c. 2004 Religion News Service
Clergy Poll: Too Much Church-State Separation
(RNS) Almost 80 percent of Protestant clergy think America has gone too far in separating its churches from the state, according to a recent survey.
The survey was conducted for the LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, which published the results in its magazine, Facts & Trends.
Southern Baptist ministers and Pentecostal pastors were the most likely to believe that “the separation of church and state in the U.S. has gone too far, or in ways it was never intended to go,” according to the survey. Ninety-three percent of Southern Baptist ministers and 92 percent of Pentecostal pastors held that view.
Significantly fewer Methodist ministers (70 percent) and Lutheran pastors (66 percent) thought that a rupture between the pews and the polls was opening too wide.
Among the issues that united liberal and conservative Protestant pastors in the survey were the Pledge of Allegiance and the phrase “In God We Trust” on U.S. currency. Ninety-five percent of the 700 pastors canvassed said the words “one nation under God” should be in the pledge; 96 percent said the reference to God should grace American dollars and cents.
The pastors were more divided over religious displays on public property. Around 40 percent of Methodist and Lutheran pastors agreed that “no religious displays at all should be allowed on government property.”
In contrast, just 14 percent of Southern Baptist and Pentecostal ministers thought that the displays should be prohibited.
“Pastors find it easy to agree on basic beliefs related to church and state, but much harder to agree on specific applications of those beliefs,” said Ron Sellers, president of Ellison Research, the marketing company that conducted the study.
Seven hundred Protestant ministers who are actively leading churches were included in the survey, which has a margin of error of 3.6 percent.
_ Daniel Burke
Conservative Christians Disappointed in Court Decision on Pornography
WASHINGTON (RNS) Conservative Christian groups reacted with disappointment to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Tuesday (June 29) to send a case concerning children’s access to online pornography back to a lower court.
The high court, in a 5-4 ruling, blocked the Child Online Protection Act, upholding a lower court decision that a law designed to protect children from Internet pornography was likely to be unconstitutional.
“There is a potential for extraordinary harm and a serious chill upon protected speech” if the law takes effect, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote for the majority, the Associated Press reported.
The court suggested filtering software might be a better way to protect children from the objectionable material.
While some free speech activists were pleased with the judicial action, religious groups were not.
“The Supreme Court missed an important opportunity to act now to protect our nation’s young people,” said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, in a statement. “By sending the case back to a lower court and blocking COPA from taking effect, the high court further delays consideration of an important law needed to protect children.”
Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said the court is not placing the concerns of children first.
“The legal quibbles of the court illustrate that it still represents a society more preoccupied with adult so-called rights than adult obligations to protect children,” he said in Baptist Press, the news service of the Southern Baptist Convention.
But Ann Leeson, the American Civil Liberties Union’s associate legal director, took another view, saying the “ruling from the court demonstrates that there are many less restrictive ways to protect children without sacrificing communication intended for adults.”
_ Adelle M. Banks
Anglican Leaders Criticize Blair on Iraq
LONDON (RNS) The treatment of Iraqi prisoners by coalition forces has been sharply criticized by the bishops of the Church of England.
In a letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and Archbishop of York David Hope said it was clear that the apparent breach of international law in relation to the treatment of Iraqi detainees had been “deeply damaging.”
The archbishops’ letter _ a copy of which found its way into the hands of The Times _ reflected discussion of the issue at the recent meeting in Liverpool of all the Church of England’s 114 diocesan, suffragan and assistant bishops.
Stressing that the priority in Iraq now must be to do everything possible to help the Iraqi people rebuild their own country after many years of repression and hardship, they said, “The establishment and maintenance of the rule of law are clearly prerequisites for stability and eventual prosperity.
“Yet the credibility of coalition partners in advocating respect for the law and the peaceful resolution of disputes will, we fear, be undermined unless the necessary moral authority is clearly demonstrated at every level. It is all the more important and challenging when murderous and arbitrary violence, which we condemn utterly, is being used against Westerners and others in Iraq.”
But the appearance of duplicity “inevitably” diminished the credibility of Western governments with the people of Iraq and with the Islamic world.
“More fundamentally still, there is a wider risk to our own integrity if we no longer experience a sense of moral shock at the enormity of what appears to have been inflicted on those who were in the custody of Western security forces,” the archbishops said.
They welcomed the assurances of the British and American authorities about their determination to establish the facts and bring those responsible to justice, but “there remain serious questions over how such brutal and indecent behavior could have come about.”
_ Robert Nowell
Pope Tells Iraqi President He Prays for Peace, Freedom and Prosperity
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope John Paul II, who strongly opposed the war in Iraq, said Wednesday (June 30) he prays that Iraq’s newly installed interim government will preserve religious freedom and bring Iraqis “peace, freedom and prosperity.”
Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican secretary of state, said in a telegram to President Ghazi al-Yawar that John Paul sent “his cordial greetings” on “the happy occasion” of the transfer of power Monday (June 28) from the U.S.-led military occupation.
“He prays that, as a new chapter begins in the life of the nation, the hopes of the Iraqi people for peace, freedom and prosperity will soon be fulfilled,” the telegram said.
The pope “has always been deeply concerned for the suffering of Iraq,” Sodano said. John Paul repeatedly criticized the United Nations’ economic embargo for its effects on Iraqis and sought to deter the use of military force to topple Saddam Hussein.
While telling al-Yawar the Catholic Church offers “every support and encouragement in the task of building a new Iraq,” Sodano stressed the pope’s concern about religious freedom.
“Your noble country, once home to Abraham, is now home to a rich variety of faith traditions,” he said. “The Holy Father is confident that all religious groups within the country will be able to make their voices heard and to play their rightful part in forging a new society, committed to true freedom of conscience, to justice for all and to peaceful dialogue.”
The pope had hoped to travel to Ur, the biblical home of Abraham, during his Holy Year pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 2000, but Saddam told the Vatican the visit would be impossible because of the embargo and the no-fly zones patrolled by U.S. and British warplanes.
_ Peggy Polk
`Purpose-Driven Life’ Wins Christian Book Award for Second Time
(RNS) Rick Warren’s “The Purpose-Driven Life” was named Saturday (June 26) as the Christian Book of the Year for the second year in a row by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.
The best seller by the pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., is the second book in the organization’s history to be twiced named for the honor. “The Prayer of Jabez,” by Bruce Wilkinson, won in 2001 and 2002.
“The fact that books like these have won in consecutive years is a true testimony of the lasting impact a Christian book can have on one’s life,” said ECPA president Doug Ross in a statement.
At the same Atlanta ceremony, former Senate Chaplain Lloyd Ogilvie was awarded the ECPA Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Gold Medallion Book Winners were awarded in 20 categories as follows:
Bibles: “Revolve: The Complete New Testament,” edited by Laurie Whaley and Kate Etue (Thomas Nelson Publishers); Bible Study: “Experiencing the Heart of Jesus” by Max Lucado (Thomas Nelson Publishers); Biography/Autobiography: “In the Presence of My Enemies” by Gracia Burnham and Dean Merrill (Tyndale House Publishers); Christian Education: “Foundations” by Kay Warren and Tom Holladay (Zondervan).
Christian Living: “The Trouble With Jesus” by Joseph M. Stowell (Moody Publishers); Christian Ministry: “The Emotionally Healthy Church” by Peter Scazzero with Warren Bird (Zondervan); Christianity and Society: “Being the Body” by Charles Colson and Ellen Vaughn (W Publishing Group); Devotional: “Pierced by the Word” by John Piper (Multnomah Publishers); Elementary Children: “Hymns for a Kid’s Heart” by Joni Eareckson Tada and Bobbie Wolgemuth (Crossway); Family and Parenting: “Preparing Your Son for Every Man’s Battle” by Stephen Arterburn and Fred Stoeker with Mike Yorkey (WaterBrook Press).
Fiction: “Thr3e” by Ted Dekker (WestBow Press); Gift Book/Poetry: “Think About These Things” by Ric Ergenbright (Crossway); Inspirational: “Next Door Savior” by Max Lucado (W Publishing Group); Marriage: “Covenant Marriage” by Gary Chapman (Broadman & Holman Publishers); Missions/Evangelism: “Permission Evangelism” by Michael L. Simpson (NexGen).
Preschool Children: “The Mess Detectives: The Slobfather” by Big Idea Books (Zonderkidz); Reference Works/Commentaries: “Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview” by J.P. Moreland and William Lane Craig (InterVarsity Press); Spanish: “El Cristiano en la Aldea Global” by Antonio Cruz (Vida Publishers); Theology/Doctrine: “Old Testament Theology” by John Goldingay (InterVarsity Press); Youth: “Boom: A Guy’s Guide to Growing Up” by Michael Ross (Focus on the Family/Tyndale House Publishers).
_ Adelle M. Banks
Quote of the Day: The Rev. Craig L. Nessan, Lutheran Anti-Hunger Advocate
(RNS) “The message of God’s word in the Holy Scripture is very clear about God’s own compassion and concern for the hungry of this world. We need to imagine … that ending hunger in our world is a real possibility. It’s an act of bold, courageous imagination to dream and to believe that there is enough food in the world and that having access to food is a human right.”
_ The Rev. Craig L. Nessan, author of “Give Us This Day: A Lutheran Proposal for Ending World Hunger,” speaking at a recent Evangelical Lutheran Church in America event on hunger relief in Washington. He was quoted by the ELCA News Service.
DEA/PH END RNS
