EVANGELICAL AUTHOR ON WHY CHRISTIAN CONSERVATIVES SUPPORTED TRUMP
Though he lost the popular vote by nearly 3 million ballots, the Electoral College carried Donald Trump across the line with razor thin victories in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. Nationally, he relied very heavily on support from a base few would have associated with Trump at any other point in his life—Christian conservatives. For decades, this group has advocated the sort of stern public morality that Trump has, for decades, publicly despoiled. And yet, despite his many flagrant sins—indeed, despite his refusal to repent for them—Trump won the support of America’s most self-consciously pious voters. Over the twelve months since, political observers around the world have been asking one perplexed and frustrated question: Why?
In his new book, Choosing Donald Trump: God, Anger, Hope, and Why Christian Conservatives Supported Him, Stephen Mansfield seeks to answer that question. By contextualizing the 2016 race, briefly recounting Trump’s religious biography, and exploring the mindset of the “Values Voters” who turned out en masse, Mansfield works to make their choice intelligible. RD’s Eric C. Miller spoke with him about the lessons learned.
More....
http://religiondispatches.org/evangelic ... c-84570085
Christianity
Tomb believed to hold Jesus Christ much older than previously thought, researchers discover
The tomb in which Jesus Christ may have been buried dates back nearly 1,700 years, scientists have discovered.
Tests carried out on the remains of a limestone cave in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, in Jerusalem, date it back to around 345 CE, National Geographic reported.
Previous evidence had only dated the tomb back 1,000 years, to the Crusader period.
Although it’s impossible to definitively say whether the tomb is the burial site of a Jew known as Jesus of Nazareth, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is largely accepted as the site of Christ's burial.
The research, carried out by the National Technical University of Athens, does not offer further evidence as to whether Jesus was actually buried in the tomb, but it is consistent with the historical belief that the ancient Romans constructed a monument at the site around 300 years after his death.
The New Testament says Jesus died either in 30 or 33 CE, but historical accounts suggest the Romans found and enshrined the tomb in 326 CE.
More..
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/tom ... ailsignout
The tomb in which Jesus Christ may have been buried dates back nearly 1,700 years, scientists have discovered.
Tests carried out on the remains of a limestone cave in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, in Jerusalem, date it back to around 345 CE, National Geographic reported.
Previous evidence had only dated the tomb back 1,000 years, to the Crusader period.
Although it’s impossible to definitively say whether the tomb is the burial site of a Jew known as Jesus of Nazareth, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is largely accepted as the site of Christ's burial.
The research, carried out by the National Technical University of Athens, does not offer further evidence as to whether Jesus was actually buried in the tomb, but it is consistent with the historical belief that the ancient Romans constructed a monument at the site around 300 years after his death.
The New Testament says Jesus died either in 30 or 33 CE, but historical accounts suggest the Romans found and enshrined the tomb in 326 CE.
More..
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/tom ... ailsignout
Ancient forbidden Christian text of Jesus' 'secret teachings' to his 'brother' found
Biblical scholars have discovered the first-known original Greek copy of an ancient forbidden Christian text that purportedly describes Jesus’ secret teachings to his “brother” James, an early leader of the Church.
Geoffrey Smith and Brent Landau, religious studies scholars at The University of Texas at Austin, located the rare text in Oxford University archives earlier this year. The experts found several fifth- or sixth-century A.D. Greek fragments of the First Apocalypse of James, one of the books from an ancient collection known as the Nag Hammadi library. Previously, the text was thought to be preserved only via translations in the Egyptian Coptic language.
Only a small number of texts from the Nag Hammadi library, a collection of 13 Coptic Gnostic books discovered in Egypt in 1945, have been found in Greek, their original language of composition. Also known as the “Gnostic Gospels,” the books are seen as key documents for understanding Gnosticism, an ancient belief system.
The First Apocalypse of James, like the other books in the Nag Hammadi library, was deemed heretical or forbidden by the church because it fell outside of the fourth-century religious boundaries that defined the 27-book New Testament.
More...
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/an ... ailsignout
Biblical scholars have discovered the first-known original Greek copy of an ancient forbidden Christian text that purportedly describes Jesus’ secret teachings to his “brother” James, an early leader of the Church.
Geoffrey Smith and Brent Landau, religious studies scholars at The University of Texas at Austin, located the rare text in Oxford University archives earlier this year. The experts found several fifth- or sixth-century A.D. Greek fragments of the First Apocalypse of James, one of the books from an ancient collection known as the Nag Hammadi library. Previously, the text was thought to be preserved only via translations in the Egyptian Coptic language.
Only a small number of texts from the Nag Hammadi library, a collection of 13 Coptic Gnostic books discovered in Egypt in 1945, have been found in Greek, their original language of composition. Also known as the “Gnostic Gospels,” the books are seen as key documents for understanding Gnosticism, an ancient belief system.
The First Apocalypse of James, like the other books in the Nag Hammadi library, was deemed heretical or forbidden by the church because it fell outside of the fourth-century religious boundaries that defined the 27-book New Testament.
More...
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/an ... ailsignout
Lost in Translation? Pope Ponders an Update to Lord’s Prayer
ROME — It has been a question of theological debate and liturgical interpretation for years, and now Pope Francis has joined the discussion: Does the Lord’s Prayer, Christendom’s resonant petition to the Almighty, need an update?
In a new television interview, Pope Francis said the common rendering of one line in the prayer — “lead us not into temptation” — was “not a good translation” from ancient texts. “Do not let us fall into temptation,” he suggested, might be better because God does not lead people into temptation; Satan does.
“A father doesn’t do that,” the pope said. “He helps you get up right away. What induces into temptation is Satan.”
In essence, the pope said, the prayer, from the Book of Matthew, is asking God, “When Satan leads us into temptation, You please, give me a hand.”
French Catholics adopted such a linguistic change this week, and the pope suggested that Italian Catholics might want to follow suit.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/08/worl ... d=71987722
ROME — It has been a question of theological debate and liturgical interpretation for years, and now Pope Francis has joined the discussion: Does the Lord’s Prayer, Christendom’s resonant petition to the Almighty, need an update?
In a new television interview, Pope Francis said the common rendering of one line in the prayer — “lead us not into temptation” — was “not a good translation” from ancient texts. “Do not let us fall into temptation,” he suggested, might be better because God does not lead people into temptation; Satan does.
“A father doesn’t do that,” the pope said. “He helps you get up right away. What induces into temptation is Satan.”
In essence, the pope said, the prayer, from the Book of Matthew, is asking God, “When Satan leads us into temptation, You please, give me a hand.”
French Catholics adopted such a linguistic change this week, and the pope suggested that Italian Catholics might want to follow suit.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/08/worl ... d=71987722
What Archaeology Is Telling Us About the Real Jesus
Believers call him the Son of God. Skeptics dismiss him as legend. Now, researchers digging in the Holy Land are sifting fact from fiction.
Excerpt:
For an archaeologist turned journalist like me, ever mindful that entire cultures rose and fell and left few traces of their time on Earth, searching an ancient landscape for shards of a single life feels like a fool’s errand, like chasing a ghost. And when that ghost is none other than Jesus Christ, believed by more than two billion of the world’s people to be the very Son of God, well, the assignment tempts one to seek divine guidance.
Which is why, in my repeated visits to Jerusalem, I keep coming back to the Monastery of the Flagellation, where Father Alliata always welcomes me and my questions with bemused patience. As a professor of Christian archaeology and director of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum’s museum, he’s part of a 700-year-old Franciscan mission to look after and protect ancient religious sites in the Holy Land—and, since the 19th century, to excavate them according to scientific principles.
