Month: October 2015

Santa Muerte Worshippers Prepare Festivities To Celebrate Mexican Folk Saint

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Described as the fastest-growing religious movement in the Americas, the cult of Santa Muerte is about seeking safe passage to the afterlife.

CHR Comment: Blessed Reformation Day! This is a great example of syncretism in Mexican culture, where the Mayan religion involved human sacrifice and mixed with ideas from Catholicism. Thankfully, the Roman Catholic Church regards this as blasphemous. Unfortunately, the actions of conquistadors from that area were likewise dishonoring to the Lord.

Source: Day Of The Dead 2015: Santa Muerte Worshippers Prepare Festivities To Celebrate Mexican Folk Saint

Slain Bishop Romero Beatified

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Francis said Romero, who was shot while celebrating Mass, had been lapidated after his death by “the hardest stone that exists in the world: the tongue.”

CHR Comment: The issues were his advocacy for the poor and involvement in Liberation theology, a Marxist-influenced theological movement that put church and state in conflict with one another. I suppose that one can be a martyr on account of God’s Law as well as on account of the Gospel. The case of Romero could be a test of that view.

Source: Pope Denounces Clergy Who Criticized Slain Bishop Romero

Bremerton Coach Barred from Praying on Field

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The Bremerton School District in Washington State put football coach Joe Kennedy on paid administrative leave after he failed to comply with directives to stop overt public displays of religion on the field.

CHR Comment: So much depends on local leaders and how they view the activity. A young man died during a gym class while I was serving as a parish pastor. The principal invited me and the local Methodist pastor to be at the school and available to speak with student who wished to speak with a pastor. Lots of kids came to us and we had great discussions about life, death, and eternal life in Christ. All of this happened on public school property.

This story also illustrates the value of having faith-based schools, which do such a great job educating children without federal dollars. Allowing families to put their money into the school of their choice could revitalize education in our nation.

Source: In one Washington school, religious freedom hits the 50-yard line – CSMonitor.com

Jan Hus: 600 Years a Martyr

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July 6, 2015, marks 600 years since Jan Hus, theologian and reformer from Prague, was put to death at the decree of the Council of Constance. Hus espoused teachings that in many ways anticipated aspects of the Protestant Reformation more than . . .

CHR Comment: Great overview about the most important martyr of the 1400s, a forerunner to the Reformation.

Source: Concordia Theology » Jan Hus: 600 Years a Martyr

Turkish Faith Movement Secretly Funded 200 Trips for Congressmen

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A Turkish religious movement has secretly funded more than 200 trips to Turkey for members of Congress and staff since 2008, apparently repeatedly violating House rules and possibly federal law, a USA TODAY investigation has found.

CHR Comment: The Gulen Movement sponsors interfaith talks with Christian, Jews, and Muslim groups. Although the group is openly committed to peaceful relations, its secretive practices are undermining trust. I’ve added a second link below about their interfaith efforts.

Source: Turkish faith movement secretly funded 200 trips for lawmakers and staff

http://www.interfaithdialog.org/

Fugitive Fathers: Priests Suspended after GlobalPost Investigation

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One month ago, GlobalPost published a lengthy investigation into Catholic clergy who have been accused of sexual abuse in the United States or Europe, yet continue to work as priests in remote South American dioceses.

CHR Comment: The article describes a number of cases where due process is incomplete or sentences were not applied. God, have pity on Your Church.

Source: Fugitive fathers: Priests suspended after GlobalPost investigation

Catechism Styles: Bullet Point vs. Narrative

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When the “Dutch Catechism” appeared in 1966, it quickly became a best seller in part because its style was so different from the “Baltimore Catechism” commonly used by American Roman Catholics. Whereas the Baltimore Catechism was written in a point by point style, the Dutch Catechism was written as a narrative, attempting to show the relationships between Catholic doctrines.

Source: Religion in American History: An Unlikely Bestseller: The Dutch Catechism in 1960s America

Apostolic Christian Kim Davis

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It is listed on a worldwide directory of Apostolic Pentecostal churches and ministries.

CHR Comment: This article gives helpful background. Apostolic Christians have a non-Trinitarian theology. They are, according to this article, modalists who teach that the one  God manifests Himself in different modes as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In other words, they do not acknowledge the personhood of each member of the Trinity.

Source: What’s an Apostolic Christian and why is Kim Davis’s hair so long? – The Washington Post