Category: modern church

Could Evangelical Christians Soon Be Running Brazil?

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Evangelical Christians are expected to influence big advances in local elections in Brazil this weekend.

CHR Comment: The growth of Evangelical churches in Brazil and changes to campaign finance laws have combined to give Evangelical voters and the candidates they support increased influence. For example, a pastor is running for mayor of Rio de Janeiro. This could be interesting as Brazil struggles to deal with corruption problems in its politics.

Source: Could Evangelical Christians Soon Be Running Brazil? | Christian News on Christian Today

Van Gogh Church Painting Found

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Italian police recover from the Naples mafia two important Van Gogh paintings stolen in a 2002 raid on an Amsterdam museum.

CHR Comment: The articles linked here describe the theft of Van Gogh’s paintings and their recovery. They refer to the Reformed Church in Nuenen and the fact that Van Gogh’s father was a minister for the congregation. I’m adding a photograph of the church building as it appears today.

dutch-reformed-church-nuenen-the-netherlands

Source: Van Gogh paintings stolen from Amsterdam found in Italy – BBC News

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/09/30/stolen-van-gogh-paintings-found-14-years-later/91311444/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Gogh%27s_family_in_his_art#Vicarage_and_church

Atheist Leading United Church of Canada Congregation

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The Rev. Gretta Vosper could see her ordination as a minister in the United Church of Canada, the country’s largest Protestant denomination, stripped because of her outspoken embrace of atheism.

CHR Comment: A surprising example of how Protestant decline is affecting the liberal and ecumenical United Church of Canada. Apart from the notoriety, one wonders why the congregation would continue to present itself as a Christian Church. Would not honesty alone call for a change in name and stated mission for this organization?

Source: Can an atheist lead a Protestant church? A battle over religion in Canada. – The Washington Post

17th-Century Jesuit Missions Have Scientific Value

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How long-dead missionaries are unwittingly helping further scientific understanding of the South Atlantic Anomaly.

CHR Comment: The article references the rise, decline, and ruin of seventeenth century Jesuit missions in southern Brazil where Guarani people clashed with Spanish and Portuguese soldiers. Bricks used in the mission buildings recorded information about the magnetic poles of the earth.

Source: 17th-century Ruins Could Unravel Mysteries of Earth’s Magnetic Field – The Crux

Crossway Reverses Decision to Make ESV Bible Text Permanent

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Amid much public debate, publisher says strategy for a ‘stable’ Bible was a ‘mistake.’

CHR Comment: Continual new discoveries in biblical studies, such as archaeological finds that amplify our understanding of the Bible, as well as changes in the English language make it wise to maintain a translation rather than make it permanent. The ESV is an excellent modern translation for Bible Study due to its consistency in representing Greek and Hebrew terms and expressions. It is also highly readable. Lane Dennis has served the church well in making the ESV available and affordable for other publishers to use.

Source: Crossway Reverses Decision to Make ESV Bible Text Permanent | Gleanings | ChristianityToday.com

Confederate Flag Images Removed from National Cathedral

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WASHINGTON (RNS) Cathedral officials decided ‘to just do it and get it done and move on to the next phase,’ a spokesman said.

CHR Comment: Reading this article raised concerns of revisionism for me. I wondered whether it would be best to leave such emblems in place as testimony to past injustices rather than to remove them (e.g., should we bulldoze holocaust sites rather than leave them as museums? I think not.). I was please to read later in the article that signage may be added to explain the changes, which gives opportunity for teaching the history.

Source: Confederate flag images quietly removed from National Cathedral | Religion News Service

Amoris Laetitia Raising Issues of Authority

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Any sort of “creeping infallibility” that would attach the same level of authority to every papal utterance or document must be avoided. To fail to draw appropriate distinctions—whether between binding and non-binding documents of the ordinary magisterium, or between the development and the evolution of doctrine—is to dim the light of the Petrine ministry and impoverish the faithful.

CHR Comment: The Pope’s letter, an “apostolic exhortation,” has some Roman Catholics questioning the clarity and application of the document.

Source: Creeping Infallibility | Jessica M. Murdoch | First Things

Moral Assassinations of Priests

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Mexico’s Roman Catholic Church on Monday harshly criticized what it called a campaign to smear three priests murdered in less than a week by suggesting the victims had been involved in questionable behavior.

CHR Comment: Drug cartels and a government prosecutor have condemned ministers serving in Mexico where 28 priests have been killed since 2006.

Source: Catholic Church alleges smear campaign against slain priests – The Washington Post

Negotiations with Boko Haram Fail

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They were lying in ambush. When the Boko Haram militants on board motorbikes saw a group of Christians returning home from church service, they opened fire, killing eight of them, according to survivors.

CHR Comment: The Nigerian government is trying to negotiate the release of kidnapped girls. Many of these girls come from Christian villages and families as earlier reports have shown. As negotiations failed, Boko Haram militants renewed their attacks.

Source: Boko Haram militants shoot Christians returning home from church in Nigeria, killing 8; 2 other attacks claim 10 lives | Christian News on Christian Today