Spiritual Matters

JOHN’S QUESTION:

I understand there is currently a debate between orthodox and progressive theologians on the doctrine of the atonement. I always considered this a cornerstone of Christian theology. Can you encapsulate the arguments?

THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER:

A tough one, and this mere journalist has long pondered how to reply. Tough because the meaning of Jesus’ crucifixion stands right at the heart of the Christian faith — indeed the cross is its universal symbol — and so is vitally important, sensitive, a highly complex concern of many great minds the past 2,000 years, and ultimately beyond human comprehension. But here’s a rough attempt at an answer.…

Christians who manufacture weapons or invest in weapons industries are being hypocritical, Pope Francis said today, according to Reuters. … Then he complained that the Allied powers didn't bomb concentration camp rail lines in WWII. …

"He told this YWAM leader that he had begun having dreams of this man in white who came to him and said, 'You are killing my people.' And he started to feel really sick and uneasy about what he was doing.... The fighter said just before he killed one Christian, the man said, 'I know you will kill me, but I give to you my Bible.' The Christian was killed and this ISIS fighter actually took the Bible and began to read it. In another dream, Jesus asked him to follow him and he was now asking to become a follower of Christ and to be discipled."

Can a country with deep Christian roots like Mexico find itself at the mercy of demons? Some in the Church fear so.

And as a result, they called for a nation-wide exorcism of Mexico, carried out quietly last month in the cathedral of San Luis Potosí.…

Fr. Fortea said that “the exorcism performed in San Luís Potosí is the first ever carried out in Mexico in which the exorcists came from different parts of the country and gathered together to exorcise the powers of darkness, not from a person, but from the whole country.”

“This rite of exorcism, beautiful and liturgical, had never before taken place in any part of the world. Although it had taken place in a private manner as when Saint Francis (exorcised) the Italian city of Arezzo.…”

…On her birthday week, I'm overwhelmed at the strength and grace that my fierce first-born child has shown. My husband and I named her after St. Veronica, a woman who displayed great courage in the face of adversity when she stepped forward from a jeering mob to comfort Jesus on the road to Calvary. Over the past month and a half, our teenage daughter has shown more resilience worthy of her namesake than I have witnessed in most adults. She is my hero.…

…Child of God! give the Father time. He is long-suffering over you. He wants the blessing to be rich, and full, and sure; give Him time, while you cry day and night.…

Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
—John 8:42-45 KJV

Josiah Duncan thought he was going to enjoy a simple meal at the Waffle House in Prattville, Ala., with his mom Ava Faulk. But before enjoying any food of his own, the five-year-old boy immediately spotted a homeless man sitting by himself. … But with a little persuading from both Josiah and Ava, the hungry man felt comfortable to order anything he wanted. "Can I have bacon?" … Before taking a bite, Josiah had one last surprise that shocked the rest of the diners observing the random act of kindness. The young boy wanted to share his faith with the stranger he just met. "God our Father, God our Father, we thank you," Josiah sang in front of at least 11 customers. "We thank you, for our many blessings, for our many blessings, Amen, Amen." …

[utterly swiped joke]

A priest dies and is waiting in line at the Pearly Gates. Ahead of him is a guy who's dressed in sunglasses, a loud shirt, leather jacket, and jeans.

Saint Peter addresses this cool guy, 'Who are you, so that I may know whether or not to admit you to the Kingdom of Heaven?'

The guy replies, ' I'm Bruce, retired airline pilot from Toronto.'

Saint Peter consults his list. He smiles and says to the pilot, 'Take this silken robe and golden staff and enter the Kingdom.' The pilot goes into Heaven with his robe and staff.

Next, it's the priest's turn. He stands erect and booms out, 'I am Father John, pastor of Saint Mary's for the last 43 years.'

Saint Peter consults his list. He says to the priest, 'Take this cotton robe and wooden staff and enter the Kingdom.

'Just a minute,' says the good father. 'That man was a pilot and he gets a silken robe and golden staff and I get only cotton and wood. How can this be?

'Up here - we go by results,' says Saint Peter. 'When you preached - people slept. When he flew, people prayed.'

…Days after at least a dozen crosses were forcibly removed from churches, China formally protested a United States report on its lack of religious freedom. Now a proposal has surfaced to ban crosses entirely from the rooftops of churches in Zhejiang, one of China's most Christian provinces. … "A draft of rules on religious structures released by government agencies this week says the crosses should be wholly affixed to a building facade and be no more than one-tenth of the facade's height. The symbol also must fit with the facade and the surroundings…"

…Carson, who will likely run for president, had been scheduled to appear in June at the annual Southern Baptist Pastors Conference in Columbus, Ohio. But a group of young ministers, known as Baptist21, raised concerns… mostly Calvinist preachers objected to the beliefs of Carson’s booming Seventh-day Adventist Church - including the claim that worshiping on Sunday is sin and the idea that sinners who are barred from heaven will be annihilated rather than sent to hell. They also objected to a statement made on Easter by Carson that Jews, Christians, and Muslims are all God’s children.…

Congregation Toras Chaim is a tiny Orthodox Jewish Synagogue which meets in a home in north Dallas. The City of Dallas is attempting to shut the synagogue down because they are meeting in a private home without the correct Certificate of Occupation (CO). However, the Synagogue's attorney says the city’s ordinance requiring the CO is invalid under the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act.…

[Naming the animals cartoon]

[Oregon-based Presbyterian USA Minister John Shuck:] "We all have been trained to think that Christianity is about believing things," Shuck said in the article. "Its symbols and artifacts (God, Bible, Jesus, Heaven, etc) must be accepted in a certain way.

And when times change and these beliefs are no longer credible, the choices we are left with are either rejection or fundamentalism."

[Emphasis added. Sad. Confused. Dangerous to others. … You'll never hear about "a powerful man of faithlessness."]