Dispatches – Saving Africa’s Witch Children

An unbelievable number of African children are being stigmatized, marginalized, and abused in just one Nigerian province, Akwa Ibong.  The youtube.com link leads to several videos illustrating the problem and one Englishman’s efforts to help the “witch children,” with health care, food, education, and a safe place to live.  This victimization of children is fanaticism at its ugliest.

The “bishop” in the first video estimates that there are 2.3 million witches in Akwa Ibom alone.  Ironically, he believes he is the only one capable of administering the cure, an exorcism involving prayers and potions that very few can afford.

Video Link

Dispatches – Saving Africa’s Witch Children – Channel 4

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Mohler Misses the Point

On the occasion of Darwin’s 200th birthday, Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, shared an editorial on Darwinism.  “

“If you understand Christianity or even Theism – the belief of a sovereign creator God – and evolutionary theory in its dominant form , I find it impossible to reconcile the two… While the Bible doesn’t explain all the mechanisms God used to create the world, it gives believers many non-negotiables about what that creation is, who is behind it, and for what purpose it was created,” he said.

He went on to explain how the “originating mechanism of creation” is where theism runs right into collision with where modern evolutionary theory is. Whereas the Biblical account of creation accepts the role of a Creator, the theory of evolution “suggests that natural selection is indeed the mechanism and that it is entirely natural and in no case supernatural,” said the theologian. “There is no way for God to intervene in the process and for it to remain natural,” he asserted.

In an effort to further defend his position he said, “As Genesis indicates, He created the world in order that the world might be the theater of His glory for the demonstration of the Gospel of Christ (doesn’t say that in Genesis) and He created human beings as the only beings made in His image, as His covenant partner,”

Mohler’s comments raise many questions.  1) Why should a hermeneutic position on the Genesis document be given greater weight than the sum of pressing evidence from the very real world in which we all live?; 2) Why should we assume that God would need to intervene in evolutionary processes?  3) Why does Mohler pass off Christianity in as simplistic a way as to suggest that a “real understanding” of Christianity precludes a belief in evolution? 4) See point 3 but substitute “theism” for “Christianity;” 5) Is there any record of extant supernatural overides on the process of natural selection, perhaps this point is a non-issue?

Just wondering

Darwin Day February 12th

Today marks the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin. There is even a website devoted to the 200th anniversary marking the birth of this distinguished naturalist: Darwin Day.org

Fox News mentions Gallup and Pew polls which show that fewer than 4 in 10 Americans believe that evolution is factual (Fox News article). The Gallup poll found a significant link between understanding of evolution and education, “Just 21 percent of respondents who had up to a high school level of education believe in evolution, compared with 74 percent of those with postgraduate degrees.” It is a little surprising that only 74% of those holding post grad degrees accept evolution as fact. “Among weekly churchgoers, only 24 percent said they believe in evolution, while 41 percent do not and 35 percent have no opinion.”

Fox News also offers several links to evolutionary articles and hosts it’s own online center. Missing Links Fox News Evolutionary and Paleontology Center Celebrations today in Britain include exhibitions of artifacts, tours, and, at the Bristol Zoo if you visit wearing a real or fake beard (certainly non sexist), you get in for free (Bristol Zoo). Quoted from an article on the Bristol Zoo site, “Simon Garrett, Head of Learning at Bristol Zoo Gardens, said: “Darwin is now a household name and, over the last 150 years, his ideas have revolutionised our understanding of nature and our place within it. Bristol Zoo’s ‘beard day’ is a fun way of commemorating Darwin’s life and work while allowing visitors to find out more about his theories.” ” “Among the biggest celebrations is at the Natural History Museum in London which is putting on films, talks and pea soup, cooked to the recipe of Darwin’s wife, Emma.” And, at 5:45 pm today there will be a wreath-laying ceremony at Darwin’s grave in Westminster Abbey.

Talk about turning the other cheek

A reddit link led me to an article on Haaretz.com that talks about how Christians in Jerusalem want Jews to stop spitting on them.

