James Carroll: Jesus and the promise of Christmas

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

But Jesus was not a mere victim of this violence. Acting in his Jewish tradition, he confronted it, rejected it and proposed a new way to think of it. His followers knew at the outset, and ever after, that they failed to live up to the standard he set, but that very knowledge shows that the myth of what Crossan calls the normalcy of violence is broken.

Humans have an inbuilt tendency to find the solution of violence in yet more violence, with the result that it spirals on forever. The victory of coercive force is inevitably the cause of the next outbreak of coercive force.

Jesus proposed that the answer to violence is not more violence, but is forgiveness and righteousness - or, as we would put it, peace and justice. For 2,000 years, this program has been able to be dismissed as piety's dream.

But something new is afoot. Since 1945, the normalcy of violence is armed with weapons that will surely render the human species extinct unless a different way of thinking of violence is found.

That is the promise of Christmas.

Read it all.

Archbishop Calls for Roman Catholics in UK to Oppose Gay Marriage “Clearly, Calmly and Forcefully”

from Stand Firm by Jackie

Nichols says he is concerned about how a change in the law would affect what children are taught about marriage.

He says he wants members of Parliament to “defend, not change, the bond of man and woman in marriage as the essential element of the vision of the family.”

Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative-led government plans to introduce legislation in January to allow gay marriages. Recent opinion polls suggest a large majority of the public supports the change.

The entire article can be read here.

(NPR) Virtually Anyone Can See The Dead Sea Scrolls Now

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

This week, an ancient and largely inaccessible treasure was opened to everyone. Now, anyone with access to a computer can look at the oldest Bible known to humankind.

Thousands of high-resolution images of the Dead Sea Scrolls were posted online this week in a partnership between Google and the Israel Antiquities Authority. The online archive, dating back to the first century B.C., includes portions of the Ten Commandments and the Book of Genesis.

"Most of these fragments are not on display anywhere," says Risa Levitt Kohn, a professor of Hebrew Bible and Judaism at San Diego State University.

Read it all.

Hmmmm...

(NY Times On Religion) In a Crisis, Humanists Seem Absent

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

Darrel W. Ray, a psychologist in the Kansas City area who runs the Web site The Secular Therapist Project, made a similar point in a recent interview. As someone who was raised as a believing Christian and who holds a master’s degree in theology, he was uniquely able to identify what humanism needs to provide in a time of crisis.

“When people are in a terrible kind of pain — a death that is unexpected, the natural order is taken out of order — you would do anything to take away the pain,” Dr. Ray, 62, said. “And I’m not going to deny that religion does help deal with that first week or two of pain.

“The best we can do as humanists,” he continued, “is to talk about that pain in rational terms with the people who are suffering. We have humanist celebrants, as we call them, but they’re focused on doing weddings. It takes a lot more training to learn how to deal with grief and loss. I don’t see celebrants working in hospice or in hospitals, for example. There are secular people who need pastoral care, but we abdicate it to clergy.”

Read it all.

General Ordination Exams

from Episcopal Cafe by Ann Fontaine

January 3-7 Episcopalians seeking ordination will be taking the General Ordination Exams. The Rev. Canon Susan Russell offered some advice for preparation with only a few days left to study. From Facebook:

Chaplain Susan's Free Gratis for Nothing GOE Advice:
[1] Time to stop studying. You already know everything you're going to learn.

[2] Spend the time between now and Jan 3 taking care of yourself -- body, mind and soul.

[3] Dig around on your bookshelf and find some of the voices who inspired you to respond to this call in the first place. Re-read them. Remind yourself why you're doing this. Why it matters. What an awesome privilege it is to be preparing to serve the Gospel and challenge the Church. (Mine were Verna Dozier, Madeline L'Engle, Fredrica Harris Thompsett and Thomas Merton.) and then finally

[4] Answer. The. Question. Pay attention to the context the examiners set and then give them what you've got. And all will be well. We'll be praying for you.

What is your advice?

My advice?  Get as far away from pecusa as humanly possible.  This former church is falling fast and the sooner you depart, the better for you, your ministry, and your soul.  Thanks for asking.  ed.

Texas Supreme Court wades into Episcopal dispute

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

Wading into the tricky legal waters where religion and government meet, the Texas Supreme Court will decide who owns 52 Fort Worth-area churches — the national Episcopal Church or the diocese that broke away in protest of the consecration of a gay bishop, the ordination of women and other liberal policies.

The properties at stake are worth more than $100 million, making this the largest church-property dispute in Texas history, and probably in U.S. history as well, lawyers say.

