Monthly Archives: September 2003

THE CURRENT NUMBER OF THE BANNER OF TRUTH is the Jonathan Edwards commemorative issue. The tercentenary of his birth is October 5. MORE: The Berkshire Eagle has an article on Edwards. STILL MORE: America’s Theologian Turns 300. For more than … Continue reading →

HERE’S 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, from the new Christian Standard Bible. Now I praise you because you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you. But I want you to know that Christ … Continue reading →

A NEW ROMAN CARDINAL speaks: I don’t run around making up teachings. He “has made headlines for refusing communion to gays, for opposing women priests, for saying homosexuality was a bigger health hazard than smoking and that abortion was a … Continue reading →

NEW YORK TIMES COLUMNIST Nick Kristof defends his mention of evangelicals being anti-intellectual But I believe my point still stands that there is a growing divide between an increasingly secular intellectual elite � and an increasingly faith-based evangelical community. The … Continue reading →

HERE’S THE “common ground” that all should agree to in the Church of the Brethren.

I’VE FOUND Bro. Harold Martin’s book, New Testament Beliefs and Practices, available used (a signed edition, though) for $49.95. We can provide it less expensively.

SALUTE! DONALD MATTHEWS, of Garrett County, Maryland, has celebrated 45 years as pastor of one church, the Oak Grove Church of the Brethren, McHenry, Maryland.

GORDON WENHAM, noted Old Testament scholar and commentator, told a meeting of senior evangelical leaders in Blackpool, England that modern attitudes to homosexuality were really examples of ancient paganism. “(Paganism) is raising its head again. Other examples are religious pluralism, … Continue reading →

ONE THING BRF AND VOS CAN AGREE ON . . . Fred Phelps exhibits little, if any, Christian love.

AN OP-ED IN THE YORK DAILY RECORD says: Homosexuality appears to be the �sin of the day� in America. It�s cute and marketable. It�s a loud minority driving the destiny of a silent majority. It�s a subculture of a society … Continue reading →

“LOVING GOD AND NEIGHBOR,” based on Jesus’ discussion of the “greatest commandment” in the gospel of Mark, as the theme for the 2004 Annual Conference in Charleston, W.Va., reports Newsline.

PEOPLE ARE NOT homosexual unless they act out on that temptation. We are all born with the sin nature–it is truly genetic. Some may be born with a bent toward murder, some toward adultery, some toward homosexuality. Being “born that … Continue reading →

BRO. PHIL REYNOLDS WRITES eloquently: My concern has to do with the inherent message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross to save people from sin and hell. I do not believe that these are figurative … Continue reading →

ONE CORRESPONDENT NOTES how so many people think that if the heart says do it, then it must be love. Doesn’t Scripture say that the heart is wicked above all? And [one VOS post about the] “journey” from “Pharisee to … Continue reading →

INTERESTING BITS FROM NEWSLINE TODAY: Missouri/Arkansas District Conference: A query asking for affirmation of the 2002 Annual Conference decision against licensing or ordaining homosexuals and for discipline of “open and affirming” churches was returned, with the understanding that ministers and … Continue reading →

MEGA CHURCHES, MEGA BUSINESSES. Forbes magazine looks at some of the largest churches in the United States.

ON THE SCENE IN THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY. Sister Janet Elsea reports: It’s terrible windy here, lights flickering on and off, progressively worse since 10 a.m. when the rain started. Figure we’ll lose power before the night’s out. Know there will … Continue reading →

THE RE-IMAGINING GATHERING heard some feminist theologians claim that Christians are wrong to believe Jesus died for their sins.

SOME GAY ACTIVISTS SAY multiple partners can be ‘holy.’ The homosexualists will not be content with recognition of mere two person same sex unions.

THE LATEST AMERICAN ENTERPRISE MAGAZINE just came today. Another great issue, it appears, with the focus on the importance of religious institutions in American society. One quote: People who attend church weekly volunteer twice as much, and give almost five … Continue reading →

OUR PRAYERS are with those in the track of Hurricane Isabel. It looks to affect the largest concentration of Brethren in the United States.

DAVID MILLS CRITIQUES those who reject homosexualism but accept the ordination of women. As you would guess, they always invoke Galatians 3:28 to justify the innovation, and in the most sweeping way. The problem with their argument � one that … Continue reading →

THIS SITE, “Ladies Against Feminism,” looks interesting and helpful. There are a number of articles on Christian femininity and modesty. Look at this one, “Adorned in Modest Apparel: It Begins with the Heart.”

THE LATEST CONGREGATIONAL VACANCY LIST is available.

HAVE YOU HEARD THE ONE THAT 50% of all marriages end in divorce? It’s an urban legend, too, and Rich Buhler says it is the worst one of all. I have seen it in Sunday school literature, I’ve heard it … Continue reading →

IF YOU GET AN E-MAIL saying “Dr. James Dobson needs our help” and it talks about a “Petition 2493″ to eliminate or restrict religious broadcasting in America—it’s a hoax or an urban legend. See the information on the Focus on … Continue reading →

THE LATEST IMPRIMIS (the speech digest of Hillsdale College in Michigan) has an interesting perspective on the Michigan affirmative action cases.

THIS HAS TO BE ONE OF THE MOST AMBITIOUS congregational building programs in the Church of the Brethren in the United States.[Thanks to an alert reader.]

DON WALTERS, a federal judge who opposed the war with Iraq, shares his thoughts in the aftermath.

THE PRESBYTERIANS are talking of a “gracious separation.”