Influential Theologian Troubled by Christian-Muslim Dialogue

amatheson »

Mon Jan 14, 2008 1:24 am Agree: 2   Disagree: 1

Mohler says that the US government and the church are separate entities and the latter should not be apologizing for the former. I made the same comment in a previous submission and somehow got flagged. I think the CP needs some kind of editor to take this flagging business in hand.

Another point. According the the CP, Eden says, "The best way to clarify the confusion is through close conversation." Communication that either blurs or fails to clarifies Christianity's basic tenets and standpoints ADDS to the confusion and is therefore worse than no communication at all.

Concerned Christians in America should be sending letters to the signatories asking, "Who appointed you to speak in our name?" For that matter, so should the US government!

Myths Exposed on Charismatic Christianity in America

amatheson »

Thu Jan 10, 2008 2:09 pm Agree: 0   Disagree: 1

As a charismatic/pentecostal Christian who considers himself neither Protestant nor Catholic, I would have to say that I am much more concerned about the bits that mainline Protestant denominations are chopping out of the Bible than the bits that the Catholics add on.

Poll: 1 of 2 Young Adults Say Marriage Not Needed to Prove Commitment

amatheson »

Thu Jan 10, 2008 6:38 am Agree: 2   Disagree: 1

Marriage is Ssimply a statement of commitment. To people who say marriage is not necessary I would ask, Why are you afraid to STATE your commitment?

The truth is, it's lifelong commitment people doni't like any more, not the marriage ceremony. The fact that you've pubilcly said "for better or for worse" just makes it more painful when you give up because things got worse.

Shoot me down!

Evangelicals Rebuke NAE Leaders over Islam Letter

amatheson »

Sat Jan 05, 2008 4:43 am Agree: 0   Disagree: 1

It's hard to comment without actually seeing the letter, but if they NAE are apologizing over the actual war on terror (as distinct from simply approving of it), are they not being a bit over-indulgent?

No.1, what happened to the separation of church and state? Is this not reinforcing the Islamic misperception that Western governments are Christian in the same way that theirs are Islamic?

No.2, is such an apology not a bit of an insult to the evangelicals who were against much of what happened in the first place, adding insult to their injury?

Christians Urged to Rally Behind Student Suing Teacher

amatheson »

Sun Dec 30, 2007 6:11 am Agree: 1   Disagree: 0

ifeelfine72, thanks for pointing out my contradiction - I hold my hands up and humbly accept your correction :) And thanks for helping me to laugh at myself!

(Although, if you check the dictionary, you'll find that agnostics are a bit more than "unsure of God's existence" - they actually believe it's impossible to be sure. But there I go again!)

Please just ignore the semantics and read agin the bits where I said "The point is ..."

"The point is, atheists can be every bit as militant as, say, fundamentalist evangelicals and are increasingly to be found on soap boxes 'evangelizing' for their cause; e.g. atheism's travelling crusader Richard Dawkins."

"The point is, if schools are there to teach rather than preach, then atheism (and all other -isms) should be subject to the same constraints as evangelicalism. "

In other words, if Christians are not allowed to preach in public schools, then neither should atheists be. Forgive me for taking so long to get across such simple, obvious points.

Happy New Year to you all in America!

Christians Urged to Rally Behind Student Suing Teacher

amatheson »

Sat Dec 29, 2007 7:51 am Agree: 2   Disagree: 0

converse02, with all respect, I think you confuse atheism with agnosticism. Agnosticism is what you would call "a lack of belief in God", whereas atheism is the belief that there is no God. There is quite a difference.

Atheists, in practice, are much more prone to preaching and dogmatism than agnostics. Their minds are closed to the possibility of the existence of God. Unlike agnostics, who look on God as an unproveable possibility, atheists see God as a proveable impossibility.

The point is, atheists can be every bit as militant as, say, fundamentalist evangelicals and are increasingly to be found on soap boxes 'evangelizing' for their cause; e.g. atheism's travelling crusader Richard Dawkins.

I wouldn't get too caught up with the semantics of the way jwade put his/her point across. The point is, if schools are there to teach rather than preach, then atheism (and all other -isms) should be subject to the same constraints as evangelicalism.

Christians Urged to Rally Behind Student Suing Teacher

amatheson »

Sat Dec 29, 2007 5:07 am Agree: 0   Disagree: 0

jwade, I fully agree with America's position on the separation of church and state. The UK system is riddled with constitutional contradictions relating to the marriage of the two, which would now be a nightmare for anyone here to attempt to unravel. I would only add that the church loses at least as much out of the union as the state does (e.g. when Tony Blair exercised his power to veto the appointment of the Anglican Bishop of Liverpool).

