BPR Mailing List Digest: 04/21/00

Philologos
BPR Mailing List Digest
April 21, 2000

Digest Home | 2000 | April, 2000

To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Russia Plays Trump Diplomacy Card Ahead Of UN Nuclear Forum
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2000 08:39:50 -0400

Russia Plays Trump Diplomacy Card Ahead Of UN Nuclear Forum

MOSCOW, Apr 20, 2000 -- (Agence France Presse) Russia has
unexpectedly accepted an alphabet soup of nuclear treaties as it seeks to
upstage Washington at next week's UN forum on keeping the world safe from
the spread of atomic weapons.

START II, START III, CTBT, NPT, ABM -- name a nuclear treaty and Moscow
is either putting its name on the dotted line or making sure that everyone
else does.

A far cry from the days when Moscow swarmed with Kremlin conservatives
who treasured the fast-fading Soviet glory days, President-elect Vladimir
Putin suddenly has Russia blazing the nuclear safety trail.

"Putin has authority and he was only just elected -- I think this is in large
part due to him," Mikhail Prusak, governor of the Novgorod region, enthused
moments after parliament's upper chamber approved that START II treaty.

Yet at heart of the matter, according to defense observers, is not Russia's
goodwill but rather its deep dread that it cannot afford to do what the United
States can -- build a nationwide nuclear defense shield.

The easiest way for Russia to interfere with those US plans is to restrict
Washington to the existing 1972 anti-ballistic missiles (ABM) treaty
prohibiting such defense systems.

To do that, Moscow is moving at breakneck pace to adopt all other existing
pacts -- and then threatening to pull out of them should the US defense
shield ever go up.

"If the United States abandons the 1972 agreement, we will have the right to
pull out not only of START II but also from the entire arms reductions and
control system," Putin warned last week.

Both houses of Russia's parliament this month dropped their tedious seven-
year game of brinkmanship and ratified the START II arms reduction treaty.

Putin for his part added that he favors even broader arms cuts than those
pencilled into a new START III treaty already under negotiation.

Going one better, the State Duma lower house scheduled for Friday a debate
on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) that forbids all atomic testing -
- and which the US Congress has vetoed.

"If the CTBT is ratified after START II, then (Russian Foreign Minister Igor)
Ivanov will be on the diplomatic offensive in New York," Duma foreign
relations committee chairman Dmitry Rogozin said this week.

The UN Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) conference is held once every five
years. This year's forum, which helps define nuclear cooperation between its
187 members, will stretch through May 19.

Moscow has not been shy to concede that it will be pushy in New York.

"Russia will present its point of view... and tell about the different results
which Russia and the United States have achieved in the field of nuclear
disarmament," the foreign ministry's security and disarmament advisor
Vladimir Rybachenkov told ITAR-TASS.

In Rybachenkov's view, the United States has done far less than Russia over
the years -- especially over recent weeks -- and has no right to speak of
breaking the ABM.

An official foreign ministry statement added: "Further mutual nuclear
reduction of strategic weapons may be achieved through strict compliance
with the 1972 ABM treaty."

The United States has so far conducted two tests to determine how a
nuclear defense shield might actually work, and both ended on a mixed note.
Another is scheduled for June.

Perhaps Washington's strongest argument will a focus on Russia's highly
criticized decision to help Iran build a nuclear power plant.

Washington has already blacklisted a string of Russian nuclear research
institutes for selling know-how, to and training engineers from Iran. ((c) 2000
Agence France Presse)

http://www.russiatoday.com/news.php3?id=152975&text

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Church Offers "Express Worship" Service
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2000 08:50:54 -0400

April 21, 2000 -- 8:48 am

Church Offers "Express Worship" Service

EUSTIS, FL (CHARISMA -- A Florida church has come up with a novel way of
reaching out to those who have no time for God -- an express worship
service. Family Bible Church in Eustis guarantees its 9 a.m. congregation
songs, prayer, announcements, collection and a sermon all within 45
minutes.

The fast-food-for-the-soul program has attracted scores of first- time
churchgoers, according to pastor Allen Speegle, who admits that the
approach has drawn some criticism for its no-frills, no- nonsense style.

Some argue the clock-watching service is unseemly haste, but Speegle says
that it simply recognizes the demands of modern life. "The church needs to
adapt to meet the needs of society. That is what Jesus did. He went to
where the people were and ministered to them--without compromising His
message," he said. "For some people Sunday is their only family day, and
they don't want to spend all day in church. I would rather have them for
45 minutes than not at all."

