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In this section we publish stories and features of longer-lasting interest than News items.
The Magazine is split into a number of separate pages to speed downloading.
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A Summary History of the Development of the Christian Church
Ieuan Johnston (Abstracted from Ieuan's U3A course on the 'History of Religion') (First published in The Trinity 'Messenger' magazine)

Part 1: The Church in 150 AD	Part 2: The Crusades

The Christian Church in about 150 AD
Introduction The Biblical story of the growth of Christianity takes us as far as the end of the first century. What happened for the next hundred years is not easy to determine. Very little written material from that period has survived. The best source we have for that period is a book written in the fourth century by Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea called simply 'A History of the Church'. In the Second Century From what we are able to know about that period it is clear that Christian groups were present in many places. It is also clear that there was a great variety of beliefs and practices in these Christian groups.		Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea
Constantine: from a mosaic in Agia Sophia, Istanbul	There was no central authority. Rome and the bishop of Rome did not become the centre of authority until after Emperor Constantine entered Rome with a cross on his shield in 412. Before Constantine's intervention, the Roman church claimed that the first bishop of Rome had been consecrated by Peter and the second consecrated by someone who had also been consecrated by someone who had been consecrated by Peter or the first bishop. So in this way all Roman Catholic ordinations are traced back to Peter. Ordinations during the Reformation are said to have broken this line of succession and so in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church the ordination of all non-Catholic priests and ministers is invalid.
The Search for Unity — The Canon Despite the lack of an authority figure there was a yearning for unity in many places. One of the most important things that they did to achieve that unity still affects us today. They fixed the canon! No, they didn't repair a gun nor did they nobble a high ranking clergyman! What they did was to decide on the documents that should be included in the Bible, particularly the New Testament. This is referred to as the canon because it is the Greek word for measuring rod. It carries the meaning of the best in a class of objects. So the documents they collected were thought of as the best available. It wasn't a rapid process. It started in about 150 but wasn't finalised until about 375. But, it was worth the effort because they came up with a startling collection of an amazing variety of documents which do not speak with one voice.
Variety in the New Testament Take, for instance the four gospels. There is a recognisable likeness, yet a noticeable difference of emphasis, between Matthew, Mark and Luke. John, however, is nothing like the other three. In the first three Jesus makes much use of parables. In John there are no parables and instead Jesus makes long speeches. John gives us the five 'I am' sayings but they do not appear in the other three.
Then what about Hebrews? It claims that Jesus is a priest of the same order as Melchizedek (a shadowy Old Testament figure) and Jesus is the perfect sacrifice. It is this offering of the perfect sacrifice by the perfect priest that secures our salvation. This is quite different to Paul‟s justification by faith that we find in Romans. It is poles apart from the down to earth letter of James. And how the book of Revelation got in and what it has to offer mystify most people. The agreement on the canon was the closest that Christians have ever come to agreeing on something so fundamental and important. Those who achieved the final agreement must have realised that their finished product was a very mixed bag with a fair share of contradictions. They therefore revealed that rare quality of being able to live with difference.
Martin Luther	Challenge There is a great challenge here. One of Martin Luther's battle cries was 'by scripture alone'. Yet in practice he relied very heavily on Romans, totally ignored Hebrews and had a very low opinion of James. In one sense Luther was right, doctrine must be firmly based on scripture. However, this will not lead to uniformity but to a range of acceptable ways of describing our faith. This is what the compilers of the canon would have expected from the 'best in their class'. They would then say 'discuss your ideas respectfully that you might learn from each other and continue to love each other just as I have loved you’. Ieuan Johnston
		more in the series

