2001 News and Views

Fundamental Evangelistic Association
News and Views - 2001
^{^{^©}}FOUNDATION
A MAGAZINE OF BIBLICAL FUNDAMENTALISM
Dennis W.Costella, Editor; Karel Beyer, Production Manager; Matt Costella, Copy Editor
M.H. Reynolds, Jr. (1919-1997), Founding Editor

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1997 News and Views
1998 News and Views
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Index of FOUNDATION Magazine News & Views for 2001:

Baptist World Alliance Meets With Vatican
Billy Graham Crusade in Kentucky
Evangelicals and Protestants Support Compromised American Bible Society (ABS)
How is God's Authority Revealed to Humanity in the Twenty-First Century?
Leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church Clarify Commitment to Ecumenical Movement
Lutheran and Episcopal Churches Throughout U.S. Celebrate "Full Communion"

Lutheran and Episcopal churches throughout the United States celebrated "full communion" with one another during the first week of the new year. "Called to Common Mission," the agreement reached between the Episcopal Church USA and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), was signed last year by both denominations. The agreement means that Lutheran and Episcopalian churches can now share communion, exchange clergy and engage in other areas of common ministry. The national celebration of "full communion" took place at Washington's National Cathedral on January 6,2001. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the ELCA, greeted those at the national service by stating, "We join together in Jesus' name to share in his sacraments, in his ministry, and in his mission, as one body in the power of one spirit" (Ecumenical News International, 1-8-01). Frank T. Griswold, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church in the USA, ended his sermon at the National Cathedral by expressing hope that the historic agreement reached between Lutherans and Episcopalians will lead to ever-widening and deepening relationships of shared life and mission with other churches of the Reformation, as well as the Church of Rome and the churches of the East" (Episcopal News Service, 1-6-01). [FOUNDATION Magazine, Jan-Feb 2001]

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Evangelicals and Protestants from a wide variety of denominations have supported the American Bible Society (ABS) since its inception. Both Campus Crusade for Christ and Promise Keepers have distributed over one million copies of the New Testament in various translations provided by the ABS in recent years. ABS booths and displays are frequently erected at major religious gatherings whether sponsored by the World Council of Churches, the National Council of Churches or other Evangelical or mainline denominations. Yet many fail to realize that the same organization which copyrighted Today's English Version in 1966, the Good News Bible in 1976 and the Contemporary English Version in 1991 also cooperates closely with Roman Catholics and even allows one to hold an executive position within the organization. Dr. Eugene Nida, the head of the ABS translation department in 1979, said the society's participation with Catholics was a "very important development." In the May 1996 issue of the ABS Record, a biographical sketch appears of Father Robert J. Robbins, vice chairman of the ABS church relations and volunteer activities committees. The Record says that Robbins, a Catholic, "helps guide the American Bible Society in working with its vital network of church supporters and volunteers." The article continues, "An ABS Board member since 1991, Father Robbins also serves on the Committee on Trustees and on the Finance/Administration and Executive committees." In December 2000, the ABS mailed a letter written by Robbins to Roman Catholics in which Robbins urged fellow Catholics to support the ABS as a response to Pope John Paul II’s plea for all baptized persons to participate in mission activity through the precious offering of prayers and suffering and with material aid." Believers should recognize the inconsistency and compromise of the ABS and refuse to support it. [FOUNDATION Magazine, Jan-Feb 2001]

