VirtueOnline Digest, Vol 17, Issue 33

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=================================
VirtueOnline Weekly News Digest
http://www.VirtueOnline.org
=================================

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Today's Topics:

1. Table of Contents (David Virtue)
2. VIEWPOINTS: September 1, 2017 (David Virtue)
3. Seminaries Reflect Struggles of Mainline Churches (David Virtue)
4. Episcopal Camp Allen flooded, 30 people trapped with three
days of food (David Virtue)
5. Support the Hurricane Harvey Relief Effort (David Virtue)
6. Hurricane Harvey brings out the best and worst in people
(David Virtue)
7. The Nashville Statement (David Virtue)
8. Outspoken critic of same-sex practices leaves Pittsburgh
Theological Seminary (David Virtue)
9. PERTH: The Dean of St George's Cathedral backs a Yes vote in
same-sex marriage postal survey (David Virtue)
10. Whatever Happened to God the Father? (David Virtue)
11. The Historical Adam (David Virtue)
12. Christianity Could Vanish From Middle East by 2025 if
Terrorism Continues, Believers Warn (David Virtue)
13. Western leaders take note -- Islamists want to re-live their
brutal and violent conquest of Spain (David Virtue)
14. What Does it Mean to be a Mature Christian Disciple?
GENTLENESS (David Virtue)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2017 19:52:53 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Table of Contents
Message-ID:
<1504223573.2900359....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

VirtueOnline Weekly News Digest - Desktop & Mobile Edition
www.virtueonline.org
Sept. 1, 2017

*************************************
VIEWPOINTS
*************************************

1. Hurricane Harvey News * TEC Sues SC Diocese Over "False Advertising"
* Mainline Seminaries Face Closure...
http://www.virtueonline.org/hurricane-harvey-news-tec-sues-sc-diocese-over-false-advertising-mainline-seminaries-face-closure


*********************************************
THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
*********************************************

2. Seminaries Reflect Struggles of Mainline Churches
http://www.virtueonline.org/seminaries-reflect-struggles-mainline-churches

3. Episcopal Camp Allen flooded, 30 people trapped with three days of
food
http://www.virtueonline.org/episcopal-camp-allen-flooded-30-people-trapped-three-days-food


*********************************************
ANGLICAN NEWS IN NORTH AMERICA
*********************************************

4.Support the Hurricane Harvey Relief Effort
<http://www.virtueonline.org/support-hurricane-harvey-relief-effort

5.Hurricane Harvey brings out the best and worst in people
<http://www.virtueonline.org/hurricane-harvey-brings-out-best-and-worst-people


********************************
CULTURE WARS
********************************

6.The Nashville Statement
http://www.virtueonline.org/nashville-statement

7.Outspoken critic of same-sex practices leaves Pittsburgh Theological
Seminary
http://www.virtueonline.org/outspoken-critic-same-sex-practices-leaves-pittsburgh-theological-seminary


*************************************
GLOBAL ANGLICAN NEWS
*************************************

8. PERTH: The Dean of St George's Cathedral backs a Yes vote in same sex
marriage postal survey
http://www.virtueonline.org/perth-dean-st-georges-cathedral-backs-yes-vote-same-sex-marriage-postal-survey


********************************
HISTORY, THEOLOGY & SCIENCE
********************************

9.Whatever Happened to God the Father?
http://www.virtueonline.org/whatever-happened-god-father

10.The Historical Adam
http://www.virtueonline.org/historical-adam


*********************************
ISLAMIC PERSECUTION
*********************************

11.Christianity Could Vanish From Middle East by 2025 if Terrorism
Continues; Believers Warn
http://www.virtueonline.org/christianity-could-vanish-middle-east-2025-if-terrorism-continues-believers-warn

12.Western leaders take note -- Islamists want to re-live their brutal
and violent conquest of Spain
http://www.virtueonline.org/western-leaders-take-note-islamists-want-re-live-their-brutal-and-violent-conquest-spain


************************************
DEVOTIONAL
**********************************

13. What Does It Mean To Be A Mature Christian Disciple? GENTLENESS
http://www.virtueonline.org/what-does-it-mean-be-mature-christian-disciple-gentleness


END



------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2017 19:54:19 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: VIEWPOINTS: September 1, 2017
Message-ID:
<1504223659.2900965....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

The Spirit's witness. In the Upper Room Jesus emphasized that the
distinctive work of the Spirit whom the Father was going to send would
be in relation to himself, the Son; that the Spirit would delight above
all else to glorify or manifest the Son (Jn. 16:14); and that therefore
in the spread of the gospel the Holy Spirit would be the chief witness.
'He will bear witness to me.' Only after saying this did Jesus add to
his apostles, 'and you also are witnesses' (Jn. 15:26-27). Once we have
grasped the significance of this order, we shall have no difficulty in
agreeing that *without his witness ours is futile*. --- John R.W. Stott

"We should no more tolerate false doctrine that we would tolerate sin."
--- J.C. Ryle

"Who me, deny the Lord?" you might be saying right now. Yes you. It is
time to get real here. How many Christians are in fact denying their
Lord in all sorts of ways, maybe even on a daily basis? How many because
of cowardice, because of being men-pleasers, because of wanting to be
accepted, will refuse to stand for Christ, especially at crunch times?
--- Bill Muehlenberg

"Inability to distinguish doctrine is spreading far and wide, and so
long as the preacher is "clever" and "earnest," hundreds seem to think
it must be all right, and call you dreadfully "narrow and uncharitable"
if you hint that he is unsound!" --- J.C. Ryle

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
www.virtueonline.org
Sept. 1, 2017

HURRICANE HARVEY swept into Houston and Louisiana with a 1 in 1000-year
vengeance, devastating thousands of lives and homes on an unprecedented
scale. FEMA officials says it will take up to two years to fix. That
might be a conservative timeline.

Anglican Archbishop Foley Beach is calling on Anglicans to help with
donations and is asking folk to send donations to Anglican Relief and
Development Fund (ARDF). You can make your donation here:
https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E92060&id=93

VOL correspondent Mary Ann Mueller obtained an exclusive story on a
group of 30 Cursillo participants trapped and flooded out at Camp Allen,
Texas. It threw a monkey wrench into the Diocese of Texas' Cursillo-252
over the weekend. You can read it here or in today's digest.
http://www.virtueonline.org/episcopal-camp-allen-flooded-30-people-trapped-three-days-food

The Episcopal Bishop of Texas, Andrew Doyle, issued a cautionary press
release saying he did not have the full facts so he could not (or would
not) say how bad things are for Episcopal parishes. That didn't stop
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry saying people should not send food,
clothing or other items, but Episcopalians could make a donation.

One wonders if the Episcopal Church had not spent tens of millions of
dollars on lawsuits trying to reclaim church properties, that the
national church could now write out a check for $10 million to Bishop
Doyle, instead of begging for money from already distressed
Episcopalians! But TEC never could get its priorities right. After all,
if you think strangling the Episcopal Church with the umbilical cord of
homoerotic sex is worth dying for, why bother with a handful of parishes
in Texas!

Of course, incidents like this might just have the salutary effect of
re-ordering peoples' lives around gospel truth, dispensing with
pluriform notions of truth, especially if you might be looking death in
the face. Bishop Doyle might yet learn that Jesus saves not General
Convention resolutions.

*****

Continuing its 'litigate till you capitulate' philosophy, the Episcopal
Church announced that it would join the Episcopal Diocese of South
Carolina, supporting a federal lawsuit against the breakaway diocese
over false advertising and related claims. A federal judge granted The
Episcopal Church's motion to intervene in the lawsuit because of Bishop
Lawrence's "misuse of marks owned by the Church."

The federal case, known as vonRosenberg v. Lawrence, has been assigned
to U.S. District Court Judge Richard Gergel, and currently is scheduled
to proceed to trial in March 2018.

Bishop vonRosenberg retired in 2016, and his successor, Bishop Skip
Adams, was added as a plaintiff in the case earlier this year.

IN OTHER NEWS, VOL learned from Episcopal sources that it will not cut
any slack to Bishop Lawrence and his fellow Anglicans. They believe that
a rehearing asked for by the Standing Committee will not change anything
and they plan to wave the Episcopal flag in Charleston and outlying
areas where they say they now own 29 parishes. They believe the recusal
issue of Judge Kaye Hearn is DOA. They believe in the 3-3-3 policy --
that is, one third will stay in the parishes, one third will go with
Mark Lawrence and one third will drift off to other churches and
possibly return in time to their Episcopal roots. After all there is the
graveyard to consider and who doesn't want to be buried next to General
What's His Name who might just have a Confederate flag lining his
coffin.

One thing you are not hearing is any talk from TEC about reconciliation,
that much vaunted and over used word bandied about by liberals when it
comes to sexuality issues, but not apparently to property issues. God,
forbid! The policy of TEC on property issues is, and has always been,
'we will crush you into the ground', but if we have to sell the
property, we will never, never, never sell it to an Anglican group. We
will sell it to Muslims, other evangelical churches, but not to anything
Anglican. Just ask Mrs. Jefferts Schori, who told a court that she would
sooner sell such parishes for saloons. And to think Archbishop Justin
Welby wants to keep making nice with TEC and just wishes that Archbishop
Foley Beach would go away and stop mucking up the Anglican works by
being a GAFCON interloper.

You see the real hatred is not from evangelicals and Anglo-Catholics
towards homosexual and transgendered folk, most of whom will never meet
a Trannie. No, the hatred comes from the left...from those whose
revisionist agenda will not tolerate orthodox folk who dare to say 'thus
saith the Lord'. That is anathema to them. They want their agenda
promoted, praised and brokered into the church and nothing will stop
them, nothing. Scripture be damned.

One is forced to ask what will bishops like Bill Love (Albany); Greg
Brewer (Central Florida); Dan Martins (Springfield): and George R.
Sumner (Dallas) do when at TEC's next general convention they pass a
resolution calling for the full inclusion of trannies to all levels of
ministry in the Church. Will they hold their noses or throw up in an
"inclusive" bathroom when no one is looking? "Affirming the dignity of
all of God's people," is not a license to becoming a bishop.

*****

A PROPOSAL to amend the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) of the Episcopal
Church in the United States to change the marriage rite and catechism
may be brought to the General Convention next year, according to a
report in Church Times.

Although alternative "gender-neutral" rites are available on a trial
basis, after a decision by the 2015 General Convention, the US Prayer
Book catechism continues to state that marriage is between a man and a
woman. Members of the Task Force on the Study of Marriage which was
commissioned by the 2015 Convention to study "the impact of same-sex
marriage and rites of blessing on our Church" are concerned that the
current arrangement is unstable.

"When we expanded the marriage canon, we gave expression to the Church's
teaching about marriage in the Declaration of Intention," the minutes
from a meeting of the Task Force in March state. "We have embraced a
core teaching of our understanding of marriage. This could be the basis
of whatever catechetical teaching is written for the BCP revision."

The 2015 Act of Convention (News, 10 July 2015) authorized two new
marriage rites with language that could be used by both same-sex and
opposite-sex couples. The resolution said that bishops "will make
provision for all couples asking to be married in this Church to have
access to these liturgies", but also that "trial use is only to be
available under the discretion and with the permission of the diocesan
bishop." In addition, priests retain the canonical right to refuse to
officiate at any wedding.

As a result, the availability of the new same-sex rites has been patchy.
Some bishops will not grant priests permission to use the rites. There
are also reports that priests are officiating at weddings in these
dioceses, having travelled from dioceses where bishops do grant
permission.

Minutes from the March meeting refer to anxiety about the basis on which
the trial rites are available: "There is concern about the stability of
this arrangement," they state. "There are conflicting directions in
which this might head. A progressive priest has noted the goal should be
that every same-sex couple should have the right to be married in their
home parish. Some conservatives have wondered if their view will be
allowed to flourish in some pocket in the Church."

They go on: "If BCP is our principal theological document, these
liturgies say something that some aren't ready to say."

For the handful of conservatives who will vote against this, their vote
will be largely symbolic and meaningless. It is a done deal and TEC will
slither further down the moral drain.

*****

A Canadian Anglican blogger recently sent this note to VOL. "The
majority of Anglican Churches of Canada are now 'sharing sacred space'
(fancy inclusive words from the diocese) with a myriad of other users.

