution urging National Religious Broadcasters to reconsider its February decision to sever ties with the NAE. The statement expressed regret for the religious broadcasters' departure, and the board voted to restudy a controversial bylaw adopted last year that allows church groups affiliated with the more liberal National Council of Churches to hold dual membership in the evangelical association.
- "We reaffirm that the National Association of Evangelicals
holds as firmly as ever to its 60-year-old statement of faith
that has defined our evangelical movement from its founding,"
the statement says. But the resolution reaffirms the NAE's desire
to define evangelicalism "by inclusion and affirmation rather
than by exclusion." (61)
- •
- Religious Broadcasters' Decision to Disaffiliate due to Ecumenical Stand
- • NAE: We have chains on our minds," he said. "What keeps churches segregated is not a skin problem; it's a sin problem."
- Evangelical group to reach out to others; It affirms goal to work with liberal churches During last week's meeting of the National Association of Evangelicals, the conservative group reaffirmed its goal of working more closely with other Christian organizations -- deflecting any immediate attempt to distance itself from more liberal organizations. "Nothing has changed," said Bishop Kevin Mannoia, president of the evangelical association, after an attempt to rescind a by-law that allows dual membership in the association and in the more liberal National Council of Churches was ruled out of order...
Mannoia said his organization, founded in 1944 as an alternative to the National Council of Churches, remains theologically conservative and strongly evangelical. But it wants to move into the 21st century by reaching across racial, cultural and denominational lines to work with other Christians, even those with whom it may strongly disagree on some issues.
The 300,000-member Presbyterian Church in America, one of 51 denominations in the evangelical group, offered the motion to rescind the controversial by-law. Bob Edgar, chief executive of the National Council of Churches, said he hopes the evangelical association and his group can continue their cooperation despite their doctrinal disagreements. "I hope the whole Christian community in America can move closer toward unity," Edgar said. "We can respect one another even though we differ."
Mannoia said that in the months ahead, evangelical officials will try to convince the religious broadcasters, the conservative Presbyterian group and others that his organization is not abandoning its roots. The National Religious Broadcasters board, which held its convention meeting in February in Dallas, voted 81-0 to sever ties with the evangelical association, saying that the child had outgrown the parent and that the two groups were going in different directions.
On the other hand, the resolution affirms the evangelical association's desire to define its work "by inclusion and affirmation rather than by exclusion" while being aware of the inherent risks of such a policy. The evangelical association will work with various church groups on social issues but will not respond to any overture to draw it into an ecumenical movement, the resolution says.
- During the Dallas meeting, emphasis on racial reconciliation
was pinpointed at one worship service when scores of ministers
came to the front of a banquet room, joined hands and prayed
after hearing a sermon by the Rev. Dwight McKissic on "Should
Sundays Remain the Most Segregated Day in America?" "I
would like to see the National Association of Evangelicals call
a press conference tomorrow and declare that churches that intentionally
remain segregated are practicing sin," said McKissic, pastor
of the Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington. (62)
- •
- Fellowships of Diversity Merge to Become Global
- • The World Fellowship of Reformed Churches and the International Reformed Fellowship have merged as the first global fellowship of evangelical Presbyterian and Reformed Christians. The new body is called the World Reformed Fellowship. Representatives from five continents and 23 countries took the step during an October meeting in Orlando, Florida.(63)
- •
- YMCA Teams up with World Vision and Evangelical Alliance
- • Some 950,000 visitors passed through the whale-shaped "Pavilion of Hope" exhibit at the recent World Expo in Hanover, Germany. The exhibit, a joint venture of the German YMCA, the Evangelical Alliance, and World Vision, presented a biblical message of hope based on the Book of Jonah. It was voted the official landmark of the exhibition, which closed October 31.(64)
- •
- New Church Located at Heart of the Mall of America
- • On March 4, 2001, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that "the Playhouse Theater in Camp Snoopy in the heart of the Mall of America is...going to be the home of the River Church," which is affiliated with the Baptist General Conference. "The church is allowed to have hosts in the mall to help direct people to the Camp Snoopy sanctuary. But the hosts are not to evangelize...Still, [the Rev. Chris] Reinertson said he hopes that people who have come to the mall to shop will happen upon the church in the 500-seat theater at Camp Snoopy." (65)
- •
- Religious Clubs Proliferate in Orange County High Schools
- • On March 5, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that, "while religious clubs still are being challenged in the courts across the nation,...outside the South, Orange County may be the epicenter of a growing national phenomenon of religious groups on high school campuses." To preserve the line between church and state, many school districts do not allow adults to approach students about forming religious organizations. A student leader of one of these groups, however, said "the focus is not so much on converting students as on creating a community for other Christians, a refuge from the intense pressure to drink beer and have sex that she says so permeates much of campus life." (66)
- •
- Presbyteries reject same-sex union ban
- • A proposed rule that would bar ministers in the Presbyterian Church (USA) from performing same-sex union ceremonies has been defeated by the denomination's presbyteries, or regional bodies. It is the second time in seven years the church has rejected the effort to place an ironclad ban on same-sex unions in the church's Book of Order, its constitution.
- The proposed amendment was approved by a narrow margin at the denomination's General Assembly last June but needed to be ratified by a majority of the church's 173 presbyteries to become church law. The vote is a victory for the liberal side in the conflict over homosexuality that has divided U.S. Presbyterians for 24 years.(71)
- •
- Churchgoers trusted more, study says
- • Religiously active people are more likely to be viewed as good citizens and have a more diverse circle of friends than their nonreligious neighbors, according to a new study by Harvard University.