As a man of faith, Father Alliata seems at peace with what archaeology can—and cannot—reveal about Christianity’s central figure. “It will be something rare, strange, to have archaeological proof for [a specific person] 2,000 years ago,” he concedes, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms over his vestments. “But you can’t say Jesus doesn’t have a trace in history.”
By far the most important—and possibly most debated—of those traces are the texts of the New Testament, especially the first four books: the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. But how do those ancient texts, written in the second half of the first century, and the traditions they inspired, relate to the work of an archaeologist?
“Tradition gives more life to archaeology, and archaeology gives more life to tradition,” Father Alliata replies. “Sometimes they go together well, sometimes not,” he pauses, offering a small smile, “which is more interesting.”
More...
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/maga ... chaeology/
Believers call him the Son of God. Skeptics dismiss him as legend. Now, researchers digging in the Holy Land are sifting fact from fiction.
Excerpt:
For an archaeologist turned journalist like me, ever mindful that entire cultures rose and fell and left few traces of their time on Earth, searching an ancient landscape for shards of a single life feels like a fool’s errand, like chasing a ghost. And when that ghost is none other than Jesus Christ, believed by more than two billion of the world’s people to be the very Son of God, well, the assignment tempts one to seek divine guidance.
Which is why, in my repeated visits to Jerusalem, I keep coming back to the Monastery of the Flagellation, where Father Alliata always welcomes me and my questions with bemused patience. As a professor of Christian archaeology and director of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum’s museum, he’s part of a 700-year-old Franciscan mission to look after and protect ancient religious sites in the Holy Land—and, since the 19th century, to excavate them according to scientific principles.
As a man of faith, Father Alliata seems at peace with what archaeology can—and cannot—reveal about Christianity’s central figure. “It will be something rare, strange, to have archaeological proof for [a specific person] 2,000 years ago,” he concedes, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms over his vestments. “But you can’t say Jesus doesn’t have a trace in history.”
By far the most important—and possibly most debated—of those traces are the texts of the New Testament, especially the first four books: the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. But how do those ancient texts, written in the second half of the first century, and the traditions they inspired, relate to the work of an archaeologist?
“Tradition gives more life to archaeology, and archaeology gives more life to tradition,” Father Alliata replies. “Sometimes they go together well, sometimes not,” he pauses, offering a small smile, “which is more interesting.”
More...
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/maga ... chaeology/
The Quranic Jesus and the Historical Jesus: A Messianic Prophet
Excerpt:
The Qur’anic description of Jesus diverges from developed Christian doctrine in many respects. Most significantly, the Qur’an asserts that Jesus was a great Prophet of God and the Messiah to the Children of Israel, but denies that Jesus was the literal son of God or the divine incarnation. This has led some Christians to discount the Qur’an’s perspective as unreliable and worthless because the Qur’an dates to 600 years after Jesus’s life and cannot serve as a historical witness to him. But this objection entirely misses the point, since the Qur’an never presents its claims about Jesus as a historical testimony or reconstruction of specific events. The Qur’an instead offers a theological exegesis or commentary about the person of Jesus, claiming to provide the most correct interpretation of who Jesus was ultimately and what his mission was truly about. Because the Qur’an was originally a set of oral recitations over 23 years – addressed to and in dialogue with an audience familiar with biblical materials – the Qur’an’s discourse about Jesus evokes many themes, symbols, and ideas from the Bible and Talmud in order to reinterpret them and thereby offer a new perspective on theological debates among Jews and Christians.
More...
https://ismailignosis.com/2017/12/24/th ... c-prophet/
Excerpt:
The Qur’anic description of Jesus diverges from developed Christian doctrine in many respects. Most significantly, the Qur’an asserts that Jesus was a great Prophet of God and the Messiah to the Children of Israel, but denies that Jesus was the literal son of God or the divine incarnation. This has led some Christians to discount the Qur’an’s perspective as unreliable and worthless because the Qur’an dates to 600 years after Jesus’s life and cannot serve as a historical witness to him. But this objection entirely misses the point, since the Qur’an never presents its claims about Jesus as a historical testimony or reconstruction of specific events. The Qur’an instead offers a theological exegesis or commentary about the person of Jesus, claiming to provide the most correct interpretation of who Jesus was ultimately and what his mission was truly about. Because the Qur’an was originally a set of oral recitations over 23 years – addressed to and in dialogue with an audience familiar with biblical materials – the Qur’an’s discourse about Jesus evokes many themes, symbols, and ideas from the Bible and Talmud in order to reinterpret them and thereby offer a new perspective on theological debates among Jews and Christians.
More...
https://ismailignosis.com/2017/12/24/th ... c-prophet/
THE DARKENING AGE – THE CHRISTIAN DESTRUCTION OF THE CLASSICAL WORLD
If you ever wondered whatever happened to Roman and Greek religions or asked yourself why so many exquisite statues of that era are disfigured, you must read this book.
The author, Catherine Nixey, is a journalist at The Times and studied Classics at Cambridge describes the vandalism that took place between the mid AD 380s and AD 532 as Christianity grew to become the dominant religion. Christianity's triumph is usually explained as ‘inevitable', but as this book makes clear, it was not simply because the Roman empire was weakened by forces beyond its control. The book reveals the zeal of those espousing Christian teachings, their strategy and their willingness to harness their followers including monks, who were given a licence to destroy. Christians were told that they would reap the benefits in heaven if they became martyrs to the cause of destroying the existing beliefs. She writes with passion and tells a story which has thus far been suppressed, or at best ignored.
The book begins in AD 532 when Damascius and six members of the Academy, the most famous philosophical school in Athens, abandoned the school and the city and went into exile. The Academy had been in existence for over one thousand years, but draconian laws, destruction of temples and book burnings had crushed the followers of Greek and Roman religions. Damascius and his companions came to realise that there was no place for philosophers in the Roman Empire. The Christian Emperor Constantine and his successors had effectively destroyed a culture and a religion which had given strength to its followers, celebrated pluralism and led to the flowering of a civilization which incorporated gods, ideas and philosophies from the Mediterranean world and beyond.
The book goes on to describe the destruction of the temple of Serapis in AD392 and tens of thousands of books which were the remnants of the Great Public Library of Alexandria. This unprompted sacrilege was carried out by Theophilus, the Christian Bishop of Alexandria, and his followers. The book describes how the practice of censorship meant that the works of defenders of the old religions such as Celsus who vigorously criticised Christianity, survived only because he was quoted by those who defended Christianity.
More..
http://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdail ... world.html
If you ever wondered whatever happened to Roman and Greek religions or asked yourself why so many exquisite statues of that era are disfigured, you must read this book.
The author, Catherine Nixey, is a journalist at The Times and studied Classics at Cambridge describes the vandalism that took place between the mid AD 380s and AD 532 as Christianity grew to become the dominant religion. Christianity's triumph is usually explained as ‘inevitable', but as this book makes clear, it was not simply because the Roman empire was weakened by forces beyond its control. The book reveals the zeal of those espousing Christian teachings, their strategy and their willingness to harness their followers including monks, who were given a licence to destroy. Christians were told that they would reap the benefits in heaven if they became martyrs to the cause of destroying the existing beliefs. She writes with passion and tells a story which has thus far been suppressed, or at best ignored.
The book begins in AD 532 when Damascius and six members of the Academy, the most famous philosophical school in Athens, abandoned the school and the city and went into exile. The Academy had been in existence for over one thousand years, but draconian laws, destruction of temples and book burnings had crushed the followers of Greek and Roman religions. Damascius and his companions came to realise that there was no place for philosophers in the Roman Empire. The Christian Emperor Constantine and his successors had effectively destroyed a culture and a religion which had given strength to its followers, celebrated pluralism and led to the flowering of a civilization which incorporated gods, ideas and philosophies from the Mediterranean world and beyond.
