Free Republic

Service of Reconciliation Marks ELCA Decisions on Same-Gender Relationships 09-199-FI CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A Saturday afternoon "Service of Reconciliation" drew about 150 people to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Charlotte, N.C. The special Sept. 12 worship brought together those who welcomed and those who were troubled by recent decisions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Voting members at the August 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis approved a series of proposals to change the denomination's ministry policies, including a policy to allow Lutherans in lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships to serve as ELCA associates in ministry, clergy, deaconesses and diaconal...

LAREDO — When Webb County sheriff's deputies started photographing the eerie, sometimes blood-soaked shrines to shrouded skeletal figurines found at the homes and stash houses of big-time drug dealers, it was with the sense they were glimpsing into the psyche of a subculture. That was a few years ago. Now, the elaborate displays of homage to the Santa Muerte, or holy death, seem more kitschy than creepy. The defiant faith that sinister-looking statues could summon netherworld power, which emerged as something associated with cartel kingpins tucked inside gated estates, has gone mainstream for the Mexican border's criminal element. Teens caught...

Accidental Similarities? This is the tale of two organizations with eerie similarities in how they evolved through the years. One is fictional, the other quite real. As far as we know, these similarities are not intentional, though this author believes in a Sovereign God – meaning there are no coincidences. Nobody knows for certain the origin of either organization. Both entities appeared and “history” was filled in after the fact to varying degrees. They gave rise to charismatic, authoritarian leaders whose power was rarely challenged. Each leader provides communications to the respective “collective”, insuring each “drone” has the official message,...

In reading an article and listening to the embedded video found here: http://www.apprising.org/archives/2008/02/roman_catholic.html I was led to the Vatican web site to verify some of the statements made on the video. The fellow on the video is not a charismatic speaker, but his material is most interesting - and his passion for TRUTH reaches a wonderful crescendo at 54 minutes into the video. The following extract from Vatican II shows that the RCC considers Hinduism, Buddhism, & Islam as valid religions through which one can find peace with God. Of course, there are some Truths tossed in to disarm the...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and president of the Lutheran World Federation, Geneva, responded today to an Oct. 11 letter sent to him and several global Christian leaders by 138 Muslim leaders from throughout the world. The 29-page open letter, "A Common Word Between You and Us," calls for Muslims and Christians to work more closely together for peace. Muslims and Christians together make up well over half of the world’s population," the Muslim leaders wrote. "Without peace and justice between these two religious communities, there can be...

Vision TV's Syncretism "Fundamentally Opposed" to Religious Faith Peter Kreeft says Vision TV adheres to secular humanist liberalism that is most dogmatically bigoted of all religions Part 4 in series By Hilary White TORONTO, August 1, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Canada's Vision TV multi-faith religious network says its programming "celebrates diversity" and "promotes understanding" between religions and cultures. Programs include the nationally broadcast Daily Catholic Mass, filmed in St. Michael's Cathedral in Toronto, and programs by Protestant, Muslim, Sikh and Hindu groups for which each organization buys airtime. But a recent National Post editorial pointed to "the channel's own original programming [that]...

To the Reverend Brother Cardinal Walter Kasper President of the Pontifical Council For Promoting Christian Unity 1. I am particularly glad, dear Brother, to give you the responsibility to convey my greetings and my sincere appreciation to all the Representatives of Churches, Ecclesial Communities and major world Religions who have gathered in Milan for this XVIII Meeting entitled "Religions and Cultures: the Courage to Forge a New Spiritual Humanism." For me it is a joy and a consolation to see that the pilgrimage of peace I started in Assisi in October 1986 did not stop. On the contrary, it continues...

*The Indian Express* reports an upsurge in Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists visiting Catholic shrines dedicated to the Blessed Mother. As it says in its report, [which we could not directly link due to technical problems]: "In an unexpected twist of globalization, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and other pilgrims regularly worship at famous Roman Catholic shrines to the Virgin Mary such as Lourdes in France and Fatima in Portugal. They drink the holy water, light votive candles and pray fervently to the Madonna for help with life's hardships. Many venerate her like one of their own goddesses, a view that would be...

An election Sunday at the 62nd convention of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod at America's Center in downtown St. Louis will decide whether the embattled president of the church will remain in office for another three years. At his installation in September 2001, Gerald B. Kieschnick said he would try to temper internal disputes that some say have thwarted the real work of the church for decades.Link to full story

Dr Williams, beware of false prophets (Filed: 04/07/2004) The Archbishop of Canterbury has again been pronouncing on British foreign policy. Last week, it emerged that Dr Rowan Williams had, with Dr David Hope, the Archbishop of York, written to the Prime Minister criticising "recent developments in Iraq and the Middle East". He singled out the "brutal and indecent" treatment of Iraqi detainees, and the alleged influence on the Bush administration of Christian Zionists, whose "interpretations of the Scriptures from outside the mainstream of the tradition" were "fostering an uncritical and one-sided approach to the future of the Holy Land". "Many...

Brahman, Atman, Karma and GunasThe breadth of Hindu religion accommodates a large variety of religious concepts. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan called it 'Hindu hospitality'. As a result we see varied forms of practice of Hinduism. From the surface it may even appear like different religions with no common thread or goal. Shankaracharya (788-820 C.E.) was responsible for the 'synthesis' of Hindu religion. But for the effort of Shankara, the chaotic and disorganized practices of many factions of Hinduism probably would have resulted in many splintered groups of religions. Shankara brilliantly unified the different practices into one religion that we call Hinduism...

This article was originally printed in America, Oct. 14, 2002, and is reprinted with permission of America Press, Inc. Copyright © 2002 All Rights Reserved. For subscription information, call 1-800-627-9533 or visit www.americamagazine.org Covenant and Mission By Avery Dulles On Aug. 12, 2002, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Web site published a story to the effect that the Bishops’ Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, in dialogue with the National Council of Synagogues, had just issued a document, Reflections on Covenant and Mission, stating that "targeting Jews for conversion to Christianity" is "no longer theologically acceptable in the...