eChurch Blog

Justin Taylor alerts us of a reflection on how digital technology has made us even more aware of suffering saints all throughout the world. The writer of the reflection comments:

But to be quite honest, I’m absolutely overwhelmed with the sorrow of it all at times.

So am I.

An estimated 1,500 Indonesian Muslims destroyed three churches before attacking an orphanage and hospital in Central Java on Feb. 8. The mob was protesting a court’s decision not to sentence a Christian man to death for defaming Islam.

Antonius Bawengan, 58, received a five-year prison sentence – the maximum penalty allowed by law – under the “blasphemy law” that has been invoked to silence critics of Islam. However, the crowd  assembled at his trial believed the sentence was too lenient, and demanded his death. They assaulted a group of police officers that reportedly numbered around 1,000 before moving against the churches.

The crowd first attacked the Catholic Church of Sts. Peter and Paul, in an assault that seriously wounded a missionary priest of the Holy Family congregation. The missionary, identified only as Fr. Saldanha, was beaten by the mob as he attempted to defend the tabernacle containing the Eucharist against desecration.

The crowd later set fire to two Protestant churches, Bethel Church and Pantekosta Church, before terrorizing a Catholic orphanage and a hospital run by the Sisters of Providence.

….continue reading

I love reading about – and blogging on – the rise and rise of the phoenix that is the Russian Orthodox Church, and especially Patriarch Kirill’s ever growing political power.

And here’s a juicy article on this subject for our consumption, if you’re in to this kind of thing….

The growing interpenetration between the Russian Orthodox Church and political power, the public privileges which Patriarch Kirill enjoys and the proposal to establish a “civil orthodox ideology” to combat Islamic terrorism in Russia are issues at the heart of a debate on cooperation between church and state. The theme is again under the spotlight in Russian media as a series of events coincide: the Council of Russian Orthodox bishops (2 to 5 February), the second anniversary of the Patriarch Kirill’s installation and the efforts of the Kremlin to find solutions to the long standing problem of terrorism, especially after the attack on January 24th on Moscow’s International Airport Domodedovo.

During the Council, held in the Cathedral of Christ the Savoir in Moscow, discussions were dominated by the subject of the role of the church in society. This relationship is a leitmotif that has accompanied Kirill’s mandate from the outset. So much so that, on the anniversary of his election as leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, he stressed the need for the Church to be allowed operate in society and act in the public sphere against those who, instead, would have it relegated to the margins of the nation’s life.

As if to reinforce this position, the Council has authorized priests to participate in elections even if only in exceptional cases. If, that is, “the election of members of the hierarchy or the clergy in legislative bodies is suggested by the need to oppose those forces, including those that are schismatic or unorthodox, that attempt to use the vote to fight the Orthodox Church.”

The Kremlin continues to give signs of its approval. Speaking at the council, President Dmtri Medvedev reminded the religious leaders of the importance of teaching the basics of Orthodox culture and religion “in high schools, as well as the presence of clergy in the army, two of the major achievements over the last three years achieved by the Church on a social level”. The leader of the Kremlin, dealing with a country under constant threat of Islamic terrorism and a growing xenophobia against migrants from the Caucasus and former Soviet republics, the Church’s presence in schools and support in the military is “fundamental in the fight against bigotry and the promotion of interethnic and interreligious dialogue”.

One of Russia’s most renowned political analysts Vitaly Tretyakov, also addressed this issue. In an article in the newspaper Izvestia, entitled “Ideology of Terror”, he proposed creating a ‘civil orthodox ideology “to fight terrorists. He argues society should be based on a kind of civic ideology inspired by Orthodox values, because “without faith and ideas we can not be truly overcome extremism.”

….continue reading

I have a confession to make. For some reason the whole “Alternative Vote” debate gives me brain freeze. What I mean by this, is that within a nanosecond of seeing: “Yes to AV” / “No to AV” my eyes glaze over and I enter into a brief catatonic state.

I know this issue is important and I suspect my reactions are somewhat fueled by the incessant pursuit by Jonathan Bartley of Ekklesia, to push one side of the argument, in what can only be described as a moral crusade.

In order to redress all of this, I’m going to provide links to two fine bloggers – of whom I have the highest respect – who put forward the clearest, concisest, coherent cases, from polar positions on the debate.

In the “No” camp we have Clayboy and be sure to follow the link to his previous post:

An open letter to Jonathan Bartley and the yes to AV campaign

And in the “yes” camp we have Gregg:

Voting for the Alternative Vote System May 5th

By the way, apparently there is to be a Christian debate on 16th Feb.

So there you go, my work here is done and I have alleviated my guilt for having such an intellectually feeble and irresponsible attitude towards this important issue.

Following my recent rather brief post on the new “Catholic iPhone Confession App”, this ‘news’ has gone worldwide with typical headlines such as:

Catholic Church Officially Approves New iPhone App For Confession

These headlines and poor reporting have given rise to some misconceptions and so I wrote a more detailed post for Theology in the News to provide some clarification.

So I thought I’d share it here:

Bless me iPhone for I have sinned – Catholic Church gives blessing to App for confession – or has it?

The news of the the Catholic Church approving an iPhone app that helps guide worshippers through confession, has gone viral. I mean it’s everywhere, from mainstream news outlets to Catholic media.

One word of technical caution however, because that’s what I’m like.

Catholic bloggers are at pains to emphasise that this App is obviously NOT a substitute for sacramental confession, but a preparation for confession, through an examination of conscience.

