Don't repeat wrong 'facts'

We may fall into a trap of "assuming" that what someone claims is factual really is a fact -- that is, completely true. That's how we get led astray and repeat bad information.

Below are a few "facts" that many believe to be true yet are not (I've repeated a few of these errors myself). These come from an article at Ministry Matters.

• Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute
• John Wesley never said, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can.”
• John Wesley never said, “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity."
• Gehenna was not a garbage dump.

So what can we do? Don't automatically "assume" that because a person you like or trust makes a claim that it's really true. Be willing to check out "facts" before you repeat them.

With another election season coming up this fall, that trait will stand you in good stead. It seems that many politicians hope we will just trust what they claim and repeat it as fact. The result can be voting against our own best interests. Check out the facts from reliable sources. Repeat only truths.

• "Checking our Facts" at Ministry Matters by Josh Tinley.

Religion led to cities?

Did the urge to worship together spark civilization? The June 2001 National Geographic magazine has an interesting article on "The Birth of Religion".

The author says we used to think that increased agriculture moved humans from a nomadic society to one using cities. An archaeological dig in Turkey makes those assumptions suspect, though.

The dig's implications lead him to conclude that wonder at the changes in the natural world led to religion. The earth's warming after the last ice age led to this wonder. The author suggests that gathering together for worship created a need for food. This in turn led to increased farming and cities.

• The Birth of Religion article (National Geographic)

Quote of note

“When we advertise the gospel in terms of the world’s values, we lie to people. We lie to them, because this is a new life. It involves following Jesus. It involves the Cross. It involves death, . . . We give up our lives.”

-- Eugene Peterson, author of The Message, expressing concern about using the language of our culture to interpret the Gospel.

Babies born helpful

Are we born helpful by nature? Could altruism bebuilt into our genes? Why do we seem to lose that focus as we age?

Digging through some old web links I had collected, I came across one to an article about research indicating that babies are naturally helpful.

Children can also be selfish, but Dr. Michael Tomasello says that we can encourage the almost reflexive behavior to help others. How? By inductive parenting -- telling children about the effect of their actions on others and stressing the logic of cooperating with others.

Don't you wish that more politicians had received good inductive parenting?

• "We may be born with an urge to help", NY Times article
• "Why We Cooperate" book synopsis, MIT Press

Constitution writers were Christians

An interesting factoid, derived from a posting by Bill Federer in "The Moral LIberal" blog. The religious composition of the 55 writers of the U.S. Constitution was:

• 26 Episcopalians
• 11 Presbyterians
• 7 Congregationalists
• 2 Lutherans
• 2 Dutch Reformed Christians
• 2 Methodists
• 2 Quakers
• 2 Roman Catholics
• 1 Deist Christian – Dr. Franklin, who called for prayer during the Constitutional Convention, June 28, 1787.

Bad religion causes lost faith

Up to his death Darwin insisted that the Christian faith and evolution were compatible. It was bad religion that caused Darwin to lose his faith says Rev. Martin Thielen, a United Methodist writing in The Tennessean newspaper.

And, says Thielen, there's a lot of bad religion causing people today to lose their faith.

"... closed-minded religion, arrogant religion, intolerant religion and judgmental religion. You can add to that list religion that tells women they are inferior to men and religion that says science is the enemy of faith."

• Read the full article

Violence grows in Sudan

Samaritan's Purse reports that fighting has increased along the border of North and South Sudan. This is happening just before the July 9th date for independence of South Sudan. Meanwhile, the people living in the Nuba mountains are caught in the crossfire.

Among targets in the attacks were two churches in the south -- ones that Samaritan's Purse had built. A church partner has said,

"...we have lost everything of the church. The house where my staff lives was looted, and the offices were burned. Many people fled from town, but some stayed. There is no food or water now for them. There are only soldiers all over the streets. We need prayers and support.

Samaritan's Purse President Franklin Graham urges Christians to pry for our brothers and sisters in Sudan.

• More details

Black history is American History

The status of Black Americans has improved over the years, but prejudice against them in both word and deed is still around -- just more hidden. An article at the Black Voices web site states that Black History Month is still relevant, but then adds "for now".  There is disappointment yet hope in that statement.

The article mentions the comment of Rochelle Riley, a columnist for the Detroit Free Press, "Having a special time to celebrate the contributions of African Americans to American history is wonderful, but when it is used as a substitute for teaching black history to all students all year round, we are stunting the educational growth of students of all colors and backgrounds."

Black History is an integral part of American History. But until history books and teachers include Black Americans in schools, we need Black History Month to help remind more people about the wonderful contributions of Black americans.

• Black History Still Relevant -- for Now
• Black religious leaders
• Black leaders in sacred music

Cooking based on the Bible

Cooking based on Bible foods and passages can "get you into" Bible stories and be fun at the same time. Try it out.

• Cooking with the Bible

Is the ministry a vocation?

Most of us think of a "vocation" meaning a job, or at least a field of interest. An age-old complaint from church members is that their pastor treats the ministry as a job, not a calling. But the word "vocation" comes from the Latin verb "vocare", meaning "to call out".

How ironic! Not only that, but we tend to view "vocational schools" as ones not leading to a profession. A job hopefully, but not a profession. Professionals go to college, right?

We'd do well to remember the Latin root and realize that the "vocation" or "job" of the ministry is indeed a calling. On the other hand, we do expect ministers to do their best to see beyond the daily grind and to give their vocation a more spiritual emphasis than we congregatiuon members do. It's not fair, perhaps, but we do seem to expect that. You might say that we expect members of the clergy to make us think that their vocation is not a job. What?

Vocation -- job -- calling -- profession.  It's all quite confusing once we stir the colloquial pot, mix up their use, and ignore their root meaning.