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Illinois father of 5 ordained to priesthood following annulment

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ENGLISH (May 29/10)

A 57-year-old father of five whose marriage had been annulled was ordained as a priest of the Diocese of Belleville by Bishop Edward Braxton on May 22. A onetime lay employee of the diocesan education department, Father Dale Maxfield was appointed pastoral life coordinator of a parish. “It was at this time that his marriage began to fall apart and the life he had created as a husband and father,” according to the diocesan newspaper.

Signing off on their rite of passage

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ENGLISH (May 29/10)

By JACOB BATIST

Deaf children celebrate their bar and bat mitzvas.

Photo by: Jacob Batist

In a unique ceremony Monday morning at the Beit Yaakov synagogue in Jerusalem’s Ramat Eshkol neighborhood, 52 deaf and hearing-impaired children celebrated their bar and bat mitzvas.

Proud parents, family and friends looked on as the children experienced the rite of passage with the aid of the Judaic Heritage Program for Israel’s Deaf and Hearing Impaired (JHPIDHI), sponsored by the Council of Young Israel Rabbis in Israel.

Two non-Orthodox synagogues in Ra'anana attacked in one-week span

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ENGLISH (May 29/10)

Some members of the congregations have concluded that intolerance toward the Conservative and Reform movements is behind the incidents.

By Noah Kosharek

Jews for Jesus Founder Dies and speaks from beyond the grave!

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ENGLISH (May 29/10)

By Marc Tracy

Jews for Jesus founder Moishe Rosen.

CREDIT: Jews for Jesus

Moishe Rosen, the founder of Jews for Jesus, died Tuesday (via Failed Messiah). He was 78.

And whoa! He has left one of those “If you’re reading this, then I am dead” messages on the Jews for Jesus Website!

“I hope I can count on you to show love and respect for the Jewish people,” he writes, “but Jewishness never saved anybody. Judaism never saved anybody no matter how sincere. Romans 10:9 & 10 make it clear that we must believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths the Lord Jesus in order to be saved. There are no shortcuts. There is no easy way. Within Judaism today, there is no salvation because Christ has no place within Judaism.”

Synagogue near Cochin being renovated

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ENGLISH (May 29/10)

By MICHAEL FREUND IN COCHIN, INDIA

India project aims to refurbish Jewish house.

Photo by: Courtesy

A massive restoration project aimed at refurbishing one of the oldest and most beautiful synagogues in southern India has gotten underway thanks to funding and support provided by local and federal Indian authorities, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

Work began last month on renovating the Parur synagogue, which is located in the village of North Paravur, approximately 18 km. north of Cochin, in the Indian state of Kerala.

Christian Zionism and the Pre-Tribulation Rapture

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ENGLISH (May 29/10)

Photo by: Channel 1

By BRIAN J. HENNESSY

Does a belief in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture doctrine tally with the essence of Christian Zionism?

I find many Christians who support the restoration of the Jewish people to their homeland in Israel also subscribe to the end-time teaching known as the Pre-Tribulation Rapture. This teaching holds that Jesus will return first as a “thief in the night” to snatch away the Church prior to a hellish reign of terror by a false messiah in the last days. Jesus will then come again with his Church to destroy all satanic rule on this planet and establish the long-awaited Messianic Age.
 

2.1 million pilgrims venerated Shroud

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ENGLISH (May 29/10)

Over 2.1 million pilgrims, including Pope Benedict XVI, venerated the Shroud of Turin when it was on display in Turin’s cathedral between April 10 and May 23.

“I had the clear perception that the Lord was speaking to the hearts of the pilgrims who came before the shroud seeking answers,” said Cardinal Severino Poletto. The shroud “gives us the chance to offer faith in a time of confusion and spiritual fog, reconciling in the word of God.”

Jesuit head of Asian Catholic news agency criticizes transubstantiation

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ENGLISH (May 29/10)

Stating that “Catholics can become fanatical about one form of the Body of Christ in the bread of the Eucharist as the REAL presence of Christ,” Father Michael Kelly, the Jesuit CEO of the Asian Catholic news agency UCA News, criticized the doctrine of transubstantiation in a May 24 column.

