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Mr. (Dr. Prof.) Robert Louis Wilken on First Documents that Examined Religious Freedom, Indulgence & Clemency

December 14, 2012 | Political turbulence in the Middle East poses a grave threat to some of the oldest and most vibrant Christian communities in the world. Within the West, debates about the roots of freedom have often sidestepped the contributions of Christians and Christian ideas. Against this backdrop, the Religious Freedom Project launched a major initiative on "Christianity and Freedom: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives," a two-year exploration of Christianity's contributions to the construction and diffusion of freedom in its political, religious, and economic dimensions, in interaction with other religious traditions and secular ideas and institutions. Robert Louis Wilken is a Distinguished Fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology and William R. Kenan, Jr.


Professor of the History of Christianity Emeritus at the University of Virginia. Wilken is the author of ten books, including The Spirit of Early Christian Thought: Seeking the Face of God (2005), Remembering the Christian Past (1995), and The Christians as the Romans Saw Them (2003). He received his PhD from the University of Chicago, and has taught at Gregorian University, Institutum Patristicum Augustinianum, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Notre Dame, Fordham University, and Lutheran Theological Seminary.

D.C. archdiocese: Denying Communion to lesbian at funeral was against ‘policy’/Tosses Priest Under the Bus

Michelle Boorstein offers the following at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-archdiocese-denying-communion-to-lesbian-at-funeral-was-against-policy/2012/02/28/gIQAlIxVgR_story.html

Deep in grief, Barbara Johnson stood first in the line for Communion at her mother’s funeral Saturday morning. But the priest in front of her immediately made it clear that she would not receive the sacramental bread and wine.

Johnson, an art-studio owner from the District, had come to St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Gaithersburg with her lesbian partner. The Rev. Marcel Guarnizo had learned of their relationship just before the service. 

 

“He put his hand over the body of Christ and looked at me and said, ‘I can’t give you Communion because you live with a woman, and in the eyes of the church, that is a sin,’ ” she recalled Tuesday.

She reacted with stunned silence. Her anger and outrage have now led her and members of her family to demand that Guarnizo be removed from his ministry.

Family members said the priest left the altar while Johnson, 51, was delivering a eulogy and did not attend the burial or find another priest to be there.

“You brought your politics, not your God into that Church yesterday, and you will pay dearly on the day of judgment for judging me,” she wrote in a letter to Guarnizo. “I will pray for your soul, but first I will do everything in my power to see that you are removed from parish life so that you will not be permitted to harm any more families.”

Late Tuesday, Johnson received a letter of apology from the Rev. Barry Knestout, one of the archdiocese’s highest-ranking administrators, who said the lack of “kindness” she and her family received “is a cause of great concern and personal regret to me.”

“I am sorry that what should have been a celebration of your mother’s life, in light of her faith in Jesus Christ, was overshadowed by a lack of pastoral sensitivity,” Knestout wrote. “I hope that healing and reconciliation with the Church might be possible for you and any others who were affected by this experience. In the meantime, I will offer Mass for the happy repose of your mother’s soul. May God bring you and your family comfort in your grief and hope in the Resurrection.”

Johnson called the letter “comforting” and said she greatly appreciates the apology. But, she added, “I will not be satisfied” until Guarnizo is removed.

The priest’s action has also triggered an uproar among gay rights activists and enlivened some religious conservatives. It came just days after the Maryland Senate approved legislation legalizing same-sex marriage in the state; Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) is expected to sign it this week.


“Fr. Marcel Guarnizo has been thrown under the bus for following Canon Law 915!” wrote one Catholic blogger in the archdiocese. “The issue here is not the priest but Barbara Johnson.”

Archdiocese officials at first issued a short statement saying that the priest’s actions were against “policy” and that they would look into it as a personnel issue.


“When questions arise about whether or not an individual should present themselves for communion, it is not the policy of the Archdiocese of Washington to publicly reprimand the person,” the statement said. “Any issues regarding the suitability of an individual to receive communion should be addressed by the priest with that person in a private, pastoral setting.”

For more, see:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-archdiocese-denying-communion-to-lesbian-at-funeral-was-against-policy/2012/02/28/gIQAlIxVgR_story.html

Iran's and Imams' War Against Christianity

http://video.foxnews.com/v/1475147837001/irans-war-against-christianity/?playlist_id=86856&intcmp=obnetwork

A former National Security Advisor, Kate McFarland, discusses Pastor Youcef Nardarkhani, Iran, it's nuclear intentions, Israel and responses.