What’s more, the court decision will affect the way Texas handles future church disputes by further pinning down a moving legal target: the dividing line between the free exercise of religion, as guaranteed by the First Amendment, and state laws affecting property, nonprofits and related areas.

Read it all.

Liberals are not moderates despite what they may say

All Saints’, Pasadena (L.A.) - “The Unitarians would never have done that…”

from Stand Firm by Timothy Fountain 

Just had a phone chat with a friend back in SoCal.  This is a self-described “spiritual, not religious” sort who attended a Unitarian Church and has looked into Buddhism.  Also self-describes as a “liberal.”

Well, this friend recently attended liberal flagship All Saints’, Pasadena, home of Episco-types Ed Bacon, Susan Russell and so on.

The call went like this,

Friend: “So I went to All Saints’ a few weeks ago.”

Me: “What, Pasadena?”

Friend: “Yeah.  What the hell was THAT?”

Me: Yeah, they can be kinda weird.

Friend: “No, really, that was friggin’ out there.  I mean, I’m liberal, but this was just ramming it down everybody’s throat the whole time.  Even the - whaddaya call it? LIE-tur-gee?  It was all politics.”

Me: Yeah, well…

Friend: I mean, the Unitarians would never have done that…

THE CALAMITOUS CONDITION OF CONTEMPORARY ANGLICANISM

from VirtueOnline

THE CALAMITOUS CONDITION OF CONTEMPORARY ANGLICANISM

By Roger Salter
Special to Virtueonline
www.virtueonline.org
December 30, 2012

If Holy Scripture and Reformational standards are to be our measure the present state of the Anglican Communion is lamentable. Discounting those rare exceptions in academy, diocese, and parish where the roots of Cranmerian and Augustinian doctrine and devotion are still firm, and are flourishing with Gospel witness and works, the Ecclesia Anglicana and its offshoots have taken a terrible tumble into a morass of confusion, vacillation, and imprecision in matters of theological and ethical principle.

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

The New Evangelization? - Donald P. Richmond

from VirtueOnline

The New Evangelization?

By The Very Rev. Dr. Donald P. Richmond
Special to Virtueonline
www.virtueonline.org
December 29, 2102

Over the past number of years increased attention has been given to evangelization. Originally rooted in the Roman Catholic Church, other denominations have also sought to re-present the gospel of Christ in ways that are far more comprehensible to modern / postmodern culture. Anglicans have also sought to re-form the ancient faith in ways that are far more palatable or pertinent.

These efforts are not entirely bad, although many are manifestly misguided. Just the other day I was reviewing a jurisdictional publication whose newest energies targeted building "Celtic" communities. Before this, and continuing, the renewal of worship (worship with "relevance") has been emphasized. Similarly, although striking a different note, the Inaugural Assembly of ACNA featured Dr. Rick Warren and his "missional" approach.

Other examples abound. Almost everyone today seeks to jump on the "missional" bandwagon, obviously overlooking at least three fundamental issues: (1) Evangelism is not a new idea, it is a gospel imperative, (2) Programs do not accomplish the purpose of God, and (3) By emphasizing programs above prayer we place the cart before the horse.

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

"If all you have is a gun, everything is a target" - Archbishop Rowan Williams

from VirtueOnline

"All you have?"  Really?  A simplistic explanation about a complicated problem in America.  ed.

"If all you have is a gun, everything is a target" - Archbishop Rowan Williams

BBC4
December 22, 2012

In his final Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4, the Archbishop of Canterbury talks about the recent killings in Connecticut and discounts the argument often put forward that "it's not guns that kill, it's people", saying:

"People use guns. But in a sense guns use people, too. When we have the technology for violence easily to hand, our choices are skewed and we are more vulnerable to being manipulated into violent action."

He acknowledges that "control of the arms trade, whether for individuals or for nations, won't in itself stop the impulse to violence and slaughter" but argues that:

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

Barbara Brown Taylor for Christmas

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

From here:

Whatever the coming of the kingdom means, it cannot mean that the healing, reconciling, non-combative Christ we know was an imposter, just biding his time until he could beat down his enemies under his feet. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence. If we seek the kingdom by violence, then the violent will bear it away.

I don’t know why we would be disappointed to discover that Christ comes again as he came the first time—working through small things, not big things, among little people, not powerful people, with local effect, not cosmic effect—except that we find great armies on thundering horses a more adequate display of power. I don’t know why we would be disappointed to discover that the kingdom of heaven operates under the sign of the cross just as the Coming One did, except that we have always been disappointed by God’s reluctance to give us the kind of world, the kind of life, the kind of savior we want.

