(Bishop Schori by Fishbowl Collective via Flickr)

ANAHEIM, CA – Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori says it’s "heresy" to teach that an individual can be saved through a sinner’s prayer of repentance. Here are some comments that Bishop Schori made at the opening of the Episcopal General Conference on Wednesday:

"the great Western heresy: that we can be saved as individuals, that any of us alone can be in right relationship with God."

"…caricatured in some quarters by insisting that salvation depends on reciting a specific verbal formula about Jesus."

"That individualist focus is a form of idolatry, for it puts me and my words in the place that only God can occupy."

Response: Wow, a real swipe at evangelicalism. No wonder her church is shrinking. Of coarse Her caricature is incorrect—those who are saved become part of the ‘Body of Christ’ and really aren’t alone. The blessed Bishop might want to consult the New Testament when it comes to defining what is and isn’t heresy. What do you think?

Meanwhile, the wrong reverend Bishop Schori is pushing for her denomination to provide for homosexual marriage rituals and ceremonies. She might want to consult the NT on that one also!

The question here is–who is really involved in heresy?  So-called Bishop Schori and her ilk or conservative Christians who still take the Bible serious?            *Top

Related Posts?:

1. -Liberal Episcopalians Double Down to Widen the Rift
2. -Muslim Priest Defrocked by Episcopal Church

(Michael Jackson via Wikipedia)

17,500 attended the memorial service for Michael Jackson in LA. This was ‘LaLa Land’ at its best! But not just LA—the entire country participated by turning in and bring the TV networks some of their best ratings for the entire year.

Michael Jackson was an incredible talent but also a tortured individual that found it nearly impossible to find happiness in spite of all the advantages of wealth and fame. It was his fame which made it difficult to have any sort of normal life.

The memorial, like his whole life was a show par excellence, but one wonders if Michael would have really been comfortable with all the hoopla and the crowd—particularly as a person that was constantly trying to get away from the mobs and provide some degree of privacy for his children.

One really wonders why his family decided to have such public send off and chose to share the very private event with 17,500 of his closest friends and a 100 million more or so via TV. Not to mention that it was live in 88 theaters and tickets ended up being sold for the ‘free’ spectacle/show/funeral on eBay.

What does it really say about our country that time stops to remember a tragic entertainer while the President is in Russia and now in Italy defining what our future may look like. But first things first, first we bury a tarnished idol and later we worry about Pres. Obama giving away the farm. Have we all lost our sanity—our ever loving minds? Looking at the TV ratings, apparently so! 

Related Posts?:

1. -Michael Jackson is Now a Muslim?
2. -Gays get ‘Special Rights’ at White House Easter Egg Roll

(Urumqi via Wikipedia)

It is really hard to get accurate news out of this remote area of China. However, what we do know is that Thousands of Muslim Uighur Chinese protested or ‘rioted’ in the regional capital of Urumqi. At least 140 died and over 800 were injured.

According to reports, the Muslim Uighurs rioted and attacked Han Chinese who are said to dominate businesses and the government in the region. The Uighurs claim that the Hans have discriminated against them.

Response: It is really difficult to get accurate accounts of the situation. According to the government, the Muslim Uighurs are the trouble makers and attacked and injured hundreds of Han Chinese. However, according to Uighur sources, most of the actual killing was done by the police.

Obviously this is an on-going cultural/religious/ethnic conflict that will not soon be resolved. We do know that some of the more radical Uighurs have joined up with the Taliban in Afghanistan against US forces so at least some of the government complaints may be well founded. Though the police put down of the protestors does remind one of the similar treatment that Tibetans have received from the Chinese authorities.            *Top

Related Posts?:

1. German Chancellor Merkel Challenges China on Human Rights
2. A New Catholic Bishop is Installed in Beijing

(Picture by Chris_J via Flickr)

This is a great time to pray for America and our leaders.

Related Posts?:

1. -A Lesson in Forgiving and a Time for Healing
2. -Iranian Christians Need our Prayers

(Picture via Wikipedia)

Here’s the case of a gentleman in Toronto, Canada that was censured by his landlady for saying “hello” and “good Morning” to his neighbors. The offended folks in this case were Muslims and the husband did not think it was proper for his neighbor to even look at his wife much less verbally greet her. The outraged husband threatened him and even filed a complaint with the apartment managers:

When the landlady of my Toronto apartment building said an outraged neighbor had filed a complaint about me over an apparently inappropriate hallway interaction with his wife, my mind raced through the countless conversations I’ve had with fellow tenants, none of which seemed a possible source of offense.

It turns out, it wasn’t a salacious transaction that had caused the complaint, but rather a neighborly and — to me — entirely forgettable greeting, little more than a brief "good morning" as I passed my neighbors on the way to work.

Still, it was enough of an affront for the man — once a doctor somewhere in the Middle East, my landlady clarified — to feel I had broken a cultural taboo. The incident started an awkward feud which has involved warnings not to repeat my indiscretion and one face-to-face shouting match, which included allusions to my impending death.

Response: This is another one of those cases where Muslim immigrants are demanding that the dominant culture be changed to reflect their own cultural and religious taboos. All are free to practice their religion in the Western nations and as much as possible we should accommodate people with diverse religious beliefs and practices.

