-Caveat Lector-
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
-- -- --
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better
than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not
your counsel or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands of those who feed
you. May your chains set lightly upon you.
Samuel Adams
NEURONAUTIC INSTITUTE on-line: http://home.earthlink.net/~thew
------ Forwarded Message
http://www.washingtonpost.com
>
> Let us get together...right down here. OR not.
>
> To view the entire article, go to
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30501-2002Jul5.html
>
> New York Lutheran Leader Suspended
>
> By Alan Cooperman
>
>
> A high-ranking Lutheran pastor has been suspended from his duties and ordered
> to apologize to all Christians for participating with Muslims, Jews, Sikhs and
> Hindus in an interfaith prayer service in New York's Yankee Stadium after
> Sept. 11.
>
> Supporters of the Rev. David Benke say he will appeal his suspension as a
> district president -- the equivalent of a bishop -- in the Lutheran
> Church-Missouri Synod, which has 2.6 million members and is the 10th-largest
> church in the United States. If he does not apologize or appeal by July 10, he
> will automatically be removed from the Missouri Synod's clergy.
>
> The ruling against Benke illustrates the growing tension between two major
> trends in American religion: ecumenical or interfaith efforts, which have been
> bolstered by President Bush's calls for tolerance since the Sept. 11 terrorist
> attacks, and back-to-tradition or "renewal" movements, which have taken hold
> among Presbyterians, Episcopalians and Methodists as well as Lutherans.
>
> While the interfaith efforts emphasize common values, the renewal movements
> emphasize theological differences. Often, the two trends can coexist, as when
> religious conservatives of many faiths stand together in defense of the words
> "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. But sometimes they conflict,
> particularly over claims that only adherents of a particular creed will gain
> salvation and all others face eternal damnation.
>
> "By President Benke's joining with other pagan clerics in an interfaith
> service [no matter what the intent might have been], a crystal clear signal
> was given to others at the event and to thousands more watching by C-Span. The
> signal was: While there may be differences as to how people worship or pray,
> in the end, all religions pray to the same God," the Rev. Wallace Schulz, the
> Missouri Synod's national second vice president, wrote in the suspension
> letter.
>
> "To participate with pagans in an interfaith service and, additionally, to
> give the impression that there might be more than one God, is an extremely
> serious offense against the God of the Bible," Schulz added.
>
> Twenty-one Missouri Synod pastors and congregations filed charges against
> Benke because of his participation in the Sept. 23 Prayer for America. The
> televised service, hosted by Oprah Winfrey, brought together New York's
> Cardinal Edward M. Egan, other Christian ministers, Sikh and Hindu holy men,
> imams, rabbis and civic leaders.
>
> The charges against Benke included "unionism" -- mixing the beliefs of various
> Christian denominations -- as well as "syncretism" -- mixing Christian and
> non-Christian views. Both are forbidden by the 1847 constitution of the
> Missouri Synod, which is based in St. Louis and is the country's
> second-largest Lutheran group, after the 5.1-million-member Evangelical
> Lutheran Church in America.
>
> "The principle is, you don't want to do anything that would compromise the
> gospel of Jesus Christ," said the Rev. David H. Mahsman, editor of the
> Missouri Synod's newspaper, the Lutheran Witness. "The question is, does
> participating in an interfaith service after September 11th do that? Benke
> would say no. In fact, it honors Christ and shows that Lutherans are concerned
> about the well-being of the entire community. Others would say it placed
> Christ on an equal footing with Allah and Vishnu and whatever gods are
> involved."
>
> In February, after a bout of negative publicity over the charges, the synod's
> board of directors barred Benke, the complainants and all other parties to the
> dispute from talking about it. But Missouri Synod members, speaking on
> condition of anonymity, said the charges are viewed within the denomination as
> an attack not only on Benke but also on the synod's national president, the
> Rev. Gerald M. Kieschnick, a moderate who was elected last year.
>
> Before the gag order went into effect, Kieschnick told The Washington Post
> that he gave Benke permission to attend the interfaith service. He cited a
> decision by the synod at its July 2001 convention to allow pastors to
> participate in civic events as long as they are free to express their
> religious views.
>
> Formal accusations of syncretism have been filed against Kieschnick, too. But
> a church panel ruled that he answers only to the full synod, which convenes
> every three years. In the meantime, both Kieschnick and his first vice
> president recused themselves from ruling on Benke, which is why the case fell
> to Schulz.
>
> In his letter suspending Benke as president of the church's New York district,
> Schulz stressed that even though the pastor had permission to join the prayer
> service, "you are still accountable for your own actions."
>
> "In brotherly love and admonition," he wrote, "I appeal to you, President
> Benke, please make a sincere apology to our Lord, to all members of The
> Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, and to all Christians who are part of Christ's
> Body. Joining in prayer with pagan clerics in Yankee Stadium was an offense
> both to God and to all Christians."
>
> Benke's deputy, the Rev. Charles W. Froehlich, who has temporarily taken over
> Benke's duties, fired back in a letter that the decision "contains
> inaccuracies and intentional omissions" and "reflects the author's
> preconceived bias." He also expressed confidence that Benke would win his
> appeal, which goes first to a three-member panel and then to a five-member
> panel, a process that could take six months or more.
>
>
>
>
>
------ End of Forwarded Message
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