Aug. 8, 2008, marks the commencement of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. . . . In preparation, the Chinese are scrambling to upgrade Beijing’s appearance, both in billions of investment dollars to revamp the city’s facilities and by cracking down on elements it fears will run counter to the central government’s rigid agenda while the world watches. Among those elements are foreign missionaries.
That’s what an article at Baptist Bulletin is claiming.
One of the major influences paving the road back to Roman Catholicism is the emerging church movement. Proponents say it’s time for Christianity to be reinvented for a new generation. It must become more relevant to a postmodern generation. They say the best way to reinvent Christianity for the present generation is to reintroduce ideas and experiences from the past. Emergent leaders say God’s Word no longer holds the answers to life’s questions. Experience must become the key factor to encounter spiritual reality.
You have most likely read about David van Biema’s story “Mother Teresa’s Crisis of Faith,” which appeared on the cover of this week’s TIME Magazine. Biema’s article is based on the findings disclosed in Brian Kolodiejchuk’s new book, Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light, which publishes letters written my Mother Teresa (Wikipedia) never before made public.
Here is a statement that represents well the inner struggles and doubts that she experienced:
Jesus has a very special love for you. As for me, the silence and the emptiness is so great that I look and do not see, listen and do not hear. —Mother Teresa to the Rev. Michael Van Der Peet, September 1979
The Reverend Robert Whipkey, a 53-year-old catholic priest in Frederick, Colorado, was caught jogging in the nude on a high school track at 4:35 AM (about an hour before sunrise) on June 22. He said that he “didn’t think anyone would be around at that time of day” and that “he sweats profusely if he wears clothing while jogging.” He also admits that what he did was wrong and is facing a charge of indecent exposure with a court date set for September 14. If convicted, Whipkey will become a registered sex offender.
If you’ve had many conversations with Roman Catholics, you’re probably well aware that many like to compare the one, unified Roman Catholic Church with the divided and splintered Protestant church, which has spawned tens of thousands of denominations.
The Bible alone, and the Bible in its entirety, is the Word of God written and is therefore inerrant in the autographs. God is a Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each an uncreated person, one in essence, equal in power and glory.
The problems with such a broad statement became apparent (again) in Francis Beckwith’s recent reversion to Roman Catholicism, who, although he resigned, was convinced that in good conscience he could have continued to be a member.
Neste and Burk are proposing that the ETS merge its statement with the statement of belief used by the U.K.’s Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF), which is also the doctrinal basis for the U.K.’s Tyndale Fellowship.
The Bible alone, and the Bible in its entirety, is the Word of God written and is therefore inerrant in the autographs. This written word of God consists of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments and is the supreme authority in all matters of belief and behavior.
God is a Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each an uncreated person, one in essence, equal in power and glory.
The italicized text is the current ETS doctrinal basis. The second point is unchanged. The added statement to the first point would eliminate Roman Catholics, whose definition of the written word of God would encompass more than the the 66 books accepted by Protestants.
There’s been a lot of talk this week about the Pope’s comments regarding those outside of the Roman Catholic Church. Eastern Orthodoxy, even though separated, does warrant the label “Church.” Protestant bodies, however, are not properly called “Churches.”
The Pope’s comments came in response to five questions regarding the nature of the Catholic church and recent apparent changes in Catholic ecclesiological teaching.
Here are the questions with excerpts from the answers:
Did the Second Vatican Council change the Catholic doctrine on the Church?
The Second Vatican Council neither changed nor intended to change this doctrine, rather it developed, deepened and more fully explained it. . . .
What is the meaning of the affirmation that the Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church?
Christ “established here on earth” only one Church and instituted it as a “visible and spiritual community,” that from its beginning and throughout the centuries has always existed and will always exist, and in which alone are found all the elements that Christ himself instituted. . . .
Why was the expression “subsists in” adopted instead of the simple word “is”?
The use of this expression, which indicates the full identity of the Church of Christ with the Catholic Church, does not change the doctrine on the Church. Rather, it comes from and brings out more clearly the fact that there are “numerous elements of sanctification and of truth” which are found outside her structure, but which “as gifts properly belonging to the Church of Christ, impel towards Catholic Unity.” . . .
Why does the Second Vatican Council use the term “Church” in reference to the oriental Churches separated from full communion with the Catholic Church?
The Council wanted to adopt the traditional use of the term. “Because these Churches, although separated, have true sacraments and above all—because of the apostolic succession—the priesthood and the Eucharist, by means of which they remain linked to us by very close bonds,” they merit the title of “particular or local Churches,” and are called sister Churches of the particular Catholic Churches. . . .
Why do the texts of the Council and those of the Magisterium since the Council not use the title of “Church” with regard to those Christian Communities born out of the Reformation of the sixteenth century?
According to Catholic doctrine, these Communities do not enjoy apostolic succession in the sacrament of Orders, and are, therefore, deprived of a constitutive element of the Church. These ecclesial Communities which, specifically because of the absence of the sacramental priesthood, have not preserved the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic Mystery cannot, according to Catholic doctrine, be called “Churches” in the proper sense.
Some have been shocked that the Pope would make such statements. Others have been shocked that anyone would be shocked. The former group sees this as a major step backwards in terms of ecumenical progress. The latter group sees this as consistent with historical Catholic teaching. I tend to think that it does seem to be slightly out of line with the recent trajectory of Roman Catholic ecclesiology.
The Roman Catholic Church in China, which has an estimated 12 million adherents, has been estranged from Rome and the Pope’s authority since 1951. In an attempt to bring this wayward body back into full harmony with the rest of the Catholic church, including China’s own faithful Catholics in the underground church, the Pope submitted a 55-page letter to China and the Chinese Catholics “denouncing restrictions placed on Catholics in China” and “insisting that Chinese bishops, priests and worshipers be loyal to Rome,” but also stating “areas of potential compromise with Chinese authorities.”
From the beginning of his papacy, Benedict has been interested in the plight of Chinese Catholics and has been keen to heal the divisions in China. Saturday’s document is by far the biggest step to date in that campaign.
The history of the church in China is full of tumult and tragedy, from the expulsion of foreign priests soon after the communist takeover to purges during the Cultural Revolution.
Vatican officials say they believe they have an opening now, as China institutes some reforms and looks to gain acceptance in the West.
The pope said he perceived an increase in religious awareness and interest in China.
Quoting his predecessor, the late Pope John Paul II, Benedict said he hoped for a “great harvest of faith” in Asia in the third millennium.
The Pope hopes for the end of the nearly 1000-year divide between Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.
Pope Benedict XVI told a visiting Cypriot Orthodox leader Saturday that he holds hope that the Catholic and Orthodox churches can be united, despite centuries of painful division.
. . .
Archbishop Chrysostomos II of Cyprus has offered to play the role of mediator to try to arrange a groundbreaking meeting between the pope and the Orthodox patriarch of Moscow, Alexy II. That encounter eluded the late John Paul II in his long papacy because of Catholic-Orthodox tensions following the demise of Soviet communism.
In a speech to the archbishop after their private session, Benedict said he held “firm hope” of uniting the two churches.
Here are today’s bullet points:
.
That’s what 
You have most likely read about David van Biema’s story 
The Reverend 
If you’ve had many conversations with Roman Catholics, you’re probably well aware that many like to compare the one, unified Roman Catholic Church with the divided and splintered Protestant church, which has spawned tens of thousands of denominations.
There is an effort underway to amend 
There’s been a lot of talk this week about 
The 
Pulpit Magazine recently finished a 
