-The Vine and Branches

-Newsletter of: Abiding Word Ministries
(a nonprofit organization/AWM exists to promote revival and reformation in the churches)
-Editor: David R. Barnhart
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Newsletter / Winter 2011

-EXTREME DIVERSITY IN METHODIST
SEMINARY IS SHOCKING -

The liberation of American seminaries is an old story. The inauguration of the world's first interreligious university is not. The Claremont School of Theology, a Methodist-affiliated institution, is collaborating with the Academy for Jewish Religion in California and the Islamic Center of Southern California to produce Claremont Lincoln University, an ambitious endeavor to train religious leaders for a multi-religious world. The member institutions of the consortium will still ordain the pastors, priests, rabbis, and imams, but the university will offer a concentration on interreligious studies as well as masters and doctoral degrees.

As Philip Clayton, provost of the new university, explained, "We are in the midst of the biggest change in American religiosity since the founding of this country. Interreligious tensions are many and strong. So we can remain "ensconced" in the old forms of academia and ecclesia, or we can become "change agents" to "educate the next generation leaders for an emerging church."

The school is plunging forward with plans to add programs for Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Baha'i. While many Methodists favor interfaith reconcilation, they worry about the execution. Does it communicate charity to place a cross and a minaret and a Buddhist pagoda at the center of the campus, or does it amount to compromising core beliefs? (World Magazine 11/19/11) ~~

-GET NEWS & INFORMATION!

Learn more about Abiding Word Ministries by visiting <www.thevineandbranches.org>. Then, stay informed about vital news from around the world concerning the church, Israel and society by checking our two blogs.

Our blog at <http://davidbarnhart.blogspot.com> offers an up-to-date list of churches that have left or are leaving the ELCA, while <http://livinginthetimes.blogspot.com> offers news and information of a general nature. Mark these sites on your favorites and check them often.

-Abiding Word Ministries
-The Vine and Branches ~
Editor: David Barnhart

-THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES
-Abiding Word Ministries
-David Barnhart/ Editor
(News updates: Winter 2011) ~
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--News in Brief ~

-THE GIRL SCOUTS OF COLORADO

The Girl Scouts of Colorado flip-flopped on a decision not to let a 7-year-old boy join their organization, now saying he is welcome even though he's not a girl, according to Fox News. The Girl Scouts issued a statement to the local Fox affiliate saying they are an inclusive organization and will
accept "Bobby."

The leader who turned him away made a mistake, they said, and the situation is being rectified. "If a child identifies as a girl and the child's family presents 'her' as a girl, Girl Scouts of Colorado welcomes her as a Girl Scout," the statement said. ~~(AFA News)
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SOME OF THE NATION'S TOP CORPORATIONS have joined forces in filing a legal brief asking the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a 2010 lower court ruling that would force the federal government to recognize gay "marriage," and strike down the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. Signers of the November 3 brief included CBS, Starbucks, Nike, Aetna, Levi, Microsoft, Time Warner and Xerox. -(Baptist Press)
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A STATE APPEALS COURT IN FLORIDA RULES THE USE OF ISLAMIC LAW IS OK IN A CIVIL CASE between a mosque and its former trustees. The decision by the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Lakeland to decline the appeal of the Islamic Education Center of Tampa sends the case back to Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Richard A. Nielsen. Nielsen's decision in March to allow the case to proceed under "ecclesiastical Islamic law" drew national attention when the ruling was criticized by conservative bloggers.~
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ELCA BISHOP ASKS OBAMA TO TAKE A STRONGER STANCE AGAINST ISRAELI HOUSING EXPANSIONS.
According to a news release from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Bishop Mark Hanson attended a meeting at the White House November 8 with a group of religious leaders who voiced their opposition to Israel building more houses in Jerusalem and the West Bank, saying the construction threatens the viability of a future Palestiain state. Nothing was said about rockets being fired from Gaza into Israel. ~~
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-ABIDING WORD MINISTRIES

-Separating the Truth From The Lie~
--
Jesus Christ made clear that He alone is "the way, the truth and the life," and that no one can come to the Father "except through Him" (John 14:6).

Neither Buddha, Mohammad nor any false god ever died for anyone's sins. For a member of the Christian clergy to declare that somehow these false religions will attain salvation for their followers is an affront to the cross. The plain truth of Scripture is this--Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, willingly suffered, bled and died to take away our sins because there is no other Savior, nor is there any other way by which we may obtain forgiveness of sins, eternal life and salvation (Acts 4:12). Deny this truth and you deny the very essensce of the gospel.

This foundational doctrine of Christianity has been the clear proclomation of the true church from Pentecost, and it has been the prime motivation for the churches to send out laborers into the fields white unto harvest. Jesus defined salvation and eternal life when He said: "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (John 17:3).

--AWM/DRB

--LUTHER AND THE PLAGUE ~~
-[Abiding Word Ministries / The Vine and the Branches
--Summer 2020 ~]

--It is interesting to look back at when the Bubonic Plague swept through Europe during Martin Luther's day. In 1527 the plague raged through Wittenberg, killing 70% of those who contracted it within days. Though many people fled the city, Luther and his pregnant wife, Katharina, defied the risk and decided to stay in order to minister to the sick, literally bringing them into his own home. He recognized this as an opportunity to preach the Gospel to those who were days away from death. The plague lasted about 3 months and changed their lives. Sometime shortly after this, he penned the great hymn "A Mighty Fortress is Our God." Let us draw inspiration and solace from such a life. ~~

- Source: patheos.com --"A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" // Matt Boswell // <https://youtu.be/oNeP7bGagqg>
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