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  • Vatican Representative Tones Down One True Church Statement. But Why?

    Vatican Representative Tones Down One True Church Statement.

    But why should he?

    This issue is only complicated because we live in a world where statements of any kind which point out our differences are considered "politically incorrect."  The Catholic Church’s position on this matter is no different now than in 2000 when the current Pontiff, on behalf of John Paul II, wrote the encyclical Dominus Iesus, which I reviewed in We May Not Be a Church After All.  There I pointed out the following:

    The term the New Testament uses for the church is ekklesia, the "called out ones."  Implicit in this is the idea that the church is made up of the people who have been called out, the "Body of Christ," if you please.  Such a concept is commonly expressed in Evangelical churches (it’s hard to figure out what the liberals are called out from) but is not unknown in Roman Catholicism.  The Second Vatican Council spent some time on it and of course Liberation Theology has used it as well.

    But Roman Catholicism has another concept of church: an organization, whose leadership is the direct successor of the Apostles (and the head of this organization being the direct successor of Peter,) and which was established and empowered by Christ to dispense grace through the sacraments and truth through its authoritative teaching.  Such a church is in reality a mediator between man and God.  To back this up Roman Catholicism teaches that the establishment of such an authoritative institution was high on Christ’s agenda while He was here.  Roman Catholicism is not alone in this; the Orthodox churches have the same high view of themselves, the Anglican ones to a lesser extent.

    The whole history of Protestantism has been an attempt to get past this concept of church and re-emphasise the unique meditative role of Christ Himself…We may not like the Vatican telling us we’re not a church, but if we look at their definition of church, then we can’t avoid the conclusion that, using their definition, we probably aren’t!

    The one note of progress in this is that some in the Catholic church are coming around to the obvious: that some Protestant churches have a concept of themselves this is closer to that of Roman Catholicism than others:

    "We meant that the EKD (Evangelical Church in Germany) or the Church of England, for example, have a different understanding of what the church is," the ecumenical leader stated.

  • More Strange Things out of South Florida

    As I always like to say, South Florida is the place "where the animals are tame and the people run wild," and three news items are reminders of that.

  • Sober Leadership Retreat Considers Future of Diocese

    The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh conducted a sober leadership retreat to consider the future of the diocese.

    Now we know for sure that some Episcopalians are very serious about their current situation.  To sober up for any reason is a major event for Episcopalians.  My second year Latin teacher–an Episcopal priest in an Episcopal school–was the first to inform me that "when there are four Whiskeypalians, there’s always a fifth."

    If the current situation of TEC isn’t enough to sober many drinkers up, then only divine intervention is left for them.  And the TEC.

  • Apple’s Jobs Sorry for iPhone Price Cut

    Apple’s Jobs Sorry for iPhone Price Cut.

    So are we.

    But at least we got to show off this site’s HP-35 calculator on it.

  • Yahweh in the Morning: Jesus You Are the Way

    This week we continue Emmanuel’s music in podcast with Jesus You Are the Way, which features one of the favourite devices of 1970’s Catholic folk groups: the "acoustic guitar blast" as a method of producing volume without bringing in the electric jobs.

    Click here for more information on Yahweh in the Morning.

  • Western grasshoppers and Chinese ants

    "Spengler’s" piece about Western grasshoppers and Chinese ants points out one of the sad facts of U.S. economic policy: its willingness to endure long-term trade deficits without allowing those who accumulate the dollars to invest them in U.S. equities.

    A couple of years ago CNOOC (China National Offshore Oil Corporation) made a bid for Unocal.  In the oil industry, it was yet another consolidation.  But Congress whined and complained and CNOOC backed off.  With this kind of policy in place, Asian investors went where they could.  In many cases this meant the subprime derivatives market, and we all know where that’s gone lately.

    The biggest danger out there is that Asian investors, with a broader view of what’s possible, will cease to see the dollar as a reserve currency and start treating it as a state controlled one.  They well understand the concept of a state controlled currency.  The dollar’s hegemony is largely based on a) the faith people have in the stability of the U.S. and b) the dollar’s ready convertibility.  If that convertibility is compromised by ill-conceived policies of the Treasury Department, it will chip away at both strong points.

