Pope John Paul II Relic Stolen from Cologne Cathedral

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A cloth with a drop of the late Pope John Paul II’s blood was stolen from Cologne Cathedral, German police said.

CHR Comment: One wonders about the motivations for such a theft. The thief could not display the relic without gaining unwanted attention. If the relic is truly of low monetary value, so that money is not the motive for the theft, then how would the person who took it justify breaking the commandment of God, “You shall not steal?” (Exodus 20). How could they use it devotionally and expect to gain God’s blessing?

Source: Pope John Paul II relic stolen from Cologne Cathedral

Edicule at Church of Holy Sepulcher under Restoration

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A team of experts begins restoring the ancient tomb in Jerusalem where Christians believe Jesus was buried, in the first such works for 200 years.

CHR Comment: Work on the Edicule was delayed due to disputes between the Greek Orthodox, Armenian, and Roman Catholic groups that are responsible for it. This is one of the sites where Jesus may have been buried. Scholars have proposed other locations.

Source: Jesus’s tomb in Jerusalem undergoes restoration work – BBC News

Latvian Lutheran Church Officially Bans Women’s Ordination

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CHR Comment: In recent years there has been a conservative trend in the Latvian Lutheran Church (ELCL) as the article states they have not been ordaining women ministers for some years already. This is a substantial change in direction that will receive notice from other Lutheran church bodies around the world. Historically, Lutheran churches did not have women’s ordination until the twentieth century.

Source: Latvian Lutheran church officially bans women’s ordination

Married, then Divorced Nine Times for Rape

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An Iraqi Christian woman in her 30s and a mother of three narrates how Islamic State terrorists “married and divorced” her as many as nine times a night to rape her with “justification” before she escaped their stronghold of Mosul.

CHR Comment: A horrific description of what may happen to ISIS prisoners/slaves, who are often Christian or Yazidi. The article includes quotations from ISIS propaganda that seek to justify abuse on the basis of Quranic teaching.

Source: Iraqi Christian Says ISIS Fighters ‘Married, Divorced’ Her 9 Times a Night for Rape

Mother Teresa’s Hometown Prepares for Her Canonization

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The sleepy village of Letnica, Kosovo, is where Mother Teresa found her calling before going on to become one of the most famous figures in the Catholic Church.

CHR Comment: The canonization will take place on September 4 but Letnica expects increased attendance at their annual Black Madonna festival. The town is also the location of the monastery where Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu (Mother Teresa) committed to becoming a missionary.

Source: Mother Teresa’s Hometown Prepares for Her Canonization – NBC News

Genocide of 1.5 Million Armenian Christians Recognized by Germany

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The genocide of 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks during Wold War I, many of them Christians, has been recognized by the German parliament in a move that prompted Turkey to recall its ambassador in anger.

CHR Comment: The first genocide of the 20th century took place from 1915–1917. As Christian-Muslim relations are strained these days by terrorist attacks and other reports of violence, the memory of the genocide during the First World War continues to cause tension.

Source: Genocide of 1.5 Million Armenian Christians Recognized by Germany, Turkey Throws Tantrum

Thousands of Atheists to Rally on the National Mall

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CHR Comment: The concern of the atheists, agnostics, and others who gather is the separation of church and state. They hold that reason and science should guide policy rather than religious ideology. A similar rally was held in 2012 with about 10,000 people attending.

The article also notes that 90% of congressmen identify themselves as Christians. Many of the other 10% are likely Jewish. Only one member of congress does not have a religious affiliation: Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.).

Source: What Happens When Thousands Of Atheists Get Together On The National Mall?

Canadian Christian Law School Fights Accreditation Ban

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A Christian university in Canada is appealing a court ruling banning its accreditation because the school opposes homosexuality.

CHR Comment: Trinity Western University uses a “community covenant” wherein members of the campus community solemnly pledge to abstain from certain behaviors including sins like lying, gossip, obscene speech, stealing, etc. (applications of the Ten Commandments and other biblical teachings). Canadian courts have thus far ruled in favor of the school’s religious freedom to use the community covenant.

Source: Canadian Christian Law School Fights Accreditation Ban Over Opposition to Homosexuality

FOUND: Medieval Dinosaurs!

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Curious carvings on a church in the mountainous north of the Republic of Georgia look like…dinosaurs?

CHR Comment: Blogger Gemma Tarlach discovered these wonderful carvings on the belfry façade of the Church of Tsminda Sameba (Holy Trinity). The carvings date from the fifteenth century and likely represent salamanders. But they do look remarkably like sauropod dinosaurs. The second link below takes you to an article about the church.

Source: FOUND: Medieval Dinosaurs! – Dead Things : Dead Things

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gergeti_Trinity_Church

The History and Witness of the Church

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The Book of Acts opens with two events of great salvation-historical importance: the going up of Jesus from earth into heaven (the Ascension), and the coming down of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples (Pentecost). Both events are commemorated by Christians in this season of the year. Jesus’s resurrection from the dead inaugurated God’s new beginning, which the New Testament calls “the last days.” . . . .

CHR Comment: Timothy George offers an Easter/Pentecost reflection on the Church’s witness to what is history and what is myth, citing the testimony of Barth, Eusebius, Calvin, and Bonhoeffer. His somber reflection on the state of the Church of England gives way to hope in the power of the Gospel.

Source: The One Really Interesting Story | Timothy George | First Things