However, every once in a while we read articles about Muslims who are offended by regular folks in the coarse of their everyday work. Muslim taxicab drivers who refuse to pickup folks that have been drinking (which is one reason people call a cab in the first place), Checkers at stores like Wal-Mart who refuse to handle pork products, doctors or dentists who refuse to treat woman not wearing hijabs, Bookstore people who refuse to handle a Bible, plant workers who demand time out for prayers, and etc. Some issues can be easily resolved and accommodated but some just can’t.

If religious folks are so offended by the general culture and normal neighborly greetings as in this case, then they should think seriously about moving to a neighborhood or country where they would be more comfortable—one which better reflects their own traditions and culture.             *Top 

Related Posts?:

1. -UK: Muslim Clerk Refuses to Sell Bible Story Book
2. -Cultural Clash: Muslims Outraged by Cute Police Puppy?

"This seems to confirm the unanimous and undisputed tradition that these are the mortal remains of the Apostle Paul."

Are these Really the bones of the Apostle Paul?

Dr. Andrew Jackson of the SmartChristian blog calls this “very speculative” and I agree. <<Read my conclusions on the Apologetica page>>            *Top

Related Posts?:

1. -Was The Apostle Paul a Fake and a Spy?
2. Serial Review: “The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot: A New Look at Betrayer and Betrayed” -Part 1

He said that the “wonderful practice” started during his presidential campaign.

Response: This is good news and reassuring—at least the President’s spirituality is not being completely ignored. There had been a recent story that the Obama and his family had not yet chosen a regular church to attend in DC because they were sensitive to the disruption their attendance caused those that they had visited. I was concerned that the First Family was not being ‘spiritually’ fed. I have even heard some Christians complaining that Pres. Obama didn’t really seem to be the Christian that he had claimed to be during the campaign.

Related Posts?:

1. -Will President Obama Boycott ‘The National Day of Prayer’?
2. -San Francisco: 30,000+ Rally on the Waterfront Against Abortion

(Image by BL1961 via Flickr)

Iran’s Parliament has dropped the mandatory death penalty for those who leave Islam and convert to other religions. Iran has been under considerable international pressure to drop the ultimate punishment by stoning for ‘apostates’.

This comes at a time when the Iranian government has already been under international scrutiny for the recent election that ended in protests by the Iranian people and violent responses by the government.

Many Iranian Christians are still concerned that Pres. Ahmadinejad might choose to take out the recent election debacle on the minority Christian community which mostly supported his opponent.

Response: Hooray! The Iranian regime is now trying to redeem itself internationally. Hopefully Pres. Ahmadinejad will follow suit and also temper his usual opposition and persecution of minority religions, particularly Baha’is, Zoroastrians and Christians. The official elimination of the death penalty for conversion is a very good start.

Related Posts?:

1. -Iranian Christians Need our Prayers
2. -Iran: Convert You Die

(White House by Ivan Makarov via Flickr)

Obama said he hopes to persuade all Americans to accept homosexuality at a recent celebration of Gay Pride Month at the White House:

"There are good and decent people in this country who don’t yet fully embrace their gay brothers and sisters — not yet, That’s why I’ve spoken about these issues — not just in front of you — but in front of unlikely audiences, in front of African-American church members.”

“There are still fellow citizens, perhaps neighbors or even family members and loved ones, who still hold fast to worn arguments and old attitudes."

He also told those gathered for the occasion that in addition to trying to pass a hate crimes bill, his administration was also pushing for Congress to repeal "the so-called Defense of Marriage Act" — and to repeal the "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy initiated by Pres. Clinton on homosexuals in the military.

Response: Although Pres. Obama claimed that he was for traditional marriage during his campaign, he now seems to be pushing the gay agenda, though some homosexuals have been unhappy with how slow the change is coming.

In light of his current statements, Obama’s campaign statements now seems to be rather deceptive. Is the Christian New Testament Biblical understanding of marriage merely “worn arguments and old attitudes” that need to be cast off as the President seems to imply? Hardly!

Is it necessary for LGBT lifestyle to be completely mainstreamed? Is it necessary for traditional Christian/Biblical understandings or views of homosexuality to be eradicated? I say no on both accounts.

However, as one who has some relatives and loved-ones who do participate in the LGBT lifestyle I believe that it is necessary for Christians to reach out in love to people rather than in judgment while maintaining our traditional Biblical standards.             *Top 

Related Posts?:

1. -Pres. Obama: June is Gay Pride Month
2. -Obama Admin. to Endorse U.N. Gay Rights Declaration

Mark and Sara Neill received letters in 2008 from Bullseye Collection Agency in order to recover a $88 debt. The letters included "WWJD" in the right-hand corner. The couple believes that the motto actually condemns debtors as sinners and therefore violates the federal Debt Collection Practices Act, which prohibits abusive or harassing tactics.

From their perspective—the collection was communicating a ‘shame on you debtors in the name of the Lord’—after all in the context of a debt collection WWJD implies that Jesus would pay the debt and so should you.

Interestingly, Bullseye is owned by Christians and is being represented by Liberty Counsel, a religious liberty firm.

Here’s my question—should folks use religion in this way? Is Bullseye justified in their use of the WWJD logo in their business and correspondence in trying to collect debts? What do you think?            *Top

Related Posts?:

1. -A Day to be Thankful For!
2. “What Jesus Demands from the World” -Intro