This page lists reports and commentary from August, 2006

Theologian puts questions about the 9/11 event in a deeper perspective – and gives reasons for deeper concern  

Christian Faith and the Truth Behind 9/11: A Call to Reflection and Action, by David Ray Griffin

A book review by Arch Taylor   

Also -- Griffin book arouses opposition and support

The latest US Census Bureau report tells us that "in the world's biggest economy one in eight Americans and almost one in four blacks lived in poverty last year ..." In addition, "15.9 percent of the population, or 46.6 million, had no health insurance, up from 15.6 percent in 2004 and the fifth increase in a row." And yet again, the study finds poverty "especially concentrated among blacks and Hispanics."

It's interesting, though, how many US media are highlighting the fact that this Census Bureau report says that for the first time in the Bush presidency, poverty has not gotten worse -- although other reports are noting that rising per capita income is not keeping up with inflation rates.

Study guide sent to churches, to help committee develop proposed GA policy

The Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP)  has distributed a study guide aimed at getting the entire Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) engaged in a comprehensive study of serious mental illness.

The 24-page document -- "Serious Mental Illness: Seeking a Comprehensive Christian Response" -- was compiled by ACSWP's Task Force on Serious Mental Illness. The 11-member panel is developing a proposed policy for church ministry to people with serious mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.   More >>

Saving energy is good for the environment, good for your budget

Congregation Decides: Kirk of the Hills votes to leave denomination

Members cheer after overwhelmingly voting to affiliate with a more conservative group.

The latest report from the Tulsa World >>

The earlier report:

2,700-member Tulsa church poised to leave the PC(USA)

Kirk of the Hills congregation meeting Wednesday to "affirm" session decision

Members of the Kirk of the Hills Presbyterian Church in Tulsa will meet tonight (Aug. 30) to "affirm" the unanimous decision of the church's session two weeks ago to leave the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and affiliate with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC).

The congregation – which will meet in closed session – will also be asked to "affirm the ordinations" of the Kirk's co-pastors, the Revs. Thomas W. Gray and Roger Wayne Hardy. Both of them renounced the jurisdiction of the PC(USA) when the session voted to bolt the denomination and have not as yet been received as ministers by the EPC.

The Patriarch of Jerusalem, along with leaders of the Syrian Orthodox, Episcopal and Lutheran churches, have declared that they "reject Christian Zionist doctrines as false teaching that corrupts the biblical message of love, justice and reconciliation."

Further they state:

We call upon Christians in Churches on every continent to pray for the Palestinian and Israeli people, both of whom are suffering as victims of occupation and militarism. These discriminative actions are turning Palestine into impoverished ghettos surrounded by exclusive Israeli settlements. The establishment of the illegal settlements and the construction of the Separation Wall on confiscated Palestinian land undermines the viability of a Palestinian state as well as peace and security in the entire region.

PC(USA) mission worker visits Lebanon's war zone

The Rev. Nuhad Tomeh, PC(USA) regional liaison for Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and the Gulf, reports on his recent visit to two of the Presbyterian congregations in south Lebanon, in Alma and Qana.

Of Alma he reports:

Tell New Wineskins they lack authority to suspend Constitution

August 25, 2006 -- (PNS)  --  General Assembly Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick and Moderator Joan Gray responded this week to correspondence they received from the New Wineskins Association of Churches that calls for a moratorium on disciplining churches that seek to leave the denomination.

The New Wineskins approved the call for a moratorium in July, and the association subsequently empowered their moderator, the Rev. Dean Weaver, to send a letter and details of their action to Kirkpatrick and Gray.

State Supreme Court Justice John K. McGuirk ruled on Wednesday that the First Presbyterian Church of Ridgebury, NY (which now calls itself modestly The Church at Ridgebury) can keep its property as it pursues its intention to leave the PC(USA). The Presbytery of Hudson River will be considering an appeal of the decision.

Try Armor of God PJs!!

The other day in the Atlanta airport, waiting for a flight to Minneapolis, I was in a quiet place for a few moments (OK, it was the men’s room) when an interesting announcement came over the loudspeaker: "The Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration announce that, because of the heightened level of the Orange Alert, all passengers are forbidden."  That was it.  End of announcement.

Well, thought I, that’s one way of dealing with our problems. But it does seem a bit extreme. Eventually the recorded announcement was repeated more completely, and they were just telling us that all passengers are forbidden to carry liquids and beverages and cosmetics and such on their planes. Not quite as extreme as it sounded in its first version.

Michael Schwartz, Professor of Sociology at Stony Brook University, who has written extensively on popular protest and insurgency, and on American business and government dynamics, lays out seven realities of the war in Iraq that are generally ignored.

