Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Why I left the Episcopal Church by Dr Moheb Ghali

Posted at Anglican Mainstream:

April 22nd, 2008

WHY I LEFT THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
Dr. Moheb Ghali


PREFACE: I have never met Moheb Ghali face to face. He and I are academic administrators on opposite sides of the globe, although he hails originally from Africa and I from America. We both have served in the Episcopal Church (now TEC) for forty years – he as a layman, I as a priest. We both reached the same conclusion – he as a man in the pew, I as a biblical scholar and preacher: that TEC at its highest levels of leadership has abandoned the biblical and apostolic faith. Dr. Ghali is no “ploughboy” when it comes to understanding Scripture, but his simple synopsis of proof-texts from the Bible and TEC authorities will make a sledgehammer-like impact on those who have ears to hear. His conscientious decision to leave the church he has loved and served should be as significant as any of the many unheeded calls to repentance from the faithful Primates. He and those like him are the reason that the Global Anglican Future Conference is necessary.

The Rev. Prof. Stephen Noll, Vice Chancellor, Uganda Christian University

Occasionally I am asked why I found it necessary, after four decades of committed service, to leave the Episcopal Church. My answer is: I had to choose whom to believe. On many issues central to my faith what Jesus and the Apostles say and what the leaders of the Episcopal Church say are incompatible. I chose to believe in what Jesus and the Apostles say, and that made it necessary to leave the Episcopal Church.

The Bishops of the Church, who are the Ecclesiastical Authorities in their dioceses, the successors to the Apostles and the guardians of faith, speak for the Church on matters of faith and doctrine (see: examination of Bishop-elect at Consecration on authority to interpret the Gospel; Canon 12.3(b) on authority to issue pastoral letters on points of doctrine, discipline or worship; Lambeth 1948 on the locus of the dispersed authority being the episcopate; and Archbishop of Canterbury’s October 14, 2007 letter to Bishop Howe on the organ of union with the wider Church being the Bishop and the Diocese). Their public statements interpreting the Gospel and doctrine, unless repudiated by Church councils, may be taken as representing the Church’s positions. In what follows I compare examples of the positions expressed by Episcopal Bishops, theologians and other Church leaders on ten issues, positions that have not been repudiated by councils of the Episcopal Church, with the positions found in Scripture. I use statements by Presiding Bishops, both current and former, with greater frequency as I consider the public views of the presiding officer of the House of Bishops to be representatives of views of the majority of its members.

I. IS JESUS THE ONLY WAY?

JESUS:
“Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” [John 14:6]

PETER:
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." [Acts 4:12]

PAUL
“Therefore God exalted (Jesus) to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” [Philippians 2:9-11]

EPISCOPAL CHURCH LEADERS:
“In its narrow construction, it tends to eliminate other possibilities. In its broader construction, yes, human beings come to relationship with God largely through their experience of holiness in other human beings. Through seeing God at work in other people’s lives. In that sense, yes, I will affirm that statement. But not in the narrow sense, that people can only come to relationship with God through consciously believing in Jesus” [Presiding Bishop, Arkansas Democrat Gazette, January 2007].

“Christians understand that Jesus is the route to God. Umm– that is not to say that Muslims, or Sikhs, or Jains, come to God in a radically different way. They come to God through… human experience… through human experience of the divine. Christians talk about that in terms of Jesus.” “For Christians, we say that our route to God is through Jesus. That doesn’t mean that a Hindu doesn’t experience God except through Jesus. It says that Hindus and people of other faith traditions approach God through their own cultural contexts; they relate to God, they experience God in human relationships, as well as ones that transcend human relationships; and Christians would say those are our experiences of Jesus, of God through the experience of Jesus.” [Presiding Bishop, NPR interview: Here & Now, October 18, 2006].

“We who practice the Christian tradition understand him as our vehicle to the divine. But for us to assume that God could not act in other ways is, I think, to put God in an awfully small box.”[Presiding Bishop, Time, July 10, 2006]

“The Incarnation God is one for us. But is Christ God’s final act? We can’t say that because we cannot see the future. We don’t know what God will do next to redeem us. The Bible tells us that the Kingdom of God has not yet come.” [Bishop of Pennsylvania, Virtue on Line, November 29, 2005]

“When Jesus says to Nicodemus You must be born again from above, what might he mean? I think it is a way of the gospel is saying that Jesus is a venue, an event, an experience, and an instance in which life is renewed, in which every human being as access to new life.” [Presiding Bishop, ABC Radio, The Religion Report, 26 July 2006]

“. . . I see the pre-Easter Jesus as a Jewish mystic who knew God, and who, as a result, became a healer, wisdom teacher and prophet of the kingdom of God. The latter led to his being killed by the authorities who ruled his world. But I do not think he proclaimed or taught an extraordinary status for himself. The message of the pre-Easter Jesus was about God and the kingdom of God, and not about himself.” [Dr. Marcus Borg, Co-Director of Center for Spiritual Development at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral Portland, and former President of the Anglican Association of Biblical Scholars, Washington Post, December 30, 2006]

"I don’t think God cares if we are Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and so forth. What matters is a deepening relationship with God." [Dr. Marcus Borg, St. Petersburg Times, February 9, 2005]

MY CONCLUSION:
Should I believe that Jesus is The Way as He claimed to be? Or should I believe that He is “a vehicle to the divine”? If He is a “vehicle” there is no advantage of choosing Him over other available vehicles, thus there is no reason to be a Christian or an Episcopalian. I choose to believe Him and in Him.

