20 years ago: Good riddance to Anton LaVey

On October 29, 1997, Anton Szandor LaVey, who founded the Church of Satan in 1966 and published The Satanic Bible in 1969, died at the age of 67. Mr. LaVey, born Howard Stanton Levey, was mainly a con man and a showman, and often seemed to do things in order to generate publicity; many aspects of his biography that he claimed for himself have apparently been proven untrue. Anton LaVey was already largely forgotten by the time of his death, and with the further passage of time, I suspect he will increasingly be regarded as a footnote character in the culture of the 1960s.

The book Selling Satan: The Tragic History of Mike Warnke (1993) by Mike Hertenstein and Jon Trott contains an appendix titled Reality is a Sometime Thing: A Strange Evening with Anton LaVey. As part of the research for their book, Messrs. Hertenstein and Trott were dinner guests circa 1991-1992 at the home of Mr. LaVey and his longtime companion Blanche Barton, and provided the following commentary on Mr. LaVey:

If our quest had been to discover the "real" Anton LaVey, here at last he was: a human being on the edge of eternity, grasping after immortality and significance. he seemed very much alone and quite deluded...

...the interplay between Anton LaVey's barricaded Kingdom of Evil and the rest of the world was full of contradictions. The Satanic Bible, which purported to be a celebration of will, was actually a celebration of LaVey's will, full of "oughts" and "shoulds" that any real nonconformist would have thrown out the window. The Black Pope, hater of humanity--who has praised such isolated "joys" as masturbation--worries about being forgotten, his own icon smashed by time. One had to wonder if perhaps LaVey's entire masquerade was just one long whistle past the graveyard, an attempt to tame evil and take the sting out of death by reducing them to mere objects of "kitsch." But the last laugh was coming.

Jon shook the iron gate--Blanche had insisted we make sure it was locked behind us. We waved to her on the porch and she pulled the front door shut, securing the black house from the violent world of homicidal nuts that LaVey, with his bubble gum nihilism, had helped to create. As we headed down California Street toward our car, my partner and I felt a great sadness for Anton LaVey. It was clear that his chain-link fence against the darkness wasn't going to hold out for much longer.

50 years ago: Churches' call to keep up with the modern world sound suspiciously like what you hear from the Church Growth Movement today

In 1967 Canada was still an ostensibly "Christian" nation, as least as far as the culture was concerned. The biggest mainline Protestant denominations--the United Church of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada--were just a couple of years past their peaks in membership, and although already on the road to apostasy, were still influential in Canadian society. National mainline church assemblies still received national media coverage.

The following articles--two concerning the national synod of the Anglican Church of Canada, and two on a Roman Catholic congress on theological renewal--are notable for reporting urgings from speakers and church leaders to keep up with the times. This is the same sort of message that "evangelical" churches have been hearing from the Church Growth Movement for the last 25-30 years or so: things have changed so much that the old ways must be done away with, and we must keep in step with the modern world. The mainline churches' attempts to be relevant and in step with the times have had the ironic and unintended result of continuing declines in membership and continuing irrelevance. As the old saying goes, I'd rather be part of a church that's 500 years behind the times and doesn't care than one that's 5 minutes behind the times and is constantly scrambling to catch up.

The following Canadian Press report was published in The Edmonton Journal, August 22, 1967:

Ottawa (CP) - The world is increasingly more skeptical about the Christian Church but the church is trying hard to adjust to the demands of modern times.

This was the view expressed Monday at a news conference on the eve of the 10-day general synod of the Anglican Church of Canada, in effect the national church's parliament.

The church's proposed union with the United Church of Canada is to be a major topic at the synod. The proposed union could drive some Anglicans into the Roman Catholic Church, it was suggested Monday.

"Every church feels we're all shook up," said Most Rev. Howard H. Clark, Archbishop of Rupert's Land and Primate of All Canada.

The church had fallen behind the rapid developments in the world because it "hasn't been concerned with first things." It had had a "pretty facade over life."

But despite its apparent slowness to deal with modern problems the church is "making a tremendous effort to adjust to the 20th century," said Rt. Rev. G.P. Gower, Bishop of New Westminster, who with Bishop H.R. Hunt of Toronto, joined the primate at the conference.

Young people, the primate said, have "never been so serious" and were "much more interested in the basic questions of life" than were his generation.

"The world is increasingly skeptical of churches," Archbishop Clark said. "But I have never seen so many young people concerned for...the value of life."

Bishop Gower said he thinks the Christian religion has been a "whipping boy" but "I think the tide is turning." Even in university circles there was a growing understanding of the church.

The primate said he expects it will be at least 10 years before union of Anglicans with the United Church of Canada becomes a reality.

He said there have been misgivings in his church about union and that there is the possibility that some Anglicans will want to join the Roman Catholic Church rather than worship under a union church.

The union question is expected to be the subject of lively debate at the synod sessions starting formally today at Saint Paul University, a Roman Catholic institution formed in 1965 that houses the theology and canon law faculties that formally were under the University of Ottawa.

As reported by Canadian Press and published in The Edmonton Journal, August 25, 1967:

Ottawa (CP) - Christian missionaries are still operating as in the heyday of the British Empire, the general synod of the Anglican Church of Canada was told Thursday.

Rt. Rev. R.S. Dean, executive officer of the Anglican communion on leave from the Canadian diocese of Cariboo, said the church must face the challenge of the modern world.

"The whole world and the whole church are in the grip of revolution and there is nothing that can hold it back," Bishop Dean said as the synod began an assessment of its missionary work.