In his column-- a critique of the new, more accurate liturgical translations that reflect the content and dignity of the original Latin-- Father Kelly writes:

Regrettably, all too frequently, the only Presence focused on is Christ’s presence in the elements of bread and wine. Inadequately described as the change of the “substance” (not the “accidents”) of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, the mystery of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist carries the intellectual baggage of a physics no one accepts. Aristotelian physics makes such nice, however implausible and now unintelligible, distinctions. They are meaningless in the post-Newtonian world of quantum physics, which is the scientific context we live in today.

Iran's apostasy charge dropped against 2 women

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ENGLISH (May 29/10)

Two converts to Christianity, Maryam Rustamopoor (left) and Marzieh Amirizadeh, shown here before their March 5 arrest, have been released after 256 days in a Tehran prison.

by Staff

WASHINGTON (BP)--Apostasy charges have been dropped against two Iranian converts to Christianity who spent more than 250 days in jail for their faith. The two women were permitted to leave Iran on Saturday, May 22, according to Elam Ministries, a U.K.-based organization working to strengthen the Iranian church.

Rick Warren Tells Passive, Fake Christians to Find Another Church

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ENGLISH (May 29/10)

By Lillian Kwon|Christian Post Reporter

Pastor Rick Warren has a message for the some 20,000 people who attend Saddleback Church: If you want to remain a passive Christian, find another church.

During his weekend sermon, Warren laid out a plan for Saddleback's next "Decade of Destiny" in which he's anticipating exponential growth. And the plan has no room for fake Christians, he indicated.

"Let me just be honest with you as somebody who loves you. If you passively just want to sit around in the next 10 years and just waste your life on things that won't last, you probably want to find another church because you're not going to really feel comfortable here. Because if you're in this church, I'm coming after you to be mobilized," said the renowned southern California pastor.

Indian missionaries say it is ‘privilege’ to suffer

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ENGLISH (May 29/10)

by Charlie Boyd

Missionaries in training with Gospel for Asia have spoken of the “privilege” they felt in suffering for Christ after being attacked on their Bible college campus in Mumbai, India, earlier in the month.

Seven students were seriously injured in the attack by suspected anti-Christian extremists on May 9.

They were preparing the evening meal when attackers armed with wooden sticks, iron rods and fluorescent light tubes stormed onto the campus, beating them and vandalising the buildings.

Jews for Jesus Founder Dies at Age 78

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ENGLISH (May 29/10)

By Joshua A. Goldberg|Christian Post Reporter

The founder of Jews for Jesus died Wednesday, leaving behind a pre-written message to members of the ministry.

Moishe Rosen, founder of Jews for Jesus (Photo: Jews for Jesus)

In the letter posted on the Jews for Jesus website after his death, Moishe Rosen encouraged members of Jews for Jesus to stay with the ministry, especially as they “stand on the edge of a breakthrough in Jewish evangelism.”

“Just a little more. Just another push. Just another soul - and we will have reached critical mass where we begin generating that energy that the whole world might know the Lord,” wrote Rosen, who was 78 when he died Wednesday after a protracted battle with prostate cancer.

Pentecost Festival Draws Thousands to London

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ENGLISH (May 29/10)

By Maria Mackay|Christian Today Reporter

LONDON – “God is good and He’s better than you think,” pastor and faith healer Bill Johnson told a packed Methodist Central Hall Sunday night.

“And He’s in a good mood too. He’s not mad with me and that’s reason to be very happy,” he added.

Johnson was in the capital for the final night of Pentecost Festival, which brought thousands of Christians to London to experience the best the church has to offer in celebration of its birth 2,000 years ago.

Medvedev meets with Patriarch Kirill, Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople

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ENGLISH (May 29/10)

Moscow, May 25, Interfax - The Russian government attaches great importance to its dialogue with the Russian Orthodox Church, President Dmitry Medvedev said at a meeting with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople in the Kremlin on Tuesday.

"A lot of changes have taken place recently. And I am very pleased that you will be able to see these favorable changes in the life of the country and the dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the state," Medvedev told Bartholomew I.