The book goes on to describe the destruction of the temple of Serapis in AD392 and tens of thousands of books which were the remnants of the Great Public Library of Alexandria. This unprompted sacrilege was carried out by Theophilus, the Christian Bishop of Alexandria, and his followers. The book describes how the practice of censorship meant that the works of defenders of the old religions such as Celsus who vigorously criticised Christianity, survived only because he was quoted by those who defended Christianity.
More..
http://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdail ... world.html
CHRISTIANS OF COLOR ARE REJECTING “COLONIAL CHRISTIANITY” AND RECLAIMING ANCESTRAL SPIRITUALITIES
Excerpt;
Mystic Soul is part of a broader movement of people of color moving beyond dominant Christianity, which largely reflects white culture, to chart their own spiritual initiatives, ones that increasingly incorporate the faith traditions of their ancestors. For the departing, simply put, white Christianity is no longer enough. More precisely put, it was never enough.
This movement isn’t new, but after a solid majority of white Christians across traditions voted for a president who courted white nationalists, the chorus of people of color seeking refuge has only grown louder, its reach wider, and its work to decentralize white theology more deliberate.
For some, that means decolonizing their Christian faith from white patriarchy and capitalism. For others, that means connecting to ancestral faith practices, such as Yoruba, Buddhism, ancestor veneration or particular tribal traditions. For others, it’s an amalgam, a synthesis of severed history, personal heritage and truths from other traditions. For most, it means imagining a spiritual wholeness that has been denied for so long, and chasing it with abandon.
More...
http://religiondispatches.org/christian ... f-84570085
Excerpt;
Mystic Soul is part of a broader movement of people of color moving beyond dominant Christianity, which largely reflects white culture, to chart their own spiritual initiatives, ones that increasingly incorporate the faith traditions of their ancestors. For the departing, simply put, white Christianity is no longer enough. More precisely put, it was never enough.
This movement isn’t new, but after a solid majority of white Christians across traditions voted for a president who courted white nationalists, the chorus of people of color seeking refuge has only grown louder, its reach wider, and its work to decentralize white theology more deliberate.
For some, that means decolonizing their Christian faith from white patriarchy and capitalism. For others, that means connecting to ancestral faith practices, such as Yoruba, Buddhism, ancestor veneration or particular tribal traditions. For others, it’s an amalgam, a synthesis of severed history, personal heritage and truths from other traditions. For most, it means imagining a spiritual wholeness that has been denied for so long, and chasing it with abandon.
More...
http://religiondispatches.org/christian ... f-84570085
Worries Rise as Pope and China Edge Closer to Deal on Bishops
ROME — Pope Francis and his diplomats have been quietly pouring energy into negotiations with the Chinese government that could help end a decades-long dispute over control of the Catholic Church in the country.
But as signs of a possible breakthrough have emerged — how bishops get ordained has long been a sticking point — some Catholics are worried. They fear that the Vatican, in its eagerness for a deal, could betray clerics and parishioners who have illicitly practiced their faith for decades and risked arrest and persecution by worshiping in the so-called underground church. They are also alarmed that a deal could end the independence for which the underground church has long stood.
The dissension escalated on Friday as the retired archbishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Joseph Zen, intensified his criticism of the talks, saying that a reconciliation could result in 12 million Chinese Catholics being effectively put in a Communist-controlled “cage.” He has accused church bureaucrats of “selling out” Chinese Catholics, and warned, “A church enslaved by the government is no real Catholic Church.”
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/09/worl ... d=45305309
ROME — Pope Francis and his diplomats have been quietly pouring energy into negotiations with the Chinese government that could help end a decades-long dispute over control of the Catholic Church in the country.
But as signs of a possible breakthrough have emerged — how bishops get ordained has long been a sticking point — some Catholics are worried. They fear that the Vatican, in its eagerness for a deal, could betray clerics and parishioners who have illicitly practiced their faith for decades and risked arrest and persecution by worshiping in the so-called underground church. They are also alarmed that a deal could end the independence for which the underground church has long stood.
The dissension escalated on Friday as the retired archbishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Joseph Zen, intensified his criticism of the talks, saying that a reconciliation could result in 12 million Chinese Catholics being effectively put in a Communist-controlled “cage.” He has accused church bureaucrats of “selling out” Chinese Catholics, and warned, “A church enslaved by the government is no real Catholic Church.”
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/09/worl ... d=45305309
HOW THE ABORTION DEBATE TURNED THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT ON TO LIBERAL ARGUMENTS… AND BIRTHED THE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM INDUSTRY
Historically, the Christian Right has not been recognized for its celebration of liberal values. On the contrary, any reference to organizations such as the Moral Majority and Christian Coalition is likely to conjure decidedly illiberal associations. These advocacy groups were famous for their boisterous condemnation of mainstream society and their attempts to legislate a rigid set of conservative moral codes. Among their policy goals, anti-abortion activism was pursued with the greatest zeal. But a recent book by political scientist Andrew R. Lewis suggests that this single-minded religious movement may have yielded some unintended political effects.
In, The Rights Turn in Conservative Christian Politics: How Abortion Transformed the Culture Wars, Lewis argues that anti-abortion activism has been instrumental in conditioning the Christian Right for participation in liberal discourse. Though launched in the stern language of moral condemnation, the Christian Right has followed its anti-abortion vanguard into a twenty-first century rhetoric based in the liberal language of rights. RD’s Eric C. Miller spoke with Lewis about the implications of this unusual outcome.
Full interview...
http://religiondispatches.org/how-the-a ... 3-84570085
Historically, the Christian Right has not been recognized for its celebration of liberal values. On the contrary, any reference to organizations such as the Moral Majority and Christian Coalition is likely to conjure decidedly illiberal associations. These advocacy groups were famous for their boisterous condemnation of mainstream society and their attempts to legislate a rigid set of conservative moral codes. Among their policy goals, anti-abortion activism was pursued with the greatest zeal. But a recent book by political scientist Andrew R. Lewis suggests that this single-minded religious movement may have yielded some unintended political effects.
In, The Rights Turn in Conservative Christian Politics: How Abortion Transformed the Culture Wars, Lewis argues that anti-abortion activism has been instrumental in conditioning the Christian Right for participation in liberal discourse. Though launched in the stern language of moral condemnation, the Christian Right has followed its anti-abortion vanguard into a twenty-first century rhetoric based in the liberal language of rights. RD’s Eric C. Miller spoke with Lewis about the implications of this unusual outcome.
Full interview...
http://religiondispatches.org/how-the-a ... 3-84570085
Is the pope head of the world's most powerful government? | The Economist
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B76kV7a ... m=20180315
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B76kV7a ... m=20180315
Pope Francis Is Beloved. His Papacy Might Be a Disaster.
Excerpt:
So the idea of this pope as a “great reformer,” to borrow the title of the English journalist Austen Ivereigh’s fine 2014 biography, can’t really be justified by any kind of Roman housekeeping. Instead Francis’ reforming energies have been directed elsewhere, toward two dramatic truces that would radically reshape the church’s relationship with the great powers of the modern world.
The first truce this pope seeks is in the culture war that everyone in Western society knows well — the conflict between the church’s moral teachings and the way that we live now, the struggle over whether the sexual ethics of the New Testament need to be revised or abandoned in the face of post-sexual revolution realities.
......
