By David W. Virtue VANCOUVER, BC – The revisionist Bishop of New Westminster, Michael Ingham, faces a triple crisis that could derail his plans to depose—or at minimum put on hold—his desire to remove 11 biblically orthodox priests from their parishes and seize their properties. He faces a legal ultimatum from leaders of St. Martin’s parish in North Vancouver, who argue that unless the parish is allowed to control its own finances and staffing, it will ask the B.C. Supreme

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, February 12, 2004 WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Zell Miller (D-GA) today delivered the following statement on the floor of the United States Senate addressing several social issues facing the country: “The Old Testament prophet Amos was a sheep herder who lived back in the Judean hills, away from the larger cities of Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Compared to the intellectual urbanites like Isaiah and Jeremiah, he was just an unsophisticated country hi

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, February 12, 2004 Miller Delivers Floor Speech on ‘Deficit of Decency’ in America WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Zell Miller (D-GA) today delivered the following statement on the floor of the United States Senate addressing several social issues facing the country: [Full speech content retained as provided—no duplicates found.] CULTURE WARS: TOP 10 ARGUMENTS AGAINST SAME SEX MARRIAGE Arguments Against Same Sex Marriage (SSM) Top 10 Social Scien

By Malcolm Brown February 14, 2004   The Anglican Primate of Australia, Archbishop Peter Carnley, has made a stinging attack on the leadership of the Sydney diocese. In a new book, Reflections in Glass, Dr Carnley warns the diocese itself might split because of the extremism of the ruling group. The archbishop, who is to retire next February, said that while the leadership of the diocese resisted most of his ideas, they were not universally rejected. "The diocese of Sydney co

It was the greatest miracle that ever happened to Brother Duan, and he would not have experienced it had his bus not broken down. En route from a northern to a southern province of China in December, he happened to be passing through Henan province when the engine of the bus expired in its futile battle with the cold. On a whim, Duan trudged off through the fields, leaving the other passengers huddled inside the bus. He was a house church leader in northern China. Now 77 year

Only half of America's ministers hold to a biblical worldview, but even many who do aren't imparting it to their congregations By Gene Edward Veith WORLD MAGAZINE HAS DISCUSSED THE COLLAPSE OF theological literacy and the rise of out-and-out unbelief among Americans who consider themselves to be "born again Christians" ("Unbelieving 'born-agains,'" Dec. 6, 2003). Now we know at least part of the reason. According to a new study by the Barna Research Group, 49 percent of Prote

The Queer Christ: Transforming Anger, Making Justice-love. A Community Eucharist was held at Episcopal Divinity School February 19. CAMBRIDGE, MA—A community Eucharist on the theme of "The Queer Christ: Transforming Anger, Making Justice-Love" was held on Thursday, February 19, at 8:30 am in St. John's Memorial Chapel, Episcopal Divinity School. Planned by the seminary's gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered students, alumni/ae, faculty, staff, and friends, the service be

Interview by Diana Keough Bishop Robert W. Duncan Jr. of Pittsburgh, 55, is the de facto spiritual leader of conservative Episcopalians outraged over the consecration last year of Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire—a gay man in a long-term relationship. Once Robinson became a bishop, Duncan began helping to organize what he calls a "realignment" within the Episcopal Church and, by extension, the Anglican Communion. It is not yet clear what lies ahead for the Episcopal C

News Analysis By David W. Virtue VANCOUVER, BC—The revisionist Bishop of New Westminster, Michael Ingham, faces a triple crisis that could derail his plans to depose, at the minimum put on hold, his desire to toss 11 biblically orthodox priests out of their parishes and seize their properties. He faces a legal ultimatum with the leaders of St. Martin's parish in North Vancouver who argue that unless the parish is allowed to control its own finances and staffing, it will ask t

News Analysis By David W. Virtue Bishop Don Wimberly got his way at the recent Diocese of Texas convention. He managed to squelch four conservative resolutions affirming orthodox positions on human sexuality before they even came to the floor for a vote. The convention delegates, representing 85,000 members from 160 churches in the 59,000-square-mile diocese, filled the Harvey Convention Center with standing-room-only crowd at nearby First Baptist Church. It was a pyrrhic vic

