GEMS SHOW UP!! Therea Forkins--Phillips Twice this week I was witness in conferences in which Gems showed up in a miraculous way. The Show me your Glory Conference in De Kalb IL had all the regalia of the Royal Priesthood in it! God filled teeth were happening caps of Real Gold filled covered teeth right before my eyes .. My own diamond ring expanded to a larger size.. Am I crazy NO it is the manifestations of the Miraculous Jesus said he would show in the earth before his coming. Manna from Heaven showed up as Harold and Kay Beyer. Began to testify in the HUB meeting in Naperville Sunday evening .. They shared the price that was paid for he Gospel from rejection from fellow Christians and family was hard to bear but after 38 years in ministry GOD is placing a distinct high honor upon this dear couple and God bless them they are genuine as can be to the core and get to them in Florida where they are based at This couple traveled the world as missionaries and NOW are being released to start a ministry center in Tampa Fla. I have to tell you I am no a skeptic for I believe GOD is a supernatural Being! But I tasted the manna last night and it was not of this world thank GOD
Paula Benne and Kari Browning flowed from Thursday night through sat night the miracles happened. Flat feet were given arches and a lady who had a broken bone near her foot for several years was healed and the bone put back in place awesome stuff Then it continued in Naperville, IL as Hubs Sunday night meeting began to roar up with Praise and worship the people were hungry to see and to feel and to get anything they could from GOD they just kept pouring through the door .,. Sitting on the floor and just hungry for GOD People get in involved in the supernatural things of GOD Jehovah he is still working inn our midst! My opinion connect with the things of Supernatural and watch the prayer Thy Kingdom Come Thy Will Be Done in earth AS it is in Heaven .. read rev 21 and see these jewels there Gods Blessings to all
Now about the gems in Sunday night meeting two gems appeared and Jeff Jensen showed them they were a blue topaz and an a peridot and a marquis cut small in size but awesome indeed Gold dust fell upon the people . Kerry Broening is presenting the Gems when asked and her web site is www.Thegatewayintl.org look at the video re gems and see for yourself AMAZING!!! Just a note to you skeptics out there signs do happen
Jeremiah 32;20 You performed miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt and have continued them to this day, both in Israel and among all mankind, and have gained the renown that is still yours.
"If you believe in God, you go to Heaven when you die. If you don't, you go to North Korea." Pastor Lee, a former prisoner of North Korea
If you've been watching the news, you know President George W. Bush and other world leaders are now working through diplomatic channels to address the North Korean government and its people, led by Communist dictator Kim Jong Il. While we pray for the success of these negotiations and for a just peace agreement, VOM continues to present the only hope for true peace that exists for North Koreans: the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.
There is a spiritual war taking place in North Korea as our enemy seeks to destroy the souls of North Korea's citizens. Millions have starved to death in the past 10 years. Following "the God of Heaven" is considered treason, punishable by imprisonment or even death.
Caught in the middle of this spiritual battle are our persecuted brothers and sisters, bearers of Light in a terribly dark country.
We invite you to stand with them, shining the light of truth in the darkness of North Korea. Much of The Voice of the Martyrs' work in North Korea cannot be discussed publicly. However,we can tell you that we are supporting the spread of the gospel, training leaders in the underground church and providing Scriptures to the people of North Korea. Your financial contributions make this vital work possible.
Please follow the link below to see how you can get involved and for a special offer on Soon Ok Lee's book, Eyes of the Tailless Animals: Prison Memoirs of a North Korean Woman. Also posted are links to a recent article by The Voice of the Martyrs and the horrific footage of how North Korea treats its "disobedient" citizens.
CHRISTIANS AND MUSLIMS: FACE GLOBAL CHALLENGES TOGETHER
VATICAN CITY, OCT 20, 2006 (VIS) - Made public today was the annual Message to Muslims for the end of the month of Ramadan from the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue. It bears the signatures of Cardinal Paul Poupard and Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata, respectively president and secretary of the council. The theme of the Message this year (1427 AH / 2006 AD) is, "Christians and Muslims: in confident dialogue aimed at solving together the challenges of our world."
The document as been published in English, French, Italian and Arabic. Extracts are given below:
"It is good to be able to share this significant moment with you in the context of our ongoing dialogue. The particular circumstances that we have recently experienced together demonstrate clearly that, however arduous the path of authentic dialogue may be at times, it is more necessary than ever.
"The month of Ramadan which you have just completed has also undoubtedly been a time of prayer and reflection on the difficult situations of today's world. While contemplating and thanking God for all that is good, it is impossible not to take note of the serious problems which affect our times: injustice, poverty, tensions and conflicts between countries as well as within them. Violence and terrorism are a particularly painful scourge. ... So much, which has taken years of sacrifice and toil to build, destroyed in a few minutes!
"As Christian and Muslim believers, are we not the first to be called to offer our specific contribution to resolve this serious situation and these complex problems? Without doubt, the credibility of religions and also the credibility of our religious leaders and all believers is at stake. If we do not play our part as believers, many will question the usefulness of religion and the integrity of all men and women who bow down before God.
"Our two religions give great importance to love, compassion and solidarity. ... In recalling this point, the first Encyclical Letter of Pope Benedict XVI, 'Deus Caritas Est' (God is Love), underlines the importance of fraternal charity in the Church's mission: love, to be credible, must be effective. ... True love must be of service to all the needs of daily life; it must also seek just and peaceful solutions to the serious problems which afflict our world."
"In those places where we can work together, let us not labor separately. The world has need, and so do we, of Christians and Muslims who respect and value each other and bear witness to their mutual love and cooperation to the glory of God and the good of all humanity. ... [This will] offer a significant contribution to the re-establishment and strengthening of peace both within nations and between peoples." CON-DIR/RAMADAN/POUPARD:CELATA VIS 061020 (470
October 2006 CENTER FOR CHRISTIAN STATESMANSHIP NEWS An Open Door to Room 219 a unique room: Center Capitol Hill Liaison Kara DeJarnette, second from right, meets with three members of her women?s Bible study in H-219. There is a place on Capitol Hill that is becoming increasingly special to Christians here and even across the nation. Room 219 in the U.S. Capitol has a unique history?a history that began less than two years ago, but is growing in significance for Christian members of Congress and their staffs. You see, in 2005, a small group of members of Congress began to meet in Room 219 to pray for our nation. Their sole purpose was to petition God to heal America, based on His promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14. Soon after, several of these members formed The Congressional Prayer Caucus, headed by Rep. Randy Forbes (VA). Kara DeJarnette, Capital Hill Liaison for the Center, has her own special story with Room 219. The Bible study that Kara leads had been meeting in a different room every week on the House office side. A few girls started coming to her study that were from Majority Leader John Boehner's office. Kara shares, "I asked a girl from Rep. Boehner's office to schedule a room for us, and the only one available that she had access to was H-219." Kara was delighted when she first saw the room, "It's private with a gorgeous view"a perfect place for the girls to relax and study God's Word together. We've met there ever since." " 219 Group" The connection to the room came when Rep. Forbes spoke at one of the Center?s intern events this summer. Kara's ears perked up when she heard him ask all of the staff and interns to join with the many other Christians in local churches who were praying in a "219 Group." She thought, "Why 219"? It was then that Kara learned that the Prayer Caucus was meeting every week in the same room that she "happens" to host her Bible study. Kara feels this is significant because they had never been able to meet in the same room on a weekly basis, much less in the Majority Leader's office! Concerning the Caucus, she shares, ?It is encouraging knowing that we are bringing staffers to pray in the same room where members of Congress pray." Kara isn't the only one who has been encouraged. Elizabeth Becker, a staffer who attends the study, shares how she has been impacted: ?Being in H-219, knowing the history and use of the room, gives me a sense of being part of a continuum of God?s servants engaged in prayer for the nation?and specifically for the House of Representatives. It also has been a physical manifestation of the interaction between our day-to-day work and our role as Christians in that work.? As you can see, for Kara and those in her Bible study, this is one room they will never forget. ?It?s exciting when you are going about your daily business or the ministry that God has given to you, and all of a sudden the Lord will bring a reminder that, ?I am with you. ? I am behind this ? keep praying.??
