Saturday, April 15, 2006

KINGDOM HEADLINES: 15 April 2006

A few items from the past ten days for faithful CRIB readers ...

AUSTRALIA
Wallis takes on the Christian Right Down Under
Religious faith will be the most influential force in Australian politics in the next decade, American Christian activist Jim Wallis says.

With the rise of the Family First party and the continuing abortion debate, he sees parallels with the US, where he claims the religious Right has distorted Christian morality by concentrating on abortion and gay marriage, ignoring issues such as poverty; while the Left has been so anti-religious it has allowed the Right to make all the running.
Jim Wallis is a brilliant spokesperson for the liberal religious left and has done a good job of remaking himself into a "moderate." Wallis' problem in my opinion is that he preaches another gospel.

BIBLE (The)
Never-Before-Seen Chinese Bibles to Debut in America
Priceless artifacts testifying to the Christian faith in China are making their first ever showcase outside Chinese borders beginning this month.

The Bible Ministry Exhibition of the Church in China will debut in three U.S. cities, presenting a rare opportunity for the rest of the world to see centuries of Scripture history in a country where religious persecution is ranked high. [...]

Following a successful showing in Hong Kong in 2004, the display, entitled "A Lamp to My Feet, A Light to My Path," will first head to Los Angeles on Apr. 27 for a weeklong public viewing. Its next two destinations are Atlanta on May 19 and New York on June 5. [...]

The first Chinese version of the complete Bible was translated jointly by a foreign missionary and his Chinese assistant in the early nineteenth century. From 1980 to early 2006, over 40 million copies of the Bible in various versions, sizes and packing have been published. Now, an average of 2.5 million Bibles is distributed each year.

American Bible Society defends decision not to puplish 'Jesus Loves Porn Stars' New Testament
... the American Bible Society responded Friday to an anti-porn ministry's lash out against its refusal to print New Testaments with covers reading "Jesus Loves Porn Stars." [...]
While committed to making the Bible available to all persons, the Bible organization wrote in an official statement that it saw the cover words proposed by Fireproof Ministries as inappropriate to clothe Scripture.

"The American Bible Society commends Fireproof Ministries for its outreach to those addicted to pornography and informed Pastor Craig Gross that the American Bible Society supports his ministry's initiative to share the Gospel with those who are so addicted," read the statement released Friday. "However, out of a sense of propriety, ABS felt that the wording 'Jesus Loves Porn Stars' was misleading and inappropriate for a New Testament cover."

Survey Exposes Biblical Ignorance Among UK's Christians
Less than a quarter of Christians in the United Kingdom possess enough knowledge of the Bible to be able to place key events in the order they appear, according to the results of a new survey by the Bible Society released last week.

The Christian evangelical organization carried out a survey of regular churchgoers, which revealed that 76 percent of people were unable to put a series of ten popular Bible stories in the order that they appear in the Bible.

Events used in the survey included Noah's Ark, Solomon's building of the Temple, and Jesus feeding the five thousand, among other similar incidents.
Biblical ignorance is the absence of knowledge about the Word of God; it is not restricted to the UK, rather it is a pernicious embarrassment to the Bride in the West.

CALIFORNIA FRUIT
California may offer 'gay history' in state's educational curriculum
A bill that would require California public school textbooks to include "gay history" is making its way through the state legislature, and experts warn it could have an impact nationwide.
Jesus told us a long time ago ...
"So then, you will know them by their fruits."
Matthew 7:20

ISLAM
Poll: Islam and Scientology Face Growing Negative Perceptions
Although Americans believe they are better informed about Islam than they were five years ago, a new CBS News poll finds fewer than one in five say their impression of the religion is favorable.

Forty-five percent of respondents queried April 6 - 9 said they have an unfavorable view of Islam, a rise from 36 percent in February. And the public's impression of Islam has diminished even more compared with four years ago. In February 2002 - less than six months after the terrorist attacks of September 11 - the country was evenly divided in its impression of Islam.
Islam is not the only body facing a bad reputation: Mormons are almost as bad with 39% unfavorable opinion, while Scientology and Tom Cruise led the pack with a 52% unfavorable report.

I don't put much stock in polls but the negative opinion of L. Ron Hubbard's cult was surprising.

JUDAISM

Jews should know New Testament says a Rabbi
A major work with Jewish roots is usually missing from everyone's list: the New Testament.

Most Jews shun Christian Scripture. As a result, they can't answer Christians who ask why Jews don't accept Jesus as the Messiah. [...]

Now, Reform Rabbi Michael J. Cook says this "self-imposed ignorance" is dangerous. [...]

Many scholars agree that Jews would benefit from studying the Christian texts.
They say it could improve interfaith relations, especially on the local level where rabbis are expected to work with fellow clergy from other denominations. It also would help when public debates arise - like the controversy about how Jews were depicted in the Mel Gibson movie, "The Passion of the Christ." [...]

However, the scholars also say there are too many other pressing issues in Jewish education - including the increasing assimilation of Jews - to make New Testament learning a priority.
The power of this world to overcome man's common sense and his faith in God is legion.


Some Jews See Trespass in Church Seders
You don't traditionally find Jesus at a modern Seder celebrating Passover, which began last night. But this was no ordinary Seder. The 250 people at Immanuel's Church in Silver Spring on Tuesday night were holding a Christian Seder, a phenomenon that's gaining popularity across the country -- to the consternation of many in the Jewish community as well as some interfaith leaders. [...]
Christian Seders "set off great anxieties" in the Jewish community, says Christopher Leighton, executive director of the Institute for Christian and Jewish Studies in Baltimore. "There's this fear that well-meaning Christians will end up confiscating Jewish liturgical property."

Even more, there's the fear that evangelicals are using the Christian Seder to proselytize among Jews. Objectors point to the involvement of Messianic Jews, those who believe in Jesus Christ, and Jews for Jesus, a missionary group that seeks to bring Jews into Christianity, in the growing popularity of the ritual among evangelicals.

MOVIES
Top Ten Jesus Movies
They've been making films about the Son of God for over a century. Here's one man's list of those that ascend to the top of the cinematic pack.
If you've ever seen the movie Joseph, you'll agree with me that this is an incomplete list.

TRIBULATION
Christians in the Holy Land Dwindle as Hostility Intensifies
Hostility against Christians is intensifying in the land that gave birth to Jesus and to the religion that claims more than 2.1 billion adherents.

The population of Christians in the Holy Land, particularly in the Palestinian territories, is dwindling as more and more leave for a better life abroad, turning the community into a tiny minority squeezed between Muslims and Jews.

Reports indicate that an increasing number of Christians in the Holy land, particularly in the Palestinian territories, are emigrating to look for a better life, leaving behind a small minority of Holy Land Christians amongst Muslims and Jews.

"[Christians] are suffering from both Islamic extremists and Israeli security concerns," Canon Andrew White, a former Middle East envoy for the Archbishop of Canterbury, told Reuters Tuesday.
HT: Christian Headlines

By at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)