He called for a complete reassessment of the church's missionary function and a greater attempt to meet the "fluid situation" in the world today.

The 10-day synod, which Wednesday adopted a new canon permitting re-marriage in the church of divorced persons, was warned not to preoccupy itself with "canons which box us in when God is unboxed."

The church should stress its worship because that is "what really holds the church together."

Bishop Dean was named executive officer two years ago for a five-year term. His headquarters are in London, England...

...Bishop Dean later called for abolition of the synod's upper house and criticized procedures he said were unrealistic.

"Let's live in the real world and not the Alice in Wonderland world," he urged the more than 250 synod delegates.

The synod has two houses. The upper house comprises the bishops and archbishops of the churches of 28 dioceses as well as retired bishops who are not engaged in secular work.

The sessions of the lower house--members are clergy and lay delegates--are open, but when the bishops meet alone, their deliberations are closed.

The union between the Anglican and United churches never did come about, despite a serious effort to accomplish it in the late 1960s-early '70s. It hardly matters; the vestments and titles may be slightly different, but the apostasy is about the same.

The young people whom Archbishop Clark praises for their seriousness are now the aging Baby Boomers. As boomer Michael Medved said, it was the first generation that had to find a reason to go to work. The things that Archbishop Clark said about the Baby Boomers are the same things that are being said in "evangelical" churches about the Millennials today.

It's an indication of how times have changed that one of the steps the Anglican Church of Canada took in 1967 to keep up with the times was to allow divorced people to get remarried in the church. Since then, the Anglican and other mainline churches have gone in a continuous downward direction: allowing divorced and remarried men to become leaders; putting women in positions of leadership; opening fellowship to non-practicing, and then practicing sodomites and lesbians, and those of the latest alphabet perversion; putting such perverts in positions of leadership; and recognizing and then performing "marriages" of such perverts. Thus do the mainline "Protestant" churches keep up with the modern world.

"Evangelical" denominations such as the Christian & Missionary Alliance are a few decades behind the mainline churches, but they're heading in the same direction, and if they're heading in the same direction, they're going to end up in the same place.

At the same time the Anglican Church of Canada general synod was taking place in Ottawa, a Roman Catholic congress on theological renewal was being held in Toronto . As reported by Canadian Press and published in The Edmonton Journal, August 22, 1967:

Toronto (CP) - As societies and civilizations change and develop, problems of living as Christians also change and develop, a Roman Catholic expert on moral theology said Monday.

He was speaking to delegates to an international conference on renewal of the church.

Enda McDonagh, 37, professor of moral theology at St. Patrick's College in Maynooth, Ireland said:

"Today the problems and possibilities of common worship with other Christians, of mixed marriage, of living in various pluralist societies, of the bomb, of population and segregation and so on have replaced earlier and different problems. They pose new questions...and demand new answers in which the basic God-man and man-man relationship revealed in Christ is maintained."

The right answers must be based on the inherited wisdom of previous generations, yet be "new answers for new people with new problems."

"This is the task of the whole Christian community, to provide these answers by using all the resources of the community. Every member of the community has an obligation to contribute to arriving at these answers."

It is the task of the church, he suggested, "to provide a unifying service in the community, to articulate authoritatively and in some instances definitely the community understanding and pronounce it in genuine continuity with the historic."

Rev. Etienne Gilson, 83-year-old founder of the Pontifical Institute on Medieval Studies, told a congress conference that new proofs of the existence of God will continue to be discovered "as long as human understandings will spontaneously form in themselves, and realize as meaningful, that notion of a supreme being."

More than 2,000 invited delegates are participating in the congress, the centennial project of Canadain bishops. Another 3,000 persons are watching some of the proceedings on closed-circuit television in two halls.

Renewal of the Christian church--if renewal means "bringing things up to date"--can only be accomplished after a renewal in theology, Rev. Bernard Lonergan told the congress.

The 63-year-old Jesuit teacher from Toronto's Regis College said theology began to lose its touch in the 17th century when dogmatic theology emerged. It was a theology which emphasized the certainties of faith, and in which the search for an intelligent understanding of faith was minimized.

As reported by Canadian Press and published in The Edmonton Journal, August 25, 1967:

Toronto - A Canadian minister and a priest challenged a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church Thursday to open the church to public scrutiny.

The challenge came near the end of a congress on the theology of church renewal, which brought 44 of the world's leading theologians to Toronto for five days.

Earlier a woman philosopher from England, told the Congress that Roman Catholic Church handling of sexuality amounts to a set of rules and "a lot of slush about love and family life."

Franz Cardinal Koenig, 62-year-old Archbishop of Vienna and a church liberal, had said in the last speech heard by 2,000 invited delegates that the church must become "more transparent," that it must open itself to communication with its people and with the world.

Rev. A.C. Forrest, editor of the United Church Observer and member of a five-man panel which commented on the cardinal's address, said he was troubled by a reference to "transparency and partial transparency" and would like it explained.

Rev. Raymond Durocher of the Canadian Register, a Catholic newspaper, said: " The message of God was transparent on the cross at Calvary."

He asked why the church is not as fully transparent.

"That is not alone the task of the church," the cardinal replied. "It is the task of the journalist to probe and to make transparent."

It was on that note of questioning that the congress on the theology of renewal of the church ended after speakers from 15 countries had tried to fulfill its purpose of coping "with some of the serious problems of contemporary religious thinking" and to create in North Americans a greater interest in theology.

The congress, organized by the Institute for Medieval Studies, a Roman Catholic research organization at the University of Toronto, was the centennial project of the conference of Canadian bishops.