This experiment is the most important effort of his pontificate, but in the last year he has added a second one, seeking a truce not with a culture but with a regime: The Communist government in China. Francis wants a compromise with Beijing that would reconcile China’s underground Catholic Church, loyal to Rome, with the Communist-dominated “patriotic” Catholic Church. Such a reconciliation, if accomplished, would require the church to explicitly cede a share of its authority to appoint bishops to the Politburo — a concession familiar from medieval church-state tangles, but something the modern church has tried to leave behind.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/16/opin ... dline&te=1
Excerpt:
So the idea of this pope as a “great reformer,” to borrow the title of the English journalist Austen Ivereigh’s fine 2014 biography, can’t really be justified by any kind of Roman housekeeping. Instead Francis’ reforming energies have been directed elsewhere, toward two dramatic truces that would radically reshape the church’s relationship with the great powers of the modern world.
The first truce this pope seeks is in the culture war that everyone in Western society knows well — the conflict between the church’s moral teachings and the way that we live now, the struggle over whether the sexual ethics of the New Testament need to be revised or abandoned in the face of post-sexual revolution realities.
......
This experiment is the most important effort of his pontificate, but in the last year he has added a second one, seeking a truce not with a culture but with a regime: The Communist government in China. Francis wants a compromise with Beijing that would reconcile China’s underground Catholic Church, loyal to Rome, with the Communist-dominated “patriotic” Catholic Church. Such a reconciliation, if accomplished, would require the church to explicitly cede a share of its authority to appoint bishops to the Politburo — a concession familiar from medieval church-state tangles, but something the modern church has tried to leave behind.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/16/opin ... dline&te=1
What is Good Friday?
Arguments still rage about what the most solemn day in the Christian calendar stands for
FOR hundreds of millions of Christians around the world, Good Friday is the most solemn day in the church calendar. It is the time when they recall and often re-enact the crucifixion of Jesus. In Rome there is a torch-lit procession, led by the Pope, in which 14 stages in the agonising drama are remembered. Orthodox Christians, whose Easter celebrations move about in a different system, will mark the event in a week’s time with spectacular ceremonies. But apart from the obvious point that it leads onto the Resurrection of Christ two days later, many Christians would struggle to put into words the exact meaning of Good Friday’s drama.
That is partly because over the centuries, the faith’s most influential thinkers have disagreed on the matter. They generally concur in regarding the execution of their faith’s founder not merely as unjust and cruel punishment but as a kind of cosmic event which transformed the relationship between God and man, freeing humanity from the power of mortality. But how exactly does that liberation from death work? To that question, Christian theologians have offered several different answers.
More..
https://www.economist.com/blogs/economi ... m=20180330
Arguments still rage about what the most solemn day in the Christian calendar stands for
FOR hundreds of millions of Christians around the world, Good Friday is the most solemn day in the church calendar. It is the time when they recall and often re-enact the crucifixion of Jesus. In Rome there is a torch-lit procession, led by the Pope, in which 14 stages in the agonising drama are remembered. Orthodox Christians, whose Easter celebrations move about in a different system, will mark the event in a week’s time with spectacular ceremonies. But apart from the obvious point that it leads onto the Resurrection of Christ two days later, many Christians would struggle to put into words the exact meaning of Good Friday’s drama.
That is partly because over the centuries, the faith’s most influential thinkers have disagreed on the matter. They generally concur in regarding the execution of their faith’s founder not merely as unjust and cruel punishment but as a kind of cosmic event which transformed the relationship between God and man, freeing humanity from the power of mortality. But how exactly does that liberation from death work? To that question, Christian theologians have offered several different answers.
More..
https://www.economist.com/blogs/economi ... m=20180330
FEAR, NOSTALGIA AND POWER DROVE EVANGELICALS TO TRUMP: INTERVIEW WITH EVANGELICAL SCHOLAR JOHN FEA
If you were raised in American evangelicalism during the past thirty years, you’ve probably come to associate Jesus with certain character traits. If you’ve had access to a television over this same span, you’ve probably come to associate Donald Trump with certain others. In most cases, these are diametrically opposed. Where Jesus is humble, Trump is prideful; where Jesus is pure, Trump is lustful; where Jesus is selfless, Trump is the paragon of worldly corruption and greed. On these points and many others, Jesus emerges as the perfect foil for Trump, the contrast always appallingly sharp. If Jesus is the Christ, you might say, Trump is the anti-Christ.
And yet, as everyone now knows, 81 percent of white evangelical voters supported Trump’s candidacy—a fact that raises uncomfortable questions about the state of evangelicalism in America.
Historian John Fea is an evangelical, but not a fan of Donald Trump. When he received the 2016 election results, he reported feeling “shocked,” “saddened,” and “angry,” less about Trump himself than about the evangelicals who had carried him. In his new book, Believe Me: The Evangelical Road to Donald Trump, Fea crafts a historical narrative to explain—and often to critique—the decision-making process of the infamous 81 percent. [For more, read Greg Carey’s critique of Believe Me here. — eds]
Interview and more...
http://religiondispatches.org/fear-nost ... c-84570085
******
The non-Trump evangelicals
Some evangelicals want to wean their brethren off unconditional support for Donald Trump
A GROUP of evangelical leaders gathered near Chicago on April 16th and 17th to discuss the future of their movement. They were not well-known names—though some are pastors of large churches—mainly because they are not active in politics or the media. But that was partly the point of their meeting, held at Wheaton College, the “Harvard of evangelicalism”. Acknowledging that more than 80% of white evangelicals supported Donald Trump in the 2016 election, and that three-quarters held a favourable view of him in a recent poll, many of those attending the meeting have expressed concern that their wing of the Christian faith is being tainted by its often unquestioning support of the president. They want to return it to its spiritual roots.
More...
https://www.economist.com/news/united-s ... m=20180419
If you were raised in American evangelicalism during the past thirty years, you’ve probably come to associate Jesus with certain character traits. If you’ve had access to a television over this same span, you’ve probably come to associate Donald Trump with certain others. In most cases, these are diametrically opposed. Where Jesus is humble, Trump is prideful; where Jesus is pure, Trump is lustful; where Jesus is selfless, Trump is the paragon of worldly corruption and greed. On these points and many others, Jesus emerges as the perfect foil for Trump, the contrast always appallingly sharp. If Jesus is the Christ, you might say, Trump is the anti-Christ.
And yet, as everyone now knows, 81 percent of white evangelical voters supported Trump’s candidacy—a fact that raises uncomfortable questions about the state of evangelicalism in America.
Historian John Fea is an evangelical, but not a fan of Donald Trump. When he received the 2016 election results, he reported feeling “shocked,” “saddened,” and “angry,” less about Trump himself than about the evangelicals who had carried him. In his new book, Believe Me: The Evangelical Road to Donald Trump, Fea crafts a historical narrative to explain—and often to critique—the decision-making process of the infamous 81 percent. [For more, read Greg Carey’s critique of Believe Me here. — eds]
Interview and more...
http://religiondispatches.org/fear-nost ... c-84570085
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The non-Trump evangelicals
Some evangelicals want to wean their brethren off unconditional support for Donald Trump
A GROUP of evangelical leaders gathered near Chicago on April 16th and 17th to discuss the future of their movement. They were not well-known names—though some are pastors of large churches—mainly because they are not active in politics or the media. But that was partly the point of their meeting, held at Wheaton College, the “Harvard of evangelicalism”. Acknowledging that more than 80% of white evangelicals supported Donald Trump in the 2016 election, and that three-quarters held a favourable view of him in a recent poll, many of those attending the meeting have expressed concern that their wing of the Christian faith is being tainted by its often unquestioning support of the president. They want to return it to its spiritual roots.