II. IS JESUS THE SON OF GOD?

JESUS:
“They all asked, ‘Are you then the Son of God?’ He replied, ‘You are right in saying I am.’" [Luke 22:70].

“I am God’s Son. Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does.” [John: 10:36-37].

JOHN:
“But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” [John 20:31]

PETER:
"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." [Matthew 16:16]

PAUL:
“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God–the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. [Romans 1:1-4]

EPISCOPAL CHURCH LEADERS:
“Rather, I see the grand statements about Jesus — that he is the son of God, the Light of the World and so forth — as the testimony of the early Christian movement. These are neither objectively true statements about Jesus nor, for example in this season, about his conception and birth. To speak of him as the son of God does not mean that he was conceived by God and had no biological human father. Rather, this is the post-Easter conviction of his followers."[Dr. Marcus Borg, Washington Post, December 30, 2006]

“It’s not about having answers as much as it is about engaging a story. It is about your story and how your story connects to an ancient story of desert wanderers that, in time, came to see that humanity and this energy they called God mingled and existed through Christ and thus, exists in all of humanity.” [The Episcopal Church web site, Visitors Center, “Spiritual but not Religious”]

MY CONCLUSION:
If Jesus claimed that His works are the evidence that He is the Son of God, and if John and Peter, who personally knew Jesus, believed that He is the Son of God, what evidence is there that would lead me to refute their statements in favor of those of someone who does know Jesus as Peter and John did?

III. THE RESURRECTION

JESUS:
"We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!"[Matthew 20: 18,19]

PETER:
“This man (Jesus) was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. [Acts 2:23-25]

PAUL:
“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born… And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”[1 Corinthians 15:3-8, 17]

EPISCOPAL CHURCH LEADERS:
“The story of Jesus’ bodily resurrection is, at best, conjectural; that the resurrection accounts in the four Gospels are contradictory and confusing… the significance of Easter is not that Jesus returned to actual life but that even death itself could not end the power of his presence in the lives of the faithful.” [Bishop of Diocese of Washington, D.C., Easter sermon in 2002]
“Asked about the literal story of Easter and the Resurrection, Jefferts Schori said, ‘I think Easter is most profoundly about meaning, not mechanism.’" [Episcopal Life on line (official newspaper of TEC), April 8, 2008]

MY CONCLUSION:
If Jesus was not raised from the dead, there is not a chance that I would be either. And if there is no resurrection why believe anything else Scripture promises? If the promises in Scripture are lies and deceptions, why should anyone become a Christian? I chose to be a Christian because I believe in the Resurrection.

IV. THE BIBLE

JESUS:
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” [Luke 21:33]

PAUL:
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” [2 Timothy 3:16-17]

PETER:
“Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”[2 Peter 1:20-21]

EPISCOPAL CHURCH LEADERS:
“And while I think we would all say as our ordination liturgy has us say – those of us who are ordained – that we believe that the Old and New Testament contain all things necessary to salvation, there is a broad interpretation of what precisely that means in actual terms as one looks at various issues and concerns in the life of the church. … So when we think about church, I think many of us think first of all about that sacramental experience rather than the Book” [Former Presiding Bishop, AAC Equipping the Saints 2007]

“…I don’t think the Scripture writers had any notion of homosexuality…So you’re dealing with
a reality that isn’t reflected in Scripture. Is this possibly an instance where we’ve learned
something that takes us beyond the world of the Bible and therefore the texts used don’t really
apply?” [Former Presiding Bishop, 2004 Beliefnet.com interview].

“Because we live in different cultural situations, not all biblical commandments or proscriptions apply simply or in the same way to any one person or situation.” [The Episcopal Church Center, To Set Our Hope on Christ, authored at the invitation of Presiding Bishop by a commission of six theology professors from four theological seminaries, and a bishop.]

"We wrote the Bible, we can rewrite the bible." [Bishop of Pennsylvania, sermon at The Church of the Good Samaritan in Paoli, reported in: Virtue on Line, November 29, 2005]

"The Scriptures are internally contradictory on the surface. Their interpretation varies according to the needs of the hearer."[Bishop of Pennsylvania, St. Luke's Church, Newtown, PA July 8, 2004.]