REMOVE HARRY POTTER
AGAPE PRESS...Officials are being urged to ban books from the Harry Potter children's book series from school libraries. Suburban Atlanta mother Laura Mallory has pleaded with a hearing officer for Georgia's State Board of Education to remove the Harry Potter books by British author J.K. Rowling from school libraries statewide, calling the popular fiction series an attempt to indoctrinate children in the Wicca religion. In making her point, Mallory notes that teachers do not assign "other religious books," such as the Bible, as student reading. Referring to the rash of deadly assaults at schools in various parts of the U.S., the Georgia parent says books that promote evil -- as she claims Rowling's books do -- help foster the kind of culture where school violence happens. But Victoria Sweeney, an attorney representing the Gwinnett County Board of Education, responded that if schools were to remove all books containing references to witches, they would have to ban literary mainstays like Macbeth and "Cinderella" as well. The hearing officer will make a recommendation to the state board, which will decide the case at its meeting in December. [Ed Thomas] US religious leaders meet President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -27/09/06 WWW.EKKLESIA.CO.UK Some 45 religious leaders from Christian and Muslim faith backgrounds met with the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on 20 September 2006, in an open discussion about the role religious communities can play in reversing the deepening crisis between Iran and the United States ? writes Mark Beach, communications director of the North American relief and development agency Mennonite Central Committee (MCC).
This was the first face-to-face meeting between the Iranian leader and leaders from mainline Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, evangelical and historic peace churches (Mennonites, Quakers and Brethren in Christ). Among the latter were MCC officers and the president of Mennonite World Conference, Nancy Heisey.
Much of the discussion focused on a mixture of religious and political issues such as the harsh language between the US and Iranian governments, Ahmadinejad?s publicly stated position on the Holocaust and the role of religious groups in the nuclear weapons dispute.
The group met for about 70 minutes in a conference room Wednesday morning at the Barclay New York Inter-Continental Hotel, 111 East 48th Street,where President Ahmadinejad was staying while in New York.
The event was organized and sponsored by Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), of Akron, Pennsylvania, a relief, development and peace organization of the Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches in the USA and Canada.
"The Iranian government invited us to organize a conversation between religious leaders and President Ahmadinejad," said Robb Davis, MCC Executive Director. "As an agency of one of the historic peace churches we viewed this as an opportunity to build mutual understanding between two peoples who have lived too long with mutual suspicion."
Both Davis and Ahmadinejad opened the meeting with comments about their respective faith positions.
In a prepared statement, Davis focused on the need of religious leaders in the US and Iran to pursue peace and encourage those in government to resolve differences peacefully.
"We believe that people of faith must come together to mend the breeches that exist and seem to continue to grow between nations and faith communities in this time," Davis said. "This is why we are here?to talk, to raise difficult questions and to begin to build relationships that will lead to honest and open exchange to confront the very real divisions that tragically lead to animosity, hatred and the shedding of blood."
Ahmadinejad said, "At any point in the course of history when a group of people anywhere in the world put their instructions into practice, they actually set themselves as examples of peace, order and progress and served as role models for ideal communities."
Davis followed with a question about the language being used by the US and Iran, such as President Bush referring to Iran as one of the "Axis of Evil" countries, while Iranian protesters march through the streets shouting "Death to America."
Ahmadinejad responded by saying that ?Death to America? does not mean death to the American people, but in fact Iranians love the American people. What it pointed to, he said, were problems with how US government policy has negatively impacted the recent history of Iran from the Shah to the present crisis.
"There was no cause for anger as they are not addressed to the American nation but to the aggressive, unjust, warmongering and bullying US policies," he said. He later added that there are times when people need strong language to express themselves.
When asked about his controversial views related to the Holocaust, Ahmadinejad referred to previous statements in which he raised questions about the Holocaust and said there is need for additional historical research to be done about it.
He made a direct connection between the current conflict between Israel and Palestine and the Holocaust in which he said the Palestinian people are being asked to pay the price of the Holocaust. In this context "the Holocaust is a European problem not a Palestinian one," he said.
Acknowledging the millions of people who died in World War II, Ahmadinejad asked why so much attention was being paid to those who died in the Holocaust and very little to the millions of other civilians who also died.
Davis told Ahmadinejad that more dialogue was necessary on this issue.
In a discussion among the delegation members following the meeting some of the participants said Ahmadinejad?s responses on the Holocaust were less than satisfying, according to Davis.
On the issue of nuclear weapons, Ahmadinejad said, Iran is not producing weapons and has no need to. He also said that religious people should assume a role in monitoring the nuclear activities in all countries, including the US and Iran.
Ahmadinejad suggested faith groups should join with scientists to visit nuclear facilities around the world to make certain countries are adhering to nuclear agreements.
?The president broke very little new ground in his responses but had some helpful suggestions for the role of people of faith in engaging more deeply around the issue of nuclear nonproliferation,? Davis said.
Toward the end of the meeting, promises of further discussion and a possible visit to Iran by a religious delegation were agreed upon by the delegation and Ahmadinejad.
"Come in winter when the nights are long and we can spend many hours discussing things," Ahmadinejad said.
Davis closed by saying that in the Christian faith tradition God calls on believers to pray for all leaders and that the delegation would be praying for Ahmadinejad and US President George Bush. Ahmadinejad acknowledged the point and said he welcomed the group?s prayers
Florida Minister Opposes Mosque But Embraces Moderate Muslims
By Ed Thomas Part 1 of 2 October 17, 2006
(AgapePress) - A controversial Florida pastor who received national publicity for his criticism against the Islamic faith says he is trying to develop a strategy for opposing those who practice radical Islam while cooperating with those who attempt to practice it as a peaceful religion. At the same time, however, Dr. O'Neal Dozier continues his efforts to block construction of a new mosque in a low-income area of his church's hometown.
Dozier, pastor of Worldwide Christian Center in Pompano Beach, Florida, lost two civic appointments this year. The appointments were given him by prominent Florida politicians Governor Jeb Bush and Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist. Their revocation was precipitated by Dozier's statements denouncing Islam as a cult and his church's handing out of witnessing tracts on the dangers of that religion.
After these events, the media and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) sought and obtained the Florida minister's dismissal from his appointments, despite his having drummed up major grassroots support for both politicians. However, he is not bitter, and says it is important to keep what happened in perspective.
"I think all of us Christians need to know that these guys are all politicians," Dozier observes. "These guys are only concerned about one major thing, and that is winning an office," he says, "and we need to always keep that in mind."
Although hurt by media criticism and politicians' decision to distance themselves from him, the Pastor of Worldwide Christian Center says he urges his congregation to remember their faith and values when deciding whom to support. Dozier says this is necessary because politicians are likely to let Christians down by choosing to protect their political fortunes rather than stand for what is right.
"The thing that I tell all of our members is not to back the person who is running for the office, but to back what the person stands for," the Florida clergyman notes. "If the person stands for godly principles," he adds, "then back that."
Currently, Dozier is fighting his city council's approval of a zoning exception for a new mosque in an area that had been slated for low-income housing. But in the meantime, he says he has still been led in prayer to offer to work with moderate and peaceful Muslims to condemn terror.
Ed Thomas, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
Liberty Counsel
October 16, 2006
Federal Court Asked to Stop City from Enforcing Church-Free Zone
Today, a federal district court in Erie, Pennsylvania will hear Liberty Counsel's request on behalf of Lighthouse Christian Center to allow the church to operate in Titusville, Pennsylvania. The city has banned churches from a large area of downtown, but allows theaters, clubs and lodges to operate in that area.
At 1:30 p.m. today, Liberty Counsel Senior Litigation Counsel David Corry will ask the court to enter an injunction against the city on behalf of Lighthouse Christian Center. If granted, the injunction will allow the church to operate downtown where it is desperately needed. Please pray for victory in this case.
Liberty University School of Law Accepting Applications
Do you want to make a difference in society? Have you ever considered a career in law as a way to impact the culture for good? Perhaps someone in your family or a member of your church would be interested in obtaining an accredited law degree.
Liberty University School of Law is now accepting applications for the fall 2007 entering class. Liberty University School of Law students will have the unique opportunity to work alongside our attorneys as we fight the culture war. We encourage pastors to make announcement about this amazing opportunity to their congregations.
Italian police were yesterday ordered to tighten security at potential Catholic targets across the country as the leaders of the Roman Catholic church anxiously waited to see if a personal expression of regret by Pope Benedict would assuage Muslim fury over his remarks on Islam.
Gunmen shot and killed an Italian nun at a children's hospital in Somalia at the weekend, and two churches were torched on the West Bank, in incidents that are being linked to the speech made by the Pope.