Earlier Thursday the discussion on the church's attitude to sex was led by Elizabeth Anscombe, a married Catholic laywoman and a fellow of Somerville College, Oxford, England.

The church, when it talks of sexuality, says: "Outside marriage, sexual acts are excluded; within marriage, spouses may always uses their rights...over one another's bodies."

To make such a teaching "less negative, even heartless," the church talks of marriage as a sacrament and a vocation.

"We enter upon marriage to please ourselves, not as people entering upon a vocation."

It is possible that the church's teaching on contraception will remain unrevoked and unamended, said Miss Anscombe, wife of English philosopher Peter Geach.

"It would then become a dead letter like the teaching...on usury."

Rev. Bernard Haring, a German theologian based in Rome, said in a separate paper on the family that the fundamental problems of marriage change as the world situation changes.

"The canonically legal approach to the question of marital rights must be reconsidered in the light of the contemporary social background," he said.

There is a conviction in all structures of modern life that "life does not regulate itself; man has to do it, using all his insights, energies and skills." This is a consideration that must be made toward birth control, he said.

40 years ago: Former Archbishop of Canterbury proposes the Pope as head of a unified church

The movement to undo the Reformation and unite all professing Christian churches has been underway for a long time. The ecumenists and syncretists are never quite able to get everything they want, perhaps because if they did it would upset the prophetic timetable, which is controlled by God, and which will be fulfilled according to His schedule. Eventually there will be a movement of all religions united against the Lord Jesus Christ, which He will destroy with the brightness of His coming. Submitted for your approval, the following article, as it appeared in The Edmonton Journal, August 8, 1977:

Melbourne, Australia (Reuter)--Former archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Michael Ramsey proposed today that the Pope should be the leader of any united church of Anglicans and Roman Catholics.

Dr. Ramsey said during the last 20 years there has been great growth in the relations between the two churches.

"My idea of the goal is the Anglican communion not absorbed into the Roman Catholic church but in communion with it," Dr. Ramsey said in an interview with The Age newspaper.

"In this union the Pope would be accepted not as infallible but as president bishop," he said.

Dr. Ramsey, 73, who retired three years ago as archbishop of Canterbury and leader of the Anglican church, is in Melbourne to attend the centenary of Trinity College Theological Hall at Melbourne University.

When he was archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Ramsey met Pope Paul in Rome in 1966 and their discussions led to the formation of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission, which has worked on the theological basis for reunion of the two churches.

Dr. Ramsey said the commission had done remarkable work. "They have gone behind the familiar controversies and they indicate a real hope for unity," he said.

But there is now developing an inevitable resistance from both churches and the ecumenical movement might be headed for a "go-slow," he said.

Dr. Ramsey said it is shameful that there still are divisions among Christians. "It is wrong that Christendom should be divided into bodies which are sometimes competing and estranged," he said.

Dr. Ramsey's suggestion that the Pope should lead a unified church was rejected by spokesmen for both the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches in Australia.

The Anglican church's spokesman here, Rev. Allan Nicholls, said Australian Anglicans still are very conscious of the 16th century Reformation which led to the formation of the Anglican church.

"This proposal by Dr. Ramsey is completely unacceptable to us and I don't believe it would be acceptable to the Roman Catholic church either," he said.

The Roman Catholic church spokesman, Bishop Clancy, agreed, saying the Pope's infallibility is not properly understood by Anglicans.

"Infallibility of the Pope isn't something we trade," Bishop Clancy said.

That this move toward Anglican-Roman Catholic union had been going on for some time is indicated by the following Canadian Press report, which appeared in The Edmonton Journal on September 5, 1967:

London (CP) - A modest degree of progress was reported Monday by a commission of Anglican and Roman Catholic theologians working toward unity between the two churches.

After a week of private talks at a secluded country manor, the 24-member international committee--which included two Canadians--found three fields for immediate action.

But it also found its discussions pointed up several "crucial" areas of disagreement.

The positive recommendations of the commission, after its second meeting since being set up last year by the Vatican and the Archbishop of Canterbury:

. Possible joint use of churches and other buildings by the two faiths.

. The "urgent need" to work for common texts in those prayers and formulas --such as the Lord's Prayer and the Apostles' Creed--which are common to both churches.

. Greater collaboration in education for the ministry.

The "crucial" points of differences listed in an announcement issued at Westminster Abbey included the divergent attitudes of the two churches toward individual interpretation of the scriptures, the Roman Catholic doctrine of papal primacy and infallibility, different dogmatic views on the Virgin Mary and the Roman Catholic's lack of recognition of the Anglican priesthood.

On the question of papal primacy, Dr. John Moorman, Anglican bishop of Ripon and co-chairman of the commission, said the sessions had not greatly changed the traditional attitudes of both sides.

"But on this and on other subjects generally the attitude was one of frank and open discussion and not that of two teams glaring at each other," he told a news conference.

He also said he did not think much progress had been made in discussing the dogmas concerning Mary. Further guidance would be needed on this and other "crucial" matters.

The Roman Catholic co-chairman--Bishop Charles Helmsing of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri--said he did not look for immediate general action toward the exchange of pulpits among clergymen of the two churches. Because of past tensions, may regions would find this "shocking."

It would have to be left to local authorities for a long time.

Canadians on the commission are Rev. John Keating, secretary of the English section of the Canadian Catholic Bishops' Commission on Ecumenism, and Rev. Eugene R. Fairweather of Trinity College, Toronto, an Anglican.

Next meeting of the commission will be held in December. It is expected to be in Italy.