“And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me,” he said, knowing better than anyone the disappointing, redemptive ways in which God works--sending a human child into the world instead of a mighty king, sending servants instead of troops--sending people like you and me instead of real disciples to do the work of the Coming One until he comes, for in just this way the kingdom of heaven draws very, very near.

Tom Wright on Christmas—Homelessness is an apt metaphor for our troubled world

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

The regular suggestion that baling out countries will lead them to misbehave again won’t work, either. That might be true of some banks and businesses. It isn’t true of countries like Tanzania, who, after debt remission, have experienced the joy of developing education, medicine and other essentials – in fact, of building a new home.

We don’t just need, in other words, to ‘turn the economy round’, and get it back to where it was before. We need to turn it inside out. The Christmas message suggests that it’s time for a major, global rethink about the multiple, interlocking problems we can no longer ignore. And about the many-sided, but essentially coherent, proposals that flow directly from the Baby at Bethlehem, demanding to be worked out at street level.

The God who became homeless at Christmas longs to transform this muddled old world into a place where all can be at home at last. That’s what Jesus taught us to pray for.

Read it all.

At least nine years too late (and from a liberal perspective that denies liberalism's role in decline)

Beware the ecclesial fiscal cliff

from Episcopal Cafe by Ann Fontaine

by George Clifford
Many, perhaps most, Christian congregations in the United States are approaching an ecclesial fiscal cliff. Unlike the expiring tax cuts and growing deficits that define the federal fiscal cliff, declining memberships and rising costs define the ecclesial fiscal cliff.

For specifics, consider The Episcopal Church (TEC). From 2007 through 2011 (the last year for which data is available), the number of parishes declined from 7055 to 6736 (6.5%), the number of Episcopalians declined from 2.1 to 1.9 million (9.1%), and average Sunday attendance declined from 727,822 to 657,887 (9.6%). The 2011 mean average Sunday attendance was 97; median average Sunday attendance was 65 (half of all congregations were above 65 and half below); and 68% of our congregations reported an average Sunday attendance of fewer than 100.

If those numbers are insufficiently grim, consider attendance in the context of finances. The average pledge in 2011 was $2410. Optimistically assuming that a congregation’s number of pledging units equals its average Sunday attendance, then the average income for Episcopal congregations in 2011 was $233,770. (Surprisingly, that assumption is not too far off the mark in terms of total income per congregation. In 2010 (last available year), average income per TEC congregation was $244,719.) For an Episcopal congregation whose average Sunday attendance was 67 (the median for TEC, with half of our congregations being larger and half-smaller), income from 67 pledgers who gave the denominational average would be $161,470. (All data from the TEC research office’s website.)

What can $162,000 – or even $244,000 – in revenue support for an Episcopal congregation in 2012 or 2013? The diocesan asking is generally 10% or more of pledge income. A full-time priest can easily cost a congregation $100,000 in stipend, housing, pension, healthcare coverage, and any other benefits. Operating a building (utilities, insurance, cleaning, perhaps a mortgage) probably runs upward, and perhaps substantially upwards, of $30,000. Allowing for other items deemed essential (audits, music, religious education materials, etc.), an average sized congregation can quickly find itself in a position of having insufficient funds to operate in accordance with members’ expectations.

Few congregations are average. Congregations with large endowments, significant sources of revenue other than giving (e.g., income from parking rentals or a school), or an unusually large percentage of above-average generous givers often have ample income. These affluent congregations, which I’m guessing might constitute 10% but certainly no more than 20% of all congregations, are TEC’s equivalent of the nation’s wealthiest 2%.
A growing number of congregations, perhaps already a plurality within TEC, are in the opposite position: their revenue is insufficient to pay the diocesan asking, fund a full-time priest, and properly maintain their physical plant. Deferred maintenance on the physical plant is perhaps the most common means of covering a revenue shortfall. Other options include spending endowment funds’ principal, reneging on the diocesan asking, and eliminating perceived “essentials” (such as a paid musician, fresh religious education materials, etc.). Many congregations rely on several of these strategies.

Each year, the speed with which this ecclesial fiscal cliff approaches accelerates. Attendance declines, expenses increase, and options for covering financial shortfalls diminish. Episcopalians’ average age, perhaps somewhere between 50 and 60, which portends growing numbers of losses from death, seems likely to compound the speed with which the ecclesial fiscal cliff drams near because TEC membership gains widely lag losses due to death and other causes.

I do not intend this essay to be an message of unrelenting gloom and impending doom. TEC has some thriving congregations that experience significant growth year after year. We live in a world full of hurting, hungry, empty people whose lives the Christian gospel and our ministries can transform.

