The Washington Post today has a piece on how the Epistle of James is being invoked again and again by Democrats. The epistle, at times maligned for its emphasis on works (which, say critics through history, implies that it downplays faith), is regarded by many as one that emphasizes community and ethics.
The fourth installment in The Sunday Telegraph’s list of the 50 most influential Anglicans is online. In order of ascending influence, 20-11, they are: Jenny
Despite the archbishop of Nigeria’s injunction against doing so, the Right Rev Cyril Okorocha, the Bishop of Owerri, will attend Lambeth next week, according to Ruth Gledhill. She writes that he will be the only Nigerian bishop in attendance out of the 100 under Akinola’s watch, although more than a dozen phoned in their regrets that they “dare not disobey their archbishop.”
The Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin reports that Bishop Jerry Lamb, who leaves for Lambeth tomorrow, has asked all deacons and priests of the Diocese of San Joaquin to decide whether they will uphold their ordination vows to “…conform to the doctrine, discipline and worship of The Episcopal Church“ and to make this commitment, in writing, by August 5.
The Times has a very interesting round-up of thoughts by Bishops and about their “hopes and fears for the future of the Anglican Communion.
“I think it’s a very insulting thing to the American church that a duly elected bishop is told he’s not allowed to come,” said Smith, who will be attending his first Lambeth Conference.
The bishop of New Hampshire, said it was time for the church to decide what it was going to stand for to its gay members – whether it would be somewhere they would feel welcome or rejected. He called on the Archbishop of Canterbury to show leadership on the issue, rather than just try to manage it.
Douglas Kmiec is the kind of Catholic voter the G.O.P. usually doesn’t have to think twice about. The Pepperdine law professor and former Reagan Justice Department lawyer (Samuel Alito was an office mate) attends Mass each morning. He has actively opposed abortion for most of his adult life, working with crisis pregnancy centers to persuade women not to undergo the procedure. He is also a vocal supporter of Barack Obama. Kmiec made waves in the Catholic world in late March when he endorsed the Democratic candidate.
LSU associate professor of sociology Troy C. Blanchard recently found that a community’s religious environment — that is, the type of religious congregations within a locale — affects mortality rates, often in a positive manner.
The renaissance of Christian philosophy has been accompanied by a resurgence of interest in natural theology, that branch of theology that seeks to prove God’s existence apart from divine revelation. The goal of natural theology is to justify a broadly theistic worldview, one that is common among Christians, Jews, Muslims, and deists. While few would call them compelling proofs, all of the traditional arguments for God’s existence, not to mention some creative new arguments, find articulate defenders today.