"For example, one church has five other users including an elementary
school. Almost every church has an ethnic church meeting there, usually
Chinese, Korean, or Spanish speaking.

"There are day care centers, yoga, Taoist tai chi classes and even an
art gallery in Leamington, Ontario, where the town Islamic mosque is in
the Anglican Church, with the two Anglican ministers taking part in
recent Islamic "prayers". This is in addition to the myriad self-help
groups who meet at the churches, including AA, AlAnon, Cocaine A,
Overeaters A, Narcotics A, and now even euchre games are held where
admission is paid to attend. At one church, people can hardly wait for
the euchre games to start.

"Money is getting tight and so anyone and everybody can "share sacred
space" as long as there is money coming in with new groups in order to
keep the Anglican Church in Canada afloat," noted the blogger.

The Diocese of Algoma in Canada is representative of most dioceses
across the county, so you might be interested in these figures:

The diocese is divided into five deaneries. Here are just three.

Algoma has 16 churches and one chapel, is served by 7 clergy and 2 lay
pastors, and encompasses some 11 communities. The Deanery of Muskoka has
31 churches and two chapels, is served by 9 clergy, and encompasses 31
communities; The Deanery of Sudbury-Manitoulin has 18 churches and one
chapel, is served by 8 clergy and 1 lay pastor. Hardly hopeful stats for
the future. Meanwhile, Archbishop Fred Hiltz will go on pressing for the
full (homo)sexual inclusion onto the Global South Primates who can be
persuaded that they are behind the times.

*****

Say it ain't so. Episcopal churches from Maine to Maryland cook
thousands of lobsters at the annual community supper. People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals, (PETA) is asking them to consider vegan
bake sales instead.

To animal rights activists, that's a problem.

The prominent advocacy group, has honed its focus on one beloved
tradition in Episcopal churches across the country, the lobster boil.
The animal-rights group sent a letter to TEC's Presiding Bishop Michael
Curry, asking him to end the practice of lobster dinners in favor of
something more vegetarian.

"Most of us grew up believing that killing lobsters and other animals
for food is what must be done, but if we contemplate it, all killing
requires conquering, violence, and separating ourselves from the rest of
creation," PETA wrote to the bishop. "God designed humans to be
caretakers, not killers."

The letter cited both the Old and New Testaments and the writer David
Foster Wallace, who examined the practice of boiling lobsters alive for
consumption in his well-known essay "Consider the Lobster." PETA
described the practice as "cruelty that I know doesn't reflect the
tenets of the Episcopal Church."

Ben Williamson, a spokesman for PETA, said he didn't know if there was
any particular link between Episcopalians and lobsters, and several
Episcopal church leaders whom The Washington Post asked about the
connection didn't have an answer either. But PETA staff noticed a
pattern of lobster dinners as church fundraisers, and decided to look
into it. They identified 28 Episcopal congregations advertising lobster
fundraisers in more than 10 different states.

VOL believes that any Episcopalian caught eating lobsters should
immediately be boiled in the hottest water imaginable, their limbs
pulled, and all parts fed to orthodox Anglicans as payback for the
millions of dollars lost in lawsuits over properties taken from them. It
may not be full compensation, but it would be a good start.

*****

Mainline Protestant seminaries are facing an existential crisis after a
decade of mounting red ink, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Enrollment has fallen by nearly 25% over the past decade, according to
the Association of Theological Schools, an accrediting agency.

The entire faculty at Episcopal Divinity School has been laid off this
summer. The remaining students are transferring to other seminaries,
most notably Union Theological Seminary in New York, snubbing its NYC
Episcopal neighbor, General Theological Seminary.

Episcopal Divinity School pushed the Episcopal Church to ordain women
and accept gay and lesbian members, said its school's faculty and
students aren't invited to join. The seminary was led by a partnered
lesbian. The 19th Century stone chapel is up for sale and closing its
doors. Columnist Rod Dreher said the seminary should be given to
Nigerian Anglicans after an exorcism, of course.

"We're going to see a bunch of seminaries close in the next 50 years,"
said Gary Hall, the chair of EDS's board of trustees. "The church is
shrinking. The need for clergy is shrinking. And the institutional
support is shrinking."

Mainline churches, where membership has been falling for decades, can
support fewer full-time pastors than in the past. Denominations are
pulling back their financial support for seminaries, while the cost of
educating students is still going up.

Truth is, there are really only three viable Episcopal seminaries left:
Trinity School for Ministry, Nashotah House and Virginia Theological
Seminary. The rest will close in the next five years.

*****

A leader of some of Britain's pagans is demanding the 'return' of two
church buildings as compensation for property they claim was stolen from
them during the conversion of England 1,300 years ago.

The Odinist Fellowship, representing more than 1,000 pagans, has written
to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, also demanding that the
pagans be given a public apology.

The letter, seen by the Sunday Telegraph, says: 'With a view to
re-establishing better relations between the Odinist Fellowship and the
Christian churches in England, and persuaded that a restitution of past
wrongs is the best way to lay the foundations of improved relations, we
wish you to be aware that the great majority of Odinists believe that
honour requires the English church to issue a public apology for its
former crimes against the Odinists.'

Ralph Harrison, director of the Fellowship, told the newspaper 'Two
bishops have sent responses, which have been polite, but nothing
substantial.

'The objective is just to get the Church to acknowledge that it has got
a history of persecution when it comes to the Odinist religion and it
has to take stock of that and not just write it out of history.

'Within the Odinist community there is a strong sense of antagonism
towards the institutional Church.

The group wants a church from both the northern and southern provinces
of York and Canterbury to compensate for temple grounds it claims were
stolen from them by Christian missionaries such as St Augustine.

Harrison described this as 'spiritual genocide' and said the Church of
England was in possession of 'a vast quantity of stolen property'.

*****

The Anglican Church of Australia elected Kay Goldsworthy, Bishop of
Perth, as its first female archbishop. She will be the archbishop-elect
of the Anglican Diocese of Perth in Western Australia.

Goldsworthy will replace Roger Herft, who stepped down a year ahead of
schedule after admitting he had let down survivors at the royal
commission into child sex abuse.

Bishop Goldsworthy stressed that the Perth diocese had put in place a
raft of policies and legislation to ensure protection for its most
vulnerable members.

She said she hoped to rebuild and regain the trust of the community, but
her first concern was for survivors of abuse.

Goldsworthy will not officially begin her new role until February 10,
2018, when she will be installed as the eighth Archbishop of Perth at St
George's Cathedral.

*****

The earliest Latin commentary on the Gospels, lost for more than 1,500
years, has been rediscovered and made available in English for the first
time. The extraordinary find, a work written by a bishop in northern
Italy, Fortunatianus of Aquileia, dates back to the middle of the fourth
century, reports the Religion News Service.

The biblical text of the manuscript is of particular significance, as it
predates the standard Latin version known as the Vulgate and provides
new evidence about the earliest form of the Gospels in Latin.

Despite references to this commentary in other ancient works, no copy
was known to survive until Lukas Dorfbauer, a researcher from the
University of Salzburg, identified Fortunatianus' text in an anonymous
manuscript copied around the year 800 and held in Cologne Cathedral
Library. The manuscripts of Cologne Cathedral Library were made
available online in 2002.

*****

Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, Primate of the Anglican Church of Nigeria,
appealed to Nigerians to avoid hate speech, this week.? Okoh made the
call in Kano when he led some members of his church to visit Gov.
Abdullahi Ganduje at the Government House.

The clergyman, who described the trend in recent times as alarming,?
urged Nigerians to work assiduously to control hate speech.? "Hate
speech has serious consequences on our country as it promotes violence,
extremism and conflicts. "Most of the adherents of these two religions
(Christianity and Islam) don't have the real understanding of the
teaching?s of their religions; that is why we are having problems with
hate speeches," he said.

Okoh called on Nigerians to preach love, tolerance and understanding in
order to move the country forward.? He said that religious bodies in the
country had critical roles to play in nation building.

*****

The hierarchy of the Anglican Church in Barbados came in for a severe
tongue lashing from a fellow man of the cloth, the Rev. Charles Morris,
who accused the church of losing its voice amid an atmosphere of fear
due to rising crime.

In an especially scathing criticism of his own denomination, he
complained that despite the growing national fears over gun violence,
the Anglican Church had yet to meet to devise a plan to help bring calm
to the society.

"The leadership of the Anglican Church for the past 17 years has been so
silent on social issues that it is almost deafening. We have not heard
anything coming from the leadership of the Anglican Church in the wake
of this year's upsurge in gun violence," Morris told Barbados TODAY.

"Right now, the Anglican Church has its strategic plan and all it is
pointing to is events. We spent an hour-and-a-half talking about a
bazaar, which I must say I found quite bizarre. The strategic plan does
not address any of the social issue surrounding the worrisome things
going on in Barbados. As a matter of fact, the church no longer has a
prophetic voice, the voice of warning is not there," he continued.

Making reference to the 23 murders committed so far this year -- one
more than all of last year, and 19 of which are gun related -- the
outspoken priest told Barbados TODAY that the Church had given up its
social mandate in pursuit of riches.

In April of this year, he also tore into the local Church over the
controversial issue of sex education, charging its opposition to
comprehensive sexuality education was hypocrisy.

He also told Barbados TODAY at the time, that the churches had a knack
for utterances which ran contrary to church doctrine, had a "warped
view" of sex in today's world and were engaging in "Christians' preach"
that was not based on reality.

"We have to move away from this warped view that everyone must accept
that sex is reserved for marriage. That is the view Christians' preach
but in reality, it is not what the Christians live by," the provocative
church leader argued.

*****

Bishop James Wong of the Seychelles has been elected as the new
Archbishop and Primate of the Church of the Province of the Indian
Ocean. He succeeds Archbishop Ian Ernest, who served for 11 years. The
election took place on Saturday at the Provincial Synod in Mauritius.
Archbishop James has committed himself to the fostering of links within
the Communion.

Archbishop James is a native of the island of Rodrigues and was granted
Seychellois citizenship in 2015. He was ordained priest in 1983 and
served in three parishes in the diocese of Mauritius, before he was
appointed Archdeacon of Mauritius. In April 2009, he was elected as the
fourth Bishop of the Seychelles.

Before his episcopal election, he was active in ecumenical affairs,
serving as General Secretary of the Fellowship of Christian Churches of
Mauritius and Chairman of Scripture Union Mauritius. Archbishop James is
married to Doreen and has a daughter and a son.

*****

DIED. Michael Cromartie, a Washington networker who helped rebrand
America's image of Christian political engagement, has died of cancer at
age 67. The news of his death was reported on Twitter and confirmed by
colleagues at the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), the DC-based
conservative think tank where he served for more than 30 years.

Cromartie brought Christian thought leaders and secular journalists
under the same roof at the Faith Angle Forum, held every year since
1999. Through his work as EPPC vice president, he evoked theologians and
philosophers as he advocated for thoughtful engagement in public policy
and civil discourse. He will be sorely missed.

In a political arena often dominated by competition, power grabs, and
culture war debates, Cromartie stuck out by offering a friendlier,
humbler approach. It's this attitude that his colleagues remember most
and cite as his greatest legacy.

*****

VOL must have a working budget. We have more readers than ever, but
fewer donors. We need help from you our readers. Thousands of you go
each day to the website and thousands more receive a weekly digest of
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If we can get 1000 readers to make a $100.00 donation we are home free.

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.

In Christ,

David



------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2017 19:54:39 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Seminaries Reflect Struggles of Mainline Churches
Message-ID:
<1504223679.2901027....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Seminaries Reflect Struggles of Mainline Churches
Storied institutions are shutting their doors as enrollment shrinks

By Ian Lovett
Wall Street Journal
https://www.wsj.com/
Aug. 10, 2017 5:30 a.m. ET

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--The entire faculty at Episcopal Divinity School has
been laid off this summer. The remaining students are transferring to
other seminaries.

After 150 years, the school is putting its campus, with its 19th Century
stone chapel, up for sale and closing its doors.

"We're going to see a bunch of seminaries close in the next 50 years,"
said Gary Hall, the chair of EDS's board of trustees. "The church is
shrinking. The need for clergy is shrinking. And the institutional
support is shrinking."

Mainline Protestant seminaries are facing an existential crisis after a
decade of mounting red ink.