Dr. Ramsey's words and actions illustrate the willingness of "Christian" leaders to ignore and/or repudiate the teachings of their own churches and the vows that they took when they assumed their offices. The distinctive teachings of the Church of England can be found in the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, which were finalized in 1571 and included in the Book of Common Prayer. Several of the articles express rejection of the doctrines and practices of the Roman Catholic Church:

From Article XIX. Of the Church.:
As the Church of Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch, have erred; so also the Church of Rome hath erred, not only in their living and manner of Ceremonies, but also in matters of Faith.

XXI. Of the Authority of General Councils.
General Councils may not be gathered together without the commandment and will of Princes. And when they be gathered together, (forasmuch as they be an assembly of men, whereof all be not governed with the Spirit and Word of God,) they may err, and sometimes have erred, even in things pertaining unto God. Wherefore things ordained by them as necessary to salvation have neither strength nor authority, unless it may be declared that they be taken out of holy Scripture.

XXII. Of Purgatory.
The Romish Doctrine concerning Purgatory, Pardons, Worshipping and Adoration, as well of Images as of Reliques, and also invocation of Saints, is a fond thing vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the Word of God.

XXXI. Of the one Oblation of Christ finished upon the Cross.
The Offering of Christ once made is that perfect redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction, for all the sins of the whole world, both original and actual; and there is none other satisfaction for sin, but that alone. Wherefore the sacrifices of Masses, in the which it was commonly said, that the Priest did offer Christ for the quick and the dead, to have remission of pain or guilt, were blasphemous fables, and dangerous deceits.

From Article XXXVII. Of the Civil Magistrates.:
The Bishop of Rome hath no jurisdiction in this Realm of England.

500 years later, the Reformation in Europe is all but dead

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther reportedly posted his 95 Theses on the door of All Saints' Church in Wittenberg, Saxony, beginning the Protestant Reformation. 500 years later, the Reformation has almost completely died; the Roman Catholic Church has never given up trying to squelch the flame, while the Protestant churches have apostatized. As reported by Harriet Sherwood in the English newspaper The Guardian, August 31, 2017 (links in original):

Five centuries after the Reformation triggered a series of long and bloody religious wars across Europe, modern-day Protestants and Catholics believe they have more in common theologically than they do differences, and most would be willing to accept each other as neighbours and family members.

“Theological differences that split western Christianity in the 1500s have diminished to a degree that might have shocked Christians in past centuries,” says a report by the Washington-based Pew Research Center.

The study does note a geographical divide in western Europe, with predominantly Protestant countries in the north and Catholic countries mainly in the south.

The Reformation’s fuse was lit when Martin Luther, a German monk, nailed his 95 theses to the door of a church in Wittenberg on 31 October 1517. The document, written in Latin, fundamentally challenged the authority of the Roman Catholic church.

Luther’s move was part of a backlash against increasing corruption and in particular the highly profitable sale of indulgences, promoted as fast-track tickets to heaven. Luther declared that when it came to “justification” – avoiding hell, and gaining admission to heaven – salvation was a matter between an individual and God.

Swiftly translated into German and other European languages, Luther’s ideas spread across the continent within weeks, triggering religious, political, intellectual and cultural upheaval.

In recent decades there has been a slow rapprochement between the Catholic and Protestant traditions, with greater cooperation and dialogue, encouraged by Pope Francis, although there are still pockets of sectarianism. Last year, leaders of the Catholic and main Protestant churches in Germany issued a joint text calling for a “healing of memories” of past divisions.

Protestants are the majority in five western European countries and Catholics are the biggest group in nine, with a broadly north-south divide, according to the Pew study. Luther’s home country, Germany, is still predominantly Catholic, with a 42% share of the population, compared with 28% Protestant and 24% unaffiliated.

The UK breakdown is 54% Protestant, 17% Catholic and 24% unaffiliated, while Ireland is 75% Catholic, 5% Protestant and 14% unaffiliated. Finland is the most Protestant country, with 73% of the population, and is recorded as having 0% Catholics. Italy is the most Catholic country, at 78%, and is 1% Protestant.

Only in the Netherlands do the unaffiliated make up the largest group, with 48% of the population, compared with 20% Catholic and 18% Protestant.

In all the countries, only small proportions of Catholics and Protestants pray daily, attend services weekly or say religion is very important in their lives.

Across the board, 58% of Protestants and 50% of Catholics in western Europe say the two traditions are religiously more similar than different. But 26% and 34% respectively say the differences outweigh the similarities.

Roughly nine out of 10 or more Protestants and Catholics say they are willing to accept members of the other tradition as neighbours. Large majorities of both groups say they would be willing to accept each other into their families.

Germany is the most tolerant country, with 98% of Protestants and 97% of Catholics willing to accept the other into their families. Portugal and Spain are the least tolerant, with less than 80% of their predominantly Catholic populations willing to accept Protestants as family members.

Pew also records a reconciliation between the two traditions on a key theological issue: whether eternal salvation is attained solely through faith, as Luther believed, or through a combination of faith and good works.

In every country bar one, majorities or pluralities of Catholics and Protestants say both faith and good works are needed for salvation. The exception is Norway, where 51% of Protestants say salvation comes through faith alone.

• This article was amended on 5 September 2017. An earlier version said research by the Pew Research Center showed 48% of people in Germany were Catholic. This has been corrected to 42%.

And now--robot priests

Robot clergy might be acceptable for a religion that consists of empty ritual, but not for a true faith in the living God. As reported by Samuel Gibbs in the British newspaper The Guardian, August 23, 2017 (links in original):

In Japan robots can serve as companions, helpers for the elderly, entertainment bots and even sexual partners, but now SoftBank’s humanoid robot Pepper has put itself up for hire as a Buddhist priest for funerals.

