Posted on 07/12/2006 10:43:24 AM PDT by Aussie Dasher
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 12, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) Forget about traditional moralityChristianity should focus on eradicating poverty, protecting the environment and ending the war in Iraq, according to the general secretary of the National Council of Churches, Dr. Bob Edgar.
Jesus never said one word about homosexuality, never said one word about civil marriage or abortion, said Dr. Edgar to CBS News at a recent gathering of liberal Christian leaders in Washington.
The gathering was the latest effort by the religious left to gain back some of the political power the group enjoyed during the 60s and early 70s. 30 years ago liberal religious leaders used their political influence to lead demonstrations against social injustices such as civil rights abuses and the Vietnam War. Once those issues left the spotlight, liberal Christianity lost focus and faded to the background.
Now, liberal Christian leaders are attempting to stage a return to power, targeting young voters and concentrating on increasing childcare funding and raising the minimum wage. The group wants to build a strong voter base to counter what it calls the ground game of the Christian rightthe powerful voting block of traditional Christians that has significant influence on the countrys politics.
Finding a unifying message that will allow the group to achieve political clout has been a struggle, observers have said. The New York Times reported in May on an earlier meeting by liberal Christian activists in Washington, a brainstorming session concentrating on identifying the groups goals.
During a session on ethical sexual behavior, the meeting bypassed discussion of concrete issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage. Instead, Rev. Ama Zenya of First Congregational Church in Oakland, California, directed the gathering to discuss their spiritual values and to practice fully our authentic being, reported the Times.
The results of the gathering were disappointing, said liberal Baptist minister Rev. Tony Campolo, who once acted as spiritual adviser to President Bill Clinton, and attended the conference.
We didnt get on the same page with everyone, and it is about getting on the same page. The thing about the left is that they want everybody to feel good.
Dr. Edgar, who has been general secretary of the NCC since 2000, was applauded by homosexual activist organizations shortly after his election for withdrawing his signature from an ecumenical statement in defence of traditional marriage, A Christian Declaration on Marriage.
Dr. Edgar also apologized to members of the homosexual community for originally endorsing the document, which was co-signed by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Southern Baptist Convention, and the National Association of Evangelicals.
"If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead." (Luke 16;31)
I have a cast on my right arm & it makes typing quite tedious. Rather than writing out my own response to you,
I offer a link:
http://www.ldolphin.org/divorce.html
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AMEN & AMEN!
This is my favorite subject!! No--not the homosexual marriage/abortion subject--I'm talking about my Jesus!
Hallelujah, He reigns!
I once asked my daughter, "What would Jesus drive?"
She answered, "A Chrysler. Obviously."
The problem is that makes the God of the OT different from the God of the NT. There have been a number of heresies from way back that took a line of thought similar to yours and followed it to its conclusion.
Remember this about the Canaanites. When the Romans (hardly the standard of virtue) fought the remnant of the Canaanites (the Carthaginians), they were horrified at the child sacrifice and other things that they did. Scipio razed Carthage both in retaliation for Hannibal, and to put an end to their horrible ways. These were not nice people whom God just decided to pick on.
They seem to be overlooking comments about his fulfilling rather than abolishing the Law.
I suppose that all depends on what, precisely, you mean by that. Jesus did not tell anyone to stop being Jewish--that would be as absurd and undoable (to a human) as telling the Irish to be Polish, or Swedes to be Mongols. In other words, it would require changing the past. However, if you mean that Jesus never said that OT laws were obsolete, you are wrong:
""Are you so dull?" he asked. "Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him 'unclean'? For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body." (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods "clean.")" Mark 17:18-19 (Emphasis mine).
what does one expect from the national council of churches?
He also didn't say anything about sprinkling Rice Krispies all over someone's floors and then unscrewing all the lightbulbs.
I'll have to pick up the New Testament and find out Our Lord's views on Kyoto and Iraq...
Membership Statistics
For The National Council of Churches' Member Communions
Current as of 07/07/2005
Religious |
Year |
Number of |
Inclusive |
Number of |
African Methodist Episcopal Church |
1999 |
2,500,000 |
7,741 |
|
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church |
2003 |
3,236 |
1,432,795 |
3,285 |
The Alliance of Baptists in the U.S.A. |
2002 |
128 |
63,870 |
286 |
American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A. |
2003 |
5,834 |
1,433,075 |
4,277 |
The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America |
2003 |
226 |
390,000 |
400 |
Armenian Apostolic Church, Diocese of America |
1991 |
72 |
414,000 |
49 |
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada |
2003 |
3,717 |
770,793 |
3,412 |
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church |
2002 |
3,300 |
850,000 |
3,001 |
Church of the Brethren |
2003 |
1,062 |
132,481 |
796 |
Coptic Orthodox Church |
2000 |
100 |
300,000 |
140 |
Episcopal Church |
2002 |
7,305 |
2,320,221 |
6,060 |
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America |
2003 |
10,657 |
4,984,925 |
9,225 |
Friends United Meeting |
2002 |
427 |
42,680 |
306 |
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America |
2003 |
510 |
1,500,000 |
570 |
Hungarian Reformed Church in America |
2001 |
27 |
6,000 |
27 |
International Council of Community Churches |
2003 |
126 |
108,806 |
283 |
Korean Presbyterian Church in America, General Assembly of the |
2003 |
302 |
55,000 |
465 |
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, Diocese of America |
||||
Mar Thoma Syrian Church of India |
2003 |
72 |
35,000 |
45 |
Moravian Church in America (Unitas Fratrum) |
2003 |
92 |
24,650 |
90 |
National Baptist Convention of America, Inc. |
2000 |
3,500,000 |
||
National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., Inc. |
9,000 |
5,000,000 |
||
National Missionary Baptist Convention of America |
1992 |
2,500,000 |
||
The Orthodox Church in America |
2003 |
731 |
1,000,000 |
798 |
Patriarchal Parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in the U.S.A. |
31 |
7,000 |
45 |
|
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends |
2003 |
104 |
11,874 |
0 |
Polish National Catholic Church of America |
2003 |
60,000 |
120 |
|
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) |
2003 |
11,064 |
3,241,309 |
8,945 |
Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. |
1995 |
2,000 |
2,500,000 |
|
Reformed Church in America |
2003 |
897 |
278,739 |
828 |
Serbian Orthodox Church in the U.S.A. and Canada |
1986 |
68 |
67,000 |
60 |
The Swedenborgian Church |
2003 |
40 |
1,677 |
26 |
Syrian (Syriac) Orthodox Church of Antioch |
2003 |
31 |
32,500 |
26 |
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. |
2000 |
115 |
13,000 |
103 |
United Church of Christ |
2003 |
5,738 |
1,296,652 |
4,219 |
The United Methodist Church |
2002 |
35,102 |
8,251,175 |
24,269 |
Totals |
106,288 |
45,125,222 |
79,897 |
Current as of 07/07/2005
(tribe of Benjamin)
And yet another perfect example of how GOD deals with sexual immorality!!!
Spot on YOUGOTIT!!!!! Spot on!!!
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