Thursday, January 24, 2008

Should a Christian author have a problem with conservatives?

The story headline reads, "Christian author has problem with conservatives". The article is from a CNN posting ( http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/01/24/best.selling.christian.ap/ ) . CNN doesn't have a 'go ahead and share' policy with this one so go ahead and link it. It is an interesting trend, although, surely this can't be anything new under the sun. Sin is an uncomfortable thing. It is supposed to be, isn't it?
So, from my take on Christian writer Donald Miller's angst is like most of us who have been perched up high on the ol' fence trying to justify our precarious position - blessed if I do, and blessed if I don't. Good thing is that our Lord places such scribes along the way to allow us to examine ourselves.
Here are the story highlights:
*Christian writer has success with critique of Christianity
*Donald Miller says anger fueled the book
*Says too much conservative politics in churches
*Critic: Author forgets Jesus was a judge and avenger
Stuffy churches and stiff church people really bug me, too. But, I am not convinced that this is as much their error as much as it is my rebellious nature. It is hard work being a Christian. Failure seems to be the norm rather than the exception. Actually, the Bible is rather offensive. It is a tough thing to succeed at being popular with your neighbor as you tell him the truth -Hells bells will toll for him unless he repents from his sinful ways and falls to his knees before Christ Jesus, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
People are funny. Many seem to find that offensive. Is it true? Many will enter the broad gate, but narrow is the Way? Why is it narrow? Is it.. too hard? .. too offensive?.. too conservative?

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Voter Voices - Neeses, S.C.

By PHIL SARATA, T&D Correspondent Wednesday, January 16, 2008
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Phillip Williams, Neeses -- "I support Mike Huckabee because he believes in the things that I believe in as an evangelical Christian. I agree with his stance on taxes, I agree with him on the abortion issue, and I like where he stands on the direction he wants to take the federal government."Janice McDaniel, Neeses -- "John Edwards is the (candidate) that I'm supporting. I tend to agree more with the things he wants to do for our country. I like Hillary (Clinton), too, but I prefer John Edwards. I just think he's more honest about the things he has to say than the other (candidates). The fact that (John Edwards) is a native South Carolinian has a lot to do with my support. Southern people just seem to be a little more honest than Northerners."John James, Norway -- "From listening to him, I think he's (Sen. Barack Obama) the best candidate for the job. I actually think that (Obama being the only African-American in the race) is a strong point for him, because people are looking for change, and he's the man to do the job."• Compiled by T&D Correspondent Phil Sarata