Second Wave of Deportations Hits Foreign Christians in Morocco

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ENGLISH (May 29/10)

By Compass Direct News|Damaris Kremida

ISTANBUL (Compass Direct News) – In a second wave of deportations from Morocco, officials of the majority-Muslim country have expelled 26 foreign Christians in the last 10 days without due process.

Following the expulsion of more than 40 foreign Christians in March, the deportations were apparently the result of Muslim hardliners pressuring the nation’s royalty to show Islamic solidarity.

Methodist Church to hold last ever Breakout youth festival

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ENGLISH (May 29/10)

by Charlie Boyd

The Methodist Church’s last ever Breakout signals the end of an era in Christian youth festivals but Methodist Children and Youth Director Mike Smeaton promises that its departure is going to make way for something new.

The final Breakout festival will draw youth together at Cliff College, Derbyshire, around the theme of ‘Connect’, with an emphasis on connecting with God, with each other, and with the world.

Opinion: The importance of the pastoral prayer

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ENGLISH (May 29/10)

By Chris Caldwell  

(ABP) -- Question: What’s the second-most-important thing a pastor does every Sunday?

Answer? The pastoral prayer.

Even so, while most pastors spend hours on sermons, many of us merely jot a few notes down for the pastoral prayer -- or, worse, simply “wing it.” In the first half of my 25 years in ministry, that’s what I did. A few years after my friend Don Musser challenged me to do better, however, I began spending 30 minutes to an hour composing my weekly pastoral prayers. No decision has had a more positive effect on my ministry.

Istanbul-based Patriarch's Moscow visit 'marks improved relations'

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ENGLISH (May 29/10)

Sophia Kishkovsky
Moscow (ENI). A visit by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeos I of Constantinople to Moscow is expected to underscore a thawing in relations after decades of tension during the Soviet era and post-Soviet geopolitical turmoil.

Bartholomeos arrives in Russia on 22 May and will take part in a service the following day - Pentecost Sunday - with Patriarch Kirill I of the Russian Orthodox Church at the centuries-old Holy Trinity St Sergius Lavra church near Moscow. They will concelebrate again on 24 May at Christ the Saviour Cathedral opposite the Kremlin in the Russian capital, and then hold talks the next day at Kirill's residence outside Moscow.

Historian, editor condemn 'downplaying' of Scottish Reformation

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ENGLISH (May 29/10)

Trevor Grundy
Edinburgh (ENI). Scottish historian and professor, Tom Devine, who is a Roman Catholic, and Harry Reid, a former editor of a leading newspaper in the country, have described as "scandalous" the low-key way the 450th anniversary of the Reformation in Scotland is being marked in 2010.

In an interview with ENInews, Devine, a professor at Edinburgh University, said, "Two of the greatest legislative events in Scottish history are the Reformation of 1560 and the Act of Union [when the Scottish and English parliaments merged to form the Parliament of Great Britain] in 1707.

Former pastor, NAMB trustee, accused of fleecing flock

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ENGLISH (May 29/10)

By Bob Allen

Danny O'Guin 

ST. LOUIS (ABP) -- A former Southern Baptist pastor in Missouri has been indicted on charges of using his position to defraud church members into loaning him money that he did not repay. 

According to St. Louis media, a four-count federal indictment for mail fraud accuses Danny O'Guin, former pastor of Parker Road Baptist Church in Florissant, Mo., of using false pretenses to convince elderly church members to loan him money that he told them was to repair residences he owned out of the state.

Southern Baptists report gain in baptisms, decline in membership for 2009

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ENGLISH (May 21/10)

by Rob Phillips

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Southern Baptists reported a 2.2 percent increase in baptisms in 2009, stemming a four-year decline, but membership in the denomination fell and the sagging economy led to a drop in missions giving, according to the Annual Church Profile (ACP) compiled by LifeWay Christian Resources in conjunction with Baptist state conventions.

Baptisms last year totaled 349,737, up from 342,198 in 2008, a year in which Southern Baptists recorded the fewest baptisms since 1987. Total membership fell 0.42 percent to 16.16 million, and Sunday School enrollment dropped 0.04 percent to 7.75 million.