The Crusades — A Brief Glance
Many of us have vivid recollections from history lessons in our youth about the glorious Crusades. Here, Ieuan invites us to consider a different perspective.
This article was written shortly before a television series on the Crusades was broadcast. If things go smoothly it should help to underline some of the points made in the series. On the other hand, I hope the programmes reveal no glaring errors in this article! Ieuan Background For many people the Crusades were a glorious element of our past when romantic, chivalrous knights, at great cost to themselves, freed Jerusalem from the awful grip of the terrible infidel, with Richard the Lionheart being admired by many as the model crusader. The reality, however, is quite different. For many years Christians did not show a particular interest in visiting Jerusalem or Palestine. It was in the 5th century that Helena, the mother of Constantine, the first 'Christian' emperor, made 'the Holy Land' a place of pilgrimage. The number of pilgrims was never very great. Mass travel just wasn't an option at that time.
After a year's siege Jerusalem fell to Muslim forces in 638. Their leader entered in deliberate humility because the city had played a crucial part in Mohammed's life. The Muslim hierarchy was generally sympathetic to those Christian pilgrims who did want to visit the city and other sites in Palestine and rarely put any stumbling blocks in their way. This situation carried on without much change for hundreds of years.		Ancient Jerusalem
Pope Urban II	The First Crusade Then, during the eleventh century, Pope Urban II announced that the Muslim presence was intolerable and that they should be expelled from the city of Jerusalem and the surrounding countryside. This would allow the city and the land to come under the Pope's control. There was no justification for this move. The actual reason for Urban setting the Crusades in motion was that it would give him an advantage in his power struggle with the Holy Roman
Emperor. It was also a good way of focusing all the testosterone-fuelled energy of the knights, who were forever fighting unofficial minor wars. To drum up sufficient support for the Crusade, the Pope promised that "Whoever for devotion alone, not to gain honour or money, goes to Jerusalem to liberate the Church of God, can substitute this journey for all penance". In other words, all your confessed sin would be forgiven. Pope Urban was, in effect, offering a place in heaven for everyone who took part religiously in the crusade. This is virtually the same promise as that which is made to today's suicide bombers!
The Pope was hoping that many knights would join the cause, bringing their 'private armies' along with them. The call went deeper than anticipated. A charismatic peasant preacher, Peter the Hermit, gathered a large following of peasants who did not have the discipline to match their fervour. They set out before the official start of the Crusade. For some reason they went via Germany. The first victims of the Crusade were German Jews attacked by Peter‟s Crusaders. The rabble staggered on across Europe leaving a trail of destruction behind them. Some of them managed to get as far as Asia Minor where they were eventually out-manoeuvred and slaughtered. The 'official' Crusade set off as planned in August 1096 and after a bloody but brilliant campaign captured Jerusalem in 1099. They captured a number of other cities in the Middle East and set up a small Latin kingdom ruled by European noblemen.		Crusaders' Slaughtering of the Innocents
That sounds innocent enough but hides the slaughter and dishonour that marked their progress. On many occasions they killed Muslims who had been given parole, not just one or two but hundreds and sometimes thousands. When they took Jerusalem they killed every inhabitant except for a small group whose parole was surprisingly honoured. It took them almost a week to complete the slaughter! The kingdom they had set up was a long way from its supply base and difficult to sustain. It was captured again by Saladin in 1185. In stark contrast his troops killed no one after the cease-fire!!
King Richard the Lionheart	Richard the Lionheart A number of other Crusades were mounted to try to recapture Jerusalem. One was led by Richard who did his fair share of cruel things. On one occasion he slaughtered thousands of prisoners because he didn't want to feed and guard them. Yet he could also be very sensible and thoughtful. When he had Jerusalem at his mercy he knew he could capture it but not hold it. So he wisely and humanely decided to withdraw to prevent the city and its inhabitants suffering unnecessarily.	Route of King Richard through the Holy Land
Assessment The cruelty of the Crusaders was shaming to a religion which was supposed to be about following the teaching and example of Jesus. The whole concept of Christians fighting for territory is in direct opposition to the teaching - 'love your enemies and pray for your persecutors'. Such acts were only made desirable by the gaining of political power and only made possible by sophisticated arguments such as Augustine's 'Just War' theory. Both took Christians away from their roots in Jesus. Ieuan Johnston
Footnote: In this sense 'parole' means safe passage granted to those who surrendered
		more in the series

Methodist minister pioneers chaplaincy on commercial radio

The Rev. Tony Miles, Methodist minister and broadcaster, has been pioneering a chaplaincy role within commercial radio. Prior to that, he presented a Saturday morning breakfast show for Premier Christian radio. He aims to show that the Christian faith is relevant in a pop culture.

He is the first ecumenical radio chaplain working across a complete region (London and Essex) and is engaging with an industry where the church has little involvement or presence.

His strategy is to build working relationships with newsrooms through informal networking. He visits stations by appointment, and aims to become a recognised Christian presence in the communications industry.

"At the moment it is extremely difficult to communicate the Christian message through commercial radio. These listeners don’t expect to hear Christian comment, but we must ‘keep the rumour of God alive’ ", he said.

