Saturday

The Religion WAR (02-25)

Reading between the lines, thinking outside the box, and seeing the forest...
 
 
 
    The Italian tabloid Chi reports that Pope Benedict XVI is considering a television program in which he would discuss the Bible. The story -- which the Vatican has not confirmed -- indicates that the Pontiff would appear on a program aired by Italy's national public-service broadcaster, Rai Uno, beginning in October of this year.
 
    The solemnity of Corpus Domini is celebrated in Italy and in various countries today [Sunday]. It was observed in the Vatican and in other countries Thursday. It is the feast of the Eucharist, the wondrous gift of Christ, who in the Last Supper wanted to leave us a memorial of his Passover, the sacrament of his Body and his Blood, pledge of his immense love for us.
 
    In his general audience Wednesday, held in St. Peter's Square, the Pope turned his attention to St. Gregory the Great, who was Bishop of Rome (590-604) and whom "tradition deemed worthy of the title of 'Magnus', the Great" -- and "truly was a great Pope and a great Doctor of the Church".
 
     Benedict XVI received in separate audiences Nikola Gruevski, prime minister of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, then Ivajlo Kalfin, deputy prime minister and foreign minister of the Republic of Bulgaria.
    Benedict XVI concluded his remarks by highlighting how "the rediscovery of Christian roots is important for building a society in which the spiritual and cultural values arising from the Gospel remain present", values that "draw nourishment from constant union with God, as is evident from the lives of Sts. Cyril and Methodius who strove relentlessly to weave relationships of mutual understanding and cordiality between different peoples, and between diverse cultures and ecclesial traditions".
 
     Pope Benedict XVI has written a Message to Alexis II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, delivered by Cardinal Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, during a meeting with the Patriarch.
    In the text of his English-language Message, the Pope writes that the cardinal's visit to Russia "offers me a welcome opportunity to extend my cordial greetings, to express my esteem for your ministry in the Russian Orthodox Church and to restate my appreciation for your commitment to fostering relations between Catholics and Orthodox".
    "It is with joy that I reflect on the experience of growing closeness between us, accompanied by the shared desire to promote authentic Christian values and to witness to our Lord in ever deeper communion."
 
    Benedict XVI is an effective communicator, not just because every talk he gives is like an "encyclical in miniature," but because there is a secret to his efficacy, affirmed the author of a biography of the Pope.
 
    The Vatican issued its most explicit decree so far against the ordination of women priests, punishing them and the bishops who try to ordain them with automatic excommunication. The decree was written by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and published in the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, giving it immediate effect.
 
    The Vatican is planning a special conference in 2009 to mark the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of the Species, Charles Darwin's groundbreaking theory of evolution.
    The Vatican has traditionally backed a more nuanced approach. Three years ago, Cardinal Poupard, the then president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, said Darwin's theory of Evolution and the Old Testament book of Genesis were "perfectly compatible" if the Bible were correctly read, saying: "The fundamentalists want to give a scientific meaning to words that had no scientific aim," explaining that the real message in Genesis was that "the universe didn't make itself and had a creator."
 
    There are those who view the moral conscience as personal, internal, subjective and open to no criticism from without. Even in the Catechism of the Catholic Church one might think to find justification for such an outlook.
    The problem with an overly subjective outlook is that it misses the point. It does not look at the whole question of conscience. The proper understanding of the moral conscience is basic to our understanding of morality and to the living of our lives. I would like, therefore, in this letter to address some of the most important aspects of conscience.
 
    The Vatican has issued a new document underlining the importance of obedience in religious life. Entitled "The Service of Authority and Obedience," the 50-page document from the Congregation for Religious takes the form of an Instruction. It was presented to the superiors of male and female religious orders on May 28 at an assembly held in the Salesianum in Rome.
 
    The Vatican unveiled the largest and most luxurious of the pagan tombs in the necropolis under St. Peter's Basilica on Tuesday after nearly a year of restoration work. It is one of 22 pagan tombs in the grottoes under the basilica.
 
 
 
    The last outsiders to visit the ruins of the once-mighty city of Babylon in Iraq came in tanks and helicopters, leaving a blight on its historic and fragile landscape, archaeologists say. At a meeting in Berlin next month, Iraqi and other specialists will endeavour to assess the true level of damage.
    Already the famous blue bricks that form the lions, bulls and dragons making up the decorations around the Gate of Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess of love, have been found to have been damaged. The original gate, on display at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, marked the entrance to the palace, temples and domestic dwellings of the city. These buildings were fashioned out of mud bricks which still bear Babylonian and Assyrian markings.
 
