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An International Missionary Outreach Dedicated to Evangelizing the Lost and Equipping the Church for Discernment

Weekly News In Review

February 19 - 25, 2006

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The following articles were posted at www.understandthetimes.org this past week:

Rare wooden Jesus figurine consecrated in Chennai church
Interreligious Dialogue Aids Religious Liberty, Says Pope
Evangelicals conflicted over global warming stand
Pope Says Peace Implies Respect for Religious Symbols
Israel Suspends Tax Money Flow to Palestinians
Bishop of Rome Explains His Universal Role
Lebanon, "a Message of Peaceful Coexistence"
Over 500 PhD Scientists Proclaim Their Doubts About Darwin's Theory
Religious Schools in UK to Teach About All Religions
Mexican bishop warns Catholics against deceptive cults
Iran would become top supplier of oil to China under deal
Religious UN To Be Set Up In Jerusalem?
Ky. students can't skip anti-gay harassment training
Can Islam and Christianity coexist? Vatican expert hopeful, but wary
Religious respect the only road to peace, fraternity for peoples of faith and good will, Pope tells Moroccan diplomat
Catholic-Buddhist dialog continues
'Emerging church' mixes constructive criticism with errors
Pet lovers on alert as virus kills nine dogs
Leading Christian, Jewish Congregational Experts To Share Innovations
Court Allows Church's Hallucinogenic Tea
Unmanned planes to monitor traffic
Ecumenism a Sign of the Times, Says Cardinal Kasper
Mel Gibson and New Film on Medjugorje

Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days

February 20, 2006 - Rare wooden Jesus figurine consecrated in Chennai church

Rare infant Jesus figurine carved from a single log of wood and imported from Czech capital Prague is attracting large crowds to a church here.

The rare figurine was installed at the St Theresas Church in Perambur on Sunday evening. It is believed that the figurine has the ability to cure ailments.

The statue is made up of wood. That is the special thing we have considered. So, far in India we have only a statue made up of plaster of Paris and clay. So, this is the special statue from abroad made up of single piece of wood. That is why we are giving respect to the statue, said Father Ignatius, the Parish Priest of the church.

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Article: Ecumenical Movement - Other Religions Uniting With Roman Catholics

February 20, 2006 - Interreligious Dialogue Aids Religious Liberty, Says Pope

VATICAN CITY, FEB. 20, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The promotion of dialogue between believers of various religions, especially between Christians and Muslims, fosters religious freedom, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope expressed this today when meeting bishops of the episcopal conference of Senegal, Mauritania, Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau, who were ending their five-yearly visit to Rome.

The Holy Father encouraged the bishops to live their ministry collaborating "with the men and women who do not share the Christian faith, in particular with Muslims," who are especially numerous in the countries that the bishops represent.

"The efforts made for an encounter in the truth of believers of diverse religious traditions contribute to the concrete realization of the authentic good of people and societies," he said.
According to the Bishop of Rome, "It is a duty to further increasingly-fraternal relations between communities to foster a harmonious development of society, recognizing the dignity of every person and allowing all the free exercise of their religion."

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Article: Social Gospel

February 21, 2006 - Evangelicals conflicted over global warming stand

WASHINGTON (ABP) - Conflict may be heating up between two groups of evangelical Christian leaders over the issue of global warming.

At stake are the hearts and minds of evangelical Americans and the politicians who listen to them - not to mention the future of the planet.

At a recent press briefing in Washington, a broad coalition of conservative, centrist and progressive evangelicals announced a campaign to raise awareness about the issue of climate change in the evangelical community. The campaign's leaders also say they intend to pressure government leaders to take steps to arrest or reverse global warming by cutting down on the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

The group, which includes megachurch pastor and Purpose-Driven Life author Rick Warren and 85 other evangelical leaders, released a statement called "Climate Change: An Evangelical Call to Action" at the press event.

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Article: Ecumenical Movement - Misc.

February 20, 2006 - Pope Says Peace Implies Respect for Religious Symbols

"In the international context we are living at present, the Catholic Church continues convinced that, to foster peace and understanding between peoples and men, it is necessary and urgent that religions and their symbols be respected," the Pope said today...

At the same time, Benedict XVI made it clear that "intolerance and violence can never be justified as response to offenses, as they are not compatible responses with the sacred principles of religion."

Benedict XVI noted that "for believers, as for all people of good will, the only path that can lead to peace and fraternity is respect for the convictions and religious practices of others."