Enrollment has fallen by nearly 25% over the past decade, according to
the Association of Theological Schools, an accrediting agency.

Mainline churches, where membership has been falling for decades, can
support fewer full-time pastors than in the past. Denominations are
pulling back their financial support for seminaries, while the cost of
educating students is still going up.

As a result, some of the oldest and most celebrated seminaries in the
country--institutions that helped shape both Christianity and higher
education in the U.S.--are on the brink of financial collapse.

Andover-Newton Theological School, the nation's first graduate school of
any kind, founded in 1807 outside of Boston, sold its campus in July and
is moving to the Yale Divinity School campus in Connecticut.

Claremont School of Theology recently said it is hoping to sell its
campus and relocate from Southern California to a less expensive area.

Episcopal Divinity School--which pushed the Episcopal church to ordain
women and accept gay and lesbian members--will affiliate with Union
Theological Seminary in New York. But the school's faculty and students
aren't invited to join.

Daniel O. Aleshire, the former executive director of the Association of
Theological Schools, said seminaries were facing a "mergers and
acquisitions environment." Many smaller schools are joining with larger
ones on university campuses, which have remained more financially
stable.

Still, Mr. Aleshire didn't see this as the end-times for theological
higher education, but as an evolution of its mission. "Theological
education is starting to look more like an executive M.B.A., not a
degree required for initial practice in ministry," he said.

Until recent years, seminaries largely focused on training young college
graduates to become full-time church pastors.

Schools like EDS and Andover-Newton helped establish a template for what
being a church pastor in the U.S. meant. Students spent three years on a
seminary campus studying for a master's of divinity, the degree many
denominations have long required for pastors. They studied Greek and
Hebrew so they could read some of the earliest Bible texts.

Such academic rigor gave rise to a class of clergy who were often among
the most educated and respected people in their communities.

But as the nation has grown more secular, the role of clergy, and
seminaries, has shifted.

With dropping church attendance, there are fewer full-time pastor jobs
available. In the past 25 years, the average age of all pastors in the
U.S. has risen to 54 from 44, according to a study by the Barna Group, a
research firm specializing in the study of religious beliefs.

Seminaries have taken steps to attract more students, effectively
redefining theological graduate education in the process.

A shrinking portion of students are pursuing the traditional three-year
master's of divinity. Schools are attracting older students, who may not
plan on a career in church ministry. A growing portion of seminary
students are taking most classes online.

Claremont School of Theology, which traces its roots to 1885, has more
than doubled its enrollment since 2010 to more than 400 students, in
large part because most of the school's students now take most of their
classes online.

The school has also embraced an interreligious curriculum, and only a
quarter of the students are members of the United Methodist Church, with
which the school is affiliated.

"We take seriously our role in training religious leaders. But we also
take seriously our role in training leaders for nonprofit organizations
and other institutions," said the Rev. Kah-Jin Jeffrey Kuan, president
of Claremont School of Theology.

Lisa Devine, who graduated from EDS in May, is typical of many mainline
seminary students these days. At 36, she lived in California most of the
time she attended EDS.

She said she doesn't "feel called to parish ministry." Instead, her
family plans to start a "therapeutic farm."

"I think theological education needs to change, and in many ways it
already is," Ms. Devine said. "No one can take three years out of their
life."

Other Christian denominations are confronting similar challenges
recruiting and training a new generation of clergy. For Roman Catholics,
there is now one priest for every 1,800 Catholics in the country--more
than twice what the ratio was in 1970. More than 3,000 parishes in the
country now lack a full-time priest.

At evangelical Christian seminaries, enrollment is down slightly over
the past decade, though it has rebounded over the past two years. Many
of the churches that are growing fastest, like nondenominational
Pentecostal churches, don't require a seminary degree for pastors.

Skye Jethani, an evangelical Christian pastor and author, said falling
seminary attendance is a symptom of a growing "consumerism" in American
Christianity.

"Fewer churches have the expectation that pastors have gone to
seminary," Mr. Jethani said. "In popular evangelicalism, they don't
really care about your theology. What they care about is, are you an
entertaining speaker, or can you run a complicated business like a
megachurch?"

Still, some seminaries are growing.

Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, a
theologically conservative school in Louisville, Ky., said the school's
enrollment had hit record highs in recent years. A growing number are
taking classes online, and a record number are studying to be church
pastors.

In an era when Christianity is becoming less dominant, Mr. Mohler said,
young people heading to seminary wanted an "unquestionably orthodox
theological education."

"A theological seminary that isn't training pastors is just negotiating
its way out of business," Mr. Mohler said. "There's nothing other than
training pastors that couldn't be done more efficiently and
inexpensively by someone else."

END



------------------------------

Message: 4
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2017 19:54:57 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Episcopal Camp Allen flooded, 30 people trapped with three
days of food
Message-ID:
<1504223697.2901034....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Episcopal Camp Allen flooded, 30 people trapped with three days of food
Cursillo-252 caught by Hurricane Harvey

By Mary Ann Mueller
VOL Special Correspondent
www.virtueonline.org
August 28, 2017

NAVASOTA, TEXAS -- Hurricane Harvey is not only causing havoc in Houston
as water continues to rise, forcing thousands from their homes to seek
higher ground, it also threw a monkey wrench into the Diocese of Texas'
Cursillo-252 over the weekend, trapping 30 people at Camp Allen on
Sunday night with little food as the flood waters continue to inch
closer.

Hurricane Harvey initially formed on Aug. 17 as a tropical wave to the
east of the Lesser Antilles. It worked its way across the Caribbean Sea,
passing between Cuba and South America and over the Yucat?n Peninsula of
Mexico on Aug. 23, eventually landing in Bay of Campeche.

On Thursday (Aug. 24) two things happened. Cursillo started at Camp
Allen and a weakened and disorganized Harvey decided to intensify in the
bath-warm water of the Gulf of Mexico and zero in on the south Texas
coast with 130 mph winds. By Thursday evening, feeder band clouds were
starting to swirl and the first few drops of rain fell. That was just a
hint of what was to come.

On Friday (Aug. 25) Harvey became a strong Category 4 hurricane and was
bearing down on Rockport, Texas, 250 miles southwest of Camp Allen.
Harvey is the first hurricane to hit Texas since Ike in 2008. At about
10 p.m., the hurricane slammed ashore and, being bookended by two high
pressure systems, it stalled, slowly spinning its way toward Houston,
bringing once-in-a-lifetime levels of drenching rain with it.

The outer feeder bands' counterclockwise circulation sucked up moisture
from the warm Gulf and huge amounts of rain fell over Houston and inland
points to the north and northwest of Texas' largest population center,
including Grimes County where Camp Allen is located near Navasota.

Camp Allen is 60 miles from the heart of Houston, where upwards of 18
inches of rain fell on Sunday. Huntsville (where this reporter lives)
received 10 inches of rain and Camp Allen got at least eight. Heavy rain
is not expected to let up until Wednesday (Aug. 30) at the earliest.

Early on Sunday (Aug. 27), Camp Allen was flooded and all roads leading
in and out of the Episcopal conference center were underwater and
impassable, trapping those attending Cursillo with only enough food for
three days (90 meals) for breakfast, lunch and supper.

Late Sunday night, the camp still had power, but the Cursilloers were
weary. Some had homes flooding in the Houston area and they could not
get out. All anyone could so was pray, wait, watch and pray some more as
the flood waters rose and hopefully receded.

Cursillo-252 was meeting at Camp Allen's Lakeside Meeting Center, an
intimate 2,300-square foot facility with large picture windows
overlooking Camp Allen's 70-acre Lake Coffield.

Camp Allen's website describes the meeting hall as: "... a picturesque
venue, complete with modern amenities."

By Sunday night, Lake Coffield and the smaller Lake Goddard had
overflowed their banks, flooding Camp Allen Road which snakes around the
wooded retreat facility, trapping the Cursilloers and preventing them
from leaving.

By Sunday afternoon, the Diocese of Texas' Cursillo website posted this
announcement: "Dear friends in Christ ... DO NOT COME TO CAMP ALLEN
TODAY (SUNDAY) FOR CLAUSURA OR TO PICK UP YOUR PILGRIMS!"

The blog post continued: "Cursillo #252 is continuing with the program
in the Lakeside Meeting Center (LMC) at Camp Allen. Roads into Camp
Allen and the roads to the LMC are essentially impassable, if not closed
due to high water."

The Diocese of Texas' Cursillo website theorized: "We are CERTAIN this
will be the BEST CURSILLO EVER - if not the longest one ... and we're
reminded that God called us together for this weekend, and is with us."

The Rev. Nan Doerr was one of three Episcopal priests who are part of
the 18-member Cursillo-252 team.

She was taking the flooding in stride and trusting God and His
Providence as they sheltered-in-place.

The priest noted that there was no reason to panic, since the group had
just experienced an "intense" Cursillo and they had "electricity, beds,
a roof over their heads, water and food for three days."

"We are safe and not in any danger, but we will be sheltering-in-place,
Christians in Community for awhile," Sunday's Cursillo blog post
explained. "As this is a constantly evolving situation, we will keep you
up-to-date as the situation changes. Let us unite in prayer for those in
distress and need."

Mother Doerr also noted that they also had enough Eucharist elements --
bread and wine -- to celebrate Holy Communion twice.

The Episcopal priest also explained that Bishop Jeff Fisher
(Texas-suffragan) had been in cell phone contact with them, asking if
they needed anything and promising he would do anything he could to help
them.

"How can he do anything to help if he can't get here?" Mother Doerr
mused.

During the early morning hours of Monday (Aug. 28), another two inches
of rain fell in Navasota, six inches less than what fell during the day
Sunday, allowing some of the deep flood waters to recede. When dawn came
Monday, rural farm-to-market roads leading to and from Camp Allen were
again becoming passable. Camp Allen is at 18800 Farm Road 362.

Slowly, the Cursilloers started to leave and head home, some not knowing
how dry their houses would be when they got there ... if they can even
get there as many roads are still flooding and impassible. Currently,
Houston television stations are giving 24-hour hurricane coverage.

However, due to the continued nature of the unfolding catastrophic
flooding in Houston and the southern parts of the Texas diocese, a
preplanned Episcopal Diocese of Texas Executive Team Retreat, slated to
start Tuesday (Aug. 29),is expected to be put on hold so that the
leadership of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas can focus its full
attention on the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

Mary Ann Mueller is a journalist living in Texas. She is a regular
contributor to VirtueOnline

*****

Hurricane Harvey and our Mission

By Bishop Andrew Doyle
http://www.epicenter.org/article/hurricane-harvey-and-our-mission/
August 28, 2017

Let me begin by thanking all of our brothers and sisters around the
world who are holding us up in prayer. We are grateful for the hope you
lend us at this time of disaster and fear.

We have been in touch with many people and know that the disaster
stretches across the whole southern part of our diocese. We expect the
area to grow as the slow moving storm progresses across the state.

We are following the guidance of our officials and hunkering down in
order to remain safe while they focus on those in the most immediate
danger. Please pray for many clergy and laity who have water in their
home. Pray also for those who need rescuing and are even now being
rescued. We have a number of first responders and they also need our
prayers as they are leaving loved ones to help with rescue operations.

We want to emphasize that we need to wait until the danger has passed to
make our response so as not to complicated further the ongoing rescue
operations.

Our plan for response includes the following:

We are in a standby mode until the storm passes.
We have had an effective test of our Alertmedia, our app for
communicating with heads of congregations and staff in emergencies.
We have been in touch with many of our clergy families in the affected
areas and heard from them about their situations. This afternoon we will
use Alertmedia to gather more information.
Once the storm and danger has passed we will begin planning deployment
of our Spiritual Care teams to affected areas.
We will are now and will continue to assess area damage as we get
information from multiple sources and evaluate ways we can make an
affective response.
An overall strategy will be developed and a coordinated response will be
managed collaboratively working with our congregations. We will then
implement a strategy and coordinate with resources.
As I write these words, I am very present to the sadness, fear,
uncertainty, and grief that fill our minds and hearts in the wake of
hurricane and tropical storm Harvey. Coastal towns along the Texas Gulf
have been destroyed, and catastrophic flooding has left much of Houston
underwater. Truly this storm has brought all of us to our knees, and our
only recourse is to join King David in his plea for mercy: "Save me, O
God, for the waters have risen up to my neck" (Psalm 69:1).

