Anglican Liturgist Welcomes Vatican Warning on ‘Politically Correct’ Liturgy

“Gender-specific alterations seemed hypocritical, inconsistent, says British theologian.”

A specialist in liturgical language says a Vatican ruling against “politically correct” words in the liturgy should also encourage non-Catholics opposed to the dropping of “ancient and beautiful prayers.”

Father John Hunwicke, an Anglican priest who is head of theology at Lancing College in England, complained that “unending revision” of worship had produced “disgusting language, poor doctrine and politically correct versions.”

In a document, Liturgiam Authenticam, released in May, the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, states that translations of the Bible and liturgy “must be freed from exaggerated dependence on modern modes of expression.”

Hunwicke said in the Church of England’s newest prayer book, Common Worship, the start of Psalm 1 from the traditional King James’s Bible, “Blessed is the man” had been “mistranslated” as “Blessed are they.”

He pointed out that in Psalm 14, starting with the words “The fool hath said in his heart,” the fool was allowed to stay masculine. “Gender-specific language is wrong for warm and cozy people, but clearly all right for fools,” he said.

“Worship is not a private game for experts—that is what the Pope is saying. How right he is,” said Hunwicke.

According to the Vatican document, many languages have words capable of referring to masculine and feminine in a single term. It warns: “The abandonment of these terms under pressure of criticism on ideological or other grounds is not always wise or necessary nor is it an inevitable part of linguistic development.”

Liturgiam Authenticam insists: “The traditional grammatical gender of the persons of the Trinity should be maintained. Expressions such as Filius hominis (Son of Man) and Patres (fathers) are to be translated with exactitude wherever found in biblical or liturgical texts.”

Hunwicke, an Anglo-Catholic who prefers to be called a “Catholic Anglican,” said that the Church of England Common Worship was a “distinct improvement” on the superseded Alternative Service Book (1980), whose modern language sometimes introduced “bathos” into worship.

Even so, Common Worship allowed an “undesirable degree of variability” in services. He had counted 11 versions of the eucharistic prayer.

He praised the Vatican for seeking to recover the sense of memory of liturgical language.

“This is the memory of an individual and of a community,” he said. “The sense of commonality in worship language connects me now and me as a child, me and a thousand years ago, me and a church 10 miles down the road.”

Related Elsewhere

The text of the Liturgiam Authenticam is available on the Vatican’s Web site. A press release also offers background and an overview of the document.

The Church of England has a site dedicated to Common Worship. Another site introduces and explains The Alternative Service Book.

Liturgiam Authenticam was a victory for conservative Catholics while liberals called it a slap in the face, for it accused them of bending to political correctness.

The Bishop’s Committee on the Liturgy is a standing committee of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Earlier Christianity Today articles on the inclusive language debate includes:

The Battle for the Inclusive Bible | Conflicts over “gender-neutral” versions are not really about translation issues. (Nov. 5, 1999)

Do Inclusive-Language Bibles Distort Scripture? | He Said, They Said. By Wayne Grudem (Yes) and Grant Osborn (No) (Oct. 27, 1997)

Editorial: The Great Translation Debate | The divide over gender-inclusive Bibles hides what unites us. (Oct. 27, 1997)

Bible Translators Deny Gender Agenda | Focus on the Family yanks children’s Bible; NIV translator loses seminary job. (July 14, 1997)

Hands Off My NIV! | Bible society cancels plans for ‘gender-accurate’ Bible after public outcry. (June 16, 1997)

EPA Pulls Out of NIV, World Dispute (Dec. 8, 1997)

Earlier Christianity Today articles on worship wars include:

Awakening Liturgies | With the latest census figures, the worship wars move beyond guitar vs. organ. (May 29, 2001)

Whatever Happened to God? | One of evangelicalism’s most respected theologians says most worship is clubby and convivial rather than adoring and expectant. (Feb. 1, 2001)

Cease-Fire in the Worship Wars | A dispatch from the Calvin Symposium on Worship and the Arts. (Feb. 8, 2000)

Yancey: Would Jesus Worship Here? | Across the world, God moves in mysterious ways. (Feb. 7, 2000)

The Profits of Praise | The praise and worship music industry has changed the way the church sings. (July 12, 1999)

The Triumph of the Praise Songs | How guitars beat out the organ in the worship wars. (July 12, 1999)

We Are What We Sing | Our classic hymns reveal evangelicalism at its best.

Native Christians Reclaim Worship (Oct. 26, 1998)

Are Evangelicals Missing God at Church? | Why so many are rediscovering worship in other traditions. (Oct. 6,1997)

The Changing Sound of Music | In worship, choruses are beating-out traditional hymns; but the organ plays on. (Oct. 6, 1997)

- More from Cedric Pulford

Disney Goes Back Under the Sea

Jeffrey Overstreet

“Atlantis is flashy, but critics claim it’s too full holes to stay afloat. Plus Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and a wrap-up of the great Shrek debate.”

Heroes ventured into dark places this week. The Beauty and the Beast production team took us to an undersea civilization, and the director of Con Air gave us a movie version of the video game heroine Lara Croft, who took us into ancient tombs. Both films got some praise for their surface-level spectacle; but critics shot both stories full of holes. We’re already halfway through 2001, and we can count on one hand the number of movies that have given us anything but that sinking feeling we’ve been duped out of another eight dollars.

Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Disney’s latest animated movie-slash-marketing blitz, is ITS most ambitious project since The Lion King. It’s an undersea adventure hybrid that recalls 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Phantom Menace, and the Indiana Jones films. Hold on to your popcorn … there aren’t any cuddly animals or any sappy pop songs (at least until the end credits). Instead, Disney introduces heavy gunplay into an animated feature, and ramps up the adrenaline into its most feverishly energetic animated feature yet. Our hero is Milo Thatch, voiced with youthful enthusiasm by Michael J. Fox. Thatch is a young, slightly naïve linguist obsessed with stories of the sunken civilization. His quest plunges him—and a colorful variety pack of “experts”—through perilous depths until they find the legendary civilization submerged thousands of years ago by a devastating tidal wave.

Most critics agree that Atlantis might be a tad intense for the very young. But everyone agrees that the film contains some of Disney’s most memorable, dazzling animation. And some are impressed with the story’s ethical concerns. Movieguide claims, “The movie teaches the value of honor, compassion and relationships.”

But the religious media took turns throwing rocks at the film’s preoccupation with crystals and their “powers.” Movieguide complains that the film “borrows from some occult, pagan theories about Atlantis being an advanced civilization powered by special energy crystals which the people worshiped. This gives the movie a confused, pluralistic worldview … another sign of the pluralistic paganism and romanticism of our age.” Preview observes that this emphasis on the crystals “could mislead impressionable viewers.” Phil Boatwright at The Dove Foundation praises the animators for yet another triumph, but strongly cautions parents: “Many consider the use of crystals as an occultic practice. Due to this spiritually misleading content, I cannot bring myself to recommend Atlantis for all ages.”

But according to Michael Elliott of Movie Parables, this magical element can be seen as a rewarding metaphor. “To look at this element from a positive perspective, there are some analogies that can be made to bring our minds back to reflect upon biblical truths. If we liken the Atlantian crystal energy to the awesome power of God, the shards of crystal which the Atlantians wear about their necks would then represent God’s gift of the Holy Spirit which he gives to all who believe.” (I don’t know about you, but for me that’s a bit of a stretch.)

The crystals are a problem for the movie in more ways than one. (I list several things that baffled me about Atlantis in my review at Looking Closer.) These fiery talismans are also just plain confusing. First we are led to marvel at these powerful stones that have somehow protected the undersea civilization. They seem to possess divine powers. But then we discover that the stones can be stolen by the first petty thief to come along, and our heroes must swing into action to try and catch the rock robbers. Why can the stones protect the city but not themselves? Further crystal behavior only confuses the matter. The crystal apparently needs to “take up” an Atlantis inhabitant every time it exhibits its powers. So why do some get to come back while others don’t? And then we learn that the stone’s abilities come from its collection of the “emotions” of the ancient Atlanteans. Would you take comfort knowing you were being protected by a bundle of emotions? I’d like to be protected by a mind as well as a heart.

Atlantis replaces the simple, applicable lessons of the usual Disney fairy tale with this mystical hooey that, despite its undersea locale, just doesn’t hold water. There are other gaping plot holes as well. Yes, I was thrilled by many of the thrilling chase sequences, one of which seems to intentionally outdo the encounter with the undersea monsters in The Phantom Menace. But the many and varied characters are drawn in distractingly different styles, some recalling more sophisticated comic books while others seem unfinished, flat, and bland by comparison. Because of this, and because the pace of the movie prevented me from caring much about any of the characters, I found myself emotionally detached from everybody and everything by the end. Go see Atlantis if you’re an animation buff, and you’ll get a feast of visual fireworks. Just don’t work too hard trying to figure out the story when it’s over.

Note: The news is full of people claiming that successful songs and movies were actually stolen from lesser-known artists. This time, evidence offered online makes an impressive argument that Disney’s Atlantis may lean a little too heavily on a Japanese animated television series, Nadia: The Secret of the Blue Water. (Warning: There may be an advertisement at the top of the page that is less-than-honorable.) Coincidence, or plagiarism? You decide.

* * *

After seeing Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, most critics know more about Angelina Jolie’s body than about the plot of the movie. And the dollars show that moviegoers didn’t mind that at all—Croft took the weekend’s box office crown. Preview‘s critic notes, “Part of Lara’s appeal for teen males is her exaggerated figure, but she’s also a role model for females looking for strong, intelligent, yet feminine guides. The film flirts with the male audience by showing Lara in a shower and later dropping her towel, but women get equal time as [her former colleague] Alex is also seen sans wardrobe.” Well, as long as it’s fair …

At The Dove Foundation, Phil Boatwright doesn’t seem to mind the film’s indulgences. “Tomb Raider is a thrilling popcorn movie aimed at a youthful summer matinee crowd. It’s loud and silly, but kind of fun. Adults who enjoyed the Indiana Jones films and the first two Batman installments may find … its quick and constant editing and its pounding, monotonous score less than satisfying. But adolescent males, who enjoy seeing a buffed-up woman kicking the tails of bad guys and shooting twin hybrid.45s, will likely find this actioner satisfying.”