The Catholic nun's bodyguard also died in the latest attack apparently aimed at foreign personnel in volatile Somalia.
The attack drew immediate speculation of links to Muslim anger over the Pope's recent remarks on Islam.
The bodyguard died instantly, but the nun was rushed into an operating theatre at the hospital after the shooting.
A high-level Islamist source told Reuters the attack may well be linked to the controversy over Pope Benedict's recent remarks about holy wars, which have been taken by many Muslims as an attempt to portray their religion as innately violent.
A Vatican spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, said he hoped it was "an isolated event", adding: "We are worried about the consequences of this wave of hatred and hope it doesn't have grave consequences for the church around the world."
But in the West Bank local Christian officials said a stone church in Tulkarem built 170 years ago was torched on Sunday.
Another church in the village of Tubas was attacked with firebombs and partially burned.
On Saturday, attackers had hurled firebombs and opened fire at five churches in the West Bank and Gaza, sparking concerns of a widening rift between Palestinian Muslims and Christians.
Ismail Haniya, the Palestinian prime minister, called on Palestinians on Sunday to refrain from sectarian strife.
The violence began last week after Pope Benedict, in a talk rejecting religious motivation for violence, cited the words of a Byzantine emperor who characterised some of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad as "evil and inhuman", particularly "his command to spread by the sword the faith".
The pope has since expressed regret following massive protests across the Muslim world, including a march by 2,000 people in downtown Gaza City on Friday.
However in Turkey, a government member, Mehmet Aydin, said the Pope seemed to be saying he was sorry for the outrage, but not necessarily for the remarks themselves. "You either have to say 'I'm sorry' in a proper way or not say it at all," he said
The Baptists are creating quite a stir indeed! Part 1 Recently president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Frank Page and, Similarly, Albert Mohler,and president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary... Both men at one time were confident that GOD called women into ministry..Now they have changed their minds.
Recognition of the freedom and responsibility of woman in ministry." He now reportedly explains that he "abandoned that position after the Holy Spirit instructed me otherwise in my study of Scripture." Similarly, Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, has discribed, his own change of heart concerning women in ministry. Having accepted a position of support for women in ministry based on the influence of seminary teaching, he later came to view this position as "wrong, violative of Scripture, inconsistent with my theological commitments, injurious to the church, unsubstantiated and just intellectually embarrassing."
Recently a longtime Sunday school teacher was dismissed because she was a woman,and a BAPTIST!
Mary Lambert, a member at First Baptist for nearly 60 years and a teacher for 54, is a past church moderator. She chaired the pulpit committee that called LeBouf as pastor a little more than two years ago. Since then attendance has grown from fewer than 40 to more than 150, and offerings have nearly tripled. This teacher was dismissed because of Gender
Leaders are resending their former stance on women. Are we going backwards and using scripture in the wrong way? Queen Elizabeth is head of the Church of England is she out of order? Thousands have come to the Lord under women leadership, perhaps millions! Do we now declare them unsaved because women were used to bring them to Christ? To name a few women who have had outstanding ministries:
Katherine Kuhlman Amy McFearson.Joyce Meyer, Paula White Biblical women were Eve, Deborah, Suzann, Esther, Mary (Mother of Jesus was the first caretaker of the church) and a Baptist woman named Francis E. Townsley . And women were ordained as early as 1882 in the BAPTIST DENOMINATION!
One of the first Northern Baptist women ministers was Frances E. Townsley (1849-1909), who was ordained in April 1885.
In 1867 Townsley enrolled at Wheaton College IL home of the wonderful Billy Graham...
, . One day a young Episcopalian woman, Nell Marsh, appeared in Townsley's classroom and proclaimed, "Dear, I am convinced that you are to preach the everlasting gospel of our precious Lord!"
Her ordination, caused a might stir! Townsley suffered much criticism, but remained faithful to her calling. She did pastor in Fairfield, traveled frequently to preach in towns throughout Nebraska, and served as a temperance leader. This woman had to be called of God you cant stand a fire if you're not .I KNOW!!
I too have had to battle on every side for the calling on my own life. Yet it was my 9 year old son who came to me and said "mummy GOD says in his word you can preach". I was shocked and asked him to prove it to me "sure mummy here it is in His Word" book of 3 John the letter written to the Elect Lady and her children.. Well ...Paul had protocol and he always addressed the leader first in his letters and she was the Pastor then = LEADER some more scriptures some of you may need to look up are..and I'm sure this one is one of great question for the two ministers who changed their mind
. 1 st Timothy 2: 11,12 Let the women learn in silence with all subjection, but I suffer not a woman to teach nor to usurp authority over the man but to be silent. The Greek word translated woman in 1 Tim is grune. It should be translated wife. In the phrase : learn is silence" to learn is the indirect imperative of the present tense, which means "continuously to learn at any time and at all times in a tranquil position under her husband" The Greek word used for silence is thumomachep this Greek word is better translates" quiet in a tranquil manner not in a disturbing way" rather then silence being mute. the places this word occurs in Scripture are Acts 22.2 2 Thess.3:12 and 1 Tim.2 11&12. The Greek word used for subjection is a word hupotage. This noun is made up of the preposition hupo "under" and the verb tasso which means "to place in proper order" A wife should display a tranquil spirit in her attempt to learn. The historical facts are that at this period in time usually only men had the privilege of education. The fact that the woman (wife) would place herself under willingly under HER husbands authority is a better interpretation than a woman to place herself under a or any mans authority. This passage is better understood using husband and wife than using man or woman. Simply put... the scripture is concerning a wife under her husband. To suffer a woman not to teach...again Greek word her is gyune can be translated a woman or better still a wife in singular, ruling out all women. It stands in opposition to the Greek word andros ( the genitive singular of aner) here meaning husband, not men in general. Here the Greek word then must be translated as wife. Gods word does not contradict itself. All through scripture we see women in the leadership roles.. Joel 2: 28& 29 says I will pour out my Spirit on your sons and YOUR DAUGHTERS shall prophecy (preach),your old men shall dram dreams and your young men shall see visions. And also on my hand maidens(women) in those days I will pour our my Spirit it is repeated again in acts chapter 2.. end of part 1.
PASTORS AND CHURCHES CAN DO A LOT PRIOR TO ELECTION DAY Legal experts say that church leaders have wide latitude Let us earnestly pray that godly pro-life and pro- marriage candidates be selected, supported, protected and find favor with the voters.
On Tuesday, November 7, U.S. voters will elect on entire House of Representatives, one third of the Senate, many Governors, and scores of local and state officials. They will also cast votes on referenda of historic importance, such as
Mobilizing millions of Americans to pray daily for our President, our leaders, our nation, and our Armed Forces.
Following the eruption of controversy over the speech given to scientists and academics by Pope Benedict XVI at the University of Regensburg in Germany on 12 September 2006, Ekklesia here reproduces the complete text ? in English translation ? of ?Faith, reason and the university: memories and reflections?. Questions of inflection and determinative meaning lie in the German.
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It is a moving experience for me to be back again in the university and to be able once again to give a lecture at this podium. I think back to those years when, after a pleasant period at the Freisinger Hochschule, I began teaching at the University of Bonn.
That was in 1959, in the days of the old university made up of ordinary professors. The various chairs had neither assistants nor secretaries, but in recompense there was much direct contact with students and in particular among the professors themselves.
We would meet before and after lessons in the rooms of the teaching staff. There was a lively exchange with historians, philosophers, philologists and, naturally, between the two theological faculties.
Once a semester there was a dies academicus, when professors from every faculty appeared before the students of the entire university, making possible a genuine experience of universitas - something that you too, Magnificent Rector, just mentioned - the experience, in other words, of the fact that despite our specializations which at times make it difficult to communicate with each other, we made up a whole, working in everything on the basis of a single rationality with its various aspects and sharing responsibility for the right use of reason - this reality became a lived experience.
The university was also very proud of its two theological faculties. It was clear that, by inquiring about the reasonableness of faith, they too carried out a work which is necessarily part of the "whole" of the universitas scientiarum, even if not everyone could share the faith which theologians seek to correlate with reason as a whole.
This profound sense of coherence within the universe of reason was not troubled, even when it was once reported that a colleague had said there was something odd about our university: it had two faculties devoted to something that did not exist: God.
That even in the face of such radical scepticism it is still necessary and reasonable to raise the question of God through the use of reason, and to do so in the context of the tradition of the Christian faith: this, within the university as a whole, was accepted without question.