Taking the German blessing bot’s idea and running with it, Pepper’s new code will let it chant sutras in a computerised voice while tapping a drum, providing a cheaper alternative to a human priest to see your loved ones off into the eternal sleep.

The robot was on display on Wednesday at a funeral industry fair, the Life Ending Industry Expo, in Tokyo, shown off by plastic molding maker Nissei Eco.

With the average cost of a funeral in Japan reaching in excess of £20,000, according to data from Japan’s Consumer Association in 2008, and human priests costing £1,700, Nissei Eco is looking to undercut the market with Pepper available for just £350 per funeral.

With Japan’s population ageing and shrinking, many Buddhist priests receive less financial support from their communities, prompting some to find part-time work outside their temple duties, said Michio Inamura, Nissei’s executive adviser, who suggested Pepper could step in when a human wasn’t available.

Would-be funeral arrangers have the option to deck Pepper out in the robe of a Buddhist monk and can even live-stream the ceremony to those who can’t attend the funeral in person.

Buddhist priest Tetsugi Matsuo said he came to the expo to see if Pepper could “impart the ‘heart’ aspect to a machine because I believe that the ‘heart’ is the foundation of religion”.

Pepper has yet to be hired to conduct a funeral, but with robots slowly creeping into most facets of life it seem inevitable they will be involved in its end in one form or another.

A related earlier item, as reported by Harriet Sherwood in The Guardian, May 30, 2017 (links in original):

Five hundred years after revolutionary printing presses spread news of Martin Luther’s radical call for church reform across Europe, technology is again challenging religious tradition in the small German town of Wittenberg.

A robot priest that delivers blessings in five languages and beams light from its hands has been unveiled as part of an exhibition to mark the anniversary of the start of the Reformation, a Europe-wide religious, political and cultural upheaval sparked when Luther nailed his 95 theses to a church door in the town.

Half a millennium later, the robot, called BlessU-2, is intended to trigger debate about the future of the church and the potential of artificial intelligence.

“We wanted people to consider if it is possible to be blessed by a machine, or if a human being is needed,” Stephan Krebs of the Protestant church in Hesse and Nassau, which is behind the initiative, told the Guardian.

The robot has a touchscreen chest, two arms and a head. For the past 10 days it has offered blessings in a choice of German, English, French, Spanish or Polish. Worshippers can choose between a male or female voice.

The robot raises its arms, flashes lights, recites a biblical verse and says: “God bless and protect you.” If requested, it will provide a printout of its words. A backup robot is available in case of breakdown.

“The idea is to provoke debate,” said Krebs. “People from the street are curious, amused and interested. They are really taken with it, and are very positive. But inside the church some people think we want to replace human pastors with machines. Those that are church-oriented are more critical.”

Krebs and his colleagues are collecting responses for further analysis but he did not anticipate robots presenting a solution to a Europe-wide shortage of priests. A robot “could never substitute for pastoral care”, he said. “We don’t want to robotise our church work, but see if we can bring a theological perspective to a machine.”

The Wittenberg exhibition commemorates the anniversary of political and religious convulsions across Europe in the 16th century, resulting in the greatest schism in western Christianity and a string of religious wars.

Luther’s theses, written in Latin, fundamentally challenged the authority and elitism of the Roman Catholic church.

BlessU-2 is not the first robot to penetrate the world of faith. Last year, a Buddhist temple on the edge of Beijing developed a robot monk that could chant mantras and and explain basic tenets of the religion.

The latest in idolatry: the worship of artificial intelligence

The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.
They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not;
They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths.
They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them. Psalms 135:15-18 (also Psalms 115:4-8)

And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. Revelation 13:11-15

As reported by Glenn McDonald of Seeker, October 3, 2017 (links in original):

You might soon be able — if you’re so inclined — to join a bonefide church worshiping an artificially intelligent god.

Former Google and Uber engineer Anthony Levandowski, according to a recent Backchannel profile, filed paperwork with the state of California in 2015 to establish Way of the Future, a nonprofit religious corporation dedicated to worshiping AI. The church's mission, according to paperwork obtained by Backchannel, is “to develop and promote the realization of a Godhead based on artificial intelligence and through understanding and worship of the Godhead contribute to the betterment of society.”

The documents show Levandowski is CEO and President of Way of the Future. Presumably there was no option for High Priest.

Author and religious studies scholar Candi Cann, who teaches comparative religion at Baylor University, said Levandowski's spiritual initiative isn't necessarily that odd from a historical perspective.

“It strikes me that Levandowski's idea reads like a quintessential American religion,” Cann told Seeker. “LDS [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] and Scientology are both distinctly American traditions that focus on very forward thinking religious viewpoints. LDS discusses other planets and extra-terrestrial life. Scientology has an emphasis on therapy and a psychological worldview, which is quite modern and forward thinking.”

The concept of worshiping artificial intelligence even has a certain resonance with a major world religion, Cann said.

“From a comparative religion perspective, I think it feels the most like Hinduism, in which there are avatars of deities found on Earth,” she said. “In this way, I think AI can reflect the best of humans back to us, which are, in turn, worshiped.”

Levandowski is accused of stealing proprietary documents when he was an engineer at Google and taking them to his own self-driving vehicle start-up, which was later acquired by Uber for $680 million. Uber denies knowledge of Levandowski’s alleged theft or that Google technology made it into its vehicle technology. Waymo, Google’s self-driving vehicle spin-off, filed suit against Levandowski in February. Uber fired him in May, claiming he was not cooperating with the company’s legal work.

