Saturday, June 24, 2017

Catholics and Protestants into closer union

...Peter Kreeft wants to know:

"Peter Kreeft has a remarkable gift for expressing complex issues in lucid, accurate, and pithy ways. He also has the fairness and insight needed to undertake a tractate to bring Catholics and Protestants into closer union. This book will no doubt help understanding and dialog between both."
— Robert J. Spitzer, S.J., Author, The Soul's Upward Yearning

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"No one has taught me more about what healthy ecumenism looks like than the brilliant and eloquent Peter Kreeft. He is a peerless apologist for truth and has been an inspiration to me for over two decades on the happy and vital connections between serious Catholic and evangelical faith."
— Eric Metaxas, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author, Bonhoeffer; Host of the Eric Metaxas Show

Print

~~$16.95~~ $11.86*

eBook

~~$16.95~~ $11.02

*Use promo code PR2017 to save 30%** on the print edition at checkout.

Archbishop John Quinn dead at 88

Archbishop John Quinn dead at 88: Retired San Francisco Archbishop John R. Quinn, who led the archdiocese from 1977-95, died June 22 just six days after leaving hospital for skilled nursing care

Pro-life talk at Google headquarters was a hit: Within 24 hours, online video of presentation surpassed a similar speech given by the head of Planned Parenthood

I can’t handle more than one child right now: Parents of a three-year old share concerns about new pregnancy in front of the abortion clinic

Friday, June 23, 2017

Nervous about your Muslim neighbors?

Illinois Catholic bishop decrees no Holy Communion, funerals for same-sex couples
The Washington Post: Springfield, Ill., bishop calls on priests to deny Holy Communion and even funeral rites to people in same-sex unions unless they show "some signs of repentance" for their relationships before death.

My visit to the land of teenagers
Religion News Service: David Gushee offers his impressions about today's teenagers, following a weeklong immersion experience with his church's youth group, on retreat in Panama City, Fla.

Have eulogy, will travel
Baptist News Global: It is amazing how often these days a total stranger is willing to pay a pastor to lead a funeral service, says Russ Dean.
Sharon (Penn.) Herald: What is the pastor's job at a funeral?

Nervous about your Muslim neighbors? Then invite them over for dinner
Deseret News: Research has shown that even a brief interaction between members of different faiths can improve the way members feel about each other.

US judge halts deportation of more than 100 Iraqi Christians
The (London) Guardian: A federal district judge on Thursday temporarily blocked the deportation of more than 100 Iraqi Christians who attorneys said would face death or persecution if returned to their birth country.

What's Wrong with the World?

What's Wrong with the World?

That was a question that, the story goes, a journalist once asked G. K. Chesterton. He is said to reply, "Me." The story may be apocryphal, but it is certainly Chesterton-esque. And certainly the right answer. Another fine writer, Wendell Berry, seems to be coming to the same conclusion.

Berry sometimes slips into pompous finger wagging at everyone and everything not like him or his farming community. But his critiques of our obeisance to technology and efficiency—well, they are often spot on. Yet the careful reader will note, even in his most searing essays, he's not unwilling to announce a mea culpa.

That's what Josh Retterer at Mockingbird noted as he listened to Berry during a round table discussion. At one point, Berry quotes from the book the panel is discussing (Paul Kingsnorth's Confessions of a Recovering Environmentalist):

Traditional leftist activism entrenches a kind of dependency. It involves identifying an enemy and then taking it on. There is always a them who needs to sort out the problem. And that gives us, the dis-empowered but righteous masses, more of an excuse to wash our hands of our own complicity or simply to never get them dirty in the first place.

Later Berry says,

Living well is something that none of us is doing in a complete or perfect way. We are all complicit in the things that we oppose. That's where it gets interesting. None of us are going to die free of sin. I think we are in Original Sin, round 2.

I know I'm living in fantasy land, but how interesting it would be to hear opponents in some cultural argument first admit how they themselves contribute to the problem under discussion.

Delightful Critic

More from my favorite liberal, Camille Paglia. I have a weakness for those who have the courage and vigor and wit to criticize their own—especially when their arguments are grounded in what seems to me to be common sense. She's not exactly the model of humility I admire above, so I'll never be accused of consistency. Then again, even when she skewers something I happen to believe, I can't help but smile because of the delightful way she does it.

'Overprotective Parenting Is a Threat to Democracy'

That's the overly dramatic subtitle to an otherwise interesting article on parenting trends today. Much of this has been noted before, but I appreciate how Pratik Chougule brings a number of trends together under the same umbrella. I'm a skeptic that "unprecedented levels of supervision and control over children's lives" will lead to the collapse of democracy, but I still think it's a fairly serious trend that needs attention.

Caught by Grace

I have to admit Sanya Richards-Ross has not been a name for me, but she was an Olympian back in 2004, 2008, and 2012. And one who had an abortion so that she could compete in the 2008 Olympics. This is a very sad moment indeed, especially when one ponders how many women (and the men in their lives prompting them) think the sacrifice of a child is not too great to pursue some life goal. At any rate, these terrible moments seem to be the one that God is fond of using to turn people around. Richards-Ross talks about how she had been chasing God for years only to discover that it was God's grace that was chasing her. Read more here.

Grace and peace,

Mark Galli
Editor in Chief, Christianity Today

Thursday, June 22, 2017

most Czechs don’t believe in God

Unlike their Central and Eastern European neighbors, most Czechs don’t believe in God

The vast majority of adults in Central and Eastern Europe identify with a religious group and believe in God, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey of 18 countries in the region. But those in one country are an exception to this pattern: the Czech Republic, where a majority of the population is religiously unaffiliated and does not believe in God. About seven-in-ten Czechs (72%) do not identify with a religious group, while on a separate question, two-thirds (66%) say they do not believe in God.

