New Recurrent Topic

I am beginning a new recurrent topic to go along with all the others: Differences Between Protestants and Roman Catholics/Orthodox: We are all Christians but there are some very real differences in attitudes and beliefs between us.  The unity of the Mind of Christ, the ἐκκλησία, unites us even if we may never be united on a human, organizational level.

http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/was-jesus-born-on-december-25-faq.htm

A difference between us which is relevant for this time of year is the celebration of Christmas. Protestants and Catholics celebrate Christmas on 25 December while Orthodox observe the holiday on 7 January.  Biblical scholars and historians are almost universally agreed that both of these dates are incorrect.

The biblical and historical evidence points to the birth of Jesus having occurred in March or April of 6-5 BC/BCE.  Calculations by other scholars point to Jesus having been born in September or October.  The birth could not have occurred in 1BC/AD because Herod died in 4BC/BCE

About the 25 December and 7 January dates: Orthodox follow the Roman Julian calendar which was in use at the birth of Jesus while Protestants and Catholics follow the Gregorian calendar (Pope Gregory XIII, 1582) which corrected an error caused in dating because the year is not exactly 365 days in length. 

The 25 December date was first suggested by Sextus Julius Africanus in 221 AD/CE and was celebrated on that date as early as 354, but it was not officially declared as the date until 440.

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.

Ozzy Osbourne: (b. 1948, England, aka: John Michael Osbourne; The Prince of Darkness) Heavy metal vocalist and songwriter.  Best known for his song, “Crazy Train.” Anglican.

Dion: (b. 1939, New York, USA, aka: Dion Francis DiMucci) Singer, songwriter best known for his songs “Run Around Sue,” and “The Wanderer.” Evangelical.

Bob Dylan: (b. 1941, Minnesota, USA; aka: Robert Allen Zimmerman) Singer, songwriter, painter, sketcher.  Best known for his songs “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “The Times They Are a-Changin,’” and “Like a Rolling Stone.”  2012 United States Presidential Medal of Freedom winner. He was a convert from Judaism.

Uyaraq: This man was the first Inupiak convert in Alaska (late Nineteenth Century) and spent the last twenty years of his life as an evangelist in Alaska (USA).  He was known to break long-standing social taboos, ridicule the local animist shamans, and hold the Bible up in the air to demonstrate its power.  

Bob Marley: (b. 1945, Jamaica- d. 1981; aka: Robert Nesta Marley)  Singer, songwriter, guitarist. Marley is considered to have been the face of the Reggae music movement.  He was a Rastafarian who, in 1981, was baptized into the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.  His final words were, “Jesus take me.” 

Copts in Egypt Worry About the Future

The Copts in Egypt represent the major and ancient (The Coptic Orthodox Church was founded in 42 AD/CE in Alexandria) form of Christianity in the country.  With the current unrest in Egypt, many Copts have become quite uneasy about their future.  Whatever else he may be, President Hosni Mubarak has been tolerant of the ten percent of Egyptians who are Copts.  Pope Shenouda III has publicly expressed support for Mr. Mubarak.

Dr. Viviane Ghaly, a Coptic physician in Alexandria was quoted in The Wall Street Journal on 1 February, 2011: "We complain about his government too, but we got used to Mubarak and his ways.  We don't know what would come next."

Coptic is a continuation of the ancient Egyptian language.  The word "copt" is derived from the Greek word for the country, "agyptos" (Αίγυπτος).  Below is a Coptic hymn, sung by Ibrahim Ayad , the lead deacon in Cairo's Coptic Cathedral and a respected authority on coptic hymns.  The hymn is Epouro O King of Peace.

Religious Groupings in the United States

In his book, Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites ..., Dr. Bradley Wright used Steensland *, et al's (2000) RELTRAD classification system, which identifies seven groupings to describe the religious bodies in the United States.   The designations "include, but are not limited to" the religious bodies/persuasions listed below.

Evangelical Protestants: the Southern Baptist Convention; some Independent Baptists; many non-denominational Protestant churches; the Lutheran Church; Missouri Synod; the Presbyterian Church in America; the Assemblies of God; the Church of Christ; the Church of the Nazarene; the Free Methodist Church; and the Seventh-day Adventist Church.  They tend to be theologically and socially conservative.

Mainline Protestants: the American Baptist Church in the USA; the United Methodist Church; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; the Presbyterian Church, USA; the Episcopal Church in the USA; and the United Church of Christ.  They tend to be theologically and socially liberal or "progressive".

Black Protestants: the National Baptist Convention; the African Methodist Episcopal Church; the Church of God in Christ.  All of these denominations are primarily, but not exclusively, African-American.  They tend to be conservative in theology but more liberal in social views.

Catholics: Roman Catholics.  Although the Orthodox would probably object to being listed with the Catholics, I believe that they would be included in this group in this classification system.

Jewish: Separated into Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform traditions.  The Orthodox represent historic Judaism, the Reform are more liberal and modern, and the Conservatives are in the middle.

Other Religions: Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Science, Oneness Pentecostals, and Unitarian-Universalism.  Some of these groups self identify as Christian but are rejected as heterodox by other Christians.

Religiously Unaffiliated: Atheists, Agnostics, and "Don't Cares."



* Steensland, Brian, et.al., "the Measure of American Religion: Toward Improving the State of the Art," Social Forces, 79(1), 2000, pp. 291-318.

Assumption

Today, August 15, is the day of the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin. The feast was first celebrated in the 6th Century as the feast of the Dormition (Falling Asleep) and was defined as an article of faith and a day of obligation by Pope Pius XII in 1950 in his encyclical, Munificentissimus Deus. It is celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Eastern Orthodox Churches, and the Anglican Communion.

The dogma of the Assumption says that at her death, Mary, the mother of Jesus, was assumed body and soul directly into Heaven, with no need to wait on the Resurrection. Since she was God's privileged Ark, the mother of God, and is held to have been utterly sinless, and since the corruption of the grave is a punishment for original sin, she could not have decayed in the ground.

The Roman Catholic Church cites as scriptural basis for this doctrine the following verses: 2 Kings 1:11, Genesis 5:24, Hebrews 11:5, John 14:3, Psalm 132:8, and Revelation 12:1-5. An interesting point to Protestants is that Mary's death is not mentioned in the Bible at all. Many of the references which Catholics say speak of Mary are interpreted by Protestants as references to the Church or to Israel.

Protestants do not accept the doctrine of the Assumption of Mary and do not believe that there is any scriptural basis for doing so. We believe that this doctrine is a logical sequela of the doctrines of the Immaculate Conception of Mary and the Perpetual Virginity of Mary, both of which we believe to be unscriptural. We believe that all three come from a very forced, convoluted, "twisty-turny" interpretation of scripture used to justify non-blblical man-made doctrines. This is eisogesis (forcing ideas from outside into the Bible) instead of exogesis (deriving doctrines from and consistent with the totality of scripture).

For further reading:
"The Biblical Basis for Praying to Mary and for Catholic Teachings on Mary," http://www.mostholyfamilymonastery.com/Articles/the_bible_on_the_blessed_virgin_Mary.pdf

Orthodox Fast Day

Today is the fast day observed by Orthodox Christianity to honor the Holy mother of Jesus.