“I believe the Bible is a book of poetry with a lot of history in it. I believe the Prayer Book has all that one needs for salvation. I believe that an all-loving God would never send anyone to hell for eternity. I believe he works it out in the end for everyone.” [Bishop of Lexington, at meeting with St John’s Parish, Versailles, KY, reported in Still On Patrol, March 14, 2008]

“So I think there is no question of devaluing Scripture; I think it’s a question of accepting the fact that Scripture doesn’t presuppose every eventuality, nor does it transcend being in some ways historically limited by those who wrote the words — their worldview, their understanding of human reality. Jesus in the Gospel of John says, "I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now; however, the spirit of truth will come and will draw from what is mine and reveal it to you." So it is clear as I read the Bible that truth is an unfolding reality and is not simply fixed or circumscribed at a particular moment or by the pages of Scripture itself. The Holy Spirit can transcend the words that the Holy Spirit has inspired and lead us to new understandings and new appreciations.” [Former Presiding Bishop, Comments following the House of Bishops meeting January 2005, Religion and Ethics Newsweekly]

“There is no single biblical morality. Few biblical scholars would claim that a monochromatic approach to ethics and human behavior exists in the Holy Scriptures…The Holy Scriptures, written in antiquity, could not and did not foresee many of the ethical questions we face in our age.” [A Statement from the Episcopal Diocese of Utah, General Convention, March 13, 2007]

MY CONCLUSION:
If the Bishops of the Church are correct, why do they have us read passages from the Bible every Sunday and have us listen to sermons expounding on those passages? If I should not believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, where should I go to find the word of God? This is a fundamental issue that underlies many of the issues addressed above. For if Scripture is not the inspired word of God, then one cannot rely on Scriptural witness that Jesus is the Son of God, or that He was raised from the dead. If Jesus is not the Son of God and if He was not raised from the dead, then He, at best, is one of many vehicles to the divine. I believe that Scripture is the inspired word of God and as I read the Scripture I do know that God speaks to me.

V. SALVATION

JESUS:
“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.” [John 10:9]

PAUL:
“That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved… Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”[Romans 10:9, 13]

PETER:
“Salvation is found in no one else (but Jesus), for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."[Acts 4:12]

“No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."” [Acts 15:11]

EPISCOPAL CHURCH LEADERS:
“The question is always how can we get beyond our own narrow self-interest and see that our
salvation lies in attending to the needs of other people.” [Presiding Bishop, Parabola, Spring 2007].

“Holiness and wholeness and health all come from the same root in English, and they’re related quite intimately to the word ’salvation’. Living a holy life, living a whole and full life, is one of our understandings of what salvation means, and when Jesus says ‘I came that you might have life and have it abundantly’, he certainly means in the fullness of our beings, and if we understand that some people are created, are born, in this world with affections ordered toward those of the same gender, then perhaps it means we need to pay attention to that.” [Presiding Bishop, ABC Radio, The Religion Report, 26 July 2006]

MY CONCLUSION:
Does salvation lie in attending to the needs of other? Or is attending to the needs of others the result of salvation? Should I love God because I love my neighbor, or should my love for my neighbor result from my love for God? The answer is clear from the order in which Jesus summarized the Law.

VI. THE EUCHARIST

JESUS:
“While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take it; this is my body." Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it. "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many," he said to them.” [Mark 14:22-24]

PAUL:
“Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.” [1 Corinthians 11:27-29]

“Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?” [1 Corinthians 10:16]

EPISCOPAL CHURCH LEADERS:
“Why does the church gather around a table with food and drink in its primary act of worship? Because God calls the church to a ministry of reconciliation. The church is called to restore the dignity of creation. It is all about feeding and being fed. It is all about making certain that all God’s children are safe, whole and nourished. The ritual breaking of bread in the midst of the assembly reminds us of our task while it embodies its reality.” [The Rev. Clayton Morris, Liturgical Officer for the Episcopal Church, Episcopal Life, March 31, 2008]

MY CONCLUSION:
The Passover meal was not about feeding and being fed. Rather, it was about celebrating God’s mighty act of breaking bondages of slavery. To me, the Eucharist is the participation in the body and blood of Christ to celebrate and give thanks for His mighty act in broking my bondage to sin. When the celebrant tells me “this is the Body of Christ…this is the Blood of Christ”, I believe they are.

VII. MARRIAGE

JESUS:
“"But at the beginning of creation God `made them male and female.’ `For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." [Mark 10:6-9]

PAUL:
“Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.” [1 Timothy 3:2,3]

“Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” [Hebrews 13:4]

EPISCOPAL CHURCH LEADERS:
“Resolved, That this 96th Convention of the Diocese of Olympia affirms, and calls upon the Bishops and Standing Committee of the Diocese to affirm the full inclusion in all areas of the life of the Episcopal Church of our otherwise qualified brother and sister Christians who are single or partnered heterosexual gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered persons, and those who are in non-celibate heterosexual relationships and those who are divorced, as well as the full inclusion of the Episcopal Church in the full life of the Anglican Communion.” Passed with two friendly amendments; 317 in favor, 79 against, 51 abstentions.