Christmas is a season of expectant new beginnings. Persevering with business as usual is a dead end for TEC. Sadly, better management – a topic near and dear to my heart, as a visiting professor in a graduate school of business and public policy – is no panacea, not even a partial solution.

Correctly perceived, our ecclesial fiscal cliff can become a catalyst for a paradigm shift that, while preserving the gospel treasure, exchanges TEC’s anachronistic earthen vessels for timelier, post-modern vessels. Among our dated earthen vessels are:

(1) Expensive investments in underutilized (generally, used only a few hours per week) buildings that are costly to operate and often poorly located to take advantage of current demographic trends;
(2) Increasingly unaffordable and underutilized full-time clergy (though their days may be full, they spend disproportionately little time doing that for which they were ordained (teaching, preaching, administration of the sacraments) and ever more time doing what is properly the ministry of the laity (most administration and most pastoral care);
(3) Music that though beloved by the few (I number myself in this group), feels to a majority of today’s young adults like it belongs in another century (actually, much of it is two or more centuries old);
(4) Sixteenth century technology designed to empower congregants (i.e., printed materials including worship leaflets, the Book of Common Prayer, and hymnals) that now ironically places TEC firmly in the eighteenth century and seems unwelcoming to twenty-first century people accustomed to video and electronics;
(5) Theology framed in terms of Greek philosophy and first millennium debates that post-moderns neither understand nor appreciate.

Your enumeration and description of our dated earthen vessels probably varies from mine. That’s okay. In our increasingly multi-cultural world, no one set of earthen vessels will suit everyone. People who seek uniformity will probably be happier in a Church such as the Roman Catholic Church or a fundamentalist sect that emphasizes conformity.

Diversity of theological, liturgical, and organizational earthen vessels will proliferate in the coming decades. Some vessels will be tried and found wanting. Other vessels will serve well in a limited number of specific locations or contexts but not be adaptable for broader use. A few vessels may find wide use. Experimentation is the only heuristic for identifying the vessels that belong to each of those categories. This multiplicity of styles and patterns echoes the early church’s practice. It was not until Christianity became the Roman Empire’s official religion that a single set of earthen vessels emerged as the sanctioned norm. Creative experimentation will become one hallmark of good leadership.

Our historic Anglican ethos of inclusivity, pastoral concern, commitment to worship in the lingua franca, cultural sensitivity, theological diversity, and unity rooted in common prayer seems well suited for TEC to thrive in our post-modern twenty-first century world.

The promise of Advent – that God has not finished creating the world – offers hope and renewal for we who seek the transcendent mystery and wonder of God's presence in our lives, a presence that generations of Christians have celebrated annually in the feast of the Christ-child’s birth. TEC needs leaders – our current Presiding Bishop and her successor, diocesan bishops, parish clergy, wardens, and vestry members – who inspire this hope in their preaching, teaching and ministries, motivating and empowering us to replace tired, archaic vessels with fresh ones better suited to this century. In such a Church, the impending ecclesial fiscal cliff, instead of signaling doom, will have become a force for renewal of both the Church and God's people.

George Clifford is an ethicist and Priest Associate at the Church of the Nativity, Raleigh, NC. He retired from the Navy after serving as a chaplain for twenty-four years and now blogs at Ethical Musings.

Video: Useful Idiots at Episcopal Church welcome MPAC with open arms, reject warnings (that’s what Useful Idiots do)

by Shoebat Foundation on DECEMBER 29, 2012 in BLOG, GENERAL

Earlier this month, we posted about this year’s Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) annual convention being held at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, which is being led by useful idiots. The United West had someone on-hand at the conference who captured some interesting video.

Identifying someone as a ‘useful idiot’ is more a warning than it is an insult, though useful idiots never quite get that either.

One of the most beautiful documentaries done on Jerusalem and its position in Biblical prophecy, click here for details.

It’s unfortunate but the more one warns useful idiots that they’re actually being used, the more they align with those who exploit their twisted desire to be embraced by those who are using them.

We think our warnings should be seen as ‘interfaith dialogue’.

Somehow, the useful idiots think it’s ‘intolerant’ of those of us who warn them.

Via United West (h/t BNI):

Let us illustrate the useful idiocy dynamic with a movie metaphor. In this clip from the 1983 movie entitled the Dead Zone, Christopher Walken plays a character who has the ability to see things about a person when he touches his / her hand. In this case, Walken grabs the hand of his nurse and can see her daughter in a burning house. Walken yells at the nurse, not because he’s belittling her but because he needs her to listen to him.

In this example, Walken represents those who understand the true agenda of fundamental Islam; the child represents the innocent flock of churches like All Saints Episcopal; the fire represents MPAC; and the nurse represents the leaders of All Saints Episcopal with one exception…

She listened.