Also, the “Catholic Church” has not officially approved the app, however, Bishop Kevin Rhoades, of the Diocese of Fort Wayne in Indiana, has given it his imprimatur.

I will say though, the most influential Catholic Blogger – Fr.Z – has extensively reviewed the App, and surprisingly, overall, he was quite positive, even given the two “major flaws” and he concludes:

All in all, it is useful.

But there are flaws.

In a next version, I think the very first thing that the user should see is a message that this is NOT a substitute for confession. This is only a tool to help make a good confession.

They must must must adjust this so that people are informed that they must must must confess sins in kind (the sort of sin) and number (how many times). This is a deep flaw in this app.

There is no indication in the app about a distinction of venial and mortal sins. I guess you can’t include everything. But maybe in a future version they can add a section, along with the Prayers section, which discusses more in depth what this sacrament is. Perhaps they could include, for example, the section from the Catechism of the Catholic Church about the sacrament.

The app is good, but it needs some additions in order to be very good.

….read all

So there you go, you are armed with all the facts.

This from Everyday Christian:

Mental health has a way of cutting down our pride like no other illness can. For the one with the illness, pride does not seem to be an issue. They are either blissfully happy with the way they are and are unconcerned with what others think, or they are totally depressed about everything, or they are too confused to worry about pride. If they are concerned about what others think it is with suspicion, not embarrassment.

What utter rubbish. Shame and embarrassment are the very hallmarks of the mentally ill. Especially for the Bipolar sufferer, which is the illness this article is about!

UPDATE: Check out Undercover Nun’s post ripping this quote into shreds as it rightly deserves…

Fascinating:

These times we live in have been called a lot of things. But perhaps the most surprising description came Sunday from one of the country’s leading religion scholars.

“The most exciting time in Christianity … since the 1st century.”

Yes, even more thrilling than the Protestant Reformation, Philip Jenkins told about 75 people at Charlotte’s Westminster Presbyterian Church.

The reason: The staggering growth in the number of Christians in Asia, Latin America and especially Africa – a phenomenon he called “a global religious revolution” and one that “reverses a trend that people had been used to for several hundred years.”

To back up his claim, Jenkins – the author of a host of influential books, including “The Next Christendom: The Rise of Global Christianity” – offered a series of eye-popping statistics and projections.

Among them:

In 1900, Europe and North America accounted for about 85 percent of the world’s Christians. By 2050, that number will have shrunk to about 25 percent.

During the same period, he said the number of Christians in Africa have, well, skyrocketed seems too tame a word. In 1900, there were 10 million; in 2000, 363 million. By 2015, Jenkins expects 500 million. And, by 2050, he predicted that Africa would become the first continent to have 1 billion Christians. Put another way: One of every three Christians in the world will be African – and that’s not counting the Africans who will have moved to the United States or Europe.

In the 20th century, about half of the people on the African continent moved from a tribal or pagan religion to either Christianity or Islam. And, Jenkins added, “Christians outpaced Muslims considerably” – by a margin of about 4 to 1.

….continue reading

And don’t forget about the explosive Christian growth in China!

So much for the decline of Christianity.

Classic!

Yes, I confess, I’m putting this on because I liked the headline, and the article attached to it is so much more upbeat than the depressing crap I nearly subjected you to:

An iPhone app aimed at helping Catholics through confession and encouraging lapsed followers back to the faith has been sanctioned by the Catholic Church in the United States.

Confession: A Roman Catholic app, thought to be the first to be approved by a church authority, walks Catholics through the sacrament and contains what the company behind the program describes as a “personalized examination of conscience for each user”.

….continue reading

Gregg over at A Brief Encounter blog has a fine post on the governmental funding cuts and the voluntary sector.

I especially wish to draw your attention to this part:

When I was in a position where I was advising new groups on establishing themselves I always advised them to avoid statutory funding where possible, as money always comes with strings attached. Charities should be free from those restraints so that they can remain independent and impartial, after all, part of their role should be to influence, and criticise where necessary both local and national government.

….continue reading

Finally, someone else has actually articulated this.

I encourage you to hop over and read the whole article, written by an experienced charity practitioner.

I would posit that Gregg’s observations are especially true for ‘faith based’ charities in order to avoid the all too numerous ‘awkward’ situations, such as I have noted on this blog in the past.

I am always concerned when Christian groups receive funding from secular sources, especially governmental sources. I personally believe that all Christian groups should be funded from the Christian purse, even if they are providing a public service. Using public funds always adds fuel to the secularist fires and Christian funding eliminates any unwanted politically motivated controlling influences.

Put simply, faith based organisations have no right to whinge and moan at the demand to toe the politically-correct line, whilst in receipt of public funds.

And whilst I’m at, if Christian organisations cannot afford to fund such ‘charitable’ activities, then perhaps it’s time to accept that we have no business operating in the same.

A few links I found interesting for one reason or another:

Connexions – My personal Lord and Saviour?

Catholic Herald – Exorcist warns parents of rise in ‘demonic’ websites

Christian medical Comment – Senior neonatologist brands official RCOG report on fetal awareness as ‘Emperor’s new clothes’ in leading journal editorial

Protect the Pope – UK Foreign Office Minister blocked EU protection of ‘Christians’

Franciscan Mafia – I’m not Orthodox

CyberBrethren – “Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing” – Thoughts on Leaving an Online Discussion Forum