Two of the most powerful images in Scripture have Jesus Christ
exercising authority over the sea. Jesus commands the stormy sea to be
calm: "Who is this?" The disciples ask. "For even the winds and the sea
obey him" (Matt 8:26). In a different passage, Jesus walks on the sea
(Matt 14:26). The point being made by the Biblical author is clear:
namely, that God's power to save, renew, heal, and restore is infinitely
greater than the sea's power to destroy. The God we know in Jesus Christ
forever sits "enthroned amidst the flood" (Psalm 29:10).

It is with this hope that we wait for healing together and, in concert
with our Baptismal vows, we pledge to be conduits through whom God
brings healing and renewal to others. We also commit to allowing other
human beings to be vessels through whom God brings healing and renewal
to us, for receiving is always its own kind of courage.

We do not know the future of Harvey or the city of Houston. But as Jesus
said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass
away" (Matt 24:35). "I will never leave you," says our Lord standing on
the waves. "Never will I forsake you" (Heb 13:5).

My prayers, the prayers of your diocesan staff, and or global family are
with you. Jesus is with you. Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, in your Word you have given us a vision of that holy
City where the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of
the LORD as the waters cover the sea: Behold and visit, we pray, the
cities of the earth devastated by Hurricane Harvey. Sustain those
displaced by the storm with food, drink, and all other bodily
necessities of life. We especially remember before you all poor and
neglected persons it would be easy for us to forget: the homeless and
the destitute, the old and the sick, and all who have none to care for
them; that, among all the changes and chances of this mortal life, we
may ever be defended by your gracious and ready help; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. AMEN.

The Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle, D.D. is the Episcopal Bishop of Texas



------------------------------

Message: 5
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2017 19:55:14 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Support the Hurricane Harvey Relief Effort
Message-ID:
<1504223714.2901084....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Support the Hurricane Harvey Relief Effort

ACNA Press Release
August 28, 2017

Hurricane Harvey has already displaced thousands in south Texas and
Louisiana, and the rains and flooding are expected to continue
throughout the week to come. Meteorologists are warning that while the
winds have now died down, the greater danger could come from the
continual rain that the region will receive.

Bishop Clark Lowenfield and The Anglican Diocese of the Western Gulf
Coast are based in Houston, Texas and will be coordinating the relief
effort among Anglicans in the region. Bishop Lowenfield, who was forced
to evacuate his home yesterday, said, "Thank you to all those who have
been offering their prayers and expressing their concern to us. The
impact of Harvey is already evident, and we are being told to expect
days more of rain and 'catastrophic flooding'. In the Houston area in
particular, the devastation will take months if not years of recovery.
Your gift to the Anglican Relief and Development Fund will mean that
individuals in some of the most hard-hit areas will be able to put their
lives back together once this is all over. Above all, I implore you to
pray with us in this storm. As Psalm 29:10-11 tells us, 'The Lord sits
enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever. May
the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with
peace!'"

Archbishop Beach is calling the Church to pray, give, and prepare: "Now
is an important time for the Church to step forward. First and foremost,
please join me in praying for the people of south Texas and Louisiana.
Please pray for all those in distress, those who are being called to
extraordinary acts of courage, and those who are obediently engaging in
small acts of faithfulness.

Second, please consider giving so that Christians in the area will have
the resources they need to show their communities the love of Christ in
tangible ways. We cannot anticipate today all that will need to be done
in the days ahead, but we are blessed to have churches in the region who
can be the hands and feet of Christ.

Third, whether you are in Texas, Louisiana, or in the states surrounding
the region, please be preparing to serve. As the Diocese of the Western
Gulf Coast prioritizes the needs, you will be hearing more about how you
and your congregation can serve through volunteer work teams."

You can help by donating through the Anglican Relief and Development
Fund here:
https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E92060&id=93

Story is here: http://anglicanchurch.net/?/main/page/1508



------------------------------

Message: 6
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2017 19:55:50 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Hurricane Harvey brings out the best and worst in people
Message-ID:
<1504223750.2901098....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Hurricane Harvey brings out the best and worst in people
The three Rs of Response: Rescue ... Relief ... Recovery

By Mary Ann Mueller
VOL Special Correspondent
www.virtueonline.org
August 30, 2017

I live an hour-and-a-half north of Houston so I have been in the feeder
bands of Hurricane Harvey since last Thursday (Aug 24). That evening, as
I went to Wal-Mart to get gas, light rain started falling. I was not the
only one who was wanting to top off their tank before the winds started
and the rains kicked up, but gas was already running low. Regular gas
was sold out, so I opted for high test.

Thursday, Harvey was already headed for Rockport on the southern coast
of Texas packing 130 mph winds. It made landfall late Friday night and
the forecast was that the hurricane would drift eastward to Houston with
projections of as much as 48 inches of raining falling on Texas' largest
city.

Even though I come from northern Wisconsin, I have lived through
hurricanes in five states: Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas and Maine.
This is my third in Texas -- Rita, Ike and now Harvey. I rode out
Hurricane Andrew in the Courthouse of New Iberia Parish for USA Today. I
know how strong a hurricane can be. During the height of Andrew's fury,
the courthouse shook!

Once I fueled, I headed home and hunkered down. I made sure I had food,
water, candles and that my cell phone was charged while I still had
electricity. I was concerned and checked out evacuation routes and
shelters. I live in a wooded area and worry about trees falling due to
super-saturated ground. I have had at least 20 inches of rain at my
place and my neighbor's house started to flood. The rising water in the
yard crept up to the bottom of my ramp before it stopped.

Now, as downgraded Tropical Storm Harvey travels further east, eyeing
Louisiana and points northeast, I am no longer in his feeder bands and
the five days' worth of rain has ended and the sun has poked out showing
patches of blue.

I do not, by choice, have a television, but I do have a computer, so I
was able to follow the progression of Harvey via the Internet and
YouTube's 24-hour live streaming of Houston TV news coverage for as long
as the power held out.

Parts of Houston received at least 50 inches of rain as a direct result
of Harvey causing catastrophic flooding on the level of what happened in
New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Images unfolded on my
computer screen of neighbors helping neighbors out of flooded houses and
submerged vehicles.

And I thanked God for them. The images of Houstonians using their
personal boats to rescue others as they created their own flotilla and
joined with The National Guard and other first responders from Houston
and Harris County.

This is what it is to be a Christian. This is what it is to be an
American. This is what it is to be a Texan. That is what it is to be a
Houstonian. To unite together to accomplish a common goal.

What has concerned me is that others have tried to politicize this "rain
event." Where it is estimated that one trillion -- with a T -- trillion
gallons of water fell on just Houston in three days, forcing people from
their homes. Some parts of that city have received in excess of 50
inches of rain, overflowing the bayous, turning streets into rivers and
neighborhoods into lakes.

This is not the time for politics or differences over doctrines. Yet the
snarking on social media and even by out-of-town and out-of-state
journalists, who are not on the ground sloshing through knee-deep water
to get a story, is disheartening.

Tuesday, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania travelled to
Texas to meet with Gov. Greg Abbott and encourage Texans during a time
of unfolding crisis. And the media went wild over the fact that Mrs.
Trump wore spike heels while walking to Marine One. However, she emerged
from Air Force One in Austin wearing sneakers and sporting a FLOTUS
baseball cap.

It is so easy to criticize and second guess decisions -- it's "damned if
you do and damned if you don't."

"It is very sad that we have an active and ongoing natural disaster in
Texas," the First Lady's office fired back," and people are worried
about her (the First Lady's) shoes."

No matter what President Trump does, or Gov. Abbott or Houston Mayor
Sylvester Turner or the First Lady or even Pastor Joel Osteen ...
someone thinks it's wrong and broadcasts their biting, negative and
unconstructive comments far and wide. It's easier to tear down than
build up, especially when hidden behind a screen name on Twitter or a
blog roll.

Meanwhile, the Red Cross is already on the ground in Houston and on the
south Texas coast where Harvey first came ashore. So far more than
13,000 people have been rescued from flood waters and 30,000 have sought
safety in hurricane shelters.

While some people are complaining and harping about the politicians'
response to the unfolding disaster, others are looting or price-gouging.
Since preparations for Harvey started, nearly 1,000 complaints have been
registered with the Texas Attorney General's office about scammers.

One store was accused of selling much-needed bottled water for $42 a
case and there are reports that other stores have put a $100 price tag
on the clear liquid. Some gas stations, also, were also selling gas for
$10 a gallon until they ran out and motels increased their room prices
by 300 and 400 percent.

Once Harvey has dissipated and the final Houstonian has been rescued,
the churches, and other philanthropic organizations, move in to help
start the recovery and rebuilding process.

Franklin Graham is gearing up to unleash the resources of Samaritan's
Purse. He has already staged his disaster units in Texas. He urges that
people "Pray for Texas."

"Samaritan's Purse disaster relief units are now in Texas as Harvey's
deadly fury has moved inland and continues to pummel the state,
especially flood-prone Houston," the website says. "Our teams are ready
to go in and help homeowners in Jesus' Name as soon as we are able to
access affected communities."

The Episcopal Church is also mounting Texas relief efforts. Rockport and
surrounding areas are in the Diocese of West Texas.

"In the Diocese of West Texas, Harvey's force left some of the coastal
communities in ruins, now without power or infrastructure, and it may
take weeks for those to be restored," the diocesan website explains. "We
know there are many people concerned about the communities that have
been affected, and everyone wants to know how they can help."

The diocese is seeking donations and volunteers to assembly hygiene kits
to help meet an immediate need, since many people were forced from their
homes with just the clothes on their backs.

"At this time, there is still much that remains unknown. While news
coverage and social media are providing continual information, it is
still difficult to gain clarity and coherence, particularly in the worst
hit areas," bishops David M. Reed (X West Texas) and Jennifer
Brooke-Davidson (West Texas suffragan) wrote. "We need to be mindful
that Harvey is also doing damage in coastal areas of the Diocese of
Texas. We've been in touch with the bishops there and will look for ways
to collaborate in recovery efforts."

West Texas is also actively coordinating with Episcopal Relief and
Development to meet the recovery needs of the diocese as they become
known.

"We have been contacted by numerous bishops from around the country,
assuring us of the prayers of their diocese and of their support for
recovery efforts," the bishops wrote. "Likewise, staff members from
Episcopal Relief and Development have begun coordinating relief efforts
and have made themselves available to West Texas as we respond to this
disaster. We are grateful and encouraged by the prayers and the
support."

Over in the neighboring Diocese of Texas, Bishop Andrew Doyle (X Texas)
is busy meeting the needs in his diocese which is based in Houston.

"Once the storm and danger has passed we will begin planning deployment
of our Spiritual Care teams to affected areas," the Houston bishop
posted on his website. "We will, are now, and will continue to assess
area damage as we get information from multiple sources and evaluate
ways we can make an effective response. An overall strategy will be
developed and a coordinated response will be managed collaboratively
working with our congregations. We will then implement a strategy and
coordinate with resources."

Episcopal Relief and Development is focusing on three aspects -- the
three Rs of a disaster response -- Rescue, Relief, and Recovery.

"The Rescue phase is focused on saving lives and securing property, and
is most acute in those parts of a region that are directly flooded. The
Rescue phase can take one to two weeks, sometimes longer," ER&D website
explains. "In the case of Harvey, the disaster hasn't yet stopped and so
the Rescue phase is taking place in the midst of the crisis ..."

During the rescue stage, ACNA's Church of the Apostles has become a
small scale Red Cross shelter for four displaced families. The George R.
Brown Convention Center is currently housing 9,000 evacuees. Other mega
overflow shelters include the NRG Stadium, where the Houston Texans
play; the Toyota Center where the Houston Rockets play; and Joel
Osteen's Lakewood Church.

"The Church of the Apostles (Houston) is busy serving as an official Red
Cross shelter," the Anglican Relief & Development Fund (AR&DF) website
explains. "However, the four families sheltering at the church need our
prayers!"

"Most of them have lost everything, experienced severe trauma and are
still in shock. Tomorrow we'll be working with them to determine how we
can best assist them going forward," explained Apostles' rector Fr.
David Cumbie. "Please pray for them. For protection, healing and that
the peace of the Holy Spirit to fill our facility. Lord Jesus, we pray
they would see you and now your powerful presence in this difficult
time.

