c. 2003 Religion News Service
Bush Remark That Christians, Muslims `Worship Same God’ Draws Criticism
(RNS) Conservative Christian leaders have criticized President Bush for declaring that he believes Christians and Muslims “worship the same God.”
In a Thursday (Nov. 20) news conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London, the president was asked about his views on the subject.
“I do say that freedom is the Almighty’s gift to every person,” the president responded. “I also condition it by saying freedom is not America’s gift to the world. It’s much greater than that, of course. And I believe we worship the same God.”
Those words brought quick reaction from leaders of two prominent evangelical organizations.
Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, told Baptist Press that he thought Bush was incorrect.
“We should always remember that he is commander in chief, not theologian in chief,” Land told the news service of the Southern Baptist Convention. “And when he says that he believes that Muslims and Christians worship the same God, he is simply mistaken.”
Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, agreed.
“The Christian God encourages freedom, love, forgiveness, prosperity and health while the Muslim God appears to value the opposite,” Haggard said in a statement. “The personalities of each God are evident in the cultures, civilizations and dispositions of the peoples that serve them. Muhammad’s central message was submission; Jesus’ central message was love. They seem to be very different personalities.”
Although the president seems to differ with “the majority of evangelicals” on this matter, Haggard said conservative Christians do not expect him to be a theologian.
“Evangelical Christians value the president’s role as an agent of freedom, peace and justice, and continue to support his leadership,” he said.
Author and research professor William Lane Craig of the evangelical Talbot School of Theology in La Mirada, Calif., said in a statement he thought the president’s remark “obscured important differences” between the two faiths.
“President Bush would have done better to brush aside the question with a smile, saying, `I’ll leave that question to the theologians,”’ said Craig.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Ugandan Anglicans Cut Ties With Episcopal Church Over Gay Bishop
(RNS) The Anglican Church in Uganda, the world’s third-largest Anglican church, has formally cut ties with the U.S.-based Episcopal Church over the consecration of an openly gay bishop.
Bishops of the 8 million-member church said Thursday (Nov. 20) that “any same-sex relationship is a disorder of God’s creation” after the U.S. church consecrated Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire on Nov. 2, according to the Associated Press.
“Dioceses of the church of Uganda are not going to continue asking for scholarships from the Episcopal Church,” said Jackson Turyagyenda, a spokesman for the church.
The Episcopal Church is the U.S. branch of the Anglican Communion, which claims 77 million members, including the 26 million members of its mother church, the Church of England.
The day after Robinson’s consecration, Anglican leaders from the “Global South” who claimed to represent 50 million parishioners said they “cannot and will not recognize the office or ministry of Gene Robinson as a bishop.”
On Nov. 15, the Anglican bishops of Nigeria _ who lead the world’s second-largest Anglican province _ voted to formally cut ties “with all the bishops and dioceses in (the Episcopal Church) that have joined in this divisive and unscriptural act.”
That decision was criticized by South African Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane, one of the few African Anglican leaders to support the U.S. church and Robinson.
“This gospel imperative urges us to hold together as we work through disagreements,” he said. “We must face the challenge to develop an ethic of together-in-difference.”
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Admirers of Pope John Paul I Take First Step Toward Making Him a Saint
ROME (RNS) Admirers of Pope John Paul I have taken the first step in a process they hope will lead to sainthood for the pontiff who reigned for only 33 days in 1978.
Bishop Vincenzo Savio of Belluno-Feltre in northern Italy opened hearings in the Belluno Cathedral on Sunday (Nov. 23) on the life of Albino Luciani, who is known to Italians as “the smiling pope.” Elected on Aug. 26, 1978, to succeed Paul VI, he died on Sept. 28.
Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, the Portuguese prelate who heads the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints, noted that as patriarch of Venice, Luciani had told seminarians, “It is not the career that makes saints but what they do in life.”
The cardinal described John Paul I as a pastor who had “the charisma of simplicity, which sends words straight to people’s heart, a pastor in whom the concept of holiness was natural.”
“Luciani was merciful with penitents, recalling that the first to be canonized was a thief, made a saint by Christ on the cross,” Saraiva Martins said. “He did the ordinary things of life in an extraordinary way.”
The hearings, held in the diocese of which Luciani’s birthplace of Canale d’Agordo is part, will collect information to be sent to the Vatican to testify to his “heroic virtues.” If the virtues are accepted, Pope John Paul II will declare him “venerable,” or worthy of veneration.
Proof that prayers to the candidate have brought about a miracle is then required for beatification, the step before canonization. Proof of another miracle performed after beatification qualifies the candidate for sainthood.
The 16th century cathedral was crowded with supporters of Luciano’s cause, including his brother Eduardo and other members of his family.
“We will first make blessed, then a saint this great man of the church, this great pastor who left Canale to arrive in the house of Peter,” Saraiva Martins told them.
