Briefly Volume 32, Number 5 Renewal group wants to end National Council The Presbyterian Layman Posted November 11, 1999 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Association for Church Renewal, a national group of evangelical and Reformed leaders, has called for “the dissolution of the National Council of Churches” as the organization prepares for its 50th birthday party and tries to figure out how to wipe out $3.4 million in red ink. James V. Heidinger II, president of the United Methodist Good News, called the National Council “a hindrance to the cause of Christian unity. It does not include the Roman Catholic Church and its extremely liberal theological and political views have made ‘ecumenism’ a negative word among evangelicals.” James M. Kushiner, editor of Touchstone magazine and member of the Antiochian Orthodox Church, observed, “Rather than promoting unity, the abandonment of the Gospel by the NCC is a source of division among Orthodox Christians.” David Runnion Bareford of the Biblical Witness Fellowship (United Church of Christ) cited some new movements toward ecumenical cooperation and understanding, including statements by Evangelicals and Catholics Together, the Celebrate Jesus 2000 movement and grassroots ministries. A founding purpose of the Association for Church Renewal is “to envision and model a genuine ecumenism for the church in the 21st century.” Lutheran-Catholic Joint Declaration Ecumenical News International Posted November 11, 1999 AUGSBURG, Germany – On Oct. 31, 482 years to the day after Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on a church door, Lutherans and Roman Catholics declared that mutual condemnations from the Reformation era no longer apply. Leaders signed the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, a document that recognizes “consensus in basic truths” on the issue. Pope John II issued a statement describing the agreement as a “milestone on the not always easy road towards the restoration of full unity between Christians.” The major religious stories of the millennium The Presbyterian Layman Posted November 11, 1999 What were the 10 most significant religious stories of the second millennium? Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly has compiled its own list, in chronological order. 1. “The Great Schism” of 1054 that split the faith into two distinct branches: Eastern Orthodoxy, headed by the ecumenical patriarch in Constantinople (now Istanbul), and Roman Catholicism, headed by the Pope in Rome. 2. The Crusades, which worsened the relationship between east and west. 3. The great spread of Islam during the 13th-15th centuries. 4. In 1455, Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press and published the Bible. 5. By the early 1500s, the Vatican had commissioned Michelangelo to paint the famous Sistine Chapel ceiling, one example of how the church helped develop art, music, and culture. 6. On October 31, 1517, a young monk named Martin Luther posted his famous 95 theses, leading to the Protestant Reformation. 7. Major Christian missionary movements that began in the 16th century and spread the Christian faith around the world by the 18th and 19th centuries. 8. In 1620, English Puritans sailed to Plymouth, Mass., seeking religious liberty, which became one of the founding principles of the United States. 9. Major 19th-century challenges to religious ideas: Charles Darwin with his theory of the evolution; philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who called Christianity the “one great curse” of humankind; psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, who called religion an illusion; and Karl Marx, whose materialistic worldview inspired communist revolutions around the world. 10. Centuries of anti-Semitic persecution in Europe culminated in the Holocaust, followed by the founding of the state of Israel in 1948. Campus Crusade; New headquarters The Presbyterian Layman Posted November 11, 1999 ORLANDO, Fla. – Campus Crusade for Christ has moved into a $45-million home base for its expanding national and international ministries. Forty-eight years after Bill and Vonette Bright founded Campus Crusade, now the world’s largest evangelical organization, they opened the doors to a new 285-acre international headquarters at Lake Hart in Orlando, Fla. Campus Crusade for Christ is one of the largest ministries to college students in the nation. Methodists; Gay union trial United Methodist News Service Posted November 11, 1999 Jimmy Creech, a United Methodist minister, is facing a second church trial for conducting a same-sex union ceremony. The Committee on Investigation of the Nebraska United Methodist Annual Conference made that decision during a recent meeting in Lincoln. The committee found that “there are reasonable grounds for the charge and specifications” against Creech and referred its recommendation for a trial to Bishop Joel Martinez. Mel Leutchens, assistant to Martinez, said “Creech was found to be in violation of the order and discipline of the United Methodist Church.” Nebraska officials have not announced a date or location for the trial or who will be the presiding officer at the event. Creech performed a service of holy union for two men, Larry Ellis and Jim Raymer, in Chapel Hill, N.C., April 24, 1999. Paragraph 65C of the United Methodist Book of Discipline states that “Ceremonies that celebrate homosexual unions shall not be conducted by our ministers and shall not be conducted in our churches.” Decalog dispute; Judge not guilty The Presbyterian Layman Posted November 11, 1999 GADSDEN, Ala. – Alabama Circuit Court Judge Roy Moore has been cleared of ethics questions involving a legal defense fund for the Ten Commandments displayed in his courtroom, according to the Associated Press. Moore told a courtroom full of supporters that God’s righteousness had prevailed after St. Clair County District Attorney Van Davis said he had found no evidence to support an Alabama Ethics Commission complaint alleging the judge may have violated state law. In June, the state ethics commission had voted 5-0 that probable cause existed for charges that Moore illegally profited from a defense fund established by a friend who supported Moore’s fight to keep the Ten Commandments display in his courtroom. Moore received more than $100,000 in donations by the defense fund for his fight against the American Civil Liberties Union, which challenged his display and his practice of starting court sessions with prayer. The Alabama Supreme Court eventually dismissed the ACLU’s case without ruling on the merits. Mainstream losses; For women only? Religion Today Posted November 11, 1999 The feminization of mainstream Christianity continues to drive men from the pews, says Leon Podles, author of The Church Impotent. As men leave, women are assuming leadership roles, putting greater emphasis on feminine themes. “It’s no longer politically correct to think of God as Father. So we come up with metaphors for God that are feminine or neutered. Men feel uncomfortable with that,” Catholic writer Mitch Finley said. Of the nation’s 94 million men, only 26 million attend services regularly, and some researchers say the number may be as low as 13 million, The Washington Times said. American men “are one of the massive pagan subcultures on earth today,” a Barna Research Group report said. A lot of men are driven away by sentimental sermons about “falling in love with Jesus,” Podles said. Most men want to hear about the Jesus “with lines on his face, blisters on his hands, and bruises on his knuckles helping me to fight temptation,” who “commanded the respect of Peter the fisherman,” Promise Keepers spokesman Steve Chavis said.

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