CHRISTIANITY TODAY

[Times Online June 24, 2005 ]

The fundamentalist Christian organisation that led the campaign against the BBC's screening of Jerry Springer - The Opera has appealed to Christians to boycott the Co-operative Bank and Co-op stores after being asked to move its bank account elsewhere.

The organisation, Christian Voice, received a letter from the Co-op Bank earlier this month giving it 30 days to find a new bank because of its homophobic views. The bank prides itself on its 'ethnical policies.'

"It has come to our attention that Christian Voice is engaged in discriminatory pronouncements, based on the grounds of sexual orientation," the letter said. "This public stance is incompatible with the position of the Co-operative Bank, which publicly supports diversity, in all its forms, for our staff, customers and other stakeholders."

But Stephen Green, national director of Christian Voice, which campaigns for the application of biblical values to public policy, replied: "Of course we make ‘discriminatory pronouncements on grounds of sexual orientation’. We have been criticising homosexual rights ever since we started eleven years ago. Standing up for righteousness is what we do."

In a statement released last night, Mr Green called on Christians to stop banking or shopping with the Co-op until the bank ended its "unethical and discriminatory attitude". He said: "Clearly, and on their own admission, the Co-op is not the bank for those who honour the name of the Lord Jesus Christ."

Christian Voice came to national prominence late last year when it mobilised an unprecedented 55,000 complaints against the BBC's decision to broadcast Jerry Springer, the profanity-strewn West End musical which includes a scene portraying Jesus Christ as a nappy-wearing sexual pervert.

The BBC went ahead with the broadcast in early January despite the complaints, and amid reports that senior executives at the Corporation had been forced into hiding after their personal details were published on the Christian Voice website.

But it appears that the Co-op Bank was more concerned about Christian Voice's long-running campaign against homosexuality in the police force and the rise of the Gay Police Association. One 2003 pamphlet still available on the Christian Voice website, asks: "Homosexual police are involved in some of the most disgusting perversions imaginable; how can they bring clean hands to any police investigation?"

Simon Williams, the bank's director of corporate affairs, told BBC Radio 4's Today program this morning that the Co-op based its ethical policy largely on the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Christian Voice's campaign against homosexuality breached Article 1 of that document under which "human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights."

"They are extreme views, they are not mild views. And once those were brought to our attention this simply doesn't fit with our ethical policies," he said.

But Mr Green, interviewed on the same program, accused the bank of hypocrisy. He said: "We went to them for their fair-trade policies, their opposition to oppressive regimes, and now we find them discriminating against us on the grounds of our religions - which is specifically condemned in the Declaration of Human Rights to which they subscribe."

By JANET CHISMAR, Crosswalk.com Faith Editor, April 5, 2005

Catholics around the world today mourn the loss of their leader, Pope John Paul II, who died April 2 after a long illness. While a number of Evangelical leaders have praised the political and humanitarian legacy of this pope, some Christians are wondering how much honor to pay the figurehead of a seemingly different faith. Is there a place for respect in the midst of disagreement over theology? Dr. Mark Bailey, president of Dallas Theological Seminary, helped answer these questions in a phone interview Monday morning.

Bailey recently assumed the Seminary's presidency after years of service as both a professor and the Vice President for Academic Affairs. He also served as pastor at a local church. Bailey was a seminar instructor for Walk Thru the Bible Ministries for 20 years and is in demand for Bible conferences and other preaching engagements.

Crosswalk: To start with, can you help readers who are unfamiliar with Catholic theology to understand the issue of papal authority?

Bailey: The view of the Catholic church is that papal authority goes back to the first pope, which they think was Peter. This comes from an interpretation of Matthew 16:18 that says the church was built on Peter as the rock and therefore, there is apostolic and ecclesiastical authority. The difficulty with that, of course, is that Ephesians chapter 2 tells us the church was built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets - plural - with Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone. It's never been limited to Peter.

Crosswalk: What are the other main theological differences between the Evangelical and Roman Catholic churches?

Bailey: First, we as Evangelicals don't believe authority resides in a person - an earthly priest. We believe, as First Timothy told us, that there is one mediator between God and man - Christ Jesus. Therefore, through the single mediation of Jesus Christ, the New Testament teaches we all are priests - a royal priesthood - and we have direct access to the very throne of God.

The second difference is the centrality of Christ compared with the veneration of Mary within the Catholic church. Although the New Testament calls her blessed among women for having been the mother of our Lord, Luke 2 says that even she needed a savior and she was dependent upon the grace of God.

That takes us to the third difference, which is the means of salvation. When you ask most Roman Catholics how a person is justified they would say that faith is infused at Baptism and confirmed at Confirmation. Whereas the whole argument of the Protestant Reformation was that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

Crosswalk: What are some of the changes taking place in the modern Catholic church?

Bailey: In 1965, papers that came from Vatican II opened the door a little bit to the idea that salvation is not restricted to the Catholic church, that the Spirit can blow with a mighty wind beyond the Catholic church. But even with Vatican II, there has never been a repudiation or backing off the Council of Trent that would call all Evangelicals "devils" and really deny that Evangelicals and Protestants can have a place in eternity. There's a bit of contradiction between Vatican II and the Council of Trent prior that still has to be wrestled with.

