Brazilian journalist Ana Carolina Caceres tells of her life with microcephaly, the congenital malformation by which babies have abnormally small heads and may suffer from delayed brain development.
CHR Comment: An excellent, short statement about Zika virus, abortion, and life. One may note that Journalist Caceres graduated from a Christian University, which shows up in one of the photographs.
Source: Microcephaly patient Ana Carolina Caceres: ‘I survived’ – BBC News
ROME (RNS) The change of heart by Peter Tatchell, a leading voice on LGBT issues, over a case in Northern Ireland was a surprising turnabout.
CHR Comment: Having the courts force Christians to write messages that support gay “marriage” has grave implications for freedom of speech and right to dissent. The examples of terrorism and Holocaust illustrate the problems of preventing religious persons from dissenting. Tatchell now sees the legal implications more clearly: forcing people to do things against their conscience is fundamentally wrong. In a free society, public discourse and practice of law eventually move toward balance and this appears to be such a move.
Source: Gay rights campaigner reverses course in gay cake dispute – Religion News Service
The meeting seeks to bridge a nearly 1,000-year divide between East and West.
CHR Comment: Although popes have met with Orthodox patriarchs in the past, they have not met with the Russian Orthodox patriarch, which makes this brief, symbolic meeting significant. The article explores the historic lack of relations between the two church bodies and potential reasons for it (one might mention the long virtually physical separation in modern times caused by east-west divide in governance).
Source: Pope and Russian Orthodox leader to hold historic encounter in Cuba – The Washington Post
Australian Anglican and United churches offer sanctuary to asylum seekers who face deportation to Nauru after a High Court ruling.
CHR Comment: The article cites the historic Christian practice of offering asylum to persecuted or untried persons. The custom goes back to the cities of refuge described in the Old Testament where a person accused of a crime could flee for protection from blood feuds. Amazing how modern problems can mirror ancient ones.
Source: Australian churches offer to take in asylum seekers – BBC News
The pastor of China’s largest Protestant church has been accused of embezzling church funds and detained in a so-called ‘black jail’.
CHR Comment: The Chinese government has removed 1,800 crosses from church buildings throughout China. Pastor Gu Yuese began speaking out against the removal of the crosses but now has been arrested on suspicion of embezzlement. His ministry team at Chongyi Church, the largest Protestant church in China, has been dismissed and a state selected pastor has begun to preach at the congregation. These events illustrate how the state run church system is managed in Communist China where persecution of Christians is common, especially for house churches that are not part of the state approved system.
Second Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-35457150
The Woods are suing Maryland’s Charles County Public Schools, the Board of Education, and La Plata High School’s principal and vice principal.
CHR Comment: Wood sought the help of The Thomas More Law Center, a non-profit that pursues cases of discrimination against Christians (see second link below). The law center describes itself as the Christian response to the American Civil Liberties Union. An effort to prevent discrimination against Islam can result in discrimination against Christianity according to the law suit described here. The situation illustrates how difficult it can be to discuss religion in an American public school classroom under current law. Nevertheless, religion remains one of the most influential topics in people’s lives, making it an important topic of discussion.
An additional article illustrates a similar problem in Austria where a teacher altered a Christian hymn so as not to offend Muslims in the classroom.
Source: Dad Sues to Protect Daughter’s Religious Freedom in School
https://www.thomasmore.org/about-the-thomas-more-law-center/
“The wealth of inscriptions from the cemeteries attests to the strong Jewish presence and the city’s social elite in the Late Roman period,” says archaeologist.
CHR Comment: The inscriptions illustrate the ongoing use of Aramaic alongside Greek during the era of the late Roman Empire, about the time that Christianity became a recognized religion under Constantine. The latest tomb inscriptions found at Tzipori use the term “rabbi,” though archaeologists are still discussing just what that term means in this era. Tzipori is ancient Sepphoris, a Hellenized city in Galilee near Nazareth.
Source: 1,700-year-old inscriptions linked to ‘rabbis’ unearthed in Galilee – Israel News – Jerusalem Post
Rabbi Evan Moffic explores the cultural and religious world of Jesus the Jew, offering Christians (and Jews) a new perspective on Jesus’ life and teachings in his book, ‘What Every Christian Needs to Know About The Jewishness of Jesus.’
CHR Comment: The interview with Rabbi Moffic explores why he wrote this book about Jesus as a Jew. Moffic likens the Jewishness of Jesus to Rabbinic, Talmudic Judaism rather than the Judaism described in the Old Testament.
An issue with Moffic’s thesis is that the Talmud was written down several centuries after the time of Jesus though it likely includes comments from Rabbis of an earlier era. A Jewish text that is closer in time to the ministry of Jesus is the Mishnah, written down in the early third century AD. The Babylonian Talmud and Jerusalem Talmud act like commentaries on the Mishnah. The Rabbinic tradition likely reflects the religious views of the Pharisees and their legacy.
Source: A Rabbi’s Quest to Show Christians the Jewishness of Jesus
No one else in the world can do this.
CHR Comment: Fascinating personal interest story about an artist with cerebral palsy. He overcame his tremors by choosing a medium that allows him to apply ink to paper—a clever solution to a vexing problem. The video highlights Paul Smith’s faith, which he expresses through his art.
Source: You think that it’s a picture of a squirrel! But zoom a bit closer. What the devil?!?
Oriel College, one of 38 largely self-governing colleges at Oxford, said it would keep the statue of the man regarded by many as an architect of apartheid.
CHR Comment: Cecil Rhodes, namesake of the Rhodes Scholars, was the son of an Anglican pastor. Rhodes studied briefly at Oriel College and later developed white supremacist views. He practiced colonialism, which has tarnished his business accomplishments in the mining trade. Oriel College has deep connections to Christian history from its medieval foundation to the modern Oxford Movement. The story illustrates issues of legacy and power due to the large donation Rhodes left to the school.
Source: Oxford University Will Keep Statue of Cecil Rhodes – The New York Times
church history review 