| Don't miss 'Pluralism Sunday'! |
Don't miss 'Pluralism Sunday'!
From Worldnetdaily.com
Posted: May 06, 2008 , 1:00 am Eastern
By John Lofton
© 2008
Hey! It's coming up May 11. Mark your calendar; don't forget! Mother's
Day? Nope. It's "Pluralism Sunday"! The Center For Progressive Christianity
has announced that on May 11: "Christian churches around the world will
celebrate 'Pluralism Sunday' in worship – in recognition that other religions
may be as good for others as their faith is good for them. The worship
services will include speakers from other faiths, and music and liturgical
elements from other religions, honoring the religious diversity of the world."
For example: Epiphany Community Unitarian Universalist Church of Fenton,
Mich., has invited a Zen Buddhist "with a Christian background" to be the
preacher that day; the United Church of Christ in Hopkins, Minn., will do a
pulpit exchange with Bet Shalom Temple; and the Prince of Peace Church in
Anniston, Ala., will conduct a service that will include readings from the
Muslim and Buddhist traditions, and hopes to have a guest speaker from a
local mosque. Oh, and Barbara Currie, pastor of the Congregational Church in
Deering, N.H., will preach about "how Jesus is the church's gate to God, yet
there are other equally important and creditable gates to God for other people."
Well, nice try, folks. But, what's being announced here is so not truly
pluralistic. Your agenda is soooo timid, so orthodox, so cramped, so
predictable. I mean, if you believe something, have the courage of your
convictions! Go all the way! Think outside of outside the box, and go even
further!
For openers, I notice the only participants in "Pluralism Sunday" are human
beings. This is "pluralism"? I think not. No, this blatant act of discrimination
confining all activities to humans is specieism! There will be no real religious
"pluralism" until someone invites an animal or a plant to "speak" at a
"worship" service.
Now, I can hear some of you nattering nabobs of negativism saying, right
now, something like: "But, John, how would this work? Neither animals nor
plants can speak." My answer: I have no idea. But, I do know that what is
important is the journey toward trying to get animals and plants to speak.
Whether this is ever accomplished is utterly irrelevant. Rome was not
destroyed in a day! And as has been said: "Eleven a.m. on Sunday morning is
the most specieistic hour in America." So true. And this must end!
Another way "Pluralism Sunday" appears to be unforgivably un-pluralistic,
indeed anti-pluralistic: Among those mentioned as participating, I see no
Jehovah's Witnesses, Schwenkfelders, Rosicrucians, Theosophists, Mormons,
Hindus, Sikhs, Rastafarians, Baha'is, Scientologists, Taoists, Native
Americans, Amish, Hutterites, Secular Humanists, Zoroastrians, members
(in good standing, of course) of the Church of Satan, former members of
the Kerista Commune, present members of the Lemurian Fellowship. And,
shunned so far, or so it seems, are any practitioners of: Santeria; Voodoo;
Astara; Luciferianism; Wicca.
Now, admittedly, there could be problems with communing with some of
these folks. The PETA people would be all over you if you allow a Santeria
priest to kill a chicken and offer its blood to orisha. And the Church of Satan
is backslidden and not as devout as it used to be. A December 2007
Associated Press story reported how a teenager had sent an e-mail to
administrators of
the "Church" stating he wanted to "kill in the name of our unholy lord Satan."
Instead of commending this bloodthirsty young lad, the Satan people reported
the message to the FBI, which then informed local police who arrested the
teenager!
And what would indicate a desire for real pluralism more than communing
with a Voodoo high priestess? I'm looking at a color photo of one such lady
who does her thing in Philadelphia. She's described as: "Visionary. Motivator.
Ethnologist. Religious leader. Choreographer. Dancer. Playwright. Teacher.
Mother." When she was in Haiti, she studied Loa rhythms, shantis (prayers)
and dance of Haitian Voodoo. She specializes in all aspects of the Voodoo
religion, from prayers to drums to divination to spiritual baths.
One Rev. Jim Burklo, ringmaster of the "Pluralism Sunday" Circus says:
"We do not claim that our religion is superior to all others. Instead, we
celebrate that we can grow closer to God and grow deeper in compassion,
and we can understand our own traditions better, through a deeper awareness
of the world's religions."
Well, Jim, I'm not sure what you mean by "our religion," because I'm not sure
what your "religion" is. As for "Pastor" Barbara Currie's belief that there are
ways to God other than the Lord Jesus Christ, I am dubious. And I am
dubious because the Son of God, Who is God the Son, says, rather explicitly,
that He is the only way to God the Father, that He is "the way, the truth and
the life" and that "no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6).
But, pluralistically speaking, what does He know? He's just God, and His is
just one "opinion," right?
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=63467
----------------------------------------------------
Related Reading:
The Frightening Future of Christianity - Where Is The Gospel?
