This is Holy Week. When Jesus and his disciples gathered together, the Eucharist was instituted, but what they were coming together for (Tyndale's "Easter lamb" notwithstanding) was the Passover.  Tonight the Passover is celebrated by Jews all around the world, and some Christians even have a Seder meal. Thus the two events are intertwined, both …
Is the US Really Headed Down the Road of Nazi Germany?
Recently an "old China hand" friend of mine sent around an email with this piece about the analogies between our current situation and that of Nazi Germany in the 1930's. Leaving aside the attribution problems of the piece itself, I'd like to address this issue, because I keep hearing it come up in our discourse. …
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The Changing Priority on Religious Freedom
Thomas Farr at the Washington Post thinks that the Obama Administration is side-lining both American law and policy on this subject: Religious freedom advocates were encouraged by the President's stated views and allowed themselves to hope that America's international religious freedom policy, long isolated at the State Department, would be strengthened under the new administration. …
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Book Review: The Late Great Ape Debate
The subjects of evolution and creation are explosive ones, not only because of their scientific implications, but for their social and political ones as well. That's been the case since Darwin first set forth the theory.  It is certainly true today; for all of their protestations about the desire to be "scientific," implementing whatever can …
Russian Church Leaders Defend Traditional Marriage, Speak Out on Family Issues
From here (where there's more): Church of God Eurasian Theological Seminary provost Ilya Okhotnikov recently participated in a dialogue in Russia which is addressing the high divorce and abortion rate in the country. Russian Orthodox Church leaders called on Christians to be firm in defending traditional marriage and lamented the family crisis in the country. …
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Women in Ministry and Authority in Churches: A Response to the Ugley Vicar
It seems that the prospect of women in ministry--and especially women as diocesan bishops--is always linked to a discussion of the nature of authority in churches. That was certainly the case in my own 2007 piece on the subject, Authority and Evangelical Churches, and now the CoE's "Ugley Vicar" takes on the issue in his …
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Tony Perkins Gets the Boot From the National Prayer Luncheon
Disappointing but unsurprising: Two days after President Obama's State of the Union speech, in which he announced plans to repeal "Don't ask, Don't tell," Perkins received a letter from the chaplain's office at Andrews rescinding the invitation. The letter cited Family Research Council statements calling them "incompatible in our role as military members who serve …
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Knowing Who Your Real Friends Are: The Daily Kos and Bill Gothard
While beating around the net, I came across this bizarre 2008 piece in the Daily Kos: The attendance at the Lifebuilders Conference is notable as a very damning link to neopentecostal dominionism; Lifebuilders is a yearly "Lay Missionary" conference of the Church of God of Cleveland, TN, a neopentecostal dominionist group which can be considered …
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Hermilo Jasso: Lee University Professor's Trip to Death's Door in China
This speaks for itself: http://downloads.cbn.com/cbnplayer/cbnPlayer.swf?s=/vod/RWR1v2 Hermilo Jasso's website is here.
The Importance of the Blood
This 2005 piece, from David "Spengler" Goldman, is as succinct of an explanation of the importance of blood in spiritual life as I've seen: All religion is about life, that is, about life eternal. Humankind cannot bear mortality without the hope of immortality, and for this men will sacrifice their physical existence without hesitation. That …