Levendowski’s pitch for an AI church comes amid apocalyptic warnings from tech and science luminaries like Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking to the dangers of artificial intelligence. Musk suggested a few years back that he's investing heavily in artificial intelligence largely to keep an eye on AI, which he views as an existential threat to humanity.

“With artificial intelligence we are summoning the demon,” the founder of Tesla and SpaceX said. “In all those stories where there’s the guy with the pentagram and the holy water.... It’s like — yeah, he’s sure he can control the demon. It didn't work out.”

A former friend and colleague of Levandowski quoted by Backchannel provides some insights to the would-be church leader's views on robots and artificial intelligence.

“He had this very weird motivation about robots taking over the world — like actually taking over, in a military sense,” an unidentified engineer and former friend told the publication. “It was like [he wanted] to be able to control the world, and robots were the way to do that.”

Baylor’s Cann noted that it's important to keep in mind that any speculation about Levandowski’s motivation for Way of the Future is based on a mission statement from only one document.

“For me, this is more like a new paradigm out of which new religious practices could emerge,” Cann told Seeker. “It doesn't seem like a religion as much as a religious worldview. Along those lines, secularism is a religious worldview.”

30 years ago: New Ager Matthew Fox delivers keynote lecture at Queen's Theological School

Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. II Timothy 3:5

Anyone who researches the history of New Age beliefs and practices masquerading in Christian garb over the last 30 years or so is likely to come across the name Matthew Fox. Mr. Fox was a Roman Catholic priest of the Dominican order who was expelled from the order in 1993 and subsequently joined the Episcopal Church. He's best known for promoting "Creation Spirituality" and "deep ecumenism" in books such as The Coming of the Cosmic Christ (1988). Mr. Fox believes in Christ as a cosmic principle rather than as a particular person. "Creation Spirituality" is really just old-fashioned pagan nature worship dressed up in modern terminology; "deep ecumenism" means that Mr. Fox's spirituality includes beliefs and practices of various religions in an attempt to find common ground.

Queen's University, located in Kingston, Ontario, was founded as Queen's College in 1841 by the Church of Scotland. In 1912 the university was secularized; the faculty of theology was separated from the university and became Queen's Theological College, a training institution for the Presbyterian Church in Canada. The Presbyterian, Congregational, and Methodist churches amalgamated in 1925 to form the United Church of Canada. The United Church continued to operate Queen's Theological College, which changed its name to Queen's School of Religion in 2010.

The United Church of Canada became apostate decades ago, and that apostasy has only worsened over time. An indication of the level of apostasy reached by the United Church in the 1980s is that in 1987, Queen's Theological School invited Matthew Fox to deliver its Chancellor's Lecture.

As reported by Rev. Nadene Grieve-Deslippe, MDiv '81 (sic) in Queen's Alumni Review, January-February 1988, p. 6:

The Queen's Theological College Alumni Association held its 95th Annual Reunion and conference at the College Oct. 12-14. More than 150 people from several denominations attended. A highlight of the three-day event was the Chancellor's Lecture, which is one of North America's oldest continuing lectureships.

This year's lecturer was Matthew Fox, a Dominican author and scholar, and Director of the Institute of Culture and Creation Spirituality in Oakland, Calif. Fox expounds a new spirituality--a new paradigm--of life as an original blessing.

A crowd of more than 300 persons turned out to hear Fox's lecture, necessitating a change of venue from Convocation Hall at the Theological College to Sydenham Street United Church.

Fox challenged the members of his audience to reshape their thinking from dualism to universalism and to "experience God in all of our creation." He said that our worship of God needs to be more experimental as worshippers "let go" of dull and boring tradition and truly celebrate the living and the divine. This was thought provoking, particularly for those persons in the audience who are involved in worship as leaders.

In addition to the Fox lecture, this year's conference program included a staff lecture on Christian identity and feminism by Dr. Pam Dickey Young, a lecture by Chaplain Brian Yealand, entitled, My Times are in Thy Hand, and a total of seven workshops on a range of topics of current interest.

This year's Reunion and conference were highly successful, and organizers hope to promote future conferences as ecumenical events to draw participants from the outside community.

For more on Matthew Fox, I suggest searching his name at Lighthouse Trails Research Project and Herescope.

See also my posts:

Calgary Herald blasts United Church of Canada for advocating a boycott of Israel (May 15, 2012)

A secular columnist accurately assesses Canada's declining liberal churches (July 30, 2012)

United Church of Canada elects its first openly sodomite moderator (August 16, 2012)

50 years ago: United Church of Canada unveils Sunday School curriculum denying the truth of the Bible (August 1, 2014)

80 years ago: United Church of Canada ordains Canada's first female minister (November 7, 2016)

Vampire scare in Malawi triggers mob violence

As Paul Harvey used to say, "It is not one world." As reported by Mabvuto Banda and Ed Stoddard of Reuters, October 9, 2017:

LILONGWE - The United Nations said on Monday it has pulled staff out of two districts in southern Malawi where a vampire scare has triggered mob violence in which at least five people have been killed.

Belief in witchcraft is widespread in rural Malawi, one of the world’s poorest countries, where many aid agencies and NGOs work. A spate of vigilante violence linked to a vampire rumors also erupted in Malawi in 2002.

“These districts have severely been affected by the ongoing stories of blood sucking and possible existence of vampires,” the UN Department on Safety and Security (UNDSS) said in a security report on the Phalombe and Mulanje districts that was seen by Reuters.

The Acting UN Resident Coordinator, Florence Rolle, said in an emailed response to questions that based on the report that “some UN staff have relocated while others are still in the districts depending on locations of their operations”.