Speegle was himself skeptical when the idea was first put to him by a
member of on staff at the nondenominational church. But soon after
introducing the service as an experiment a few weeks ago, he was sold. Up
to 100 people attend the service, and after an initial dip the regular
10:30 a.m. service--which lasts around 90 minutes--is back up to its usual
numbers.

The "worship express--45 minutes guaranteed" service has been advertised
outside the church in local newspapers and a community mailing. The ad
features a man in a prison suit with a ball and chain and the question,
"Is this your idea of church?"

Speegle keeps to the 45-minute deadline with a short period of worship and
by cutting his sermon time almost in half. The congregation is behind the
idea. Criticism came from other pastors "who really got very upset about
it...But once I explained our thinking, they were fine with it."

Speegle said that the short service appealed not only to Christians facing
time crunches, but also to nonchurchgoers who wanted to be involved in a
church "but are not ready for an hour- and-a-half service." People also
felt more comfortable staying for prayer and ministry, which takes place
at the end as the service concludes and others leave, he said.

Speegle is now toying with the idea of a short midweek service for people
in the local business district. "We are trying to reach people who are not
involved in church," he said. "The church has kind of presented the gospel
like: 'This is what we are. If you want it, come over here and get it.'
That's not the way Jesus did it. He ministered in the common street
language of the people of that day."

Speegle isn't the only pastor trying new ways to reach those caught up in
the rat race. Bishop Nathaniel Johnson is offering drive-through prayer to
commuters passing his Isle of Wight, Va., church on the way to work in the
morning, the Associated Press reported.

He stands in front of the church between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. every day.
"We've got drive-through banks and drive-through hamburger joints," he
said. "Why not drive-through prayer?"

http://www.mcjonline.com/news/00/20000420d.htm

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - April 21, 2000 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2000 08:55:03 -0400

8:00 PM Eastern

A&E - BIOGRAPHY - "The Von Trapp Family: Harmony and
Discord" - The Von Trapp family
singers.(CC)(TVG)

HIST - THE SHROUD OF TURIN - Scientists are unable to
explain how the image of a man appeared on an ancient burial
cloth.(CC)(TVG)

9:00

A&E - INVESTIGATIVE REPORTS - "The Nazis' Secret
   Killing Squads" - The Einsatzgruppen, a mobile killing unit,
   uses crude and heinous methods to exterminate Jews and other
          enemies of the Third Reich.(CC)

HIST - THE TWELVE APOSTLES: HISTORY'S GREAT REVOLUTIONARIES
- Twelve ordinary men, united by Jesus of Nazareth,
revolutionize the world.(CC)(TVG)

TLC - THE LAST CIGARETTE ** (Documentary, 1999) --
   Filmmakers Kevin Rafferty and Frank Keraudren examine movie
   and other footage exploring the mysterious appeal of tobacco.
          (90 minutes) (TVPG)

DISC - DISCOVERY NEWS - (CC)

9:30

DISC - DISCOVER MAGAZINE - "Fear" - Soldiers are
   trained to overcome fear; exposure to prolonged fear causes
   brain damage in humans; Walt Disney World's Tower of Terror
          ride.(CC)

10:30

TLC - 48 HOURS - "In the Danger Zone" - Newly
discovered deadly viruses threaten the U.S.
population.(CC)

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - China and Turkey to Revive Ancient Silk Road
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2000 09:02:39 -0400

China and Turkey to Revive Ancient Silk Road

ANKARA, Apr 20, 2000 -- (Reuters) Chinese President Jiang Zemin and
Turkish President Suleyman Demirel on Wednesday pledged to boost trade
between their countries and revive the Silk Road that once linked China to
Europe.

Full Story:
http://www.insidechina.com/news.php3?id=153071

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Civil solidarity pacts
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2000 09:05:21 -0400

Couples in France are committing themselves to legal
relationships that aren't real marriages. They are entering into
a "civil solidarity pact," or Pacte civil de solidarit=E9, a new
kind of partnership, originally intended for homosexual couples,
that was created last year, The New York Times said.
...More than 14,000 such pacts have been recorded since they were
legalized in November, including many among heterosexual couples,
reports said. It takes only a few minutes to set one up while a
court clerk checks the paperwork and stamps it.
...Young people who grew up in divorced families and may fear
that marriage will be a bad experience for them, too, are
attracted to the pacts, the Times said. They describe it as a
step forward without the deeper commitment, and say they like how
everything is spelled out in writing. Both parties are
responsible for financially supporting each other and for their
purchases and debts unless otherwise specified. They can file a
joint income tax form and are eligible for the other person's
work benefits, the Times said.
...If the relationship falls apart, the parties do not need
lawyers to terminate the pact. Some experts say that the new law
will leave troubled couples bickering in much the same way as
those seeking divorce, since vast areas are not well defined by
the new law.
...Passing the pact into law was controversial. It was debated
furiously in Parliament, opposed by conservatives and the
Catholic Church, and set off protests and demonstrations, the
Times said.

