The atonement is falling out of favor, reports The Dallas Morning News
"More and more, some [Christians] reject the usual Christian talk about Jesus' death," reports The Dallas Morning News. "They don't consider Jesus a ransom for sin. They shudder at hymns glorifying the 'power of the blood.' They cringe at calling the day Jesus died Good Friday. They say a God who requires human sacrifice sounds mean and vindictive. It doesn't mesh with their idea of a God who loves and forgives." In other words, an increasing number of Christians today—"young and old, conservative and liberal, and [across] denominational lines—reject atonement theology. The writer of the article, Susan Hogan-Albach, shows a masterful grasp of what she's talking about. She quotes Romans 3:25 and 1 Peter 2:24, and is very fair to those who both support and disagree with atonement theology. The views are presented with more equal weight than they would be in Christianity Today (or that they have been in Books & Culture's series on the atonement), but for a major city newspaper article, this should win an award. Here's the bottom line: "Placing so much emphasis on Jesus' death overshadows the message he proclaimed while he lived, say those troubled by atonement theology. It makes the crucifixion all about appeasing an angry God, they say. … But atonement theology didn't just drop from the sky. It's there, in the gospels and letters of the New Testament."
Other articles on theology:
A proof that won't quite quit | Few agree with the ontological argument for God's existence. Even fewer agree on just what's wrong with it. (The National Post)
Eugene Rivers: Still in the spotlight
As noted in Weblog last week, The Boston Globe reported that Eugene Rivers was planning on "disappearing" from the public eye. "I am not interested in being local news," Rivers said. "All I want to do is reduce my negatives and … wherever it is possible, promote good will." Well, maybe he's not local news right now, but he's still national news. Saturday's New York Times also profiled Rivers, saying that "White House … efforts to have the government work more closely with religious organizations to tackle social problems may place him in a more influential position than he ever achieved with his small social services center here [in Boston]." Rivers says he wants to be the new black religious movement's—in his words, "an intellectual Phil Jackson." But writer Gustav Niebuhr noted Rivers's desire to disappear as well: "To be either coach or adviser, he will need to attract less attention—not an easy task, given his record for being both insightful and provocative, which has made him a magnet for reporters."
Bush meets with religious broadcasters
The National Association of Evangelicals got John DiIulio. The National Religious Broadcasters Association—which just split from the NAE—got DiIulio, Ashcroft, and Bush himself. Well the NRB executive board, anyway. "We expressed our gratitude that righteousness—which is just rightness—has returned to this office," said David W. Clark, president of Family Net TV Networks, told the Associated Press. "He, in turn, assured us that his role really is not to change government but to change culture."
More articles
Faith-based initiatives:
Battle lines grow on plan to assist religious groups | The battle over the White House initiative to channel more government financing to religious social service programs heated up yesterday, as several major labor unions joined the opposition and a coalition of conservative groups assured President Bush of their support. (The New York Times)
Conservatives rally around Bush plan | Coalition for Compassion hopes to counter criticism from liberal groups, as well as darts thrown by Christian conservatives who fear that government money will corrupt churches who take it (Associated Press)
Promise and pitfalls in taking religion to prison | The InnerChange Freedom Initiative illustrates both the promise and the challenges of collaboration between government and religious organizations. It works under contract with the state to rehabilitate felons, and inmates say they have been changed. But it is an open question whether the program could qualify for federal financing, given the religious message at its core. (The New York Times)
The marriage of politics and compassion | The rhetoric of ''compassionate conservatism,'' whether actually realized or not, marks a reversal of the ''rugged individualism'' that has so long undergirded one pole of American discourse. (James Carroll, The Boston Globe)
For heaven's sake, why do they ban Christian radio? | The legislation involved is a classic product of the British liberal mind, with all its lust to nanny and to interdict, not to mention a fastidious distaste for anyone who exhibits religious zeal. (Boris Johnson, The Daily Telegraph, London)
Firing upheld for trooper who refused riverboat duty | State Police officials say Ben Endres' firing was necessary to maintain discipline and authority, but his pastor says it's an example of the corruptive influence of gambling. (The Indianapolis Star)
Complaint ends public prayer at New Mexico high school | The Alamogordo, N.M., school district has stopped allowing prayers at school-sponsored events after the American Civil Liberties Union complained about a prayer by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at a high school football game. (Associated Press/Freedom Forum)
Georgia preacher puts out Word at high school football | While promoting prayers at games, Curtis Turner has gathered tens of thousands of signatures on a petition in support of a constitutional amendment guaranteeing public prayer. (The Washington Times)