“UNDSS is continuing to monitor the situation closely to ensure all affected UN staff are back in the field as soon as possible,” Rolle said.

Rolle did not say how many workers had been relocated.

The UNDSS report said at least five people had been killed in the area since mid-September by lynch mobs accusing them of vampirism. It said mobs searching for vampires have been mounting road blocks in the district, raising security concerns.

Malawian President Peter Mutharika said the reports were “distressing and agonizing”.

“This development has been of grave concern to the President and the entire Government,” his office said in a statement.

The UNDSS report said the vampirism rumors appear to have originated in neighboring Mozambique, although it was not clear what had sparked them. It recommended the “temporary suspension of U.N. activities in the area until the situation is normalized”.

It said some NGOs had pulled personnel from the districts and temporarily suspended their programs but did not name the organizations.

As for the rumours of vampires in Malawi in 2002, the following was reported by Erwan Jourand of the South African news service Independent Online, February 5, 2003:

Lilongwe - Almost a decade after their former president Kamuzu Banda lost power, Malawians are still terrified by rumours of government-sponsored vampires that circulated under his brutal reign and have held the popular imagination ever since.

Many Malawians, especially in the country's rural south, believe in reports that teams of "blood suckers" are murdering poor people on a nightly basis, draining their blood and selling it to international aid agencies in return for food.

Vague in all but the nastiest details, the fantastical stories have become so widespread that the Central African Presbyterian Church has called for an independent commission to investigate the allegations.

"We would like to recommend the immediate creation of an independent commission of inquiry to investigate the allegations of blood-sucking," the church said in a statement.

Last month a member of the ruling United Democratic Front was accused of harbouring the vampires and was beaten by the residents of a small town near Blantyre. After the incident, government spokesperson Robert Ngaiyaye was forced to issue a statement declaring there was "no evidence that there are blood-suckers".

President Muluzi has accused unnamed opposition politicians of exploiting the rumours with the aim of bringing down his government, vowing that anyone caught spreading rumours would be arrested.

This blogger is unaware if the Central African Presbyterian Church's recommendation of a commission to investigate the rumours was ever acted upon.

Pastors at NAR church in British Columbia face multiple charges of sexual assault

As reported by Samantha Anderson of Peace Arch News, October 4, 2017:

For eight years, Samuel Emerson was a pastor at Cloverdale Christian Fellowship Church, also known as “Cloverdale Church.”

His last day as a pastor came on May 18, when RCMP “showed up at the door of the church” and led him out in cuffs, said Samuel’s father, Randy Emerson, who is the current pastor of Cloverdale Church.

In a media release issued Tuesday afternoon, Surrey RCMP revealed that they received several allegations of sexual assault against Samuel Emerson and his wife Madelaine on May 17, 2017.

The South Surrey couple – who have five children – were arrested the next day.

Samuel Emerson, 34, has been charged with 13 counts of sexual assault, 11 counts of being in a position of authority and touching a person for a sexual purpose, and one count of sexual touching of a person under the age of 16.

Madelaine Emerson, 37, has been charged with one count of sexual assault, one count of being in a position of authority and touching a person for a sexual purpose, and one count of threats to cause death or bodily harm.

The alleged assaults occurred between 2015 and 2017.

Surrey RCMP explained the 4½-month delay in announcing the arrest that “there was no investigational or public safety need to report out on this matter.”

The day of the arrest, Randy Emerson wrote on Facebook: “If you know us and our church please pray. We are under attack like never before and we need the accuser of the saints to be silenced and Truth prevail.”

Two days later, he wrote, “Thank you to everyone who is praying for us and expressing love at this time. You are making a difference. This is a time when we must not believe with our eyes and ears but with our spirits. Let God be true and every man a liar. Can’t be specific at this time but your prayers are making a difference.”

Randy Emerson and his wife Christine started the Cloverdale Christian Fellowship Church, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this Sunday.

“Sam, being our son, was a part of the church right from the beginning,” he told the Cloverdale Reporter on Wednesday. “If I’d seen anybody go out that way, it’s traumatizing. Any of our staff taken away (in cuffs) would be tough… Being my son, it was it just the cherry on the ice cream, you know?”

The couple was not previously known to police, and they were later released under “strict conditions… sufficient to alleviate any safety concerns,” an RCMP spokesperson said.

One of those conditions is that Samuel and Madelaine cannot have contact with the church, according to Randy.

No mention of Samuel or Madelaine is on the church’s website, but according to his social media accounts, Samuel was a pastor at Cloverdale Church, and worked with Youth Church Cloverdale.

Randy said that Samuel worked “in every ministry of the church,” which includes the youth ministry.

Samuel Emerson’s work as a pastor also took him to other churches in Surrey, including Life Church in White Rock. In a Facebook post in September 2016, Life Church wrote, “This Sunday we welcomed young Pastor Sam Emerson from our sister church in Cloverdale, B.C.”

“Sam grew upon our church, and had some very important insights to share,” the post reads.

Following the arrests, Sunday services at Cloverdale Church were subdued for “almost two months,” said Randy.

“People were in shock for the first while,” he said. “It was very, very difficult and very quiet and subdued. For the last couple of months we’ve been building towards something lively and full of life again. For awhile it was just, like, everybody was just staring off into space.”

The congregation went from a crowd of around 250 people to 50 people.

“People just left,” said Randy. “These are people, some of them that we’d worked with for 25 years.”

“They were ripped out of our relationships just immediately. And they wouldn’t talk to us. At all. Afraid, and I don’t know what for,” he said.

