Theology in the News

The rapture will be “completed” later this month.

http://www.christianpost.com/news/harold-camping-update-rapture-will-probably-finish-oct-21-57197/

By C. Michael Patton in Bizarre Files

Another day, another bomb:

A bomb exploded last night near the St Ephraim Syrian Orthodox Church in Kirkuk, which is just a few hundreds of metres from the Chaldean cathedral, in central part of the city. The device blew up at 1.30 am and there were no victims. The damages to the church were however huge.

Today’s incident is the latest in a string of attacks against Christians and their places of worship. On 2 August, a car bomb exploded in front of the Holy Family Syrian Catholic Church, wounding 15 people. The bomb had been placed inside a car, parked near the building.

On the same day, another bomb also placed in a car parked near a Presbyterian church was defused before it went off.

Islamic fundamentalists, who remain very active, as well as groups involved in local feuds, have targeted Iraqi Christians.

….continue

By Stuart in Christian Persecution

So called ‘blasphemy laws’ are used in Islamic nations to persecute, subjugate and intimidate religious minorities – such as Christians – and so I read with interest about a UN Human Rights Committee statement on freedom of speech, which states:

Laws restricting blasphemy as such are incompatible with universal human rights standards.

Although this will be trumpeted as a triumph for secularists, this would – if adhered to – also set Christians free from the accusation of blasphemy.

By Stuart in Law, Politics

The FBI has launched an investigation after 18 church websites across the United States were hacked and their regular content replaced with an appeal for Christians to convert to Islam.

The Rev. Vinnie Dauer of Fallen Timbers Community Church in Waterville, Ohio, said he received a text message from a church member telling him that someone had posted “Muslim propaganda” on the church’s website.

Mr Dauer, who is the assistant pastor of Fallen Timbers, said:

“It was unnerving, but I think also it was an indicator to me of the different world we live in. No one could walk into this church building and put up propaganda that’s contradictory to our belief system, but yet our website is a representation of who we are.”

Churches in other parts of the US, including California, Seattle, Texas, North Carolina and Florida, were also affected by the hacking.

The hacker, who identified himself as a Muslim and signed his work “Mr HAiL”, gained access to the website host’s entire portfolio of sites, but altered only the church sites.

He deleted the content and replaced them with a photograph of Mecca, a few paragraphs about Islam, and a list of twelve other websites purportedly containing more information about the Muslim faith.

….continue

By Stuart in Science Technology Research

Restrictions on religious beliefs and practices rose between mid-2006 and mid-2009 in 23 of the world’s 198 countries (12%), decreased in 12 countries (6%) and remained essentially unchanged in 163 countries (82%), according to a new study by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life.

Because several countries with increasing restrictions on religion are very populous, however, the increases affected a much larger share of people than of states. More than 2.2 billion people – nearly a third (32%) of the world’s total population of 6.9 billion – live in countries where either government restrictions on religion or social hostilities involving religion rose substantially over the three-year period studied. Only about 1% of the world’s population lives in countries where government restrictions or social hostilities declined.

Among the world’s 25 most populous countries – which account for about 75% of the world’s total population – restrictions on religion substantially increased in eight countries and did not substantially decrease in any. In China, Nigeria, Russia, Thailand, the United Kingdom and Vietnam, the increases were due primarily to rising levels of social hostilities involving religion. In Egypt and France, the increases were mainly the result of government restrictions. The rest of the 25 most populous countries, including the United States, did not experience substantial changes in either social hostilities or government-imposed restrictions.

….continue

By Stuart in Religion

I posted recently about atheists suing for the removal of the World Trade Center cross. As a result I received the following email from a Christian who thinks I’m an atheist.

I’m leaving this one completely unedited:

If you stupid people do not like the fact that a huge cross has been made and placed at the museum then please do us CHIRSTAINS a huge favor.Do not go anywhere near it.Your beliefs of Christmas also stinks,what makes you think that you take our beliefs away,our country was built on CHRISTAINITY!!!!You take prayer out of school and that is our fault cause we sat back and did nothing but listen to this we still have prayer,you want In God We Trusttaken off of our money but you spend it don’t you?You want One Nation Under God taken out of our pledge then pi– on you don’t say it.What you Wierd and Stupid people need to do is go an island where you rule it and leave us alone and when you go take the gays and lezies with you,they are such a sinner as you are!
Krinkle from Texas(God’s Country)

Oh dear.