But don't you think that banishing such an enormous part of human experience as personal faith - it pervades all aspects of many people's lives - from the classroom, simply because public schools are an arm of the state, is a scenario that can create more tensions than it relieves? Especially when atheism (which, as you rightly point out, is effectively a religion) appears in this case to have been allowed free vent.

Christians Urged to Rally Behind Student Suing Teacher

amatheson »

Fri Dec 28, 2007 6:28 am Agree: 3   Disagree: 0

As a semi-ignorant observer from the UK, could someone answer some of my queries related to this very interesting case?

On one hand, religion is to be kept out of US public schools and yet, on the other, as some defenders of Corbett seem to point out, it is impossible to cover European history without looking at the role of religion. How do you reconcile these two facts?

When, for example, Martin Luther King is covered in your high school syllabus (I assume he is), is his spiritual motivation ("I just want to do God's will") as well as his social and political activism examined? If it is not, can the latter be intelligently understood in isolation from the former?

When it comes to the coverage of European history in your schools, does the role of the Protestant Reformers - Luther, Calvin, Knox, Zwingli etc - in enlightening (as distinct from "blinding") the common people by, for example, exposing corruption in the church and translating the scriptures out of Latin and into their own languages, ever get examined? Or does religious history only get examined as a by-product of political history when it’s appropriate to bash the church?

In general, how do you manage, in such a strongly Christian country as America, to keep religion out of school and at the same time fully prepare kids for life after school?

With regard to the Corbett-Farnan case, I've noticed some Americans say, "If people want religion, let them send their kids to a private Christian school," but is that fair when your state school system relies so heavily on the taxes of Christian parents? Should parents who desire that option not be allowed to take a hypothecated education tax with them?

As a comparative politics teacher myself, I understand the separation-of-church-and-state issue, but if education is to be about whole of life can religion really be left out of school?

Please accept these as genuine questions from someone who is quite aware that his own country's education system is far from perfect.

Archbishop of Canterbury Dismisses Three Wise Men as 'Legend'

amatheson »

Fri Dec 21, 2007 4:34 am Agree: 3   Disagree: 0

If Williams rejects as legend the magi following the star "because stars don't behave like that," then presumably the reason he accepts the virgin birth is because the female body does bahave like that?!

You either have to accept the whole Bible as 'gospel', or you have no basis for believing any particular part of it. Once you start to pick and choose, your own reason replaces scripture as the basis of faith. I don't think any of our intellects, including those of highly intelligent archbishops, merit that level of trust.

The 'intellectual progress' of our generation seems to be making a very poor job of making the world a better place. Mankind has probably never had more knowledge at the same time as having so little wisdom. Nor has the church been so clever and powerless at the same time.

Atheist Dawkins Calls Himself a 'Cultural Christian'

amatheson »

Wed Dec 12, 2007 7:57 am Agree: 0   Disagree: 0

Mark Pritchard recently delivered a speech and led a debate entitled 'Christianophobia' in the UK Parliament.

Some lines: "I have never met a single Muslim, Jew, Sikh or Buddhist, or person of any other faith, who has told me that they object to Christians celebrating Christmas ...

"Yesterday I received an e-mail from a Jewish gentleman in Beirut, who told me of nativity plays performed in schools there. If it is good enough for Lebanon, it is good enough for London ...

"One has to question why the Madonna and Child stamp is available only on request while many other stamps are available to people just by walking into the post office ... etc."

The transcript can be found on Pritchard's website:

http://www.markpritchard.com/search/article.php?id=927

Pastor-Turned-Atheist Forces Police Chaplains to Remove Crosses

amatheson »

Sat Dec 08, 2007 2:08 pm Agree: 3   Disagree: 0

Keith Green once quipped, "Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to McDonald's makes you a hamburger."

You can even flip the burgers, and it still doesn't make you a hamburger!

"They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us." (1 Jn. 2:19)

Church of Scotland Rejects Calls to Boycott 'Golden Compass'

amatheson »

Thu Nov 29, 2007 6:34 am Agree: 13   Disagree: 7

To fill in on the Church of Scotland ... 37% of its pastors do not believe in the virgin birth (2004), its 2006 Assembly voted in favour of blessing gay 'marriages' (vetoed the following year by grass roots opposition), it holds no position on the inspiration of the BIble, it generally takes great pride in expanding the definition of the term 'broad church' and is quite embarrassed about being associated with its progenitor John Knox etc. etc.

Oh yes, and J K Rowling is a member.

In other words, the Church of Scotland's position on 'The Golden Compass' is entirely consistent with what should be expected.

Atheists Flock to Secular Sunday School

amatheson »

Wed Nov 28, 2007 2:46 am Agree: 1   Disagree: 0

This is just another piece of evidence for what rational Christians have said all along; that atheism is, in fact, another religious belief system.

The choice is clear: believe in God, or believe in yourself. But away with the fallacy, indeed hypocrisy, that humanism/atheism is not another form of religious belief.

