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Idiot Fox News Host Can’t Understand Separation of Church and State


This idiot host completely fails to understand the point made by this articulate and intelligent atheist. Plus, the interview is followed by some sweet propaganda by people who want to use the state to further their religion.

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The Church Chairs Evolution

Church chairs are one of the most important pieces in Church furniture. Today, you will find a variety of designs for a church chair although this was not really the case in the 17th century. Most of the churches as well as cathedrals prior to 1860 had chapel chairs or church pews in the apse. The main reason was that most of the churches during that era were in a run down or dilapidated state. Churches then had no money or budgets that could help them to enable repairs. Another reason was that the liturgy discouraged participation of congregations and their ideology was that more people can accommodated when standing instead of sitting.

Between the 17th century and the 19th Century, parish churches having church chairs and pews were subjected to pew rents, which had to be paid by the occupants. The rent was charged as a tax for getting the privilege of being able to sit on a church chair situated near the main aisle. Those who were unable to afford the pew charges had to make do by standing on the side aisles and galleries.

It was around the 1870’s when changes started creeping in and social barriers started to disappear. Churches started encouraging greater participation by the congregations and this meant there was a higher requirement for seating arrangements and church furniture. Most of the chapel or church chairs were identical in shape and size. This also meant that the wood used for making the church chairs and stacking chairs had to be homogeneous throughout. As a result, almost 100 workers were involved in the production of the church chair and church pews.

One of the most important aspects was that the timber needed to match. Most of the churches during that era bought Beech, Elm, Oak and sometimes even American ash from specialized brokers for chair production. When the timber arrived at the workshop, it was kept in a hot-room so that the moisture content could be reduced by 10%. After the reduction in moisture content, the timber was planed and the various defects were taken out. The remaining timber was cut to specification and made ready for the finishing touches. This is how church chairs were manufactured couple of centuries back.

After machining the blanks or post hand turning, the church furniture was transferred to the assembly area and here the church chairs were assembled by hand-pressing or by using jigs. The joints in church pews, stack chairs and other church furniture were glued using urea formaldehyde glue. This glue was considered special as it created the perfect bond and increased the life of the furniture.

The struts of the church chairs were angled to provide strength to the struts. The legs of the chairs were also braced with glue to counteract some of the high-pressure that got created when people leaned back on the chairs. The angle or the curve was cut by a band saw or even by hand. On the other hand, an acid catalyst lacquer is used in the modern church chairs as finish. It is also considered as one of the hardest wearing finish as of date. In the earlier times, the church chairs were mostly oiled or waxed.

One of the most popular churches, the Basilica in Rome has a huge amount of space that can hold at least 90,000 people but there are not enough church chairs to accommodate everyone. When the Pope presides over for ceremonies, then only 11,500 people can be seated. The 11,500 church chairs have been placed strategically and directly in the view of the central altar.

In the early times, the church chair and church pews were being made by nomadic turners who were also known as ‘bodgers’. The bodgers lived mostly in the village around High Wycombe. Historically speaking, the skilled labor required for making the church chair was acquired from industries handling production of spoons, bowls, and variety items. The same labor was applied for developing chairs for the church and this led to the formation of a group of skilled laborers who became part time turners.

The best quality church pews and chairs were being made in England at one point in time. In 1939, around 10,000 church furniture workers were employed with different manufacturers but by 1960 the number greatly reduced to 8000. Due to technological involvements a lot has changed in terms of the manufacturing of chairs and furniture for the church. Today, you can even buy church pews or stacking chairs over the internet, a market that no one ever thought could exist even in the early 20th century.

Graciella Chairman is a Church chairs designer based in Muenster Texas dedicated to providing churches, sanctuaries and temples with quality Church Chairs.

Which Church?

Since Jesus established his church, and the New Testament describes his church, do you think it might be a good idea to follow the biblical example: in church organization? in doctrine? in church worship? Here’s what Scriptures say about the church.

1. New Testament authorizes three positions in Christ’s church:

Elders

Elders (also called presbyters, bishops, overseers, pastors, or shepherds, without distinction of office or rank) were men (always men) chosen from the members to oversee and set an example for the congregation. Also they are to encourage the congregation with sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. (1 Peter 5:1-4) (1 Titus 1:9) For the requirements for this position see: 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9.

Deacons

Deacons were men chosen to serve the congregation (overlook the daily distribution of food or wait on tables.) (Acts 6:1-7) For requirements for both the deacon and his wife, see: 1 Timothy 3:8-13. Paul also mentions deacons in his address to the church at Philippi. (Philippians 1:1) At least two men, Stephen and Philip, chosen as deacons in the Jerusalem church also preached or evangelized.