“Making a movie based on a video game makes about as much sense as writing an opera based on a carnival pastime like whack-a-mole,” writes Peter Chattaway at The Vancouver Courier. “While some games come with a bit of a backstory, these narrative touches are usually little more than decoration, and serve no real purpose beyond giving the player an opportunity to breathe between combat sequences. The fight, not the play, is the thing. Alas, despite a budget to rival that of many blockbusters, and despite the efforts of half a dozen writers and an Oscar-winning actress in the lead, Tomb Raider is as soulless and dull as most films in this genre.”

Mainstream critics had fun describing how empty this Tomb really is. At The New York Times, Elvis Mitchell calls Tomb Raider “about as much fun as watching someone else play a video game. This is probably the best translation of virtual warfare into a movie, which doesn’t mean much in a field that also includes the likes of Super Mario Brothers and Mortal Kombat.” The Chicago Sun-Times‘ Roger Ebert shrugs: “Did I enjoy the movie? Yes. Is it up there with the Indiana Jones pictures? No. Was I filled with suspense? No. But did I grin with delight at the absurdity it all? You betcha.” “We think you’re better off playing the videogame,” says the critic at E! online. “At least there the characters don’t speak.”

The Houston Chronicle‘s Eric Harrison writes, “Movies such as Tomb Raider and Charlie’s Angels can be lauded for empowering women—that is, embodying a feminist ideal of strength and independence—while at the same time supplying pimply boys with fodder for hours of lustful contemplation.” Huh? Encouraging young boys to objectify women as objects of lust … this is an admirable thing? Harrison does have a point, though, when he compares the works of director Simon West (who also directed Con Air and The General’s Daughter) to Steven Spielberg’s Indiana Jones adventures. “It’s ironic that Spielberg, whose 1975 movie Jaws was partly responsible for bringing Hollywood’s last Golden Age to a close, should be praised now for the depth of his characterizations and shapeliness of his stories. Tomb Raider [makes] Spielberg’s early blockbusters seem like Shakespeare.”

Still Cooking

Swordfish, for which we provided a long list of critical lashings last week, proved immune to such complaints, remaining a strong Top 10 competitor. But it did fall behind Shrek, which has become the summer’s biggest box office surprise. (See Digest below.)

Evolution also remained in the top ten, providing light lowbrow humor for sci-fi and adventure fans. David Bruce at Hollywood Jesus notes how the movie promotes, if unintentionally, an antiviolence message: “In a truly flower child spin, the film contrasts warlike solutions against peaceful solutions. As it turns out, the heat from the military actions only makes the monster alien bigger. Violence begets more violence.” The writer discusses how contemporary mythology tends to portray the “good guys” going up against a variety of evils or “chaos monsters,” and how, in a characteristic unique to this age, the evil is not entirely defeated. “It does not matter if current mythology reflects a simple solution (as here) or a complex theological solution … our myths always conclude leaving the back door open for more evil (gotta have sequels). Our mythology reflects the use of effective temporary solutions, yet at the same time, it tells us that we can never truly eliminate our chaos monsters. We have arrived at a place in culture where we realize we cannot save ourselves.”

Peter T. Chattaway at The Vancouver Courier echoed critics who found Evolution a weak descendant of director Ivan Reitman’s previous hit, Ghostbusters. “There’s one major problem with Evolution,” he explains. “It isn’t funny.” He also takes issue with the character portrayed by Orlando Jones. “So many of his punchlines rely on the color of his black skin, you begin to feel a tad guilty for laughing at them. What does it say about a film when its most consistently funny jokes are the ones about race? And what does it say about a film when it mocks racial stereotypes, and then indulges in them anyway?”

Digest

Our ongoing Shrek debate has become the hottest issue we’ve yet discussed here at Film Forum. This week I could hardly keep up with all of the e-mail in my box. Many of you were quick to defend the movie from the accusations made by Eric Metaxas, writer for VeggieTales, whose essay “Happily Ever Ogre” appeared recently in Books & Culture. A few of you, on the other hand, defended Metaxas. There were good arguments on all sides.

Here is a brief sampling of a few of those letters. (Identified writers have given permission for their names to appear.)

BEWARE: If you have not seen the film, these letters contain spoilers about the film’s surprising conclusion.

Christopher Atwood was excited about Metaxas’s essay, calling it “a breath of fresh air, written by someone who seems to really understand what fairy tales are about. As sensitive interpreters have always recognized, marriage and ‘happily ever after’ in fairy tales are about more than marriage, they are about the soul’s receptivity to God. Endings like Shrek‘s ridicule the yearning for perfection, for true union, for eternal sinlessness which is found everywhere and always and which the Gospel holds out to us as a fact. In the resurrection we will be like the angels, we will be radiant without stain or wrinkle, and the bride of Christ will shine with the glory of God and with a brilliance like a precious jewel. No thanks to DreamWorks for trying to shut out one of the stray beams of true light and persuade us all, like the Green Witch in The Silver Chair, that this world is all there is or ever has been or forever will be, and that the immortal soul is a myth.”

Mike Cordle, father of four and a 12-year veteran of mission work with New Tribes Mission in New Guinea, writes, “We all loved the movie. Movies are a big part of how we ‘escape’ from our host culture. We missionaries watch lots of them.” He was thrilled to see Princess Fiona transformed back into her true self, as an ogre, rather than remaining under the “spell” of Barbie-ish glamor. “[As we approached the moment] when I knew we’d find out what Fiona’s true appearance would be … I was literally getting a sick feeling in my stomach as I was expecting the disappointing, typical poof into ‘beauty.’ I was very delighted when she did not ‘change.’ Actually, she did change … much like the Mel Gibson character in The Man Without a Face. By the time we got to the end of [Man Without a Face], we no longer saw the ‘ugly’ burn on his face. We only saw him as a man of integrity and appropriate male beauty. That’s the exact sort of change I saw in Shrek and thus couldn’t stop myself from singing with all the wonderful fairy tale figures at the end of the movie. Sorry, though I really do love the VeggieTales, Metaxas is wrong this time.”

This unconventional ending also pleased Michael Crites, an assistant pastor: “I particularly appreciated the ending of Shrek. For once, one’s future happiness was shown to not hinge on the superficial. I don’t mind at all that my children be told that a person’s character (inner beauty) is what really matters.”

David Spor defends the film’s skewering of Disney clichés on grounds that it is merely being true to its genre. “Though its humor was at times gratuitously crude, the movie was fundamentally a satire. It’s supposed to be characterized with ‘unalleviated puncturing,’ to use Mr. Metaxas’s phrase. Finding the ‘unalleviated puncturing’ of a satire tiring is rather like complaining of the ‘relentless seriousness’ of a drama or the ‘incessant humor’ of a comedy.” He adds: “Far from reflecting the ‘brave new moral’ of the moderns, it turns an old movie prejudice against the plain and the ugly on its head and reaffirms the Christian notion that man’s appearance has nothing to do with his value (see James 2:2-6). In being transformed permanently into an ogre, the Princess finds the form of true love, the form of the one who truly loves her.”

Lori Cossens confesses, “I and my husband, both once geeky teenagers who are still not Ken and Barbie, cried several times throughout the movie. Our 12-year-old son, much the better adjusted and rather handsome, did not. He did appreciate the movie, however, and liked the fresh, honest approach.”
Mark insists, “Shrek‘s message is a breath of fresh air. The idea that girls/women need not be ‘hotties’ to succeed in life is very welcome.”

“I tend to agree with Metaxas,” argues Kathy Van Stralen. “The fact that Fiona stays ugly and is loved by Shrek doesn’t say she is loved and beautiful on the inside, it says that she is only loved by another ogre. I think DreamWorks simply found delight in puncturing our fairy tale memories.”

But Bonnie L. suggests Shrek is being truer to ancient fairy tales than even Disney. “I agree with those who feel that Fiona as a beautiful ogress finding true love with the ogre was a wonderful ending! Further, fairy tales as we currently know them … first from Hans Christian Anderson, then Bowdlerized, and then from Disney … have all had all the ‘juice’ taken out of them and become prettified. Shrek was more in spirit with the originals.”

David L. Carson takes an entirely different approach: “Too many Christians believe that salvation instantly makes them into fairy-tale characters with no problems or warts. Few churches show believers how to patiently grow, warts and all, into Christ. One day He will return to finally give us ‘love’s true form.’ Until then, maybe we could learn to put aside the beauty masks and learn to be real about the ogre inside us all.”

Youth Missioner Jay Phillippi began his letter exalting the virtues of Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber, the VeggieTales characters who encourage moral behavior in youngsters. Then Phillippi argues that Shrek “falls in love with the inner Fiona” and asks naysayers, “What part of that message offends? I think Mr. Metaxas needs to have a little talk with Bob and Larry.”

Then there were several readers who were distressed that this debate was going on at all. They recommended that we all just “enjoy the movie instead of judging it and talk about something that will really affect the way someone thinks about the real world.”

To that I would say, for many of us, close analysis and debate are part of the enjoyment of moviegoing. If we are to “test all things,” as Scripture charges us, and if our minds are to dwell on all that is “of good repute,” we need to sharpen our critical skills for any occasion. Sure, we run the risk of becoming snobs, and thus it is important for us to balance our opinions with compassion, humility, and the willingness to listen to others. This is a discipline of discernment, an exercise in developing “the mind of Christ.” Do you swallow whatever anybody serves you? Is it “judgmental” to read the ingredients before you snack?