“For almost forty years, members of the Episcopal Church have discerned holiness in same-sex relationships and, have come to support the blessing of such unions and the ordination or consecration of persons in those unions. Christian congregations have sought to celebrate and bless same-sex unions because these exclusive, life-long, unions of fidelity and care for each other have been experienced as holy. These unions have evidenced the fruit of the Holy Spirit: “joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” [Episcopal Church Center, To Set Our Hope on Christ, authored at the invitation of Presiding Bishop by a commission of six theology professors from four theological seminaries, and a bishop.]

“The Holy Scriptures do not speak of what we describe in The Episcopal Church as loving, faithful, monogamous, life-long commitments of two persons of the same sex, nor do they speak of the intimate sexual lives such committed persons may express with one another in their relationships. We must therefore look more deeply within as well as beyond the Holy Scriptures for guidelines that may be brought into dialogue with those passages of Scripture usually employed to address matters of sexual intimacy.” [A Statement from the Episcopal Diocese of Utah, General Convention, March 13, 2007]

MY CONCLUSION:
Jesus described God’s purpose for marriage which has not changed from the beginning of creation. His first miracle was at a wedding feast. The metaphor of a bride and groom is used repeatedly in both the Old and New Testament. To my mind this reflects the status and significance of marriage in Scripture. Extramarital committed sexual relationships whether heterosexual or homosexual do not have such status. To agree with the Episcopal Church’s position is to accept the proposition cited above that “interpretation (of Scripture) varies according to the needs of the hearer.” [Bishop of Lexington].

VIII. EVANGELISM

JESUS:
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."[Matthew 28:19,20]

PAUL:
“He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.”[2Timothy 4:2]

PETER:
“He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name..”[Acts 10: 42-43]

EPISCOPAL CHURCH LEADERS:
“The Bishop of the Episcopal diocese of Los Angeles has issued an apology to Hindus worldwide for what he called "centuries-old acts of religious discrimination by Christians, including attempts to convert them. The apology was given in a statement read to over 100 Hindu spiritual leaders at a mass from Right Reverend J John Bruno. The ceremony started with a Hindu priestess blowing a conch shell three times and included sacred chants… Rev. Karen MacQueen, who was deeply influenced by Hindu Vedanta philosophy and opposes cultivating conversions (added) "There are enough Christians in the world," [India Abroad, Posted: Feb 10, 2008.]

MY CONCLUSION:
The Episcopal Church’s position logically flows from the belief that Jesus is “a vehicle” among many alternative vehicles: it would be arrogant to deny others their choice of a vehicle and insist that they choose only our preferred one. Since I believe that Jesus is The Way, and the only way to the Father, it would be very selfish and unloving (it would be breaking the commandment to love my neighbor) if I did not share this belief with others.

IX. THE BODY OF CHRIST: THE CHURCH

PAUL:
“For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.” [Ephesians 5:23]

“And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.”[Colossians 1:18]

EPISCOPAL CHURCH LEADERS:
“Christians talk about the body of Christ. A theologian named Sally McFague talks about the
body of God as being all of creation. When one part of the body suffers, the whole body suffers. That’s an essential piece of Paul’s theology. If we’re not caring adequately for the other parts of the body, we are not only destroying ourselves, but we’re destroying our neighbors here and across the world. The fact that, you know, how I use carbon might have some impact on a poor person in China. [Presiding Bishop, PBS, The Bill Moyers Journal, June 2007]

MY CONCLUSION:
This is a strange religion. There is no support in Scripture to the concept that the body of God is all creation (recall that part of creation is the Lucifer and his minions and dominion). When Paul writes about the body of Christ he is explicitly referring to the Church. When Paul writes the words used by the Presiding Bishop: ‘If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it” it is very clear that he is talking about Church, not about environmental concerns.

X. THE CREEDS

EPISCOPAL CHURCH:
“Those creeds are not about checking off a bunch of propositions. They are about giving our
heart to a sense that Jesus shows us what it looks like to be a divine human being”[Presiding
Bishop, Parabola Spring 2007].

“You don’t all have to profess exactly the same understandings of the central tenets of the faith,” she added. “What’s important is to worship together.” [Presiding Bishop, San Diego.co, by Union-Tribune, April 5, 2008]


MY CONCLUSION:
If the creeds are not important, we should stop reciting them on Sundays. The worship service on Sunday, if we accept the number of premises presented above by leaders of the Episcopal Church, would have no Scripture reading, hopefully no sermon expounding on the Scripture, no recital of creeds and no Eucharist. We would just have a great time reading poetry, feeding and being fed.



Dr. Moheb Ghali was a member of the Episcopal Church for over 40 years. He served as Senior Warden for terms totaling 15 years, was delegate to conventions and served on Diocesan Councils with three Bishops in Hawaii. He taught Sunday School classes, adult Bible classes, and lead home fellowships. For the past year Ghali has been a member of St. Brendan’s Anglican Church: www.stbrendansanglicanchurch.org

Personal Data

Citizenship: USA

Present Position: Vice Provost for Research and Dean of the Graduate School, Western Washington University



Education

Ph.D., Economics, University of Washington, 1967.