- The survey of 3,000 people in 40 communities across the country found that people who are active in religious life are more likely to vote, give blood, be active in their communities, know and trust other people, and socialize with friends and neighbors. Americans are also more likely to trust people at their church or synagogue than at their work or in their neighborhood. Still, the "Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey" found religion can be a divisive factor in building a sense of community. The survey said religious people are sometimes seen as intolerant.(72)
- •
- Construction to begin on Schuller campus
- • Launching the third in a trinity of buildings by masters of American architecture, the Rev. Robert H. Schuller broke ground Sunday for the construction of a new $20 million International Center for Possibility Thinking on the campus of his Southern California Crystal Cathedral.
- Scheduled for dedication during or before 2005, the new center was designed by architect Richard Meier, whose previous buildings include the Getty Center in Los Angeles and the High Museum in Atlanta. The Jubilee Church in Rome, another Meier project, is currently under construction. Meier is recipient of both the coveted Pritzker Architecture Prize and the Gold Medal awarded by the American Institute of Architects. (73)
- •
- Taliban Campaign to Spare Some Statues
- • Statues in Afghanistan worshiped by Hindus and Sikhs will be spared by the country's ruling Taliban movement in its campaign to destroy statues it considers idolatrous and offensive to Islam, the Taliban's foreign minister announced Wednesday.
- "Their statues will not be smashed as they are worshiping them as part of their religious rituals," Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil said, noting that few Hindus and Sikhs live in the country. "Hindus and Sikhs can fulfill their religious worshiping without any concern." But Buddhist and other statues deemed offensive to Islam remain targets in the elimination campaign launched March 4. "There are no followers of Buddhism in Afghanistan and because of our national and Islamic duty we destroy them as they are not being worshiped," Muttawakil said.(74)
- •
- TV Ministries Become Political Pulpits for Election
• TV ministries turned from preaching to politics during the presidential election. Although they did not endorse inidvidual candidates, some TV ministry leaders devoted significant airtime to the race for the White House, urging viewers to vote. Of 21 major TV ministries surveyed, D. James Kennedy's focused most on the election, giving 13 percent of its airtime to politics between September and November. Details of the study - conducted by Stephen Winzenburg, communications professor at Grand View College in Des Moines, Iowa - were published in the National Religious Broadcasters' magazine, NRB. (78)- •
- Tim LaHaye Sues 'Left Behind' Filmmakers
• Tim LaHaye, co-author of the best-selling Left Behind fiction series, is suing Namesake Entertainment, makers of Left Behind; The Movie, which earned $2.8 million in its opening weekend. Also named in the suit is Cloud Ten Pictures, the company hired to make the film. Central to the lawsuit are the rights to the Left Behind: The Kids spinoffs. Publisher's Weekly reported that in a letter filed with deposition papers, LaHaye wrote that Cloud Ten "obviously intend[s] to dig all-inclusive contract." Series co-writer Jerry Jenkins has not been part of the action but was recently "enjoined" in the case by a U.S. district judge. He plans to seek to be excused from becoming a plaintiff for "religious reasons." (79)- •
- Massive Research Project is "Wake-Up" Call To Church
• The newly published second edition of the World Christian Encyclopedia, an exhaustive eight-year, 1800-page survey of global Christianity, report that Christianity has become "the most extensive and universal religion in history." with some 2 billion adherents at the start of the new millennium. Produced by the World Evangelization Research Center (WERC) at the Global Evangelization Movement in Richmond, Va., the encyclopedia is considered the definite reference book for religion scholars, students, mission leaders and clergy. By analyzing costs of evangelism, baptism rates and other data, the researchers developed a response to the gospel for each country - which found Afghanistan, ruled by Muslims and closed the missionary activity, much more "responsive" than Argentina, home to a long-running revival.(80)- •
- Residents Oppose Expansion of Illinois Church
- • "Willow Creek Community Church is one of the largest congregations in the Midwest, [which] attracts between 17,000 and 20,000 worshipers each weekend...Willow Creek leaders want to build a new 7,200-seat sanctuary as part of a $70 million expansion." Many of the church's neighbors in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, oppose the expansion because of the traffic it would cause. (82)
- •
- Muslims Seek Apology from Rev. Falwell for Bigotry
- • The Council on American-Islamic Relations announced that it "is demanding an apology for anti-Muslim bigotry by prominent television evangelist Rev. Jerry Falwell." In an interview Falwell said that he thinks the Muslim fate teaches hate and should be barred from Bush's faith-based initiatives. Excerpts from the interview can be found at http://www.Beliefnet.com/story/70/story_7040_1.html. CAIR's letter to Falwell can be found at http://www.beliefnet.com/story/70/story_7057_1.html. A USA Today article reported that Falwell claims he was not referring to American Muslims: http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20010308/3120809s.htm (83)
- The Arizona Republic reported on the Rev. Jerry Falwell's remark that "the Moslem faith teaches hate" and should be barred from Bush's faith-based initiatives. "Falwell later told USA Today that he meant any group that is anti-Semitic, racist or in any way bigoted should be disqualified...Islamic, Christian and Jewish leaders, even a spokesman for Middle East terrorist group Hezbollah, denounced Falwell's remarks." (84)
- •
- Greater Ministries had a Secret Desire to Leave the U.S.
• When Gerald Payne met with his Greater Ministries elders in March 1998, he told them the United Nations approved his plan to create a new sovereign nation in the Bahamas. And he acknowledged the presence of "those [among the elders] who have been caught up in scams." A videotape of this meeting was played in court Thursday as a defense exhibit in Payne's federal conspiracy, money laundering and fraud trial. Payne ran Greater Ministries International, a Tampa church that offered what it called a money-doubling financial program. Four other leaders are on trial. They call it a Ponzi scheme. (85)- •