I’ve also become aware of this:

FOX News Facebook Page on 9/11 Cross Generates Death Threats Against Atheists

This is unacceptable and counterproductive behaviour by Christians in my opinion.

By Stuart in Atheism Humanism Secularism

A pastor in Iran found guilty of leaving Islam awaits the outcome of a judicial investigation into his spiritual background to see if he will be executed or, if possible, forced to become a Muslim, according to Christian groups with ties in Iran.

The court-ordered investigation will take place sometime this fall to determine whether Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani, 34, was a Muslim as a teenager before he became a Christian at 19.

On Sept. 22, 2010, a regional court sentenced Nadarkhani, who leads a 400-strong house church movement in Rasht, to death by hanging for “convert(ing) to Christianity” and “encourag(ing) other Muslims to convert to Christianity.” Nadarkhani’s lawyer appealed the verdict to the Iranian Supreme Court, in part because the pastor said he had never actually been a Muslim and therefore could not be found guilty of abandoning the religion.

The court issued a written response to the appeal on June 12, upholding the death penalty but ordering the investigation.

The response to the appeal, which took a month to reach Christian and human rights groups outside of Iran, reads in part, “According to Part 2 of Article 265 of the Islamic Republic Criminal Law, this case was received by and must be returned to the state court of Gilan Section 11, and further investigated to prove that from puberty (15 years) to 19 he was not Muslim by his acquaintances, relatives, local elders, and Muslims he frequented. He must repent [of] his Christian faith if this is the case. No research has been done to prove this; if it can be proved that he was a practicing Muslim as an adult and has not repented, the execution will be carried out.”

Even if the investigation releases him from the charge of apostasy, it is likely the charge of evangelizing Muslims will still carry a lengthy prison sentence, sources said.

…..continue

By Stuart in Christian Persecution

In a victory for religious liberty, a California judge July 28 struck from the ballot a San Francisco initiative that, if passed, would have banned circumcision.

A coalition of circumcision opponents had gathered around 7,700 signatures to place the issue on the November ballot, attempting to prohibit something that is at the heart of Judaism and Islam. It would have had no religious exception.

Judge Loretta M. Giorgi ruled that under California law, the state has regulatory power over medical procedures, the Los Angeles Times reported. She also found that it would violate the free exercise of religion.

SOURCE

By Stuart in Law

WASHINGTON — Capitol Hill police arrested 11 people — many of them members of the clergy — protesting the Republican House budget-cutting plan, a police spokeswoman said.

The group, organized by Common Cause’s president, the Rev. Bob Edgar, occupied the center of the historic Rotunda for more than a half hour Thursday, praying and singing until police closed the massive chamber and arrested the group, one by one.

Before officers closed the Rotunda, many visitors sang along, clapped, and filmed the prayers, although it was not clear that passersby understood what the group was protesting.

Common Cause spokeswoman Mary Boyle said they were trying to make a simple point.

“They were trying to send the message to Congress that the budget cannot be balanced on the backs of the poor, the middle class, or the neediest in society,” Boyle said.

She said that Edgar only decided on the action recently, because it appeared likely some sort of legislation would soon come out of Congress that hurts the vulnerable.

A police spokeswoman said the clergy members were cooperative, and were charged with demonstrating in the United States Capitol. They were expected to be released in the afternoon.

….continue

By Stuart in Law

Cross-post by Joseph W – Harry’s Place:

Anders Breivik was described by the chief of police in Oslo as someone with ‘Christian fundamentalist’ views, and since then, the label has stuck, and he has been widely described in the media as such.

However, Breivik is not a Christian fundamentalist.

Fundamentalism has to do with how you interpret your holy scripture and understand God.