Mobile Phone-call Jammer

At the most solemn moment of a funeral service, someone will so often add their special contribution: a 'musical' ring tone – set at an outdoor volume level of course. But now salvation dawns: a signal jammer, developed by Israeli electronic-warfare experts, that blocks all calls round a building.

The device is on trial in Monterey, Mexico. "Before we had the system, it was very uncomfortable to have to listen to calls during the celebration of mass.

The 'God Pod'

Megavoice – audio playback instead of reading books

At a time when half the world’s population do not read, Megavoice is a new solar-powered tool to communicate to people in the developing world.

Nicknamed the ‘GodPod’, Megavoice Ambassador can store and play back the whole Bible in spoken form. Applications are virtually unlimited: ranging from spreading words of hope, help or comfort; to discreet information about AIDS or critical health messages.

[From World-Vision]

Now it's 95 per cent quiet" said Bulmaro Carranza, from the Sacred Heart Church.

"We are getting calls from all over the world to see how it can be installed in other churches – but only when the services are over!"

[From The Ship of Fools]

Children of Romania

Two members of Trinity church, Douglas and Hilary Parker, spoke of their visits to a children’s orphanage in Romania. It was a moving account of the effects on people’s lives, living at a level of poverty we would not conceive of in Britain.

Douglas and Hilary are returned to Romania in time for Christmas, with over £3,000 to support the orphanage. As Douglas said, it’s not just the money and the gifts that are welcomed it’s the friendship.

“I hope to show in imaginative ways that the Christian faith is relevant in a pop culture. My wish is not to ‘Bible bash’ or preach. It’s much more about showing people that we care, are interested in them, and have a relevant message.”

[from methodist.org.uk]

Child Poverty
in the UK

two children 'in poverty'

[See World Vision]

When The Labour Party came to power in Britain in 1996/7, around one-third of children were assessed to be poor.

More than seven years later, the figures showed that the UK had improved. It had become 'only' the fifth worst in the EU, compared to 1998 when it had the worst child poverty in the EU.

The Government's report, 'Breaking the Cycle and Opportunity for All', said it was on track to reduce child poverty by a quarter in the next year, with 600,000 fewer youngsters living in relative income poverty since 1997 (before housing costs).

A 'Remembrance Exhibition' raised some money for this project and a cheque was presented to Douglas and Hilary for £165. A retiring collection at Trinity Church in November boosted this to approximately £450: a practical demonstration of the hope Jesus brings into people’s lives.

Why is Christmas on 25th December?

[from www.christmas.com]

Whether Jesus was really born on December 25th, no one can say for certain. It was chosen because it was already a holiday in ancient times: a pagan feast. Around the third century AD there was an attempt to fix the day of His birth by tying it to a festival of the Nativity, observed in Rome in the time of Bishop Telesphorus (AD 127 - 139).

It was believed that the Nativity took place on the 25th day of the month, but just which month was uncertain. During the time of Clement of Alexandria (before AD 220), five dates in three different months of the Egyptian year were said to be the Nativity. One of those corresponds to the December 25th date.

New Religious Education framework

The Church has rarely had a more direct invitation from Government to play a major part in developing sustainable inclusive communities than was received from Secretary of State for Education and Skills Charles Clarke with the first national framework for religious education (RE), according to Connexional education officer Kathleen Wood.

Miss Wood seized on Mr Clarke's assertion at the launching of the framework that "the future success of this country is dependent on religious education". Faith groups were urged to develop resources for classroom use, to support the work of their local Standing Advisory Committees for Religious Education (SACREs), to build partnerships with local schools and to commit themselves to the encouragement of teacher recruitment for this "front line subject".

[Methodist Recorder]

Violence 'in the Name of God'?

[From New Internationalist]

Some argue that faith is rarely the cause of violence. What religion does is absorb the violence of the society in which it finds itself.

The Qur'an, for example, reflects the brutal tribal warfare that afflicted Arabia in the early 7th Century. Jewish settlers in the occupied territories of Palestine can find plenty of textual authority to kill all non Jewish occupants of the Holy Land. Christians have no problem using their 'violent God' traditions to justify going to war, killing Jews and persecuting gay people.

The Christian right-wing in the USA has absorbed the violence in American society: they oppose the reform of gun laws and support the death penalty. They seem to base their xenophobic and aggressive theology on the book of Revelation whilst keeping very quiet about the Sermon on the Mount.

