THEOdyssey

Image Problem?

So, there is an article in the Time Magazine that reports on a new book/study from the Barna Group about a study of perceptions of Christianity.  It seems that people are reporting an increasingly negative view of Christianity than before, and that this is most common among 16-29 year olds.  A key quote from the Barna press release:

Interestingly, the study discovered a new image that has steadily grown in prominence over the last decade. Today, the most common perception is that present-day Christianity is "anti-homosexual." Overall, 91% of young non-Christians and 80% of young churchgoers say this phrase describes Christianity. As the research probed this perception, non-Christians and Christians explained that beyond their recognition that Christians oppose homosexuality, they believe that Christians show excessive contempt and unloving attitudes towards gays and lesbians. One of the most frequent criticisms of young Christians was that they believe the church has made homosexuality a "bigger sin" than anything else. Moreover, they claim that the church has not helped them apply the biblical teaching on homosexuality to their friendships with gays and lesbians.

When young people were asked to identify their impressions of Christianity, one of the common themes was "Christianity is changed from what it used to be" and "Christianity in today’s society no longer looks like Jesus." These comments were the most frequent unprompted images that young people called to mind, mentioned by one-quarter of both young non-Christians (23%) and born again Christians (22%).

There is also a marked unfavorable rating of "Evangelicals" by non-Christians in this age group, with only three percent saying that they had a favorable view.

I wonder why this is the case.  As for the unfavorable view of Evangelicals perhaps this is a result of Evangelicals being represented in the public mind by people like James Dobson, Jerry Falwell, and President Bush; rather than by people such as Rick Warren, John Stott, or Billy Graham?  Is the public perception of Evangelicals bad because of bad press.  The information given about the study seems to indicate this as Jesus gets good ratings.  Another question is that if these Evangelicals and other Christians are giving Christianity a bad name with today's young people, what can be done about giving Christianity a better image without compromising the faith.

There is one section, though, that is so ironic it makes me laugh:

One of the groups hit hardest by the criticism is evangelicals. Such believers have always been viewed with skepticism in the broader culture. However, those negative views are crystallizing and intensifying among young non-Christians. The new study shows that only 3% of 16 - to 29-year-old non-Christians express favorable views of evangelicals. This means that today’s young non-Christians are eight times less likely to experience positive associations toward evangelicals than were non-Christians of the Boomer generation (25%).

The research shows that many Christians are innately aware of this shift in people’s perceptions of Christianity: 91% of the nation’s evangelicals believe that "Americans are becoming more hostile and negative toward Christianity." Among senior pastors, half contend that "ministry is more difficult than ever before because people are increasingly hostile and negative toward Christianity."

Go and read the whole thing!

Bryan

Rudy Guliani in the News

Not that there is a Republican candidate that I would vote for in the next election (well that is not really true.  I have voted for Huckabee before, but that was only because I have actually bumped into him, I do not know if I think he has enough experience to be President.) but I do like to follow the news of the election cycle and there has been a little aggregation of some details of Gulinani stories over the last couple of weeks.  The one that is especially interesting to me is the second one about the phone call from his wife during a speech the other day.  It seemed fishy to me because he has some well publicized family troubles and this seemed a little suspicious.  The article also provides some religious information about the former Mayor of New York, which is also interesting in light of some other controversies between his beliefs and the teachings of the Catholic Church.  I do not know about anyone else, but the religious issues in this campaign seem a little more forced to me that those of previous elections.  This is not just the case with Republicans but also with the Democrats.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2007/09/giuliani-speaks.html

Sweet!

Sweet, an article on the potential to power things based on just walking around

For the Episcopal Church

Every one of the popular modern phrases and ideals is a dodge in order to shirk the problem of what 

is good. We are fond of talking about "liberty"; that, as we talk of it, is a dodge to avoid discussing 

what is good.  We are fond of talking about "progress"; that is a dodge to avoid discussing what is 

good. We are fond of talking about "education"; that is a dodge to avoid discussing what is good.  

The modern man says, "Let us leave all these arbitrary standards and embrace liberty." 

This is, logically rendered, "Let us not decide what is good, but let it be considered good not to 

decide it."  He says, "Away with your old moral formulae; I am for progress." This, logically 

stated, means, "Let us not settle what is good; but let us settle whether we are getting more of it." 

He says, "Neither in religion nor morality, my friend, lie the hopes of the race, but in education."  

This, clearly expressed, means, "We cannot decide what is good, but let us give it to our children."

- G.K. Chesterton, Heretics

I don't think he has much chance...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20827350/

So you want to understand the Iraq War 2

Here is a longish article that was in the NY Times magazine that was about the author of the piece on Generalship I posted earlier.  It also goes on about other midranking officers and some clashes between them and Senior Army comanders.

The Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta

  I was leaving the house this morning and it so happened that the last story I heard on the news was about The Blessed Mother Theresa.  This topic is not new to the blog world, but I feel it necessary to contribute my two cents.  As outlined by a new book formed from her correspondence (you can find the news story in the cover article in this weeks Time), Mother Theresa spent much of her life in a state that the great majority of believers recognize at once, something known as the dark night of the soul. 

  Mother Theresa began her work in India as an educator, but she felt Jesus’ call to serve the poorest of the slums.  Despite initial reservations from her superiors, Mother Theresa began this work alone and built up an organization to fulfill God’s call.  Just as she was accomplishing this, she felt God’s presence withdraw from her life.  From the late 1940’s until her death, save for a brief time in the 1950s, she felt tortured by this darkness.  This was something she kept private between herself and close confidants. 