Religion Today News Summary
Friday, April 21, 2000
Crosswalk.com <editor@crosswalk.com>

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Resurrection Sunday, Sounds Good to Me...
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shophar_Sho_Good")
Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2000 09:35:44 -0500

[Please see my personal comments at the end
of this article --moderator]

EASTER IS COMING!
(Or is it Eastre?)

By Thomas Horn
http://www.worthynews.com/news-features/easter.html

A recent edition of Raiders News Update included a "Happy
Valentine Day" greeting. A reader responded by pointing out
that Valentines Day "is not a Christian celebration!" She's
right, but is it wrong for Christians to celebrate a
particular day?

Easter is just around the corner, and, like many other
holidays, its roots may be found in ancient paganism.

The eighth century English monk, Venerable Bede,
popularized the notion that "Easter" is derived from
Eastre, the old Germanic goddess of spring. Others conclude
that "Easter" began with Ishtar, the Assyrian fertility
goddess of spring, or Astarte--the Phoenician or Greek
composite of Ishtar and Aphrodite.

The fact that many pagan people used rabbits and "Easter"
eggs as fertility symbols to celebrate the forces of
spring, and that such forces were usually manifested in
popular goddess images, is also indisputable.

In 1966, Ralph Woodrow (Babylon Mystery Religion)
complained that Easter is thus an adaptation of "...the
pagan spring festival into the fallen church," and that
"...adding pagan customs into the worship of the true God
is utterly and absolutely condemned in the Bible!"

The recently converted Worldwide Church of God disagrees,
saying, "...even if the word "Easter" was associated with
an ancient goddess, it does not mean we cannot use the word
today. We have many words in the English language that were
connected with ancient gods. For example, our word "cereal"
comes from the name of the ancient goddess of agriculture,
Ceres....[But] when we use the word "cereal" today we're
not thinking of the goddess or worshipping her, but of corn
flakes or granola."

HISTORY AND THE SPRING FESTIVALS

The Thesmophoria was the most popular of such spring
fertility festivals, and drew the largest crowds at Athens
and at Eleusis for nearly two thousand years. Demeter, the
Thesmophoria's primary goddess, boasted the most protected
cult secrets of the mystery religions because her rituals
were performed inside of the inner sanctum of the Temple of
Demeter (the Telesterion) and were so well-guarded by the
Temple devotees that little survived to enlighten us as to
what actually occurred there.

Only those portions of the Thesmophoria held outside of
the Temple were publicly recorded (sparsely) and provide us
with a partial historical record.

What is known is that the rituals of the Thesmophoria were
based on the mythology of the abduction and rape of
Persephone (Proserpina), and of Demeter's (Persephone's
mother) subsequent actions in searching for her daughter.
The cult's rituals are therefore interpreted according to
the Demeter myth.

The myth claimed that Hades-the dark god of the underworld-
fell in love with beautiful Persephone. One day as she
plucked flowers in a grassy meadow, Hades swooped down in
his chariot and dragged Persephone down into the
underworld, where he forced her to become his bride. Above
ground, Demeter was distraught by her daughter's
disappearance, and she searched the earth in vain to find
her. With the help of Helios and Hecate, Demeter finally
discovered the truth, and, in her fury, she demanded that
Hades release her daughter. When Hades refused, Demeter
sent a horrific famine upon the earth. Plants dried up;
Seeds refused to sprout, and the gods began to suffer from
a lack of sacrifices. Finally, Zeus dispatched Hermes to
intercede with the lord of the underworld, and, after a
great debate, Hades agreed to release Persephone if she
would eat a pomegranate seed.