However, what looks like 'religious' violence around the world is very often about something else. Current Islamic fundamentalism seems in part to be a rejection of modernity and economic globalisation. It is also a reaction to the political arrangements in the Middle East and the presence of US troops located there to secure their access to oil. And it is a protest against corrupt, Westernised elites in their countries and a lack of democracy. Despite its religious trappings, the Israel-Palestine conflict is really a conventional struggle about land and nationalism.

Researchers from Bradford University in the UK have done an audit of 'war and religion'. They have concluded that there have been few 'genuinely religious wars in the last 100 years'. They give as an example the Hindu-Muslim riots in Gujarat in 2002 which are judged to have been orchestrated by the then Chief Minister (a Hindu) to boost his prospects in the state elections.

Israelis and Palestinians work together for peace

Judging by much news reporting in the UK you might think that only religious fundamentalists call the shots in Israel and that Palestinians all support suicide bombing.

Yet, almost hidden from our view, Israeli and Palestinian peacemakers are working together, persuading, publicising, demonstrating. The Quakers support and facilitate such initiatives.

***********************

Challenge is a Jerusalem based magazine covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict plus other Middle Eastern affairs. It provides an Israeli perspective refreshingly different from that of the religious fundamentalists in Israel and elsewhere.

A group of Orthodox, Conservative and Reformed rabbis have helped Palestinian farmers on the West Bank bring in their olive harvest.

They travelled to the village of Sinjil, between Ramallah and Nablus, after they learnt that the impoverished Palestinians had been forced out of their groves by armed settlers who said they were a security risk.

Arik Ascherman, Chair of Rabbis for Human Rights, thought their action was the 'just' thing to do. He said: ‘If we both continue to teach hatred there is no incentive to move forward.’

Yehoshua Engelman, a London-born Orthodox rabbi who grew up in Jerusalem, said: ‘I hate the idea of the Torah being connected to cruelty, racism and the profanation of God's name.’

[World Vision
Source: Jewish Chronicle]


The Shape Of Things To Come All the churches in Congleton Circuit have been discussing some questions from a paper produced by the Circuit Leadership Team called 'The Shape Of Things To Come'. There are numerous challenges we face, from the shortage of ministers and local preachers to smaller and sometimes older congregations. The challenge has been to examine our strengths and weaknesses and take some steps of faith. In a few years time, it is unlikely that the shape of the Circuit will be the same as it is now. Some churches may come together and others may pursue closer ecumenical links and partnerships. A number of positive developments have already arisen from these discussions and we trust and pray that through it all we shall discover the prompting and direction of The Holy Spirit. Philip Berry	Saving the rural church
	Religious leaders and politicians have come together to support ‘Presence’, a new handbook that will shape the way the Methodist Church will work over the next 10 years.
	‘Presence’ was launched at Methodist Conference , to outline how an effective Christian presence can be sustained and promoted in rural areas. Unless things change quickly, there are going to be huge areas of rural Britain without any effective Christian presence. The Revd David Emison, Chair of the Cumbria District of The Methodist Church and editor of ‘Presence’, said “New patterns of worship will be encouraged. There is a growing demand for simple rituals to help people express the sorrows and joys of human experience. An effective Christian presence is not necessarily building-centred or Sunday focused. The Government is increasingly recognising that faith communities have a role in creating ‘cohesive communities’ in which no one is excluded. The Methodist Church is equipping its churches and its members to serve and support rural communities through times of change and uncertainty.” Stories abound where Christians in rural areas have already taken these messages on board, for example West Bradford – When the village Post Office closed the Methodist Church offered to make available the vestry to be used instead. The church now serves coffee to post office customers. Beadlam/Nawton (North Yorkshire) – The closure and sale of the Methodist Church Hall enabled the refurbishment of the Parish Church as a single centre of Christian worship in the village. ‘Presence’ recognises that an effective Christian presence in rural areas will always be ecumenical. The Anglican-Methodist covenant provides a new and exciting context for ministry in rural areas. Rev Ken Howcroft, Team Leader of 'Formation in Ministry', said “We need new initiatives to fire our imagination, channel our commitment and release new energy. Greater flexibility is called for. An effective Christian presence in rural areas will be essentially local and lay led." [from www.methodist.org.uk]

Magazine : Page 1

In the Magazine we publish stories and features of longer-lasting interest than News items.
The Magazine is split into a number of separate pages to speed downloading.
For a list of the features and articles on each page, see the Magazine Index