The Conflict over Obama's HHS--It is Theological

A confessional Lutheran Churchman weighs in on Obama's HHS debate and conflict over religious liberty, freedom of religion and the First Amendment.  In general, we enjoy this Lutheran blog.  In particular, the Steadfast Lutherans put this on offer: 

http://steadfastlutherans.org/?p=13699&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BJS+%28The+Brothers+of+John+the+Steadfast%29

The Conflict over the HHS Regulations — It Is Theological

February 28th, 2012 Post by Pastor Martin Noland

Readers of this blog are, by now, familiar with the ongoing conflict between various churches and political factions over the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (hereafter HHS) regulations which would mandate that “all employers” provide contraceptives and abortifacients to their employees, regardless of moral or conscience objections. “All employers” is qualified by the exemption for “sectarian organizations,” which exemption probably means only “houses of worship,” although that is unclear at the present.

President Matthew Harrison’s forthright confession of the position of the LC-MS before the House Committee has been joined now by statements by all members of the LC-MS Council of Presidents, the faculty of Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, and an eloquent testimony before the Heritage Foundation by the LC-MS Director of Life and Health Ministries, Mrs. Maggie Karner. For more information, statements, and videos about the synod’s position, click on this link.

Ever since the HHS regulations became public, I have been wondering who is behind them. Would any rational politician willingly jeopardize the goodwill of a majority of his fellow citizens for the sake of bureaucratic efficiency? I highly doubt it. So, then, who is on the other side of the HHS regulations, using the power of the U.S. government to coerce certain religious groups, which happen to be the largest religious groups by membership in the U.S.?

Today, I found out who is behind the HHS regulations. Even if they are not the ones who originated the regulations, they are publicly supporting those regulations which coerce certain religious groups. Click on this link to see who supports the HHS regulations.

The groups supporting the HHS regulations in this statement may be divided into four groups: 1) church-bodies; 2) institutions of theological education; 3) political action-groups within denominational traditions, which may or may not have official sanction; 4) non-profit organizations with no official religious connection, which support a liberal social agenda with respect to women and their interests.


In the first group, we find: a) the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the main denomination of “reform Judaism”; b) the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, a more liberal group in “conservative Judaism”’ c) the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, the main denomination of “conservative Judaism”; d) the Unitarian Universalist Association; and e) the United Church of Christ.


In the second group, we find: a) the Episcopal Divinity School of Cambridge, Massachusetts; b) the Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (hereafter UTS).


In the third group, we find various organizations representing Catholics, Jews, Disciples of Christ, Episcopalians, Methodists, and Muslims. I repeat that members of this third group do not have official sanction and may represent only a very small fraction of their respective church-bodies.


The only surprise, to me, was the support of the “United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism” for the HHS regulations. This denomination’s theological school is the Jewish Theological Seminary (hereafter JTS), across the street from UTS. A little research revealed that JTS began graduating female rabbis in 1987 and began admitting openly gay students in 2007. The acceptance of female rabbis at JTS led to the resignation of the world-famous JTS scholar David Weiss Halvini in the 1980s. The “conservative” name in this particular denomination is confusing to those who don’t understand the divisions in American Judaism.


No surprise, to me, was the support of UTS. I am a graduate of that institution (M.Phil., 1990; Ph.D., 1996) and I lived there as a resident doctoral student for four years in the department of church history. For those unfamiliar with UTS, its professors once included Philip Schaff, Charles Briggs, Reinhold Niebuhr, Paul Tillich, Wilhelm Pauck, and many other well-known names in American Protestantism. Dietrich Bonhoeffer also spent two sabbaticals there. Since the 1960s, UTS has become prominent as a leader in the civil rights movement, the feminist movement, and the gay liberation movement. This all fits within its long history of support for the “social gospel” movement.


The social gospel movement was summed up by the Rev. Professor Shailer Matthews of the University of Chicago, many years ago, when he said: “The great command which Jesus lays upon his followers is not to have their wrongs righted; but to right the wrongs of others” (Shailer Matthews, “The Gospel and the Modern Man,” p. 253; quoted in Reinhold Niebuhr, “An Interpretation of Christian Ethics” [n.p.: Seabury Press, 1979], p. 105). Matthews further stated “that to get justice for others by compelling the over-privileged to give it to them may be the quintessence of [Christian] love” (Matthews, p. 255; Niebuhr, p. 106).

For more of this fine analysis, see:
http://steadfastlutherans.org/?p=13699&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BJS+%28The+Brothers+of+John+the+Steadfast%29

Letter to Editor Re: Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani: Jacksonville Daily News, Jacksonville, NC (2/28/2012)

Youcef Nadarkhani and his family

We sent a Letter to the Editor of Jacksonville Daily News, Jacksonville, NC, dated 2/28/2012.  Every letter written by yours truly has been posted with them. We're a military town full of Marines and Sailors.  Many are retired veterans, like myself.  This is an effort to widen the concerns for Youcef, his family, and our First Amendment protections--as a way of life.