I was reminded of all this recently, when I read the edition by Professor Theodore Khoury (Munster) of part of the dialogue carried on - perhaps in 1391 in the winter barracks near Ankara - by the erudite Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus and an educated Persian on the subject of Christianity and Islam, and the truth of both.
It was presumably the emperor himself who set down this dialogue, during the siege of Constantinople between 1394 and 1402; and this would explain why his arguments are given in greater detail than those of his Persian interlocutor.
The dialogue ranges widely over the structures of faith contained in the Bible and in the Qur'an, and deals especially with the image of God and of man, while necessarily returning repeatedly to the relationship between - as they were called - three "Laws" or "rules of life": the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Qur'an.
It is not my intention to discuss this question in the present lecture; here I would like to discuss only one point - itself rather marginal to the dialogue as a whole - which, in the context of the issue of "faith and reason", I found interesting and which can serve as the starting-point for my reflections on this issue.
In the seventh conversation edited by Professor Khoury, the emperor touches on the theme of the holy war. The emperor must have known that Sura 2, 256 [the Holy Qur?an] reads: "There is no compulsion in religion".
According to the experts, this is one of the suras of the early period, when Mohammed was still powerless and under threat. But naturally the emperor also knew the instructions, developed later and recorded in the Qur'an, concerning holy war.
Without descending to details, such as the difference in treatment accorded to those who have the "Book" and the "infidels", he addresses his interlocutor with a startling brusqueness on the central question about the relationship between religion and violence in general, saying: "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached".
The emperor, after having expressed himself so forcefully, goes on to explain in detail the reasons why spreading the faith through violence is something unreasonable. Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul. "God", he says, "is not pleased by blood - and not acting reasonably ... is contrary to God's nature. Faith is born of the soul, not the body. Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats... To convince a reasonable soul, one does not need a strong arm, or weapons of any kind, or any other means of threatening a person with death...".
The decisive statement in this argument against violent conversion is this: not to act in accordance with reason is contrary to God's nature. The editor, Theodore Khoury, observes: For the emperor, as a Byzantine shaped by Greek philosophy, this statement is self-evident.
But for Muslim teaching, God is absolutely transcendent. His will is not bound up with any of our categories, even that of rationality. Here Khoury quotes a work of the noted French Islamist R. Arnaldez, who points out that Ibn Hazn went so far as to state that God is not bound even by his own word, and that nothing would oblige him to reveal the truth to us. Were it God's will, we would even have to practise idolatry.
At this point, as far as understanding of God and thus the concrete practice of religion is concerned, we are faced with an unavoidable dilemma. Is the conviction that acting unreasonably contradicts God's nature merely a Greek idea, or is it always and intrinsically true?
I believe that here we can see the profound harmony between what is Greek in the best sense of the word and the biblical understanding of faith in God. Modifying the first verse of the Book of Genesis, the first verse of the whole Bible, John began the prologue of his Gospel with the words: "In the beginning was the Word".
This is the very word used by the emperor: God acts, [text unclear] with logos. Logos means both reason and word - a reason which is creative and capable of self-communication, precisely as reason. John thus spoke the final word on the biblical concept of God, and in this word all the often toilsome and tortuous threads of biblical faith find their culmination and synthesis.
In the beginning was the logos, and the logos is God, says the Evangelist. The encounter between the biblical message and Greek thought did not happen by chance. The vision of Saint Paul, who saw the roads to Asia barred and in a dream saw a Macedonian man plead with him: "Come over to Macedonia and help us!" (cf. Acts 16. 6-10) - this vision can be interpreted as a "distillation" of the intrinsic necessity of a rapprochement between Biblical faith and Greek inquiry.
In point of fact, this rapprochement had been going on for some time. The mysterious name of God, revealed from the burning bush, a name which separates this God from all other divinities with their many names and simply declares "I am", already presents a challenge to the notion of myth, to which Socrates' attempt to vanquish and transcend myth stands in close analogy.
Within the Old Testament, the process which started at the burning bush came to new maturity at the time of the Exile, when the God of Israel, an Israel now deprived of its land and worship, was proclaimed as the God of heaven and earth and described in a simple formula which echoes the words uttered at the burning bush: "I am".
This new understanding of God is accompanied by a kind of enlightenment, which finds stark expression in the mockery of gods who are merely the work of human hands (cf. Psalm 115). Thus, despite the bitter conflict with those Hellenistic rulers who sought to accommodate it forcibly to the customs and idolatrous cult of the Greeks, biblical faith, in the Hellenistic period, encountered the best of Greek thought at a deep level, resulting in a mutual enrichment evident especially in the later wisdom literature.
Today we know that the Greek translation of the Old Testament produced at Alexandria - the Septuagint - is more than a simple (and in that sense really less than satisfactory) translation of the Hebrew text: it is an independent textual witness and a distinct and important step in the history of revelation, one which brought about this encounter in a way that was decisive for the birth and spread of Christianity.
A profound encounter of faith and reason is taking place here, an encounter between genuine enlightenment and religion. From the very heart of Christian faith and, at the same time, the heart of Greek thought now joined to faith, Manuel II was able to say: Not to act "with logos" is contrary to God's nature.
In all honesty, one must observe that in the late Middle Ages we find trends in theology which would sunder this synthesis between the Greek spirit and the Christian spirit. In contrast with the so-called intellectualism of Augustine and Thomas, there arose with Duns Scotus a voluntarism which, in its later developments, led to the claim that we can only know God's voluntas ordinate. Beyond this is the realm of God's freedom, in virtue of which he could have done the opposite of everything he has actually done.
This gives rise to positions which clearly approach those of Ibn Hazn and might even lead to the image of a capricious God, who is not even bound to truth and goodness. God's transcendence and otherness are so exalted that our reason, our sense of the true and good, are no longer an authentic mirror of God, whose deepest possibilities remain eternally unattainable and hidden behind his actual decisions.
As opposed to this, the faith of the Church has always insisted that between God and us, between his eternal Creator Spirit and our created reason there exists a real analogy, in which - as the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 stated - unlikeness remains infinitely greater than likeness, yet not to the point of abolishing analogy and its language.
God does not become more divine when we push him away from us in a sheer, impenetrable voluntarism; rather, the truly divine God is the God who has revealed himself as logos and, as logos, has acted and continues to act lovingly on our behalf. Certainly, love, as Saint Paul says, "transcends" knowledge and is thereby capable of perceiving more than thought alone (cf. Ephesians 3.19); nonetheless it continues to be love of the God who is Logos. Consequently, Christian worship is, again to quote Paul [text unclear] worship in harmony with the eternal Word and with our reason (cf. Romans 12.1).
This inner rapprochement between biblical faith and Greek philosophical inquiry was an event of decisive importance not only from the standpoint of the history of religions, but also from that of world history - it is an event which concerns us even today. Given this convergence, it is not surprising that Christianity, despite its origins and some significant developments in the East, finally took on its historically decisive character in Europe. We can also express this the other way around: this convergence, with the subsequent addition of the Roman heritage, created Europe and remains the foundation of what can rightly be called Europe.
The thesis that the critically purified Greek heritage forms an integral part of Christian faith has been countered by the call for a dehellenization of Christianity - a call which has more and more dominated theological discussions since the beginning of the modern age. Viewed more closely, three stages can be observed in the programme of dehellenization: although interconnected, they are clearly distinct from one another in their motivations and objectives.
Dehellenization first emerges in connection with the postulates of the Reformation in the sixteenth century. Looking at the tradition of scholastic theology, the Reformers thought they were confronted with a faith system totally conditioned by philosophy, that is to say an articulation of the faith based on an alien system of thought. As a result, faith no longer appeared as a living historical Word but as one element of an overarching philosophical system.
The principle of sola scriptura, on the other hand, sought faith in its pure, primordial form, as originally found in the biblical Word. Metaphysics appeared as a premise derived from another source, from which faith had to be liberated in order to become once more fully itself. When Kant stated that he needed to set thinking aside in order to make room for faith, he carried this programme forward with a radicalism that the Reformers could never have foreseen. He thus anchored faith exclusively in practical reason, denying it access to reality as a whole.
The liberal theology of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries ushered in a second stage in the process of dehellenization, with Adolf von Harnack as its outstanding representative. When I was a student, and in the early years of my teaching, this programme was highly influential in Catholic theology too. It took as its point of departure Pascal's distinction between the God of the philosophers and the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
In my inaugural lecture at Bonn in 1959, I tried to address the issue, and I do not intend to repeat here what I said on that occasion, but I would like to describe at least briefly what was new about this second stage of dehellenization.
Harnack's central idea was to return simply to the man Jesus and to his simple message, underneath the accretions of theology and indeed of hellenization: this simple message was seen as the culmination of the religious development of humanity. Jesus was said to have put an end to worship in favour of morality. In the end he was presented as the father of a humanitarian moral message.
Fundamentally, Harnack's goal was to bring Christianity back into harmony with modern reason, liberating it, that is to say, from seemingly philosophical and theological elements, such as faith in Christ's divinity and the triune God. In this sense, historical-critical exegesis of the New Testament, as he saw it, restored to theology its place within the university: theology, for Harnack, is something essentially historical and therefore strictly scientific.
What it is able to say critically about Jesus is, so to speak, an expression of practical reason and consequently it can take its rightful place within the university. Behind this thinking lies the modern self-limitation of reason, classically expressed in Kant's "Critiques", but in the meantime further radicalized by the impact of the natural sciences.
This modern concept of reason is based, to put it briefly, on a synthesis between Platonism (Cartesianism) and empiricism, a synthesis confirmed by the success of technology.
On the one hand it presupposes the mathematical structure of matter, its intrinsic rationality, which makes it possible to understand how matter works and use it efficiently: this basic premise is, so to speak, the Platonic element in the modern understanding of nature.
On the other hand, there is nature's capacity to be exploited for our purposes, and here only the possibility of verification or falsification through experimentation can yield ultimate certainty. The weight between the two poles can, depending on the circumstances, shift from one side to the other. As strongly positivistic a thinker as Jean Monod has declared himself a convinced Platonist/Cartesian.
This gives rise to two principles which are crucial for the issue we have raised. First, only the kind of certainty resulting from the interplay of mathematical and empirical elements can be considered scientific. Anything that would claim to be science must be measured against this criterion. Hence the human sciences, such as history, psychology, sociology and philosophy, attempt to conform themselves to this canon of scientificity.
A second point, which is important for our reflections, is that by its very nature this method excludes the question of God, making it appear an unscientific or pre-scientific question. Consequently, we are faced with a reduction of the radius of science and reason, one which needs to be questioned.
I will return to this problem later. In the meantime, it must be observed that from this standpoint any attempt to maintain theology's claim to be "scientific" would end up reducing Christianity to a mere fragment of its former self.
But we must say more: if science as a whole is this and this alone, then it is man himself who ends up being reduced, for the specifically human questions about our origin and destiny, the questions raised by religion and ethics, then have no place within the purview of collective reason as defined by "science", so understood, and must thus be relegated to the realm of the subjective. The subject then decides, on the basis of his experiences, what he considers tenable in matters of religion, and the subjective "conscience" becomes the sole arbiter of what is ethical.
In this way, though, ethics and religion lose their power to create a community and become a completely personal matter. This is a dangerous state of affairs for humanity, as we see from the disturbing pathologies of religion and reason which necessarily erupt when reason is so reduced that questions of religion and ethics no longer concern it. Attempts to construct an ethic from the rules of evolution or from psychology and sociology, end up being simply inadequate.
Before I draw the conclusions to which all this has been leading, I must briefly refer to the third stage of dehellenization, which is now in progress. In the light of our experience with cultural pluralism, it is often said nowadays that the synthesis with Hellenism achieved in the early Church was a preliminary inculturation which ought not to be binding on other cultures.
The latter are said to have the right to return to the simple message of the New Testament prior to that inculturation, in order to inculturate it anew in their own particular milieus. This thesis is not only false; it is coarse and lacking in precision. The New Testament was written in Greek and bears the imprint of the Greek spirit, which had already come to maturity as the Old Testament developed. True, there are elements in the evolution of the early Church which do not have to be integrated into all cultures. Nonetheless, the fundamental decisions made about the relationship between faith and the use of human reason are part of the faith itself; they are developments consonant with the nature of faith itself.
And so I come to my conclusion. This attempt, painted with broad strokes, at a critique of modern reason from within has nothing to do with putting the clock back to the time before the Enlightenment and rejecting the insights of the modern age.
The positive aspects of modernity are to be acknowledged unreservedly: we are all grateful for the marvellous possibilities that it has opened up for mankind and for the progress in humanity that has been granted to us.
The scientific ethos, moreover, is - as you yourself mentioned, Magnificent Rector - the will to be obedient to the truth, and, as such, it embodies an attitude which belongs to the essential decisions of the Christian spirit.
The intention here is not one of retrenchment or negative criticism, but of broadening our concept of reason and its application. While we rejoice in the new possibilities open to humanity, we also see the dangers arising from these possibilities and we must ask ourselves how we can overcome them. We will succeed in doing so only if reason and faith come together in a new way, if we overcome the self-imposed limitation of reason to the empirically verifiable, and if we once more disclose its vast horizons.
In this sense theology rightly belongs in the university and within the wide-ranging dialogue of sciences, not merely as a historical discipline and one of the human sciences, but precisely as theology, as inquiry into the rationality of faith.
Only thus do we become capable of that genuine dialogue of cultures and religions so urgently needed today. In the Western world it is widely held that only positivistic reason and the forms of philosophy based on it are universally valid. Yet the world's profoundly religious cultures see this exclusion of the divine from the universality of reason as an attack on their most profound convictions.
A reason which is deaf to the divine and which relegates religion into the realm of subcultures is incapable of entering into the dialogue of cultures. At the same time, as I have attempted to show, modern scientific reason with its intrinsically Platonic element bears within itself a question which points beyond itself and beyond the possibilities of its methodology.
Modern scientific reason quite simply has to accept the rational structure of matter and the correspondence between our spirit and the prevailing rational structures of nature as a given, on which its methodology has to be based. Yet the question why this has to be so is a real question, and one which has to be remanded by the natural sciences to other modes and planes of thought - to philosophy and theology.
For philosophy and, albeit in a different way, for theology, listening to the great experiences and insights of the religious traditions of humanity, and those of the Christian faith in particular, is a source of knowledge, and to ignore it would be an unacceptable restriction of our listening and responding. Here I am reminded of something Socrates said to Phaedo.
In their earlier conversations, many false philosophical opinions had been raised, and so Socrates says: "It would be easily understandable if someone became so annoyed at all these false notions that for the rest of his life he despised and mocked all talk about being - but in this way he would be deprived of the truth of existence and would suffer a great loss".
The West has long been endangered by this aversion to the questions which underlie its rationality, and can only suffer great harm thereby. The courage to engage the whole breadth of reason, and not the denial of its grandeur - this is the programme with which a theology grounded in biblical faith enters into the debates of our time. "Not to act reasonably, not to act with logos, is contrary to the nature of God", said Manuel II, according to his Christian understanding of God, in response to his Persian interlocutor.
It is to this great logos, to this breadth of reason, that we invite our partners in the dialogue of cultures. To rediscover it constantly is the great task of the university.
CHURCHTIMES.CO.UK
New Bishop of the Amazon expects death-threats
By Bill Bowder
THE FIRST BISHOP-elect of the new diocese of the Amazon, which is the size of Europe, believes he will face death-threats when he tries to champion the needs of the poor in "a land with no law", he has told supporters.
The Bishop-elect, the Revd Saulo de Barros (pictured, left, centre), is due to be consecrated on 14 October. His new diocese, created by the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil synod in July, comes into being on 15 October. Churches in the diocese were mainly in the urban areas, the Bishop-elect and his wife have written: "So it is involved in many of the issues faced here, such as child prostitution, drugs, violence, gang warfare, crime, exclusion of descendants of indigenous people."
Earlier, Bishop-elect de Barros told USPG: "There are towns and villages where one family holds all the power, and if you speak out in protest, you disappear. As many as 200 priests and lay ministers from different churches have been threatened. Most of them live in the Amazon area.
"You have to keep going. I would prefer my son and daughter to think of me as someone who died rather than just sat in church," he said.
DIALOGUE Press releaseTO BUILD A MORE FRATERNAL HUMANITY
VATICAN CITY, SEP 23, 2006 (VIS) - This morning in Castelgandolfo, the Holy Father received 98 bishops from 44 countries on four continents. The prelates have been participating a course of "aggiornamento" organized annually by the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, the prefect of which is Cardinal Ivan Dias.