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About Shoebat Foundation

Born in Bethlehem of Judea, Walid's grandfather was the Muslim Mukhtar (chieftain) of Beit Sahour-Bethlehem (The Shepherd's Fields) and a friend of Haj-Ameen Al-Husseni, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and notorious friend of Adolf Hitler. Walid's great grandfather, Abdullah Ali Awad-Allah, was also a fighter and close associate of both Abdul Qader and Haj Amin Al-Husseini, who led the Palestinians against Israel. Walid lived through and witnessed Israel’s Six Day War while living in Jericho. As a young man, he became a member of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, and participated in acts of terror and violence against Israel, and was later imprisoned in the Russian Compound, Jerusalem's central prison for incitement and violence against Israel. After his release, he continued his life of violence and rioting in Bethlehem and the Temple Mount. After entering the U.S, he worked as a counselor for the Arab Student Organization at Loop College in Chicago and continued his anti-Israel activities. In 1993, Walid studied the Tanach (Jewish Bible) in a challenge to convert his wife to Islam. Six months later, after intense study, Walid realized that everything he had been taught about Jews was a lie. Convinced he was on the side of evil, he became an advocate for his former enemy. Driven by a deep passion to heal his own soul, and to bring the truth about the Jews and Israel to the world, Walid shed his former life and his work as a software engineer and set out to tirelessly bring the cause of Israel to tens of thousands of people throughout the world: churches and synagogues, civic groups, government leaders and media.

View all posts by Shoebat Foundation →

Rapture Forums on Queen James Bible

The Queen James Bible - Apostasy Gone to Seed!

The Queen James Bible - Apostasy Gone to Seed! By Dr. David R. Reagan You will have to see it to believe it, and you can see it at www.queenjamesbible.com What I'm talking about is a new "Gay Bible" that was published in December 2012. The very people who put this abomination together have dubbed it The Queen James Bible! The name they have given it is based on two things. First, the text of the bible is the King James Version as it existed in 1769 (why that date is never explained). Second, they argue that King James was a bisexual who had many gay lovers — hence, the Queen James Version. This perverted "bible" is not a new translation, nor is it even a new paraphrase. Again, it is the King James Version. The only thing different about it is that those who published it simply rewrote the eight verses in the Old and New Testaments that specifically condemn homosexual behavior. The "bible" features a rainbow colored cross on the cover — the colors that have been adopted as the symbol of the LGBT Movement (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender). The paperback edition currently sells on Amazon.com for $34.95. Clothed in Mystery The background of the "bible" is mysterious. No publisher is identified, nor are any editors mentioned by name. On its Amazon purchase page, the author is listed as God, and Jesus Christ is named as a "contributor." (What blasphemy!) The mystery continues with the press release in December 2012 that announced the new "bible." It was signed by "Reverend J. Pearson of the Holy Innocents Episcopal Church in San Francisco." Internet searches produce no information about such a person, and the website of the church does not list such a person on its staff. A Misleading Claim The press release emphasizes that homosexuality was never mentioned in any English language Bible prior to the 1946 Revised Standard Version. It is true that the word "homosexual" was not contained in any English Bible prior to 1946, but that was because the first known use of the word in the English language did not occur until 1892.1 The important thing is not what the English Bible says, but what the Hebrew and Greek texts have to say. And in both the Old and New Testaments, homosexuality is clearly mentioned in the original languages in graphic detail and is condemned. Take Leviticus 18:22 for example: "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is an abomination" (KJV). In the New Testament, in 1 Corinthians 6:9, a list of sinners is presented who "shall not inherit the kingdom of God." Included in this list are the "effeminate" and "abusers of themselves with mankind" (KJV). The latter phrase is translated as "homosexuals" in most modern translations (NKJV, NLT, NIV, ESV and NASV). The use of the term homosexual is entirely appropriate, for the Greek term used is arsenokoites, which according to Thayer's Greek Lexicon means "one who lies with a male as a female."2 The Greek word is a compound one made up of two terms: arsenos, which means male, and koitain, which means sleep with and have sexual relations with. As one expert has put it, the literal if not wooden translation of the term would be "male bedders."3 Incredibly, the editor's notes in the "bible" say that they originally just considered deleting the eight offending verses from the Bible! They decided against that approach because it "brushes the problem under the rug."4 Also, they felt that people would throwRevelation 22:18-19 at them which warns against editing the Bible — even though they claim that warning applies only to the book of Revelation. So, they decided to leave the verses in, but to rewrite them. As they put it, "We wanted our Bible bullet-proof from the ones shooting bullets."5 Imaginative Editing The "editing" they proceeded to do was right out of Alice in Wonderland. Declaring Leviticus 18:22 to be a "horribly outdated" moral code, they rewrote it to read: "Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind in the temple of Molech: it is an abomination."6 The words, "in the temple of Molech," were simply made up and inserted in an effort to argue that the verse is talking about sex with male prostitutes in pagan temples. The Genesis 19 story concerning the homosexuals of Sodom and Gomorrah who demanded to have sex with the men visiting Lot is converted into a story about "bullying strangers" and raping them.8 And the New Testament reference to the story in Jude 1:7 is rewritten to condemn sex with angels!9 Romans 1:26-27, which clearly condemns both lesbian and gay sex, is written off as "obtuse language."10 These verses are then reinterpreted to refer to women defiling themselves, as with "pagan dancing" and the men "worshiping pagan idols."11 Finally, in 1 Timothy 1:9-10 there is a list of unlawful acts. In modern English translations, verse 10 refers to "immoral men and homosexuals" (NASV). The King James refers to "whoremongers" and those who "defile themselves with mankind." The editors of the Gay Bible changed the verse by dropping the words, "with mankind."12 Concluding Thoughts The press release announcing the publication of the "bible" concluded with these words: "You can't choose your sexuality, but you can choose Jesus. Now you can choose a Bible too."13 Yes, people are free to choose the Jesus of their choice. But it is only the true Jesus who saves, not the false Jesus of the Mormons or the Jehovah's Witnesses or the editors of the Gay Bible who have selected a gay-friendly Jesus who winks at their sin. "But Jesus never specifically condemned gay sex," they always claim. He didn't have to because in His teaching about sex, Jesus made it clear that all sex outside a marriage relationship between a man and a woman is immoral and sinful (Matthew 19:4-5). The editors of the Gay Bible have done exactly what the editors of the Jehovah's Witnesses Bible did in 1961 when they published their New World Translation. They rewrote all the verses they disagreed with. What will be next? The Adulterer's Bible? The Fornicator's Bible? Why not go all the way and just cut out all the verses that refer to sin? "But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self... unholy... haters of good... lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God..." - 2 Timothy 3:1-4