Christian Analysts: '08 Election Up for Grabs

By
Michelle A. Vu
Christian Post Reporter
Mon, Jan. 14 2008 07:44 AM ET
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WASHINGTON - The presidential election is far from decided, concluded several prominent Christian public policy leaders last week after analyzing the New Hampshire primary result.
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(Photo: AP Images / Charles Krupa)
Republican presidential hopefuls participate during a Fox News Republican Candidate Forum in Manchester, N.H., Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008. From left: Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
Related
Pro-Family Groups Blast Obama as 'Extremely Liberal'
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Huckabee, Obama Surge in New National Poll
S. Carolina 'Tailor-Made' for Huckabee?
N. Hampshire Christians Rely on Grassroots Methods
“This is a wide open race on both sides. I can’t remember a time when neither side had a clear frontrunner,” said Tom Minnery, vice president of public policy for Focus on the Family (FOTF), during an FOTF Citizenlink special broadcast.
Minnery added that the nation was in “unchartered territories” as Super Tuesday, when more than 20 states will vote on Feb. 5, looms ahead.
“So who knows what lies ahead and who will benefit or suffer because of the very unusual circumstances,” he added.
Last week, both political parties experienced an upset in the presidential race when Sen. Hillary Clinton won the New Hampshire primary despite trailing Sen. Barack Obama by double digits in polls taken days ahead of the primary.
Likewise, Sen. John McCain’s win, although less dramatic than Clinton’s, also helped revive a faltering campaign that came in third in Iowa. Clinton had also come in a disappointing third in the Hawkeye State after Obama and former Sen. John Edwards, respectively.
“Who knows what will happen?” Focus on the Family’s Dr. James Dobson, who has yet to endorse a candidate, had said in October to Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
“You do not know what’s going to happen in a presidential election,” said the conservative Christian leader, who had refused to support pro-abortion former Mayor Rudy Giuliani when he was a “shoo-in.”
Dobson has been courted by many Republican contenders but has played hard to get, explaining that he wants to watch the election carefully before supporting any candidate. The endorsement of the influential radio broadcaster could help throw hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of his evangelical Christian listeners behind a candidate.
“We have no idea right now who will be facing off on Nov. 4,” said Gary Schneeberger, vice president of media relations for Focus on the Family Action. “That’s because it’s not the pollster or analysts who elect the president – it’s the people. And the people are taking a long, hard look at the candidates to see which ones best reflect the values they hold dear.”
Yet Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council Action, points out that the fields on both sides have narrowed.
“I think the Republican race is down to a three-man race,” the FRC president said on the Citizenlink special. “The bid on both sides is down to three candidates. I think [for] Giuliani, it was a bad strategy for him to try to sit out until Florida. I think he will get lost in the headlines.
“New Hampshire was a place he should have been able to compete. He was probably intimidated by both Romney and McCain.”
Giuliani had come in fourth in New Hampshire behind McCain, former Gov. Mitt Romney and former Gov. Mike Huckabee, respectively.
“I think the fields are narrowing. Same thing on the Democratic side,” Perkins added. “I think it will be a horse race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.”
A new nationwide poll released Saturday found that a hypothetical match-up between the Republican and Democratic frontrunners would see Clinton in the lead with 50 percent support, according to the CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll. Obama follows in second with 49 percent support.
On the Republican side, McCain appears to be the closest contender, essentially tied with both Democratic frontrunners at 48 percent support from those surveyed.
The poll found troubling news for Romney, with 62 percent of those surveyed saying they will definitely not vote for him in the general election, compared with only 13 percent who say they will definitely vote for him – the worst showing of any of the major candidates, according to CNN.
Giuliani and Huckabee will also face an uphill battle this fall, with 55 percent of those polled saying they would not consider supporting Giuliani, and 52 percent saying the same of Huckabee.
But the former Arkansas governor is viewed negatively by only 30 percent of those polled, competitive to McCain’s 29 percent. On the other hand, Huckabee is viewed positively by 38 percent. His trouble lies in the one-fifth of those polled who said they had no opinion of him.
With the importance and up-for-grabs nature of the upcoming election, Shirley Dobson, wife of Dr. Dobson, has called for prayers for the upcoming election.
“We need God to be involved in this upcoming election,” said the chairman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force, who recently launched the Pray for Election Day campaign. “We want him to raise up righteous leaders, both in the Congress and the president. I believe this year will determine the future of our nation.”

Where It's Not Easy Being Christian

Web Site Details Christianophobia in Europe
VIENNA, Austria, JAN. 14, 2008 (Zenit.org).- International organizations need to know that being a Christian in Europe sometimes means being the victim of Christianophobia, say the promoters of a new Web site detailing this phenomenon.
The "Europe for Christ!" network launched www.christianophobia.eu from Vienna to both explain what Christianophobia is, and to tell how Europeans have experienced it.
"Christianophobia means irrational fear or hatred of Christians, or Christianity in general," explained Gudrun Kugler, founder of the site. "It includes anti-Christian bias, and also manifests itself in the slow marginalization of those confessing the Christian faith."
The site includes cases of mockery or ridiculing of the Christian faith, the removal of Christian symbols from public places, restrictions on wearing symbols of Christian faith, and attacks in movies and television broadcasts.
The site also details the persecution of "politically incorrect" positions intrinsic to the Christian faith, such as the opposition to abortion and gay "marriage." Cases range from people being fired or sentenced to pay a fine. For example, the site explains, French member of Parliament Christian Vanneste was sentenced to payments of about €10 000 ($14,870) for his critical comments on homosexuality.
On record
The term Christianophobia has already entered several documents of the U.N. and OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe], the site records. Vatican officials, including Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for relations with states at the Vatican Secretariat of State, have also supported the recognition of the term and the phenomenon.
The site lists other references to the term from social or religious leaders. It records a comment from Joseph Weiler, a Jewish author and professor of international law at New York University. He said, "European 'laicité,' as distinct from American secularism, is not simply an ‘I don't happen to believe in God.' It is a kind of faith in itself. It is a positive hostility to religion, which in Europe means Christianity. This is why I did not hesitate in my book to speak about Christophobia."
Orthodox Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev, representative of the Russian Orthodox Church to European organizations, accuses the European Union of turning a blind eye to anti-Christian practices in EU countries, the Web site records. "In insisting on tolerance, EU leaders slam Islamophobia and anti-Semitism but often ignore various anti-Christian practices," the bishop said.
Self-confidence
According to Web site founder Kugler, "The attitude in Europe is becoming very hostile. We work on the issue and publish these cases in order to alert. Our work is not about self-pity. It is about solutions which must include the political level."
She said she also thinks that as a remedy, European Christians should have more self-confidence: "Christianity constitutes a large part of the humanism Europe is famous for. It gave much -- and it still has a lot to offer. It is on us Christians to participate in the public square with self-confidence. As a result, Christianophobic tendencies will diminish."
The Europe for Christ! initiative offers tools for participating in public life as well as summaries of issues being debated.
The initiative is also a prayer network: Participants pray an Our Father a day for a Christian Europe.
© Innovative Media, Inc.
Reprinting ZENIT's articles requires written permission from the editor.