A final thought: In wrapping up this three-week Shrek-a-thon, I’m beginning to wonder if this debate might not be caused by a simple misunderstanding. I actually agree with Metaxas—fairy tales like Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaidcan be seen as powerful allegories of the human spirit longing to be “changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,” transformed into the unblemished perfection that God has designed for us through his grace. C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien made similar arguments, getting to the spiritual truths underlying many lasting fairy tales. We long to be lifted from our sins, made new.

But I don’t think Shrek is attacking fairy tales … I think it is poking fun at the way they are told, especially by Disney. Disney does not only supply us with stories … it delivers images. And the relentlessness of Disney’s images has a powerful and detrimental effect on our culture. While the fairy tales tell one truth, the imagery of Disney movies is having its own influence. Generations have been raised seeing Disney’s approximation of a physical definition of beauty that is usually white, slender, Barbie-and-Kennish. (And Disney isn’t alone. Advertising in all its forms, network television, fashion … you name it. The media sell us every day an idea that your beauty is defined by your appearance.) This has come to feed our obsession with judging a person’s value by their conforming to a certain “type.” I don’t think Jeffrey Katzenberg of DreamWorks would tell you that Beauty and the Beast is a bad story. He just wanted to tell a different one, with a different lesson. Disney’s The Little Mermaid illustrates the longing to be made new and reunited with the Bridegroom. Shrek illustrates our need, as broken creatures, to love each other for more than just our physical appearance … to learn to see each other through the eyes of love. I received another letter just as I finished this column. The writer says, “What did God say to Samuel? I think it was, ‘Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart.'”

CORRECTION: Last week’s Film Forum included a reader recommendation of the film Central Station, which was referred to as an Argentinean film. It is actually a Brazilian film.

Next week: No, I haven’t forgotten about your movie recommendations. This week’s column has run long, though, so we’ll be sure to include some of them next week. We’ll also check out critical response to The Fast and the Furious and Doctor Dolittle 2. (Don’t worry … only one week until Spielberg arrives to try to save the summer.)

Related Elsewhere

See earlier Film Forum postings for these other movies in the box-office top ten: Pearl Harbor, Moulin Rouge, The Animal, What’s the Worst That Could Happen? and The Mummy Returns.

- More from Jeffrey Overstreet

Greek Orthodox Priest Falls Victim to Middle East Conflict

Ross Dunn

Monks worry they may appear as threats to each warring side

A Greek Orthodox priest who was shot dead in a West Bank ambush was laid to rest on June 14 at the remote and ancient desert monastery where he had meditated alone for the past 11 years.

Father Germanos’s death has shocked the Holy Land’s Greek Orthodox community, troubled by the violent, eight-month conflict here.

Thirty-five-year-old Germanos was shot dead on June 12 as he was driving from Jerusalem to his monastery at Wadi Qelt near the West Bank town of Jericho. His car had Israeli plates, which suggests that his attackers were Palestinian gunmen who had mistaken Germanos for a Jew.

One of the mourners at his funeral, Father Christopher, said he had wept an entire night for his fellow priest and was now scared to travel on West Bank roads. He pointed to his full beard, a distinctive sign not only of Greek Orthodox monks but also of religious Jews and Muslims.

“We monks look like religious Jews to the Arabs and like [members of the militant Islamic group] Hamas to the Jews. It’s a big problem,” he said.

At the funeral, Christopher was one of a line of black-robed monks and nuns escorting Germanos’s body down a winding trail to the monastery. A single church bell tolled in the stark, sun-baked landscape.

Germanos, originally Georgios Tsibouktsakis, came to the Holy Land in 1990 from Thessanloniki, Greece.

Metropolitan Christodolos, in charge of the funeral, said that this was the second time a priest of the Greek Orthodox faith had been murdered here. The first was the superior at the Jacob’s Well Monastery in Nablus who was murdered 30 years ago.

But the metropolitan stressed that members of his denomination would not stop their ministry because of the violence, and would continue as the guardians of holy places.

“A monk looks for a lonely place where it will be between him and God, and suddenly a tragedy happens,” he said. “The Israeli-Palestinian conflict caught him the middle. There are always innocents who find themselves between warring sides.

“We are not afraid because we have come to guard the holy places and to pray for peace. We pray that the two peoples will live together in peace and harmony.”

He added that the Greek Orthodox Church was not placing suspicion on anyone, and would await the outcome of an investigation by the Israeli authorities.

The Greek Patriarchate in Jerusalem has sent church members to guard the site until a replacement can be found for Germanos, who was the acting superior and the sole monk at the monastery.

The Byzantine Monastery of St. George and St. John clings dramatically to a rock face high above the Wadi Qelt valley. It was built in the fifth century around a cave where tradition has it that the biblical prophet Elijah lived for several years, kept alive by spring water and a bird that brought pieces of meat and bread.

The monastery houses several relics, including one said to be a piece St John the Baptist’s skull.

Greek Orthodox Christians make up the biggest Christian community in the Holy Land. Nissim Dana, acting director of the Religious Affairs Ministry department of Christian communities, estimates their numbers at between 45,000 and 50,000.

Related Elsewhere

Germanos would have forgiven the men who shot him, a monk friend of Germanos tells Reuters. The story includes photos of the funeral.

The Jerusalem Post News focused on the Greek Orthodox community—caught in the middle of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

The monk faced formidable difficulties in keeping alive the 1,500-year-old traditions, according to the Daily Telegraph. The paper also has an extensive timeline and factfile on the Middle East conflict.

According to Ha’aretz, Tsibukakis was well known to residents of the district and often aided police.

For more articles on the Mideast peace process, see Yahoo’s full coverage area.

Previous Christianity Today articles on the peace process includes:

Pilgrimages Drop and Workers Lose Jobs as Middle East Violence Continues | Silence fills places normally crowded with pilgrims, reports British group. (Apr. 11, 2001)

Holy Land Roadblocks | Christian pilgrims learn about Palestinians’ everyday indignities. (Apr. 9, 2001)

Christian Zionists Rally for Jewish State | More than 600 Christians from around the world flock to Jerusalem to show solidarity with Israel as peace process collapses. (Apr. 9, 2001)

Between a Rock and a Holy Site | Muslims have stepped up their efforts to take control of places revered by Jews and Christians. (Feb. 13, 2001)

The Peace Regress | What’s behind the current outbreak of hostilities in the Holy Land? (Jan. 11, 2001)

Conflict in the Holy Land | A timeline of trials for the most contested piece of real estate in the world.

Christmas in Palestine: Hunger and War | Starvation threatens Palestinian villages if U.N. aid continues to be delayed, Vatican official warns. (Dec. 13, 2000)

Between the Temple Mount and a Hard Place | Palestinian Christians want both peace in their villages and justice for their Muslim brothers. (Dec. 5, 2000)

Messianic Ethiopians Face Discrimination | Sisters appealing decision to revoke Israeli citizenship. (Dec. 4, 2000)

Christmas Plans for Bethlehem Scrapped | Escalating violence cancels millennial celebration in town of Christ’s birth. (Dec. 1, 2000)

Lutheran Bishop’s Appeal from Jerusalem | Religious leader’s letter requests prayer for Christians, Jews, and Palestinians in troubled region. (Nov. 10, 2000)

Latin Patriarch tells Israel to Surrender Lands to Palestinians | Catholic leader says Israel will never have peace unless it “converts all of its neighbors to friends.” (Nov. 1, 2000)

Fighting Engulfs a Christian Hospital in Jerusalem | Lutherans call conflict on their hospital grounds “an affront” to humanitarian purposes. (Oct. 16, 2000)

Preparing for Pilgrims | Religious rivalry complicates millennial planning. (June 14, 1999)

How Evangelicals Became Israel’s Best Friend | The amazing story of Christian efforts to create and sustain the modern nation of Israel. (October 5, 1998)

- More from Ross Dunn

Slovakia’s Catholics and Lutherans Reach Agreement on Baptism

Jonathan Luxmoore

Signing clears the way for the common celebration of other inter-church accords.

Roman Catholics and Lutherans in Slovakia have signed an agreement to recognize each other’s baptism.

But while a spokesperson for the Roman Catholic Church in Slovakia said the agreement would help Catholics to “see Lutherans on the same level,” a prominent Lutheran theologian has accused Roman Catholic leaders of acting “hypocritically.”

Inter-church relations have frequently been strained in Slovakia, where, according to the 1991 census, 60 percent of the country’s 5.4 million citizens are Catholic, while 6 percent belong to the (Lutheran) Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in the Slovak Republic.

The six-point agreement on the mutual recognition of baptism was signed in a chapel of Bratislava’s presidential palace on June 4 by Roman Catholic and Lutheran leaders. The agreement sets out a commonly agreed biblical basis for baptism.

The country’s president, Rudolf Schuster, praised the agreement as a “good example for politicians moving in the opposite direction.”

According to the Lutherans’ general bishop, Julius Filo, the agreement is the “first major ecumenical step” between Lutherans and Roman Catholics in Slovakia.

Marian Gavenda, a Roman Catholic spokesperson, said “after a history of tensions between our churches, this agreement will greatly help our mutual ties.” The agreement cleared the way for the common celebration of marriage and other inter-church accords, Gavenda said.

He said that Lutherans in Slovakia would now administer baptism in the same way as the Catholic Church—by pouring or immersion—rather than making the sign of the cross with a single finger, a method judged “insufficient” by the Catholic Church. (According to the agreement, “the fundamental signs of baptism” are immersion of the candidate in water, or pouring water on the head.)

“Now that Lutherans have agreed to administer [baptism] in the same way as Catholics, we can generally recognize all their baptisms. This will help Catholics see Lutherans on the same level,” Gavenda said.

However, a prominent Lutheran theologian, Professor Igor Kis, dean of the Protestant theology faculty at Bratislava’s Comenius University, described this claim as “untruthful and hypocritical.”