From Tim Keller

Blemishes in Christian Character: a List for Self-Examination

28 Dec 2012 by Tim Keller

For years I’ve been haunted by one of John Newton’s letters, which was later titled“Blemishes in Christian Character.” Newton was an 18th century Anglican minister who had once been a slave trader. After a dramatic conversion, he went into the ministry and became one of the wisest and most insightful pastors of his time. His hundreds of pastoral letters are masterful and many are in print to this day.

In the letter I’ve referred to, Newton points out that while most Christians succeed in avoiding the more gross external sins, many nonetheless overlook blemishes on their character by passing them off as mere “foibles.” They “may not seem to violate any express command of Scripture” and yet, they are “properly sinful” because they are the opposite of the fruit of the Spirit that believers are supposed to exhibit.  While our faults always seem small to us due to the natural self-justification of the heart, they often don’t look so small to others. As a result, these “small faults” cause large swaths of the Christian population to have little influence on others for Christ. Newton lists these faults that we tolerate in ourselves, and which do great damage to our public witness as well as to our relationships within the Body of Christ.

Over the years I’ve gone back again and again to this list in the manner he directs—for self-examination, not as a way to find fault with others. As I have done so I’ve seen things in myself that I’ve sought to stamp out with God’s grace. And as I’ve worked through the list I’ve expanded it—often breaking some of his larger categories into smaller ones for better discernment.  Here I’ll share my expanded list—based heavily on Newton’s original one.  Since Newton gave each case study a slightly humorous Latin name, I’ve done the same.  

Austerus is a solid and disciplined Christian, but abrasive, critical and ungenerous in dealing with people, temperamental, seldom giving compliments and praise, and almost never gentle.

Infitialis is a person of careful and deliberate character, but habitually cynical, negative, and pessimistic, always discouraging (“that will never work”), unsupportive and vaguely unhappy.

Pulsus is passionate, but also impulsive and impatient, not thinking things through, speaking too soon, always quick to complain and lodge a protest, often needing to apologize for rash statements.

Querulus is a person of strong convictions, but known to be very opinionated, a poor listener, argumentative, not very teachable, and very slow to admit they were wrong.

Subjectio is a resourceful and ambitious person, but also someone who often shades the truth, puts a lot of spin on things (close to misrepresentation), is very partisan, self-promoting, and turf-conscious.

Potestas gets things done, but needs to control every situation, has trouble sharing power, has a need to do everything him or herself, and is very suspicious and mistrustful of others.