Kenya: Worldwide Week for Christian Unity Focuses On Constant Prayer

Posted to the web 15 January 2008
Nairobi
Christians around the world are preparing for the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity which starts Friday.
The main biblical text for this year's event is 1 Thessalonians 5: 17: "Pray without ceasing", which stresses the essential role of prayer within the life of the Christian community as its members grow in their relationship to Christ and to one another.
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This year marks the 100th anniversary of the inauguration of the week of Prayer for Christian Unity. A hundred years ago, Father Paul Wattson, an Episcopal (Anglican) priest and co-founder of the Society of the Atonement at Graymoor (Garrison, New York), introduced a Prayer Octave for Christian Unity that was first celebrated from 18 to 25 January 1908.
The meditations for the eight days in this year's material for the week of prayer build on the notion that prayer for Christian unity, spiritual ecumenism, is foundational to all other aspects of the search for unity among Christians.
In a message for the event, the chairman of Commission for Ecumenism of the Kenya Episcopal Conference, Bishop Philip Anyolo of Homa Bay recalls the words of the bishops of Kenya in their 2006 pastoral letter on ecumenism:
"The journey of promoting Christian Unity central to Christian identity and the pastoral priorities of the Catholic Church are rooted in our faith in Jesus Christ and the zeal for the Church and it's unity.
"For this very reason, ecumenism is not just some sort of "appendix" that is added to the Church's traditional activity. Rather ecumenism is an organic part of her life and work, and consequently must pervade all that she is and does."
Relevant Links
East Africa Kenya Religion
Bishop Anyolo further encourages parish communities and pastoral collaborators the christian Unity is the work of the Holy Spirit.
"Every time the baptized come together to pray, it is the Spirit who guides them and teaches them how to pray. It is the same Spirit who builds the Church's unity. It is the Holy Spirit dwelling in those who believe, rewarding and ruling over the entire Church, who brings about the marvelous communion of those who believe, and joins them so intimately together in Christ that he is the principle of the Church unity."
But unity is also a journey made by the Christian to embrace the other. The bishop invites "individual Christians, and where it is possible and opportune in you local groups and communities, to meet each other in prayer through a healing of some memories of division and rivalry, and to inspire each other to grow in even grater fidelity to Christ and to the Gospel."

Friday, January 11, 2008

B I O


Some forty-three years I wandered about this big, beautiful, blue globe called Earth, blind. Now, I can see. Praise the Lord!


A bit about me:

Typical mass consumer that likes to make noise and call it music, who eagerly engages in conversations concerning Christ, the cross, the way to blessed assurance, politics, food, and life.


People I'd like to meet:

Jesus Christ, John the Baptist, Adam n Eve, Albert Einstein, Daniel Boone, Jimmy Hendrix, Jimmy Page, my great grandfathers, Goldie Hawne, George Washington, Santa Claus, Eric Clapton, John Bonham, Bathsheba, Paul (formerly known as Saul), Rachael Welch, C.S. Lewis, Paul Bunyon, John Lennon, Christopher Columbus, Pee Wee Herman, Samson and Delilah, George Bush, Larry Curly Mo and Shemp, Abraham and Sarah...


In general, my interests are in following the Way; music; ministering; reading; hiking; biking; tinkering; traveling; consuming... all not necessarily in that order.


My music prefs are noisy Christian stuff; nice Christian stuff; quiet Christian stuff; noisy stuff; nice stuff; quiet stuff; and.. more stuff.


Movies I kinda like to rehash are Christmas Vacation; Up In Smoke; Nice Dreams; Jesus Christ Superstar; Luther; Night of the Living Dead; Texas Chainsaw Massacre; Naked Gun all of em; Shreks; War of the Worlds all of em; Eraserhead; Clint Eastwoods; Arnolds; Taxi Driver; It Came From Outer Space; Frankenstein; Abbot n Costello; Jerry Lewis; Goldie Hawn; and some movie with Sally Fields in it that I can't ever remember the name of it. None of it really makes any sense nor does any of it seem to really matter this way or that. It's just a list.


I like television when it is off!


A short list of books that I find fit to strike up a conversation over are the Bible; Pilgrims Progress; The Four Loves; Christianity In Crisis; What If The Bible Had Never Been Written; The Screwtape Letters; The Return of the Prodigal Son; Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained; Reaching For the Invisible God...


My hero is Jesus Christ.