ACNA Bishop Clark Lowenfield (I Western Gulf Coast) is also on the
ground in Houston and spearheading ACNA's relief effort on behalf of the
AR&DF.

"These are catastrophic times right now in Houston and southeast Texas,"
Bishop Lowenfield explained. "We don't know what the devastation is
going to be like yet ... There is going to be more need than resources
as the Body of Christ reaches out to those who are hurting."

ER&D said that it is starting to prepare for stage two -- relief. "We
and our partners began preparing for this phase as soon as it was clear
how massive Harvey was going to be. During this phase, the local church
will be one of the first places people go to seek assistance and shelter
... This is where Episcopal Relief & Development is focusing its
resources right now.

Then ER&D reminds the public that disaster response is a marathon not a
sprint.

"For those of us observing and praying from afar, it's important to
remember that this is a marathon and not a sprint," the website offers.
In addition, the tricky part is responding in a way that is timely and
appropriate. Understanding the phases of a disaster can be useful in
determining how you can help."

Charitable organizations like Samaritan's Purse and Episcopal Relief &
Development and ARDF are in it for the long haul. When the TV cameras
are turned off, they will still be there helping with the recovery stage
of rebuilding lives.

"During this (recovery) period, the emphasis shifts to restoring
services, repairing houses and buildings, returning individuals to
self-sufficiency and rebuilding communities," the ER&D blog explains.
"The challenge of the Recovery phase is that most of the television
cameras have moved on, but the human suffering has grown. It is a
chronic state, not a crisis."

It is during the final recovery phase that the church excels because the
local church is a part of the fabric of the community that has been
impacted, so the church can best identify ongoing concerns and work with
the community to address those needs efficiently.

Samaritan's Purse, ERD and ARDF aren't the only Christians responding to
Hurricane Harvey.

Already, the Salvation Army is on the ground "providing food and
hydration to first responders and is preparing for massive feeding
efforts for residents."

The Methodists (United Methodist Committee on Relief), the Catholics
(Texas Catholic Conference) the Lutherans (Lutheran Disaster Response);
the Presbyterians (Presbyterian Disaster Assistance); Assembly of God
(Convoy of Hope); Baptists (Southern Baptists of Texas Convention); the
Jews (Jewish Federations of North America) and other faith groups all
are working to help meet the growing needs of those left in the wake of
Harvey's path.

Mary Ann Mueller is a journalist living in Texas. She is a regular
contributor to VirtueOnline



------------------------------

Message: 7
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2017 19:56:11 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: The Nashville Statement
Message-ID:
<1504223771.2901162....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

The Nashville Statement
A Coalition for Biblical Sexuality

"Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we
ourselves..." --Psalm 100:3

August 30, 2017

PREAMBLE

Evangelical Christians at the dawn of the twenty-first century find
themselves living in a period of historic transition. As Western culture
has become increasingly post-Christian, it has embarked upon a massive
revision of what it means to be a human being. By and large the spirit
of our age no longer discerns or delights in the beauty of God's design
for human life. Many deny that God created human beings for his glory,
and that his good purposes for us include our personal and physical
design as male and female. It is common to think that human identity as
male and female is not part of God's beautiful plan, but is, rather, an
expression of an individual's autonomous preferences. The pathway to
full and lasting joy through God's good design for his creatures is thus
replaced by the path of shortsighted alternatives that, sooner or later,
ruin human life and dishonor God.

This secular spirit of our age presents a great challenge to the
Christian church. Will the church of the Lord Jesus Christ lose her
biblical conviction, clarity, and courage, and blend into the spirit of
the age? Or will she hold fast to the word of life, draw courage from
Jesus, and unashamedly proclaim his way as the way of life? Will she
maintain her clear, counter-cultural witness to a world that seems bent
on ruin?

We are persuaded that faithfulness in our generation means declaring
once again the true story of the world and of our place in
it--particularly as male and female. Christian Scripture teaches that
there is but one God who alone is Creator and Lord of all. To him alone,
every person owes glad-hearted thanksgiving, heart-felt praise, and
total allegiance. This is the path not only of glorifying God, but of
knowing ourselves. To forget our Creator is to forget who we are, for he
made us for himself. And we cannot know ourselves truly without truly
knowing him who made us. We did not make ourselves. We are not our own.
Our true identity, as male and female persons, is given by God. It is
not only foolish, but hopeless, to try to make ourselves what God did
not create us to be.

We believe that God's design for his creation and his way of salvation
serve to bring him the greatest glory and bring us the greatest good.
God's good plan provides us with the greatest freedom. Jesus said he
came that we might have life and have it in overflowing measure. He is
for us and not against us.

Therefore, in the hope of serving Christ's church and witnessing
publicly to the good purposes of God for human sexuality revealed in
Christian Scripture, we offer the following affirmations and denials.

WE AFFIRM that God has designed marriage to be a covenantal, sexual,
procreative, lifelong
union of one man and one woman, as husband and wife, and is meant to
signify the covenant
love between Christ and his bride the church.

WE DENY that God has designed marriage to be a homosexual, polygamous,
or polyamorous
relationship. We also deny that marriage is a mere human contract rather
than a covenant made
before God.

WE AFFIRM that God's revealed will for all people is chastity outside of
marriage and fidelity
within marriage.

WE DENY that any affections, desires, or commitments ever justify sexual
intercourse before or
outside marriage; nor do they justify any form of sexual immorality.

WE AFFIRM that God created Adam and Eve, the first human beings, in his
own image, equal
before God as persons, and distinct as male and female.

WE DENY that the divinely ordained differences between male and female
render them unequal
in dignity or worth.

WE AFFIRM that divinely ordained differences between male and female
reflect God's original
creation design and are meant for human good and human flourishing.

WE DENY that such differences are a result of the Fall or are a tragedy
to be overcome.

WE AFFIRM that the differences between male and female reproductive
structures are integral
to God's design for self-conception as male or female.

WE DENY that physical anomalies or psychological conditions nullify the
God-appointed link
between biological sex and self-conception as male or female.

WE AFFIRM that those born with a physical disorder of sex development
are created in the
image of God and have dignity and worth equal to all other
image-bearers. They are
acknowledged by our Lord Jesus in his words about "eunuchs who were born
that way from their
mother's womb." With all others they are welcome as faithful followers
of Jesus Christ and
should embrace their biological sex insofar as it may be known.

WE DENY that ambiguities related to a person's biological sex render one
incapable of living a
fruitful life in joyful obedience to Christ.

WE AFFIRM that self-conception as male or female should be defined by
God's holy purposes
in creation and redemption as revealed in Scripture.

WE DENY that adopting a homosexual or transgender self-conception is
consistent with God's
holy purposes in creation and redemption.

WE AFFIRM that people who experience sexual attraction for the same sex
may live a rich and
fruitful life pleasing to God through faith in Jesus Christ, as they,
like all Christians, walk in
purity of life.

WE DENY that sexual attraction for the same sex is part of the natural
goodness of God's
original creation, or that it puts a person outside the hope of the
gospel.

WE AFFIRM that sin distorts sexual desires by directing them away from
the marriage covenant
and toward sexual immorality-- a distortion that includes both
heterosexual and homosexual
immorality.

WE DENY that an enduring pattern of desire for sexual immorality
justifies sexually immoral
behavior.

WE AFFIRM that it is sinful to approve of homosexual immorality or
transgenderism and that
such approval constitutes an essential departure from Christian
faithfulness and witness.
WE DENY that the approval of homosexual immorality or transgenderism is
a matter of moral
indifference about which otherwise faithful Christians should agree to
disagree.

WE AFFIRM our duty to speak the truth in love at all times, including
when we speak to or
about one another as male or female.

WE DENY any obligation to speak in such ways that dishonor God's design
of his imagebearers
as male and female.

WE AFFIRM that the grace of God in Christ gives both merciful pardon and
transforming
power, and that this pardon and power enable a follower of Jesus to put
to death sinful desires
and to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.

WE DENY that the grace of God in Christ is insufficient to forgive all
sexual sins and to give
power for holiness to every believer who feels drawn into sexual sin.

WE AFFIRM that the grace of God in Christ enables sinners to forsake
transgender selfconceptions
and by divine forbearance to accept the God-ordained link between one's
biological
sex and one's self-conception as male or female.

WE DENY that the grace of God in Christ sanctions self-conceptions that
are at odds with God's
revealed will.

WE AFFIRM that Christ Jesus has come into the world to save sinners and
that through Christ's
death and resurrection forgiveness of sins and eternal life are
available to every person who
repents of sin and trusts in Christ alone as Savior, Lord, and supreme
treasure.

WE DENY that the Lord's arm is too short to save or that any sinner is
beyond his reach.
Initial Signatories

Among the signers are: John Piper, J. I. Packer, Wayne Grudem, Russell
Moore, R. Albert Mohler, Jr., D. A. Carson, Sam Allberry, R. C. Sproul,
Frank Page, R. Kent Hughes,
Vaughan Roberts, Dick Lucas.

NOTE: Three of the signers are Anglicans, there were no Episcopalians in
the four page list.



------------------------------

Message: 8
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2017 19:56:35 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Outspoken critic of same-sex practices leaves Pittsburgh
Theological Seminary
Message-ID:
<1504223795.2901671....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Outspoken critic of same-sex practices leaves Pittsburgh Theological
Seminary

By Peter Smith
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/
Aug 24, 2017

Robert A.J. Gagnon, a biblical scholar who became one of the most
outspoken and polarizing opponents of same-sex practice in a generation
of debates within his and other Protestant denominations, has resigned
from the faculty of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.

The seminary is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), a
denomination that debated sexuality for decades before deciding in 2011
to ordain non-celibate gays and lesbians and in 2015 to authorize
same-sex marriages in its churches. Mr. Gagnon, an ordained elder in the
denomination, spoke out often against such liberalizing trends.

The seminary and the professor "mutually agreed to end their
relationship" effective this past Monday, the East Liberty school said.
Mr. Gagnon, 59, was a tenured professor of New Testament and had been on
the faculty for 23 years.

"We appreciate the contributions Professor Gagnon has made to our
students and the community during his time here and we wish him the best
in his future endeavors," a seminary statement said.

Mr. Gagnon, in a Facebook post, said the decision was mutual and that
his departure had nothing to do with any "moral turpitude."

And while neither the school nor Mr. Gagnon directly linked his
departure to his controversial stance on homosexuality, he acknowledged
that stance would narrow his prospects for future academic work.

"It is my desire to be forward-looking to the next stage of my career
and ministry in the academic world as I seek a new institution in which
to teach, research, and minister," he said. "I think God is calling me
to an evangelical institution, if the evangelical world will have me."

He said it's "unlikely, given my stances on sexual ethics and Scripture,
that any university religion department or mainline denominational
seminary would take me."

The Rev. David Esterline, president of the seminary, declined to
elaborate on Mr. Gagnon's departure but said the school remained
committed to diverse viewpoints.

"My vision is of a seminary as broad as the church of Jesus Christ," he
said, including people of "very different understandings of Christian
theology."

He said he's committed to a setting where "individuals would hear each
other, understand each other and really listen to each other," even
being willing to change their minds. He said he's committed to "a
learning environment that is safe, maybe not always comfortable, but ...
a safe environment."

Mr. Gagnon earned an undergrad degree from Dartmouth College, a master's
from Harvard Divinity School and a doctorate from Princeton Theological
Seminary.

His writings include the book, "The Bible and Homosexual Practice" --
published in 2001 at a time when several mainline denominations were
deadlocked in debates over the role of gay members. In it, he reviews
passages throughout the Bible, parsing Hebrew and Greek terms, to argue
that "there is clear, strong and credible evidence that the Bible
unequivocally defines same-sex intercourse as sin."

Other scholars have disputed his views, saying such passages do not
address same-sex relationships as understood today. Mr. Gagnon has never
wavered, however, and was quoted in debates over sexuality both within
Presbyterian circles and in other Protestant denominations. He also has
regularly published in the conservative Catholic journal First Things.

Over time, his view became more the minority among not only his fellow
Presbyterians but in society at large, which tipped in favor of same-sex
marriage even before the U.S. Supreme Court did in 2015.

Proponents of gay inclusion greeted the news of Mr. Gagnon's departure
with relief.