As Socrates said to a leading Cynic of his day, "I can see your vanity through the holes in your cloak."

Anglican Head Slams U.S. Foreign Policy

amatheson »

Mon Nov 26, 2007 8:08 am Agree: 2   Disagree: 0

The UK constitution might give you an unelected seat in their upper house of legislature - a strange anomaly in a modern democracy - but that does not make you an authority on international affairs, especially when your own church is falling apart around the world! If you've got time to sort out America, why not start by fixing the Episcopal Church?

Exodus Youth Aim to Reverse 'Anti-Homosexual' Church View

amatheson »

Fri Nov 23, 2007 1:55 am Agree: 4   Disagree: 1

Christians are only given a hard time over this issue because they seek to be consistent with ALL kinds of sin. However, if people reject the New Testament and claim there is nothing wrong with homosexuality, then they are going to see Christians as singling out a particular behavior, when in actual fact they're only treating it consistently with other damaging lifestyles.

If anyone thinks certain behaviors are not damaging, they are deliberately setting aside the biological fatcs.

The nature-nurture argument - whether these behaviors are inherited or learned - has no bearing on whether the the lifestyle is damaging.

There is, for example, plenty of evidence that propensities to alcohol abuse or various obsessive character traits are inherited. 35% of children with fetal alcohol syndrome, for example, go on to experience drug or alcohol dependency.

The sad fact about sin, from a Christian perspective, is that it is ALL inherited from Adam. But that is no excuse for making virtues out of our vices.

Most Chrstians feel sympathy for those who struggle with all damaging inclinations (let's face it, who doesn't?) and want to be able to help them, but resistance and abstinence, whether or not it feels 'natural', is what is needed.

Robertson Says Giuliani Will Resist Islamic Terrorism, Appoint Conservative Judges

amatheson »

Tue Nov 20, 2007 10:13 am Agree: 1   Disagree: 0

ProfessorX, I'm amazed you haven't been flagged for that one :) I got deleted for pointing out that Sen Grassley - the guy investigating the finances of televangelists - is a mason. All I did was say that transparency is a good thing ... as long as it applies to everyone :)

Your comment was obviously hugely popular as you've got 6 recommends already. The flaggers must be taking a coffee break !

'Elizabeth' Movie Sparks Protests in India

amatheson »

Tue Nov 20, 2007 8:14 am Agree: 1   Disagree: 0

If anyone's shocked by what Catholics did to Protestants - and I am - you should check out what Protestants did to Anabaptists.

One of the saddest things I ever read was a letter written by a pregnant mother to her unborn child who was to be allowed to be born before her execution by Protestants because of her 'deviant' beliefs.

Anabaptists were burned at the stake by Catholics and either drowned or put to the sword by Protestants. The Protestant Reformation in Europe was, in fact, as much about political power as anything else.

Insitutionalized religion condemned Jesus and in all its forms - whether Jewish, Catholic, Protestant etc. - has been a cruel enemy to his followers ever since.

Those of who think we stand should take heed lest ...

Who Will Decide How You Vote?

amatheson »

Mon Nov 19, 2007 8:46 am Agree: 0   Disagree: 0

BOC560, thanks for that - I'll spend time thinking on it. No offense to Ken Connor, but I thought your contribution was better than the article :)

Robertson Says Giuliani Will Resist Islamic Terrorism, Appoint Conservative Judges

amatheson »

Mon Nov 19, 2007 8:27 am Agree: 4   Disagree: 0

Giuliani "a true conservative" ... who attends gay pride parades in drag! LOL!

As for the priority being defense against Islamic terrorism, 911 was terrible and the threat is huge, but 1974 was the last year in which less than 1 million lives were extinguished in the womb in the USA. The equivalent of more than 5 times the entire population of New York City has been aborted in the USA since 1973.

Tutu Slams Sexuality 'Obsessed' Church

amatheson »

Mon Nov 19, 2007 1:52 am Agree: 21   Disagree: 2

I've heard it said that Christians are obsessed with sexuality before and, on the surface, the issue does seem to get a lot of column inches.

But I am convinced that the reason for this is not the church but the militant gay lobby. The Christians I know would say that sin is sin, whether it be drug abuse, lying, homosexual activity or anything else the Bible singles out.

The reason other types of damaging behaviour don't get the same level of attention is quite simple: you don't get groups like 'Right To Lie' or 'Alcoholic And Proud' seeking to establish a 'rightful' place in the church.

Gay rights people reading this might find it hard to accept, but the vast majority of Christians hold no enmity towards anyone struggling with sin. Even when people try to call bad 'good', it's not the sinnners themselves, but the sin, that Christians are rejecting.

The debate would quickly fade if they would come clean and, like most of the rest of us, admit they are sinners.