News Analysis By David W. Virtue The income dip of six percent recently reported by the Executive Council of the national Episcopal Church is closer to somewhere between 10 to 18 percent, says a financial expert and an alumnus of the Wharton Graduate School at the University of Pennsylvania who has looked at the figures. There are two fundamental errors in the Florida news release: The first is that ECUSA says the National Church has pledges of $16 million from 51 dioceses, a

By David W. Virtue The Diocesan Council of the Rio Grande has slammed the local branch of Via Media for trying to block the election of a bishop coadjutor to replace the biblically orthodox Bishop Terence Kelshaw when he retires in 2005. Via Media, the growing nationwide revisionist group had sent a letter to all Episcopal Church bishops and diocesan standing committees protesting the canonical actions of the Council. Via Media called for the blocking of the election and with

News Analysis By David W. Virtue When Frank Griswold told an interviewer with Beliefnet recently that the present path of ECUSA was "truthful", he was not telling the truth. He also said, "secrecy is the devil's playground" in order to accommodate homosexuality in the Episcopal Church. But when he was asked directly if the Archbishop of Canterbury supported the emergence of a Network he disputed such claims. At the Synod of the Church of England, The Archbishop of Canterbury.

19 February 2004 The Right Reverend John B. Lipscomb, Bishop The Diocese of Southwest Florida 7313 Merchant Court Sarasota, FL 34240 (A note to the reader: Bishop Lipscomb has invited Frank Griswold, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America [ECUSA] to speak to our Diocesan Convention in October of 2004. Bishop Griswold has accepted. Subsequently, Bishop Lipscomb has been encouraged to rescind that invitation because of the divisive pain his p

Area churches will use 'Passion' for outreach By Judith Person and Jon Ward THE WASHINGTON TIMES Published February 19, 2004 Area church leaders say the opening of filmmaker Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" next week could be the evangelical tool of a lifetime -- and they are poised to take advantage of it. McLean Bible Church, an 8,500-member Fairfax County congregation, bought more than 11,000 tickets for private screenings of the film next week. Other pastors have

Report/Analysis By The Rev. Samuel L. Edwards The traditionalist Forward in Faith, United Kingdom, has developed a strong case for it recent years, and now a third or "free" province for those who uphold historic holy order looks like a distinct possibility if the Church of England decides (as expected) to approve women bishops. Along with several other Anglican provinces, the CofE currently ordains women to the diaconate and priesthood. But when it began contemplating the co

Archbishop tells commission that Church must draw limits By Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent THE TIMES THE Archbishop of Canterbury has criticised fundamentalists and extremists on both sides of the Anglican Church for distorting the message of the Bible in the debate over homosexuality. Rowan Williams told members of the Lambeth Commission on homosexuality that a church faithful to the biblical revelation has to exercise discipline and draw boundaries if it is to procla

Feb 17, 2004 By Terry Mattingly WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (BP)--The ancient rabbinic text is clear about the punishment for those who twisted sacred law and misled the people of Israel. Offenders would be stoned and then hung by their hands from two pieces of wood connected to form a "T." The Talmud once included this example from the Sanhedrin: "On the eve of Passover they hung Jesus of Nazareth," said the passage, which was censored in the 16th century to evade the wrath of Chr

FIRST-PERSON: More harm than good By Rabbi Daniel Lapin Feb 17, 2004 SEATTLE (BP)--As Mel Gibson's "The Passion of The Christ" heads toward screens nationwide Feb. 25, online ticket merchants are reporting that up to half their total sales are for advance purchases for The Passion. One Dallas multiplex has reserved all 20 of its screens for The Passion. I am neither a prophet nor a movie critic. I am merely an Orthodox rabbi using ancient Jewish wisdom to make three predictio

Besieged Kenyan bishop back from US. Primate Nzimbi says HOB will decide his fate By NATION Correspondent NAIROBI--Cash-for-prayers bishop Peter Njoka has returned from the United States but declined to answer questions from journalists. Bishop Njoka, who is at the centre of a Nairobi City Council payments scandal involving Sh1.7 million payment as the Mayor's chaplain, arrived at his Imani house office in Nairobi at 9am. Sources told the Nation the controversial cleric was d