The Rev. Janet Edwards, a minister in the Pittsburgh Presbytery and
longtime advocate for same-sex marriage, said she audited a course he
taught in introductory Greek and that, while the work was mostly on
grammar and vocabulary, he often brought class discussions around to his
views on homosexuality.

"I know that he made Pittsburgh Theological Seminary very difficult for
a whole generation of students," she said. "It was simply not healthy to
interact with him and take a course with him."

The Rev. Dwain Lee, now a pastor in Louisville, Ky., who took a course
from Mr. Gagnon, said he found him "extremely pleasant, kind, generally
soft-spoken, and genuinely concerned with the well-being of his
students."

Rev. Lee, who is in a same-sex marriage, said Mr. Gagnon never pushed
his views in class and seemed "the last kind of person that anyone
familiar with his writings would imagine him to be."

But Mr. Gagnon's polemical side "was never more than a mouse-click or
two away," Rev. Lee wrote in a blog post. "Everyone sitting in his
classroom knew about his writings, which are not merely anti-affirming,
they're vehemently, almost rabidly, anti-gay."

Mr. Gagnon retains many supporters. His Facebook post contains a long
thread of well wishes from those who share his stances, and even from
some opponents.

Mr. Gagnon remains active in Eastminster Presbyterian Church in East
Liberty, where he is an elder and regularly teaches classes.

"We're sad that he's no longer at the seminary," said its pastor, the
Rev. Paul Roberts. "We don't know any of the particulars, but I think
it's a loss to the seminary community."

Mr. Gagnon is "such an avid learner of Greek" and fascinated by the
nuances in the biblical language, he said. "He's very humorous when he's
teaching. We are looking forward to having him teach with us again."

END



------------------------------

Message: 9
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2017 19:56:58 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: PERTH: The Dean of St George's Cathedral backs a Yes vote in
same-sex marriage postal survey
Message-ID:
<1504223818.2901723....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

PERTH: The Dean of St George's Cathedral backs a Yes vote in same-sex
marriage postal survey
Opposition leader Bill Shorten has described it as "unacceptable"

By Nick Butterly
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN
https://thewest.com.au/news/
August 30, 2017

The Dean of St George's Cathedral has thrown his support behind the
campaign for same-sex marriage, revealing he is the father of an adult
child who is gay.

The Very Reverend Richard Pengelley will launch the local campaign for
Christians for marriage equality at the cathedral today, arguing
same-sex marriage is no threat to "traditional" models of marriage.

Stressing he is fronting the campaign as an individual Christian, rather
than his position as a senior Anglican, Mr Pengelley said that he had
real experience of the struggles faced by same-sex attracted people.

"As the father of a same-sex attracted adult child and school and
university chaplain, I have lived with the struggles of identity and
inequality, especially in young people," he said. Mr Pengelley said
homosexuality could not be viewed as some sort of deficiency or disease
from which people could be cured.

"Rather I see it is a valid expression of human sexuality along a
spectrum," he said.

Mr Pengelley said the Bible contained several condemnations of
homosexuality which were contextual to their time and had little
resemblance to contemporary understandings of same-sex attraction.

"Jesus ... did not marry and did not say anything about either same-sex
relationships or marriage but did say a great deal about divorce and
remarriage, the morality of both most contemporary Christians accept
have changed since his time," he said. The newly elected Anglican
Archbishop of Perth Kay Goldsworthy told The WestAustralian this week
she sat on the more "inclusive" side of the gay marriage debate, though
stopped short of suggesting the Anglican Church as an institution would
support a Yes vote.

Catholic Archbishop of Perth Timothy Costelloe sent a lengthy letter to
worshippers this month outlining the Church's arguments against gay
marriage but stressed the Church was only proposing its view, not
seeking to impose a position on the nation.

Archbishop-elect Goldsworthy is the first woman to be appointed to lead
a major metropolitan Anglican diocese in Australia.



------------------------------

Message: 10
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2017 19:58:25 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Whatever Happened to God the Father?
Message-ID:
<1504223905.2901822....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Whatever Happened to God the Father?

By Gerald McDermott
http://wp.production.patheos.com/
August 30, 2017

Recently an Anglican theologian asked me, "Have you noticed how few
theological books have been published in the last decades on God the
Father? Can you name even one?"

He was right. The Father has been lost from view--of both theology and
the Church.

In the evangelical world since World War II, Jesus has been the focus of
most thinking and worship. There were good reasons for this. Liberal
theology in the 20th century had reduced the gospel to the fatherhood of
God, the brotherhood of man, and social ethics. Salvation, liberals
implied, was the reward for being a nice person.

Evangelicals were right to say, No, the gospel is about Jesus and the
cross. They were partly right.

Then in the 1970s there was a new focus on the Holy Spirit. This was in
response to the dryness and intellectualism of much of evangelicalism.

We needed more of the spontaneity and power of the Holy Spirit. So now,
we heard from pulpits and books, we need to focus on Jesus and the
Spirit. Full gospel ministry was about Word and Spirit.

They were partly right. At least two of the three Persons of the Trinity
were being taught and preached and prayed.

Then there was feminism. It arose in the 1960s as a major social force,
but it wasn't until the late 70s and early 80s that it started to affect
the society and church in visible ways. At first it pleaded simply for
equal representation. Then some feminists started suggesting that women
are better--not only spiritually but morally--and that men are naturally
sexist and stupid. And fathers and husbands are naturally oppressive to
both their wives and children. In fact, they have a natural tendency to
abuse. The system of the male's traditional roles in family and society
was called "patriarchy," and it came to be assumed that this was
naturally abusive.

Not all theological feminists took it further, but some proceeded to
argue that orthodox Christianity's view of God the Father was abusive.
The Father, they charged, abused his Son by sending him to bleed and die
in order to forgive people. These feminist theologians said that even
using the phrase "God the Father" is hurtful and oppressive.

Now we have the transgender movement. It wants us to believe that sexual
differentiation between men and women is not only unimportant but false,
and is itself oppressive.

The media have not helped. Long ago TV sitcom and movie writers decided
that Father does not know best (younger readers might be shocked to
learn that a popular TV show in the ancient world of the 1960s was
titled "Father Knows Best"). Fathers are typically depicted as bumbling
idiots and/or abusive. They are ridiculed and laughed at. As a result,
men are afraid to assert themselves as men--and as fathers and husbands.
They are especially afraid to suggest that they might be called to be
heads of their families, no matter what "head" might mean. They have
been persuaded that the idea of headship is theologically wrong and even
immoral.

Let's turn from our confused (and confusing) culture to the Real World
portrayed by Scripture. In the Bible God is presented overwhelmingly as
Father. In the Old Testament, God is the Father of Israel. In the New
Testament, the great revelation that Jesus brings is of the Father:
"Whoever has seen me, has seen the Father" (Jn 14.9). To be saved is to
become one with the Son through faith and baptism, and thus to share in
Jesus' sonship. We become the Son's brothers, as we worship the Father
by our being in the Son (Heb 2.9-11). Jesus makes the spectacular
promise that by being in Him we can experience the love that the Father
has for him (Jn 14.21; 17.26)!

Nearly every time Jesus prayed, it was to the Father. The only exception
was his prayer of dereliction on the cross ("My God, my God, why have
you forsaken me?"). Yet his other famous prayer from the cross was to
the Father: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

When Paul prays, it is almost always to the Father. Both of the great
prayers of Ephesians are addressed to the Father: "I pray that the God
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of
wisdom and revelation . . . . For this reason, I bow my knees before the
Father (Eph 1.17; 3.14). He tells the Colossians, "In our prayers for
you, we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Col
1.13).

Throughout the New Testament, whenever the Trinitarian God is referred
to as simply "God," it almost always refers to God the Father. The
Father is the head of the Trinity: "The head of Christ is God [the
Father]" (1 Cor 11.3). That is why the historic church has always taught
that our prayer is to the Father, in the Son, by the Holy Spirit. The
Spirit joins us to the Son so that we have the authority to pray the
Lord's prayer to the Father.

What does this mean for us? For one thing, it answers one of the most
difficult questions today--What does it mean to be a man? To be a man is
to be called to be a father--either biologically, or by adoption, or
spiritually. Paul was a spiritual father to Timothy and Titus, and to
all his churches. He referred to both Timothy and Titus as "my son" (1
Tim 1.2; 2 Tim 1.2; Tit 1.4) and told the Thessalonian Christians that
he was their spiritual father: "We cared for you as a father cares for
his own children, urging and encouraging you and pleading that you lead
a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own Kingdom and glory" (1
Thess 2.11-12).

But what does it mean to be a spiritual father? Scripture suggests that
we can learn what this means by watching how God is our Father. "Be
perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt 5.48). If our heavenly
Father forgives us, we should likewise forgive others (Matt 6.14-15).
Since God is compassionate, we should be compassionate. Just as we learn
about the Father by submitting to his authority over us, we also learn
about his Fatherhood by submitting to the human authorities he has
placed over us (Eph 6.1-3; Rom 13.1-7; 1 Pet 5.5). In other words, we
cannot be good fathers unless we have learned how to be good sons.

This connection between our human and church families on the one hand,
and God's family on the other, is taught by Scripture. Paul says that
"every family on heaven and earth takes its name" from the Father (Eph
3.14).

What else does God the Father teach us about being a man who is called
to be a father? First, we are to take responsibility for the spiritual
welfare of those God has entrusted to us. Job offered sacrifices on
behalf of his children (Job 1.5). Joshua took leadership of his
household so that as a household they served the Lord (Josh 24.15).

Taking spiritual responsibility involves teaching. The books of
Deuteronomy and Proverbs say a father is a teacher. "Listen, my son, to
your father's instruction" (Prov 1.8; Dt 6.4-9). If you're a father and
feel unfit to teach, make sure your kids get to Sunday School at an
orthodox church. Ask your wife to teach if she is better at it.

Taking responsibility also means bringing our family's needs to God in
prayer. The good fathers in the gospels came to Jesus for their
children's needs (e.g., Mt 9.18-26).

Scripture teaches that the husband is the head of the home (Eph 5.22ff;
Col 3.18f; 1 P 3.1-2). What does that mean? Paul says the husband is
head as Christ is head of the church, for which he laid down his life.
Therefore being head does not mean bossing or domineering or making all
the decisions. It means serving the family and laying down our lives for
them in self-denial every day. It means praying for them every day, and
making sure they get to an orthodox church each week for worship and
learning. It means digging into God and his Word on a continual basis.
Set the example by going to adult Sunday School with your wife.

I don't have space to elaborate on these, but being a spiritual head who
imitates God as Father also means 1) providing materially (or caring for
the kids so that your wife can provide materially), 2) giving good gifts
(Jesus said a good father gives an egg and not a snake), 3) working with
your wife to administer discipline to your children ("God disciplines
those he loves, as a father the son he delights in" Prov 3.12), 4)
covering regularly with love ("How great is the love the Father has
given us, that we should be called children of God; 1 Jn 3.1), thus
being 5) an all-round agent of blessing.

In conclusion, we men are called to worship God the Father as we are
joined to the Son by the Spirit. We are called to be spiritual fathers
to our biological and adopted children, and to others in the church who
need mentoring. We learn how to be fathers by imitating how God treats
us as our heavenly Father, and this happens as we grow as disciples of
Christ the Son. Growth takes place as we pray daily, read the
Scriptures, and take advantage of the means of grace at church,
especially the sacraments.

Gerald R. McDermott joined the Beeson Divinity school faculty in 2015 as
the Anglican Professor of Divinity, and teaches in the areas of history
and doctrine



------------------------------

Message: 11
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2017 19:58:48 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: The Historical Adam
Message-ID:
<1504223928.2901851....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

The Historical Adam

PHOTO:The map shows the dispersion of the R1b peoples. They are of
special interest to Biblical Anthropologists because these are Abraham's
ancestors. Haplogroup R (Y-DNA) comes from mitochondrial DNA
macro-haplogroup L that is at the root of the human mtDNA phylogenetic
tree. As such, L represents the most ancestral mitochondrial lineage of
humans.

By Alice Linsley
http://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2017/08/the-historical-adam.html
August 25, 2017

A recent convert to Eastern Orthodoxy asks:
It seems reasonable for Adam to have been the first man with the breath
of life in him that makes one fully human and having the image of God.
That would mean all before Adam did not have this. But then why have
them exist at all?