Fragilis is friendly and seeks friends, but constantly gets his or her feelings hurt, easily feels slighted and put down, is often offended and upset by real and imagined criticism by others.

Curiosus is very sociable, but enjoys knowing negative things about people, finds ways of passing the news on, may divulge confidences, and enjoys confrontation too much.

Volatilis is very kind-hearted and eager to help, but simply not reliable—isn’t punctual, doesn’t follow through on promises, is always over-extended, and as a result may do shoddy work.

Let’s end this post as Newton does his letter: “Other improprieties of conduct, which lessen the influence and spot the profession of some who wish well to the cause of Christ, might be enumerated, but these may suffice for a specimen.”

The right to decide

Seeking justice for choices around unwanted same-sex attractions

Moving away from gay

THE RIGHT TO DECIDE
Seeking justice for choices around unwanted same-sex attractions
By Michael R. Davidson
Core Issues Trust. 52 pages. £5.00
ISBN 978 0 957 373 907

This booklet is a collection of testimonies from those who have sought help 
with their unwanted same-sex attractions. 
For most of the 13 stories, this preference comes from their Christian 
faith. Interestingly, though, the first account is from a non-Christian, 
which perhaps reflects the author?s desire to emphasise the case that the 
demand for therapy goes beyond the faith community. 

http://www.e-n.org.uk/6141-The-right-to-decide.htm

Don't Let N. T. Wright Steal Christmas!

from First Things | On the Square by ft@firsthings.com (Jeffrey W. Barbeau )

Peter Leithart, remarking on the trendsetting biblical criticism of N. T. Wright, has questioned the way that many (presumably English) Christmas hymns fail to capture the political and social context of the birth of Jesus Christ. Leithart claims that Advent hymns (unlike Christmas hymns) capture the here and now. Advent hymns declare, in this way, a crisp, prophetic vision towards a world gone astray: They are deeply and thoroughly and thrillingly political. Advent hymns look forward not to heaven but the redemption of Israel and of the nations, the coming of Gods kingdom on earth."

For Leithart, we would all be better off ridding ourselves of hymns that fail to include the deeply political and social aspects of the original Christmas story. Wright is no Grinch," he claims. He didnt steal Christmas. What he stole was a false Christmas, a de-contextualized and apolitical Christmas. But we shouldnt have bought that Christmas in the first place, and should have been embarrassed to display it so proudly on the mantle. Good riddance, and Bah humbug."

As one who studies the literature of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Christianity (the period that gave us so many of our great English hymns), I must admit that some of Leitharts critique rings true. Indeed, some of our most beloved hymns contain precisely the kind of otherworldly message that Leithart deplores.

Before we call for a moratorium on Christmas hymns, however, lets remember that these hymns often contain powerful reminders of profound and, I daresay, eschatological change. We would be wise to listen.

English Christmas hymns often highlight dimensions of the gospel that are too often overlooked in our times. Lukes account, for example, includes a cosmic vision of angels, multitudes of the heavenly host, signs, and promises of universal renewal. Isnt that what Charles Wesley captures in the majesty of Hark! the Herald Angels Sing" (1739)? Allusion to Christ the Prince of Peace" and Sun of Righteousness" who lays His glory by" is a mystical portrait of creation restored by union with the divine. Perhaps such biblical themes have simply fallen out of fashion.

Isaac Wattss Joy to the World" (1719), one of the most beloved Christmas hymns (and one that Leithart finds middling at best), includes a striking third stanza:

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.
This is the message of good news that Christians celebrate each year. The birth of Christ reminds us that all is not well in the world-even now-and we wait in expectation for things to be made fully right. Though we live between the times, our full redemption is coming. The sins and sorrows" of violence, poverty, and death are pressed back at the Incarnation.

In the poetry of John Keble, for example, we find a sophisticated challenge to the widespread tendency to domesticate Jesus Christ and the message of redemption. Kebles The Christian Year (1827), which offered verse readings for the liturgical calendar, was one of the most widely owned (and read) devotional books in nineteenth-century England. Keble was the Oswald Chambers of his day. Yet Kebles Christmas Day," I suspect, reflects the otherworldliness that Leithart anxiously demurs:

Think on the eternal home,
The Savior left for you;
Think on the Lord most holy, come
To dwell with hearts untrue.
So shall ye tread untired his pastoral ways,
And in the darkness sing your carol of high praise
No doubt, the eternal home" we are reminded of is an otherworldly one. The vast difference between the divine order and human structures is placed squarely before us. Yet Kebles verses do not call us to escape our earthly situation. Rather, they remind us that the turmoil of this world is not Gods plan.