He said the agreement’s main Catholic signatory, Bishop Frantisek Tondra, had privately confirmed his church would continue to reject Lutheran baptisms administered before the agreement. Kis helped to negotiate the agreement.

Kis said that even the Vatican’s former Code of Canon Law that applied until 1983 recognized several forms of baptism, including that previously practiced by the Lutheran church in his country.

“It’s totally unacceptable for the Catholic Church here to maintain this didn’t apply in Slovakia,” Kis said. He accused Slovak Catholics of lagging behind the rest of their church in attitudes to Protestants.

“We must hope Bishop Filo is right, and that this agreement will pressure Roman Catholic leaders not to be untruthful and hypocritical,” said Kis.

“Similar agreements have been applied in all the countries around us—Poland, Austria, the Czech Republic and others. Can Slovakia’s Catholic Church be the only one which fails to observe this?”

Gavenda said the Catholic Church had “no plans” for similar agreements on baptism with some of Slovakia’s 15 other registered churches, which include Methodists and Reformed.

He added that there had been opposition to the June accord from Lutheran “fundamentalists” who opposed their church’s “new ecumenical direction,” as well as from Roman Catholics who viewed Lutheran practice as “not a baptism, but only a sign.”

Related Elsewhere

ReligiousTolerance.org examines the history and differing Christian views of baptism.

Luther’s Small Catechism and Large Catechism sections on Holy Baptism, as well as his 1525 sermon on infant baptism and his 1523 order of baptism are all available online.

Canon law is the body of laws adopted by an ecclesiastical authority. The Vatican’s former Code of Canon Law had a lengthy section on baptism practices.

Uncle Marty, an online answer guy who’s also a Lutheran minister, answered one reader’s questions about the differences between Lutheran and Roman Catholic understandings of baptism

A Mark Copeland special study looks at different methods and aspects of baptism.

The Evangelical (Lutheran) Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovakia has a Web site still in development.

Church History On-line (not to be confused with Christian History’s Web site) offers early church writings on baptism from Cyril of Jerusalem, Hippolytus, and others.

Britannica.com also has some information on baptism and its history.

One of our readers once asked, “Did Paul Baptize for the Dead?” We asked D. A. Carson, research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Previous Christianity Today articles on Lutheran-Catholic relations include:

Catholic, Reformed, and Lutheran Leaders Discuss Indulgences | Understanding, not agreement, sought on historical, theological, and pastoral issues. (Mar. 26, 2001)

At Historic Service, Polish Church Leaders Ask Pardon For Past Mistakes | Catholic, Orthodox, and Lutheran heads apologize for egoism and indifference. (Mar. 15, 2000)

Pope and LWF President Praise Agreement between Catholics and Lutherans | Work toward Eucharistic sharing next, say leaders. (Dec. 13, 1999)

Lutheran-Catholic declaration “better way” of dialogue, says Vatican | But senior ecumenism official plays down hope for extension of document itself. (Nov. 1, 1999)

Reformation Day Celebrations Ain’t What They Used to Be | The Lutheran-Catholic Justification Declaration is a good step, but it’s only a beginning. (Nov. 2, 1999)

- More from Jonathan Luxmoore

Pestilence and Famine at Crosswalk.com

Ted Olsen

“Billy is back, the Roman Coliseum was really, really bad, and links to more than 110 other religion and ethics news stories from around the world.”

A bad week for Crosswalk.com It’s been a rough week for Christian Internet site Crosswalk.com. First, it disclosed that its CEO, Scott Fehrenbacher, was “named in criminal proceedings in Orange County, Florida.” If that sounds odd, since Crosswalk is based in Virginia, and Fehrenbacher moved there from Seattle, the press release gives a few clues.

The allegations, which do not involve Crosswalk.com, are related to a dispute with a former business competitor who was involved in purchasing Mr. Fehrenbacher’s successful former business, but which apparently suffered losses since it’s sale in 1998. … These allegations involved a business deal whereby Mr. Fehrenbacher sold his values-based software program, which rated mutual funds based on their support for socially responsible stocks and other investments. Unfortunately, the individuals who purchased the business have been unsuccessful in maintaining profitability and marketing this database research program, and apparently now are trying to blame Mr. Fehrenbacher for such failures.

That’s all Weblog has seen so far about the charges, but here’s a little background. Fehrenbacher’s “successful former business” was the Institute for American Values Investing. But actually it was Crosswalk that purchased “the brand name and proprietary investment screens” of that Redmond, Washington-based company. What Crosswalk didn’t buy, apparently, was his eValueator program, which Fehrenbacher sold to Arthur Ally’s Timothy Plan, another values-based investing company (based in Winter Park, Orange County, Florida—birthplace of Crown Financial Ministries’ Larry Burkett). The software, then as now, sells for $400. But if you’d like to see essentially what it does, take a look at Fehrenbacher’s Investigator, which he put together at Crosswalk. Like eValueator, it checks mutual funds, companies, and portfolios for involvement in pornography, abortion, tobacco, gambling, and other ills. But unlike eValueator, Investigator is free. Weblog has absolutely no idea if the criminal charges have anything to do with the similarities between eValueator and Investigator, but offering a free product that does the same thing as a $400 product may have something to do with the latter being “unsuccessful in maintaining profitability and marketing this database research program.” More on this case later, to be sure.

But as if having your CEO arrested wasn’t bad enough, Crosswalk got another bit of bad news this week: Nasdaq kicked the company’s listing off the National Market and booting it down to the Nasdaq SmallCap Market. In baseball terms, it’s been back to the minor leagues. (Entrepreneur.com has a very nice explanation of the difference between the National Market, the Small Cap Market, Bulletin Board stocks, etc.) In a press release, Crosswalk says it “does not feel that it is the best interest of the shareholders to take on considerable dilution that would be necessary for the sole purpose of maintaining [a National Market] listing.”

It’s not all bad news for the dot-com, however. Crosswalk was chosen as the primary advertising vehicle for the NBC sitcom Kristin? Apparently the reason critics said the show looked like a Christian sitcom was because it was supposed to. The star, singer Kristin Chenoweth, is a Christian herself, but she tells Beliefnet “the show’s more about morality. I wanted to portray a person who is a Christian but who has real dilemmas just like any single young woman.” That’s nice, but apparently Paramount TV is thinking that its best bet is to market the show to Christians—particularly the Christians who visit Crosswalk’s entertainment page.

Billy Graham returns to the pulpit With seven months having passed since his last public preaching but mere weeks since his last serious hospitalization, 82-year-old Billy Graham began a four-day crusade in Louisville, Kentucky last night. But the big news, apparently, was the weather: both The Dallas Morning News and The Courier-Journal of Louisville led off their stories by noting that a three-hours rainstorm stopped just minutes before the crusade started. Also of note: Graham has apparently stopped commenting on much apart from his ministry. “I just cannot answer all those questions any more, all the political questions and social problems,” he said at a press conference. “I haven’t been able to keep up with everything. I’m here just to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

The Roman Colosseum even more evil than thought According to tradition, Christians were fed to wild beasts in the Roman Colosseum, originally called the Flavian Amphitheater (some scholars question whether it actually happened.) At the very least, Christians protested what went on inside. But now there’s even more reason why the Colosseum deserved criticism: it was built from the sacking of the Jerusalem Temple. According to London’s Daily Telegraph, Geza Alfoldy of Heidelberg University, working with Italian archaeologists, recently deciphered an inscription that reads, “The Emperor Caesar Vespasian Augustus had this new amphitheatre erected with the spoils of war. There is no doubt what war this was, the sack of Jerusalem.”

Missionary hostages in Philippines:

Three dead Filipinos found as troops search for U.S. hostage (Associated Press)
Source: Philippine rebels release three hostages | But Burnhams still among the two dozen being held (Reuters)
Diplomatic dealings | Filipino Muslim rebels up the ante in kidnapping (ABCNews.com
Basilan priests back war vs Abus | Exasperated Filipino priests on Basilan island have advised the faithful to stock up on arms and ammunition instead of buying home appliances. (The Philippine Star)
Catholic priest turns to guns to ward off Philippines’ Abu Sayyaf | Cirilo Nacorda has been kidnapped before, and he’s not going to let it happen again (Associated Press)

Sudan:

Sudan is Bush’s big African headache |Campaign against Khartoum is very reminiscent of that which led to the anti-apartheid act in 1986 (Business Day, Johannesburg)
U.S. business lobbies on Sudan | Legislation would for the first time deprive some foreign companies of access to US stock markets if they run foul of US foreign policy (Financial Times)
Suddenly in Sudan, a moment to care | The Bush administration finds itself paying increasing attention to the conflict in Sudan, because it involves two of its most important domestic constituencies: oil interests and religion. (The New York Times)

Persecution:

Mexican town wages crusade against evangelicals | Religious differences came to a head when the Catholic-dominated government of San Nicolas Ixmiquilpan cut off the water supply of the evangelical community and threatened to run them out of town because they refused to contribute money for fiestas celebrating Catholic saints’ days (Reuters)
Dara Singh calls off fast (Rediff.com)

Egypt’s Copts riot:

Paper’s sex expose stirs Egypt furor | Editor charged amid Christian anger over photos (Chicago Tribune)
Also: Coptic Pope calls for calm (BBC)

Faith-based initiatives:

Faith-based youth homes’ ‘lesson’ | Texas backs away from unregulated programs after abuse charges (The Washington Post)
Watts backs funds for faith groups | But Democrats worry about church-state separation (The Washington Times)
Salvation Army, Catholic Bishops back Bush charity plan | House may vote before July 4 recess (The Boston Globe)

Supreme Court’s Good News decision:

Schools ban meetings of service clubs | Saddleback Unified bars the student organizations during the school day rather than recognize a religious group on campus. (Los Angeles Times)
Massachusetts church sues for access to school facilities | Incident mimics Good News Club case (Associated Press)
Ruling on after-school religious meetings fuels church-state debate | What does the 6-3 decision in Good News Club v. Milford Central School portend for other church-state relationships, including school voucher programs and President Bush’s charitable-choice initiative? (Freedom Forum)
Supreme Court’s decision good news for First Amendment | This case isn’t about government endorsement of religion; it’s about government acting toward religion in a way that’s fair and neutral. (Charles Haynes, The Freedom Forum)
Good news on vouchers | If the court permits Bible clubs, why not parochial schools? (Richard W. Garnett, The Wall Street Journal)
There’s enough room in school for everyone—or is there? | Are public school buildings so imbued with the aura of “public education” that any other use constitutes defiling the holy temple? (Laurence Cohen, The Hartford Courant)
The new face of persecution | The liberal agenda, while masquerading as the torchbearer of free speech and civil rights, grinds to an embarrassing halt when it reaches religion. (Editorial, The Washington Times)

Education:

Bishop attacks schools’ ‘dishonesty’ on faith | Chair of Church of England’s Board of Education says head teachers of church schools are playing down their Christianity (The Daily Telegraph, London)
Religious colleges aren’t the Church | Why a Lutheran bishop can be forced to resign but still keep teaching at a Lutheran school (Luther S. Luedtke, Los Angeles Times)
J. Bryan Hehir leaves Harvard Divinity School | First Catholic chief to head up Catholic Charities USA (The Boston Globe)
Wheaton College fights neighbors for student housing | In zoning dispute, neighbors complain of students “degrading the street” (Chicago Tribune)
Teach sues for 1M In L.I. ‘witch’ firing | Elementary school teacher she was discriminated against because she wears dark clothing and makeup, has long fingernails, taught about the Salem Witch Trials and that a school board member told her administrators believe she is a witch (The New York Daily News)

Other church-state conflicts:

All eyes on Indiana Bible rules conflict | Town wants to keep City Hall monument (The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky)
Group decries city plan to allow crosses | It says the proposal is proof Mayor Harris favors Christianity over other religions (The Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
Christian Association of Nigeria declares three-day fasting as Kano demolishes churches | State environmental sanitation agency says buildings are illegal (The Guardian, Lagos, Nigeria)
Plating politics in Florida | Florida´s approval of “Choose Life” specialty license plates has encouraged anti-abortion groups in several states to push for legislation authorizing the sale of plates bearing the motto. But pro-choice activists are stymieing their efforts. (The Washington Times)

Online pornography:

Yahoo in porn foe’s sights | American Family Association says site hasn’t gone far enough (Wired News)
Earlier: Is Yahoo On a Morality Crusade? (Christianity Today Weblog, May 17)

Popular culture:

Festival gears up for weekend of jamming Christian music | But so far, Atlanta Fest is more like Atlanta Fizz (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Lipton ad pokes fun at ‘core belief’ | Food giant Unilever has dumped an advertisement that depicts a smirking man waiting in line to receive holy communion with a bowl of onion dip after a Roman Catholic group said it was outraged by Unilever’s “corporate arrogance.” (The Ottawa Citizen)

Homosexuality:

Everyone on TV is gay | Frasier Crane, Chandler Bing, even those chicks from Sex and the City. A gay sensibility has infiltrated American comedy, even when flying beneath the radar in an ostensibly heterosexual situation. (The New York Times)
Gay pastor considers future role in church | A local gay pastor, convinced the Methodist church will change “sooner or later,” works with his congregation to determine his role in the meantime. (The Seattle Times)
Earlier: Gay minister is barred as pastor, but congregation rallies round him | During a service, most of the clergy receiving appointments symbolically removed their stoles and placed them on a cross in support. (The Seattle Times)
Gay ordination debate expected to split local presbyteries | Presbyteries in Western Pennsylvania have voted consistently against gay ordination (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
To be gay can be divine, says Anglican text | But Anglican Church in Australia isn’t likely to agree (The Sydney Morning Herald)
32 United Methodist clerics to defy rule on gays | East Ohio ministers vow to preach from their pulpits and teach children in their Sunday schools that homosexuality is compatible with Christianity. (The Plain Dealer, Cleveland)

Divisions in the Episcopal Church:

Episcopal dissidents look to expand | Four more bishops are to be consecrated for the Anglican Mission in America—this time, in the United States (The New York Times)
Archbishop of Canterbury warns of schism in U.S. | “I simply cannot believe this is in conformity with the way Christ would want us to behave,” Carey says of plans to consecrate new missionary bishops. (The Guardian, London)
Pastor joins breakaway Anglicans | Alexander “Sandy” Greene is the seventh priest in Colorado to leave the Episcopal diocese for the Anglican Mission in America in less than a year (The Denver Post)
Maryland church rift over priest | Conservative parish priest, liberal bishop conducting separate services (Associated Press)

Poverty and the Church of England:

The blessed get poorer | The Church of England is selling its silverware and depriving bishops of their chauffeurs to help to pay its pensioned-off parsons (Richard Morrison, The Times, London)
Abolish the Church, says former bishop | David Jenkins, who questioned Jesus’ resurrection, now says Church of England has outlived its usefulness (The Independent, London)
Synod call to waive fines for poorest | The Church of England is being pressed to demand that the government should set minimum household income levels of more than £200 a week (The Guardian)

Southern Baptist meeting:

Baptists convene, and turn to family | Speakers at the Southern Baptist Convention are attacking what they call a depletion in the family structure, despite gains in membership and congregations. (The New York Times)
Southern Baptists stick to mild resolutions | South Floridians weigh fallout from divisive meeting last year (The Miami Herald)
Southern Baptist gathering avoids Charismatic debate | attempt to address the denomination’s stand on charismatic issues was quietly deflected. (Charisma News Service)
Baptists support ‘covenant marriage’ movement | Convention focuses on family, staying together (The Dallas Morning News)
Baptists offer Disney deal on boycott | Stop cooperating with gay activities and causes in its theme parks, television programs and publications, demands Richard Land (The Orlando Sentinel)
Southern Baptists wrap up meeting | America’s largest Protestant denomination took positions that would carry broad support: feed the hungry, preserve marriage and protect children from pornography. (Associated Press)
Southern Baptists focus on divorce | Disturbed by high divorce rates, the Southern Baptist Convention is developing a blueprint for pastors on preventing divorce and ministering to single parents. (Associated Press)
Baptists congregate to discuss family values | Moderates, conservatives question fund allocation (USA Today)
Southern Baptists eye family issues | After several years of conventions that revolved around high-profile votes from Christians boycotting Disney products to wives submitting to their husbands, Southern Baptist leaders predict that this year’s gathering at the Superdome will be relatively quiet. (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Black pastor rocks Baptist convention | Evangelism a central theme of meeting (The Dallas Morning News)
Baptist officials decry rate of divorce | Report at meeting to address breakups (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
Protests and lots of good times | But little real controversy at this year’s Southern Baptist meeting (The Dallas Morning News)
A strict voice | Baptist official Richard Land at forefront of controversies (The Dallas Morning News)

Denominational meetings:

Conservative Presbyterian group to debate days of creation | General Assembly also plans to discuss women’s roles in the church (The Dallas Morning News)
Presbyterians to discuss creation | Presbyterian Church in America debates whether Genesis “days” really lasted 24 hours (Associated Press)
National Baptists keep focus on future | Scandal behind them, conventioneers spend time learning, sharing (The Charlotte Observer)
Whither ecumenism? | The bad news is always the loudest. In truth, then and now confessional Christians within churches that lost their way have faithfully acknowledged Christ as Lord. And in the end, they prevailed (Uwe Siemon-Netto, UPI)

U.S. Catholic bishops meet:

Catholic bishops conclude meeting | The future of the nation’s Catholic colleges, hospitals and health care facilities is murky. (Associated Press)
U.S. Catholic bishops approve policies | Roman Catholic bishops overwhelmingly move to keep church-affiliated colleges and hospitals in line with official teaching. (Associated Press)
Bishops ban sterilization services at all Catholic-affiliated hospitals | Church’s decision will affect 11% of nation’s facilities. (Los Angeles Times)
Catholic colleges face doctrine requirement | Several Catholic theologians will refuse to seek such a seal of approval, saying that to do so would threaten their academic freedom (The Boston Globe)
Catholic theology professors given rules | Guidelines set to quell doctrinal differences (The Washington Post)
Bishops say fighting global warming is a moral duty | Not seeking to criticize Bush, Catholic leaders assure (The Boston Globe)
Also: Catholic bishops adopt a call for action on the climate (The New York Times)
Also: Warming’s spiritual cost (Editorial, The Boston Globe)
In Atlanta, bishops taking on issues | Such meetings used to be about retreating and networking. (The Boston Globe)
Guarding the doctrine | Catholic bishops move to rein in academics (U.S. News & World Report)

More Catholicism:

Catholic leader Thomas Winning dies | Leader of Scotland’s Roman Catholics was 76 (BBC)
Plus: The cardinal was perverse | Tributes to the late Cardinal Winning fail to record that he was a bigot who wasted his energies on futile crusades (The Guardian) (Weblog comment: When was the last time you saw a major newspaper run a “We come not to praise him, but to bury him” obituary that was this negative?)
Story of faith, of secrecy, of death—and life | Pope to beatify 25 who died for church in Soviet Ukraine (The Sun, Baltimore)
In first year, a tough balancing act for Egan | Unlike his predecessor, Cardinal Edward M. Egan has remained in his first year as archbishop of New York an enigmatic figure who has spent much time attempting to stave off an archdiocesan financial deficit. (The New York Times)
Cathedral’s salvation | Renovations under way for centuries-old New Orleans church (The Dallas Morning News)
Legacy of religious struggle to confront Pope in Ukraine | Impending visit has served to reinflame Orthodox anger over the reversal of their fortunes (The Washington Post)
This time the door is open to Sabina | No dissenters in 2nd vote by Catholic school (Chicago Tribune)
Also: Pfleger’s relentless crusades | Chicago is lucky to have the pastor of St. Sabina, even if he is too much of a lone ranger (Editorial, Chicago Tribune)
Earlier: Archdiocese steps in after league rejects black school | Office for Racial Justice will promote reconciliation between St. Sabina and the conference (Chicago Tribune)