M.A., Economics, University of California, Berkeley, 1962.

B.Com., Economics, Cairo University, 1959.

Experience

Administrative Experience

Current Position (July 1993-present):

Vice Provost for Research and Dean of the Graduate School.

Past Administrative Positions:

University Director of Research, University of Hawaii, 1984-1993.

Associate Dean for Research and Training, University of Hawaii, 1982-84.

Acting Director, Social Science Research Institute, University of Hawaii, 1976-77.

Acting Director, Economic Research Center, University of Hawaii, 1973-74.

Faculty Appointments

Professor of Economics, Western Washington University, 1993 – present.

Professor of Economics, University of Hawaii, 1975- 1993

Associate Professor of Economics, University of Hawaii, 1972-75

Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Hawaii, 1970-72

Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics and Quantitative Methods, Graduate School of Business, University of Washington, 1969-70

Assistant Professor of Economics, Assyout University, Egypt, 1967-69.

Assistant Professor of Economics, Rice University, 1966-67

Consulting and Research and Grant Management Experience Consultant, Purdue University – Calumet, 2007.

Consultant, University of Hartford, 2005.

Consultant, Western Carolina University, 2004

Graduate Programs Planning Grant, Council of Graduate Schools/ Sloan Foundation, 2002.

Consultant, Idaho Board of Education, Research Center Site Visit and Selection Team, 1999.

Principal Investigator: Biological Research Facilities Grant, US Department of Education and State of Hawaii, 1987-89 ($804,000)

Managed the Research and Training Revolving Fund, State of Hawaii, 1982- 1993 (funding $5,200,000 per year)

Principal Investigator: University of Hawaii/East-West Center Collaborative Research Program, East-West Center, 1982-1993 ($90,000 per year)

Principal Investigator: Crime Correlates, US Bureau of Justice Statistics and Department of the Attorney General, State of Hawaii, 1981-82 ($64,000)

Principal Investigator: The Social Impact of Tourism, Department of Planning and Economic Development, 1980, ($11,000)

Principal Investigator: Alternative Growth Paths for Hawaii, Department of Planning and Economic Development, 1974 ($20,000)

Consultant: Juvenile Crime in Hawaii, Hawaii State Department of Budget and Finance, 1980.

Consultant: Unemployment Insurance in Hawaii, Hawaii State Department of Budget and Finance, 1976.

Consultant: Regional Growth in the US, Fujitsu Ltd. of Japan and the Japan-America Institute of Management Science,1975-76.

Consultant: Wage and Price Controls and Strike Activity, US Department of Labor, 1975.

Consultant: Agricultural Planning in Hawaii, Hawaii State Department of Budget and Finance, 1975.

Consultant: The Honolulu International Airport Noise and Air Pollution, Hawaii State Department of Budget and Finance, 1971.

Consultant: Input Output Study, the General Organization for Industrialization, Cairo, Egypt, 1969.

Consultant: Economic Modeling, Institute for National Planning, Cairo, Egypt, 1967-69.

Consultant: Economic Policy, Ministry of Treasury, Cairo, Egypt, 1967-68.

Publications

A. Books

Empirical Explorations in Regional Growth, with M. Akiyama and J. Fujiwara, collaborators, Martinus Nijhoff Publishing, Boston, 1981.

Tourism and Regional Growth: An Empirical Study of the Alternative Growth Paths for Hawaii, editor and contributor, Martinus Nijhoff, Leiden, 1977.

The Structure and Dynamic Properties of a Regional Economy: An Econometric Model for Hawaii, with B. Renaud, D.C.Heath, Lexington, 1975.

B. Articles

"Comparison of Two Empirical Cost Functions," International Journal of Production Economics, Vol.108, 2007, pp. 15 - 21.

"Measuring the Convexity of the Cost Function," International Journal of Production Economics, Vol.93-94, 2005, pp. 87 – 99.

"Production Planning Horizon, Production Smoothing, and Convexity of the Cost Functions," International Journal of Production Economics, Vol. 81-82, 2003, pp. 67 – 74.

"The Speed of Adjustment and Production Smoothing: Bayesian Estimation," with K. Surekha, International Journal of Production Economics, Vol. 71, 2001, pp. 55 –65.

"An Adaptive Dynamic Model of Production and Inventories," International Journal of Production Economics, Vol. 59, 1999, pp. 13-22.

"Temporal Aggregation and the Estimation of Inventory Functions," International Journal of Production Economics, Vol. 45, 1996, pp. 21-28.

"Classical and Variance Bounds Tests of the Production Smoothing Hypothesis," with S. Dimelis, International Journal of Production Economics, Vol. 35, 1994, pp. 15-22.

"Variance Bounds Tests of Inventory Behavior In Disaggregated Manufacturing Industries," with S. Dimelis, in Inventory Cycles and Monetary Policy, R. Fiorito, ed., Springer-Verlag Publishing, Berlin, London & New York, 1994, pp. 209-226.

