“Islamophobia” and The Blame Game
In any conflict, warfare happens on multiple fronts and includes military, economic, diplomatic and information actions. Too much attention is given to the military effort. Real action takes place in the Information campaign and we have to learn to recognize when we are being challenged in this area. Another shot just went across our bow when the meeting of Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) issued their report about “Islamophobia” and the growing threat against Muslims.
The OIC is comprised of 57 countries and one of their goals is improve the plight of the Muslim peoples and empower them.
One of the first things that we must realize in the West, is that we are at war with individuals, groups and countries that want to see our way of life disappear. Unfortunately, we have failed to realize the threat due to our internal political fighting, the lure of the dollar, our ignorance on the nature of the threat and the culpability of our media. Meanwhile, the terrorists gathers strength in our divide, exploits our open societies, mires our legal systems with cries of discrimination and bigotry, and offers religious “talking heads” who talk about moderation in western media outlets while publishing books and articles in their native language calling for our destruction and annihilation.
How and Where to Find Volunteers for Your Next Fundraising Event
Volunteers. They are probably one of the most valuable assets your nonprofit organization has. And, most nonprofit organizations, schools, clubs, churches, etc., need all the volunteer help they can get. When you are planning a fundraising event, one of the major considerations to take into account is whether or not you will have enough volunteers to carry it out.
Some types of fundraisers require a large number of people. What if you have a really great idea for a fundraiser and don’t have enough people in your organization to help with it? For example, if you wanted to have a walk-a-thon, according to the Association of Fund-Raising Distributors & Suppliers you need twenty-two volunteers. Or, maybe you need volunteers with a specific expertise to run your fundraiser.
Here are some ways to recruit short-term volunteers to help with fundraisers:
No tags for this post.Turning Points in Church History – Council of Jerusalem to Edinburgh
THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM
This meeting of apostles and presbysters described in Acts 15:4-9 was convoked to address the relationship of Jews and Gentiles in the church. Jewish Christians believed that Gentile believers had to submit to the law as well as their faith in Jesus. Paul, Barnabas, and others were sent to present the case. Paul, aware of the gravity of the crisis, took Titus, a native Greek, as a living specimen of what the Spirit of God could accomplish without circumcision. The decision of the great council was significant (Acts 15:28-29). It decided that the law, which had been impossible for Jews, should not be required of Gentiles. They need not be circumcised before eventually becoming a Christian. The principal at stake was incarnation, translating the Gospel in the mindset of the people. An example in Church history in which this principle was ignored was the spread of Christianity by the British in my country, Sierra Leone. The people resented the activities of the missionaries who were identified as part of the colonial government. The results were catastrophic. In the 1898 rebellion, white missionaries, African males (who wore trousers) and women (who wore skirts) were brutally murdered. Places of worship were desecrated. Like the Crusades, this rebellion furnishes the perfect reminder that the church can win by the message of peace and not by force. This principle was however adopted by Patrick, the Englishman captured and sold into slavery in Ireland who escaped and eventually became priest. It had tremendous impact. In the 5th century, he converted the Irish to the faith they had so freely defended throughout the centuries. In sympathy with the realities of Irish life, he was able to bring Ireland into closer relations with the rest of the western church. He planted over two hundred congregations and baptized over one hundred thousand converts.
THE COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON (451)
If the fathers of the 4th century quarreled over the relations between God the Father and God the Son, those of the 5th century faced the problem of defining the relationship of the two natures, the human and the divine within God the Son, Jesus Christ. The Christological controversy stemmed from the rival doctrines of Apollinaris (Word-Flesh) and Theodore of Mopsuestia (Word-Man), representatives of the rival schools of Alexandria and Antioch respectively. Word-Flesh Christology generally held that the divine and human natures were united indistinguishably. This single divine nature (extreme Monophysitism) after the Incarnation, was strongly supported by Eutcyches. Word-Flesh Christology was not in consonance with Word-Man Christology since the latter taught the two natures co-existed separately in Christ. Cyril of Antioch condemned the extreme Antiochene Christology taught by Nestorius viewing the man Jesus an independent person beside the Divine Word. Pope Leo”s Tome (response to Flavian, the archbishop of Constantinople in 449) addressed these opposing perspectives by avoiding their extremities as reflected in the teachings of Eutyches and Nestorius. He noted that Christ was fully human and fully divine, two natures united in one person. Mary conceived and gave birth to Him without the loss of her virginity. The Tome played a very significant role at the Council of Chalcedon (451) which was convoked to resolve this doctrinal controversy. Leo”s view was accepted as the orthodox doctrine of the church. His statement of the place of the bishop of Rome in the church established doctrinal basis for the papacy. Although he was not pleased with Canon 28 which dignified Constantinople, his view that Jesus was a single person with two natures has remained the standard formulation of the doctrine of Christ in most branches of Christianity.