FIRST-PERSON: GCR: Compelling Southern Baptists to settle the Lordship issue

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ENGLISH (May 21/10)

By Ashley Clayton

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--As I understand it, the Great Commission Resurgence task force was elected by Southern Baptists and charged with evaluating how Southern Baptists can work more faithfully and effectively together in serving Christ through the Great Commission. The belief was that this task force would bring a compelling vision where all Southern Baptists could coalesce, support and implement in order to reach our world for Christ. Of course time will reveal the dynamics of acceptance and success of this task force report, along with the suggested structural changes to local, state and national entities. One thing on which we can all agree is the need for all Southern Baptists, out of love for the Lord they claim to serve, to be obedient to Him in all areas of their lives, including the stewardship of the resources God has entrusted to them. Without obedience, there will be no Great Commission resurgence.

Shock video: Gay discussion gets U.K. preacher arrested

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ENGLISH (May 21/10)

by Michael FoustLONDON (BP)--A shocking video has emerged showing a Baptist street preacher in the United Kingdom being arrested for calling homosexuality a sin.

Newspaperstories about 42-year-old Dale Mcalpine have received attention in the United Kingdom and the United States, but the video -- which Mcalpine recorded with a hidden camera -- did not surface publicly until May 14. It lasts just under two minutes and makes it clear that he was arrested for expressing a biblical view of homosexuality.

Our Judaism

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ENGLISH (May 21/10)

By JPOST EDITORIAL

Israelis are exploring other aspects of Judaism.

As in previous years, a wide range of organizations are pitching various forms of Jewish expression this Shavuot as an extension of their year-round activities.

Tel Aviv, often mistakenly stereotyped as a bastion of militant secularism, has become, in recent years, a breeding ground for diverse, multilingual Jewish expression and dynamic, experimental spiritual projects. Orthodox organizations such as the religious Zionist Rosh Yehudi and the neo-hassidic Breslav and Chabad movements will provide all-night Torah study. Tzohar, an organization of modern Orthodox rabbis, will organize panels of rabbis, journalists, academics and celebrities in three different locations in Tel Aviv around the theme of Shavuot. Even TV personality and publicist Yair Lapid, who is rumored to be in the process of creating a new secular/liberal political party with an anti-haredi agenda, will participate. Tzohar’s events will end with singing and a sunrise megilla reading on Frishman Beach followed by Shaharit prayers.

Tradition Today: Celebrating Sinai

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ENGLISH (May 21/10)

By REUVEN HAMMER

Since it would seem so natural to have a holiday commemorating the theophany, I have often wondered why the Torah does not proclaim such a day.

Photo by: Ariel Jerozolimski 

As depicted in the Torah, Shavuot seems to come in a poor third in the trio of pilgrimage holidays when all males are commanded to “appear before the Lord your God in the place that He will choose” (Deuteronomy 16:16). It lasts for only one day whereas both Succot and Pessah are a week long and Succot even has an extra day attached to it, Shmini Atzeret. Furthermore both Succot and Pessah are resplendent with colorful mitzvot and have historical as well as agricultural reasons, while Shavuot has no historical meaning and only the mitzva of first fruits and the offering of new grain (Numbers 28:26).

Conservative Anglicans Lament Ordination of 2nd Gay Bishop

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ENGLISH (May 21/10)

By Lillian Kwon|Christian Post Reporter

(Photo: Episcopal News Service / Janet Kawamoto)

The ordination of two women bishops, one of whom is a partnered lesbian, was a moment of celebration for some 3,000 Episcopalians gathered in Long Beach, Calif., on Saturday.

But for many evangelicals and conservatives in the worldwide Anglican Communion, it was a moment of alienation and sorrow.

Former youth pastor sentenced to 17 years for abuse

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ENGLISH (May 21/10)

By Bob Allen

YORK, Va. (ABP) -- A former youth pastor at a Southern Baptist church in Virginia has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for sexually assaulting two teenage girls.

Jeremy Duffer -- known as "Pastor Jack" to youth and adults at Seaford Baptist Church near Hampton, Va., where he served from January 2008 until his arrest in August 2009 -- pleaded guilty in February to one charge of an indecent act with a child and eight counts of aggravated sexual battery.