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Article: Israel and the Last Days

February 19, 2006 - Israel Suspends Tax Money Flow to Palestinians

JERUSALEM, Feb. 19 - The Israeli cabinet decided Sunday to immediately freeze the transfer of about $50 million a month in tax and customs receipts due to the Palestinian Authority, arguing that the swearing in of a Hamas-dominated legislature on Saturday meant that the Palestinians were now led by the militant group.

"It is clear that in the light of the Hamas majority in the parliament and the instructions to form a new government that were given to the head of Hamas, the Palestinian Authority is in practice becoming a terrorist authority," Ehud Olmert, the acting prime minister, told his cabinet. "The state of Israel will not agree to this."

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Article: Roman Catholicism and the Last Days

February 22, 2006 - Bishop of Rome Explains His Universal Role

VATICAN CITY, FEB. 22, 2006 (Zenit.org).- On the feast of the Chair of St. Peter, Benedict XVI explained that his mission entails guidance of the Rome Diocese as well as "of the whole People of God."

The Pope recalled how Peter established his see in Rome, which was then the most important city of the Roman Empire, and the city where he was martyred.

"For this reason, the See of Rome, which had received the greatest honor, received also the task entrusted by Christ to Peter of being at the service of all the local Churches for the building and unity of the whole People of God," noted the Pontiff...

"The Chair of the Bishop of Rome represents, therefore, not only his service to the Roman community, but also his mission of guide of the whole People of God," the Pope said...

"Raising one's gaze to the alabaster glass window that opens precisely above the chair, invoke the Holy Spirit, so that he will always sustain with his light and strength my daily service to the whole Church," he added.

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Article: Ecumenical Movement - Other Religions Uniting with Roman Catholics

February 22, 2006 - Lebanon, "a Message of Peaceful Coexistence"

Interview With General Michel Aoun

ROME, FEB. 22, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Last week, Benedict XVI analyzed coexistence between Christians and Muslims in Lebanon with Fouad Siniora, the Sunni Muslim president of the Lebanese Council of Ministers.

Aoun: It was really beneficent for me to receive his blessing. I know that he will always have a thought for Lebanon, that he will defend it, he [Benedict XVI UTT clarification] who is the greatest moral authority in the world; and this will help Lebanon much...Yes, indeed. I myself addressed a message to that Synod. I think this greatly homogenized relations between Christians and Muslims and also between Muslims among themselves. It was an appeal for moderation, tolerance and respect of the other in the framework of freedom...

The majority of Christians wish to unite themselves to the Christian group that favors a policy of understanding, in order to protect the whole world and have the community respected. I think we are on the verge of achieving it.

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Article: Creation - Evolution Debate

February 22, 2006 - Over 500 PhD Scientists Proclaim Their Doubts About Darwin's Theory

SEATTLE, February 22, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Over 500 doctoral scientists have now signed a statement publicly expressing their skepticism about the contemporary theory of Darwinian evolution.

The statement reads: "We are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life. Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be encouraged."

The list of 514 signatories includes member scientists from the prestigious US and Russian National Academy of Sciences. Signers include 154 biologists, the largest single scientific discipline represented on the list, as well as 76 chemists and 63 physicists. Signers hold doctorates in biological sciences, physics, chemistry, mathematics, medicine, computer science, and related disciplines. Many are professors or researchers at major universities and research institutions such as MIT, The Smithsonian, Cambridge University, UCLA, UC Berkeley, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, the Ohio State University, the University of Georgia, and the University of Washington.

Discovery Institute first published its Scientific Dissent From Darwinism list in 2001 to challenge false statements about Darwinian evolution made in promoting PBS's "Evolution" series. At the time it was claimed that "virtually every scientist in the world believes the theory to be true."

See the full list here:
http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/filesDB-download.php?command=download&id=660

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Article: Ecumenical Movement - Misc.

February 22, 2006 - Religious Schools in UK to Teach About All Religions

LONDON, February 22, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - State-run religiously-affiliated schools must now teach students about all religions in a bid to "combat prejudice," the Times on Line reports.

A National Framework for Religious Education statement by the Department for Education and Skills has been endorsed by leaders of several major UK religious groups including Anglican and Roman Catholic bishops. The statement mandates that religious schools teach the tenets of all major world faiths.

"We believe that schools with a religious designation should teach not only their own faith but also an awareness of the tenets of other faiths," the statement says. "We are fully committed to using the framework in developing the religious education curriculum for our schools and colleges."

