“THE AGONY OF LEBANON” In last month’s News and Views I called attention to an article in The Reformed Journal by Dr. Bert De Vries giving information on the religious groups that exist in Lebanon, whose differences contribute to the turmoil in that troubled country. In the same magazine for March, 1984, he continues to analyze the situation in an article entitled “Lebanon’s Decade of Anguish.” He points out that the country has become a hotbed of violence, much of it inflicted on uninvolved civilians. Outside governments, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Syria, Egypt, Israel, Russia, U.S.A. and others, have contributed money and weapons costing millions of dollars. Reckless violence has become a way of life. Failure to change representation according to confessional lines has resulted in tremendous tensions. Formerly more backward groups have become aware of their rights. The country is torn apart by group loyalties rather than a sense of being a nation. The influx of Palestinian refugees has been an unstablizing factor. Not least, the efforts of other powers to use the situation in Lebanon to their own advantage as part of the struggle between East and West has resulted in what De Vries calls “The rape of Lebanon.” The article gives a valuable insight .into much that we hear about this troubled area in the daily news.
COURT DENIES HOME SCHOOLING. Moody Monthly (April, 1984) reports that the North Carolina Court of Appeals has ruled that parents do not have a constitutional right to educate their children at home for religious reasons. The court said, “The state has no means by which to ensure that children who are at home are receiving an education.” Larry and Michelle Delconte had educated their two children at home in New York state where it is permitted. Their attorney said that this ruling shows that education is more and more oriented to the state and less and less toward the family. He planned to appeal to the State Supreme Court. Ultimately the U.S. Supreme Court may decide the issue since a similar case involving a Virginia couple is now pending.
“THE SALVATION ARMY MAY LOSE CONTRACT” The Salvation Army has refused to sign a pledge of nondiscrimination against homosexuals required by the city of New York. To do so would give the impression that the Army condoned homosexuality. Taking this stand may mean the loss of a $5 million contract for conducting several daycare centers and a foster home and adoption service. (Moody Monthly 4/84)
POPE DEDICATES THE EARTH TO MARY. Christian News (3/26/84) reports that Pope John Paul II showed his deep love for “God’s Mother” by requesting that all bishops join him in dedicating the earth to Mary on March 24 or 25. The article quotes from an author in The National Catholic Weekly reviewing the times and places when Mary appeared to men as God’s prophet with special messages for men. This article shows that the worship of Mary is still very much a part of the teaching and practice of the Roman Catholic Church. Another article in the same paper reports on a consultation between Lutheran and Roman Catholic scholars on the place of Mary and the saints. It traces how Luther himself at first placed great emphasis on Mary, even defending her immaculate conception, but as time went on he viewed her more as an example of the unmeritted grace of God and an example of how God cares for the lowly. Representatives of the Roman Catholic position stated that in that church views of Mary range “all over the lot” from “very vigorous devotion to practically none.”
ZWINGLI’S 500th ANNIVERSARY. Several publications have called attention to the fact that on January 1, 1484 Huldrich Zwingli was born. Last year Luther‘s birth was celebrated with much emphasis on his place in church and world history, but Zwingli’s anniversary has mostly gone unnoticed. In 1523lie published “67 Conclusions” in which he went far beyond Luther in advocating reforms in the Church. He was the leader in German-speaking Switzerland centered around the city of Zurich. Luther and Zwingli met at Marburg in 1529, and agreed on most doctrines except their views on the Lord‘s Supper; this led to the division in the Reformation between the Lutherans and the Reformed. Zwingli died as chaplain of the Protestant army in battle with the Roman Catholic cantons (states) of Switzerland in 1531. The work he began in Switzerland was continued and developed by John Calvin and other reformers who founded the Reformed churches.
DO THE MEDIA USE A DOUBLE STANDARD? Christian News (3/15/84) copied an editorial from Human Events in which the writer calls attention to the way the resignation of Bishop James Armstrong as president of the National Council of Churches, and as bishop of the United Methodist Church has been reported, Public reason given for this action was his exhaustion because of a very demanding work load. However, his wife is suing him for divorce and it has been reliably reported that he had engaged in an extramarital affair. The point of the article is that the press in general has been very careful to give the best possible impression, while if such conduct had been committed by Jerry Falwell or some other prominent conservative preacher the approach would no doubt have been very different. The religious editor of Newsweek said that he would have written about the affair of Armstrong if he “presented himself to the world as a symbol or model of moral rectitude as, say, Jerry Falwell does.”
NEWS BRIEFS from Christianity Today (4/6/84) Four new Bible translations have been made in 1983. T he American Bible Society says the entire Bible is available in 283 languages and at least one book in 1, 785 languages.
Some 197 million people—about 4% of the world’s population–consider themselves atheists. Statistics put out by the Vatican indicate that atheism is the state religion of 30 countries. The number of atheists increases by about 8.5 million each year.