c. 2005 Religion News Service Lutheran Leader Calls for Global Council to Address `Identity Crisis’ (RNS) The leader of the nation’s largest Lutheran denomination has called for a global Christian council to address an “identity crisis” on how churches interpret and understand the Bible. Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson, leader of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, called for Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran churches to come together to combat a “fundamentalist-millenialist-apocalypticist reading of Scripture.” Hanson made his pitch for the ecumenical council Tuesday (Aug. 9) during the ELCA’s Churchwide Assembly in Orlando, Fla. Hanson is also president of the Geneva-based Lutheran World Federation. “Christianity is in the midst of a global identity crisis because we have not addressed ecumenically the questions of authority and interpretation of Scripture,” Hanson said. Hanson said he was echoing the call of the Rev. Duane Larson, president of Wartburg Theological Seminary, an ELCA institution in Dubuque, Iowa. Although Hanson did not elaborate, mainline churches traditionally are uneasy with literal readings of Scripture, particularly in fundamentalist churches, regarding the end of the world and political unrest in the Middle East. In addition, mainline churches have been divided over what the Bible says about hot-button issues such as homosexuality and women’s ordination. Hanson also urged the Vatican to work with the Lutheran World Federation to develop a joint statement on the Eucharist to mark the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation in 2017. The two sides issued a landmark statement on salvation in 1999. In a State of the Church address to Lutheran delegates, Hanson urged greater cooperation with other churches, but also noted that one stumbling block _ particularly with Catholics and Orthodox churches _ was non-negotiable. “In all of our ecumenical relations, let us be clear that the ordination of women now in its 35th year is a gift we bring to ecumenical relationships that we pray others will receive,” he said to applause. _ Kevin Eckstrom Archaeologists Discover Ancient Water System Near Jerusalem JERUSALEM (RNS) Israeli and American archaeologists have discovered what they term a “monumental rock-hewn water system” near Jerusalem dating back to the eighth century B.C. The discovery, announced Tuesday (Aug. 9), was made during an eight-week dig at a cave close to Jerusalem, in Ein Kerem, which is regarded as the traditional birthplace of John the Baptist. Last summer, Shimon Gibson, the chief archaeologist at the dig, announced that he had found a cave that may have been used by John the Baptist to anoint his followers. A statement by Gibson and archaeologist James Tabor from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte said that the latest excavations have revealed the cave to be part of “a much larger Iron Age water system, rock-cut in places to a depth of 65 feet.” The archaeologists said the cave, which dates back to the time of King Hezekiah (according to pottery shards from that period), contains a vertical shaft, an open horizontal corridor, a flight of stone steps above a tunnel and three external plastered pools, all of which was on the slope above an underground reservoir. Although elaborate water systems “have been found elsewhere,” Gibson said, until now they were discovered only within Israelite cities such as Beit Shemesh and Gibeon. “Never before has such a massive water system been found isolated in the countryside without a town or city attached to it,” Gibson said, leading the team to believe that the project had been undertaken “by the Kingdom of Judah.” The cave was discovered in 1999 and has been under excavation ever since. Another ongoing biblical-era excavation _ what is believed to be the Pool of Siloam _ was highlighted in the latest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, whose editor reported the find to The Los Angeles Times on Monday (Aug. 8). For more than a year, archaeologists have been excavating the pool outside the walls of what was once the site of the biblical temples. The pool was the main water reservoir for Jerusalem dwellers two millennia ago. It is fed by the nearby Gihon Spring, which has been under excavation for decades. In biblical times it was utilized by Jews making annual pilgrimages to ancient Jerusalem. The Gospel of John (Chapter 9) says that Jesus, one such pilgrim, cured a man of his blindness by the pool. _ Michele Chabin Anti-Defamation League Scolds Harry Belafonte for Comment on Nazis (RNS) The Anti-Defamation League has chastised entertainer Harry Belafonte for stating that Adolf Hitler “had a lot of Jews high up in the hierarchy of the Third Reich.” On Tuesday (Aug. 9), the ADL, based in New York City, called on Belafonte to apologize, saying the remark was “ignorant and offensive” to Jews. Belafonte made his remark during an Aug. 5 civil rights march in Atlanta, where he equated the position of African-Americans serving in the Bush administration to that of Jews in the Nazi hierarchy. Abraham Foxman, ADL’s national director and a Holocaust survivor, said that there were no Jews in the hierarchy of the Nazi regime. “Besides being ignorant and offensive, Mr. Belafonte’s comments are dead wrong. He clearly needs a history lesson.” Foxman said that Belafonte’s remarks were part of “the increasingly cavalier use of improper comparisons to Nazis and the Holocaust.” _ Michele Chabin `Justice Sunday II’ to Feature Leading Religious Conservatives NASHVILLE, Tenn. _ House Majority Leader Tom DeLay will rally conservative churchgoers Sunday (Aug. 14) as the Senate prepares for confirmation hearings for President Bush’s Supreme Court nominee. “Justice Sunday II _ God Save the United States and This Honorable Court!” is a follow-up to an event in April that denounced Democrats for blocking judicial nominees. It is sponsored by the Washington-based Family Research Council with support from other conservative groups. It will take place at the 7,000-member Two Rivers Baptist Church in Nashville, pastored by Jerry Sutton, first vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, and will be televised nationally. “A number of judges … have been pushing a social agenda on issues such as life and marriage and religious freedom, and the Supreme Court, being the very last word when it comes to judicial situations, plays a very important role,” said Tom McClusky, director of government affairs for the Family Research Council. Also scheduled to attend are former Sen. Zell Miller, D-Ga.; Chuck Colson of Prison Fellowship Ministries; Bill Donohue of the Catholic League; and Ted Haggard of the National Association of Evangelicals. James Dobson of the Colorado-based Focus on the Family is expected to address the gathering via satellite. The event will be broadcast live by satellite to churches across the country, and it will be carried by hundreds of Christian radio and TV stations, as well as on the Internet. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who spoke at the April event, will be absent this time as the Senate prepares for its confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee John Roberts. The hearings are scheduled to begin Sept. 6. If confirmed, Roberts would replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. “Justice Sunday II” has spawned criticism from some religious groups, including the National Council of Churches and the Washington-based Interfaith Alliance. A “counter-event” protesting “Justice Sunday II” is also scheduled for Sunday in Nashville. _ Amy Green Update: Georgia Priest Who Criticized A-bombs Will Lose His Pulpit