The “postulator” in charge of the cause, the Rev. Pasquale Liberatore, a Salesian, died earlier this month. The Rev. Giorgio Lise took on the job temporarily, pending a decision by the Salesian order on Liberatore’s successor.
_ Peggy Polk
Augsburg Fortress Wins Top Honors From Booksellers
ATLANTA (RNS) Augsburg Fortress Publishers took top honors in the 2003 Theologos Awards, winning in four of five categories, including Publisher of the Year.
The awards, given yearly by the Association of Theological Booksellers, were announced Saturday (Nov. 22) at a dinner during the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion and Society of Biblical Literature.
“The Resurrection of the Son of God: Christian Origins and the Question of God, Volume 3,” by N.T. Wright, was a double favorite. Published by Fortress Press, the academic and professional imprint of Augsburg Fortress, it was named Best Academic Book as well as Book of the Year.
“The Tom Wright book has been extremely strong for us,” said the Rev. Scott Tunseth, general manager of the books team at Augsburg Fortress. He noted that “The Resurrection” had already sold out in the book exhibition area by the second day of the AAR/SBL conference.
Augsburg Fortress also won the Best Children’s Book category for “God Created,” a colorful retelling of the creation story from Genesis written by Mark Francisco Bozzuti-Jones and illustrated by Jui Ishida. Geared toward children ages 4-8, “God Created” was published under the Augsburg Books imprint.
“Scarred by Struggle, Transformed by Hope,” by Joan D. Chittister, a Catholic nun and noted speaker and writer, took the Best General Interest award. Published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Chittister’s autobiographical book uses the biblical story of Jacob wrestling with God to examine how some struggles can ultimately bear fruit.
Tunseth said that Augsburg Fortress was surprised and pleased to win so many awards, including Publisher of the Year.
Since the Theologos Awards are voted on by booksellers, he added, the strong showing reflects positively on “the whole team” at Augsburg Fortress, from editors to sales and marketing staff. “It’s very satisfying for us, and humbling in a way, too, to be recognized for the work we do on a day to day basis,” he said.
_ Christina Denny
Archbishop of Wales Looks at Religion and Violence
LONDON (RNS) The “crucial question” whether religions are the prime cause of violence and conflict in the world or whether they are just one among many factors was raised by Archbishop of Wales Barry Morgan in giving the annual United Nations Association lecture in Cardiff, Wales, on Nov. 20.
“It is no good saying there is no connection between religion and violence,” Morgan said. “The fact of the matter is that religion has been used to justify killing _ perhaps precisely because there are issues of ultimate meaning and significance at stake.
“Certainly in recent years you will only have had to follow world events in a very cursory manner to know that religion has been used to justify war, violence and death.”
There is no doubt that religion, even if it is not the major cause of strife, contributed greatly to world conflicts, he said.
“Admittedly, mixed up in many conflicts are ethnic and cultural tensions, national identity and territorial and economic claims, but religion intensifies matters,” added the archbishop.
Looking at the foundation documents of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, one can see incitement to war and violence, he said. “In all these sacred texts, religious sanction is given to violence by God.”
“God’s violence, or human violence as a means of serving God, is often seen as the way to justice at the end of time.
“The sacred texts of Jews, Christians and Muslims cause problems because people often see their religion as part of their very identity, and it can motivate people to commit terrible acts because they believe they are doing so in the name of God,” he said. “Founding stories can be used to justify the worst aspects of many of the world’s conflicts, and if they see their foundational texts as being the word of God and not open to interpretation, that just compounds the problem.
“And those of us who are Anglicans have seen in recent months how a literal interpretation of Scripture can lead to all kinds of uncharitableness and bigotry.”
Admitting he had painted “a fairly bleak picture of things,” Morgan said Christians had to say that the image of a God of violence and power was a distortion of God as he really is and had to challenge the “violence of God” traditions in the Bible.
Indeed, he said, these views are challenged by other strands within the Bible itself. Similarly the Quran has passages arguing for nonviolence and the importance of respecting others.
“Thus the various religious faiths at their best advocate peace, justice and compassion,” the archbishop said. “Those of us who belong to these traditions need to emphasize the importance, indeed the pre-eminence, of these elements in them.”
_ Robert Nowell
Quote of the Day: “B.C.” Cartoonist Johnny Hart
(RNS) “This comic was in no way intended to be a message against Islam _ subliminal or otherwise. It would be contradictory to my own faith as a Christian to insult other people’s beliefs. If you should have any further silly notions about malicious intent from this quarter, you can save yourself a phone call.”
_ Johnny Hart, creator of the “B.C.” comic strip, defending himself against charges that a recent comic strip defiled Muslims. The comic featured six crescent moons _ a symbol of Islam _ the exclamation “SLAM” and a man asking “Is it just me, or does it stink in here?” Hart, who has come under fire from Jews for past strips, was quoted by The Washington Post.
DEA END RNS