“A few weeks ago, a senior Greek Orthodox clergyman in Israel attended a meeting at a government office in Jerusalem’s Givat Shaul quarter. When he returned to his car, an elderly man wearing a skullcap came and knocked on the window. When the clergyman let the window down, the passerby spat in his face. The clergyman preferred not to lodge a complaint with the police and told an acquaintance that he was used to being spat at by Jews. Many Jerusalem clergy have been subjected to abuse of this kind. For the most part, they ignore it but sometimes they cannot.“

Some Say Religious People Live Longer…

We’ve all seen the many, mostly US studies, that suggest that religious people live longer.  Especially those that attend religious services on a weekly basis or greater.

A puzzling paradox to me then is why the nations with the greatest longevity are largely those that are the least religious.  Sweden, for example, has been considered the least religious nation in the EU yet it’s people live significantly longer than Americans, who are the most religious.  Swedes live longer on average than even Canadians with the exception of the Canadian sub group who live in British Columbia.

Evidently the adage that “correlation is not causation,” proves truthful again.  Or, what do you think?

George Bush opines on the Bible and Evolution

President Bush was recently asked about his opinions on creationism and evolution. The bit below is nicked from the UK’s “the Telegraph.”

“I think you can have both,” Mr Bush, who leaves office January 20, told ABC television, adding “You’re getting me way out of my lane here. I’m just a simple president.”

But “evolution is an interesting subject. I happen to believe that evolution doesn’t fully explain the mystery of life,” said the president, an outspoken Christian who often invokes God in his speeches.

“I think that God created the Earth, created the world; I think the creation of the world is so mysterious it requires something as large as an almighty and I don’t think it’s incompatible with the scientific proof that there is evolution,” he told ABC television.

Asked whether the Bible was literally true, Mr Bush replied: “Probably not. No, I’m not a literalist, but I think you can learn a lot from it.”

David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network told CNN”s John Roberts on Thursday, “I think a lot of social conservative evangelicals were surprised — probably grabbing the smelling salts as we speak.”

A question I’m interested in hearing about is “how important is it anyway to take a literal interpretation of the Bible?”  If this were 1980, would Bush’s opinion make a difference in the election outcome?  Many “emergent church” representatives gave Bush some half-baked kudos on his remarks and conceded that they felt the same way, what do you think?

God’s Problem (Theodicy)

Somewhere way back when, I took a comparative religion course and it was interesting. Mostly, it focused on how other religions compared to the central teachings of Christianity. One parameter that I don’t recall considering with any depth was the problem of pain/suffering.

The essential problem of human suffering is often referred to as theodicy, a term coined by Leibniz. The problem is familiar, or at least intuitive, to most people: 1) God is all powerful; 2) God is loving; 3) There is suffering. Bart Ehrman, in his recent book, “God’s Problem,” illustrates the history of the problem by referring to David Hume who pointed out the essential problem as stated by the ancient Greek thinker, Epicurus: “Is God willing to prevent evil but not able? Then He is impotent. Is He able but not willing? Then He is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Whence, then, evil?” Let it be known that Ehrman’s book is not written from the standpoint of faith but rather the standpoint of one who has left the faith over this very issue. Nevertheless, it is instructive for a stark and challenging understanding of the issue.

Neo-Buddhist teaching, and perhaps, classical Buddhist teaching, says that enlightenment is the end of suffering. One modern teacher explains this as meaning that we create our own suffering by the relentless, repetitive thought processes that most of us, most of the time, are unconscious of. Our thoughts create emotional pain seems to be the main idea and as we react to thoughts we act out in ways that affect others. There is truth to this but it does not explain the suffering of illness, catastrophic weather, accidental injury, or even death. It is also worth pointing out that this line of thought is also not alien to the Christian scriptures.

Christian teaching emphasizes not only this however, but more than I can summarize here. Sufficient to say that it recognizes a multifactorial approach to the problem of pain and suffering. From the Bible’s perspective on creation, randomness has entered human experience, and the world and its inhabitants are imperfect. Part of this approach also touches on free will and human responsibility. One could also look to presuppositions of eternity over and against time to bring perspective to the issue as well. The Bible teaches that God has a purpose in suffering and Ehrman is quick to point out how the Old Testament is clear that God sends suffering on people (though this is not the effective cause of all suffering).