In his address, the Pope dwelt upon the efforts that have to be made to ensure that the announcement of the Gospel reaches everyone, and upon the need to evangelize cultures and "encourage sincere and open dialogue with one and all, so that together we can build a more fraternal and united humanity.
"Only when driven by the love of Christ," he added, "is it possible to bring to completion this apostolic labor, which demands the intrepid courage of those who, for the Lord's sake, do not fear even persecution and death." On this subject, he recalled the "heroic witnesses to the Gospel" of previous centuries, as well as the recent sacrifice of "Sr. Leonella Sgorbati, missionary sister of the Consolata, barbarously murdered in Mogadishu, Somalia," on September 17.
Benedict XVI told his audience that in order to be good pastors, they had to set an example in all fields of life. It is likewise vital, he said, "that you give primary importance in your episcopal ministry to prayer and to the incessant striving for sanctity. It is also important that you concern yourselves with the serious formation of seminarians and with the permanent 'aggiornamento' of priests and catechists."
He went on: "Maintaining the unity of the faith in the diversity of its cultural expressions is another precious service required of you. ... This means that you must remain united to your flock, following the example of Christ the Good Shepherd, and that the flock must always remain united to you. As sentinels of the People of God, avoid divisions with firmness and courage, especially when they are due to ethnic or socio-cultural reasons. They damage the unity of the faith and undermine the announcement and witness of the Gospel of Christ."
After expressing his joy at "the continual flowering of vocations to the priesthood and the religious life," in many of their churches, the Pope called on the prelates to ensure that seminaries have "a sufficient number of formators, chosen and trained with care, who must first and foremost be examples and models for the seminarians. ... It is upon the training of future priests and of all other pastoral care workers, especially catechists, that the future of your communities and of the Universal Church depends." AC/BISHOPS:EVANGELIZATION/DIAS VIS 060925 (440)
photo wikipedia
Grande Duchess receives Holy See peace award,
" Microcredit is an important tool in the struggle against poverty", Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg said this week as she received the Path to Peace Award from a Holy See foundation.
The grande Duchess is Havana-born and a mother of 5. She is being recognised in New Yorkfor her work as humaniterian and endless contribution to her causes President of The Path to Peace Foundation Archbishop Celestino Migliore presented the award. The Archbishop is the Holy See's permanant observer to the United Nations. "It is essential to meet with human beings who not only give something to others, but who give themselves to others." said the Grand Duchass in her address.
She explained that during a visit to Bangladesh in 1998, she was convinced "of the efficiency of this tool [micro-credit] in the struggle against poverty, based on principles of trust and solidarity, through which the poorest of the poor are given back their dignity."
Cardinal Renato Martino, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, said that he himself had witnessed the charitable work that the Grand Duchess, and her husband, Prince Henry, carry out in several fields.
In particular, he mentioned their commitment in refugee camps in Cambodia and Thailand.
During the reception, which gathered members of the Path to Peace Foundation, special guests and the diplomatic corps accredited to the UN, Cardinal Edward Egan of New York commented on the intense diplomatic and humanitarian endeavour of the Holy See.
Grand Duchess Maria Teresa was born in 1956 in Havana, Cuba, but fled Cuba in 1959 at the time of the revolution. In 1980 she graduated in political sciences at the University of Geneva, where she met Prince Henri.
Since 1997, the Grand Duchess acts as a Good-Will Ambassador of UNESCO and supports in this respect specifically organisations which are active in the field of micro-credits and child protection.
According to the Luxembourg Government website (www.gouvernement.lu), the Grand Duchess is also showing a strong interest in the social situation in her country, dedicating her efforts mainly to the children and families in danger, to the social integration of persons who are physically, mentally or socially handicapped and to gender related issues
article taken from Church Resourses
Rick Joyner: "The Warrior Nation--The New Sound of The Church"
A New Trumpet Sound
It will take the focus, discipline, and faith of true warriors to fight the good fight of faith in our time, but the sound of the trumpet is now being heard, and the gathering of the last-day army is now taking place. The church will retreat no further before the enemies of the truth, but will be the champion of truth, the true freedom fighter that she is called to be.
As stated, as the church begins to take on this resolve, they will start to be thought of more as military bases, and they will begin to take on the characteristics of military bases for training, equipping, and deploying effective spiritual forces. In time, the church will actually be organized more as a military force with an army, navy, air force, etc. These, too, will all learn to function together in harmony, protecting one another and helping each other exploit opportunities. Like these, we will begin to organize more around function and purpose, than the doctrinal emphases that now often characterize movements and groups within the church.
Along with the coming martial discipline and demeanor, as the time of trouble increases, the soldiers of the cross will become known for their love and unshakable peace in the midst of crisis. They will bring love, peace, and stability wherever they go. They will be the true freedom fighters and the true champions of the oppressed who fight to set men free from the most terrible yokes of bondage of all--sin and all of its consequences.
The Transition
How is this going to happen practically? There are already many movements, missionary organizations, and even some churches, which are beginning to make this transition, even though they may not have thought about it in these terms. Leaders are starting to gather around common purpose and function, rather than just doctrinal emphases. As this happens, doctrines that once seemed to conflict with each other will begin to be seen as complementary. For those who keep the higher purpose of the Kingdom in their hearts and motives, this transition will be easy.
For others, it will not be quite as easy, but it will be done. As the nations mobilized for past World Wars, those who had been regular citizens became great warriors when they realized the great evils that were seeking to dominate the world. Likewise, Christians will soon awaken to the much greater evil and threat that we face now, than the world faced in the last century.
Many will consider it better to pay any price, even death, than to give in to the tyranny that now threatens the world. It is better to die standing for truth, than to live under a lie.
The seriousness of our purpose as soldiers of the cross, will become much more pronounced with all true Christians in the time ahead. Instead of the pursuit of careers or material comforts being the primary goal of believers, fighting for truth will become the main focus and goal of our lives. Christ-likeness, and doing the works He called us to do, will become the true measure of the success of our lives. Just as a soldier does not entangle himself in the everyday affairs of this life, the true soldiers of the cross will live the most simple lives, and give themselves to the things that are eternal, not temporary.
Women and Children--the Emerging Soldiers and Leaders
Women and children will be some of the principle soldiers and leaders in this coming militarization of the church. As it has been said, "If men can be a part of the bride of Christ, women can be a part of the army of God." From the time of the resurrection of Christ, when the men hid in fear, women courageously went to His grave to seek Him. Women will arise who will risk all for the sake of His gospel. The women who went to His tomb remained faithful, even though it looked as if truth had been completely defeated. They were therefore blessed with the great honor to first take up the apostolic commission to be witnesses of His resurrection. Courageous women have always been on the front line of the battle between light and darkness, and will be so until the end.
However, women will not have to become masculine to take their rightful place in His army. In fact, a big part of the initial battle that must be waged, is for men to be restored as true men, and women to be restored as true women. When this happens, the whole world will take notice, being strongly drawn to the true men and true women who have thrown off the confusion, which has sought to blur the distinctions between men and women. This blurring of the distinctions that God made is a root of the great and increasing confusion now dominating the world.
However, true men are secure enough not to have to dominate and be controlling, but will always treat women and all other people, with the dignity and respect that is due them. True men will soon arise, and true women with them, will walk in all of the dignity and respect that the children of the King of kings should conduct themselves, and show to one another. The world will marvel and esteem them.
A New Sound
Even though the leadership of the church is presently almost 90 percent male, there has been such a feminization of the church, that most men do not feel comfortable in it, are bored with it, and do not want to be a part of it. If they do, it is often done grudgingly out of religious duty because they simply do not feel that they have a place in it. This is why such a majority of churchgoers are women. Men, even those who love the Lord, and would love to be used by God, often do not like church, and will do just about anything to keep from going to church. In general, the church as it is today, does not speak to many of the most basic needs of men. This is one reason for the remarkable popularity of mens movements that rose up outside of the church.
To be the church we are called to be, we must have the faith to radically change the present definition and organization, to be both feminine and masculine, meeting the needs of, and speaking to, both men and women.
Both men and women should feel at home in the church, and know quickly how they fit into it. Church should be the most exciting, exhilarating, and challenging association that we could ever be a part of. It will be so again, soon.
Mega-Church Redefined
When the church embraces its true calling and begins to reflect its true nature, it will become the most esteemed and desirable nation on earth. It will become so strikingly different, that it will be thought of, and will in fact be, a nation within the nations.