N.D. Legislature approves religious-documents bill | What began as a proposal to display the Ten Commandments in North Dakota's public schools has become a new requirement for school boards to draft policies for the display of religious documents. (Associated Press/Freedom Forum)
Schools have no right to tell kids what to think | Both school and civil authorities are punishing children not for actual crimes, but for thought crimes - and doing so by claiming a responsibility to create a "safe" environment for kids. (Rod Dreher, New York Post)
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Seminary mulls its fiscal pinch | Union Theological Seminary, which has turned out leading theologians for 170 years, is grappling with the high cost of maintaining its historic Manhattan campus, and with an increasingly demanding academic environment (New York Daily News)
Court challenge threatens Scotland's Catholic schools | Legal challenge to school's refusal to admit a non-Catholic pupil could mean the end of Scotland's system of denominational schooling after 83 years of state-financed separate education. (The Independent, London)
Evolutionists battle new theory on creation | Evolutionists find themselves arrayed not against traditional creationism, with its roots in biblical literalism, but against a more sophisticated idea: the intelligent design theory. (The New York Times)
Biology text illustrations more fiction than fact | The intelligent design movement has helped its cause by publicizing some embarrassing mistakes in leading biology textbooks. Biologists attribute them to inattention, but design proponents say the errors show that Darwinists are more than willing to accept shoddy evidence if it supports evolution. (The New York Times)
Pakistani Christian teacher jailed for 'blasphemy' | Christians say Parvez Masih was jailed because his private classes were attracting more students than a nearby Muslim school (South Nexus, Manipal, India)
Defrocked priest leads war against evangelicals | A fiery Georgian cleric on a mission to rid his country of evangelical groups has damaged its reputation for religious tolerance and drawn criticism from abroad. (The Plain Dealer, Cleveland)
Activist faced sex charge | The leader of a group trying to repeal Broward County's gay-rights law and restore public funding to the Boy Scouts was charged in 1999 with sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl in Maryland. (The Miami Herald)
Gay pastor seeks Seattle post | Lesbian basing her request on another Methodist law that guarantees ordained elders in good standing the right to an appointment. (The Seattle Times)
Separation of Church & Gay | Conservative religious groups and gay-rights supporters square off over Bush's faith-based initiatives. (Michael Kress, Beliefnet)
Hospital chaplain resigned over gay colleague | "As an Anglican clergyman, Stephen is clearly breaking our professional and priestly codes of conduct," chaplain protests. (The Times, London)
Chaplain resigns after 'harassing' homosexual cleric | Gay colleague had complained that chaplain's opposition to homosexual clergy "made me feel anxious, depressed and intensely frustrated" (The Daily Telegraph, London)
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Namibia:
Church defends gay rights | Council of Churches in Namibia affirms anti-homosexual position of the Bible, but says gays and lesbians have rights (UN Integrated Regional Information Network)
God's wounded love on the city streets | As a volunteer working with women in prostitution, I often find myself challenged by the suffering wisdom of women on the streets. (Tina Beattie, The Dallas Morning News)
Woman ordered to stay away from minister | Joyce Henderson was warned she faced jail if she flouted the order after Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard she had plagued the Reverend Harvey Grainger with dozens of nuisance phone calls and had damaged his residence. (The Scotsman, Edinburgh)
Link to popular hymn saves old rustic building | Methodists hope to restore 139-year-old church where "The Old Rugged Cross" was first performed (Religion News Service/The Washington Post)
Taking a cue from barmen | Ever since Karl Barth and Martin Niemoeller, Confessing Church movements have sprung up in diverse denominations all over the world. The latest example is the venerable Presbyterian Church USA. (Uwe Siemon-Netto, UPI)
Burglars hit church for second straight night | Two nights in a row, someone broke a basement window glass, entered the Indianapolis church and ransacked offices on the main floor. Church officials don't think the burglary was particularly malicious. (The Indianapolis Star)
Activism:
Cincinnati clergy try to keep peace | 50 people roaming city, breaking windows in a protest over the police shooting of an unarmed black man (Associated Press)
Higher power is invoked in Vatican dispute | A Roman prosecutor wants radio transmitters shut down because of the electromagnetic radiation they produce. The Holy See denies levels are illegal. (Los Angeles Times)
Interfaith agencies going beyond religion | In perhaps a telling sign of the times, the National Conference of Christians and Jews has changed its name to the National Conference for Community and Justice. (Charles W. Bell, New York Daily News)
Maybe it's time for us to preach about our faith | I've spent a lot of time in churches, Roman Catholic and Protestant, the past 33 years. What I found there replaced the booze and then some. (Bill Reel, Newsday)
While we pray for peace, we need moral clarity about this war.
We’ve got little information on Jesus’ appearance and personality. But that’s the way God designed it.españolFrançais
NIL deals in college athletics present new challenges—and opportunities—for colleges and students.
