Easter 2010: Three controversies
My reflections on Easter continue following this news item from Al Jazeera English, about which I will say more at the finish:
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My reflections on Easter continue following this news item from Al Jazeera English, about which I will say more at the finish:
I'm a Christian. I'm a supporter of the Greens. The two are by no means incompatible.
I believe firmly that church and state must remain separate bodies. They do, of course, interact. Religious organisations must conform to the laws of the land. Conversely, they are entitled, as much or as little as any other group, to provide input to the democratic process and to provide feedback to Government. Neither side of the ledger should abuse this relationship.
It's three weeks since Uncle Joe Ratzinger issued a fatwa announcing that there was only one church (the one he runs).
This week, however, brings the news of the reconciliation of two extra-Benedict(XVI)ine denominations, with the declaration of unity issued in Cairo by the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The announcement by World Council of Churches General Secretary Samuel Kobia can be found here.
If ever there was an argument for the separation of church and state, his name is Fred Nile.
Member of the NSW Legislative Council since 1981 (except for two months in 2004 when he ran for the Senate), Australia's answer to Jerry Falwell is heading the Christian Democratic Party ticket for the Upper House in the March 24 election.
Reverend Nile (a retired Uniting Church minister) always his cards fairly and squarely on the table, and this press release issued last Saturday is no exception:
A 21-year-old man was arrested on Monday after he allegedly tried to cash a cheque for USD 50,000 at the Chase Bank in Hobart, Indiana that was signed "King Savior, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Servant".
Associated Press takes up the story.
Fall Creek Baptist Church in Indianapolis have cancelled their plans to host a Super Bowl party on Sunday, to watch their Colts lose to the Bears, after the National Football League sent them a "cease and desist" letter.
You see, Fall Creek church, and thousands of other churches in the US, are infringing NFL trademarks and offering unauthorised public screenings of Super Bowl XLI without the poor impoverished League receiving a single cent in return.
Of course he does. What's the problem?
Outreach Media, a subsidiary of the non-denominational FEVA Ministries, produces a monthly series of colourful signs with attention-grabbing Christian messages, which it syndicates to churches around the country (mostly in Sydney, though I saw one in Newcastle recently).
Some examples of their handiwork, including a very clever Telstra parody, can be seen on their website. Last month, the theme, timed to coincide with the Ashes, was "Would you worship Jesus if he scored 10,000 Test runs?"
For information about the background to Christmas, see the BBC religion website.
See my previous items on Christmas 2004 and 2005.
Today, November 26, has been proclaimed a National Day of Prayer by the Heads of Christian Churches meeting in this time of severe drought.
The heads of Churches called for all Australians to pray for:
There is a lot more information, including prayer resources, at the National Council of Churches website.