I suspect that some dismiss Christmas hymns out of historical myopia. Many English hymns were written in times of great struggle. They require interpretation and contextualization, to be sure, but they offer hope as well. In an age of unchecked industrialization, obscene child labor practices, and global catastrophes-and Im talking about the eighteenth century right now-these hymns offered hope of change on a cosmic scale.

We face obstacles no less severe in our own day. Christmas hymns subtly challenge the political optimism of (post-)enlightened skepticism through a powerful contrast between light and darkness.

I cannot help but wonder if we too easily succumb to the trends of our times. Caution is in order. Theologians increasingly privilege the bodily, political, and here-and-now over the heavenly, spiritual, and eternal. The effort to reset the balance risks base materialism.

Trends in biblical scholarship ought not too quickly cast aside the rich tapestry of faith. Israel is central to the story of biblical redemption, no doubt, but so are themes of salvation, heaven, and hope. In one hundred fifty or two hundred years, the norms of current biblical and theological scholarship (as well as contemporary hymns and spiritual songs) will be regarded with no small amount of suspicion, too.

Christmas hymns call us to a vision of something beyond our world. Perhaps we simply do not feel the need-but not everyone lives in comfort, travels in safety, and enjoys the privileges of modern society. For those who feel the pangs of deep despair, these revered hymns allow for reflection on that which this world does not offer-where only the eschatological vision of Scripture will suffice.

The message of Christmas hymns is clear. Things need to improve. Change must come. But Gods total redemption far exceeds our limited vision. Gods promised peace surpasses the most profound social and political renewal the intellect can muster.

Before we throw away our hymnals, lets take another look at the Christmas message. Perhaps well rediscover the God who humbled himself and offered us cosmic renewal beyond even our wildest dreams.

Jeffrey W. Barbeau is associate professor of theology at Wheaton College Graduate School.

RESOURCES

Peter Leithart, How N. T. Wright Stole Christmas" 

Gillis Harp Revisits “The Three Streams”

from Stand Firm by Sarah

Earlier this year, Matt pointed out Gillis Harp’s excellent article about the inaccuracy of the “three streams” metaphor that a number of Anglicans have used with escalating frequency.  I see that Dr. Harp has written further on the problems with the metaphor in a helpful article at the Prayer Book Society. Check out the entire piece, from which the below is excerpted:

Similarly, advocates sometimes will sometimes speak of the Three Streams as part of a larger movement of “convergence” that understands itself as seamlessly reconciling Protestantism and Roman Catholicism. Yet the sort of convergence one actually witnesses on the ground in Three Streams parishes looks decidedly untheological. Few have attempted the sort of historical and theological investigation required to, say, understand the opposed positions staked out in the 39 Thirty Nine Articles and the Decrees of the Council of Trent. Certainly progress has been made in ecumenical discussions since World War II, but few Three Streams treatments work through the assorted ARCIC reports (given their tendentious character this may be understandable) or the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification agreed to by a committee of Lutherans and Roman Catholics in 1999. Instead, there is a lot of emoting about the importance of personal relationships and the supra-rational power of symbols. One often witnesses believers from fundamentalist backgrounds blithely adopting Roman Catholic vestments and ritual. But what if the revived medieval ceremonial teaches doctrines that the Anglican Articles explicitly repudiate? Those who press such questions are usually greeted with quizzical stares.



Finally, the Three Streams approach tends to either denigrate or neglect both the Anglican Reformers and the Anglican Formularies. Because Cranmer ‘s role within Anglicanism was different from that of Luther within Lutheranism, some argue that Anglicans need not defer to Cranmer’s theological views. Following the dated and partisan work of Benedictine Dom Gregory Dix, they characterize the chief author of the Book of Common Prayer and the Articles as a gifted liturgist but not a deep or sophisticated theologian. His gift to Anglicanism was a sort of studied ambiguity that his successors were then free to develop in their distinctive directions. Yet recent historical scholarship on Cranmer by academics (and not Anglican partisans) clearly contradicts this portrait. Cranmer’s knowledge of the Patristic literature was surpassed by no one during his lifetime and his mature doctrinal positions came only after years of intense and wide-ranging study. [4] 



Surely a better way to understand Anglican identity and its peculiar genius would be to study its foundational documents – the Book of Common Prayer (especially in its definitive 1662 edition), the Articles of Religion, the 1662 Ordinal, and the First and Second Books of Homilies. The writings of later Anglican thinkers (including – but not limited to – those of Jewel, Hooker, and the Caroline Divines) can certainly help interpret that bedrock foundation, but where later thinkers wander from the Formularies, they are less able to claim to be authentically Anglican in any historic sense.