Adam is presented in two different ways in the Bible. He is the founding
father of the Horite royal clans whose rulers are listed in Genesis 4,
5, 10, 11, 25 and 36. In this sense he is historical, but clearly not
the first human created on earth.

Were Adam the first created human, he would have lived about 3 million
years ago. Clearly, this is not the meaning intended by the writer of
Genesis because Adam's royal descendants tilled the ground, created
musical instruments, herded sheep and cattle, offered animal sacrifice,
and built cities (Genesis 4). These are the activities of people in the
Neolithic Period (10,000 - 2000 BC).

Further, in the story of Lamech and his two wives, we already find a
well-established marriage and ascendancy pattern for rulers. It was the
practice of the Horite Hebrew rulers to have two wives. These wives
lived in separate settlements on a north-south axis. Lamech's wives were
Adah and Zillah. Abraham's wives were Sarah (his half-sister) and
Keturah (a patrilineal cousin). Jacob's wives were Rachel and Leah.
Moses's wives were a Kushite bride (his half-sister) and Zipporah (a
patrilineal cousin). Elkanah's wives were Penninah and Hannah, the
mother of Samuel.

As the ancestor of these historical figures, Adam must be said to be
historical also. However, the Apostle Paul speaks of Adam analogically,
not historically. He contrasts Adam to Jesus Messiah, the New Adam. This
is an analogy, not an assertion of historicity. To make his point, Paul
uses Adam as a meta-historical figure, like an archetype. Here we
understand Adam to represent all humanity from the beginning of human
existence. He is a metaphysical concept, and as such, his existence
cannot be proven.

Adam, the historical royal "father"

As a historical founding father of the rulers listed in Genesis, there
is substantial evidence for Adam's existence. He is the historical
ancestor of Abraham, Moses, David, and Jesus Messiah, but not the
literal first human created.

In the original Nilotic and Proto-Saharan context of Abraham's ancestors
"the blood" simply meant Human or Man. This is why the term 'Adam is
often translated "the man" in different versions of the Bible. Examples
include Genesis 1:27 and 3:20. In Genesis 1:27, Man ('Adam) is made in
the image of the Universal Ruler, as in ancient Egypt where the king was
said to rule as the "image" of God on earth.

The name 'Adam is a variant of Ha'dam, meaning "the blood" (dam). The
Biblical writers recognized that the people with red skin were of an
ancestral line of extreme antiquity. Some of these people were rulers in
Edom. These are listed in Genesis 36. Esau the Elder and Esau the
Younger were among them. Esau is specifically described as being red in
Genesis 26.

The Hebrew word for red is edom and it is a cognate to the Hausa word
odum, meaning red-brown. Both are related to the word Hebrew dam,
meaning blood. Adam was formed from the red clay that washed down to the
Upper Nile Valley from the Ethiopian highlands. These soils have a
cambic B horizon. Chromic cambisols have a strong red brown color. In
other words, 'Adam's name supplies a clue to the point of origin of
Abraham's ancestors and explains why they

Jeff A. Benner, an expert on ancient Hebrew, explains:

We are all familiar with the name "Adam" as found in the book of
Genesis, but what does it really mean? Let us begin by looking at its
roots. This word/name is a child root derived from the parent ??
meaning, "blood". By placing the letter ? in front of the parent root,
the child root ??? is formed and is related in meaning to ?? (blood).

By examing a few other words derived from the child root ??? we can see
a common meaning in them all. The Hebrew word ???? (adamah) is the
feminine form of ??? meaning "ground" (see Genesis 2:7). The word/name
???? (Edom) means "red". Each of these words have the common meaning of
"red". Dam is the "red" blood, adamah is the "red" ground, edom is the
color "red" and adam is the "red" man. There is one other connection
between "adam" and "adamah" as seen in Genesis 2:7 which states that
"the adam" was formed out of the "adamah".

In the ancient Hebrew world, a person's name was not simply an
identifier but descriptive of one's character. As Adam was formed out of
the ground, his name identifies his origins. (From here.)

The implication of this is that 'Adam had a red skin tone, like his
descendants Esau and David. The chart below shows the Horite rulers of
Edom. This is the clan of Seir the Horite. They are listed in Genesis
36. These are Abraham's people. Edom was called "Idumea" by the Greeks.
Idumea means "land of red people." The Horite Hebrew were devotees of
the Creator and his son Horus. Horite is Horim in Hebrew. Jews call
their ancestors Horim.

The red descendants of Adam appear to be the Proto-Saharan and Nilotic
peoples in Haplogroup R1. This map shows the dispersion of the R1
peoples. The dark red spot in Central Africa is Noah's homeland. He
ruled in the region of Lake Chad which was prone to flooding. The locals
call this region Bor-no, meaning "Land of Noah". This is the only place
on earth that claims to be Noah's homeland.

Some of Abraham's Horite Habiru ancestors can be traced back to the
shrine city of Nekhen. One of the more intriguing discoveries at Nekhen
was the recovery of an almost complete beard in association with the
redheaded man in Burial no. 79. The facial hair of the man in Burial no.
79 had been trimmed with a sharp blade.

The map shows that the red peoples extended into southwestern China. The
Tarum mummies of China had red hair and beards. The oldest Tarum Mummies
found in China date from 1900 B.C. The so-called "Ur-David" mummy (shown
below) was tall and had red hair. This mummy, also called Cherchen Man
or Ch?rch?n Man, dates to about 1000 B.C.

'Adam and Enosh as Contemporaries

Another word that designates a royal founding father is Enosh/Enoch. In
Psalm 8:4 the terms 'Adam and Enosh are paralleled.

"What is man [enosh] that you are mindful of him, the son of man [ben
adam] that you care for him?"

Both 'Adam and Enoch/Enosh are royal titles. The parallelism of Psalm 8
makes it clear that Enosh/Enoch is considered a royal progenitor along
with 'Adam. These are among the archaic rulers. They are called the
"mighty men of old" in Genesis and they are described as heroes and men
of renown. They are the rulers of the archaic world and they married
within their royal houses, as royal persons tend to do even today.

I recognize no theological problems with interpreting the creative
process of Genesis in different ways. In many respects, viewing it as a
summary of perhaps billions of years makes more sense. God knew that we
would need things like oil and natural gas and other resources that take
eons to form someday, so he allowed time for them to develop.

Human artifacts dating from millions of years ago to 10,000 years ago
indicate that the Creator has been guiding the religious thought of
humans to recognition of the incarnation of the Son of God and his death
and resurrection. The oldest artifacts show cross designs in stone and
shell. Then there is the universal practice of burying elders, chiefs,
and rulers in red ochre dust, a symbol of blood. Life in in the blood!

The universal symbolism of the sun as the Creator's symbol or emblem is
another example. By 4000 BC there already existed a caste of
ruler-priests (Ha'biru or Hebrew) who believed that the Creator has a
son. This son - Horus - was to be conceived virginally by the
overshadowing of the sun. This was the sign of divine appointment as a
ruler on earth. Some would say that this has nothing to do with Jesus
Messiah; that the Angel Gabriel's words to Mary are coincidental. Not
so! When Mary asked how she would conceive, seeing that she "knew" no
man, Gabriel explained that she would be overshadowed and the one she
conceived would be the Son of God (Luke 1).

Alice C. Linsley has been pioneering the scientific field of Biblical
Anthropology for 30 years. Her research on the primitive understanding
of blood is reflected in this article. She lives in North Carolina where
she continues to teach Philosophy.



------------------------------

Message: 12
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2017 19:59:08 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Christianity Could Vanish From Middle East by 2025 if
Terrorism Continues, Believers Warn
Message-ID:
<1504223948.2901859....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Christianity Could Vanish From Middle East by 2025 if Terrorism
Continues, Believers Warn
Islamic State militants have taken hundreds of Assyrian prisoners in
Iraq and Syria

By Stoyan Zaimov
http://www.christianpost.com/
Aug 30, 2017

A draft document by members of the global Christian community is warning
that unless the course is reversed, Christians could be driven out of
their ancient homelands in the Middle East entirely in less than a
decade.

Russian News Agency TASS shared details of the draft memorandum of the
3rd International Christian Forum that opened in Moscow on Monday, which
detailed how over the past 10 years the Middle East's Christian
population has shrunk by 80 percent.

"At the beginning of the 2000's, the number of Christians living in Iraq
totals about 1.5 million, which came to about 5% of the country's
population. By now, the figure has plummeted to about 100,000 people,"
the document states.

"The biggest Syria cities that lived through occupation by the militants
have lost almost all of their Christian population."

The draft memorandum positions that Christianity "will vanish" from its
homeland by the middle of the next decade if radical Islam's attacks on
Christians are not stopped.

Various Middle East experts and Christian leaders have also been warning
for years of the devestating effects terrorist groups, such as the
Islamic State and its self-proclaimed Caliphate, are having on Christian
populations.

Genocidal campaigns have resulted in the deaths and kidnappings of
untold numbers of Christians and other minorities while millions have
also had to flee their homes.

Todd Johnson, director of the Center for the Study of Global
Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Hamilton,
Massachusetts, predicted in May that by 2025 the percentage of
Christians in the Mideast could go down to just over three percent. By
comaprison, Christians made up 13.6 percent of the population back in
1910.

Canon Andrew White, an Anglican priest known as the "vicar of Baghdad,"
said earlier this year that "the time has come where it is over, no
Christians will be left. Some say Christians should stay to maintain the
historical presence, but it has become very difficult. The future for
the community is very limited."

Some Christians have been looking to return to newly liberated cities in
Iraq and Syria, but have faced great challenges, human rights advocates
said.

Ashur Sargon Eskrya, president of the Assyrian Aid Society branch in
Iraq, told Breitbart News earlier in August that Christians returning to
the Iraqi city of Mosul are facing their "biggest and greatest
challenge."

"Iraqi Christians (Assyrian, Chaldean) are indigenous peoples of the
country, according to historical sources, and their future in Iraq
depends of on international support and protection. Without protections,
they will not be able to live in Iraq any more," Eskrya said in an
email.

"It is critical time for the Christians of Iraq -- 'to be or not to
be.'"

Former Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), who is a distinguished senior fellow at
the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative, said that there's still an an
opportunity "to save Christianity in the cradle of Christendom."

"Now is the time. We have an administration that's open to doing
something," he said, referring to the administration of U.S. President
Donald Trump.

"There's a willingness and desire on the part of the Christians to stay.
I think given protection and coordination with housing and
infrastructure, they will return," Wolf added.

Martha Hudson, an advocate for minority groups in Iraq who traveled with
the congressman to Iraq, said that it is "now or never" for the
Christian population there.

"We are at the tipping point and if we do nothing, we will lose
Christianity in the cradle of Christianity. As Christians, this is our
homeland and we must do everything to save it," Hudson said.



------------------------------

Message: 13
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2017 19:59:28 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Western leaders take note -- Islamists want to re-live their
brutal and violent conquest of Spain
Message-ID:
<1504223968.2901867....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Western leaders take note -- Islamists want to re-live their brutal and
violent conquest of Spain

By Jules Gomes
http://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/
August 28, 2017

The left-wing Antifa are shaping up to be the new Taliban terrorist
squads of the West. Uniformed in black shirts and bandanas these mobs of
savages are on a statue-and-monument-destroying binge. Worse. They want
to erase history as easily as their patron saint Hillary Clinton erased
thousands of classified emails using Bleachbit software to 'prevent
recovery' of her emails. The last functioning key on their computer is
the DELETE button.

The foot soldiers of ISIS are doing just the opposite. While they are
destroying other people's history they are busy remembering and
recovering their own Islamic history, as they see it. They are returning
to the past with a vengeance, pressing the COPY and PASTE button on
history to transfer and impose it on the present.

So it hardly came as a surprise when ISIS claimed responsibility for the
terrorist attack in Barcelona that killed 15 people and nearly succeeded
in blowing up the Sagrada Fam?lia church.

That Islamic terrorists would target Spain was entirely predictable. In
2015, Spain refused to participate in the allied bombing campaign in
Syria, hoping that it would lower the risk of being targeted by ISIS. It
was in vain. Much of Islamic terrorism is rooted in history, not in
present-day 'social justice' issues which leave lefties with their
knickers in a twist.