The churches which make the transition that is coming, will quickly swell in numbers, and needs to be prepared by raising up captains of tens, hundreds, and thousands.
We need to be prepared to serve and incorporate unprecedented numbers without compromising the essence of who we are called to be. This will be no small undertaking and can only be accomplished by the Holy Spirit. This is beyond any human organization and leadership. The Lord will be the Head of His church, and those who do not know or submit to His Headship, will not last long in the times ahead.
With the meltdown of the family being one of the biggest problems of our time, the church will become the family that it is called to be. Christian families will then start to become what they are supposed to be. With the coming great emphasis on discipline, there will also be a great emphasis on relationships, especially to strengthen families and to resist every assault that is coming against them.
The church will soon become all that she is called to be. When the church does, she will be the most attractive and compelling society found on the earth, a true reflection of the coming Kingdom.
I read recently of a fast, totally electric sports car which is being tested right now in California. The same magazine reported that researchers were testing new drugs and therapies that might cure cancers. A few pages later I also noticed a large software company had released a new "beta" version of its popular product ("beta" means it was still being tested, although it is released on a limited scale).
What do all these various enterprises have in common? Before each product was released to the general public, it had to be repeatedly tested for effectiveness and functionality. Did it do what they projected it to do? Before manufacturers spend a fortune in promotion, they need to know if their product will work outside the lab. So they test it under stressed conditions. Once it passes the tests, then it is released.
A New Creation God has an idea, a product, in mind for us. He desires to reveal a new species of man, a new creation. At the center of this new man is a Christlike heart. This new man also comes with a heavenly mind and spirit. Even though this new human outwardly looks like the old version of man, yet spiritually its inner mechanisms are entirely different. Yet, the process of releasing the new man to greater authority, require levels of testing. The more tests we pass, the greater God releases us to the general public.
Right now, I would say that most Christians are in the "beta" stage: they are released to a limited group for testing. God desires to see how well what He has created in us works outside of church (the "lab"). These small test groups may consist of co-workers, one's neighborhood or even one's family. But during this time of "limited release" you will go through various tests before being released to the larger, general public.
It is also important to note that when God tests us, He does not descend into our thought-life with a loud public announcement, warning, "This is a test, this is only a test." A true test examines what we are under stress and in real life conditions; it appears in our lives without forewarning that a test is coming. You see, God isn't testing how well we can outwardly look "Christian," He is examining the quality of what we actually are. Even more than possessing right answers, He desires we possess right attitudes and responses. He wants to know if we can function under adverse conditions, spiritual warfare and stress.
Consider Job Let us underscore this truth about God: He will test the quality of His work in us. Remember the Lord's conversation with Satan? God asked, "Have you considered My servant Job?" The Lord described Job as being unique in all the earth: "a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil" (Job 1:8).
The implication in that question, "have you considered . . . Job," is that God had worked some deep things in his servant and now it was time for this inner transformation to be tested.
Let us also note that Satan had "considered" Job. He had a dossier on him filled with information. When Satan sought to attack Job, the devil couldn't get near him. God had placed "a hedge about [Job] and his house and all that he has, on every side." Probably for many years Satan had examined Job, but couldn't touch him because of the impenetrable protection Job and his family enjoyed. For all the devil tried to do to stop it, God had "blessed the work of [Job's] hands, and his possessions have increased in the land" (vs 10).
Yes, Satan had "considered" Job. We too would do well to consider the story of Job and the revelation it provides us concerning our tests and their outcome.
If we walk with God in integrity and intercession, as did Job, we can trust that the normal status of our lives will be completely protected and hedged "on every side." The second thing we should recognize is that, if we do come under severe spiritual attack, it is because God is testing the quality of His work in us. He knows the capacity to overcome is within us, otherwise He would not have allowed the enemy access to us. The third thing to note is that, while tests in the world are usually accomplished in labs or controlled environments, God's tests come in the real world. Thus, we might not realize that what we are going through is a "test," for the test will be a real life experience. The test often comes just before we are released into a "double portion," which is what happened to Job. We probably won't know what the test is about until much later. Job's test was not whether he would "rejoice always" or maintain his good works; nor was he made vulnerable because of fear or unbelief, as some think. The great test in Job's life was whether or not he would curse God. For all he went through, Job passed his test.The Outcome is Greater Than We can Imagine God took Job, a righteous man of great influence in his culture, and brought him through a terrible test. One might say the costs of Job's test outweighed his reward, even though Job did receive a double portion. Yes, Job's wealth and influence increased greatly, but that was not the end of the story: God has since used the life of Job as an example for billions of people. Before the test, Job's range of influence touched his culture; afterward, Job's integrity has inspired nations throughout the epochs of time.
Likewise, the Lord tested Joseph, Moses and David; He tested Israel in the wilderness. Jesus Himself endured many tests, not the least of which was His time in the desert.
Let us understand, if we want to advance spiritually, God will lead us through fiery ordeals which test us, yet bring us out to a greater place. Some of us are in "beta,' being tested in limited small groups; others have gone through significant battles recently, but God is about to bring them into a double portion.
For us who are followers of Christ and whose goal is conformity to Him, God gives us one answer to every test we experience: become like Jesus in the test. When the devil realizes what he is using to destroy you is actually being used by God to perfect you, Satan will withdraw his attack.
"For You have tried us, O God; You have refined us as silver is refined. You brought us into the net; You laid an oppressive burden upon our loins. You made men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water, yet You brought us out into a place of abundance" (Psalm 66:10-12).
Kim Clement: "What You are Sensing Right Now is An Acceleration--I Will Accelerate My Word to Perform It"
June 17, 2006 - Harrisburg, PA
And My Word Will Accelerate
The Spirit of God says, "What you are sensing right now is an acceleration. I will accelerated My Word to perform it."
"I will slow down poverty, sickness will slow down, discord will slow down, witchcraft will slow down, control, manipulation, religion will slow down."
"And My Word will accelerate. My Word, victory will accelerate, miracles will accelerate. Unusual manifestations will accelerate. Political favor will accelerate. Victory will accelerate. Family union will accelerate. Relational restoration will accelerate. Whatever it is, your children will accelerate in spiritual things, your children will accelerate!"
June 24, 2006 - Hollywood, CA
I Will Not Allow My People to be Mocked
The Spirit of God says, "I must tell the people this--you don't even understand the power of the words of this summer. I have brought things to a head. The enemies of America will be brought out one at a time. Within this next three months they will say, 'More truth was revealed and more lies were exposed than in the entire period since 2001.'"
The Spirit of God says, "Listen to Me, I will not allow My people in this Nation to be mocked by others." God says, "You watch and you listen, I will expose them as I did in Florida, and will do it in another two states again," says the Lord.
On deeply embedded history, God says, "They will say, 'Let us go to San Francisco, let us go and look at the Golden Gate. Let us go and take something that is historical in this Nation and bring it to nothing.'"
"Ha! I laugh at them," says the Spirit of God. Why, because they have come, and they have spoken words that are harassment to the angels of the Lord. The angels of the Lord are insulted by the words of the enemy that would speak as the princes of Babylon.
God says, "Listen, throughout these summer months. More truth will be revealed and more lies will be exposed. And your enemies will be brought out, one at a time, even from within the soil of this Nation."
"And I will prosper you, prosper you, prosper you, prosper you," says the Spirit of God!
The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) has moved a step closer to splitting with conservative leaders who have resolved to form their own assembly.
The clash between conservative and liberal elements in the church came to a head on Tuesday when its 11th assembly ruled that congregations would decide themselves on whether or not to accept practising homosexuals as ministers.
Texas Episcopal Diocese Joins Dissent
Against ECUSA's New Bishop Dallas Bishop Rejects ECUSA Leaders, Seeks Stronger Ties With Anglicanism
By Jim Brown July 12, 2006
(AgapePress) - Yet another Episcopal diocese is expressing displeasure with the denomination's first female bishop because of her support for homosexuality. And now, the head of that Texas diocese is looking to clarify where the parishes he leads stand with regard to the Anglican Communion.
Bishop James Stanton of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas has written to the Archbishop of Canterbury, asking for a "strengthened pastoral relationship." The American bishop's letter to Archbishop Rowan Williams comes in the wake of a move by the Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA) to elect liberal Nevada Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori as head the denomination.