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https://www.economist.com/news/united-s ... m=20180419
“Project Blitz” Seeks to Do for Christian Nationalism What ALEC Does for Big Business
Religious freedom has been much in the news as the Trump administration has rolled out policies providing an earthly answer to the prayers of the Christian Right. It‘s a central issue in the Masterpiece Cakeshop vs Colorado Civil Rights Commission currently before the Supreme Court, and it’s no secret that the Christian Right has been busy taking their religious freedom agenda to the states.
Many of the bills on their agenda are making news; some have passed key legislative committees or whole state legislative chambers, and some have already been signed into law. But what reporters, activists, and most legislators don’t realize is that many of these bills draw from an unusual package of 20 model bills included in a report assembled by a coalition of Christian Right groups for an initiative they call “Project Blitz.”
The bills are seemingly unrelated and range widely in content—from requiring public schools to display the national motto, “In God We Trust” (IGWT); to legalizing discrimination against LGBTQ people; to religious exemptions regarding women’s reproductive health. The model bills, the legislative strategy and the talking points reflect the theocratic vision that’s animated a meaningful portion of the Christian Right for some time. In the context of Project Blitz’s 116-page playbook, however, they also reveal a sophisticated level of coordination and strategizing that echoes the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which infamously networks probusiness state legislators, drafts sample legislation, and shares legislative ideas and strategies.
More....
http://religiondispatches.org/project-b ... 1-84570085
Religious freedom has been much in the news as the Trump administration has rolled out policies providing an earthly answer to the prayers of the Christian Right. It‘s a central issue in the Masterpiece Cakeshop vs Colorado Civil Rights Commission currently before the Supreme Court, and it’s no secret that the Christian Right has been busy taking their religious freedom agenda to the states.
Many of the bills on their agenda are making news; some have passed key legislative committees or whole state legislative chambers, and some have already been signed into law. But what reporters, activists, and most legislators don’t realize is that many of these bills draw from an unusual package of 20 model bills included in a report assembled by a coalition of Christian Right groups for an initiative they call “Project Blitz.”
The bills are seemingly unrelated and range widely in content—from requiring public schools to display the national motto, “In God We Trust” (IGWT); to legalizing discrimination against LGBTQ people; to religious exemptions regarding women’s reproductive health. The model bills, the legislative strategy and the talking points reflect the theocratic vision that’s animated a meaningful portion of the Christian Right for some time. In the context of Project Blitz’s 116-page playbook, however, they also reveal a sophisticated level of coordination and strategizing that echoes the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which infamously networks probusiness state legislators, drafts sample legislation, and shares legislative ideas and strategies.
More....
http://religiondispatches.org/project-b ... 1-84570085
The Pope vs. the Populists
Debating the fate of Poland during the waning days of World War II, Winston Churchill is reported to have cautioned Joseph Stalin that he should to take into account the views of the Vatican. The Soviet leader interrupted Churchill: “How many divisions does the pope of Rome have?” Three decades later, Churchill’s admonition seemed prescient: The election of the Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyla as Pope John Paul II in 1978 was a first step leading to the dismantling of Soviet Communism.
Amid today’s heated rhetoric on Europe’s refugee crisis, Central Europe’s populist leaders seem to paraphrase Stalin: “How many elections has the pope won?” It is a serious question. The day before Pope Francis issued an apostolic exhortation with the message that caring for migrants should be as important to Catholics as their opposition to abortion, Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, a self-styled defender of Christianity, won a landslide electoral victory with the message that welcoming migrants is worse than abortion.
Why are citizens in post-Communist countries with Catholic majorities unmoved by the message of Pope Francis? Why has the rise of right-wing parties like Law and Justice in Poland and Fidesz in Hungary, which claim a strong affiliation with Catholic identity and attract the support of many believers, resulted in open conflict with the Vatican? Does the rise of populism in Central Europe signal the return of religion or further secularization of society?
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/opin ... dline&te=1
Debating the fate of Poland during the waning days of World War II, Winston Churchill is reported to have cautioned Joseph Stalin that he should to take into account the views of the Vatican. The Soviet leader interrupted Churchill: “How many divisions does the pope of Rome have?” Three decades later, Churchill’s admonition seemed prescient: The election of the Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyla as Pope John Paul II in 1978 was a first step leading to the dismantling of Soviet Communism.
Amid today’s heated rhetoric on Europe’s refugee crisis, Central Europe’s populist leaders seem to paraphrase Stalin: “How many elections has the pope won?” It is a serious question. The day before Pope Francis issued an apostolic exhortation with the message that caring for migrants should be as important to Catholics as their opposition to abortion, Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, a self-styled defender of Christianity, won a landslide electoral victory with the message that welcoming migrants is worse than abortion.
Why are citizens in post-Communist countries with Catholic majorities unmoved by the message of Pope Francis? Why has the rise of right-wing parties like Law and Justice in Poland and Fidesz in Hungary, which claim a strong affiliation with Catholic identity and attract the support of many believers, resulted in open conflict with the Vatican? Does the rise of populism in Central Europe signal the return of religion or further secularization of society?
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/opin ... dline&te=1
Why is the Vatican negotiating with China?
The Communist Party dislikes social activity beyond its control, and China’s Catholic population has stopped growing
FOR several years delegations have shuffled between Beijing and Rome in the hope of reaching an agreement over how to appoint Catholic bishops in China. Recent rumours suggest that a deal is closer than ever. But what are the roots of the disagreement between the Vatican and the Communist Party? How could both sides benefit from resolving it?
Catholics in China are required to worship in closely watched, registered churches run by priests chosen by the party. The Vatican is fairly pragmatic about this, even though devout Catholics bridle at the fact that an atheist ruling party is picking their clergy. Over the years careful diplomacy has ensured that in most cases these state-sanctioned churches are supervised by bishops whom both the Vatican and the party consider acceptable. Nevertheless, there are still some government-backed bishops whom the Vatican finds intolerable. There are also many bishops whom the Vatican has appointed without the consent of the Communists. Perhaps half of all Chinese Catholics attend masses celebrated by these “underground” clergy. Participants risk arrest and many other flavours of persecution.
More....
https://www.economist.com/the-economist ... with-china
The Communist Party dislikes social activity beyond its control, and China’s Catholic population has stopped growing
FOR several years delegations have shuffled between Beijing and Rome in the hope of reaching an agreement over how to appoint Catholic bishops in China. Recent rumours suggest that a deal is closer than ever. But what are the roots of the disagreement between the Vatican and the Communist Party? How could both sides benefit from resolving it?
Catholics in China are required to worship in closely watched, registered churches run by priests chosen by the party. The Vatican is fairly pragmatic about this, even though devout Catholics bridle at the fact that an atheist ruling party is picking their clergy. Over the years careful diplomacy has ensured that in most cases these state-sanctioned churches are supervised by bishops whom both the Vatican and the party consider acceptable. Nevertheless, there are still some government-backed bishops whom the Vatican finds intolerable. There are also many bishops whom the Vatican has appointed without the consent of the Communists. Perhaps half of all Chinese Catholics attend masses celebrated by these “underground” clergy. Participants risk arrest and many other flavours of persecution.
More....
https://www.economist.com/the-economist ... with-china
Can Ireland Be Catholic Without the Church?
Excerpt:
But if it’s clear that the institution of the church no longer commands the moral authority or the loyalty in Ireland that it once did, the end of Catholic Ireland, too, is an overstatement. Ireland remains defined by its relationship with Catholicism, because it has yet to develop another way to be. What isn’t yet clear is what the social and political consequences of this new relationship with the church are.