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Article: Roman Catholic Church and the Last Days

February 22, 2006 - Mexican bishop warns Catholics against deceptive cults

Mexico City, Feb. 22, 2006 (CNA) - Bishop Jose Guadalupe Martin Rabago of Leon, Mexico, is warning Catholics against the tactics of certain cult groups that claim to be able to solve every employment, economic and emotional problem.

He also said the government is responsible for reviewing the teachings of religious groups in order to determine if they contribute positive values to society.

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Article: Misc.

February 20, 2006 - Iran would become top supplier of oil to China under deal

Iran and China have been discussing a major energy deal that would involve the swap of oil for technology.

Western diplomatic sources said the two countries have been examining an agreement that would make Iran the leading oil supplier to China. The sources said the long-term deal was valued at $100 billion.

Over the weekend, Iran and China discussed cooperation in oil, natural gas and petrochemicals.

Gholam-Reza Manouchehri, managing director of Iran's Petropars, said China has been a major developer of Iran's energy reserves and called for the transfer of Chinese technology. Manouchehri also cited China's growing demand for oil.

"We intend to create new opportunities by making optimum use of the facilities of both countries in the mentioned fields," Manouchehri said.

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Article: Ecumenical Movement - Misc.

February 19, 2006 - Religious UN To Be Set Up In Jerusalem?

Israel's Ashkenazi chief rabbi, Yonah Metzger, meeting with the Dalai Lama, a Buddhist monk who is the leader of Tibet, suggested that representatives of the world's religions establish a United Nations in Jerusalem, representing religions instead of nations, like the UN currently based in New York.

"Instead of planning for nuclear war and buying tanks and fighter jets, it will invest in peace," Metzger said. He later reported that the Tibetan leader was very excited about the idea and offered to help advance it.

Also at the meeting was Chief Sephardic Rabbi Shlomo Amar, Rabbi David Rosen of the American Jewish Committee (who is on good terms with the Roman Catholic Church), Rabbi Menachem Froman of Tekoa, kadis (Ethiopian rabbis) and various Islamic sheikhs.

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Article: Perilous Times

February 20, 2006 - Ky. students can't skip anti-gay harassment training

By The Associated Press

ASHLAND, Ky. - Students have no religious or free-speech right to opt-out of school training aimed at stopping anti-gay harassment in Boyd County schools, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge David Bunning said "there is simply no basis for an opt-out" because the training does not endorse any viewpoint or require students to disavow their religious beliefs. Three students had skipped the mandatory sessions at Boyd County schools.

Bunning wrote in an opinion issued Feb. 17 that mandatory training "to address the issue of harassment at school, including harassment based upon actual or perceived sexual orientation, is rationally related to a legitimate educational goal, namely to maintain a safe environment."

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Article: Ecumenical Movement - Other Religions Uniting with Roman Catholics

February 17, 2006 - Can Islam and Christianity coexist? Vatican expert hopeful, but wary

DENVER, February 17 (CNA) - Sandro Magister, one of the world's foremost experts on the Vatican and religious relations, told a crowd gathered in Denver last night that while there is some hope for the future, he thinks that deep self-reform is necessary for Islam to assimilate to the modern world and be able to truly coexist with Christianity.

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Article: Ecumenical Movement - Other Religions Uniting with Catholics

February 20, 2006 - Religious respect the only road to peace, fraternity for peoples of faith and good will, Pope tells Moroccan diplomat

VATICAN CITY, February 20 (CNA) - Earlier today, Pope Benedict XVI met with Ali Achour, Morocco's new ambassador to the Holy See, with whom he stressed the dignity of immigrants and importance of respect and consideration for the religious beliefs and practices of different peoples.

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Article: Ecumenical Movement - Other Religions Uniting with Roman Catholics

February 20, 2006 - Catholic-Buddhist dialog continues

Washington DC, February 20, 2006 (CNA) - Buddhists and Christians learned more about their most basic, if contrasting, convictions and agreed to develop more collaborative social justice projects at their fourth dialogue last month...

Participants examined in depth the nature of the human person. Dr. Martin Verhoeven presented a paper on the essential Buddhist teaching of non-self, explaining that the belief in a permanent "self" is the root of the bondage of sentient beings to the cycle of rebirth...

Fr. Robert Hale presented the anonymous author of the Cloud of Unknowing, and other works of late 14th-century English mysticism, as representing a model spiritual director and spiritual disciple.

Participants also discussed Buddhist-Catholic collaboration in social outreach projects. Lorraine Moriarty and Alan Senauke spoke about a prison ministry program in the Bay Area in which Catholics and Buddhists are collaborating. Such ministry includes prison visitation, meditation groups, and assistance to the families of prisoners, and raises awareness about the death penalty.

