WORLDLY CHURCH
Christian author: US churches are weak because they’re worldly
WASHINGTON (AP) β Evangelical author Os (ahz) Guinness says churches have lost influence in America because Christians are fearful and compromised.
Guinness told an audience at the Family Research Council in Washington that the church is weak because it’s worldly, at a time when the world needs “a positive and persuasive alternative vision of human flourishing.”
He said too many American Christians lack the “courage to be different and to clearly make a stand” in a culture that’s increasingly disdainful if not hostile to Christianity.
Guinness said modern culture’s comfortable relativism has done more to undermine Christianity “than all the persecutors in history put together.”
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291-a-06-(Os Guinness, evangelical author, speaking at the Family Research Council)-“because it’s worldly”-Evangelical author Os Guinness says most American Christians live and think like their non-Christian neighbors. (8 Oct 2014)
< 289-a-09-(Os Guinness, evangelical author, speaking at the Family Research Council)-“history put together”-Evangelical author Os Guinness says the church in the U.S. and other Western nations has become weak and compromised. (8 Oct 2014) < 288-w-30-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor, with evangelical author Os Guinness)–Evangelical author Os Guinness says churches have lost influence in America because Christians are fearful and compromised. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (8 Oct 2014) < 290-a-08-(Os Guinness, evangelical author, speaking at the Family Research Council)-“wrong with us”-Evangelical author Os Guinness says American Christians lack the influence their percentage of the population should warrant. (8 Oct 2014) < 292-a-15-(Os Guinness, evangelical author, speaking at the Family Research Council)-“disdainful of us”-Evangelical author Os Guinness says Christianity in America has become worldly. (cut used in wrap) (8 Oct 2014) < DOVE AWARDS-EDDIE DEGARMO Contemporary Christian pioneer wins Dove Impact Award NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) β Christian music artist and publisher Eddie DeGarmo says music has always been a calling for him rather than a business. The 60-year-old DeGarmo received the Gospel Music Association’s Impact Award Tuesday at the Dove Awards in Nashville, Tennessee. His band DeGarmo and Key, with the late Dana Key, was a mainstay of contemporary Christian music in the late 1970s and 1980s, and he went on to launch a record label and publish some of today’s top Christian artists. But in his acceptance speech, DeGarmo said his career always has been about serving God and building his kingdom. Sound: 295-a-10-(Eddie DeGarmo, Christian music artist and publisher, accepting the Gospel Music Association’s Impact Award)-“thing that endures”-Christian music artist and publisher Eddie DeGarmo says his career in the music industry has been a way to serve God. (8 Oct 2014) < 294-a-13-(Eddie DeGarmo, Christian music artist and publisher, accepting the Gospel Music Association’s Impact Award)-“on my life”-Christian music artist and publisher Eddie DeGarmo says his success was always incidental to his mission. (8 Oct 2014) < 293-a-18-(Eddie DeGarmo, Christian music artist and publisher, accepting the Gospel Music Association’s Impact Award)-“over too good”-Christian music artist and publisher Eddie DeGarmo says his wife has stood by him for more than 40 years. (8 Oct 2014) < EBOLA-PASTOR RESPONSE Pastor: Woman who hosted Duncan shocked by death DALLAS (AP) β The pastor of the church attended by the woman who hosted Dallas Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan says she reacted with “great shock and despair” when she learned Wednesday of Duncan’s death. Wilshire Baptist Church pastor George Mason says he and Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins notified Louise Troh of Duncan’s death. Mason says three boys staying with Troh at an isolated location are worried that they also will become sick because they were exposed to Duncan when he stayed with the family prior to being hospitalized. He says Troh has questions about Duncan’s care at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, but added she’s “not seeking to create any kind of division in our community.” Mason and Jenkins maintained a distance from Troh and the boys during the visit out of caution. EBOLA-CAMERAMAN Sick journalist to get blood from Ebola survivor OMAHA, Nebr. (AP) β The first American flown back to the U.S. for treatment of Ebola has donated blood to the most recent one to return from West Africa with the disease. The Nebraska Medical Center says it called missionary Dr. Kent Brantly on Tuesday to tell him that his blood type matches that of Ashoka Mukpo (ah-SHOH’-kuh MUK’-poh), a freelance video journalist who arrived at the medical center Monday. The hospital says Brantly was driving through Kansas City and was able to give blood that was flown to Omaha. It said Mukpo would receive the transfusion Wednesday. Such transfusions are believed to help Ebola patients because a survivor’s blood contains antibodies to fight the disease. Brantly also donated blood to a fellow missionary with Ebola, Dr. Rick Sacra (SAY’-krah), who was treated and released from the Nebraska hospital. BRYAN COLLEGE-EVOLUTION Bryan College settles lawsuit with professors DAYTON, Tenn. (AP) β Two former professors at Bryan College have settled a lawsuit over losing their jobs after rejecting the school’s amended statement of belief. The college in Dayton, Tennessee, is named for one of creationism’s most famous defenders, three-time presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan, who challenged the teaching of evolution during the Scopes Monkey Trial in 1925. The current dispute began after trustees clarified the school’s statement of belief in February to exclude the possibility that God may have used evolution as part of creation. Two professors rejected the change and sued the school after losing their jobs. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that the professors had no comment, and Bryan College President Stephen Livesay said in a statement that terms of the settlement are confidential. CIVIL UNION CUSTODY DISPUTE Man pleads not guilty in lesbian custody case BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) β A Virginia businessman has pleaded not guilty to charges that he helped a woman flee the country with her daughter to avoid sharing custody with her former lesbian partner. Philip Zodhiates (zoh-dee-AH’-teez), who owns a Christian marketing business, is accused of helping Lisa Miller and her daughter Isabella enter Canada five years ago. Miller and her daughter are now believed to be in Nicaragua. Miller and her former partner, Janet Jenkins, entered a civil union in Vermont in 2000 and split in 2003. After their separation, a Vermont court gave custody of Isabella to Miller with visitation for Jenkins, but Miller later sought full custody after moving to Virginia, becoming a Christian and renouncing homosexuality. Following a lengthy legal fight, Miller disappeared with Isabella shortly before a Vermont court transferred custody to Jenkins. VATICAN-FAMILY Bishops emphasize being best possible Catholic VATICAN CITY (AP) β Pope Francis’ emphasis on a church that is merciful rather than moralizing is having a pronounced effect inside a meeting of bishops on family life, with the bishops emphasizing that the faithful should be the best Catholics they can be, even if they’re not perfect. Bishops have referred frequently to the theological concept of the “law of gradualness,” which encourages the faithful to take one step at a time toward holiness. It’s a concept that has been out of favor under the last two popes, who upheld church teaching on hot-button issues. Francis, though, has said that with doctrine now well-known, the church must focus on being more welcoming and forgiving. The concept has been applied to unmarried couples who live together, with priests urged not condemn them but rather help them see how marriage in the church can deepen their bond. Cardinal Peter Erdo, a top synod organizer, said the concept should also be applied to married couples using artificial contraception. Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said there are valid “and even holy elements” in families that fall short of the Christian ideal of marriage in the church. VETS LICENSE PLATE Appleton man establishes new state license plate APPLETON, Wis. (AP) β The efforts of an Appleton man will allow Wisconsin drivers to affix “In God We Trust” license plates to their cars beginning next year. Post-Crescent Media reports that the new plate was established Tuesday when David Hinds presented a $9,000 check to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation for computer and design costs. The effort also required an act of the Legislature. The optional license plate, which will raise money for local veterans, features an American flag in the background. Hinds addressed a crowd Tuesday at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2778 in Appleton. He said, “None of this would ever have been possible without God’s grace working in so many individual hearts.” PRIEST-CHARITY THEFT Detroit-area priest convicted of charity theft DETROIT (AP) β A jury has found a Detroit-area Catholic priest guilty of stealing money from a charity for the poor after he denied the charges and said he had wrongly signed a confession to police. The Rev. Timothy Kane was convicted Tuesday in Wayne County Court of crimes including embezzlement from a charitable institution. The 58-year-old priest will be sentenced in December. His six conviction counts carry a total penalty of up to 88 years in prison. Kane testified Tuesday that he didn’t steal money from the Angel Fund, an Archdiocese of Detroit charity fund created to assist people in need. Kane says confusion caused by diabetes made him sign a confession to police after his February arrest. He was offered a plea deal before the trial but declined. PHILIPPINES-CHURCH BLAST Grenade blast wounds 4 in Philippine church PIKIT, Philippines (AP) β Police say two men on a motorcycle fired a grenade at the main gate of a church in the southern Philippines, killing two churchgoers and wounding three others. Police said it was not immediately clear if Muslim rebels were involved in the attack late Wednesday at the United Church of Christ in Pikit town. The attackers escaped. Government forces have been on alert for possible attacks by a breakaway group of hard-line rebels opposed to a recently signed peace deal between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the largest Muslim insurgent group. The peace pact aims to establish a more powerful autonomous region for Muslims in the south of the largely Catholic nation. AUSTRIA-NO YOGA Austrian school drops yoga on religious grounds VIENNA (AP) β A primary school in Austria has dropped yoga classes for children after a mother argued that yoga goes against Christian teachings. Yoga teacher Ingrid Karner says she was told to stop classes at the school in the village of Dechantskirchen (DEH’-kahnt-keer-shen) after a complaint “that it’s not allowed, according to the Bible.” School principal Maria Hofer told the Die Kleine Zeitung (dee KLY’-nuh ZY’-tung) newspaper that no parents complained when courses started this year. But she says they were stopped after the unidentified mother said even the word yoga “had negative effects.” School inspector Helga Thomann says schools should not offer anything linked to “esoteric” practices. Yoga has its origins in Hinduism and Buddhism, but also has become widely accepted as physical and mental therapy.