Monks, memes, and medieval art

Monks, memes, and medieval art

The digitization of medieval illuminated manuscripts has made this art form widely available to modern audiences.

When Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press around 1440 in Germany, everything changed. For the first time, words didn't have to be meticulously hand-copied and multiple copies of books could be printed at one time. The first book to be mass printed? The Bible. Finally the sacred text, long the purview of monastics and the wealthy, became available to everyone-regardless of class.

But the Bible had existed in print long before Gutenberg's printing press. In the Middle Ages, it was largely monks who printed and bound books of scripture-by hand. The process was painstaking. The results were beautiful. They reproduced the words in delicate calligraphy, and images accompanied the stories. Each page was a unique work of art and a testament to the beauty of God's word.

Referred to as "illuminated manuscripts," these books were not widely available. At first they were used only for private worship in the monasteries where they had been created. Some secrets can't be kept forever, though, and soon members of the ruling class and high-ranking church officials wanted their own illustrated texts. They began paying these monks to create original copies of the Bible specifically for them.

Eventually demand grew past the ability of monks to meet it, and by the 12th century religious orders no longer had the monopoly on bookmaking. Secular artists and scribes saw value in the manuscript-making business and took up the craft. But each copy of the Bible took years to make, so the manuscripts remained few and far between.

Today perhaps the most famous remaining illuminated manuscript is the Book of Kells, located at Trinity College in Dublin. Every year more than 500,000 visitors view the book, far more than ever would have seen the manuscript when it was new. However, even given the Book of Kells' popularity, you are still hard-pressed to find anyone who has seen an illuminated manuscript in person. For centuries, these books remained just as rare and precious as they had always been.

This has changed, however, thanks to recent advancements in technology. Scholars have begun teaming up with technological experts to scan illuminated manuscripts, publish them online, and bring this art form to the world. Today, people around the world can view medieval art and come to appreciate what these manuscripts reveal about human history. New audiences are coming to appreciate the monks' careful and contemplative practice. These works are remarkable in how they translate faith into art and bring to life the word of God.

Read more

Biblical dominion and 'The Handmaids Tale'

Evening prayer is a way to honor the cycle of time

To pray vespers is to become alive to a liturgical cycle that flows throughout the week, each office of worship informing the next.

Read more

What does it mean to lean in to the gospel?

Revisiting stories as we search for our humanity and deeper truths is in part what Christians do each Sunday as we listen to the gospel. But it happens in other ways throughout the week as well.

Biblical dominion and 'The Handmaids Tale'

Hulu's new show portrays a world where the bodies of women are used and discarded, exploited much like the land and water Gilead's people have destroyed.

Monks, memes, and medieval art

The digitization of medieval illuminated manuscripts has made this art form widely available to modern audiences.

Who blew up Mosul’s al-Nuri mosque?

Abortion adds obstacle as Republicans plan to unveil health bill
THE NEW YORK TIMES*
Funeral, vigil for Muslim teen killed in attack near mosque draw throngs
THE WASHINGTON POST*
Attacker shouted ‘Allahu akbar’ before stabbing police officer at Michigan airport, FBI says
LOS ANGELES TIMES*
Did Billy Graham’s wife shape their son Franklin more than he did?
THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER*
AP, Charlotte Observer seek access in church beating case
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
In Ramadan, Muslim diabetics toe a fine line
RELIGION NEWS SERVICE
Two Detroit-area moms charged in probe of genital mutilation
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

International Headlines

U.S. on collision course with Syria and Iran once de facto Islamic State capital falls
THE WASHINGTON POST*
Battle for Mosul: Destruction of al-Nuri mosque ‘shows IS defeated’
BBC NEWS
Archbishop says Church of England ‘colluded with’ sex abuse
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Israeli airline can’t make women move seats for religious reasons, court rules
THE GUARDIAN
Indonesian Islamic sect say they’re ‘denied state IDs’ over their beliefs
REUTERS
29 dead after car bomb hits Afghan bank in restive Helmand province, governor says
THE WASHINGTON POST*
Ramadan on the Afghan frontline: After heavy fighting, hunger and boredom
THE GUARDIAN
Islamic State-linked militants storm new village in Philippines
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL*
Attempted Brussels attack ‘could have been far worse,’ Belgian prime minister says
THE WASHINGTON POST*

Analysis & Commentary

Who blew up Mosul’s al-Nuri mosque?
THE ATLANTIC
Meet the bishops, rabbis, and pastors taking a stand against Obamacare repeal
VOX
Our outdated debates
FIRST THINGS
FBI fired Sebastian Gorka for anti-Muslim diatribes
THE DAILY BEAST
Kamala Harris, speak up. Don’t be silent on women’s rights
THE NEW YORK TIMES

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Ministry Partnership Opportunity

"Studio" is a 12 week internship training course with a focus on reaching Muslims for Jesus Christ. The program was started by Brad and Lisa Leeger, who were involved in long-term missions to the Islamic world in Africa and Northern India. Studio is currently seeking short-term housing for its new recruits in the City Heights and College areas of San Diego. If you would like to consider a partnership with Studio to provide housing, or may know of someone would rent housing to Studio interns for the 12 week course, please contact Brad Leeger at bradleeger@interculturalstudio.org for more information.