What Persephone did not understand was that, by eating the
pomegranate seed in the mystical location of the
underworld, a sort of divine symmetry was created that
bonded Persephone with Hades. This ensured that the goddess
would automatically return to the underworld for a third
part of each year (in the winter), during which time the
seeds of the ground would not grow. Persephone thus became
the spring goddess of youth and happiness, and the
underworld queen of the dead; a dual role depicting her as
both good and evil. On earth she was the goddess of the
spring and the friend of the nymphs who appeared in the
blooming of the spring flowers (symbolizing her annual
return from Hades), and in the underworld she was the
dreaded wife of Hades and the Queen of the Darkness who
controlled the fates of deceased men.

The reenactment of such myth-the abduction and rape of
Persephone-was central to the rituals of the Thesmophoria,
and, as such, key to interpreting the bits of information
that are known.

THE MYSTERIES OF THE SPRING FESTIVAL

The festival of the Thesmophoria-sometimes called the
Eleusinian Mysteries-lasted between three and ten days.
Each day of the festival had a different name and included
specific rituals.

A highlight of the festival was a procession from Athens
to Eleusis which was led by a crowd of children known as
ephebi. The ephebi assisted in carrying the hiera (sacred
objects) including an egg (Easter eggs), and in pulling a
statue of Dionysus as a boy (Iacchos). The children also
assisted in the ceremonial cleansing of the initiates
(candidates of the mystery religion) in the sea.

Upon arriving at Eleusis the women organized the first day
of the celebration (anodos) by building temporary shelters
and electing the leaders of the camp. On the second day
(nesteia) they initiated the Greater Mysteries which,
according to myth, produced the cult's magical requests (a
fertile harvest). Such mysteries included a parody of the
abduction and rape of Persephone, and the positioning of
the female devotees upon the ground weeping (in the role of
Demeter for her daughter), and fasting for the return of
Persephone (the return of spring). The setting upon the
ground and fasting was also intended to mystically transfer
the "energies" of the women into the ground, and thus into
the fall seeds. Not suprisingly, the festival was held
during the time of the fall planting, so as to nearly
guarantee a positive response to the cult's magic.

On the fifth day of the festival the participants drank a
special grain mixture called kykeon (a symbol of
Persephone) and ate [Easter] eggs in an attempt to
assimilate the spirit of the goddess. The idea was to
produce an incarnated blessing of fertility, both of the
crops and of children.

About this same time certain women called "antleriai" were
cleansed in the sea and then sent down into the
mountainside trenches to recover the sacrificial piglets
and various other sacred objects that had been thrown down
into the hillside canyons several days before. The sacred
objects included dough replicas of snakes and of genitalia,
which were burned, with the piglets and a grain-seed-
mixture, as an offering to Demeter.

The reason for the casting of the piglets into the
moutainside cliffs has been thoroughly debated and no
single interpretation has emerged as the absolute
authority. While several mystical representations can be
made of the symbology, and the dough replicas are obviously
fertility symbols, pigs blood was sacred to the gods and
thus the piglets are key to understanding the ritual.

Greeks venerated pigs because of their uncanny ability to
find, and unearth, underground items (roots, etc). Some
scholars conclude from this that the ritual casting of the
pigs "into the deep" was a form of imitative magic based on
the underworld myth of Persephone and Hades. That is to
say, casting the piglets into the deep canyon trenches, and
fetching them back out again, represented the descent of
Persephone into the underworld and her subsequent ascension
back up to the surface of the earth.

The piglets in the trenches may have also served the
practical purpose of supplying a host (body) for Persephone
to hide in until the antleriai women could assist her (by
retrieving the piglets) in her annual escape from the
underworld. Burning the piglets later that night would,
according to an ancient religious idea that fire passes the
soul from one location to another, free the spirit of
Persephone into the upperworld (compare the children
sacrificed to Baal who "passed through the fire" from the
physical world into the spiritual).

BUT WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

The New Testament informs us that pagan rituals, such as
those performed in the Thesmophoria, were the worship of
demons. "The things which the Gentiles sacrifice," said
Paul, "they sacrifice to devils..." (1 Corinthians 10:20).
This makes one wonder if a connection between the ritual
casting of the piglets down into the deep canyon trenches
(representing a descent into hell), and the biblical story
of the Gadarene demoniac, existed.

In Luke, chapter Eight, we read:

"And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes....And
when he [Jesus] went forth to land, there met him out of
the city a certain man, which had devils....When he [the
demoniac] saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before
him, and with a loud voice said, "What have I to do with
thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee,
torment me not"....And Jesus asked him, saying, "What is
thy name?" And he said, "Legion:" because many devils were
entered into him. And they besought him that he would not
command them to go out into the deep [emphasis added]. And
there was there an herd of swine [emphasis added] feeding
on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer
them to enter into them. And he suffered them. Then went
the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and
the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea
[emphasis added], and were choked" (Luke 8:26-33).

