Pajama Pages has an interesting piece on the link between Liberty University and Benny Hinn. Then the historic link between Liberty founder and Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon is explored. I was aware of this and have considered writing about it several times. I have some additional information on religious right figures and Moon which I may post at a later time.
Liberty issued a statement denying the link between the school and Hinn. However, the LU provost did appear on Hinn’s show. Provost Godwin says he appeared based on a misunderstanding. However, the fact that he appeared at all is harder to understand and unexplained.
Category: Religion
Does Mars Hill Really Want to Mediate With the 20 Former Pastors?
According to sources in Mars Hill Church, Mars Hill leaders have floated a response to the twenty former pastors who in early March sought mediation with the church leadership. Those pastors were once employed by Mars Hill Church and are now represented by Dave Kraft and Kyle Firstenberg. The group has a number of grievances with Mars Hill leaders and in a March 17 letter asked for a impartial mediator to help resolve the concerns.
If the reports are accurate, the mediator may not fit the request for an independent person. According to my sources, the Mars Hill Board of Advisors and Accountability (BOAA) have proposed to bring in a person who works for James MacDonald. MacDonald is a friend and colleague of Mark Driscoll as well as one of the members of the BOAA. In this proposal, an employee of a BOAA member would be mediating a dispute between the BOAA and people with grievances. How could such a person be considered objective and unbiased?
There must be wise and objective people who do not have relationships with the people involved. The 20 pastors asked for a neutral party but this response, if pressed, does not appear to respond to their request. It will be hard to take the Mars Hill BOAA seriously if they push forward with this proposal.
Open Forum: Why Pray Before Government Meetings?
The prayer case in Greece, NY and the one in Maryland I mentioned yesterday started me thinking about why such prayers are being offered and contested. I recognize the First Amendment implications of such cases and have interest in preserving religious liberty without establishment of Christianity as a preferred religion. However, I also thought of the matter as an evangelical and reflected on the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 6:
5 “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners [a]so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
In light of this teaching, I asked myself why conservative evangelicals like Commissioner Robin Frazier in Maryland want to pray in public. Perhaps government officials who want to pray should pray at home before the meeting. Probably those who pray in public for effect should reflect on the meaning of these teachings.
Perhaps such Christians feel God will bless meetings more if prayers are offered. I’ve been around long enough to see bad decisions come out of meetings which began with prayer so I don’t think there are any guarantees. That kind of thinking seems to treat prayer like a lucky charm or magic incantation.
I wonder if evangelicals who want to pray before public meetings would be so keen on the practice if the officials were praying prayers of another religion, like this Buddhist prayer:
Metta Karuna Prayer
Oneness of Life and Light, Entrusting in your Great Compassion,
May you shed the foolishness in myself, Transforming me into a conduit of Love.
May I be a medicine for the sick and weary,
Nursing their afflictions until they are cured;
May I become food and drink, During time of famine,
May I protect the helpless and the poor, May I be a lamp,
For those who need your Light, May I be a bed for those who need rest,
and guide all seekers to the Other Shore. May all find happiness through my actions,
and let no one suffer because of me. Whether they love or hate me,
Whether they hurt or wrong me, May they all realize true entrusting,
Through Other Power, and realize Supreme Nirvana.
Namo Amida Buddha
I imagine that would be meaningful to any Buddhists present and I can build a bridge to my own beliefs but is it necessary to decide zoning questions or approve development projects? I can imagine that some Christians who want to pray in Jesus’ name would be offended by a prayer realizing “Supreme Nirvana.”
I realize I may be missing something so I invite your respectful and gentle comments.
MD County Official Uses Faux George Washington Prayer in Violation of Judge's Order
A First Amendment case is brewing in Maryland involving sectarian prayers and a prayer book wrongly attributed to George Washington.
The prayer recited by Commissioner Robin Bartlett Frazier Thursday that she said is from George Washington has been proven to not belong to the first president, but is often used by Christian Conservative politicians, according to a scholar.
Friend and Messiah College history professor John Fea provided the expert commentary:
John Fea, chair of the History Department at Messiah College, said the prayer comes from the so-called George Washington Prayer Book, which was found in a chest of papers by one of Washington’s descendants in the 1890s. The University of Virginia, which houses the Papers of George Washington, and the Smithsonian Institution have concluded, based on the handwriting, that it was not written by Washington, Fea said.
More from the Baltimore Sun.
David Barton Slated to Speak at Urbana University April 28
On April 28, David Barton is slated to speak at Urbana University in Ohio. With the title, “David Barton – an expert of historical and Constitutional issues,” the event is promoted on the school’s website. However, his presence there may not place Urbana on Barton’s list of a dozen acceptable colleges.
The Barton event is being sponsored by a small group of people in the area informally called, “We the People,” according to Karen Bailey, Champaign County Auditor. Bailey is one of the initial sponsors who is paying for Barton to come to town. In a phone interview, she called the event “a gift to the community.” She said other sponsors were coming on board but that Urbana University is being paid for the use of facilities.
The event caught my eye because Urbana University seems an unlikely place for Barton to speak. While there is a religious background to the school (Swedenborgian), the school would not be on my short list of institutions which would be friendly to Barton’s brand of historical revisionism.
While he may be a gift to those who want to believe in Christian nationalism, he will be a lump of coal to other groups, such as:
Scholars and academics – Barton says that students at Christian colleges are falling away from faith because of their “pagan professors” who were trained by professors who “hate God.” Scores of academics, including Christians, have called out Barton on his historical problems.
PTSD sufferers and advocates – Last year, along with Kenneth Copeland, Barton engaged in offensive suggestions about cure to PTSD sufferers. Barton drew a special rebuke from the conservative Gospel Coalition’s Joe Carter, who called Barton and Copeland’s advice “gospel-destroying and demonic.”
AIDS/HIV patients – Barton has called AIDS/HIV a punishment for sin.
Native Americans – Barton invoked just-war theory to help rationalize the destruction of Native American tribes, prompting Baptist leader Randy Adams to call the theory “outrageous” and unhelpful.
LGBT people – Barton has promoted the idea that homosexuality should be re-criminalized.
Those offended by Christian nationalism – Some, perhaps many, African-Americans are offended by the Christian nationalism promoted by Barton. Then, there was Barton’s awkward defense of Thomas Jefferson’s ownership of slaves and his false contention that Jefferson couldn’t free his slaves during his life.
Those who value historical accuracy – Exhibit A is the removal of Barton’s book The Jefferson Lies from publication in the midst of a successful sales run due to historical errors. Exhibit B is the fact that the Family Research Council removed his Capitol Tour video from You Tube because of historical errors. Focus on the Family had to edit two broadcasts to remove two historical falsehoods which Barton repeatedly told in his speeches. Other instances are too numerous to mention.
Not knowing the topic of his talk, it is hard to know what stories he will tell. He might tell them that violent crime has shot straight up until now since the Bible was removed from the public schools (it hasn’t), or that the first English Bible was printed for the use of schools (it wasn’t), or that the Constitution quotes the Bible verbatim (it doesn’t).