W. SCOTT LAMB: 5 religion news stories worth your time on Wednesday

By W. Scott Lamb - Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Today is the 301st day of 2015. There are 64 days left in the year.

On this day in 1965, Pope Paul VI issued a Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions which, among other things, absolved Jews of collective guilt for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

And so, (1) Pope Urges Religious Collaboration in Marking Anniversary (AP)

(2) Is there hope for PC(USA) evangelicals today? A personal reflection on the state of evangelicalism in the denomination and what lies ahead, by Jodi Craiglow (Presbyterianmission.org)

To put it mildly, it’s not easy being a PC(USA) evangelical these days. Fellow evangelicals from other traditions take a look at our denominational passport and shoot us sideways glances. Non-evangelicals inside our denomination either don’t trust us or don’t know what to do with us. Our numbers are dwindling, and in this era of social polarization and political feuding, we tend to be known predominantly by our stereotypes. (I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t wish the phrase ‘gun-toting, gay-hating Bible-basher’ on anybody.)

(3) Kansas City’s Missionary in the Big Leagues ***about the Christian parents of Kansas City Royals’ star Ben Zobrist.

Also, Royals’ Ben Zobrist: a ’missionary’ to teammates (Baptist Press)

(4) Preaching That Unleashes the Bible’s Power, by Tim Keller

And likewise, (5) The Problem With Vatican II Preaching, by Bishop Barron

“I studied the literary works of Dante, Gerard Manley Hopkins, and G.K. Chesterton, and I also investigated in detail the sermons of many of the greatest masters: Origen, Augustine, Chrysostom, Bernard, Aquinas, Newman, and Knox, among others. What struck me with particular power, and caused me to re-think things rather thoroughly was this: none of these figures — from the late 2nd century to the 20th century — whose sermons we specially revere and hold up for imitation, preached the way I was taught to preach.

I came of age and went through my theological and pastoral formation in the years immediately following the Second Vatican Council. The watchwords of the time were “relevance” and “experience.” …It’s simply the case that none of the master preachers that Catholicism reverences actually preached in that way.

…How did they preach? They took their listeners/readers on a careful tour of the densely-textured world of the Bible.

…Now I don’t entirely subscribe to the sixteenth century Protestant idea of what the Gospel is, but I love the instinct behind that discipline. We shouldn’t allow preachers to run away from the density, complexity, and sheer weirdness of the Bible. We should lock them into their pulpits until they display the world of the Scriptures!

(bonus) Who Won the Synod? - Ross Douthat (New York Times)

Also, (13) Thoughts on Heresy: A response to the response to Douthat (America) ***If you recall from yesterday, Douthat had things to say about his Roman Catholic church’s latest moves. He then was denounced by some American bishops. So, here is a response to that response: “Let us avoid clericalism in all its forms, including casting those without PhDs into the outer darkness.” In other words, the writer says Douthat has the right to critique his church even though he doesn’t have academic training in theology. Good!