“As I understand it, none of the allegations occurred at the church,” said Randy, “which is where we work very hard to keep it safe here. We’re even reviewing those policies and protocol to see if we can tighten everything up.”

Randy said that Cloverdale Church’s safety protocols are “pretty typical.” They include criminal record checks for staff. No minor is left in a room unsupervised with an adult if the minor and adult are “opposite genders,” he added.

“As far as we know nothing happened [at the church],” said Randy. “And I can’t control stuff that happens off the property and on people’s own time.”

The Cloverdale Church continues to be active in its work. “We continue to do the things that we’ve always done, but it’s on a much more subdued level,” said Randy. ”We’ve pulled back, but we’re not stopping.”

Surrey RCMP have said the investigation into Samuel and Madelaine Emerson is still ongoing, and that they believe there may have been other victims.

They are asking that any potential victims come forward to speak with police.

Surrey RCMP as that anyone with more information call 604-599-0502, or, if they wish to remain anonymous, to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

As reported by Ms. Anderson in the Cloverdale Reporter, October 4, 2017:

Several Cloverdale churches have come together to issue a statement after former Cloverdale Christian Fellowship pastor Samuel Emerson and his wife Madelaine Emerson were charged with multiple counts of sexual assault...

...“We are deeply saddened and shocked by the numerous charges laid against Sam and Madelaine Emerson, pastoral leaders at Cloverdale Christian Fellowship,” the statement reads.

“We grieve for the victims and support all the efforts of the RCMP and our judicial system to do what is right. We hope that all details will be exposed thoroughly so that justice and healing can be accomplished effectively for the sake of all involved.”

The statement was sent to the Cloverdale Reporter on behalf of Centre Church, Cloverdale Baptist Church, Coast Hills Community Church, Crossridge Community Church, Hope Community Church, Pacific Community Church, Sonrise Community Church, West Coast Community Church and Zion Lutheran Church.

“It’s a wake up call,” said Jim Heuving, executive pastor at Pacific Community Church.

In the wake of the charges being laid, Heuving said that the members of Cloverdale churches are asking themselves, “Are we doing the best we can do? If not, let’s do better.”

There are “strong protocols” in place in order to protect vulnerable people, said Heuving.

“Many churches, Pacific Community Church is an example, are all about safety. Every member of our staff and volunteers are screened and trained in how to work with children, youth, seniors, and those with disabilities.”

Heuving said he will be calling his congregation to unite in prayer and support of those who have been affected. “There’s a lot of hurt,” he said.

The churches are offering to “provide support to any who are impacted by this troubling situation,” including those “who may need financial aid in accessing counselling and support.” Anyone who is looking for support can reach out to the ministries through their websites.

That Cloverdale Church is part of the New Apostolic Reformation is clear from their website, which has a page on the Cloverdale School of Supernatural Ministry. Oddly, the church seems to have recently lost the ability to minister in the supernatural:

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING CLOVERDALE SCHOOL OF SUPERNATURAL MINISTRY
Hello Friends,

After much prayer and discussion between Pastor Randy and I, we have decided to postpone the 2017-2018 Cloverdale School of Supernatural Ministry school year for the foreseeable future. This decision has not come lightly, nor joyfully. Cloverdale Christian Fellowship has been in the midst of a difficult transition since the Associate Pastor resigned earlier this year. Between the building lease, staffing turnover, worship team cutbacks, and numerous other considerations, there is no way to launch by September 12.

This has been an incredibly difficult decision. CSSM began on a hope and a prayer 10 years ago and we have never looked back. This is the first year we will have to postpone in the history of the school. CSSM has been one of the longest running Bethel DVD schools in the world. As we tackle the season we have found ourselves in, it has become abundantly clear that it is necessary to postpone any future plans for the school.

Any updates to the direction of the school and potential launch dates will be posted here, Facebook, and emailed through our email lists. I apologize for not updating you earlier in the summer. Again, this is not a decision that we have taken lightly. In light of this, there are a number of other ministry schools in the local area that we can recommend. These are all ministries we are acquainted with and have seen proven fruit come from them.

Church on Oxford Hill - Oxford School of Ministy (OSOM) - http://www.oxfordhill.ca/general-information.html

Windword - Winsom - http://windword.ca/winsom/


Samuel's Mantle - https://www.samuelsmantle.com/

New Life North Shore - North Shore School of Supernatural Ministry (NSSSM) - https://www.newlifenorthshore.com/ministries/

Ignite the Fire (Reina Carlson) - school@ignitethefire.ca

Any of those school will be great environments to learn and grow.

May you seek His Kingdom and His righteousness,

Joshua Hoffert

Director, Cloverdale School of Supernatural Ministry

Cloverdale's website also has a page promoting the August 17, 2017 Kingdom Culture Conference, featuring "Apostle" Everton Weekes. I appreciate Mr. Hoffert mentioning the other churches in the area; it saves me the bother of looking up which churches to recommend avoiding.

As unsound as Cloverdale Church is, with its NAR doctrine and claiming to act according to the Bible while in fact acting contrary to scripture (e.g., having women as pastors and elders), I disapprove of the virtue-signalling of the churches that issued the statement saying that they "grieve for the victims." We don't know that the accusers are victims--that's for the trial to determine. For the churches that issued this statement to refer to the accusers as victims is to presume the guilt of the accused. If those who signed this statement know that Samuel and/or Madelaine Emerson are guilty, they should give evidence to that effect in court rather than issuing public statements before the trial.

For more information on the New Apostolic Information, I recommend Lighthouse Trails Research Project and Herescope.