c. 2006 Religion News Service
Graham, Moody, Crosby All Found in Heaven in New `Left Behind’ Book
(RNS) The “Left Behind” apocalyptic thriller series is predicting some of the celebrities of the Christian faith who are _ or will be _ in heaven.
“The Rapture,” the latest novel in the series that will be released on June 6, depicts heavenly citizens ranging from the Apostle Paul to evangelist Billy Graham, its publisher has announced. Graham, 87, is still alive.
Those winning a place in heaven include the late Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ; Dwight L. Moody, founder of Moody Bible Institute; hymn writer Fanny Crosby; John and Betty Stam, martyred missionaries to China; and Ken Taylor, founder of Tyndale House Publishers.
“We are sometimes accused of painting a violent, negative picture of God,” said Tim LaHaye, who with co-author Jerry B. Jenkins has written the best-selling series.
“Jerry and I want to communicate that the real story of `Left Behind’ is about hope and our merciful God. We felt that it was important to the overall story to show the unseen and convey how God’s promises fulfilled may look.”
Tyndale House, the publisher of the series, said the new book incorporates “snapshot scenes from heaven” that show the well-known and the unrecognized “receiving their crowns in heaven.”
The third of three prequels to the popular series, “The Rapture” portrays the belief that Christians will be carried away to heaven before a period of tribulation.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Pope, Under Fire for Auschwitz Remarks, Urges End to `Racial Hatred’
(RNS) Responding to a wave of criticism from Jewish leaders for not condemning anti-Semitism during his visit to the Auschwitz death camp, Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday (May 31) urged Catholics to resist the “temptation of racial hatred” that leads to anti-Semitism.
For days, Jewish leaders have strongly questioned the pope’s decision to visit Auschwitz on Sunday without underscoring the widespread hatred of Jews that led to the Holocaust.
Some have faulted him for failing to explicitly condemn anti-Semitism, which is experiencing a resurgence in Poland and other European countries. Others have challenged Benedict for not issuing any kind of apology for either Germany’s collective role in the Holocaust, the Roman Catholic Church’s perceived failure to stand up to it, or his own forced service in the Hitler Youth and the military.
Speaking before a general audience on Wednesday, Benedict told crowds “not to cede to the temptation of racial hatred, which is at the origin of the worst forms of anti-Semitism.”
During his speech at Auschwitz, Benedict blamed the Holocaust on a “ring of criminals” and cast Adolf Hitler’s plan to eradicate European Jewry as an attack on God that in principle bore consequences for people of all faiths.
That emphasis departed from traditional readings of the Holocaust, which regards Jews as the Nazis’ primary target.
“What the Pope did at Auschwitz was to marginalize the distinctly Jewish character of what took place at Auschwitz,” Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League said in a statement released Tuesday.
Benedict’s Auschwitz address also highlighted the lives of two Auschwitz victims _ both now Catholic saints _ who have become a source of tension between Catholics and Jewish groups: Maximilian Kolbe, a Catholic Polish priest accused of editing anti-Semitic tracts; and Edith Stein, a convert from Judaism who entered a convent in a failed bid to escape Nazi persecution.
Foxman said he was “deeply disturbed” that Benedict’s address highlighted Catholic figures without making “one explicit acknowledgment of Jewish lives vanquished simply because they were Jews.”
On Wednesday, Benedict noted that “6 million Jews” were murdered during the Holocaust, but appeared to reaffirm his position that the Nazis’ principle aim in carrying out the Final Solution was to “eliminate God and take his place.”
“Faced with the horror of Auschwitz, there is no other response but the cross of Christ,” he said.
_ Stacy Meichtry
Southern Baptist President to Retire From Florida Pulpit
(RNS) Southern Baptist Convention President Bobby Welch has announced plans to retire as pastor of First Baptist Church in Daytona Beach, Fla., in August.
Welch, whose second one-year term as president of the 16.2 million-member denomination ends in June, has been senior pastor of his church for 32 years and will retire Aug. 27, the Florida Baptist Witness reported.
The newspaper said Welch informed his church members of his plans in a May 25 letter.
“I’ve always prayed God would make it clear to me when this time had come,” Welch wrote. “He surely has and that period in our lives is now. It is the perfect opportunity for the church and us, and I could not imagine a better time.”
Welch said he and his wife, Maudellen, intend to stay in the church after retirement. He will become pastor emeritus, offering assistance to David Cox, who was named co-pastor in 2003 and will become the church’s senior pastor.
Welch has spearheaded an “`Everyone Can’ Kingdom Challenge” Southern Baptist campaign, with the goal of 1 million baptisms between October 2005 and October 2006. In 2004, he traveled across the country by bus to encourage Southern Baptists to work toward that goal. Baptist officials said they won’t know until next year how the campaign has fared, but churches reported a 4 percent decline in baptisms in 2005.
At his Florida megachurch, Welch helped establish the FAITH Sunday school evangelism strategy, which has been used nationwide.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Quote of the Day: Colorado Rockies General Manager Dan O’Dowd
(RNS) “You look at things that have happened to us this year. You look at some of the moves we made and didn’t make. You look at some of the games we’re winning. Those aren’t just a coincidence. God has definitely had a hand in this.”
_ Dan O’Dowd, general managers for the Colorado Rockies baseball team, talking to USA Today about the growing Christian spirituality of the team.
KRE/LF END RNS