The election of Schori, who supports the ordination of homosexual priests and the blessing of homosexual unions, has added fuel to a controversy already well kindled after the ECUSA's consecration of the denomination's first openly homosexual, non-celibate bishop back in November 2003.
That move, along with what some perceive as the church's continued movement toward liberal causes and away from the authority of scripture and church tradition, has caused many conservative Episcopalians and other members of the worldwide Anglican Communion to question their ties with the ECUSA.
Stanton says he plans to visit every parish in his diocese to determine which ones want to leave the Episcopal Church. Meanwhile, he adds, he wants a closer link to the Anglican Communion.
"My request, basically," the Dallas bishop explains, "is that the Archbishop give us his support for our mission here and assure us of our connection and our commitment to the Anglican Communion, just as we've assured him of ours." Like many other conservatives in the denomination, he says he is distancing himself from the Episcopal Church, not from Anglicanism.
"We're concerned to uphold historic Christianity, biblical faith -- what I call the Apostles' teaching," Stanton contends. "We're here to proclaim Christ and the power of Christ to transform lives. I'm not always sure what the message is that is coming out of the leadership of the Episcopal Church, but it seems to be oriented to a number of what are identified as social justice issues."
The Episcopal Diocese of Dallas is just the latest body in the ECUSA to reject Bishop-elect Schori as the denomination's new leader because of her pro-homosexual stances and perceived revisionist views. Members of the Dioceses of Fort Worth, Texas, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as well as dioceses in Illinois, Florida, South Carolina, and California have similarly expressed disapproval with Schori and her election as head bishop. In addition, ECUSA's largest congregation announced earlier this month it was leaving the denomination over the issue of homosexual ordination and a general disregard for scripture.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
ECUSA to Lose Its Largest Congregation
By Jim Brown and Jody Brown July 3, 2006
(AgapePress) - The largest congregation in the Episcopal Church USA is leaving the denomination over its support of homosexual ordination and its general disregard for scripture. Christ Church in Plano, Texas, says it will "disassociate with ECUSA as soon as possible."
Following decisions made during the ECUSA's General Convention last month, the leadership of Christ Church issued a statement explaining its decision. "The direction of the leadership of the Episcopal Church is different and we regret their departure from biblical truth and the historic faith of the Anglican Communion," it reads. "As the vestry of Christ Church, we declare our intention to disassociate from ECUSA as soon as possible."
Writing to his church members, Rector Canon David Roseberry said "the Episcopal Church has not only broken the faith and apostolic witness but appears determined to continue in that path. We cannot go with them."
Roseberry says it took two steps to see the Episcopal Church was out of touch with its heritage and biblical teaching. "The first step was what it did three years ago," he says, referring to the consecration of Gene Robinson, an open homosexual, as bishop of New Hampshire. "The Anglican Communion reacted: they proposed a series of recommendations that would show the [Episcopal Church USA] that they were stepping outside the family. Those recommendations were taken seriously, but they were never acted on in such a way that the Episcopal Church is pulling back from its step -- so it's effectively taken another step."
And says Roseberry, two steps indicates a walking away -- and the Episcopal Church, he says, is now walking away from the "proud heritage" of the Anglican Communion. The rector of Christ Church estimates ECUSA will be allowed to remain in the Anglican Communion for anywhere between three days and ten years.
"It's very clear that there are Episcopal congregations and dioceses that are packing their bags, getting ready to move out of ECUSA or create the energy and the effort to do it," he says. "And it's also clear from the most recent statements of the Archbishop of Canterbury that he doesn't see how the whole Communion can hold together."
Archbishop Rowan Williams has floated the idea of churches in the Anglican Communion having either a "constituent" membership or simply an "associated" membership, which denotes a familial rather than legal relationship.
Among other things, Roseberry has stated his opposition to the election of Katharine Jefferts Schori as Presiding Bishop during the General Convention. "What has most distressed me is her revisionist theology," he wrote in one of his daily postings from the meeting. "She has strongly untraditional beliefs; she voted in favor of the election of a gay bishop three years ago; and she has allowed and encouraged the blessing of same-gender unions within her diocese." He referred to Schori's election as "another seismic event" in the denomination.
According to Roseberry, his bishop, the Rt. Rev. M. James Stanton, is aware of Christ Church's decision to leave the Episcopal Church USA and is "very supportive" of it. The church was founded in 1985, and with about 1,900 worshippers every weekend has become the most-attended Episcopal Church in the U.S. Roseberry is the founding pastor.
From Editor: I have to confess I was a Episcopalian which was Church Of England
I have always loved the many traditions of the denomination I have loved the majestic beauty of the works they have done. Regal Splendor of ceremony has always filled my heart with pleasure when taking communion ....A castle for God i always thought...now all i can do is pray for the salvation of those who have left the Bible teachings.
B. I. B. L. E. = BASIC INSTRUCTION BEFORE LEAVING EARTH GOD save the church!
Pope questions United Nations president about globalisation -20/06/06
Pope Benedict XVI, leader of the world?s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics, has met with Jan Eliasson, president of the 60th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, and foreign minister of Sweden.
At an audience on Saturday (17 June 2006), the Pope is reported to have raised concerns about the impact of neoliberal-driven globalisation ? which has been criticised by church leaders (notably through a ?confessional process? organised by the World Council of Churches and global Lutheran and Reformed bodies) of being negligent of the poor and over-determined by corporate economic interests.
According to Joaquin Navarro-Valls, director of the Holy See press office, the conversations between the pontiff and Mr Eliasson touched on ?the shortcomings? of globalisation, but focussed ?particularly [on] the scant recognition of the religious dimension?.
Without the contribution of religious values, even human rights could lose consistency, the Pope declared.
Critics say that the Catholic Church still has some issues to address itself in its treatment of dissent and in its approach to women?s rights, HIV-AIDS and reproductive issues.
Global citizenship also seems to have formed an important part of the short exchange between the two leaders.
Said the Vatican media office: ?Particular emphasis was laid upon the need to overcome contrasts and build bridges, so that all aspects of globalisation can come together for the common good and the peaceful coexistence of all peoples.?
Pope Benedict believes that ?the meeting between religions can make towards peace and solidarity among all inhabitants of the planet.?
A Belfast Church is "Breaking Dividing Walls"
between Protestants and Catholics
by Michael Ireland :
Their mission is to "release the WHOLE CHURCH to reach the WHOLE COMMUNITY with the WHOLE GOSPEL."
Several members of New Life City Church, (formerly New Life Fellowship) in Belfast recently went over the wall dividing Catholic from Protestant areas of the city to the Catholic community and did a Prayer Walk around some of the streets on the main Falls Road.
Says Pastor Jack McKee: "This was such a challenge to us, for although we have done several Prayer Walks in 'Protestant' communities during times of internal conflict and feuding, we have never before done this in a 'Catholic' community."
In an e-mail report to ministry supporters, obtained by ANS, McKee says: "We did not know what to expect or how people would respond to us, but no sooner had we begun the walk, when we got to talking with people on the streets about Jesus. It was so amazing to see several open up to us as they both listened and talked. All of the responses were so positive that God was confirming to us that this is the way to go in the coming weeks and months."
McKee says his church has taken a step of faith and sold their present church building and site.
"We are now looking for a new home! The warehouse is still a possibility, but only a slim one as there has been some underhanded dealing taking place. Our steps and our belief have always been that if God wants us to have it, then it would be ours. So we accept whatever outcome, in the belief that God will open up the right door," he said.
Their plan therefore, is to build a church that will reach out to both communities, and [be located] right on the doorstep of both communities.
"This coming Thursday we will once again cross over the wall and Prayer Walk the streets of Ballymurphy. Then on Saturday we will be doing a 4 hour outreach in a Leisure Center on the Falls Road reaching out to the Catholic community. We will do 2 hours of fun and games for young people and children followed by a 2 hour service with top notch praise and worship, mime and dance, etc., followed by Mike DiSanza, A Cop for Christ from New York, sharing his testimony."
According to the ministry website, New Life City Church (formerly New Life Fellow
Caught in the middle of this spiritual battle are our persecuted brothers and sisters, bearers of Light in a terribly dark country.
By Rev Theresa Forkins-Phillips
photo wikipedia
June 17, 2006 - Harrisburg, PA
By Jim Brown
Says Pastor Jack McKee: "This was such a challenge to us, for although we have done several Prayer Walks in 'Protestant' communities during times of internal conflict and feuding, we have never before done this in a 'Catholic' community."