The idea of Ireland as the last bastion of a stable Catholic society has been a myth for decades. The numbers of those who opt to join the priesthood, to become nuns, or to join other religious vocations has been in serious decline since as early as the 1960s, driven not by revelations of abuse, but by the same factors that have been at work in other Western societies. As Ireland became better educated, richer and more secular, its people were increasingly less prepared to accept blindly the dictates handed down by priests and bishops on how they should live their lives.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/26/opin ... 3053090527
Excerpt:
But if it’s clear that the institution of the church no longer commands the moral authority or the loyalty in Ireland that it once did, the end of Catholic Ireland, too, is an overstatement. Ireland remains defined by its relationship with Catholicism, because it has yet to develop another way to be. What isn’t yet clear is what the social and political consequences of this new relationship with the church are.
The idea of Ireland as the last bastion of a stable Catholic society has been a myth for decades. The numbers of those who opt to join the priesthood, to become nuns, or to join other religious vocations has been in serious decline since as early as the 1960s, driven not by revelations of abuse, but by the same factors that have been at work in other Western societies. As Ireland became better educated, richer and more secular, its people were increasingly less prepared to accept blindly the dictates handed down by priests and bishops on how they should live their lives.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/26/opin ... 3053090527
As Ireland Joins Europe’s Sprint From Catholic Fold, Francis Looks South
Excerpt:
Across Western Europe, the church’s once mighty footprint has faded, in no small measure because of self-inflicted clerical sex abuse scandals and an inability to keep up with and reach contemporary Catholics. Church attendance has plummeted, parishes are merging, and new priests and nuns are in short supply. Gay marriage is on the rise, and abortion is widely legal.
And yet, Francis is not sounding the alarm or calling the faithful to the ramparts. He seems resigned to accept that a devout and Catholic Europe has largely slipped into the church’s past.
Instead, he has shifted his focus on the faith’s future to the global South from which he came. At the heart of Francis’ vision is a closeness of priests to the poor and desolate whom he believes the church should most serve.
This turn has drawn criticism from conservative Catholics like those in the Continent’s most faithful country, Poland, who have allied with a nationalist government to keep out migrants.
But the Argentine pontiff clearly believes that emphasizing a poor church ministering to the world’s outcasts is a more authentic, appealing — and ultimately evangelizing — global message than a defense of orthodoxy and Europe’s Christian roots.
The challenge for Francis is to keep the present decline of the church in Europe from becoming a preview of its future in South America and Africa.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/27/worl ... hurch.html
Excerpt:
Across Western Europe, the church’s once mighty footprint has faded, in no small measure because of self-inflicted clerical sex abuse scandals and an inability to keep up with and reach contemporary Catholics. Church attendance has plummeted, parishes are merging, and new priests and nuns are in short supply. Gay marriage is on the rise, and abortion is widely legal.
And yet, Francis is not sounding the alarm or calling the faithful to the ramparts. He seems resigned to accept that a devout and Catholic Europe has largely slipped into the church’s past.
Instead, he has shifted his focus on the faith’s future to the global South from which he came. At the heart of Francis’ vision is a closeness of priests to the poor and desolate whom he believes the church should most serve.
This turn has drawn criticism from conservative Catholics like those in the Continent’s most faithful country, Poland, who have allied with a nationalist government to keep out migrants.
But the Argentine pontiff clearly believes that emphasizing a poor church ministering to the world’s outcasts is a more authentic, appealing — and ultimately evangelizing — global message than a defense of orthodoxy and Europe’s Christian roots.
The challenge for Francis is to keep the present decline of the church in Europe from becoming a preview of its future in South America and Africa.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/27/worl ... hurch.html
Thou Shalt Not Kill
Pope Francis declares capital punishment unambiguously wrong. No exceptions.
Pope Francis’s condemnation of capital punishment is simple and unambiguous: It is inadmissible. No exceptions for especially heinous crimes; no loopholes allowing execution when other lives might be in jeopardy, as in past Catholic teachings. No, declared the pope; state-sanctioned killing is always an unjustifiable attack on the dignity of human life, it’s always wrong.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/03/opin ... 3053090804
Pope Francis declares capital punishment unambiguously wrong. No exceptions.
Pope Francis’s condemnation of capital punishment is simple and unambiguous: It is inadmissible. No exceptions for especially heinous crimes; no loopholes allowing execution when other lives might be in jeopardy, as in past Catholic teachings. No, declared the pope; state-sanctioned killing is always an unjustifiable attack on the dignity of human life, it’s always wrong.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/03/opin ... 3053090804
For Catholics, Gradual Reform Is No Longer an Option
Yes, there is still holiness in the church. But the sin is so pervasive and corrosive that it is irresponsible to talk about anything else.
I often use a handy metaphor to explain to my students how feminists have historically differed among themselves in their approaches to bringing about change in patriarchal institutions. Some feminists seek a place at the table; others want to reset the table. The former hope to promote gradual progress from within an existing framework of norms and organizational structures; the latter demand nothing less than radical, wholesale reform.
When it comes to the Roman Catholic Church, I have always been a “place at the table” kind of feminist. When asked how to integrate women more fully into the life of the church, I offer reasonable strategies. Bishops could, for example, recognize that the call for leadership might flow as much from the sacrament of baptism as from that of ordination, and appoint more women to leadership positions at all levels of church governance.
Tuesday’s grand jury report about clerical sexual abuse in Pennsylvania has changed my mind. The sickening revelations — over 1,000 victims, more than 300 priests, 70 years of cover-ups — have propelled me directly to the center of the “reset the table” camp. We need to rip off the tablecloth, hurl the china against a wall and replace the crystal with something less ostentatious, more resilient and, for the love of God, safer for children.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/17/opin ... dline&te=1
Yes, there is still holiness in the church. But the sin is so pervasive and corrosive that it is irresponsible to talk about anything else.
I often use a handy metaphor to explain to my students how feminists have historically differed among themselves in their approaches to bringing about change in patriarchal institutions. Some feminists seek a place at the table; others want to reset the table. The former hope to promote gradual progress from within an existing framework of norms and organizational structures; the latter demand nothing less than radical, wholesale reform.
When it comes to the Roman Catholic Church, I have always been a “place at the table” kind of feminist. When asked how to integrate women more fully into the life of the church, I offer reasonable strategies. Bishops could, for example, recognize that the call for leadership might flow as much from the sacrament of baptism as from that of ordination, and appoint more women to leadership positions at all levels of church governance.
Tuesday’s grand jury report about clerical sexual abuse in Pennsylvania has changed my mind. The sickening revelations — over 1,000 victims, more than 300 priests, 70 years of cover-ups — have propelled me directly to the center of the “reset the table” camp. We need to rip off the tablecloth, hurl the china against a wall and replace the crystal with something less ostentatious, more resilient and, for the love of God, safer for children.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/17/opin ... dline&te=1
What Must Survive a Corrupt Catholic Church
By making monasteries, of a sort, of our homes and hearts, we may develop the spiritual disciplines necessary to endure this seemingly endless trial.
Excerpt:
In my humiliation, I received the faith a second time, as a warm coat given to a shabby beggar on a cold winter’s day. On the day I entered the Orthodox Church, my Ukrainian-born godfather said to me: “None of us have the right to look down on the Catholics. If our sins were exposed as theirs have been, we would be shamed too.”
Over the past 12 years, I have rebuilt a spiritual life based not on intellection, disputation and hero-worshiping the ecclesial institution, but on a simple way of prayer, fasting and repentance.
You don’t have to convert to Orthodoxy to live your Christian faith this way (though it helps). But Catholics and all Christians are going to have to be more deeply converted if they intend to hold on through present and future trials.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/15/opin ... 3053090816
By making monasteries, of a sort, of our homes and hearts, we may develop the spiritual disciplines necessary to endure this seemingly endless trial.