Evangelists

Evangelists (preachers, ministers) are preachers of the Gospel. (Ephesians 4:11) (1 Timothy 4:13-16) (2 Timothy 4:1-5)

Those three positions were the only ones created for Christ’s church. Notice that no singular person was placed in charge of any congregation. And there was no higher organization than the local congregation. Synods, Councils, Conventions, Popes, Ecclesiastical Legislative Bodies, Associations or Conferences with delegates from different congregations are nowhere to be found in the Bible. They didn’t exist in the church you read about in the New Testament.

2. Christ instituted two church sacraments:

Baptism

Jesus ordered his apostles to make disciples in every nation “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19)

Jesus says baptism is essential for salvation. (Mark 16:16) And Peter says it is required for the forgiveness of sins. (Acts 2:38)

Who was baptized? Simon the sorcerer (Acts 8:13), the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:38), Saul, who was later called Paul (Acts 9:18), Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth (Acts 16:14-15), the Philippian jailer (Acts 16:33), Crispus, the synagogue ruler (Acts 18:8) (1 Corinthians 1:14), twelve disciples at Ephesus (Acts 19:1-5), and men and women at city in Samaria. (Acts 8:5-12)

What did all of these people have in common? They were all believing adults. Were children also baptized? Some claim there were, and they cite these passages to support their position. Acts 16:15 states that “[Lydia] and members of her household were baptized.” Acts 16:33 reads: “[The jailer] and all of his family were baptized.” And Acts 18:8 says that Crispus and “his entire household” were baptized.

Do “members of her household,” “all of his family,” and “his entire household” imply that children and infants were also baptized? Notice that the jailer “and his whole family” had come to believe in God. (Acts 16:34) Similarly, Crispus “and his entire household believed in the Lord.” (Acts 18:8)

In both instances, all believed, and all were baptized. Clearly we are not speaking of infants or very small children in this context. Those who were baptized were mature enough to believe in Christ.

How were these believing “adults” baptized? Romans 6:3-4 speaks of baptism as a symbolic burial with Christ. And in Acts 8:38 Philip took the Ethiopian eunuch “down into the water” to baptize him. Baptism was and is emersion. Throughout the first century baptism and emersion were synonymous.

Lord’s Supper; The Eucharist; The Holy Communion

In Matthew we read: “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples saying, ‘Take and eat; this is my body.’

“Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.'” (Matthew 26:26-28)

In the Gospel according to John, the significance of this act becomes clear. Jesus: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” (John 6:51)

He repeated and emphasized his words: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:53-54)

Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, explained where this custom originated. He says: “The tradition which I handed on to you came from the Lord himself: that on the night of his arrest the Lord Jesus took bread and after giving thanks to God broke it and said: ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in memory of me.’

In the same way he took the cup after supper, and said: ‘This cup is the new covenant sealed by my blood. Whenever you drink it, do this in memory of me.’ For every time you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord, until he comes.'” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26 REB)

Paul informs us that the early church carried on this tradition and tells us when they did it. “On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.” (Acts 20:7)

The apostle again speaks of the Lord’s Supper when he warned the Corinthians: “A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.” (1 Corinthians 11:28-29)

Such respected historians as Eusebius of Caesarea and Johann August Wilhelm Neander tell us that Christians in the early centuries of the church took the Lord’s Supper every Sunday.

3. New Testament instructs us how to worship:

Prayer

Paul tells us to give thanks in all circumstances; (1 Thessalonians 5:18) for God’s help; (1 Timothy 5:5) for each other; (James 5:16) for whatever we want to request; (Philippians 4:6) for rulers, officials, and everyone. (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

James says we don’t get what we want because we don’t pray for it. Or if we do pray for it, our request is denied because of our wrong motives. (James 4:2-3) Pray whenever you are sick or in trouble, advises James. (James 5:14)

Prayer was a part of the New Testament church’s worship. (Acts 2:42) (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

Giving

Paul tells us of the collection taken for God’s people in the Galatian and Corinthian churches. “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.” (1 Corinthians 16:2)

Reading Scriptures

By the early part of the first century, Jews had established the tradition of reading the Law and Prophets in their synagogue services. Paul told Timothy to devote himself to the “public reading of scriptures, preaching and teaching.” (1 Timothy 4:13) Thus the Jewish custom was carried over into church worship.

In Colossians we find Paul instructing the Colossians and the Laodiceans to exchange letters he had written and read both. (Colossians 4:16) And in Thessalonians, he tells the church to read his letter to all the brothers. (1 Thessalonians 5:27) Thereby, what was to become portions of the New Testament was already being read in the church along with the Law and Prophets of the Old Testament.

Singing

Here are all the New Testament references to hymns, songs, and spiritual songs.

After Jesus and the apostles’ Passover meal, “they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” (Matthew 26:30 NKJV)

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” (Acts 16:25)

Paul: “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:19)

Paul: “I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.” (1 Corinthians 14:15)

Paul: “What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation.” (1 Corinthians 14:26)

Paul encourages us to: “admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16)

James: “Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.” (James 5:13)

Notice musical instruments, choirs, and solos were not mentioned in church worship. They were later additions not authorized by the scriptures. Historically, the first appearance of instrumental music in church worship was not until the sixth century A.D., and it was not widely accepted until the eighth century.

A number of religious leaders including: John Calvin, John Wesley, and Charles Spurgeon strongly opposed the use of instrumental music in worship because of its absence in the New Testament.

Sermons

“On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.” (Acts 20:7) Also see Paul’s instruction to Timothy. (2 Timothy 4:1-5)

4. Those miraculous gifts of the early church

Those gifts to the early church Paul lists: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing miracles, prophecy, discerning spirits, different tongues and interpretation of tongues were all necessary for the revelation and the confirmation of the unwritten gospel message. When the gospel was completely revealed and confirmed, the purpose for miracles, tongues, healings, and prophecies ceased.

In 1 Corinthians, Paul provides us with this explanation: “As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.” (1 Corinthians 13:8-10)

In the original Greek, “perfect” in this verse means “completeness” or “fulfillment.” So, those miraculous gifts ended in the early church when the revelation of God’s word was complete or fulfilled. That is why you don’t see authentic miraculous events in churches today.

5. Other religious practices:

Fasting

Luke speaks of the Antioch church worshiping the Lord and fasting. “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.'” (Acts 13:2) In the next chapter we read, “Paul and Barnabas appointed elders in each church [in Lystra, Iconium and Antioch] and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord.” (Acts 14:23)

We find no command in the New Testament to fast. However, in Acts chapters 13 and 14 we discover instances in which the early church did fast.

Foot Washing

“[Jesus] got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” (John 13:4-5)

“When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. ‘Do you understand what I have done for you?’ he asked them. ‘You call me “Teacher” and “Lord,” and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” (John 13:12-15)

“Washing the feet of the saints” is also one of good deed qualifications Paul lists for widows seeking support from the church. (1 Timothy 5:9-10)

Even so, washing feet is nowhere declared a part of the church’s worship service.

Reciting Creeds

A creed is a compact statement of faith recited by the congregation during the worship service. Creeds, however, are nowhere to be found in the New Testament. No common human creed, no catechism, no confession of faith are authorized in the scriptures. They were all added later.

It’s true, the Lord’s Prayer is frequently quoted word for word. Did Jesus intend for that prayer to become a creed? Evidently, he did not. Jesus introduced his prayer saying, “Pray, then, in this way.” (Matthew 6:9 NRSV) It is general guidance – “Do it in this fashion” rather than, “I want you to repeat every word of this verbatim.”

Alter Calls

Pleas To “Just Accept Jesus Into Your Heart”

Repeating “The Sinner’s Prayer”

These three practices are found in some modern churches but are nowhere to be found in the Scriptures.

Since Jesus established his church, and the New Testament describes his church, do you think it might be a good idea to follow the biblical example: in church organization? in doctrine? in church worship? Why would Luke, Paul, Peter, James, and John provide us with such extensive details of the original church, if they did not intend for us to follow this pattern?

Which church do you attend? the one Christ established and Paul preached? or a man-made substitute? What’s the difference? One follows the Scriptures; the other doesn’t.

Jerry Boone, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, United States webmaster@merechristianity.us Mr. Boone is a sailor, author, and webmaster of http://merechristianity.us with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from Georgia State University. His works include: Mere Christianity.us and SAFETY LINE – EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN, an apologetic study published 1998.

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The Voice Of Reason #08 – Church and State Separation – Matt Dillahunty


Matt gives an example of, and comments on, why everyone benefits from the separation of church and state. Matt Dillahunty is solo(Ashley Perrien in background) to host this clip from The Atheist Experience #503 – www.atheist-experience.com The Atheist Experience is produced by the Atheist Community of Austin. The ACA is a non-profit organization, promoting positive atheism and the separation of church and state. If you would like to make a donation please do so at http To Watch the live internet stream: Every Sunday at 4:30pm CST / 2:30pm PDT / 5:30pm EDT / 9:30pm GMT www.ustream.tv To watch full archived episodes: www.atheist-experience.com atheistexperience.blip.tv Ending Comments/Audio – George Carlin from “You Are All Diseased” eNJOY!