Sex abuse by clergy:

Simply unacceptable | No succour for persistent paedophiles (Editorial, The Guardian)
Priest, confession’s sanctity on trial in France | Bishop charged with not revealing clergyman’s sexual assaults on boys (USA Today)
Sex abuse suit dismissed against Nashville Diocese | Ruling focuses on length of time between priest’s dismissal and later abuse (The Tennessean)
Church must ‘police’ priests | It will be a great day, indeed, when the U.S. Catholic bishops go on the offense against sexual malefactors in the ranks of the clergy, instead of defensively deploying an army of lawyers to buy the silence of victims, and keep the ugly truth out of the press. (Rod Dreher, New York Post)

Church conflicts:

Is it God’s little half acre? | Hall church, former member battle over tract that both claim (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Universal Church of the Kingdom of God raises eyebrows on Peachtree Street | Brazilian sect has faced past investigations (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Vicar whips up grave storm | David Adams has been branded Tomb Raider by angry parishioners—for flattening 64 gravestones (The Sun, London)

Worship:

Clergy in revolt over new book of prayers | Hundreds boycotting Common Worship because collects are written in the 17th-century English of the Book of Common Prayer. (The Times, London)
Parishioners protest lack of Polish | Attendance at the Polish Mass at Jersey City’s Our Lady of Czestochowa has dwindled to 55—but oh what a 55. (Associated Press)

Promise Keepers:

Promise Keepers down, not out | Group in town for 2-day event (Chicago Tribune)
Promise Keepers set spiritual goals | Christian group holds 2-day meeting at Baltimore Arena (The Sun, Baltimore)
Smaller, wiser Promise Keepers | Men’s religious group survives money woes, sets modest agenda (The Sun, Baltimore)

Evangelism:

Christian video not made to ‘offend’ Jews | Narrator ‘appalled’ by anonymous mailing (The Ottawa Citizen)
Spreading the Good Word in the Badlands | With a new grant, a preacher has great hopes (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

Science and health:

Intelligent design does not compute | ID is not a program for scientifically understanding the world; it’s a program for surrendering our quest for scientific understanding (Chet Raymo, The Boston Globe)
Tracing the synapses of our spirituality | Researchers examine relationship between brain and religion (The Washington Post)

Other stories of interest:

Brimstone becomes the Christian Right | Many Christians, including many members of the clergy, regard both the evangelical movement and the personal politics of DeLay and Ashcroft as incompatible with the teachings of Jesus. Yet the evangelicals have read their Bibles, and they have very good reasons to regard Jesus as a prophet of rage. (Crispin Sartwell, Los Angeles Times)
Evangelical group chief resigns post | Kevin W. Mannoia says he’s lost the confidence of the NAE executive committee (Los Angeles Times)
Earlier: NAE President Resigns in Wake of Financial Woes | “In the process of change, you also create friction,” says Kevin Mannoia. (Christianity Today, June 15)
Hunzvi ‘became a born-again Christian’ before his death | Doctor used offices as a torture chamber, called himself “Hitler,” led Zimbabwe’s war veterans, and was declared a hero by President Mugabe (The Independent, Johannesburg)
The Bible tells them so | Evangelical group embraces gender egalitarianism as the only scriptural way (The Dallas Morning News)
Sunstone‘s future at a crossroads | With the departure of its editor, the magazine’s future as a unique forum for critical Mormon thought appears in limbo. (The Salt Lake Tribune)
Wife says suspect told a priest 20 years ago of aiding Soviets | Priest initially urged Robert Hanssen to turn himself in, but then changed his mind and persuaded Hanssen to donate the $20,000 he had received from the Soviets to charity (The New York Times)
Seek and ye shall find a fund | A number of socially conscious mutual funds have proven they can perform on par with their anything-goes counterparts (Chicago Tribune)
Building respect for Latino Protestantism | Jesse Miranda, a Southland Assemblies of God minister is shepherding efforts to help make the long-overlooked churches a social force (Los Angeles Times)
Russian Journey, Part 2 | Anne Garrels profiles a Novgorod Baptist church built by American Christian money and a more-progressive-than-usual Orthodox congregation. (NPR’s All Things Considered)

Related Elsewhere

See our past Weblog updates:

June 20 | 19 | 18

June 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11

June 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4

June 1 | May 31 | 30

May 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14

May 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7

May 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | April 30

April 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23

April 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16

- More from Ted Olsen

Sydney’s New Archbishop Retreats in Row Over Prime Minister and the Almighty

Margaret Simons

But Peter Jensen stands by his criticism of government’s attitude toward stolen generation of Aboriginal children

The newly-elected Anglican Archbishop of Sydney has apparently backed down after suggesting that Australia’s prime minister, John Howard, was “out of step with God.”

The archbishop was referring to the prime minister’s failure to apologize on behalf of the government to the so-called “stolen generation” of Aboriginal children who over several decades in the 20th century were forcibly removed by government officials from their families. The prime minister has declared that present-day Australians should not be held responsible for the wrongs of the past.

After a media furor, Archbishop-elect Peter Jensen claimed he had been misunderstood when he told a press conference immediately following his election that Prime Minister Howard was wrong in his steadfast refusal to issue the apology.

Jensen said at the press conference on June 6: “I think his [Howard’s] view is too individualistic and there should be a recognition of the Christian understanding which is that we belong together.” Asked by journalists whether he thought the prime minister was out of step with the community, Dr Jensen said: “It doesn’t worry me if Mr. Howard’s out of step with the community. The question is: ‘Is he out of step with God?’ We’ve got to point him to Jesus in the same way we point all our communities to Jesus.”

In the days after Jensen’s press conference, Howard attacked him for presuming to know the views of “the Almighty.”

Other church leaders supported Prime Minister Howard. The recently-appointed Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, George Pell, who, like Jensen, is seen as a doctrinal conservative, said that Australia was fortunate to have Howard, and the leader of the federal opposition, Kim Beazley, as leaders who were “exemplary, good men.”

The head of the Anglican Church, Peter Carnley, who is also Archbishop of Perth, said that Howard was committed to “practical reconciliation” with Aboriginal people through the provision of health and education services. He said reconciliation with Aboriginal Australians could mean many different things.

Jensen has now claimed that he did not mean to suggest that Howard was out of step with God, but rather that he needed to “think these issues through before God.” He said he admired the prime minister “very much.”

The controversy over Jensen’s remarks is the latest involving the church-state divide in Australia and the Anglican Church. In April John Howard was criticized for appointing the Archbishop of Brisbane, Peter Hollingworth, as governor-general—Australia’s head of state and representative of Queen Elizabeth II, Australia’s monarch.

John Howard is an Anglican who attended a Methodist Church as a child, and is generally seen as having classic Protestant ethics. As a resident of Sydney, he is at least in principle part of Jensen’s new flock.

At the controversial press conference, Dr Jensen also criticized the prime minister’s approach to illegal immigrants, and the reluctance of state governments to tackle gambling. Most state governments now draw considerable revenue from gambling taxes.

The prime minister’s office responded with a statement saying that “on sensitive issues, community leaders should not presume to interpret God’s will too narrowly.” The statement added that the prime minister believed there were a range of views within the Anglican community, and that many would agree with the prime minister’s emphasis on “practical reconciliation,” which stressed provision of services rather than emphasis on symbolism and rights.

Related Elsewhere

Anglican Media Sydney offers a transcript of Jensen’s press conference in which he made the comment, while the Prime Minister’s official site has a transcript of Howard’s press conference in which he responded.

Jensen responded to the controversy in The Sydney Morning Herald (which also had a news article on the clarification).

Recent mainstream press articles on Australia’s Anglicans include:

Australia’s Anglicans launch merger talks with Uniting Church | But the Sydney diocese of the Anglican Church says any union is decades away. — The Sydney Morning Herald (June 14, 2001)

Chapel for Australia’s next Governor General | After Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane Peter Hollingworth takes the post July 1, he’ll still wear a clerical collar on Sundays — The Advertiser, Adelaide (June 13, 2001)

Rev Dr Peter Jensen: the interview — The Religion Report, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (June 13, 2001)

Go tell it on the mountain, with the volume down | It’s a fine thing, religion. But enough already of the public biblical lather and let the non-believers get on with their lives — Peter FitzSimons, The Sydney Morning Herald (June 12, 2001)

The word is going forth—and it shall be uncompromising | The Anglicans’ Archbishop-elect has already ruffled the Prime Minister’s feathers, and God-bothering is firmly on the agenda —The Sydney Morning Herald (June 11, 2001)

Sydney diocese faces split with Canterbury | New Australian archbishop says he wants to permit unordained people to preside at Holy Communion. — The Daily Telegraph, London (June 10, 2001)

Spong banned from Anglican churches in Brisbane, Australia | Interdiction comes from archbishop/governor-general-designate — The Courier-Mail, Brisbane (June 8, 2001)

If I’m parasitical, he’s irrelevant, says Spong — The Sydney Morning Herald (June 9, 2001)

You, too, can be an archbishop | Shock, horror. Archbishop believes in his own faith — Padraic P. McGuinness, The Sydney Morning Herald (June 9, 2001)

Jensen defends pounding PM on reconciliation — NineMSN (June 8, 2001)

Other Christianity Today articles about Australia include:

Australia’s Churches Call On Nation to Acknowledge ‘Stolen Generations’ | Country’s National Council of Churches demands apology, compensation to Aboriginals. (June 4, 2001)

Australia’s Church Leader’s Views on Sexuality Ignite Controversy | Head of country’s Anglicans calls for blessing of same-sex “friendships” (June 4, 2001)