Excerpt:
In my humiliation, I received the faith a second time, as a warm coat given to a shabby beggar on a cold winter’s day. On the day I entered the Orthodox Church, my Ukrainian-born godfather said to me: “None of us have the right to look down on the Catholics. If our sins were exposed as theirs have been, we would be shamed too.”
Over the past 12 years, I have rebuilt a spiritual life based not on intellection, disputation and hero-worshiping the ecclesial institution, but on a simple way of prayer, fasting and repentance.
You don’t have to convert to Orthodoxy to live your Christian faith this way (though it helps). But Catholics and all Christians are going to have to be more deeply converted if they intend to hold on through present and future trials.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/15/opin ... 3053090816
A Catholic Civil War?
Traditionalists want strict adherence to church doctrine. Liberals want the doctrine changed.
Excerpt:
No matter what Francis does now, the Catholic Church has been plunged into all-out civil war. On one side are the traditionalists, who insist that abuse can be prevented only by tighter adherence to church doctrine. On the other side are the liberals, who demand that the church cease condemning homosexual acts and allow gay priests to step out of the closet.
Despite their opposing views, the two sides have important things in common. Both believe that a culture of lies has enabled predators to flourish. And both trace this culture back to the church’s hypocritical practice of claiming that homosexual acts are wrong while quietly tolerating them among the clergy.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/27/opin ... dline&te=1
Traditionalists want strict adherence to church doctrine. Liberals want the doctrine changed.
Excerpt:
No matter what Francis does now, the Catholic Church has been plunged into all-out civil war. On one side are the traditionalists, who insist that abuse can be prevented only by tighter adherence to church doctrine. On the other side are the liberals, who demand that the church cease condemning homosexual acts and allow gay priests to step out of the closet.
Despite their opposing views, the two sides have important things in common. Both believe that a culture of lies has enabled predators to flourish. And both trace this culture back to the church’s hypocritical practice of claiming that homosexual acts are wrong while quietly tolerating them among the clergy.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/27/opin ... dline&te=1
China and Vatican Reach Deal on Appointment of Bishops
ROME — The Vatican said Saturday that it had reached a provisional deal with the Chinese government to end a decades-old power struggle over the right to appoint bishops in China. It was the Communist country’s first formal recognition of the pope’s authority within the Roman Catholic Church in the world’s most populous nation, Vatican officials said.
Under the deal, Pope Francis recognized the legitimacy of seven bishops appointed by the Chinese government. Because they had not been selected by the Vatican, they had previously been excommunicated.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/22/worl ... 3053090923
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With Vatican Talks and Bulldozers, China Aims to Control Christianity
Image
BEIJING — Over the last two years, China’s estimated 60 million Christians have felt the power of a newly assertive government eager to bring their faith to heel.
The authorities have demolished hundreds of Protestant churches, knocking crosses off steeples and evicting congregations. Roman Catholics have faced similar measures, but the government took a different approach this past weekend, striking a diplomatic deal that Vatican officials said was a historic breakthrough — the first formal acknowledgment by Beijing of the pope’s authority in Catholic churches in China.
Beijing’s goal in the agreement, however, appears to be the same as with the church demolitions: greater control over the rapid spread of Christianity, which gained a permanent presence in China in the 16th century.
“We’re at a turning point,” said Ying Fuk-tsang, the director of the divinity school at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “The administration feels that the government had been too lax in the past and now wants to increase the pressure.”
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/24/worl ... 3053090925
ROME — The Vatican said Saturday that it had reached a provisional deal with the Chinese government to end a decades-old power struggle over the right to appoint bishops in China. It was the Communist country’s first formal recognition of the pope’s authority within the Roman Catholic Church in the world’s most populous nation, Vatican officials said.
Under the deal, Pope Francis recognized the legitimacy of seven bishops appointed by the Chinese government. Because they had not been selected by the Vatican, they had previously been excommunicated.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/22/worl ... 3053090923
*******
With Vatican Talks and Bulldozers, China Aims to Control Christianity
Image
BEIJING — Over the last two years, China’s estimated 60 million Christians have felt the power of a newly assertive government eager to bring their faith to heel.
The authorities have demolished hundreds of Protestant churches, knocking crosses off steeples and evicting congregations. Roman Catholics have faced similar measures, but the government took a different approach this past weekend, striking a diplomatic deal that Vatican officials said was a historic breakthrough — the first formal acknowledgment by Beijing of the pope’s authority in Catholic churches in China.
Beijing’s goal in the agreement, however, appears to be the same as with the church demolitions: greater control over the rapid spread of Christianity, which gained a permanent presence in China in the 16th century.
“We’re at a turning point,” said Ying Fuk-tsang, the director of the divinity school at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “The administration feels that the government had been too lax in the past and now wants to increase the pressure.”
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/24/worl ... 3053090925
It’s Getting Harder to Talk About God
The decline in our spiritual vocabulary has many real-world consequences.
More than 70 percent of Americans identify as Christian, but you wouldn’t know it from listening to them. An overwhelming majority of people say that they don’t feel comfortable speaking about faith, most of the time.
During the Great Depression, the playwright Thornton Wilder remarked, “The revival in religion will be a rhetorical problem — new persuasive words for defaced or degraded ones.” Wilder knew that during times of rapid social change, God-talk is often difficult to muster.
We may have traded 1930s-level poverty and hunger for a resurgence in racism, sexism and environmental cataclysm, but our problems are no less serious — or spiritually disorienting. While many of our most visible leaders claim to be religious, their moral frameworks seem unrecognizable to masses of other believers. How do we speak about God in times like these when God is hard to spot?
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/13/opin ... dline&te=1
The decline in our spiritual vocabulary has many real-world consequences.
More than 70 percent of Americans identify as Christian, but you wouldn’t know it from listening to them. An overwhelming majority of people say that they don’t feel comfortable speaking about faith, most of the time.
During the Great Depression, the playwright Thornton Wilder remarked, “The revival in religion will be a rhetorical problem — new persuasive words for defaced or degraded ones.” Wilder knew that during times of rapid social change, God-talk is often difficult to muster.
We may have traded 1930s-level poverty and hunger for a resurgence in racism, sexism and environmental cataclysm, but our problems are no less serious — or spiritually disorienting. While many of our most visible leaders claim to be religious, their moral frameworks seem unrecognizable to masses of other believers. How do we speak about God in times like these when God is hard to spot?
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/13/opin ... dline&te=1
One of Africa’s oddest places
Redemption city is the anti-Lagos
What happens when Pentecostal churches become urban planners
On a plot of land north of Lagos sits Redemption City. The site was originally used for occasional prayer meetings, before growing into one of the world’s largest churches. The prayer camp eventually turned into a permanent settlement. Today it has about 12,000 inhabitants living over at least 2,500 hectares. Unlike much of the country, everything tends to work in the city. Other Pentecostal churches are taking inspiration
More...
https://www.economist.com/middle-east-a ... m=20181023
Redemption city is the anti-Lagos
What happens when Pentecostal churches become urban planners
On a plot of land north of Lagos sits Redemption City. The site was originally used for occasional prayer meetings, before growing into one of the world’s largest churches. The prayer camp eventually turned into a permanent settlement. Today it has about 12,000 inhabitants living over at least 2,500 hectares. Unlike much of the country, everything tends to work in the city. Other Pentecostal churches are taking inspiration
More...
https://www.economist.com/middle-east-a ... m=20181023
The Pope Doesn’t Understand China
HONG KONG — Last month the Vatican announced that it had come to a provisional agreement with the government of China over the appointment of Catholic bishops. Supporters of the deal say that it finally brings unity after longstanding division — between an underground Church loyal to the pope and an official church approved by the Chinese authorities — and that with it, the Chinese government has for the first time recognized the authority of the pope. In fact, the deal is a major step toward the annihilation of the real Church in China.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/24/opin ... dline&te=1
HONG KONG — Last month the Vatican announced that it had come to a provisional agreement with the government of China over the appointment of Catholic bishops. Supporters of the deal say that it finally brings unity after longstanding division — between an underground Church loyal to the pope and an official church approved by the Chinese authorities — and that with it, the Chinese government has for the first time recognized the authority of the pope. In fact, the deal is a major step toward the annihilation of the real Church in China.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/24/opin ... dline&te=1
‘God Is Going to Have to Forgive Me’: Young Evangelicals Speak Out
The role of evangelical Christianity in American politics has been a hotly discussed topic this year, intersecting with front-burner issues like immigration, the Supreme Court and social justice. Often the loudest evangelical voices are white, male and … not young.