Crosswalk: Given some of the differences, how should non-Catholics view this Pope? Can we revere his achievements without revering the papal office?

Bailey: Sure. We have shared values in the common grace that God has given to all men; there's a conscience, a morality within everyone. Although sometimes that is seared and sometimes it is outright rejected. We share certain moral principles that this Pope espoused - the sanctity of human life, the Biblical view of marriage, a desire for justice and peace and caring for the downtrodden. We would all share, hopefully, those values. They are rooted in Scripture and in the character of God. There is a shared agenda, at times, with regard to moral issues and social issues.

He was noteworthy in his boldness in the area of abortion, going against the wave of popularity, even within the Catholic church at large. He refused to budge on those kids of issues and probably could be viewed as a very conservative pope in the community of the Roman Catholics.

Crosswalk: How are Catholics dealing with the scandals involving priests? Is this a problem unique to their faith?

Bailey: It's not limited to Roman Catholics. There have been people of all persuasions that have been involved in such scandals, at times to epidemic proportions, as it's been revealed and exposed. That is tragic whether it happens within the Catholic church or outside of it.

Crosswalk: Lastly, some of our readers may wonder if it possible for this Pope - or any Catholic - to be saved. Can you comment on that?

Bailey: Some people can find themselves part of a tradition that holds certain truths, but they themselves have come to a personal faith in Christ and are dependent only on Christ for their salvation through what He did on the cross. Our prayer, obviously, is that this Pope had come to that conclusion. And the next pope, we would hope, will place the authority in Scripture and would see the exclusivity of Jesus as the only possibility of salvation and that the death of Christ and not our works is the absolute provision by a gracious God for our sin.

I have known Roman Catholics that are believers. My personal preference would be that they then distinguish themselves from those who hold to a different doctrine. But there are Baptists in bad Baptist churches. There are Presbyterians in bad Presbyterian churches, who have lost the message of the Gospel, but that doesn't mean there can't be people who - because of family or because they want to have an impact - stay within that system for the purpose of evangelism and hopefully, renewal.

[East African Standard Online Edition - Headline News.]

The move by the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) to block the ordination of one of their own by a bishop from the pro-homosexual church in the US has again brought to the fore the sharp split in the church. The Kenyan deacon was stopped from graduating to priesthood, simply because the ceremony was to be presided over by a bishop from the United States pro-gay Episcopal Church. The church is well known for backing gay bishops like Gene Robinson. The latest controversy started in Los Angeles, US, when an ACK deacon cleared the first phase of his theological studies.

The deacon is said to have called Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi to get the Kenyan church blessings, which the prelate promptly gave. The deacon then prepared himself for the Feb. 1 ceremony. But it was not to be. According to the ACK provincial secretary, Bishop William Waqo, Nzimbi decided to investigate the matter. The archbishop gave the go-ahead simply because he did not know that it was the pro-gay bishop who was to preside over the ceremony, he said.

When Nzimbi discovered that a bishop from Robinson church was to ordain the Kenyan, it took him a minute to cancel the ceremony at the 11th hour. The archbishop called the deacon and asked him to call off the ceremony immediately. said Waqo. Sources told the East African Standard that the cash-for-prayer bishop Peter Njoka travelled to the US to represent the archbishop, only to find that it was to be presided over by one in Robinson's camp. Njoka is said to have called the archbishop immediately to cancel the ceremony.

Waqo said the church's stand was very clear: Had it been a church that is not in support of the gays, Nzimbi would have approved. The archbishop refused because we are not in fellowship with those in support of gay bishops, he added. Waqo declined to give the deacon and bishop's names, saying he had forgotten. He said of the deacon: He agreed to step down and continue with phase two of his theology studies, then he will come back home to be ordained, he said.

Since the gay issue brought a sharp division in Anglicanism, deacons, priests or bishops studying in the US or Britain have to inform the Kenyan church of who is to ordain them. Anglican members, bishops, deacons or priests visiting the two countries are allowed to go only to churches recognised by the Kenyan House of Bishops. For them to be ordained, they have to choose from the list of Anglican Churches we have given them (anti-gay), he said.

And Waqo did not mince his words. Had the ceremony taken place as earlier planned, the deacon would not have been allowed to serve as a priest in Kenya. All Saints Cathedral provost, the Rev Peter Karanja, said it was difficult for the church to give the deacons identity as he would be associated with the gay bishop. Last year, Robinson -- a divorced father of two who has lived with his male partner since 1989 openly became the first gay bishop -- a move that brought a sharp division in the world of Anglicanism. Robinson was quoted in a section of the international media saying he knew a good number of gay bishops, both in the US and abroad.

There are enormously gifted Episcopal priests around this church who are gay and lesbians who would make wonderful bishops and they are going to be nominated, he said. However, sources at the All Saints Cathedral, Nairobi, said the House of Bishops decided to treat the matter confidentially.

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