(RNS) A Catholic priest who caused a local stir by traveling to Japan to apologize for the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is being removed from his church, according to an independent Catholic newspaper.

The Rev. Robert Cushing, associate pastor of St. Teresa of Avila Church in Augusta, Ga., will be transferred from the parish by the end of August by Bishop J. Kevin Boland of Savannah, according to the National Catholic Reporter.

Cushing flew to Japan to mark the 60th anniversaries of the U.S. bombings that ended World War II. He is scheduled to return Friday (Aug. 12).

Cushing called the war “unjust,” prompting a flurry of protest in his parish that played out in the pages of the local newspaper. The Rev. Thomas Payton, the pastor of the church, said Cushing’s remarks on the war were “the straw that broke the camel’s back” in the parish.

In a letter to Cushing, Boland said the priest had abused his position, according to National Catholic Reporter.

“You have a right to your opinions,” Boland said in a letter, “but you do not have the right to use the `pulpit’ in the symbolic sense to push your agenda. I consider that approach as a grave misuse of your ministry as a priest.”

The diocese, in a statement, wished Cushing “safe passage” to Japan but made it clear he was on a personal mission that did not carry the “endorsement” of the church. Boland, citing personnel matters, would not comment on Cushing’s future other than that he “is and remains” associate pastor at his parish for now.

_ Kevin Eckstrom

Quote of the Day: Bishop T.D. Jakes, pastor of Dallas megachurch

(RNS) “As we continue to try to politicize God, or market God, or say that America is Christian, or that God is with one (political) party, or that God is here and not there, it only further points to the fact that we don’t understand how big God is _ and how great God is.”

_ Bishop T.D. Jakes, pastor of the Potter’s House in Dallas, speaking at a plenary session of the National Association of Black Journalists on Aug. 5. He was quoted by USA Today.

MO/PH END RNS