Australia’s Leading Catholic Conservative Archbishop Gets a Promotion | Appointment of George Pell to archdiocese comes as surprise to parishioners—and to Pell himself. (Apr. 3, 2001)

Olympic Chaplains Not Taken Seriously, Christians Claim | Australian Christians say the Olympic committee views chaplains as just another group of volunteers. (Sept. 18, 2000)

Church Leaders Take a Desert Trek to Bridge Australia’s Divisions | Questions over apology strain reconciliation efforts between aboriginal and white populations. (June 15, 2000)

Australian Archbishops in Public Row over Christ’s Role | Head of church accused of denying significance of resurrection and Christ’s uniqueness (May 1, 2000)

Australian Church Agrees to Run Controversial Room for Injecting Drugs | Uniting Church steps in after Catholics withdraw under Vatican pressure (Dec. 9, 1999)

Australia’s New Anglican Leader Promises to Remain Outspoken | Peter Carnley was first to ordain women priests—before female ordination agreed by General Synod. (Feb. 7, 2000)

Christians Oppose Threats to Welfare (Apr. 26, 1999)

Christians Want Shock Rocker Manson Banned (Jan. 11, 1999)

Party Calls for Immigration Cuts (Oct. 5, 1998)

Racing Fans Can Find Faith at Track (Sept. 7, 1998)

Prostitution Museum Prompts Protests (Apr. 27, 1998)

Aboriginals, Whites Seek Reconciliation (Dec. 8, 1997)

- More from Margaret Simons

The Communion Test

Elesha Coffman

How a Humble Inquiry into the nature of the church cost Jonathan Edwards his job.

In years of attending non-denominational, evangelical churches, I grew accustomed to some version of a pre-Communion caveat: “If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your savior and are a member of the body of believers, whether this is your home church or not, you are welcome to partake of the bread and the cup. Seekers and young children can let the elements pass by.” Sometimes unconfessed sin gets mentioned, too, but usually the issue is personal salvation.

I know other churches have different conventions (I was once denied Communion when visiting a mainline church, for reasons I’ve never completely understood), but the familiar restrictions always seemed pretty reasonable to me. That wasn’t the case 250 years ago. When Puritan pastor Jonathan Edwards launched “An Humble Inquiry into the Rules of the Word of God Concerning the Qualifications Requisite to a Complete Standing and Full Communion in the Visible Christian Church,” his Northampton, Massachusetts, congregation fired him—on June 22, 1750.

The era in which Edwards ministered saw sweeping changes in the Christian experience. In England, the Wesley brothers defied the Church of England’s geographic definition of ministry by preaching all over the country and encouraging people to meet for spiritual enrichment outside the walls of the parish church. George Whitefield stirred crowds on both sides of the Atlantic into a frenzy by telling people to search their hearts for the feelings of faith. The dramatic conversions of individual men, women, and children received unprecedented attention. Membership in a church body was still important (John Wesley considered himself a loyal Anglican to his death), but the sense of “religious self” was definitely on the rise.

Edwards’s “Humble Inquiry” reflected this change. He knew he was departing sharply from an older understanding of church, in which a person was automatically considered a Christian—and worthy of taking Communion—if he or she had Christian parents, participated in a Christian community, and refrained from blatantly ungodly behavior. Some ministers, including Edwards’s grandfather Solomon Stoddard, wanted to open the Lord’s Supper to nearly everyone, believing it to be “a converting ordinance” that might help nonbelievers come to faith. But Edwards was convinced that Scripture stood on the side of greater restriction.

“My appearing in this public manner on that side of the question, which is defended in the following sheets, will probably be surprising to many,” Edwards writes in his preface.

As it is well known, that Mr. Stoddard, so great and eminent a divine, and my venerable predecessor in the pastoral office over the church in Northampton, as well as my own grandfather, publicly and strenuously appeared in opposition to the doctrine here maintained. … But the difficulties and uneasiness on my mind increasing as I become more studied in divinity and as I improved in experience; this brought me to closer diligence and care to search the scriptures, and more impartially to examine and weigh the arguments of my grandfather and such other authors as I could get on his side of the question. By which means, after long searching, pondering, viewing, and reviewing, I gained satisfaction, became fully settled in the opinion I now maintain as in the discourse here offered to public view, and dared to proceed no further in a practice and administration inconsistent therewith.

Edwards follows the preface with a meticulous description of God’s work of salvation from Creation forward. He presents and answers objections from all sides to his emphasis on personal conversion, which involves more than showing up for church.

When refuting the argument that the church should be a school where people participate fully while learning to trust in Christ, he asserts,

I grant, that no other qualifications are necessary in order to being members of that school of Christ which is his visible church, than such as are requisite in order to their subjecting themselves to Christ as their Master and Teacher, and subjecting themselves to the laws and orders of his school: nevertheless I deny, that a common faith, and moral sincerity are sufficient for this; because none do truly subject themselves to Christ as their Master, but such as having their hearts purified by faith, are delivered from the reigning power of sin: for we cannot subject ourselves to obey two contrary masters at the same time.

Christians still debate how far “common faith and moral sincerity” can get you in God’s kingdom. For a person like Edwards, who once resolved “To strive my utmost every week to be brought higher in religion, and to a higher exercise of grace, than I was the week before,” those qualities were only the beginning. And after all, that is the more important question—not how closely a person can toe the line of salvation, but how close he or she can draw to God.

Elesha Coffman is managing editor of Christian History magazine.

Related Elsewhere

More Christian history, including a list of events that occurred this week in the church’s past, is available at ChristianHistory.net. Subscriptions to the quarterly print magazine are also available.

The full text of Edwards’s “Inquiry,” as well as many of his other works, is avis online at JonathanEdwards.com.

Christian History magazine, a Christianity Today sister publication, has covered Edwards in special issues on Edwards (issue 8), George Whitefield (38), and the Wesleys (69), all available at Christian History.

Christianity Today‘s earlier coverage of communion issues includes:

Church of England Objects to Vatican Ban on Sharing Communion | Sharing of the Eucharist between Anglicans and Roman Catholics should not be reserved for the “end point of unity between separated churches,” say leaders. (Mar. 23, 2001)

Catholics Not to Receive Anglican Eucharist | Dublin archbishop says Catholic policy doesn’t allow intercommunion. (Feb. 26, 2001)

Reinventing Communion Prep | How fast can you fill those little cups? (Dec. 19, 2000)

Christian History Corner appears every Friday at ChristianityToday.com. Previous Christian History Corners include:

Visiting the Other Side | The Israelites spent time on both sides of the Jordan. Now tourists can, too. (June 8, 2001)

Beyond Pearl Harbor | How God caught up with the man who led Japan’s surprise attack. (June 1, 2001)

Rivers of Life | In Africa, survival depends on open waterways. Missionary explorer David Livingstone believed that salvation did, too. (May 25, 2001)

Intro to the Inklings | C.S. Lewis’s intellect was stimulated at one of the most fascinating extracurricular clubs ever. (May 18, 2001)

How Not to Read Dante | You probably missed the point of The Divine Comedy in high school. (May 11, 2001)

If My People Will Pray | The U.S. National Day of Prayer Turns 50, but its origins are much older. (May 4, 2001)

Mutiny and Redemption | The rarely told story of new life after the destruction of the H.M.S. Bounty. (Apr. 27, 2001)

Book Notes | New and noteworthy releases on church history that deserve recognition. (Apr. 20, 2001)

A Primer on Paul | The History Channel uses Holy Saturday not to discuss Jesus, but the apostle who spread his message. (Apr. 12, 2001)

Image Is Everything | The Taliban’s destruction of Buddhist statues is only the latest controversy over the Second Commandment. (Apr. 6, 2001)

Christian Education for All | The first Sunday schools provide a positive example of government partnerships with faith-based organizations.(Mar. 23, 2001)

The Sport of Saints? | Forget St. Pat’s. It’s time for March Madness, baby! (And yes, it’s Christian.) (Mar. 16, 2001)

- More from Elesha Coffman

“Billy Graham’s Same, Wonderful Old Story”

Ted Olsen

Bush and Rosa Parks join together to push the faith-based initiative.

Billy goes to Louisville You can read the Chicago Tribune‘s front-page article on Billy Graham’s weekend crusade in Louisville, Kentucky, but you can’t see the 7.5-by-5.5-inch image that takes up most of the space above the fold: Graham being kissed by two of the members of Christian band dc Talk. Oh well; there are more pictures from the crusade available from the Associated Press. (And speaking of demonstrations of love between rock musicians and famous older men, did you hear that Sen. Jesse Helms attended a U2 concert last Thursday? Bono even sent a thank-you note.)

There’s not a lot of earth-shattering news from the crusade itself: Franklin Graham told the Tribune, “I look out at the audience, and I think this may be the last time I’ll see him like this,” but with Graham’s recent failing health, that’s not a real shocker. No, for the most part it was all part of the same story; as usual, the crusade broke attendance records, as usual there was a night of special emphasis on youth, as usual Graham used rock lyrics, humor, fancy technologies, and simple words to get his point across, and as usual both Christians and non-Christians showed up and both groups rushed forward to dedicate their lives to Jesus. But sometimes the old, old stories are the really good ones—the ones that change lives. (Graham, by the way, has another crusade scheduled for October in Fresno, California. But if you can’t get enough of the evangelist who founded Christianity Today, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association will be offering streaming video of the Louisville crusade over the Internet starting Thursday.)

Bush will add “stricter controls” on funds to get his faith-based initiative through Money going to faith-based organizations under the president’s plan “must be spent on social services, not worship services,” Bush will tell a meeting of mayors today. The Washington Post reports,

The administration wants new language specifying that direct government grants must go to a separate account from private funds, officials said. Bush also wants faith-based groups to have the same accountability requirements, including self-audits, as other government contractors. And they want an individual who objects to the religious component of a program—for example, a prayer service in a homeless shelter —to be able to skip it and still get the social services.