With just days left before the midterm elections — two years after President Trump won the White House with a record share of white, evangelical support — we asked young evangelicals to tell The Times about the relationship between their faith and their politics.
Nearly 1,500 readers replied, from every state but Alaska and Vermont. Hundreds wrote long essays about their families and communities. They go to prominent megachurches as well as small Southern Baptist, nondenominational and even mainline Protestant congregations. Some said they have left evangelicalism altogether.
We read every submission and spent many hours interviewing respondents. Here’s what we learned:
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/01/us/y ... 3053091102
The role of evangelical Christianity in American politics has been a hotly discussed topic this year, intersecting with front-burner issues like immigration, the Supreme Court and social justice. Often the loudest evangelical voices are white, male and … not young.
With just days left before the midterm elections — two years after President Trump won the White House with a record share of white, evangelical support — we asked young evangelicals to tell The Times about the relationship between their faith and their politics.
Nearly 1,500 readers replied, from every state but Alaska and Vermont. Hundreds wrote long essays about their families and communities. They go to prominent megachurches as well as small Southern Baptist, nondenominational and even mainline Protestant congregations. Some said they have left evangelicalism altogether.
We read every submission and spent many hours interviewing respondents. Here’s what we learned:
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/01/us/y ... 3053091102
The Return of Paganism
Maybe there actually is a genuinely post-Christian future for America.
Here are some generally agreed-upon facts about religious trends in the United States. Institutional Christianity has weakened drastically since the 1960s. Lots of people who once would have been lukewarm Christmas-and-Easter churchgoers now identify as having “no religion” or being “spiritual but not religious.” The mainline-Protestant establishment is an establishment no more. Religious belief and practice now polarizes our politics in a way they didn’t a few generations back.
What kind of general religious reality should be discerned from all these facts, though, is much more uncertain, and there are various plausible stories about what early-21st century Americans increasingly believe. The simplest of these is the secularization story — in which modern societies inevitably put away religious ideas as they advance in wealth and science and reason, and the decline of institutional religion is just a predictable feature of a general late-modern turn away from supernatural belief.
But the secularization narrative is insufficient, because even with America’s churches in decline, the religious impulse has hardly disappeared. In the early 2000s, over 40 percent of Americans answered with an emphatic “yes” when Gallup asked them if “a profound religious experience or awakening” had redirected their lives; that number had doubled since the 1960s, when institutional religion was more vigorous. A recent Pew survey on secularization likewise found increases in the share of Americans who have regular feelings of “spiritual peace and well-being.” And the resilience of religious impulses and rhetoric in contemporary political movements, even (or especially) on the officially secular left, is an obvious feature of our politics.
So perhaps instead of secularization it makes sense to talk about the fragmentation and personalization of Christianity — to describe America as a nation of Christian heretics, if you will, in which traditional churches have been supplanted by self-help gurus and spiritual-political entrepreneurs. These figures cobble together pieces of the old orthodoxies, take out the inconvenient bits and pitch them to mass audiences that want part of the old-time religion but nothing too unsettling or challenging or ascetic. The result is a nation where Protestant awakenings have given way to post-Protestant wokeness, where Reinhold Niebuhr and Fulton Sheen have ceded pulpits to Joel Osteen and Oprah Winfrey, where the prosperity gospel and Christian nationalism rule the right and a social gospel denuded of theological content rules the left.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/12/opin ... dline&te=1
Maybe there actually is a genuinely post-Christian future for America.
Here are some generally agreed-upon facts about religious trends in the United States. Institutional Christianity has weakened drastically since the 1960s. Lots of people who once would have been lukewarm Christmas-and-Easter churchgoers now identify as having “no religion” or being “spiritual but not religious.” The mainline-Protestant establishment is an establishment no more. Religious belief and practice now polarizes our politics in a way they didn’t a few generations back.
What kind of general religious reality should be discerned from all these facts, though, is much more uncertain, and there are various plausible stories about what early-21st century Americans increasingly believe. The simplest of these is the secularization story — in which modern societies inevitably put away religious ideas as they advance in wealth and science and reason, and the decline of institutional religion is just a predictable feature of a general late-modern turn away from supernatural belief.
But the secularization narrative is insufficient, because even with America’s churches in decline, the religious impulse has hardly disappeared. In the early 2000s, over 40 percent of Americans answered with an emphatic “yes” when Gallup asked them if “a profound religious experience or awakening” had redirected their lives; that number had doubled since the 1960s, when institutional religion was more vigorous. A recent Pew survey on secularization likewise found increases in the share of Americans who have regular feelings of “spiritual peace and well-being.” And the resilience of religious impulses and rhetoric in contemporary political movements, even (or especially) on the officially secular left, is an obvious feature of our politics.
So perhaps instead of secularization it makes sense to talk about the fragmentation and personalization of Christianity — to describe America as a nation of Christian heretics, if you will, in which traditional churches have been supplanted by self-help gurus and spiritual-political entrepreneurs. These figures cobble together pieces of the old orthodoxies, take out the inconvenient bits and pitch them to mass audiences that want part of the old-time religion but nothing too unsettling or challenging or ascetic. The result is a nation where Protestant awakenings have given way to post-Protestant wokeness, where Reinhold Niebuhr and Fulton Sheen have ceded pulpits to Joel Osteen and Oprah Winfrey, where the prosperity gospel and Christian nationalism rule the right and a social gospel denuded of theological content rules the left.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/12/opin ... dline&te=1
Christianity faces one of its biggest splits in centuries this weekend
One of Christianity's biggest splits in centuries is expected to be formalized this weekend as Ukraine moves to create a new church independent from Russia's influence.
It’s estimated that more than 70 percent of Ukrainians — or nearly 32 million people — identify as religious. The overwhelming majority of them are Orthodox Christian. But they don’t all pray in the same churches.
There are currently three separate branches of the Orthodox church in Ukraine, including one under the control of the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church.
But in the wake of Russian aggression along Ukraine’s eastern border and its annexation of Crimea in 2014, the Ukrainian government has been working to reduce Moscow's role within the country.
On Saturday, officials from the three bodies are due to meet to agree on the new independent Orthodox church's charter and elect its leader.
More...
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/ch ... ailsignout
One of Christianity's biggest splits in centuries is expected to be formalized this weekend as Ukraine moves to create a new church independent from Russia's influence.
It’s estimated that more than 70 percent of Ukrainians — or nearly 32 million people — identify as religious. The overwhelming majority of them are Orthodox Christian. But they don’t all pray in the same churches.
There are currently three separate branches of the Orthodox church in Ukraine, including one under the control of the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church.
But in the wake of Russian aggression along Ukraine’s eastern border and its annexation of Crimea in 2014, the Ukrainian government has been working to reduce Moscow's role within the country.
On Saturday, officials from the three bodies are due to meet to agree on the new independent Orthodox church's charter and elect its leader.
More...
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/ch ... ailsignout