Usually, it doesn’t mean “a really fervent Christian”, but it is a specific term to refer to a religious movement in the USA. But we can still see if Breivik matches up to the definition of a fundamentalist, as a fervent believer.

Breivik wrote this:

If you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God then you are a religious Christian. Myself and many more like me do not necessarily have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God. We do however believe in Christianity as a cultural, social, identity and moral platform. This makes us Christian.

So, nothing to do with theological beliefs or knowing God.

Being a Christian in a social sense is one thing – in the way that atheists can self-identify as “cultural Christians”. It is impossible for a cultural Christian to be a Christian fundamentalist.

There’s an obvious difference though, between Breivik’s concept of a cultural Christian, and most people’s. We are not talking about smells-and-bells church life, or singing Christmas carols. This guy thinks a “cultural Christian” is someone who fights the Muslims and the Marxists as a “Templar Knight”.

His Templar Knight ideology does not draw on any principles about belief in Christ, or any serious Christian theologian. He is not tapping into any stream of Christian thought, and is certainly a long way from Aquinas’ just war theory. His resolve is not to look into the theology or scriptures of Christianity, as a fundamentalist might.

Breivik seems to be the only person calling for a modern, “urban” Knights Templar, whose duty it is to kill Marxists and Muslims and die as a martyr. He justifies this by his own understanding of politics and society, but not by religious concepts. That is why we should caution against calling Breivik a “Christian fundamentalist”. It is inaccurate.

A Christian fundamentalist would not say this:

The cultural factors are more important than your personal relationship with God, Jesus or the holy spirit.

A fundamentalist would say the exact opposite.

These are hardly the words of a Christian fundamentalist either:

“I have reserved 2000 Euro from my operations budget which I intend to spend on a high quality model escort girl 1 week prior to execution of the mission. I will probably arrange that just before or after I attend my final martyrs mass in Frogner Church. It will contribute to ease my mind as I imagine I will get tense and very nervous. It is easier to face death if you know you are biologically, mentally and spiritually at ease.”

He also says this:

Religion is a crutch for many weak people and many embrace religion for self serving reasons as a source for drawing mental strength (to feed their weak emotional state f example during illness, death, poverty etc.). Since I am not a hypocrite, I’ll say directly that this is my agenda as well. However, I have not yet felt the need to ask God for strength, yet… But I’m pretty sure I will pray to God as I’m rushing through my city, guns blazing, with 100 armed system protectors pursuing me with the intention to stop and/or kill.

So the first time he would have prayed to God, would have been during his killing spree. I really think you would struggle to find a genuine Christian, who would pray for the first time when committing murder.

Does this “Christian fundamentalist” even believe in God?

He continues:

It is likely that I will pray to God for strength at one point during that operation, as I think most people in that situation would….If praying will act as an additional mental boost/soothing it is the pragmatical thing to do. I guess I will find out… If there is a God I will be allowed to enter heaven as all other martyrs for the Church in the past

So after all that, he is an agnostic. Nor does this seem to be a Christian wrestling with his doubts about God, or anything of the sort. I do not think that an agnostic of Breivik’s ilk can be aptly described as a Christian fundamentalist.

This is a point that even the leading new atheist thinker Sam Harris makes.

Breivik imagined that all Muslims should have to convert to Christianity by 2020, and change their name too. He said he was a Protestant, but he wanted the Protestant Church to merge with Rome. A Protestant fundamentalist would not say this!

His form of Christianity was only ever an identity marker, not a system of beliefs or a way to connect with God.

The other theory, if Breivik is not a Christian fundamentalist, is that he could be linked to the Christian Identity movement. The thing about Christian Identity, is that they believe they are descended from the 10 tribes of Israel.

So if Breivik held to Christian Identity beliefs, you would expect him to say something about how the Nordic tribe are the lost house of Israel, something like that. Nothing appears in his thinking, though, about Christian Identity politics.

You could make the argument, I suppose, that Breivik is a Christian because he said so on his Facebook status. But he is not a Christian fundamentalist.

By Stuart in Religion