    Besides, if they were allowed to more freely invest, it would increase demand for U.S. equities, which would increase their value and thus help pension funds along as well.

    One "back door" solution to this problem would be for Asian investors to participate more in private placements.  Given the nature of Sarbanes-Oxley, this is sensible from a number of standpoints.  But having been already burned with the subprime derivatives, they may not have the stomach to try this on a broad basis.

  • A Show Stopper for Everyone in the Marriage Debate

    The sudden "revelation" by the California Governor and Attorney General, who say marriage can be eliminated in the future is only news to those who have not thought the issue out very carefully.

    Before Christians in California go off and begin a quest for a constitutional amendment, they need to think about a few things.

    First, without going into a long theological dissertation, marriage for the Christian is an institution of God.  Allowing the state to dictate the terms and conditions of that institution as blithely as American Christians do is a mistake.  We’ve already seen that many of those terms and conditions have been changed at law.  The opinions of both the Governor and Jr. Brown confirm the obvious: with marriage, what the state gives, the state can take away.  (The phrase "rational legislative purpose" is absurd; legislatures do all kind of things for all kinds of reasons, rational and irrational.)  The "rights" of civil marriage are in reality very ephemeral, which makes one wonder why some are fighting so hard to obtain them.

    Second, in order for a constitutional amendment to be meaningful, it would have to enumerate each and every one of the rights that its proponents wish to preserve, which would make quite an amendment to write, let alone get through the referendum process.

    Third, preserving the rights at the state level doesn’t do anything at the federal level.  What I specifically have in mind are the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, which have the stability of Burnham Wood.  An example of this is the back and forth on estate and gift taxes, documented here.

    Finally, ending civil marriage ends the quest for same-sex civil marriage.  This is why proponents of same generally oppose the abolition of civil marriage.  It will be interesting to see how advocates of same-sex civil marriage react to this.

  • TEC Considers Its Legal Options

    David Trimble’s analysis of Bishop/Attorney Stacy Sauls’ role and possible analysis in the Episcopal Church’s legal options re its property is a very sensible one.

    Much of what’s written about this reflects spiritual angst and a naive view of the legal system.  While spiritual angst is understandable, when the legal system gets involved it’s necessary to take a more calculating view, otherwise the pain is increased, frequently without improvement of the results.

    It’s also interesting to see how TEC will use the long arm of the law to effectively enforce its liberal theology.  It still boggles me that an American church can get away with that in the 21st century, especially one with an upscale demographic like the TEC.

    Note: the David Trimble who wrote this is a Kentucky attorney and not the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize winner and former First Minister of Northern Ireland.  They are doubtless cousins; some of Lord Trimble’s relatives came across the water, as did many from Ulster.  The Trimbles are well established in places such as Kentucky and Tennessee (I’ve gone to church with a few) and I think that, in the mess that Northern Ireland has been, Lord Trimble sometimes wished that his own ancestors had joined the rest of the Trimbles in the New World.

  • Yahweh in the Morning: Praise to You Lord Jesus Christ

    This podcast "turns the record over" to Side 2 and presents Praise to You Lord Jesus Christ.

    Click here for more information on Yahweh in the Morning.

  • Why Our Government Is In Trouble

    In CIA: The perils of being a good citizen, Dmitry Shlapentokh tells us why we missed the coming of 9/11:

    It also means that naive folks who look for "truth" and "efficiency" usually do not exist in real life. They are mostly characters from Hollywood movies where the good guys finally triumph over the bad guys. Those who work in the CIA, as well as in any big US organization, understand that real life is a far different story and that their behaviour as "good citizens" should produce endless paperwork, meticulously following all rules, attending all prescribed meetings and, above all, being nice to colleagues.

    As to bin Laden and other similar chaps, it would, of course, be nice if they would be caught or eliminated; but it is hardly a priority. Or to be precise, the catching of bin Laden, the "final product" of the CIA, is the last priority. And it becomes important only when the agency, as happens with other US institutions, from universities to medical establishments, asks for public money.

    This kind of problem isn’t unique to the CIA.  It explains, for example, many of the woes we experienced with Katrina, especially at the federal level.

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