  A saint is, in one way, not a hero.  A hero depends on their own strength or nerve to overcome adversity, a saint knows that they have only God.  Neither is a saint perfect, but they know that God will overcome their imperfections.  Though she at times did not recognize Him in her own life; we, outside looking in, can see that God strengthened Mother Theresa to do His will.  He gave her grace to not only help, as she could, the poor of Calcutta; but also to be an inspiration to us of how a person can overcome our dark nights of the soul to unite our will to His.

Bryan

  We praise you, O God, for the gift of your servant: The Blessed Mother Theresa.  Give grace to us, as you did to her, that we may find hidden strength in our dark nights and may do your will.  In Jesus’ holy name we pray to you.  Amen.

Gene Robinson To Get Civil Partnership'd

Hellooooo excommunication, and rest in pieces the Episcopal Church. The (in)famous Right Reverend Gene Robinson of New Hampshire has recently made a statement that might shake the Communion in America, and I'm sure the Archbishop of Nigeria isn't going to like at all.

Earlier Robinson nearly caused schism within the Episcopal Church when he openly declared he was a practicing homosexual. Unitarianesque Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori didn't help matters when she declared that this was a perfectly fine practice for bishops within the Communion. Of course, within traditional Anglicanism this is not known to be normal, and many Pastors decided they didn't want to be under the guiding wing of P.B. Katharine anymore. In turn she threatened to sue those who left. The Archbishop Peter Akinola has been a forerunner among the voice of opposition against Robinson and his position within the Church.

Michael Buerk of BBC Radio 4 has just conducted an interview with Robinson, and Robinson has declared that he and his partner will join in Civil Partnership only a few weeks before the large scale Lambeth Conference:

Church

of

England Newspaper

: Civil partnership for  Gene Robinson
by Ed Beaven

The Bishop of New Hampshire, the Rt Rev V Gene Robinson, is to enter into a Civil Partnership with his long-term partner just weeks before next year’s Lambeth Conference. The openly gay cleric, whose consecration as Bishop of New Hampshire in 2003 caused outrage among traditionalist wings of the Anglican Communion and has placed the Church on the brink of schism, unveiled his intention during an interview to be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 next week, in a programme entitled the Choice. Interviewed by Michael Buerk, Bishop Robinson denied the plan to hold the ceremony next June had been chosen to be deliberately provocative.

He  said: “The decision to take advantage of the new law that will come into effect  in

New  Hampshire

on January 1 is simply our taking advantage of the kinds of rights which are now being made open to gay and lesbian people in

New  Hampshire

. “I am certainly not doing that to rub salt into anyone’s wounds, but no one should expect me to penalise me and my partner when these rights are being offered. “We were looking for a three-day weekend which would allow people to travel more easily, and that happened to be the fifth anniversary of my election as the Bishop of New Hampshire and thought that would be an appropriate date. “I think the fact is my critics would find any date impermissible.”

He also tells about his love for the Anglican Communion, but said he would never stand down from his role as it would be going against God’s call on his life. He said: “I love the Anglican Church and I value the Communion and I will do everything short of standing down to benefit the Communion.

“But I will not reject God’s call to me. If I were to disappear tomorrow does anyone think these questions are to go away either for the Episcopal Church or the Anglican Communion? I don’t think so.”

When asked about his thoughts on how his consecration as Bishop had placed the Church on the road to schism, Bishop Robinson admitted that the Episcopal Church may have got it wrong. He said: “This was not just my doing this was an entire community’s doing, and that community tried its very best to discern the will of God, and we may be wrong, I am ready to admit to you that I cannot be sure that this is the right thing or the right time or the right way.

“I believe that Peter Akinola, the Archbishop of Nigeria, one of the primary spokespeople against my election, I believe he is following his call from God as best as he can, I just wish he could believe I am following my call from God as best I can.”

The  interview is on Radio 4 on Tuesday August 28 at 9am

U.K.

  time

--This article appears on page 1 of the August 24th,  2007, edition of the Church of England Newspaper

So there you have it. The action of Robinson doesn't really surprise me. What I don't understand that if the man wants to live an openly homosexual lifestyle, complete with civil union, then why in the world become a Bishop within the Anglican Communion? There are so many other religions out there, Unitarians for one, that would welcome this man with no conflict. I don't see why Robinson would join the clergy of the Episcopal Church and then try to change what it means to be Episcopalian. The whole scenario screams of the man's agenda. Hypothetically, If I was to convert to Islam and become a Muslim Cleric I would do so because I believed what Islam taught, unless I joined with the intention of changing things to the way I think they should be within Islam. I don't see any way that Robinson can say he didn't have this kind of in mind from the beginning. If you're going to join a certain religion, at least believe what the religion believes and don't use it as some sort of war machine for your personal agenda.

The Wal-Martizing of American Christianity

This is a rather older article, but I thought it was pretty interesting.

It reminds me of something I heard a while ago.  Americans are expected to be consumers, and conversion just leads to the expectation we will buy Christian t-shirts and CCM.

The Transfiguration by Sufjan Stevens

When he took the three disciples
to the mountainside to pray,
his countenance was modified, his clothing was aflame.
Two men appeared: Moses and Elijah came;
they were at his side.
The prophecy, the legislation spoke of whenever he would die.

Then there came a word
of what he should accomplish on the day.
Then Peter spoke, to make of them a tabernacle place.
A cloud appeared in glory as an accolade.
They fell on the ground.
A voice arrived, the voice of God,
the face of God, covered in a cloud.

What he said to them,
the voice of God: the most beloved son.
Consider what he says to you, consider what's to come.
The prophecy was put to death,
was put to death, and so will the Son.
And keep your word, disguise the vision till the time has come.

Lost in the cloud, a voice: Have no fear! We draw near!
Lost in the cloud, a sign: Son of man! Turn your ear!
Lost in the cloud, a voice: Lamb of God! We draw near!
Lost in the cloud, a sign: Son of man! Son of God!