"Models of Production and Inventory Behavior," Economic Modeling, Vol. 4, Jan. 1993, 57-63.

"Empirical Estimation of three Models of Production and Inventory Behavior Using Monthly Industry Data," International Journal of Production Economics, Vol. 26, 1992, 43-48.

"Modeling of the Criminal Justice System: Decisions made at the Police Level," in Mini and Microcomputers and their Applications, M.H. Hamza ed., Acta Press, Zurich 1989, 355-357.

"A Simulation Model of Interregional Migration and Regional Growth," in Mini and Microcomputers and their Applications, M.H. Hamza ed., Acta Press, Zurich 1989, 358-360.

"Seasonal Adjustment Effect on Inventory Behavior," in Progress in Inventory Management, A. Chikan ed., Elsevier Science Publishers, Amsterdam, 1989.

"Inflation, Tenure Choice and Condominium Conversion," with L. Rose, The Journal of Real Estate Appraisal and Economics, Fall 1988, 61-74.

"The Measurement and Economic Effects of Excess Inventory Holdings in Socialist Economies," The Economics of Inventory Management, A. Chikan and M. Lovell eds., Elsevier Science Publishers, Amsterdam, 1988,137-146.

"Seasonality, Aggregation, and theTesting of the Production Smoothing Hypothesis," American Economic Review, June 1987, 464-469.

"Specification Error: A Generalized Test," with M. Snow, Economic Modeling, Vol. 4, No. 1, January 1987, 65-76.

"Gender Bias and the Criminal Justice System: An Empirical Investigation," with M. Chesney-Lind, Sociology and Sociological Research, January, 1986, 164-171.

"Statistical Measurement of the Deterrence Effect: A Regression Framework," Journal of Criminal Justice, Vol. 13, No. 2, 1985, 181-184.

"A Generalized Test for Four Types of Regression Specification Error," with M. Snow, Mathematical Modeling in Science and Technology, Avula, Kalman, Liapis, and Rodin Eds., Pergamon Press, New York, 1984, 778-783.

"Uncertainty, Buffer-stocks, and Inventory Behavior," New Results in Inventory Research, A. Chikan ed., Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1984, 155-162.



"Economic Factors and the Composition of Juvenile Property Crimes," with others, Applied Economics, April 1983, 267-281.



"The Choice of Crime: An Empirical Analysis of Juveniles’ Criminal Choice," Journal of Criminal Justice, December 1982, 433-442.

"Inventories and Short-run Output Stabilization," Southern Economic Journal, January 1982, 157-165.

"Production Smoothing and Inventory Behavior: A Simple Model," in Economics and Management of Inventories, A. Chikan ed., Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, 1981, 157-165.

"Models of Regional Growth: An Empirical Evaluation," with M. Akiyama and J. Fujiwara, Regional Science and Urban Economics, May 1981, 175-190.

"An Empirical Evaluation of Three Regional Growth Models," The Annals of Regional Science, December 1980, 15-29.

"Factor Mobility and Regional Growth," with M. Akiyama and J. Fujiwara, The Review of Economics and Statistics, February 1978, 78-84.

"The Effects of Controls on Wages, Prices and Strike Activity," The Journal of Economics and Business, Fall, 1977, 23-30.

"The Application of Dynamic Growth Theory to Regions: A Comment," with B. Renaud, Journal of Regional Science, August 1977, 305.

"The Demand for Higher Education Facing an Individual Institution," with W. Miklius and R. Wada, Higher Education, November 1977, 477-487.

"Regional Growth and Resource Constraints," in Tourism And Regional Growth, M. Ghali ed., Martinus Nijhoff, Leiden, 1977, 1-19.

"Alternative Growth Paths for Hawaii," with L. Rose, in Tourism And Regional Growth, M. Ghali ed., Martinus Nijhoff, Leiden, 1977, 49-76.

"Pooling as a Specification Error: Comment," Econometrica, April 1976, 755-757.

"Tourism and Economic Growth: An Empirical Study," Economic Development And Cultural Change, April 1976, 527-538.

"The Contribution of Tourism to Hawaii’s Growth," in Management Science Applications To Leisure Time, S.P. Ladany ed., North Holland, 1975, 124-133.

"Inventories, Production Smoothing and the Accelerator: An Empirical Study," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, February 1974, 149-157.

"Exports, Investment and Regional Growth," Southern Economic Journal, Oct. 1973, 289-296.

"The End of the North-South Wage Differential: Reply," with P. Coelho, The American Economic Review, September 1973, 757-762.

"On Measuring the Third-Party Effects of a Strike," The Western Economic Journal, June 1973, 214-227.

"The End of the North-South Wage Differential," with P. Coelho, The American Economic Review, December 1971, 932-937.

"Regional Investment and Regional Growth," with B. Renaud, The Southern Economic Journal, September 1971, 219-229.