In 2014, the Islamic State released maps showing Spain in black. The
maps came with a warranty. 'We will take Spain back.' In 2014, Spain had
the highest number of concluded court proceedings for terrorist offences
in the EU, according to a Europol report. Jihadists produced a video
vowing to liberate al-Andalus from non-Muslims and add it to the Islamic
Caliphate.

The Spanish-speaking jihadist says it all. 'I declare: Spain is the land
of our forefathers and we are going to take it back with the power of
Allah.' Osama bin Laden's most frequently repeated lament was for the
'tragedy of Andalusia.' Al-Andalus is the Arabic name given to parts of
Spain, Portugal and France that were conquered and ruled by Muslim
invaders from 711 to 1492.

The West has forgotten the past, pretending that it can never happen
again. Secular Europe sanitises history; religious Muslims
sacramentalise history. They know that the present can only be built on
the foundations of the past. To sanitise the past you have to
deliberately distort history and conform it to the present-day canons of
multicultural tolerance.

Before there was fake news, there was fake history. One of the most
prevalent distortions of history is the fabrication of the Andalusian
paradise where Muslim rulers sang 'all you need is love' and strummed
lutes in harmony with Christians and Jews. President Barack Obama
himself promoted this myth in full fortissimo. 'Islam has a proud
tradition of tolerance. We see it in the history of Andalusia and
Cordoba during the Inquisition.'

The then Prime Minister Tony Blair painted a romantic picture of Islamic
tolerance in an allusion to Muslim-governed Spain. 'The standard-bearers
of tolerance in the early Middle Ages were far more likely to be found
in Muslim lands than in Christian ones.' The Wall Street Journal
perpetuated this corrosive hagiography by singing the praising of the
'pan-confessional humanism' of Andalusian Spain.

Apologists for Islam keep harping on the 'Golden Age' of La Convivencia
('The Coexistence') that allegedly characterised seven centuries of
Muslim rule in Spain under the label of between Muslims, Christians and
Jews.

This fairytale of this interfaith Eden has now been roundly debunked by
Dar?o Fern?ndez-Morera in his recent book The Myth of the Andalusian
Paradise: Muslims, Christians, and Jews under Islamic Rule in Medieval
Spain. Muslim Spain 'was never an example of peaceful convivencia,'
writes Morera.

On the contrary, the history of Islamic Spain begins with violent
conquest. Morera digs up primary sources which 'chronicle the brutality
with which the Muslims subjugated the Catholic populations.' 'From then
on, the best rulers of al-Andalus were autocrats who through brute force
kept the peace in the face of religious, dynastic, racial and other
divisions,' he writes.

Abd al-Rahman I (734-788) demolished the ancient Catholic church of
Cordoba and on its ruins built the great mosque. Catholics had their
property confiscated and many were enslaved or forced to pay tribute --
money that went towards financing the embellishment of Islamic Cordoba.
There were mass deportations of Catholics from Malaga and Granada to
Morocco and Muslims wiped out the entire Catholic population of Granada
in the twelfth century.

Under his successors Abd al-Rahman II and Muhammad I, Catholics in
Cordoba were killed for preaching against Islam and newly constructed
churches were destroyed. Abd a-lRahman III, the most "tolerant" of the
Muslim rulers, took the city to heights of splendour but kept 'the lid
on the boiling cauldron that was multicultural al-Andalus.' He was
succeeded by Al-Mansur who burned down Barcelona in 985, enslaving all
those he did not kill.

As far as racial tolerance or slavery goes, the enslavement of black
Africans was an intrinsic feature of the culture of Muslim Andalusia.
Ibn Battuta, travelling through Africa, claimed that blacks were stupid,
ignorant, cowardly and infantile -- attitudes that were firmly
entrenched all over the Islamic world.

Yes, Jews were favoured to some extent, not because of 'tolerance' but
because they were strategically useful to the Islamic conquerors and
were small in number. Nevertheless, the Jews remained subjugated as
dhimmis. In Granada in 1066, rioting Muslim mobs had assassinated the
rabbi and destroyed the entire Jewish community, killing thousands.
'Muslim suspicion of the Jewish community lasted until the end of
Islamic rule,' observes Morera.

A majority of Andalusian Muslims followed the Maliki School of Islamic
jurisprudence. A sample of its teachings can be found in the writings of
jurist In Abdun (Seville, c.1100). 'A Muslim must not act as a masseur
to a Jew or Christian; he must not clear their rubbish nor clean their
latrines. In fact, the Jew and the Christian are more suited for such
work.'

Even the cultural achievements of Andalusia Islam is a work of spin
doctoring historical genius. 'Musicians must be suppressed, and, if this
cannot be done, at least they must be stopped from playing unless they
get permission from the cadi, wrote Ibn Abdun. The so-called Arabic
music from Spain turns out to be the music of Catholics under Muslim
rule since Catholic could adapt 'Muslim' sounds to the music for the
Mass -- and so create Mozarabic music.

So why are multiculturalists desperate to erase real history and replace
it with fake history? Morera suggests it might have to do with 'Spanish
self-hatred, the obverse of what once was Spanish self-aggrandizement.'

It is patently absurd for Western multiculturalists to sanitise history
on the basis of self-hatred. First, it is fictitious and false. Second,
our Islamic enemies refuse to accept our version of fake history or
accept it only to further their expansionist purposes. Third, the
history of Islamic occupation of Andalusia and other lands conquered by
Islam is theologically significant. Islamic theology is rooted in
Islamic history.

In classical Islam, all land conquered from the enemy becomes the
God-given property of the Muslim community forever. 'Lands once
conquered by Islam, if subsequently lost to non-Muslims, remain holy to
Islam, and it is imperative that such lost lands be restored to the
rightful rule of the umma by jihad,' writes Islamic scholar Patrick
Sookhdeo in his tour de force Global Jihad: The Future in the Face of
Militant Islam.

The new Islamist extremists of Spain and the West can chill out and
celebrate. Their history-hating allies on the Left are doing the job for
them. Lee Harris begins his book Civilization and its Enemies with the
words, 'The subject of this book is forgetfulness.' He ends with a
question: 'Can the West overcome the forgetfulness that is the nemesis
of every successful civilization?' The freedom and the future of the
West depends on our ability to remember and recall history, not to
rewrite and rub it out.

The Rev'd Dr Jules Gomes is pastor of St Augustine's Church, Douglas, on
the Isle of Man.



------------------------------

Message: 14
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2017 19:59:52 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: What Does it Mean to be a Mature Christian Disciple?
GENTLENESS
Message-ID:
<1504223992.2901899....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

What Does it Mean to be a Mature Christian Disciple? GENTLENESS

By Ted Schroder
www.tedschroder.com
September 3, 2017

The mature Christian disciple is gentle towards others. Jesus said,
"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in
heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matt 11:29). Gentleness
is the quality of thoughtful consideration for others, a sensitivity to
their needs. The word can also be translated 'meek' (KJV). "Blessed are
the meek, for they will inherit the earth" (Matt 5:8). It does not mean
weak. It is strength under the control of the Spirit, like a champion
horse that is guided by the bit in its soft mouth. Gentleness is power
harnessed to the purpose of helping others.

Jesus said, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me..." We are to take
his yoke, his harness upon us and be guided in the direction he wants us
to go and to be the person he wants for us to become. How do we learn
from him how to be gentle?

We see it in his relationship with children. "People were bringing
little children to Jesus t have him touch them, but the disciples
rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he was indignant. He said to them,
'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the
kingdom of God belongs to such as these....And he took the children in
his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them" (Mark 10:13-16). It is
the most natural and loving thing to pick up a baby or little child. Yet
in the ancient world, and up to relatively recently children were of no
account. Before Dr. Spock they were expected not to intrude. They were
not the center of attention. They became valuable only when they began
to be productive and handle adult jobs. Jesus gave them special
attention and commended their childlike trustfulness as necessary for
entering the kingdom of God.

It is most natural for us to be gentle with our children because we are
aware of their fragility, their ignorance, and our need to protect them
and care for them. When the rate of infant mortality was high the
expectation of a child surviving to adulthood was low. Parents knew they
had to be gentle and protective with them if they wanted them to mature.
This gentle attitude towards children is also applied to adults.

St. Paul, describes his ministry in similar terms. "We were gentle among
you, like a mother caring for her little children. We loved you so much
that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but
our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us" (1 Thess
2:7-8). The role of the pastor and teacher is like that of a mother
caring for little children: feeding them, correcting them, loving them,
clothing them, and protecting them. "Those who oppose him he must gently
instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them
to a knowledge of the truth" (2 Tim 2:25). Parenting requires gentleness
not harshness. "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring
them up in the training and instruction of the Lord" (Eph. 6:4).

Jesus responded to the needs of those who came to him for healing with
gentleness. When Jairus fell at his feet and pleaded with him to come to
his little daughter, who was dying, so that she might be healed and
live, Jesus went with him. They were slowed down by the large crowd and
the needs of another woman who sought to be healed. Despite the urgent
condition of the little daughter he took time to minister to the woman
who had suffered for twelve years. While this was going on some men came
from Jairus's house and told him that his daughter was dead and not to
bother Jesus any more. Ignoring what they said, Jesus told Jairus,
"Don't be afraid, just believe." Despite the commotion of the mourners
crying and wailing loudly Jesus went ahead into the house. They laughed
at him when he asserted that she was not dead but asleep. He put them
all out and took Jairus and his wife and the disciples and went in where
the child was. He gently took her hand and said to her, "Little girl, I
say to you, get up!" "Immediately the girl stood up and walked around
(she was twelve years old). ...He gave strict orders not to let anyone
know about this, and told them to give her something to eat." (Mark
5:22-43). He was gentle with her and his gentleness extended to making
sure that she received physical nourishment. He was like a mother caring
for her little children. He was practical in protecting her from all the
commotion outside so that she might have quiet and have time to recover
from her illness.

Jesus responded to the needs of those who were bereaved and those who
died with gentleness. He gently ministered to Martha and Mary when their
brother Lazarus died. "When Jesus saw Mary weeping, and the others who
had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and
troubled. 'Where have you laid him?' he asked. 'Come and see, Lord,'
they replied. Jesus wept. Then they said, 'See how he loved him'" (John
11:33-36). He gently comforted them before he raised Lazarus from the
dead.

Gentleness is necessary for those we love during the process of dying
and bereavement. Just as gentleness is needed at the beginning of life
with babies and little children, so it is also necessary at the end of
this life with the terminally ill. Whether it be at the hospital, in a
hospice setting or at home, the dying need our gentleness, our
thoughtful consideration, our sensitivity to their needs. It is a time
when other priorities have to be put aside in order for us to be present
for those we love. Just as the fragile baby needs us, or the frail loved
one with Alzheimer's or other disabilities, so too the dying need our
understanding and gentleness. They take precedence over other concerns.

Robertson McQuilken resigned as president of Columbia Bible College
realizing that he needed to focus his attention on caring for his wife,
Muriel, who suffered from early onset Alzheimer's disease. He wrote this
letter to the college constituency.

Recently it has become apparent that Muriel is contented most of the
time she is with me and almost none of the time I am away from her. It
is not just "discontent." She is filled with fear -- even terror -- that
she has lost me and always goes in search of me when I leave home. So it
is clear to me that she needs me now, full-time. The decision was made,
in a way, forty-two years ago when I promised to care for Muriel "in
sickness and in health...till death do us part." So, as I told the
students and faculty, as a man of my word, integrity has something to do
with it. But so does fairness. She has cared for me fully and
sacrificially all these years; if I cared for her the next forty years I
would not be out of her debt.

Duty, however, can be grim and stoic. But there is more: I love Muriel.
She is a delight to me -- her childlike dependence and confidence in me,
her warm love, occasional flashed of that wit I used to relish so, her
happy spirit and tough resilience in the face of her continual
distressing frustration. I don't have to care for her, I get to! It is a
high honor to care for so wonderful a person.

Gentleness is the fruit of the Spirit of Christ, learned from him. It is
the quality that manifests itself when we care for those we love,
whatever their condition. There can be no indifference, neither
callousness nor cruelty, when we come under the yoke of Christ and learn
from him how to care for those we love, those who need our care. When
someone becomes dear to us we want to be gentle to them. Their need in a
harsh and selfish world, draws out of us our capacity for gentleness.



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