Church Design Principles For Master Planning

If you pick up a Bible, you don’t have to look any further than Genesis 6:14-22 to learn about Gods approach to Master Planning. It was only through God’s tremendous vision and skillful planning that Noah was able to successfully complete the task of building an Ark large enough to save mankind. While this was certainly a God sized task, the principles are the same today. Through Noah, the Lord was able to assess the problem, take stock of materials on hand, and carefully put together a blue print for the construction of a three story boat, capable of housing all of the species of the world.

Many churches today find themselves faced with exactly the same types of challenges in planning for the growth of their congregations. While the pressures may be the same, over crowding of facilities, new ministry opportunities, and or the need for a fresher look, the challenges can be quite different as we untangle the maze of legal restrictions, internal differences, code impacts, and of course, let’s not forget financial challenges.

So let’s take a look at the four elements of a developing a long-term church master plan.

I. Prayer

When preparing to enter into a building program, always start with prayer. Jesus told us, “I am the vine and you are the branches, and you can do nothing unless you abided in me.” When assembling the project’s committee structure, appoint a Prayer Committee to encourage each other, the staff and the congregation to bathe the project in prayer from start to finish, and continue to lift each other in prayer as He unfolds the vision for your church before your very eyes. Make sure you are well grafted in the vine!

II. Clear Sense of Purpose

Before you embark upon building on existing property, moving to a different location, or even renovating an existing space, it is important to assess carefully the church as it stands. These key questions need to be asked:

• What is the core purpose of our church?
• What specific ministries tie directly into our core purpose?
• Which ministries are growing the fastest?
• What is the major reason that we feel a need to expand?
• Are there other alternatives available?
• What are our immediate needs?
• How will they impact our long term needs?

A clear understanding by church leadership as to the future direction of the church, and the support behind the long-range vision becomes critical in master planning. If you change your direction every couple of years, you may find yourself wasting millions of dollars on a facility that becomes more of an albatross or hindrance to your ministry than an architectural beauty.

III Facilities Evaluation

One of the first steps in any facilities master plan is to survey what already exists. Because churches typically expand their facilities over a period of several years and sometimes decades, it is important to take stock of several areas that can impact your future decisions.

• Environmental Impact- Several facilities built in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s were designed with asbestos and unsafe materials throughout the buildings. It is important to know if you have environmental hazards that can adversely impact your overall project budget, or if it makes sense to start a demolition or renovation project. A more recent issue that has cropped up over the past few years is the handling of mold growth in buildings, as well as land issues like spotted owls, gopher turtles, or even ancient burial grounds.

• Code Impact – Over the last few decades the building codes have changed dramatically with their new calculations of structural loads, uplift requirements, glass impact resistance, American Disabilities Act, electrical requirements, life safety requirements and even the number of restrooms available to the members. Without proper assessment, the simple tearing down of one wall could require you to go back through the entire facility and bring them up to code, which could cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars to do so.

• Parking Impact- One of the most restrictive elements on church facilities today is the number of required parking spaces to meet the overall codes of the local governing authority. While many local authorities have a 2-3 people per every car requirement, in actuality many churches are experiencing a 1.5-2 people per car requirement, which can cause overcrowding and traffic problems for both ingress and egress issues.

• Zoning Impact- Due to the tightening up of zoning allowances in municipalities all over the country, you can no longer assume that your new property will be approved for zoning. Churches are not wanted in residential zones because they generate too much traffic. They’re not wanted in commercial zones because they don’t generate taxes. And they are not wanted in industrial areas because of the potential hazards to the health and safety of people. In other circumstances if your expansion exceeds 30% of the overall square footage of you existing buildings you may be required to have your entire property go through new zoning procedures all over again.

• Water Retention and Drainage- In many states the issue of storm water, waste water, and how you place your standing water, have become a great concern for many municipalities. In many places several years ago you could pretty much do what you wanted to with storm water, and not really worry about how much run off impacted your neighbor. However, today our municipalities are taking this very seriously, and are requiring very detailed civil engineering drawings to determine the impact of drainage, sewage, utility hook ups, and environmental issues that could adversely effect the immediate area.

IV Identify Specific Needs

Demographic

Early stages of a religious facility master plan may also include the gathering and analysis of comprehensive data. Information such as demographics and psychographics, where you begin to understand the racial mix of your demographic area, age mix, social economic status, area growth rates, worship preferences, and program preferences of the areas in which your church serves.