I remember the opportunity I had many years ago to talk with Carl Henry over coffee when I was in Seminary and the topic at hand was theodicy. He gave pause to admit the magnitude of the issue and then said that the words of Joseph to his brothers after they had sought his help in Egypt, had always been meaningful to him. They had previously sold Joseph to become a slave but eventually he had arisen to become a governor. In a place of absolute power over those same brothers, he addressed their past mistreatment of him. He said, “you meant it for evil but God meant it for good?”

What do you think? Is God all powerful? Is God Good? Is God?

Student Sues Over Art Project

This image comes from the Fox news site where a story was reported concerning a Tomah, Wisconsin, High School student who has filed a law suit after receiving a “0″ on an art project that included a depiction of a cross and a bible verse reference. 

We hear so much today about tolerance,” said David Cortman, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal advocacy group representing the student. “But where is the tolerance for religious beliefs? The whole purpose of art is to reflect your own personal experience. To tell a student his religious beliefs can legally be censored sends the wrong message.”

The student, who had been asked by his art teacher Julie Millin, to remove the cross and bible verse from his landscape because other students were talking about it, refused.  She gave him a zero.  When shown the policy that that prohibited any violence, blood, sexual connotations or religious beliefs in artwork, he tore it up in front of the class and received two detentions.

Seemingly inconsistent with the policy are the notable other religious symbols on campus including a six armed Hindu deity, and a Buddha.

Drawings of Medusa, the Grim Reaper with a scythe and a being with a horned head and protruding tongue hang in the art room and demonic masks are displayed in the metals room, the lawsuit alleges.

The Fox News article

 

Josh Hamilton: Faith-based recovery

 

North Carolina’s Josh Hamilton was a local baseball legend, even as a teen.  A news story summarizes, “ When he was barely 15, Hamilton was already a North Carolina sports legend. He was that rarest of finds, a true five-tool player. Left-handed, he was so gifted that he occasionally played shortstop and even hoped to be a catcher. But coaches were too protective of his arm because when he pitched, he hit 95-96 mph. When he played the outfield, nobody ran on him. When he hit, everybody gasped at the power.After signing with the Tampa Bay Devil-Rays in 1999, fresh out of high school, his life began to unwind.”

About his recovery and Christian testimony, the Dallas News says, “If Hamilton could shake his habit – it included downing a bottle of Crown Royal almost daily and cocaine and crack cravings so strong he burned through a $3.96 million signing bonus – and finally get to the big leagues last season, there had to be a reason.”

Click here to read the whole story

How Contemporary?

As a Lutheran pastor working in secular employment for the last 8 years, I’ve been startled by the monolithic movement towards contemporary worship.  Contemporary worship was certainly not unknown to the reformers and is not undesirable in itself.  What is astonishing however, is the extent to which normally sensible individuals and congregations will go in order to draw near to contemporary worship’s cutting edge. 

Many of the reformation hymns were based on common tunes sung in the streets and public houses and as such caught the attention and imagination of the common people.  This was good.  There is no reason that the modern church should intentionally be obtuse and incomprehensible to the average person.  Even so, how meaningful is it to come into a worship service that is opened with a troupe of hip-hop dancers and followed by a blaring rock band blurting out mostly vapid, ambiguous lyrics?  What on earth do dramatic lighting, elaborate stage sets, and fog machines have to do with worship of the living God?

Doctor Arthur Just Jr., in an article on the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, home page writes, “However, many do not realize that Lutheran worship is its own culture, distinct from the pop culture and the evangelical culture of Christianity in our country today. The church must develop and maintain its own cultural language that reflects the values and structures of the Scriptures and not of the current culture. This church language can only be shaped by a biblical theology which affirms the real presence of Jesus Christ in worship and our belief that this presence binds the culture together as a community. The context that shapes our distinct Lutheran ethos is Scripture, theology, and history. Local circumstance is secondary. Traditionally, this Lutheran culture is liturgical, theological, and counter- cultural.”

Whether Lutheran, Baptist, Episcopal, or Pentecostal, shouldn’t there truly be something counter-cultural about Christian worship?