In the July 2011 edition of Christianity Today there is an interview with Bishop Kallistos Ware, formerly known as Timothy Ware, who had converted to Orthodox Christianity as a young man and who wrote a rather definitive book entitled The Orthodox Church.
The division of the church between East and West is rooted deep in church history. First of all, early on leaders noticed the difference and discrepancies that language brought.
For the Protestant, Scripture is the final authority. For the Roman Catholic, it is both Scripture and tradition. However, for the Eastern Orthodox, theological authority is internal, coming from the Spirit, Who speaks to believers through tradition.
Nearly two weeks ago, my wife and I were watching ABC evening news and an ABC investigative reporter was summarizing a piece on Michele Bachmann?s husband, who runs a Christian counseling center in Minnesota. One of the goals of his center is to help counsel homosexuals who desire to change their lifestyle. The report was cynical and filled with innuendo and criticism from other professional counselors.
The debate within our culture about origins continues, and the legacy of Charles Darwin in this debate is immense and profound. We tend to forget that Darwin?s ideas were truly revolutionary and their impact continues throughout western civilization. Better than any other example, Darwin?s hypothesis about natural selection proves the point that ideas do indeed have consequences.
One of the major themes of Issues in Perspective is the centrality of marriage as an institution. The health of this most basic of all institutions says much about the health of the larger culture. In this Perspective, I want to provide an update on the health of marriage in 2011.
Intellectuals often have a real struggle with the idea and existence of God. Atheism, or at best agnosticism, are frequently the standard worldview for the intellectual. Two recent examples highlight this sad pattern.
In 2008, as he was beginning his run for the presidency, Barack Obama said that ?the single most important factor in determining [student] achievement is not the color of [students?] skin or where they come from. It?s not who their parents are or how much money they have. It?s who their teacher is.? Few would disagree with that statement.
All of us were embarrassed by the failed prediction of Jesus? return on 21 May 2011. Far more important than the inane prophecies of Harold Camping is his theology of the church. I came across an important article published by the Christian Research Institute, written by James R. White, that focuses on Camping?s theology.
On 10 May 2011, the Presbyterian Church (USA) joined other mainline churches in opening the door to gay ordination. The constitutional change, which has received the necessary votes in the denomination, removes language that had required clergy to live in ?fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness.?