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Article: Social Gospel

February 22, 2006 - 'Emerging church' mixes constructive criticism with errors

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--The emerging church movement has started a helpful conversation about the need for churches to be relevant to postmodern culture but commits fatal errors in the areas of evangelism and the authority of Scripture, says Chuck Lawless, dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Speaking at a breakout session of the sixth annual "Give Me An Answer" collegiate conference in early February, Lawless told students that the emerging church movement, a growing movement seeking to move beyond the approach of many modern congregations, tends at times wrongly to deemphasize the necessity of a personal relationship with Christ.

"I think the emerging church movement is helpful to us when they talk about transformed lives," he said. "I think we need to hear that, that authentic Christianity ought to lead us to look like Christ.... They do not help us when they go so far as to suggest or hint at [salvation] happening apart from a personal relationship with Christ."

Lawless emphasized that the movement is so new that it is difficult to define with precision who it includes or what it believes. But he listed several general characteristics of the emerging church:

-- The movement displays a sense of discontent with the church as it is. Emerging church leaders argue that churches cannot reach lost people who are searching for truth because the churches have lost their own sense of excitement about walking with Jesus, Lawless said.
-- The movement desires to engage culture as it is. It wants to reach a generation that is deeply spiritual but not necessarily Christian, denies absolute truth, embraces pluralism and is disconnected from the church, he said. To do this, the movement tries to identify with postmodern culture, Lawless noted.
-- The movement has a desire to be missional. Because North American culture is increasingly non-Christian, emerging churches see the church as an organization in the midst of a mission field, he said.
"So they write about including together evangelism and social action and trying to speak while also influencing culture and being more inclusive than exclusive, that we might gain a hearing with this world," Lawless said.
-- The movement focuses on relationships. "For the emerging church, the small group is very important because the small group becomes the place in which you develop authentic relationships," Lawless said.
-- The movement emphasizes transformed lives on earth.
-- The movement understands worship as a gathering rather than a service. Worship at some emerging churches is a combination of what one writer has called "charismatic exuberance at one level and quiet meditation at another," Lawless said, noting that services in emerging churches frequently include a multi-sensory approach to worship.
-- The movement understands evangelism as more a process than proclamation. "It's more about dialogue and listening than it is about preaching and telling, he said.

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Article: Signs of the Last Days

February 23, 2006 - Pet lovers on alert as virus kills nine dogs

THE city's dog population is under siege from the deadly parvovirus that has killed at least nine dogs in a week.

The Australian Veterinary Association, fearing a full-blown outbreak, has warned dog owners in the inner city to ensure their dogs are immunised against the gastrointestinal disease that eats away at the lower intestine.

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Article: Ecumenical Movement - Misc.

February 22, 2006 - Leading Christian, Jewish Congregational Experts To Share Innovations
New interreligious effort to find common solutions to church, synagogue challenges

LOS ANGELES, NEW YORK - Following on a historic gathering of Christian and Jewish Emergent religious leaders, which received international media attention, Synagogue 3000 (S3K) has partnered with the Project on Congregations of Intentional Practice (PCIP) to convene a groundbreaking series of meetings to discuss common approaches to challenges facing churches and synagogues today. Top researchers and advocates have discovered that Christians and Jewish congregational leaders are taking similar steps to revitalize their spiritual communities. Over four days in two cities, S3K and PCIP's senior staff will share their findings with some of America's most innovative clergy...

Synagogue 3000 and the Project on Congregations of Intentional Practice are at the cutting edge of spiritual community development...

"Synagogue 3000 is dedicated to bringing together the finest thinkers in the fields of leadership and congregational life," said S3K President Ron Wolfson. Over the past eight months, Synagogue 3000's Leadership Network has welcomed Saddleback Church founder Rick Warren, leadership expert Ron Heifetz, and leading scholars of American religion Wade Clark Roof, Steven M. Cohen, and Ryan K. Bolger. "The S3K/PCIP partnership "takes these exchanges to the next level, from conversation to collaboration," Wolfson added.

[UTT Note: The following clip is taken from www.synagogue3000.org If you check out this site, you can see many articles relating to the discussion of "The Emerging Church/Synagogue". As we have already pointed out, the Emerging Church is bridging the gap between Evangelicals/Protestants (and, now, apparently the Jewish Synagogues as well) and the Roman Catholic Church.]

Purpose Driven Synagogues?