"The Consumption Function at The Regional Level: The Case of Hawaii," with B. Renaud, The Annals Of Regional Science, June 1971, 50-61.

C. Monographs

Socio-Economic and Demographic Characteristics of Offender Population, State of Hawaii, Department of the Attorney General, HCJIDC, Honolulu, August 1982.

The Economics of Juvenile Property Crimes, assisted by others, in Crime In Hawaii: Perspectives In Early Prevention, Hawaii Institute for Management and Analysis in Government, July 1980.

A Study of the Unemployment Insurance System in Hawaii, with B. Heian and assisted by others, Hawaii Institute for Management and Analysis in Government, Honolulu, June 1976.

Agricultural Planning in Hawaii: A Study in Methodology, with W. Miklius and assisted by others, Hawaii Institute for Management and Analysis in Government, Honolulu, October 1975.

The Honolulu International Airport Noise and Air Pollution, assisted by others, State of Hawaii, Department of Budget and Finance, Honolulu, December 1972.

State and Local Government Expenditures in Hawaii: 1958-1968, with J. Iseri, Economic Research Center, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, 1971.

A Survey of the Planning and Forecasting Models for the State of Hawaii, Economic Research Center, University of Hawaii, 1970.

Input/Output Analysis and Its Uses in Planning, The General Organization for Industrialization, Cairo, Egypt, 1969.

D. Working Papers and Reports

Empirical Explorations in Regional Growth, with M. Akiyama and J. Fujiwara; Japan-America Institute Of Management Science, Honolulu, 1976.

The Effects of Wage and Price Controls on Strike Activity, US Department of Labor, 1975.

Alternative Growth Paths for Hawaii, with L. Rose and W. Mardfin; State of Hawaii, Department of Planning and Economic Development, 1974.

The Probable Effects of Tuition Changes, with W. Miklius; Economic Research Center, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, 1972.

Evaluation of the Econometric Models for the State of Hawaii, with W. Miklius; Economic Research Center, University of Hawaii, 1971.

A Project Criterion: An Empirical Method for Assigning Priorities, with S. Attia; Institute For National Planning, Cairo, Egypt, 1968.

The Structure of Trade, Ministry of Treasury, Cairo, Egypt, 1967.

Optimum Tariffs: A Generalization, Ministry of Treasury, Cairo, Egypt, 1967.

E. Conference Papers

"Comparison of Two Empirical Cost Functions," Thirteenth International Symposium on Inventories, Budapest, August 2004. [Forthcoming in International Journal of Production Economics, above.]

"Measuring the Convexity of the Production Cost Function," Twelfth International Symposium on Inventories, Budapest, August 2002. [Appeared in International Journal of Production Economics, above.]

"Production Planning Horizon, Production Smoothing, and Convexity of the Cost Functions,"

Eleventh International Symposium on Inventories, Budapest, August 2000. [Appeared in International Journal of Production Economics, above.]

"The Speed of Adjustment: A Bayesian Estimation," with K. Surekha, presented at the opening Plenary Session, Tenth International Symposium on Inventories, Budapest, August 1998. [Appeared in International Journal of Production Economics, above.]

"An Adaptive Dynamic Model of Production and Inventories," presented at the opening Plenary Session, 9th International Symposium on Inventories, Budapest, August 1996. (Published in International Journal of Production Economics above).

"The Production Smoothing Hypothesis: A Re-Examination," with K. Surekha- Rao, Allied Social Sciences Association, International Society for Inventory Research session, New Orleans, January 1997.

"Modigliani-Sauerlender Model of Production and Inventories," Allied Social Sciences Association, International Society for Inventory Research session, San Francisco, January 1996.

"Temporal Aggregation and the Estimation of Inventory Functions," Eighth International Symposium on Inventories, Budapest, Hungary, August 1994. (Published in International Journal of Production Economics above).

"Regional Inventory Cycles?" International Symposium on Economic Modeling, Gothenburg, Sweden, August 1992.

"Classical and Variance Bounds Tests of Production and Inventory Behavior," with Sophia Dimelis, Seventh International Symposium on Inventories, Budapest, Hungary, August 1992. (Published in International Journal of Production Economics above).

" Empirical Estimation of Three Models of Production and Inventory Behavior," Sixth International Symposium on Inventories, Budapest, Hungary, August 1990. (Published in International Journal of Production Economics above).

"Modeling of the Criminal Justice System: Decisions Made at the Police Level," The International Association of Science and Technology for Development, International Symposium on Simulation and Modeling, Lugano, Switzerland, June 1989. (Published in Mini and Microcomputers and their application above.)

"Interregional Migration and Regional Growth," American Association for the Advancement of Science, San Francisco, January 1989. (Published in Mini and Microcomputers and their application above.)

"The Measurement and Economic Effects of Excess Inventory Holdings in Socialist Economies," Conference on Inventory Management, Wesleyan University, Connecticut, June 1987, (Published in The Economics of Inventory Management above).

