Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian. Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions. Some of those listed may surprise or even shock you. Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Dolores Hart: (b. 1938, Illinois, USA, aka: Dolores Hicks) Film actress, Benedictine prioress, author. As an actress, she worked with Elvis Presley, Stephen Boyd, Montgomery Clift, George Hamilton, and Robert Wagner. All proceeds from her books go to charity.

Mark Burnett: (b. 1960, England) Movie and television producer, husband of actress Roma Downey. His father was Roman Catholic and his mother was Presbyterian.

Roma Downey: (b. 1960, Northern Ireland) Actress, producer, author, singer. Wife of producer Mark Burnett. Roman Catholic.

Sun Yat-sen: (b.1866, China – d. 1925), Chinese revolutionary, physician, first president and founder of the Republic of China. Sun participated in the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty. Congregationalist.

James Naismith: (b.1861, Canada – d. 1938) Canadian sports coach; inventor of the sport of basketball; founder of the University of Kansas basketball program; Inducted into the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame, the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame, the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, the Ontario Sports Legends Hall of Fame, the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame, the McGill University Sports Hall of Fame, the Kansas State Sports Hall of Fame, and the FIBA Hall of Fame. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is named for him. Presbyterian.

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Some of those listed may surprise you.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Kim Il-sung: (b.1912, Japanese Korea –d. 1994; Eternal President of the Republic) Leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (1948-1994) Raised as a Presbyterian, became a Communist, then a Socialist.

Kim Hyong-jik: (b. 1884, Korea – d. 1926) Father of Kim Il-sung.  Presbyterian.

Kang Pan-sok: (b. 1892, Korea – d. 1932) Mother of Kim Il-sung.  Presbyterian, then Communist.

Kang Dong-wook (b. Korea; aka: Kang Ton Uk) Maternal grandfather of Kim Il-sung.  Protestant minister.

Kang Ryang-uk: (b. 1904, Korea - 1983; aka: Kang Yang Wook; Kang Lyanguk)  Former Methodist minister, school teacher, non-Communist.  Kim Il-sung made him his Vice President.  Kang was a cousin of Kang Dong-wook.

Active for Jesus

"... when churches focus on keeping young people active for Jesus, we may forget to teach them how to be present with Jesus."  Kenda Creasy Dean, youth pastor, university professor, Presbyterian.

It is possible to become so busy for the church or even "for Jesus" that one becomes fixated on the business of being busy.  The activity can become an idol,  distracting us from God.  We cannot earn God's favor,  it is a freely given gift.  The activities are not wrong, and may even be productive, but more pleasing to God is obedience and what the simple Brother Lawrence called "the practice of the presence of God."

Jesus' Call To Us

"Jesus did not call people to come to church; he called people to follow him."  Kenda Creasy Dean
Presbyterian Youth Pastor, university professor.

The Difference Between Presbyterians and Baptists

A Presbyterian friend of mine told me this joke.  Baptists (the religious tradition in which I grew up) have a reputation for being very straight-laced, almost Puritanical.

The Joke:
What is the difference between Presbyterians and Baptists?
Presbyterians will say hello to you when you run into them at the liquor store.

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Robert Craig Knievel: (b. 1938, Montana, USA – d. 2007, aka: Evel Knievel) Motorcycle daredevil.  Between 1965 and 1980, he made over 75 ramp to ramp motorcycle jumps, most of which were successful.  Those which were not resulted in 433 broken bones.  He converted to Christianity several months before his death.  “… the power of God in Jesus just grabbed me.” Reformed.

Harry Tong: (b. Kiribati) Politician, brother of Anote Tong (b. 1952), the president of Kiribati.

Levi Stanley: (b. 1818?, England – d. 1908;  the King of the Gypsies)  He was the husband of Matilda Stanley.

Matilda Joles Stanley: (b. 1821?, England – d. 1878;  the Queen of the Gypsies)  She was the wife of Levi Stanley.

Kim Young-sam: (b. 1927, Korea) President of South Korea (1993-1998). Presbyterian.

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Sun Yat-sen: b. 1866, China – d. 1925) Revolutionary, physician, President of the Republic of China, Congregationalist.

Cornel Ronald West: (b. 1953, Oklahoma) Civil rights activist, philosopher, author, actor, socialist.

Takeda Kiyoko: (b. 1917, Japan) Feminist intellectual.

John Glasgow Kerr: (b. 1824, Ohio – d. 1901) Surgeon, Presbyterian missionary to China.  One of his medical students was Sun Yat-sen.

Arthur Gostick Shorrock: (b. 1861, England – d. 1945) Surgeon, Baptist missionary to China.

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

James King Aursness/Aurness: (b. 1923, Minnesota, USA – d. 2011; aka: James Arness) Television and film actor.  Brother of actor Peter Graves. Methodist.

Peter Aursness/Aurness: (b. 1928, Minnesota, USA – d. 2010; aka: Peter Graves) Television and film actor.  Brother of actor James Arness.  Methodist.

 Mike Shula (b. 1965, Maryland, USA) College and professional football player and coach. Son of legendary national Football League coach Don Shula.  Roman Catholic.

Philip Carteret Hill Primrose: (b. 1864, Canada – d. 1937)  Police officer, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta.  Presbyterian.

Norma Larsen Zimmer: (b. 1923, Idaho, USA – d. 2011) Vocalist. She was Lawrence Welk’s “Champagne Lady” for 22 years.  Born as Norma Larsen, she married Randy Zimmer in 1944.