Because of the dramatic growth of both churches and the areas that they serve it is important to attempt to forecast the growth of your church based upon historical growth within age populations, along with future growth of the area. In many areas it becomes a mirror of the area that you serve. So if your area has seen explosive growth, and you have been keeping up with that growth in your church, it is reasonable to believe that your church may continue to grow at the same pace in the future. You may also want to consider a mapping service that will actually take your church membership and map where they live in relation to your current facility or the area that you are contemplating expanding to, thus, giving you a better feel of where your congregation is coming from.

Space Utilization

Your church may be one of the fortunate churches that are able to provide worship seating, education facilities, and even banquet space for all of the members of your church. However it is becoming more and more important due to pure economics, for churches to expand to two and three services during the weekend and maybe one on Friday night. For other ministries they are having to rethink their Sunday School Space, as it becomes too costly for the church to keep up with their Sunday School population. While there are certainly numerous churches that are busting at the seams, and couldn’t put another body in the building with a shoe horn, others are too eager to spend millions of dollars to provide expansion space that they really don’t need. A simple rearranging of service times, building schedules, and knocking out of a couple of walls, could make all the difference in the world, without the added expense to the church.

Space Proximity

You arrive on Sunday morning with your three year old and your seven year old to a brand new church only to find that you have to park 300 yards away from your toddlers class, walk another 50 yards around the building through the rain to drop off your 7 year old. Once that is done you then have to cross the property through the mud in your brand new shoes to enter into the Sanctuary, as you finally make it to your choir seat, catch your breath, and try to to sing “Amazing Grace” on key. How you position your buildings, ministries, parking, entrance ways, walkways, indoor space, outdoor space, and future senior living facility, can have a gigantic impact on the function of your overall master-plan. This is why it is important to carefully think out how you will use each building and how you can make it easier on the people attending your church, as well as, the financial implications of those decisions.

Aesthetic and Architectural Beauty

Have you ever tried to put together a 1000 piece puzzle without ever knowing what the finished puzzle should look like? This is what a lot of unplanned church campuses look like, a series of unrelated building add on’s that were thrown together at different times, by different people, with different architectural themes, only to get to a point that all of the pieces of the puzzle put together, are not very pleasing to the congregation. Maybe you should have a block stucco theme with South Florida Colors, in Miami, but it would look pretty silly next to a 150 year old cathedral in Boston, with an all custom made stained glass replica of the Last Supper ordaining the entire front of the cathedral. Master Planning takes into consideration the aesthetic, cosmetic, functionality, and cost factors of a building plan, and balances them on paper, before you commit to embarrassing yourself, and your community with an ugly building.

Phasing and Implementation

There are very few churches in America that wouldn’t love to be able to complete all of God’s vision and the next five phases of their building program all at once. However, due to economic factors most ministries must balance their God given vision, with their God given provision. Even Moses didn’t realize that he was embarking upon a 40 year mission, when Yahweh gave Moses the vision of taking the promise land.

Likewise, God gives different visions to ministries throughout the world, what He doesn’t always give is the necessary timing and financial understanding to complete the vision in our own human strength. We must be patient, we must plan, we must trust the Lord and His perfect timing. By planning to phase the first phase of your project within the financial limitations that you have been given, you are then in a position build all of the phases at once if the Lord indeed blesses your ministry by opening the gates of heaven blessing you with all of the money necessary to complete them all.

Bruce Anderson is a nationally recognized church design and construction consultant and President of Build-Masters Group LLC, www.build-masters.com. Mr. Anderson also publishes of “Straight Talk” About Church Design,Building & Construction at www.brucecanderson.com. Email: bca@brucecanderson.com >

Good relations between Church and State in El Salvador


The Pope received in audience the President of the Republic of El Salvador, Elías Antonio Saca González.During the cordial discussions, the current internal situation of the country as well as international matters were reviewed, with particular attention to the countrys commitment to promoting cooperation in the commercial field, in the fight against organized crime, in educational and emigration matters, and in social progress.Finally, the good relations between Church and State were highlighted, as well as the desire to strengthen them in favor of spiritual progress, national peace and development.

Church and State: Christians for Social Justice and Peace — Rey Ty


Christians for Social Justice — Rey Ty, In memory of Bishop Alberto Ramento and Pastor Noli Capulong, Church for National Democracy, Social Liberation, and Social Transformation

With Bank Inquiry, Vatican Confronts Modern Life

With Bank Inquiry, Vatican Confronts Modern Life
When Rome magistrates opened an investigation last week into the Vatican bank over transparency issues, it was not only a bold assertion of state over church, it also pointed to one of the Vatican’s greatest continuing challenges: facing modernity.

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