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Billy Graham plans to hold a four-day crusade in Louisville, Kentucky, later this year. Hundreds of pastors and church leaders from a wide variety of denominations gathered together on January 16, 2001, at the Kentucky International Convention Center to plan for the Greater Louisville Billy Graham Crusade to be held June 21-24,2001 (Religion Today, 1-26-01). R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, will serve as the chairman of the Louisville crusade's executive committee. Other local religious leaders on the crusade committee include Bob Russell, senior pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville; William R. Jennings, pastor of Christ Church United Methodist in Louisville and Kevin Cosby, pastor of St. Stephen Baptist Church in Louisville (The Courier-Journal, 12-15-00). Religion Today reported that at the January 16 meeting, Mohler stressed the importance of unity among Christians in the months leading up to the crusade. "I believe what we see by God's providence is the coming together of a tremendous opportunity for the preaching of the gospel, for the unifying of a community, and for the glorifying of the one true and living God in Jesus Christ whom he has sent," Mohler said. [FOUNDATION Magazine, Jan-Feb 2001]

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Leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church recently clarified their commitment to the ecumenical movement in a document entitled "The Basic Principles of the Attitude of the Russian Orthodox Church to Other Christian Confessions." The document, adopted by the church's bishops and released following the jubilee Council of Bishops, states that "the quest for unity is something very essential to our Christian being and that it would be a sin to underestimate the necessity to work for Christian unity" (Episcopal News Service, 1-26-01). Rev. Hilarion Alfeyev, secretary for inter-Christian affairs for the Russian Orthodox Church, said that while many within the Russian Orthodox Church question the church's ability to influence the ecumenical movement in its present form (feeling that ecumenical organizations such as the World Council of Churches are dominated by liberal denominations from the West), the Russian Orthodox Church enters into dialogue with other churches on an equal footing. He reiterated the fact that such uncertainty among his Russian Orthodox brethren required the church to "adopt a balanced, official position on why it is necessary to continue to participate in inter-Christian dialogue." [FOUNDATION Magazine, Jan-Feb 2001]

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A delegation of Baptists from the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) met at the Vatican with leaders of the Roman Catholic Church's Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity to discuss Dominus Iesus, the recent document released by the Vatican, which calls non-Catholic religious bodies" not Churches in the proper sense." The 13-member BWA delegation expressed dismay over some of the document's wording, to which the Roman Catholic delegation responded by assuring the Baptist delegation that they, and Pope John Paul II, desire to proceed with official conversations with Baptists (Baptist Press, 12-20-00). Baptist Press reported that the Roman Catholic delegation "made clear that [Dominus Iesus] does not invalidate previous statements on ecumenism." The meeting with the Vatican leaders had been planned since 1999 when Nilson Fanini, past president of the BWA, and Denton Lotz, general secretary of the BWA, met with the Pontifical Council. The Baptist Press article stated that "both delegations agreed to meet again in 2001 to discuss specific issues raised in [the recent] meeting and in previous conversations." During the past several years, the Baptist World Alliance has held conversations not only with the Vatican but also with the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the Mennonite World Council and the Anglican Church. [FOUNDATION Magazine, Jan-Feb 2001]

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How is God's authority revealed to humanity in the Twenty-First century? According to Frank T. Griswold, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church USA, God's authority "is only discovered in communion with others-including those who represent differing points of view" (Episcopal News Service, 11-30-00). Griswold recently spoke at St. Stephen's Church in Richmond, Virginia, the host church of the Burning Issues Conference, in which he addressed the question of how the 2000 year-old authority of Christ is revealed in the twenty-first century. Citing John 16:12, Griswold said, "The Spirit further unfolds the truth as in Jesus over time in the life of the Church ... in such a way that there is an ongoing process of discovery. Authority is therefore not absolutely fixed and fully-revealed." Contrary to Griswold's claims, the Bible teaches that the only authority of the believer is the Word of God, which is man's only source of revelation concerning the person and work of Jesus Christ as well as the believer's directives for ministry and obedience (2 Tim. 3:16-17). [FOUNDATION Magazine, Jan-Feb 2001]

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Related Resources:
1997 News and Views
1998 News and Views
1999 News and Views
2000 News and Views
Watchman's Trumpet - 1997
Watchman's Trumpet - 1998
Watchman's Trumpet - 1999
Watchman's Trumpet - 2000
Watchman's Trumpet - 2001

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