“It’s going to be the biggest timber-frame building in the world. And I think people will come to see it just from the perspective of even the architecture and the engineering.”
CHR Comment: The Creation Museum folks are building a second site to be located in Williamstown, KY. Spokesman Ken Ham describes the character of the park. The ark will be the largest timber framed building in the world.
Source: Controversial Noah’s Ark Theme Park Slated To Open July 2016
The Episcopal Church USA’s first African-American leader hopes to call his divided church to “a deeper unity.”
CHR Comment: Curry explains his personal background and his goals for the liberal denomination which has recently lost 20% of its membership over the issue of ordaining homosexuals as priests and bishops. He is a supporter of activist religious politics and a Buffalo Bills fan.
Source: New Episcopal Presiding Bishop Michael Curry | October 30, 2015 | Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS
A new biography of Hitler by a prominent German historian is likely to stir controversy with its argument that the Nazi leader’s political acumen has been underestimated and that the belief in his hypnotic grip over Germans is inflated.
CHR Comment: Longerich characterizes Hitler as a gifted political opportunist. The article notes that the rise of National Socialism created tensions in the churches. Some churches were drawn into supporting the Nazis, such as the Deutsche Christen Movement, while others resisted, such as the Confessing Church.
Source: New German Biography Casts Hitler in Different Light – NBC News
Don Carson, John Piper, and Tim Keller discuss the ongoing relevance of the Reformation for ministry today.
CHR Comment: A brief panel discussion by American Evangelicals considering the ongoing importance of Protestantism after 500 years. Most of the comments are about Luther and Calvin, especially Calvin. The panelists helpfully point out that the Reformers restored the role of primary source study and preaching to Christianity in general, guaranteeing their importance from the Reformation forward. They also mention excesses of the Reformers that should be avoided.
Source: Keller, Piper, and Carson on Why the Reformation Matters Today
CHR Comment: Author Jennifer Mertens provides a personal description of changes she is witnessing in Cincinnati as the aging Ursulines enter retirement and are replaced by lay ministers. This transition started in the 1980s.
Source: Women religious offer their charism to future generations | National Catholic Reporter
Amanda and Davey Blackburn’s family and church were beginning to grow, family friend said.
CHR Comment: This extensive, heart-breaking story describes the family’s plans to plant a church in Indianapolis and the horrendous outcome of a robbery. Lord, have mercy.
See Sunday’s best news pictures.
CHR Comment: The ninth photograph is a wonderful photograph of mourners at St. Isaac’s Cathedral in St. Petersburg, Russia. They are lighting prayer candles in commemoration of those who died in the recent plane crash.
There is no question that the document Nostra Aetate (“In our Time”) — promulgated by the Second Vatican Council in October 1965 — changed the discourse in the field of Jewish-Christian dialogue in particular, and interreligious dialogue in general, in the contemporary period.
CHR Comment: The article notes the fifty year anniversary of the papal document that spurred interfaith dialogue as a modern feature of religious life. The author believes that ignorance remains the most important obstacle to overcome as Christians and others interact with one another.
Source: 50 Years of the Jewish-Christian Dialogue — The Way Forward | Ron Kronish
The media inform us Christians are upset about Starbucks cup for making Christmas even less religious than normal. The evidence is sorely lacking.
CHR Comment: Mike Tokars, a staff reporter for the Christian Science Monitor, raised the question of whether Christians were outraged about Starbuck’s new cups, extending an online discussion. Mollie Hemingway’s article “Nobody Is Actually Upset” corrects the record and includes some helpful history about holy day/holiday “wars.” The news reports about Starbucks started from a lampoon on a blog and not from any Christian uprising against the colored cups.
Source: Nobody Is Actually Upset About The Starbucks Cup#.VkMpXXd1I0U.email
German magazine says targets included the U.S. Interior Department and U.N. offices.
CHR Comment: The article briefly mentions that Germany spied on the Vatican by monitoring communications. The Vatican is an independent state, though it is only 109 acres and has a population of about a thousand people, as the second link below describes.
Source: ‘Der Spiegel’: Germany spied on U.S. embassies, Vatican
http://www.catholic.com/quickquestions/is-the-vatican-really-a-country
church history review 