The word deep in this text is Abussos (the Abyss), and
refers to the underworld Bottomless Pit. Since the
principle elements of the sea, the swine, and the deep were
employed; and since the Abyss (part of the underworld) was
central to the narrative; and further since the cult
rituals of the Thesmophoria were well known throughout Asia
Minor and were considered by the Hebrews to be an activity
of the devil (the inhabitants of Hades were known as
'Demeter's people,' and Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft,
was Perserphone's underworld guide during the rituals); one
could easily surmise that Jesus was mocking the
Thesmophoria. It's possible that Jesus was revealing, to
His followers and to the neighboring communities, that such
spring festivals were, in fact, the consort of devils.

It may be a stretch to suggest an interpretation of the
biblical story in this way, but clearly the similarities
and historical proximities are startling, especially since
the demons requested an entry into the swine. Why would
demons make such a plea? There are two possible connections
with the Thesmophoria: 1) the demons believed that by
entering the swine they could escape the underworld deep
(as in the magical Persephone escape ritual described
above); and 2) Jesus, by granting the request of the
devils, was illustrating that the Thesmophoria ritual of
casting the piglets into the deep was inherently demonic.

Obviously there are other possible interpretations of the
narrative in Luke chapter eight. But since this is the only
record of Jesus granting the petition of demons, it seems
possible that a powerful social commentary on a popular
pagan idea, like that of the Thesmophoria of Demeter, was
made by the Master.

BUT WAIT A MINUTE

The difference between the scenario above and true
Christianity is obvious. When Christians attend Easter
sunrise services they celebrate the meaning and
resurrection of Jesus Christ. Ancient spring goddesses are
far from the picture.

Furthermore, even if the word "Easter" originated with a
pagan goddess, am I forbidden to exalt the Lord on an
Easter Sunday morning? That would be silly. Every day of
the week is connected to some pagan deity! Monday is
"moon's day," Tuesday is "Tiw's day," Wednesday is "Woden's
day," Thursday is "Thor's day," and so on.

Thus, Easter Sunday, like any other day of the week, is a
day to worship Christ. The fact that pagans once worshiped
spring deities on "Easter" is, in my opinion, irrelevant.

By Thomas Horn

Editor@RaidersNewsUpdate.com
<mailto:Editor@RaidersNewsUpdate.com>
www.raidersnewsupdate.com <http://www.raidersnewsupdate.com>

Special Thanks from Worthy News to Thomas Horn for this
excellent article. Editor of Worthy News Sidenote: The
opinion of the Editor is to take the paganism out of the
holiday. For example, the editor of Worthy News calls
Easter, Resurrection Day instead of Easter. Out of most
holidays that have a paganistic root, the editor celebrates
the holiday, but takes out all the paganism involved so
that the Lord receives all the glory. Though the editor
feels this way, he in no way is so stringent in his
position to declare those that celebrate these holidays as
pagans or unchristianlike. Just a matter of opinion that
the Editor of Worthy News believes.

[Comments: I found this to be a very interesting
article, but nevertheless, while I respect the opinions of the
author and of the Worthy News editor, I tend to disagree
with their conclusions. As the editor of Worthy News points
out, most of the traditional Christian holidays have a
"paganistic root." Why not celebrate instead the Appointed
Feasts of the LORD which have their roots in holiness? It's
interesting to note that these same Feasts of the LORD will
be observed and presided over by the Messiah during the
Millennium. If they were observed in the past, and will be
observed in the future, why not observe them now? This is
my personal conviction only and, like the Editor of Worthy
News, I do not judge or condemn anyone that does not share
my views. But lest it appear that I agree with the above article,
I felt it personally important that I share my viewpoint on this
matter. Thank you. ]

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Cover Story: Why Jesus Was Killed
From: bpr-list@philologos.org
Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2000 15:38:15 -0500

US News & World Report
Cover Story 4/24/00

Why Did He Die?

Jesus put the kingdom of God up against Caesar. And that
act led to a political execution that launched a major
world religion

By Jeffery L. Sheler

After they had gathered, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you
want me to release for you, Barabbas or Jesus who is called
the Christ?" . . . And they said, "Barabbas." Pilate said
to them, "Then what should I do with Jesus who is called
the Christ?" All of them said, "Let him be crucified!" Then
he asked, "Why, what evil has he done?" But they shouted
all the more, "Let him be crucified!" So when Pilate saw
that he could do nothing . . . he took some water and
washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent
of this man's blood . . . ." Then the people as a whole
answered, "His blood be on us and on our children!" So he
released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he
handed him over to be crucified.