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

George Washington Carver: (b. 1864, Missouri, USA – d. 1943) Scientist, botanist, educator, inventor.  Carver was born as a slave, after the slaves were freed, he was raised as a son by his former owner. He created numerous products from peanuts, soybeans, pecans, and sweet potatoes; the products included recipes, cosmetics, axle grease, adhesives, stains, ink, shoe polish, synthetic rubber, bleach, linoleum, paper, and paints.  In 1941 Time Magazine called him a “Black Leonardo.”

Charles Hodge: (b. 1797, Pennsylvania, USA – d. 1878) Presbyterian Calvinist theologian, seminary president.  He insisted that the authority of the Bible had to be understood literally.

Sarah Bache: Great-granddaughter of Benjamin Franklin and wife of Charles Hodge above.  She was named for Sarah Franklin Bache (1743/4 – 1808), Benjamin Franklin’s only daughter.

John Johns: (b. 1796, Delaware, USA – d. 1876) College president, Episcopal bishop of Virginia, lifelong friend of Charles Hodge above.  He was a grandson of Governor Nicholas Van Dyke of Delaware.

Charles Pettit McIlvaine: (b. 1799, New Jersey, USA – d. 1873) College president, Episcopal bishop of Ohio, lifelong friend of Charles Hodge above.

What They Think of Us: Mark Twain

"It ain't the parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand. ...
I believe in God the Almighty. I do not believe He has ever sent a message to man by anybody, or delivered one to him by word of mouth, or made Himself visible to mortal eyes at any time or in any place." Mark Twain (pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1835 - 1910)


Mark Twain was a very complicated and conflicted man.  Though he held strong views against organized religion, he was obsessed, according to his daughter Clara, with the afterlife and was a lifelong Presbyterian.  He raised the modern equivalent of $2200 for the completion of a Presbyterian church attended by his brother, Orion, in Carson City, Nevada.

The Christian Origins of Several Science Fiction Writers

Science fiction is often considered to be an atheist endeavor and many science fiction writers would agree.  It is interesting though, how many of them had religious upbringings, many specifically Christian.

Robert A. Heinlein, Baptist; Gene Rodenberry, Baptist; Jules Verne, Roman Catholic; J.R.R. Tolkein, Roman Catholic; Stanislaw Lem, Roman Catholic;  Karel Capek,  Roman Catholic; Anthony Burgess,  Roman Catholic; Jerry Pournelle,  Roman Catholic; George Lucas, Methodist; Stephen King, Methodist; Beverly Cleary, Presbyterian; Piers Anthony, Quaker. 

Presbyterian Church (USA) Delegates Approve Non-Celibate Gays for Clergy

53% of the delegates at The Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly in Minneapolis voted on 8 July 2010 to allow non-celibate gays to serve their churches as ordained ministers as long as they are in committed long-term relationships.  The vote must be ratified by a majority of the 173 U.S. presbyteries to become official.

If the vote is ratified, the church would join the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, The US Episcopal Church, and the United Church of Christ,the other American churches with the same policy.

Book Comment: The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers

"Rogers," that's what the author's son called him. That's what my son called him. I suspect that's what many children called him. Just Rogers. It would have pleased him for them to be on a single name basis with him. To the children, he was a kind friend; to many adults he was a Stepford Wife who put forth a self-esteem philosophy of "I like you just the way you are.." That was because they didn't know him.

Amy Hollingsworth, a writer for the 700 Club, is the writer of The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers. Spiritual Insights from the World's Most Beloved Neighbor (2005). She calls him "Mother Teresa in a cardigan."

Before I read this book I wondered why Fred Rogers, who was an ordained Presbyterian minister, never said anything about his religion on his show, Mister Roger's Neighborhood. Amy Hollingsworth, who was a personal friend of Fred Rogers, says that before each show he said, "Dear God, let some word that is heard be Yours." He told her that he was "tending soil" and that the Holy Spirit would work on the soil. (Matthew 13: 1-23; Mark 4: 1-20; Luke 8: 1-15). He was practicing the advice of Francis of Assisi, "Preach the gospel at all times; if necessary, use words."

The main things that Fred Rogers was trying to teach to his young audience were 1. slow down and see what is around you, 2. learn to enjoy silence so you can hear yourself and God, 3. that it is acceptable to feel emotions (even negative ones), and that there are ways to deal with negative emotions which don't harm us or others.

To the adult charge that he was promoting an easy "feel good about yourself" philosophy to his young viewers, Mister Rogers became what, for him, was "agitated." He strongly opposed the building up of undeserved false self esteem. If a child drew an angry or bizarre picture or used dark or belligerent colors in their art, he felt that they were expressing that they felt mixed up or dark inside. They were not wanting to hear that the picture was "beautiful." He said that children aren't stupid and they don't learn self-esteem by being told something that they know is not true.

Fred Rogers is an example of a Christian man who made a conscious choice to live his life as a Christian layman. He never hid who he was and never was ashamed to openly express his Christian motivations when asked. He was successful in a highly secular field without any compromise in his personal witness. Most Christians do not work as professionals in "religious" work; we are accountants, plumbers, physicians, shoe salesmen, grocery store clerks, sports writers, electricians, and even children's television hosts.

"The child is in me still ... and sometimes not so still." Fred McFeely Rogers