A Peaceful Perspective... February 13, 2012

In this edition...

• Column: Discovering Christ in Our Story
• Security and international peace focus of WCC consultation
• Column: Beware of smug Religion
• Churches are called to be peacemakers in Africa
• Kenyan Mennonites make history by writing it
• Column: Sell what you have and give
• Catholic Bishops express deep concern at the current education problems in the Eastern Cape Province
• African churches address peace and security issues

Column: Discovering Christ in Our Story

An Anabaptist hermeneutic, or way of reading scripture, is usually characterized as “Christ-centered”, that is, with the figure of Jesus as the one around whom the story gathers. Putting Christ at the center, however, presupposes something even more basic: that there even is a center which draws in the other lines of scripture. This is not something to be taken for granted, for millions of Christians read the Bible as though it were an assemblage of unrelated words, phrases, and stories, each part enough on its own to legitimize some particular practice of the church or behavior of human beings in the name of being “biblical”. In such a view, the Bible does indeed seem “flat”,* one part neither rising above another, giving definition to the landscape, nor distinguishing itself from another, instead remaining hidden as part of an undifferentiated field. Yet if it is necessary that parts—even ill-defined ones—do stand together in some way to make a whole, then it figures that that standing together depends upon fundamental distinctions which are revealed as essential when the whole is broken and ceases to be a whole. Or, in other words, if the relationship of parts is possible only because of their differences, then any ultimate meaning of the Bible must also depend upon the visibility of each part in all its uniqueness. Somewhat paradoxically, however, the importance of each and every part being seen –their basic equality as parts of one whole—gives rise to a basic inequality—the reality that some stars shine brighter than the others. For Anabaptist hermeneutics, that light “outshining” is one, Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, “the bright morning star” (Rev 22:16). more >>
Source: ANiSA News

Security and international peace focus of WCC consultation

A consultation on world peace and human security was convened by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva on Thursday 9 February. The event precedes a two-day committee meeting charged with following up the report and recommendations of the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation, which brought 1,000 participants to Kingston, Jamaica in May 2011. The committee will suggest how the topic of just peace may be addressed during and after the 10th Assembly of the WCC, to be held in 2013 at Busan, Korea. In his opening remarks, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit described the three days of discussion as, “not only an important step in preparing for the assembly, but an essential part of preparing the WCC's contribution in international affairs over the coming years.” more >>
Source: ANiSA News

Churches are called to be peacemakers in Africa

Amidst increasing security issues in several African countries plagued by violence, political turmoil, religious intolerance and lack of democratic governance, churches are called to engage in peace-building, said African church leaders in a presentation on “Burning issues of insecurity in Africa” at a World Council of Churches (WCC) consultation in Kigali, Rwanda. The consultation was organized by the WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) and the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC). Participants addressed the theme, “Peace and Security in Africa: Ecumenical Responses” from 28 January to 1 February. The church leaders presented case studies from Africa demonstrating the increase in conflicts and human rights violations in countries like Nigeria, Sudan, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe. They showed how people in these countries are living in conditions of extreme vulnerability. In this situation, they stressed the need for stronger peace and reconciliation engagement by the ecumenical family. more >>
Source: ANiSA News

Column: Sell what you have and give

To one man, Jesus said, “You cannot see or enter the kingdom of God without being born again.” To another he said the way to inherit eternal life is to keep the commandments, and in order to do that, you need to sell all that you have and give to the poor. Yet today, we seem to only emphasise the first of these and ignore the second. In fact so much emphasis is placed upon being “born again”, one would be forgiven for thinking that it must have been Jesus “stock answer” to all who came to him or listened to him. Yet only on that one occasion did Jesus use this expression as far as Scripture records. In fact, somehow “born again” has now become a category – “I am a ‘born-again’ Christian.” Somehow that seems to give the proud owner of that designation a feeling of being superior or more complete than his or her supposedly un-‘born again’ Christian compatriot. more >>
Source: ANiSA News

African churches address peace and security issues

A World Council of Churches (WCC) consultation in Kigali discussed peace and security issues in Africa, with more than ninety church and ecumenical leaders. Together, they also reflected on Rwandan experiences of ethnic violence, genocide and church initiatives of reconciliation in the past. The consultation was organized by the WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) and the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC). It took place from 28 to 31 January in Kigali, Rwanda, addressing the theme, “Peace and Security in Africa: Ecumenical Response”. The consultation started with a visit to Kigali Genocide Memorial by the participants, while the opening session was held at the headquarters of the Presbyterian Church of Rwanda. At the event ecumenical leaders discussed a range of issues affecting the peace and security situation in Nigeria, Sudan, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Ivory Coast and North African countries. more >>
Source: ANiSA News

Column: Beware of smug Religion

When I get two e-mails from different people both commenting on the same subject, I know that this has got to have something to do with the week’s meditation. First, my daughter Jeanelle sent me a one liner which read: “Atheism is a non-prophet organization.” I had to read it a few times before I got the point, for “profit” was spelt “prophet.” But I did not quite get the significance of this until the second e-mail arrived from my friend Michael Savage who often sends me great material culled from the web. This time it was an article by Frank Furedi, an unfamiliar name to me, in which Furedi was bemoaning the fact that the “new atheists” as he calls them have turned atheism into a smug (my choice of word) religion. By “new atheists” he had in mind Richard Dawkins and company who are, as Furedi tells us, on a crusade to convert people to their new movement – let’s call it Dawkinism -- a religion without God, but no less a religion – after all, not all religions believe in God, golf for example. more >>
Source: ANiSA News

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Kenyan Mennonites make history by writing it

Nine Kenyan delegates and three editors gathered together at the Mennonite Guest House in Nairobi the last week in January. Their task: to proof the manuscript of a history of the Kenya Mennonite Church (KMC), a Mennonite World Conference member church - writes Debbi DiGennaro. The idea for this book, chronicling KMC’s 50-year history, was birthed in 2003 at the Mennonite World Conference summit in Zimbabwe, in a discussion between Kenyan Bishop Dominic Opondo and David W. Shenk, author and EMM global consultant. “This is the account of the acts of the Holy Spirit in calling forth and forming the Mennonite Church in Kenya,” wrote Francis Ojwang, primary researcher and author of the book, in the foreword. “Just as ancient Israel and the early church made a very high priority of writing their history of the acts of God among them, so also the KMC needed to record their journey with Jesus Christ.” more >>
Source: ANiSA News

Catholic Bishops express deep concern at the current education problems in the Eastern Cape Province

Children are the hope and future of the nation. Consequently, the Southern African Catholic Bishops, express their deep concern about the current crisis effecting schools in the Eastern Cape Province. Access to education is a matter of simple justice for each child - and it is incumbent on Government to provide it without fail. The lack of infrastructure and the rundown state of schools as well as the ‘go slow’ by teachers is putting the future of many of our children at risk. The Eastern Cape Provincial Government must take appropriate action to rescue the floundering education system, which is denying children their right to education. Otherwise the government will be responsible for perpetuating the second class ‘bantustan’ education system, and contributing to the wide divide between rich and poor. more >>
Source: ANiSA News