Dear Editor:

I call your attention to the Iranian Pastor, Youcef Nadarkhani, facing execution for converting from Islam to Christianity. A quick google search yields numerous articles.

Our President and State Department have stated objections as have other international voices. I recommend contacting Federal Representatives (Walter Jones) and our Senators. While they can do little, at least one will have spoken. There appears to be widening media interest.

Most or many of us in Jacksonville have served in the military and have put our lives on the line. All of us--as Americans whether having served or not--are thankful for our First Amendment protections under the Constitution. The historians have helped us to understand these legal developments and protections. Our lawyers and Judges have helped as well. Our schools from elementary to collegiate levels have given our rudimentary lessons on this. To all, we are thankful. Lest we forget.

This concern is obviously outside the routine of city and county business. In fact, this situation is outside our normal orbit of thinking and experience. However, it reminds us all of our protections from religious coercion. This story about a Pastor in Iran, facing execution, is not a novel or fiction, but it is a real-life story and reminds us of our heritage.

A few add-ons. First, it behooves us to evaluate potential Sharia-creep vis a vis state and federal law. Oklahoma appears to be addressing this. Second, it behooves us to us read, mark, learn and inwardly digest scholarly articles (without hype and emotion) on Islamic law, conquests, Crusades, Nation of Islam, Hezbollah, Hamas, theological content in the manuals in madrassas in Saudi Arabia and more. Getting solidly read and educated is important.

What's on review here? An execution after a criminal trial in Iran for a Christian Pastor. Imagine the reverse? Criminalizing and executing an Imam in the US for converting from Christianity to Islam? That's what is on review.

I hope JD News will offer a little more coverage on it. Let us read, mark, learn and inwardly digest--the scholarly stuff.

Respectfully,
Donald Philip Veitch

Rev. Youcef Nadarkhani: Sample Letter, Points of Contact, Sharia, and Bigotry

An excellent post was offered by Church Campanologist, our British friend and fellow Churchman in Christ.  He offers several international points of contact below, including a sample letter.   We'd urge international readers to act.  We would further urge American citizens to contact their federal Representatives and Senators to urge further responses.  For Jacksonville, North Carolinians, one phone call was registered with Congressman Walter Jones, 3rd-Dist.  The Representatives and their websites may be followed and found at:  http://www.house.gov/representatives/   Information on Senators may be found at:  http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm.  H/T to Church Campanologist's report at:
http://churchmousec.wordpress.com/2012/02/28/iran-persecution-an-urgent-appeal-to-save-pastor-youcef-nadarkhanis-life/#comment-7118

Letters should be sent without delay to the relevant Iranian ambassador. What follows are embassy addresses for certain countries:

Embassy of Iran in Canberra in Australia
PO Box 705, Mawson ACT 2607
His Excellency Mr Mahmoud MOVAHHEDI
Ambassador

Embassy of Iran in Vienna in Austria
jauresgasse 9 – A1030 Wien
Fax: +431+7135733
Email:  public@iranembassy-wien.at


The Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Germany
Podbielskiallee 65/67,
14195 Berlin

Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Ireland
72 Mount Merrion Ave.
Blackrock Co.
Dublin, Ireland
Fax: (003531) 2834246
Email: iranembassy@indigo.ie

Embassy of Islamic Republic of Iran to The Hague in the Netherlands
The Embassy of I.R. of Iran Duinweg 20 2585JX Den Haag
Web Site: http://www.iranianembassy.nl/
Email: info@iranembassy.nl

Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Pakistan
St.No.2, Sector G-5/1 Diplomatic Enclave, Islamabad

Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the UK
16 Prince’s Gate,
London SW7 1PT
Fax: ( +44)2075894440
Email: info@iran-embassy.org.uk

United States of America (Iran and the USA do not have diplomatic relations):
Representative Office of Iran in Washington, United States
c/o Embassy of Pakistan
2209 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Washington
D.C.20007
United States
Fax: +1-202-965-1073
Email: requests@daftar.org

A sample letter to the relevant Iranian ambassador follows:

Your Excellency,

Re: Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani

I wish to bring to your attention the urgent case of Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani who was condemned to death in Iran for converting to the Christian faith. Recent indications are that there are grave concerns that Pastor Nadarkhani’s life is in danger.

I request that your government respect its international commitment to human rights, and that Pastor Nadarkhani, and all other persons in your country who are in similar situations, be treated in accordance with Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which stipulates:

“Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief …

“All people have the right to obey their conscience, which is a work of God, wherever that leads them. People in Islamic countries have as much right to convert to Christianity as westerners have to convert to Islam.”