    Muslim missionaries found in Western cities are often part of the messianic Ahmidiyya movement. The peaceful beliefs of Ahmadis, who can be found in small numbers in Germany, are seen as heretical by most Muslims.
    It's been 100 years since Mirza Ghulam Ahmad founded the Ahmadiyya Muslim faith. The controversial Indian religious figure claimed to be the promised messiah awaited by all the major religions. Worldwide there are between 10 and 80 million Ahmadiyyas.
 
 
 
    The archbishop of Trent said official European documents do not have a mission for Europe, and affirmed that their vision of the world is too "Eurocentric." "The official texts are disappointing, because they do not have in mind a mission for Europe. They only foresee new structures in a Eurocentric vision of the world, without being prepared to revise the rules of international economic exchanges if these do not imply profit for the so-called first world."
 
    Vitaliy Khozyashev from Perm, Russia, doesn't consider Nostradamus a graph maniac, but an outstanding person. He is sure his quatrain verses, grouped in centuries, are not nonsense, but a prophesy.
    Having used math and numerology, the scientist concluded that Nostradamus, while coding his verses, based himself on the self-made astrological calendar that had the 'timetable' of the Sun and other planets movement.
    He was numbering the quatrain verses according to this calendar. But in his books he has the verses in the ordinary way. So this is how they are encoded. From July 1559 on, the scientist reconstructed more than a thousand of quatrain verses, having placed them according to Zodiac signs. Now he knows, which time each quatrain correlates to.
 
    It hasn't been long after the 6-month thriller with Penza anchorites was over and the problem of religious sects is on everyone's lips again. How could a group of people shut themselves off from the rest of the world in a dark cold cave for half a year and die form the lack of fresh food and medications? The answer is still not found.
    But this story sparked violent discussions about the negative effects of religious sects. Some people even proposed them to be banned. But sects can be banned only if religion is banned, as it was in the Soviet era.
 
 
 
Religious authority warns women against perfume, flirtation
    Secular Turks say the government's religious authority has gone too far by advising women not to flirt with strangers or wear perfume outside their homes. The article is expected to further inflame a debate about the role of religion in the secular nation.
 
    There was a time appealing to God at the holiest place on earth for Jews - the Western Wall - was only for those physically in Jerusalem. Now anyone can say a prayer at the Wall while in the comfort of their own home, office or anywhere in between, thanks to a new Web site.
 
    A 38-year old American tourist diagnosed as suffering from 'Jerusalem Syndrome' jumped off a 13-feet walkway at the Poria Hospital in Tiberias. Over the past few days the husband began feeling anxious and suffered from insomnia. He roamed the hills surrounding the guest house he was staying at, muttering about Jesus.
    According to the doctor, the man is most likely suffering from the rare yet well-documented 'Jerusalem Syndrome.' "This psychotic state is brought on by visits to Jerusalem or the Galilee. It induces a state of religious ecstasy which overcomes the tourists. They feel euphoric at being surrounded by so many holy sites.
    "This state is characterized by megalomania and delusions of grandeur. Those afflicted often believe they are the Messiah, Jesus or the Mahdi, depending on their religion and sect. They attempt to reconcile Jews and Palestinians, speak to God and genuinely believe he answers them."
 
 
 
US and Iranian clerics believe that reconciliation comes from respectful communication
    Clerics on both sides believe that reconciliation must come from respectful communication. But such dialogue cannot occur in a vacuum, or in environments where people are demonising each other. The stakes are high in the Middle East, and the shrill and negative discourse of both countries' political administrations will not ease the increasing tensions between our countries.
 
 
 
    A traditionalist Anglican has said he will continue with a campaign for the Church of England to work explicitly to convert Muslims to Christianity. The motion calls on the Church to proclaim Christianity as the only route to ultimate salvation.
 
    Tony Blair launched his Faith Foundation in New York Friday, saying that he wants to spend most of his remaining years ensuring that religion is seen as a force for good in the world.
    The new organisation, for which he is seeking hundreds of millions of pounds of charitable funding, will focus on developing better understanding between faiths as well as fostering concrete action on fighting poverty and disease.
    He argued that religion, particularly the Abrahamic faiths of Christianity, Islam and Judaism, have to be rescued from those who would use it to create division or others who wish to write if off as an irrelevance.
 
    Republican presidential candidate John McCain has a "Religious Right" problem. His likely Democratic rival, Barack Obama, has a Rev. Wright problem.
    In a country where high levels of belief and church attendance often translate into a major role for religion in election campaigns, analysts say faith may well be a poisoned chalice for the likely contenders in the November White House race.
 