Rick Warren, founding pastor of Saddleback Church (which has 30,000+ worshippers each weekend) recently met with S3K leaders to explore what synagogues can learn from megachurches and small groups

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Article: Perilous Times

February 21, 2006 - Court Allows Church's Hallucinogenic Tea

ASSOCIATED PRESS - By GINA HOLLAND - February 21, 2006 - The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday that a small congregation in New Mexico may use hallucinogenic tea as part of a four-hour ritual intended to connect with God.

Justices, in their first religious freedom decision under Chief Justice John Roberts, moved decisively to keep the government out of a church's religious practice. Federal drug agents should have been barred from confiscating the hoasca tea of the Brazil-based church, Roberts wrote in the decision.

The tea, which contains an illegal drug known as DMT, is considered sacred to members of O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal, which has a blend of Christian beliefs and South American traditions. Members believe they can understand God only by drinking the tea, which is consumed twice a month at four-hour ceremonies.

New Justice Samuel Alito did not take part in the case, which was argued last fall before Justice Sandra Day O'Connor before her retirement. Alito was on the bench for the first time on Tuesday.

Roberts said that the Bush administration had not met its burden under a federal religious freedom law to show that it could ban "the sect's sincere religious practice."

The chief justice had also been skeptical of the government's position in the case last fall, suggesting that the administration was demanding too much, a "zero tolerance approach."

The Bush administration had argued that the drug in the tea not only violates a federal narcotics law, but a treaty in which the United States promised to block the importation of drugs including dimethyltryptamine, also known as DMT.

"The government did not even submit evidence addressing the international consequences of granting an exemption for the (church)," Roberts wrote.

The justices sent the case back to a federal appeals court, which could consider more evidence...

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Article: One World Government

February 21, 2006 - Unmanned planes to monitor traffic

THE JERUSALEM POST - By YIGAL GRAYEFF - Drivers tempted to ignore a no-entry sign or cross a continuous white line in order to overtake another vehicle when the police don't seem to be around may need to be more cautious in the future.

This is because the police are considering deploying a system of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) that allows them to spot traffic violations from the air and fine or prosecute offenders.

The system has already been tested in the north of the country, and on Monday southern police carried out their first trial under blue skies and unremitting sunshine just outside Lehavim, north of Beersheba. The UAV, which is equipped with a camera, flew at a height of 6,000 feet and was impossible to see or hear despite the fine weather.

So when police stopped a number of offenders, their first reaction was to deny they had committed any traffic violations and to wonder how they had been seen.

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Article: Ecumenical Movement - Misc.

February 23, 2006 Ecumenism a Sign of the Times, Says Cardinal Kasper

ROME, FEB. 23, 2006 (Zenit.org).- In an age characterized by globalization, ecumenism is also "a response to the signs of the times," says Cardinal Walter Kasper.

The president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity made that point during a lecture Wednesday at the Regina Apostolorum university, as part of the school's master's program in Church, Ecumenism and Religions.

The cardinal said that, thanks to the new means of communications, peoples are now closer and "like it or not, in the same boat."

Separated Christians, noted Cardinal Kasper, "in general no longer consider themselves foreign" or "in competition."

Rather, they see themselves as "brothers and sisters"; they have realized that "what unites them is much greater than what divides them," he said.

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Article: Roman Catholic Church and the Last Days

February 25, 2006 - Mel Gibson and New Film on Medjugorje

Mel Gibson, the Hollywood actor and film producer, is due to visit Medjugorje in February to begin work on a new film based on the apparitions and messages of Our Lady. Gibson, who directed, The Passion of Christ, is thought to have been influenced by actor Jim Caviezel, a frequent visitor to the Shrine with his wife, Kerri.

Commenting on the documentary film, Fr Jozo Zovko said it will be a spiritual story, not a movie about miracles and extraordinary events. The former pastor of the Medjugorje parish also had some input to Mel Gibson's film, The Passion of Christ. Lead actor Jim Caviezel spent 10 days with the Franciscan priest to help prepare for the role as Jesus. At that time the Resurrection scene was not part of the film, but was included at Fr Jozo's suggestion.
Film writer Carol Cook recently spent two months in Siroki Brijeg (Fr Jozo's parish) and Medjugorje preparing the script for this latest Mel Gibson production before returning to the United States. She has a personal interest in Medjugorje after travelling there soon after witnessing and losing friends in the 9/11 disaster in 2001. More recently, she attended a retreat given by Fr Jozo last October.

This is not the first time Hollywood has turned its spotlight on Medjugorje. In the mid-90's Martin Sheen, Morgan Fairchild and Michael Yorke starred in the film Gospa, directed by Jakov Sedlara.

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