I request that you pass on this appeal to the Iranian Government as a matter of urgency. Thank you for your attention to this request.

Yours sincerely,

Religious War: Obama Administration and Vatican

Religious war and the Vatican/American Romanist communion has broken on American shores. The story has been in the 24/7 news cycle since 1/29/2012. Obama's dragoons have, by virtue of the Affordable Care Act, directed that the Romanist institutions--universities, adoption agencies, hospitals, and various charities--provide health care coverage for its 1 million employees and students that includes contraception services, IUDs, abortifacients, etc. Romanists constitute 27% of the American electorate and, while often voting Democratic, may play a deciding role in the Obama v. (likely) Romney showdown in Nov. 2012 election. Gingrich addresses Obama's war on the First Amendment, free exercise, government repression, hubris, insensitivity and, if we may, stupidity. Also, Romanist military chaplains across the service branches--USMC, USN, USA, and USAF--read their Archbishop's letter opposing/contra: Obama's dictum at military chapels 1/29/2012 despite directives to desist from Chiefs of Chaplains. You may be sure that DOD, USN, USAF, USMC, and USA JAG Officers at the highest levels have one massive problem: military chaplains DISOBEYING orders from the Commander-in-Chief. This much??!! The Romanists will not roll-over for this community-organizer-turned Senator-turned US President. Obama has just jumped a legal shark--a great white tiger shark--that will dislodge Obama on the issue and have him for breakfast. This is not some unintentional gaffe by Obama, but is premeditated with cool and extended deliberativeness. Watch for this to be "another" substantial matter in Obama's defeat in Nov. 2012.

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Discrimination Against Christians in Middle East

http://www.suntimes.com/news/huntley/9400290-452/christians-are-under-fire-in-the-historic-holy-land.html

This Christmas weekend we’ll see many newspaper and broadcast accounts of Christian pilgrims flocking to sacred places in the Holy Land. The unhappy counterpoint to that is the reality that Christians are increasingly relegated to the role of pilgrims in the Middle East and not natives of the region.

For years, the trend has been one of Christians fleeing from Muslim nations where religious freedom is being slowly extinguished. Then there’s Saudi Arabia, where no such freedom exists, and conversion to Christianity means a death sentence. In the historic Holy Land, only one state has seen an increase in its Christian population — Israel.

The Arab Spring is portrayed constantly as a liberation movement, but for Christians it’s been a decidedly darker story.

The uprising in Egypt unleashed anti-Christian attacks, with Coptic Christian churches burned and their parishioners murdered. In one particularly bloody incident, Egyptian security forces joined stick-wielding thugs in killing 24 Christians and wounding 300 in Cairo in the worse sectarian violence in Egypt in 60 years, according to an account in the New York Times.

The strong showing — more than 60 percent of the vote — in elections by the Muslim Brotherhood and the more fundamentalist Salafists portend more trouble. It’s no wonder Coptic Christians are fleeing Egypt by the tens of thousands, with one estimate that more than 200,000 may leave by the end of the year. Copts are descendants of ancient Egyptians. Their church dates from the mid-Fifth Century, nearly 120 years before the birth of Muhammad.

The situation for Christians in the disputed territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip — the locale of many Bible stories — has been grim for a long time. Christians in 1970 accounted for 5.3 percent of the population of these areas, but it’s less than half that now, the World Christian Database told the BBC. Thirty-five years ago, Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, was nearly 100 percent Christian; today Christians make up less than a third of its residents.

Islam and Sharia law rule in the West Bank and Gaza, and Christians are subject to discrimination. Their plight isn’t helped by breakdown in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Open Doors, an organization that tracks persecution of Christians, reports that “many Christians want to leave the Palestinian territories because of the hopeless situation.”

So the story goes across the Middle East. The U.S. liberation of Iraq had the unintended consequence of sectarian violence, especially severe for Christians. The country’s Christian population is down to 500,000 from perhaps as many as 1.4 million less than a decade ago. “Iraq could be emptied of Christians,” a leader of the Chaldean Catholic Church told the Wall Street Journal.

You won’t be surprised to hear that the Islamic Republic of Iran registered “a sharp increase” in the number of Christians arrested starting last year, reports Open Doors. It apparently was part of any effort to distract from the popular protests against the repressive regime and its stolen election.

Only in Israel, where religious freedom is honored, have Christians increased, soaring from 34,000 in 1948 to 140,000 today.

Advocates for Islam talk about its history of tolerance, but political, revolutionary Islamism is the driving force in Mideast history today; it has little use for religious freedom. That has Christians literally running for their lives.