Why?!...
    John Hagee is one of the most pro-Jewish Christians alive. No living Christian has devoted more of his life to combating anti-Semitism. He has received death threats from anti-Semites, and they have attacked his home. To accuse such a man of anything anti-Jewish renders both truth and anti-Semitism meaningless.
 
    On May 22, a new era began in the history of what is called the Religious Right. John McCain rejected the endorsements of 2 of the leading Evangelical pastors in the US, John Hagee and Rod Parsley.
    The impact of McCain publicly disavowing these 2 major figures will create a new alignment among politically active religious conservatives and the political parties.
 
Excellent! Destroy them all!...
    US soldiers stationed at Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo may be stunned to find 3 wooden crosses stripped from the exterior grounds of their chapel in coming weeks. Several high-ranking officers have met behind closed doors to discuss plans for the crosses.
    They have decided to remove, and perhaps destroy, the Christian symbols located outside Peacekeeper's Chapel in the name of free exercise of religion. The crosses will be replaced with a stone monument engraved with the name of the chapel and the crest of US Army Chaplain Corps.
    [WAR: "Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build to YAHWEH your ELOHIM, and do not erect a sacred stone, for these YAHWEH your ELOHIM hates." (Deu 16:21,22)
    "He even deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive Asherah pole. Asa cut the pole down and burned it in the Kidron Valley." (1Ki 15:13)
    "He took the Asherah pole from the temple of YAHWEH to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem and burned it there. He ground it to powder and scattered the dust over the graves of the common people." (1Ki 23:6)]
 
    The disconnect, the query, the puzzlement, from whence the idea for this essay arose relates to why the State, obviously a cult, is not more vigorously decried, particularly outside libertarian circles, while voluntary organizations which have been labeled as "cults" by the State, are.
 
 
 
He is 1 of the 4 horsemen who will see in the end of the world, or so he says
    I'm sitting in a Chelsea café having coffee with the 1st horseman of the apocalypse. He's very pleasant for a harbinger of doom and is not, as the Bible predicts, holding a bow and arrow but a Granny Smith's apple.
    The horseman, or as he is known to friends, Gordon Ritchie, 50, latter day prophet and head of the Jehovah's Witness splinter group The Lords' Witnesses, is quite sure that the Bible refers to him in Revelation 6 when it predicts that the end of the world will be ushered in by four horsemen
 
    A brilliant series of 13 short essays published by the John Templeton Foundation offers different responses to the question: "Does science make belief in God obsolete?"
 
    Writing in around A.D. 204, Tertullian explained that Christians mark their foreheads with the sign of the cross.
 
    Against the flesh, the traitor within, a warrior uses discipline. We have a 2-dimensional version of this now, which we call a "quiet time." But most men have a hard time sustaining any sort of devotional life because it has no vital connection to recovering and protecting their strength; it feels about as important as flossing.
    But if you saw your life as a great battle and you knew you needed time with God for your very survival, you would do it. Maybe not perfectly—nobody ever does and that's not the point anyway—but you would have a reason to seek him.
    We give a halfhearted attempt at the spiritual disciplines when the only reason we have is that we "ought" to. But we'll find a way to make it work when we are convinced we're history if we don't.
    Time with God each day is not about academic study or getting through a certain amount of Scripture or any of that. It's about connecting with God. We've got to keep those lines of communication open, so use whatever helps.
    Sometimes I'll listen to music; other times I'll read Scripture or a passage from a book; often I will journal; maybe I'll go for a run; then there are days when all I need is silence and solitude and the rising sun. The point is simply to do whatever brings me back to my heart and the heart of God. (Wild at Heart , p.171–72)
    [WAR: "The heart of the matter" is the heart!!
    * "Love YAHWEH your ELOHIM with all your heart..." (Deu 6:5)
    * "Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart..." (Jer 3:15)
    * "I YAHWEH search the heart and examine the mind..." (Jer 17:10)
    * "I will give them a heart to know me ... for they will return to me with all their heart." (Jer 24:7)
    * "I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh." (Eze 11:19)
 
    Why is this story so deep in our psyche? Every little girl knows the fable without ever being told. She dreams one day her prince will come. Little boys rehearse their part with wooden swords and cardboard shields. And one day the boy, now a young man, realizes that he wants to be the one to win the beauty.
    Fairy tales, literature, music, and movies all borrow from this mythic theme. Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Helen of Troy, Romeo & Juliet, Antony & Cleopatra, Arthur & Guinevere, Tristan & Isolde.
    From ancient fables to the latest blockbuster, the theme of a strong man coming to rescue a beautiful woman is universal to human nature. It is written in our hearts, one of the core desires of every man and every woman. (Wild at Heart , p.180–81)
 
 

posted by The Daily Warrior | 7:39 AM