That’s all a little unclear. That last agenda item sounds like what the Bush administration has been saying all along—these groups must have a secular alternative available in the community or provide for individuals to opt-out of the religious aspects. But is the White House now saying that all religious organizations receiving federal funds must provide opt-outs? It’s unclear.

Also, the Post reports, “The administration’s efforts over the past three weeks constitute a rare admission by White House officials that they had mishandled one of Bush’s signature initiatives.”

In better news, however, civil rights activist Rosa Parks is campaigning for the initiative.

Related Elsewhere

See our past Weblog updates:

June 22 | 20 | 19 | 18

June 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11

June 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4

June 1 | May 31 | 30

May 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14

May 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7

May 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | April 30

April 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23

April 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16

- More from Ted Olsen

“Bomb Explosion During Mass Stirs Fear, Public Outcry in Bangladesh”

Todd Hertz

Suspects linked to rash of attacks

A bomb exploded during the morning mass of a Roman Catholic church in Bangladesh on June 3, killing ten and injuring more than two dozen others. The blast has set off an atmosphere of fear, mourning, and protest among Christians.

“The Christian community is afraid of another attack anywhere in Bangladesh as much as all the citizens of Bangladesh are feeling insecurity and uncertainty right now,” Dennis D. Datta, general secretary of the National Christian Fellowship of Bangladesh (NCFB) told Christianity Today. “In the capital city and country side, [Christians] have protested the heinous acts through organizing processions, rallies, human chains, public meetings and prayers throughout Bangladesh.”

The bombing of the Jalilpar Catholic Missionary Church in the village of Baniarchar—along with the 22 deaths at a Narayanganj political rally on June 16—has pushed the death toll from bombings in Bangladesh to at least 80 in the last two years, according to VOA News.

On June 11, The Tribune of Chandigarh reported that the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) could connect five of the bomb blasts and 44 deaths to the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, an underground Islamic organization.

Authorities, according to the article, had arrested a teacher for planning the Baniarchar bomb attack. He is allegedly a member of the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami. Two local Christian youth are also suspected to have aided in the church blast.

The Tribune reported that four other teachers of the same madrasa (school) in Dhaka were arrested for involvement in Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami bombings. Two have reportedly confessed.

The DMP is still searching for the secretary-general of the radical organization who allegedly planned all the attacks as a show of force to the Awami League, which has a moderately socialist ideology. Baniarchar is in the home district (Gopalganj) of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, according to The Times of India.

Datta said he believes the attack was meant to grab the attention of both Christians and Hindus. According to The Times of India, Gopalganj has a sizable Christian majority—which is very rare. According to Operation World, Muslims account for 87 percent of Bangladesh’s population. Christians make up less than one percent.

Datta said Christians and Hindus make up 95 percent of the area’s population. “With one action, [radicals] could alert both communities,” he said.

Beginning on June 1, Datta said, the NCFB had participated in a South-Asian Conference on Fundamentalism and Communism, where the theme was “Unite to Resist Fundamentalism and Communism.”

“The next day after the conference, the fundamentalists selected the church as their target to expose that they exist and are powerful,” Datta told Christianity Today. “They chose the church for getting big publicity locally and internationally—and they got it.”

Datta told Christianity Today that confusion and uncertainty ran rampant following the blast. Many in Bangladesh speculated on those responsible for the bombing since no arrests were made until almost a week later.

Ecumenical News International reported that some were claiming that a parish dispute led to the violence, but Datta dismisses the story.”It is unthinkable that divided Christians would do such a heinous act as killing worshiping people inside the church,” he said.

Others have accused rightists upset because of Hindu conversions to Christianity. Datta said this theory is absurd because no noticeable conversion has happened in the last 15 years in the region.

The blast stirred protests, rallies, and condemnations from several church and political organizations.

The Independent reported that the Bangladesh Christian Association (BCA) named June 3 as “Mourning and Hatred Day.” It will be a day marked with mass prayers and processions each year. The group also issued a nine-point resolution demanding a judicial probe.

According to the paper, leaders of the Church of Christ demanded special security for Bangladesh’s Christian community. Meanwhile, hundreds of Christians and Muslims responded to the attack with a June 7 protest march through the capital.

Datta said Christians are afraid for their safety in other areas of Bangladesh as well. Approximately 90 miles from Baniarchar, 50 Protestant families have been threatened with eviction from their homes by Islamic fundamentalists.

“We have 30 million unemployed youth in Bangladesh,” Datta said. “These youth have become easy prey for the fundamentalists. Some of them go abroad in the Middle East and get connected with Islamic fundamentalists who believe in terrorism and violence. When they return home, they are supported financially to do various terrorist activities.”

Related Elsewhere

‘The pineapple-like bomb was made in Chile,’ according to The Daily Star.

The Bangladesh Christian Association will observe Mourning and Hatred Day every year on June 3, according to The Independent.

The June 18 political rally blast during an election meeting brings the total killed in bomb explosions over 80 in Bangladesh since 1999.

The Daily Star reports on the rumored reasons behind the church blast.

Coverage of the protests, calls for arrest, and multiple condemnations is available from The Daily News, Yahoo! and The Independent.

A Daily Star editorial calls the bombing a deliberate ploy to disrupt religious equanimity.

The attack not only killed ten, says an Independent editorial, but man’s entire moral and ethical heritage and values have been subverted.

For more articles, see Yahoo’s full coverage area on Bangladesh.

- More from Todd Hertz

“Fortune May Favor the Brave, but Apparently Not the Religious”

Ted Olsen

The Christian Century criticizes Henri Nouwen and The Jesus Seminar while promoting the regulation of sex.

“The last taboo in corporate America”Fortune magazine dedicating a cover story to spirituality in the workplace is something Weblog would normally be excited about. In fact, Weblog liked it when BusinessWeek did it 19 months ago and when The Christian Science Monitor had a related article back in January 2000. Too bad that Fortune senior writer Marc Gunther didn’t read these articles and actually seek to do something better. Instead he settles for six very shallow profiles about how half a dozen executives are integrating belief and boardroom. Actually, the story about the Mormon furniture maker who went toe-to-toe with Warren Buffet over opening his stores on Sunday was pretty interesting, and the Christian CEO of Greyston Bakery (founded to support Zen Buddhists) has some pretty radical ideas about hiring practices and on-staff counselors, but most of the others don’t probe too deeply. A Presbyterian management consultant tells execs readying to lay off thousands to “err a little bit on the generous side” before she takes off for heli-skiing. A Buddhist patent attorney finds peace through meditation, a make-up-your-own-spirituality entrepreneur used Quaker discernment methods to decide to sell his company. The Roman Catholic president of Blistex “came to see himself as working for his employees rather than the other way around.” Awww.

Gunther writes that his article is “about people who struggle to resolve the tensions between business and God.” (It’s a bad sign when that sentence is preceded by nine sentences explaining what the article is not about.) But while Gunther may know business (though he usually specializes in writing about the entertainment business), his knowledge of religion needs work. “As much as Americans say they believe in God,” he writes, “most also believe in religious freedom, and hence in the separation of church and boardroom.” Huh? Did Weblog miss something? Operating by religious principles at work somehow violates religious freedom? And belief in God and belief in religious freedom is somehow contradictory? Gunther follows that sentence by saying, “And considering all the crimes committed in the name of one god or another, it’s only natural to imagine zealous executives doing more harm than good.” Yes, nothing more natural than, upon hearing that your boss goes to church, imagining him gunning down his employees while shouting, “Death to the heathens!”

Far more helpful would be to skip the Fortune piece and curl up with a back issue of Life@Work.

The Christian Century‘s most problematic books In last Saturday’s New York Times, religion columnist Peter Steinfels took a slightly belated look at The Christian Century‘s list of “problematic” books. The surprise? Most were from authors that “the center to the left of the theological spectrum” (which represents most of the magazine’s editors and readers) really like. At the top is the works of the publicity-hungry Jesus Seminar. But Henri Nouwen’s The Wounded Healer (which is rapped for leading clergy into making “their own healing a primary agenda of their ministry”) is a tremendous surprise. Michel Foucault’s The History of Sexuality sounds like one of those books an academic would throw onto the list to show how smart she is, but Princeton’s Ellen Charry criticizes it for leaving readers “with the impression that the regulation of sex—say, in the form of marriage—is a purely arbitrary and rude intrusion of the state into the lives of citizens.” It’s not that Century editors have ever opposed the “regulation of sex,” but it hasn’t exactly been one of their editorial hobbyhorses, either. In fact, the only evangelical effort to make the list was The Living Bible, criticized for creating “a sanitized Bible, one rendered safe from all ambiguity and provocation.”

That’s not to say that other religious books—including others by evangelicals—would be safe from similar lists. That they aren’t rapped more frequently, Steinfels writes,

may be due to charity. It certainly is not due to lack of material—spirituality lite guides on how to be your own best guru; niche marketing editions of study Bibles or daily meditations for computer programmers, dieters and cat owners; uplifting religious fiction; and well-meaning efforts to recast Jesus as the original successful lobbyist or the Buddha as a master of corporate personnel policy. This column has occasionally been tempted to create such a worst books list, only to be deterred by a feeling that it would be a little like breaking butterflies on a wheel or, perhaps more appropriately, rooting out dandelions with a back hoe.

Related Elsewhere

See our past Weblog updates:

June 25

June 22 | 20 | 19 | 18

June 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11

June 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4

June 1 | May 31 | 30

May 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14

May 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7

May 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | April 30

April 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23

- More from Ted Olsen

Share

Related Elsewhere

Share

Share

Still Cooking

Digest

Related Elsewhere

Share

Share

Related Elsewhere

Share

Share

Related Elsewhere

Share

Share

More articles

Related Elsewhere

Share

Share

Related Elsewhere

Share

Share

Related Elsewhere

Share

Share

Related Elsewhere

Share

Share

Related Elsewhere

Share

Share

Related Elsewhere

Share