Month: July 2020

I occasionally take time in this column to consider the deep mysteries each of the major faiths of the world holds at its heart.

These mysteries are core beliefs and quite often they are so profound and so recondite that people who are not in the faith but who want to learn more about it are cut off from understanding.

I want to understand everything I can possibly understand and learn everything I can possibly learn.

This week I want to try to understand the Christian understanding of the nature of Jesus.

The question at the heart of the mystery is the question of whether Jesus was divine or human or both. A few weeks ago, in answer to a question about gender-neutral language in reference to God, I suggested that Jesus was essentially divine for Christians but appeared on earth in human form. I wrote,

“Christianity does have that issue that Jesus was a man, but that is complicated by the Christian belief that Jesus is not really a human male but the child of God who appeared on Earth in a gendered form of a man. Jesus is part of the Trinity, meaning Jesus’ essence is primarily divine not human.”

This was incorrect and false to the self understanding of Christians. If Fr. Tom Hartman were still with me, he would have slapped me around and prevented me from including
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Robert P. Jones, author of the new book ‘White Too Long,’ talks about the history of white supremacy in American Christianity. His main focus is on the Southern Baptist Convention, the denomination in which he grew up. “There’s so much work still to be done,” he says. “White Christians have been largely silent … and have hardly begun these conversations.”

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews two new novels: ‘The Aunt Who Wouldn’t Die,’ and ‘Blacktop Wasteland.’

James, the writer of this book, was the half-brother of Christ Jesus. Christ’s brothers rejected Him during His earthly ministry, but in Acts 1:14 we find them praying with the disciples. Paul said Christ appeared in His resurrected body to James, giving a good reason for His belief in Jesus.

James rose quickly to become head of the Jerusalem church. He was known as a praying man whose knees were hard like a camel’s knees because of the time he spent in prayer. Historical records indicate that he had such respect from the Pharisees that they sought his help in speaking to the great number of Jews who had turned to Jesus. Speaking from the temple steps, James told the crowd that the Lord Jesus Christ was the Savior. The Pharisees brought him down to the ground and beat him to death. It was said then that as he died James prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Calling himself a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, James addressed Christian Jews “scattered abroad” because of persecution. They experienced all of life’s trials as did everyone else. Jews who were Christians faced trouble on every side. Jewish family and acquaintances rejected them because they were Christians, and Gentiles shunned them because they were Jews.

Temptations are cause for joy, James said. These are the trials that test our character and are meant to strengthen us. It might be said that when our faith is tried, we
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Manatee County-Based Company Fights Cancer And COVID-19 With Artistry And Love

Spread The Love is an art therapy ministry that was created to share faith-building messages through wearable art and home decor products. This program offers cancer patients an opportunity to develop entrepreneurial opportunities through the creation of inspirational products.

Participants can create their own artistic designs which can then be converted to marketable items. Patients who are undergoing chemotherapy, and those who’ve recently finished their treatment, have extremely weakened immune systems. It makes it very dangerous for them to seek employment outside of their homes.

When you buy from Spread The Love, you support the outreach efforts in many ways: you share a message of hope and encouragement and you support the artists who are fighting their cancer battles.

For inspirational face masks, T-shirts and home decor products, visit www.SpreadTheLoveStore.com.

Lauren Daigle Hosts Virtual Concert For Patients And Staff At Tennessee Children’s Hospital

GRAMMY Award-winning music artist Lauren Daigle recently offered an exclusive performance to a Nashville children’s hospital. Daigle performed a virtual concert for doctors, caregivers, first responders and patients at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). The concert was a part of VUMC’s ‘Gratitunes’ campaign.

There are now more than 1,200 Gratitunes and 5,000 songs
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By Devin Watkins

Persecution Relief recently released its half-yearly report detailing acts of anti-Christian persecution in India.

The data bear out “a very grim picture” of religious freedom in the nation, according to the Christian ecumenical body.

“Hate crimes against Christians in India have risen by an alarming 40.87 percent,” the report said.