Beware of Oprah Winfrey - The "New Age" Movement
From Worldnetdaily.com
Posted: May 06, 2008 , 1:00 am Eastern
By John Lofton
© 2008
Hey! It's coming up May 11. Mark your calendar; don't forget! Mother's
Day? Nope. It's "Pluralism Sunday"! The Center For Progressive Christianity
has announced that on May 11: "Christian churches around the world will
celebrate 'Pluralism Sunday' in worship – in recognition that other religions
may be as good for others as their faith is good for them. The worship
services will include speakers from other faiths, and music and liturgical
elements from other religions, honoring the religious diversity of the world."
For example: Epiphany Community Unitarian Universalist Church of Fenton,
Mich., has invited a Zen Buddhist "with a Christian background" to be the
preacher that day; the United Church of Christ in Hopkins, Minn., will do a
pulpit exchange with Bet Shalom Temple; and the Prince of Peace Church in
Anniston, Ala., will conduct a service that will include readings from the
Muslim and Buddhist traditions, and hopes to have a guest speaker from a
local mosque. Oh, and Barbara Currie, pastor of the Congregational Church in
Deering, N.H., will preach about "how Jesus is the church's gate to God, yet
there are other equally important and creditable gates to God for other people."
Well, nice try, folks. But, what's being announced here is so not truly
pluralistic. Your agenda is soooo timid, so orthodox, so cramped, so
predictable. I mean, if you believe something, have the courage of your
convictions! Go all the way! Think outside of outside the box, and go even
further!
For openers, I notice the only participants in "Pluralism Sunday" are human
beings. This is "pluralism"? I think not. No, this blatant act of discrimination
confining all activities to humans is specieism! There will be no real religious
"pluralism" until someone invites an animal or a plant to "speak" at a
"worship" service.
Now, I can hear some of you nattering nabobs of negativism saying, right
now, something like: "But, John, how would this work? Neither animals nor
plants can speak." My answer: I have no idea. But, I do know that what is
important is the journey toward trying to get animals and plants to speak.
Whether this is ever accomplished is utterly irrelevant. Rome was not
destroyed in a day! And as has been said: "Eleven a.m. on Sunday morning is
the most specieistic hour in America." So true. And this must end!
Another way "Pluralism Sunday" appears to be unforgivably un-pluralistic,
indeed anti-pluralistic: Among those mentioned as participating, I see no
Jehovah's Witnesses, Schwenkfelders, Rosicrucians, Theosophists, Mormons,
Hindus, Sikhs, Rastafarians, Baha'is, Scientologists, Taoists, Native
Americans, Amish, Hutterites, Secular Humanists, Zoroastrians, members
(in good standing, of course) of the Church of Satan, former members of
the Kerista Commune, present members of the Lemurian Fellowship. And,
shunned so far, or so it seems, are any practitioners of: Santeria; Voodoo;
Astara; Luciferianism; Wicca.
Now, admittedly, there could be problems with communing with some of
these folks. The PETA people would be all over you if you allow a Santeria
priest to kill a chicken and offer its blood to orisha. And the Church of Satan
is backslidden and not as devout as it used to be. A December 2007
Associated Press story reported how a teenager had sent an e-mail to
administrators of
the "Church" stating he wanted to "kill in the name of our unholy lord Satan."
Instead of commending this bloodthirsty young lad, the Satan people reported
the message to the FBI, which then informed local police who arrested the
teenager!
And what would indicate a desire for real pluralism more than communing
with a Voodoo high priestess? I'm looking at a color photo of one such lady
who does her thing in Philadelphia. She's described as: "Visionary. Motivator.
Ethnologist. Religious leader. Choreographer. Dancer. Playwright. Teacher.
Mother." When she was in Haiti, she studied Loa rhythms, shantis (prayers)
and dance of Haitian Voodoo. She specializes in all aspects of the Voodoo
religion, from prayers to drums to divination to spiritual baths.
One Rev. Jim Burklo, ringmaster of the "Pluralism Sunday" Circus says:
"We do not claim that our religion is superior to all others. Instead, we
celebrate that we can grow closer to God and grow deeper in compassion,
and we can understand our own traditions better, through a deeper awareness
of the world's religions."
Well, Jim, I'm not sure what you mean by "our religion," because I'm not sure
what your "religion" is. As for "Pastor" Barbara Currie's belief that there are
ways to God other than the Lord Jesus Christ, I am dubious. And I am
dubious because the Son of God, Who is God the Son, says, rather explicitly,
that He is the only way to God the Father, that He is "the way, the truth and
the life" and that "no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6).
But, pluralistically speaking, what does He know? He's just God, and His is
just one "opinion," right?
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=63467
----------------------------------------------------
Related Reading:
The Frightening Future of Christianity - Where Is The Gospel?
Beware of Oprah Winfrey - The "New Age" Movement
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