It is called the Passion–the dramatic Gospel accounts of
the suffering and death of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem nearly
2,000 years ago. And in its faithful retelling, no story in
history has evoked more passion. To the apostle Paul, the
Crucifixion of Jesus was the very heart of the Gospel, "the
power of God unto salvation." Early-church martyrs faced
persecution and death emboldened by the familiar stories of
Jesus's suffering at the hands of his enemies. And in every
generation since, Christians have found spiritual
sustenance in the story of Christ's sacrificial death
recounted in the rich symbolism of the Eucharist and in
annual observances of Holy Week. As Christians around the
world celebrate the liturgy and pageantry of this Easter
season, they will retrace once again the familiar Bible
narrative, grieving the betrayal of an innocent Savior,
mourning his lonely death on a common cross, and rejoicing
in his vindication in the miracle of the Resurrection.

But while the Gospel story has inspired piety and devotion
through the centuries, it also has spawned darker passions.
From the rise of the Holy Roman Empire to the fall of the
Third Reich and even today, purveyors of antisemitism have
sought to justify their prejudices by appealing to the
Gospels' depiction of Jews as jealous villains who plotted
against Christianity's founder. Such hatefulness permeates
Western culture. The famous Oberammergau Passion Play in
Germany, which until recent years depicted the Jewish
priests as demonlike villains wearing horned hats, has been
a perennial sore spot in Christian-Jewish relations. Even
performances of Bach's Easter oratorio, the St. John
Passion, have been picketed by protesters offended by its
negative references to "the Jews" drawn from the text of
John.

Antisemitism in not-so-subtle forms has at times been
abetted at the high- est levels of organized religion. For
centuries, the Good Friday liturgy of the Roman Catholic
Church included prayers "for the perfidious Jews." Only at
the Second Vatican Council in the mid- 1960s did the church
officially repudiate the concept of "deicide"–a term
historically associated with Jews as "Christ killers." And
just this year, Pope John Paul II apologized for
Christianity's sins against Jews.

Some doubt whether, despite the sincerest remorse,
Christianity can ever fully repent of antisemitic excesses
when the New Testament is permeated with passages that seem
to cast "the Jews" as enemies of Jesus and of the church.
But some scholars of the historical Jesus contend that such
passages contain more polemics than real history,
reflecting conflicts that arose between Christians and Jews
late in the first century A.D.–when the Gospels were being
written and Christianity was evolving from a messianic
Jewish sect into a predominantly gentile religion. "As long
as Christians were the marginalized and disenfranchised
ones," says New Testament scholar John Dominic Crossan in
his 1995 book Who Killed Jesus?, "such Passion fiction
about Jewish responsibility and Roman innocence did nobody
much harm. But, once the Roman Empire became Christian,
that fiction turned lethal."

-- more --

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/000424/jesus.htm

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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Pope plans a debt summit
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2000 17:37:12 -0400

THE HOLY ROMAN . . . POPE PLANS A DEBT SUMMIT [!!!] The Pope
plans to call a G8 meeting of his own in Assisi later this year when he will
ask leaders of the world's major industrial powers, including Britain, to
promise reductions in Third World debt. The summit was planned for the
autumn, said Archbishop Crescenzio Sepe, a well-placed member of the
Roman Curia. The place chosen for the meeting is of symbolic significance
because Assisi is where St Francis renounced worldly riches. Archbishop
Sepe, who heads the Vatican Committee for the Jubilee Year 2000, said that
the Pope and others had been hard at work "for months" on the summit. The
project, which is not yet thought to have involved representatives at official
level of the G7 countries, plus Russia, which the Pope wants to attend, calls
for the summit to be held in the papal hall of the Holy Convent of St Francis
in Assisi. The Assisi summit is expected to take place in September. It is
thought that the Pope will ask industrialised nations to arrange for a
"significant reduction" of the international debt of poor countries. The
archbishop said it was "weighing on their destiny". The Pope first made such
a request in his 1994 apostolic letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente, which
paved the way for the Millennium. (The
London Telegraph) [What a nice guy!?]

The Daily WORLD AFFAIRS REPORT
ISSUE #160

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

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