That increase came despite a complete nationwide lockdown that lasted three months to stem the spread of Covid-19 infections.

Numerous incidents

The watchdog group recorded 293 incidents of anti-Christian persecution in the first six months of the year.

Six of those cases resulted in murder. Two women were raped and killed for their faith, and another two women and a 10-year-old girl were raped for refusing to renounce Christianity.

Uttar Pradesh “remained the most hostile state against Christians in India,” noted the report. Sixty-three hate crimes were reported there.

Police threatened one pastor with jail for him and his family if he did not forsake Christianity, according to the Persecution Relief report.

The state of Tamil Nadu reported 28 cases, with a church building left burnt to the ground in June.

Tip of the iceberg

Shibu Thomas, founder of Persecution Relief, told UCA News that persecution against Christians has become increasingly common.

“The frightening and contagious crusade of religious nationalism and intolerance has now peaked at new inhuman altitudes,” said Thomas.

He added that the data collected is only “the tip of the iceberg.”

“We could report only a fraction of the actual violence perpetrated
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Late last week, California megachurch leader John MacArthur acted like a persecuted hero when he announced that his Grace Community Church would refuse to obey lockdown orders in the wake of the pandemic. He said of any further closures that applied to churches, “Compliance would be disobedience to our Lord’s clear commands.”

It was selfish. It was dangerous. It was irresponsible.

So naturally the American Family Association is jumping onboard the hype. The conservative Christian group is urging people to “serve Christ first, not Caesar.”

Take the pledge to stand with other Christians to worship Jesus. Now is the time to serve Christ first, not Caesar. Put on the whole armor of God and take a stand against government leaders who insist that Christians must abandon their corporate worship of God.

Jesus Christ, these people are threats to public health…

Literally no government official has ever told Christians to stop worshiping. (How weak is their God that such a thing could even happen?!)

Christians can gather online, livestream sermons over Facebook, and even meet in person in limited numbers and with sensible precautions. (Obviously no one’s stopping them from praying privately.) But these evangelicals are acting like any restrictions are unfairly targeting them. As the saying goes, they’re confusing a paper cut with decapitation, and they’re unwilling to acknowledge that we’re all dealing with the paper cuts!

The petition offers a tiny disclaimer at the very end:

… You are reminding your governor and state
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The claim: CBS News stalwart Andy Rooney wrote a column on prayer and traditional Christian views  

Few media figures today carry the authority and gravitas as did 20th-century icons like Walter Cronkite, David Brinkley and Andy Rooney. Because their names still carry such weight, misattribution is common.

“Christians are just sick and tired of turning the other cheek while our courts strip us of all our rights,” a column attributed to Rooney, a mainstay at CBS News for decades, reads on Facebook. “That is your right, and we will honor your right. But by golly you are no longer going to take our rights away! We are fighting back and we WILL WIN!” the post continues.

The post, shared for than 14,000 times, incorrectly claims Rooney penned the article on Christian persecution in the United States.

There is no evidence that Rooney wrote the article. Most
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German police have completed a search of an allotment that a neighbouring plot owner said was previously rented by the main Madeline McCann suspect.

The allotment owner told the BBC that the suspect, Christian B, arrived there the year Madeleine went missing.

German prosecutors said the two-day search near Hanover was related to the investigation into Christian B, a sex offender in prison in Germany.

Police left the site, which once had a shack with a cellar, on Wednesday.

Madeleine was three years old when she went missing while on holiday with her family in Portugal 13 years ago.

The British girl disappeared from an apartment in Praia da Luz on the evening of 3 May 2007, while her parents were with friends at a nearby tapas bar. It sparked a huge police hunt across much of Europe.

The man whose allotment neighbours the one being searched told the BBC that Christian B rented the plot for a few months in the year Madeleine went missing.

The man said Christian B arrived in the spring or summer of 2007 and told him he wanted to insulate a small shack which stood on a concrete base in the garden with a small cellar underneath.

The neighbour went on holiday in July 2007. When he returned in August,
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