"Seasonal Adjustment Effect on Inventory Behavior," Fourth International Symposium on Inventories, Budapest, August 1986. (Published in Progress in Inventory Management above.)

"Seasonality, Aggregation, and Testing of the Production Smoothing Hypothesis," The American Economic Association/ International Society for Inventory Research, New York, December 1985, (Revised version published in AER above).

"An Empirical Study of Sex Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System," The Econometric Society Fifth World Congress, Cambridge, Massachusetts, August 1985.

"Specification Error: A Generalized Test," with M. Snow, The Fourth International Conference on Mathematical Modeling, Zurich, August 1983. (Published in Mathematical Modeling in Science and Technology, above)

"Uncertainty, Buffer-stocks and Inventory Behavior," invited paper to the plenary session of the Second International Symposium on Inventories, The Hungarian Academy of Science, Budapest, August 1982. (Published in New Results in Inventory Research, above)

"Interregional Trade Flows and the Equalization of Regional Growth," The Pacific Regional Science Conference, Australia, August 1981.

"Production Smoothing and Inventory Behavior: A Simple Model," invited paper to The First International Symposium on Inventories, The Hungarian Academy of Science, Budapest, September, 1980. (Published in Economics and Management of Inventories above.)

"Empirical Evaluation of Three Regional Growth Models," invited paper to the North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association, November 1979. (Published in ARS above).

"The Effects of the Incomes Policy on Wages, Prices, and Strike Activity," The Western Economic Association, June 1976. (Published in JEB above).

"Tourism and Economic Development: An Empirical Study," The Econometric Society, December 1973. (Published in EDCC, above).

"The Cost of the Maritime Strike to Hawaii," The Western Economic Association, August 1972. (Published in WEJ above).

"The Short-run Behavior of Finished Goods Inventories," The Econometric Society, December 1971. (Published in QJE above).

Awards and Fellowships

Fulbright Senior Scholar, Egypt, 2001/2002.

Outstanding Service Award, International Society for Inventory Research, 2000.

Fulbright Seminar for U.S. Administrators in International Education, Germany, 1997.

Awarded Fulbright Senior Scholarship, Egypt, 1994. (Declined to accept new position.)

Fulbright Senior Scholar, Sweden, 1987.

Distinctive Merit Award, 1982, University of Hawaii.

Outstanding Teaching Award, 1974, Department of Economics, University of Hawaii.

National Science Foundation Summer Institute in Urban Economics Fellowship, 1972.

Egyptian Government Graduate Scholarship 1961-65.

Cairo University, Undergraduate Scholarship 1958/59.

Italian Government Summer Scholarship, 1957.

Committee Service at Western Washington University

Research Advisory Committee (chair)

Graduate Council (chair)

Committee on Human Subjects (chair)

Animal Care and Use Committee (chair)

Patent and Copyright Committee (chair)

Faculty Development Grants Committee (chair)

Committee on the Allocation of Tuition Waivers

Faculty Development and Enhancement of Teaching Committee

Provost Advisory Council

President Advisory Committee

Committee Service at University of Hawaii

Department of Economics:

Personnel Committee

Executive Committee

Curriculum Committee

University-wide:

President’s Advisory Funding Committee.

President’s Committee on the Status of Administrative, Professional and Technical

Employees (chair).

Committee to Create the Social Sciences Research Institute.

Senate of Arts and Sciences

University Research Council (chair)

Collective Bargaining Team

Patent and Copyrights Committee (chair)

Committee on Human Studies (chair)

Animal Care and Use Committee

Radiation Safety Committee

Professional Service

Council of Graduate Schools Board of Directors, 2005-2008 : Investment Committee, Masters Focused Institutions Committee (Chair).

Graduate Record Examination Board, 2004-2008, Research Committee, Services Committee (Chair), Executive Committee.

St. Paul’s Episcopal School Board of Trustees, 2002-2008, Chair of Administration Committee, Board President 2005 - .

Council of Graduate Schools: WAGS Representative to the Board of Directors, 2002 –2003.

St. Paul’s Episcopal School (private k-8), Board of Trustees, 200- (President 2005-).

International Society for Research on Inventories: Member of Executive Committee, 1994-2000, Chair of Economics Section, 1998-2000, President - elect, 2000-2002, President, 2002-2004.

Western Association of Graduate Schools: Member of Executive Committee, 1998- 2000, President –elect, 2000-2001, President, 2001-2002.

Washington Technology Center: Member of the Board of Directors,1994-2000.

Washington Association for Biomedical Research: Member of the Board of Directors, 1993 - 1994.

Federal Demonstration Project: Member of the Steering Committee, 1990-1993.

Council on Research and Technology: Member of the Board of Directors, 1985-1988.

Association of University Related Research Parks : Charter Member, 1984-86.

Refereed for:

Australia Research Council

The American Economic Review

The Southern Economic Journal

The Journal of Economics and Business

The Review of Economics and Statistics

Economic Development and Cultural Change

International Regional Science Review

International Journal of Production Economics

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