Very briefly, they are:

• The Iraqi government is little more than a group of "talking heads"
• There is no Iraqi army
• The recent decline in American casualties is not a result of less fighting (and anyway, it's probably ending)
• Most Iraqi cities have active and often viable local governments
• Outside Baghdad, violence arrives with the occupation army
• There is a growing resistance movement in the Shia areas of Iraq
• There are three distinct types of terrorism in Iraq, all directly or indirectly connected to the occupation

He concludes: "One might say that the war has converted one of President Bush's biggest lies into an unimaginably horrible truth: Iraq is now the epicenter of worldwide terrorism."

But, he adds, "There is still some hope for the Iraqis to recover their equilibrium. All the centripetal forces in Iraq derive from the American occupation, and might still be sufficiently reduced by an American departure followed by a viable reconstruction program embraced by the key elements inside of Iraq. But if the occupation continues, there will certainly come a point - perhaps already passed - when the collapse of government legitimacy, the destruction wrought by the war, and the horror of terrorist violence become self-sustaining. If that point is reached, all parties will enter a new territory with incalculable consequences."

Churches need freedom to have stay-or-go talks, group says

In an interesting twist, one of the emerging conservative groups, New Wineskins, is called for a halt to disciplinary actions. Specifically, they are seeking some guarantee that no action will be taken against churches planning to leave the denomination. We wonder whether the moratorium they seek would also cover cases of certain people seeking to enter more fully into the life of the Presbyterian Church through ordination.

David McPhail, who earlier shared his reflections on participating in a demonstration against the School of the Americas, reports now on a two-week visit to Bolivia with a delegation from San Francisco Presbytery, meeting with their Joining Hands against Hunger partners UMAVIDA (Joining Hands for Life).

"Too many have dispensed with generosity in order to practice charity."
-- Albert Camus

Investigators have known for a decade about terrorist plots to bring down passenger jets with liquid explosives. So why, all of a sudden, did Bush ban most liquids on flights?

Robert Scheer, a veteran journalist and writer on presidents past and present, is now managing a website called TruthDig.com, the main focus of which seems to be reports and analyses that provide sharp criticism of government policies and actions.

Our latest newsletter is now in the mail to members, and we’re glad to share it with anyone else who’s interested -- in PDF format.  Just click here >>

King David got in baaad trouble when he sent a man into battle, and to his death, based on deception, and to satisfy his own wrongful desires. Taken note of Yahweh’s wrathful response, Victoria Furio asks about the recent actions of the United States government.

If David’s sin was so unfathomable, she asks, "then how would we judge a king who overpowers a nation, driven by wrongful desires, coveting its wealth and position, and sends the kingdom’s sons and daughters into battle for it under false pretenses? What sin could be more despicable than using one’s own children for the king’s illicit gain, exacting the final sacrifice of their lives based on a lie?"

These are serious charges, she acknowledges, saying "We would have to be sure of the facts to make such a judgment." And she proceeds to lay out those facts, with helpful brevity and clarity.

She concludes that "What is fundamentally wrong here is the notion that one nation has a right to another’s resources, and that they can even be taken by force! This violates the most basic human and divine laws and assures that there will be no peace."

Dr. Bob Edgar, the general secretary of the National Council of the Churches of Christ and former six-term congressman, offers a compelling call for people of faith to speak out on the real issues of faith and values today: peace, poverty, and planet earth.

Former President Jimmy Carter writes of this book:

"A stirring call to American believers who resent their spiritual beliefs being co-opted for a political agenda contrary to their faith… Bob Edgar reminds us that faith belongs in the public realm—not to advocate war, privilege and environmental degradation, but to promote peace, the eradication of poverty, and the preservation of our fragile planet."

Middle Church
by Bob Edgar

Energized by Lamb Power in the Face of Being Globalized and Terrorized by Empire

For the eighth year in a row, Witherspoon Society cosponsored an engaging seminar at Ghost Ranch with Presbyterian Peace Fellowship and Presbyterians for Restoring Creation. A record 51 people attended this year's seminar, under the leadership of Barbara Rossing, Walter Owensby and Gary Cook.

Young's report, with three short sections, reflects the main themes of the seminar:

"Better off as a Cow in Europe" looks at the growing negative effects of globalization, especially on the world's poor.

"Do You Feel Globalized?" shows some of the ways people are resisting the global empire.

And "Will You Be Left Behind?" explores how the "Left Behind" series is functioning to "make scripture and the church handmaidens of empire."

The Minneapolis Star Tribune recently sent reporter David Hage with a small group of journalists to visit the moderate Muslim nations of Indonesia and Bangladesh.

The paper’s lead editorial on Sunday, August 6, was titled "Hearing the moderate voices of Islam."  It included this insightful comment:

"When I hear President Bush say he was instructed by God to invade Iraq and I hear a bearded mullah say he was instructed by God to conduct jihad, how am I to differentiate?" says Mahfuz Anam, editor of the Daily Star, a respected newspaper in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Moderate Muslims across Asia are struggling with the same paradox.

To read the editorial >>

Hage’s news reports: