675 years ago: Pope Clement VI issues his bull on indulgences

On January 27, 1343, Pope Clement VI issued his papal bull Unigenitus Dei Filius, in which he elaborated for the first time the power of the pope in the use of indulgences, approving the teaching that indulgences owe their efficacy to the pope's dispensation of the accumulated merit of the Church, and that “the merits of the Blessed Mother of God and of all the elect, from the first righteous person to the last, add further” to the "treasure of the Church." This document was used by Cardinal Cajetan in the examination of Martin Luther and his 95 Theses in his trial at Augsburg in 1518.

Those who think that indulgences were done away with as a result of the Reformation may be surprised to find that indulgences are still part of Roman Catholic doctrine and practice. On January 1, 1967, Pope Paul VI issued the Apostolic Constitution Indulgentarium Doctrina: Whereby the Revision of Sacred Indulgences is Promulgated. In the paperback edition of the Vatican II documents, it occupies just over 16 pages.

The Roman Catholic Church denies that those who place their trust in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross to pay the penalty for all their sins go immediately to be with Him when they die. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that there are sins that have to be expiated in a place called purgatory--a place nowhere mentioned in the Bible. This is denial of Christ's promise to the thief on the cross next to Him that "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43b). It's a denial of His statement on the cross in John 19:30 that "It is finished." The Greek word for "finished" is tetelestai, an accounting term meaning "paid in full," i.e., Jesus Christ, in shedding His blood on the cross, paid in full the penalty of sin (not in Hell, as charismaniac Word of Faith teachers say). When it comes to apostolic doctrine, it's a denial of Paul's statement in II Corinthians 5:8 that he was "willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." The Roman Catholic teaching on indulgences is a denial of Hebrews 9:26b: "but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." However, you can buy your way out of purgatory or have it bought for you with an indulgence--in a very real sense, selling salvation.

In understanding the Roman Catholic teaching on indulgences, it's perhaps best to go the part of Indulgentarium Doctrina titled Norms; this will give the reader an idea of how the Roman Catholic Church complicates and corrupts the matter of salvation (bold inserted by blogger):

NORMS

n. 1—An indulgence is the remission before God of the temporal punishment due sins already forgiven as far as their guilt is concerned, which the follower of Christ with the proper dispositions and under certain determined conditions acquires through the intervention of the Church which, as minister of the Redemption, authoritatively dispenses and applies the treasury of the satisfaction won by Christ and the saints.

n. 2—An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due sin.

n. 3—Partial as well as plenary indulgences can always be applied to the dead by way of suffrage.

n. 4—A partial indulgence will henceforth be designated only with the words "partial indulgence" without any determination of days or years.

n. 5—The faithful who at least with a contrite heart perform an action to which a partial indulgence is attached obtain, in addition to the remission of temporal punishment acquired by the action itself, an equal remission of punishment through the intervention of the Church.

n. 6—A plenary indulgence can be acquired only once a day, except for the provisions contained in n. 18 for those who are on the point of death. A partial indulgence can be acquired more than once a day, unless there is an explicit indication to the contrary.

n. 7—To acquire a plenary indulgence it is necessary to perform the work to which the indulgence is attached and to fulfill three conditions: sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion and prayer for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. It is further required that all attachment to sin, even to venial sin, be absent.

If this disposition is in any way less than complete, or if the prescribed three conditions are not fulfilled, the indulgence will be only partial, except for the provisions contained in n.11 for those who are "impeded."

n. 8—The three conditions may be fulfilled several days before or after the performance of the prescribed work; nevertheless it is fitting that Communion be received and the prayers for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff be said the same day the work is performed.

n. 9—A single sacramental confession suffices for gaining several plenary indulgences, but Communion must be received and prayers for the Supreme Pontiff's intentions recited for the gaining of each plenary indulgence.

n. 10—The condition of praying for the Supreme Pontiff's intentions is fully satisfied by reciting one "Our Father" and one "Hail Mary"; nevertheless the individual faithful are free to recite any other prayer according to their own piety and devotion toward the Supreme Pontiff.

n. 11—While there is no change in the faculty granted by canon 935 of the Code of Canon Law to confessors to commute for those who are "impeded" either the prescribed work itself or the required conditions [for the acquisition of indulgences], local Ordinaries can grant to the faithful over whom they exercise authority in accordance with the law, and who live in places where it is impossible or at least very difficult for them to receive the sacraments of confession and Communion, permission to acquire a plenary indulgence without confession and Communion provided they are sorry for their sins and have the intention of receiving these sacraments as soon as possible.

n. 12—The division of indulgences into "personal," "real" and "local" is abolished so as to make it clearer that indulgences are attached to the actions of the faithful even though at times they may be linked with some object or place.

n. 13—The Enchiridion Indulgentiarium [collection of indulgenced prayers and works] is to be revised with a view to attaching indulgences only to the most important prayers and works of piety, charity and penance.

n. 14—The lists and summaries of indulgences special to religious orders, congregations, societies of those living in community without vows, secular institutes and the pious associations of faithful are to be revised as soon as possible in such a way that plenary indulgences may be acquired only on particular days established by the Holy See acting on the recommendation of the Superior General, or in the case of pious associations, of the local Ordinary.

n. 15—A plenary indulgence applicable only to the dead can be acquired in all churches and public oratories—and in semipublic oratories by those who have the right to use them—on November 2.

In addition, a plenary indulgence can be acquired twice a year in parish churches: on the feast of the church's titular saint and on August 2, when the "Portiuncula" occurs, or on some other more opportune day determined by the Ordinary.

All the indulgences mentioned above can be acquired either on the days established or—with the consent of the Ordinary—on the preceding or the following Sunday.

Other indulgences attached to churches and oratories are to be revised as soon as possible.

n.16—The work prescribed for acquiring a plenary indulgence connected with a church or oratory consists in a devout visit and the recitation of an "Our Father" and "Creed."

n.17—The faithful who use with devotion an object of piety (crucifix, cross, rosary, scapular or medal) properly blessed by any priest, can acquire a partial indulgence.

But if this object of piety is blessed by the Supreme Pontiff or any bishop, the faithful who use it devoutly can also acquire a plenary indulgence on the feast of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, provided they also make a profession of faith using any legitimate formula.

n.18—To the faithful in danger of death who cannot be assisted by a priest to bring them the sacraments and impart the apostolic blessing with its attendant plenary indulgence (according to canon 468, para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law) Holy Mother Church nevertheless grants a plenary indulgence to be acquired at the point of death, provided they are properly disposed and have been in the habit of reciting some prayers during their lifetime. To use a crucifix or cross in connection with the acquisition of this plenary indulgence is a laudable practice.

This plenary indulgence at the point of death can be acquired by the faithful even if they have already obtained another plenary indulgence on the same day.

n.19—The norms established regarding plenary indulgences, particularly those referred to in n. 16, apply also to what up to now have been known as the "toties quoties" ["as often as"] plenary indulgences.

n.20—Holy Mother Church, extremely solicitous for the faithful departed, has decided that suffrages can be applied to them to the widest possible extent at any Sacrifice of the Mass whatsoever, abolishing all special privileges in this regard.

Transitional Norms

These new norms regulating the acquisition of indulgences will become valid three months from the date of publication of this constitution in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis.

Indulgences attached to the use of religious objects which are not mentioned above cease three months after the date of publication of this constitution in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis.

The revisions mentioned in n. 14 and n. 15 must be submitted to the Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary within a year. Two years after the date of this constitution, indulgences which have not been confirmed will become null and void.

We will that these statutes and prescriptions of ours be established now and remain in force for the future notwithstanding, if it is necessary so to state, the constitutions and apostolic directives published by our predecessors or any other prescriptions even if they might be worthy of special mention or should otherwise require partial repeal.

A few excerpts from the main body of Indulgentarium Doctrina should be enough to demonstrate not only a denial of the scripture passages previously cited, but a denial of I Timothy 5:2: For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (reference numbers omitted, bold added by blogger):

Chapter 1

2. It is a divinely revealed truth that sins bring punishments inflicted by God's sanctity and justice. These must be expiated either on this earth through the sorrows, miseries and calamities of this life and above all through death, or else in the life beyond through fire and torments or "purifying" punishments. Therefore it has always been the conviction of the faithful that the paths of evil are fraught with many stumbling blocks and bring adversities, bitterness and harm to those who follow them.

These punishments are imposed by the just and merciful judgment of God for the purification of souls, the defense of the sanctity of the moral order and the restoration of the glory of God to its full majesty...

...3. It is therefore necessary for the full remission and—as it is called—reparation of sins not only that friendship with God be reestablished by a sincere conversion of the mind and amends made for the offense against his wisdom and goodness, but also that all the personal as well as social values and those of the universal order itself, which have been diminished or destroyed by sin, be fully reintegrated whether through voluntary reparation which will involve punishment or through acceptance of the punishments established by the just and most holy wisdom of God, from which there will shine forth throughout the world the sanctity and the splendor of his glory. The very existence and the gravity of the punishment enable us to understand the foolishness and malice of sin and its harmful consequences.

That punishment or the vestiges of sin may remain to be expiated or cleansed and that they in fact frequently do even after the remission of guilt is clearly demonstrated by the doctrine on purgatory. In purgatory, in fact, the souls of those "who died in the charity of God and truly repentant, but before satisfying with worthy fruits of penance for sins committed and for omissions are cleansed after death with purgatorial punishments...

Chapter 2

5. ...Following in the footsteps of Christ, the Christian faithful have always endeavored to help one another on the path leading to the heavenly Father through prayer, the exchange of spiritual goods and penitential expiation. The more they have been immersed in the fervor of charity, the more they have imitated Christ in his sufferings, carrying their crosses in expiation for their own sins and those of others, certain that they could help their brothers to obtain salvation from God the Father of mercies. This is the very ancient dogma of the Communion of the Saints, whereby the life of each individual son of God in Christ and through Christ is joined by a wonderful link to the life of all his other Christian brothers in the supernatural unity of the Mystical Body of Christ till, as it were, a single mystical person is formed.

Thus is explained the "treasury of the Church" which should certainly not be imagined as the sum total of material goods accumulated in the course of the centuries, but the infinite and inexhaustible value the expiation and the merits of Christ Our Lord have before God, offered as they were so that all of mankind could be set free from sin and attain communion with the Father. It is Christ the Redeemer himself in whom the satisfactions and merits of his redemption exist and find their force. This treasury also includes the truly immense, unfathomable and ever pristine value before God of the prayers and good works of the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints, who following in the footsteps of Christ the Lord and by his grace have sanctified their lives and fulfilled the mission entrusted to them by the Father. Thus while attaining their own salvation, they have also cooperated in the salvation of their brothers in the unity of the Mystical Body...

...For this reason there certainly exists between the faithful who have already reached their heavenly home, those who are expiating their sins in purgatory and those who are still pilgrims on earth a perennial link of charity and an abundant exchange of all the goods by which, with the expiation of all the sins of the entire Mystical Body, divine justice is placated. God's mercy is thus led to forgiveness, so that sincerely repentant sinners may participate as soon as possible in the full enjoyment of the benefits of the family of God.

Chapter 3

6. The Church, aware of these truths ever since its origins, formulated and undertook various ways of applying the fruits of the Lord's redemption to the individual faithful and of leading them to cooperate in the salvation of their brothers, so that the entire body of the Church might be prepared in justice and sanctity for the complete realization of the kingdom of God, when he will be all things to all men.

The Apostles themselves, in fact, exhorted their disciples to pray for the salvation of sinners. This very ancient usage of the Church has blessedly persevered, particularly in the practice of penitents invoking the intercession of the entire community, and when the dead are assisted with suffrages, particularly through the offering of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. Good works, particularly those which human frailty finds difficult, were also offered to God for the salvation of sinners from the Church's most ancient times. And since the sufferings of the martyrs for the faith and for the law of God were considered of great value, penitents used to turn to the martyrs, to be helped by their merits to obtain from the bishops a more speedy reconciliation. Indeed the prayer and good works of the upright were considered to be of so great value that it could be asserted the penitent was washed, cleansed and redeemed with the help of the entire Christian people.

It was not believed, however, that the individual faithful by their own merits alone worked for the remission of sins of their brothers, but that the entire Church as a single body united to Christ its Head was bringing about satisfaction.

The Church of the Fathers was fully convinced that it was pursuing the work of salvation in community, and under the authority of the pastors established by the Holy Spirit as bishops to govern the Church of God.

The bishops, therefore, prudently assessing these matters, established the manner and the measure of the satisfaction to be made and indeed permitted canonical penances to be replaced by other possibly easier works, which would be useful to the common good and suitable for fostering piety, to be performed by the penitents themselves and sometimes by others among the faithful.

Chapter 4

7. The conviction existing in the Church that the pastors of the flock of the Lord could set the individual free from the vestiges of sins by applying the merits of Christ and of the saints led gradually, in the course of the centuries and under the influence of the Holy Spirit's continuous inspiration of the people of God, to the usage of indulgences which represented a progression in the doctrine and discipline of the Church rather than a change. From the roots of revelation a new advantage grew in benefit to the faithful and the entire Church.

The use of indulgences, which spread gradually, became a very evident fact in the history of the Church when the Roman Pontiffs decreed that certain works useful to the common good of the Church "could replace all penitential practices" and that the faithful who were "truly repentant and had confessed their sins" and performed such works were granted "by the mercy of Almighty God and...trusting in the merits and the authority of his Apostles" and "by virtue of the fullness of the apostolic power," not only full and abundant forgiveness, but the most complete forgiveness for their sins possible."

For "the only-begotten son of God...has won a treasure for the militant Church and has entrusted it to blessed Peter, the keybearer of heaven, and to his successors, Christ's vicars on earth, that they may distribute it to the faithful for their salvation, applying it mercifully for reasonable causes to all who are repentant and have confessed their sins, at times remitting completely and at times partially the temporal punishment due sin in a general as well as in special ways insofar as they judge it to be fitting in the eyes of the Lord. It is known that the merits of the Blessed Mother of God and of all the elect...add further to this treasure.

8. The remission of the temporal punishment due for sins already forgiven insofar as their guilt is concerned has been called specifically "indulgence."

It has something in common with other ways or means of eliminating the vestiges of sin but at the same time it is clearly distinct from them.

In an indulgence in fact, the Church, making use of its power as minister of the Redemption of Christ, not only prays but by an authoritative intervention dispenses to the faithful suitably disposed the treasury of satisfaction which Christ and the saints won for the remission of temporal punishment.

The aim pursued by ecclesiastical authority in granting indulgences is not only that of helping the faithful to expiate the punishment due sin but also that of urging them to perform works of piety, penitence and charity—particularly those which lead to growth in faith and which favor the common good.

And if the faithful offer indulgences in suffrage for the dead, they cultivate charity in an excellent way and while raising their minds to heaven, they bring a wiser order into the things of this world.

The Magisterium of the Church has defended and illustrated this doctrine in various documents. Unfortunately, the practice of indulgences has at times been improperly used either through "untimely and superfluous indulgences" by which the power of the keys was humiliated and penitential satisfaction weakened, or through the collection of "illicit profits" by which indulgences were blasphemously defamed. But the Church, in deploring and correcting these improper uses "teaches and establishes that the use of indulgences must be preserved because it is supremely salutary for the Christian people and authoritatively approved by the sacred councils; and it condemns with anathema those who maintain the uselessness of indulgences or deny the power of the Church to grant them."

I "maintain the uselessness of indulgences" and am therefore eternally condemned by the Roman Catholic Church.

Here's a recent example of the Roman Catholic Church's use of indulgences, from the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, October 10, 2012:

Indulgence for the Year of Faith
Apostolic Penitentiary
URBIS ET ORBIS

DECREE

During the Year of Faith special acts of penance will be rewarded with the gift of Sacred Indulgences.

During the Year of Faith special acts of penance will be rewarded with the gift of Sacred Indulgences.

On the day of the 50th anniversary of the solemn opening of the Second Ecumenical Vatican Council, to which Blessed John XXIII “entrusted the principal task to guard and present better the precious deposit of Christian doctrine in order to make it more accessible to the Christian faithful and to all people of good will” (John Paul II, Apostolic Constitution Fidei Depositum, 11 October 1992: AAS 86 [1994] 113), the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI established the inauguration of a Year dedicated in particular to the profession of true faith and its correct interpretation, with the reading of, or rather, with devout meditation on the Acts of the Council and on the Articles of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, published by Blessed John Paul II, 30 years after the opening of the Council, “in order that all the Christian faithful might better adhere to it, and to promote knowledge and application of it” (ibid. n. 114).

In the year of the Lord 1967, to commemorate the 19th centenary of the martyrdom of the Apostles Peter and Paul, a similar Year of Faith was proclaimed by the Servant of God Paul VI, “intended to show, by an authentic and sincere profession of the same faith, how much the essential content that for centuries has formed the heritage of all believers needs to be confirmed, understood and explored ever anew, so as to bear consistent witness in historical circumstances very different from those of the past” (Benedict XVI, Apostolic Letter Porta Fidei, n. 4).

In our time of profound change to which humanity is subjected, the Holy Father Benedict XVI, by proclaiming this second Year of Faith, wishes to invite the People of God, whose universal Pastor he is, as well as his brother Bishops from all over the world “to join the Successor of Peter, during this time of spiritual grace that the Lord offers us, in recalling the precious gift of faith” (ibid., n. 8).

All the faithful will be given “the opportunity to profess our faith in the Risen Lord... in our cathedrals and in the churches of the whole world; in our homes and among our families, so that everyone may feel a strong need to know better and to transmit to future generations the faith of all times. Religious communities as well as parish communities, and all ecclesial bodies old and new, are to find a way, during this Year, to make a public profession of the Credo” (ibid.).

In addition, all the faithful, individually and as a community, will be called to witness to their faith openly before others in the specific circumstances of their daily life: “the social nature of man, however, itself requires that he should give external expression to his internal acts of religion: that he should share with others in matters religious; that he should profess his religion in community” (cf. Declaration on Religious Freedom Dignitatis Humanae, 7 December 1965: AAS 58 [1966], 932).

Since it is primarily a matter of developing a supreme degree of holiness of life — to the extent that it is possible on this earth — and hence of obtaining the highest possible degree of purity of soul, the important gift of Indulgences, which the Church, by virtue of the power conferred upon her by Christ, offers to all who, with the proper disposition, fulfil the special prescriptions for gaining them, will be of great usefulness. “With the Indulgence”, Paul VI taught, “the Church availing herself of her powers as minister of the Redemption brought about by Christ the Lord, communicates to the faithful participation in this fullness of Christ in the Communion of Saints, providing them with abundant means to achieve salvation” (cf. Apostolorum Limina, 23 May 1974: AAS 66 [1974] 289). In this way is revealed the “treasure of the Church”, to which “the merits of the Blessed Mother of God and of all the elect, from the first righteous person to the last, add further” (Clement VI, Bull Unigenitus Dei Filius, 27 January 1343).

The Apostolic Penitentiary is charged with everything concerning the granting and use of Indulgences. To encourage the faithful to have a correct conception of Indulgences and to develop a devout desire to obtain them, at the request of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization and with attentive consideration of the Note with Pastoral Recommendations for the Year of Faith, issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for gaining the gift of Indulgences during the Year of Faith, the Apostolic Penitentiary has established the following measures, issued in conformity with the wishes of the august Pontiff, so that the faithful may be further encouraged to know and love the Doctrine of the Catholic Church and obtain from it a greater abundance of spiritual fruit.

Throughout the Year of Faith — established from 11 October 2012 to 24 November 2013 — all individual members of the faithful who are truly repentant, have duly received the Sacrament of Penance and Holy Communion and who pray for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff may receive the Plenary Indulgence in remission of the temporal punishment for their sins, imparted through God’s mercy and applicable in suffrage to the souls of the deceased:

a. every time they take part in at least three homilies preached or attend at least three lectures on the Proceedings of the Second Vatican Council and on the Articles of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, in any church or suitable place;

b. every time they go as pilgrims to a Papal Basilica, a Christian catacomb, a cathedral church, a sacred place designated by the local Ordinary for the Year of Faith (for example, the Minor Basilicas and Shrines dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, to the Holy Apostles or to the Holy Patrons), and take part there in some sacred function or at least pause in recollection for a suitable length of time with devout meditation, concluding with the recitation of the Our Father, the Profession of Faith in any legitimate form, invocations to the Blessed Virgin Mary or, depending on the case, to the Holy Apostles or Patrons;

c. every time when, on the days determined by the local Ordinary for the Year of Faith (such as, for example, the Solemnities of the Lord and of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Feasts of the Holy Apostles and Patrons and of the Chair of St Peter), in any sacred place, they take part in a solemn Eucharistic celebration or in the Liturgy of the Hours, adding the Profession of Faith in any legitimate form;

d. a day freely chosen during the Year of Faith on which to make a devout visit to the baptistery or other place in which they received the sacrament of Baptism, if they renew their baptismal promises in any legitimate form.

Diocesan or Eparchial Bishops and those who are legally equivalent to them, on the most appropriate day in this period, on the occasion of the principal celebration (for example, 24 November 2013, on the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Universal King, with which the Year of Faith will end) will be able to impart the Papal Blessing with the Plenary Indulgence from which all the faithful who receive this Blessing devoutly may benefit.

Faithful who are truly repentant and are unable to take part in the solemn celebrations for serious reasons (such as, for example all the nuns who live in perpetually cloistered monasteries, anchorites and the hermits, prisoners, the elderly, the sick, and likewise those who, in hospital or in other places for treatment serve the sick permanently…), will gain the Plenary Indulgence on the same conditions, if, united in mind and spirit with the faithful present, especially at a moment when the words of the Supreme Pontiff or of the Diocesan Bishops are broadcast via the television or radio, they recite at home, or wherever their impediment obliges them to be (for example, in the monastery chapel, in hospital, in a clinic, in prison...), the Our Father, the Profession of faith in any legitimate form and other prayers in conformity with the objectives of the Year of Faith, offering up their suffering or the hardship in their lives...

...This Decree is valid solely for the Year of Faith. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary.

Given in Rome at the Seat of the Apostolic Penitentiary, 14 September 2012, on the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

Manuel Card. Monteiro de Castro
Major Penitentiary

Mons. Krzysztof Nykiel
Regent

Nigerian charismaniac "prophet" T.B. Joshua performs "healings" on men with overactive or permanently erect penises

Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. Romans 16:17-18

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. II Corinthians 11:13-15

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. II Peter 2:1-3

North American televangelists and false prophets are known for making preposterous claims, but I've never heard even Ernest Angley say "You malfunctioning penile demons come OUT!" As is the case with other charismaniac claims, I doubt that the evidence for the alleged healings performed by "Prophet" T.B. Joshua will stand up. As reported by John Owen Nwachukwu of the Lagos Daily Post, June 12, 2017:

The founder and General Overseer of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, SCOAN, prophet T.B Joshua, has reportedly healed a man who has been having persistent erection for 5 months now after patronizing prostitutes.

According to the report, the young man, identified as Sunday went in with a prostitute after attending church with his father, earlier that day.

When he got home that evening after sleeping with the woman, his erection remained.

As he confessed in front of the church members, he could hardly stand or move, even sitting was difficult as a result of his erection.

Sunday told the church that he was forced to explain his plight to his father who took him to the doctors who could only recommend an operation.

They declined and continued making efforts to solve his excruciatingly painful problem.

Sunday Akinrinwa became housebound for five months because of the permanent erection!

His father who is a reputable man in Ondo state, brought him to SCOAN.

The whole process was shown live on Emmanuel TV.

When Prophet T.B. Joshua prayed for Sunday, his whole body began to shake.

After the prayer, Prophet T.B. Joshua told him to urinate.

The young man advised youth that they should not fornicate or commit adultery but rather commit their ways to God.

"Prophet" T.B. Joshua followed that with a similar event, as reported by Nsikak Nseyen in the Daily Post, October 10, 2017 (links in original):

The founder and General Overseer of Christ Mercyland Deliverance Ministry, Warri, Delta State, Prophet Jeremiah Omoto Fufeyin, a.k.a, Warri TB Joshua, has shocked the world again when he prayed for a man with rectal mal-function in front of his members. The man who almost went unclad was believed to be tormented by a spirit. He had his penis controlled by the pastor before the congregants; as it tossed up and down inside his boxers.

Recall that the pastor recently prayed for an obese woman to lose weight, with no visible result at the end.

Few months back, he called out single men and women in his church and asked them to select their partners from among themselves.

The Warri based acclaimed man of God had told his critics that they were indirect promoters of his ministry, stressing that criticisms spur and encourage him to do more for the people.

In the video trending online, the pastor constantly commanded the man’s penis and it obeyed, even as it tossed up and down to the awe of the onwatchers.

The man’s manhood protruded to an outrageous limit in front of the members.

For some strange reason, the video of the event described above has been removed from the page.

"Prophet" T.B. Joshua makes some unusual claims about his background, as reported by Mr. Nwachukwu in the Daily Post, January 27, 2018:

The founder of the Synagogue Church of all Nations, SCOAN, Temitope Balogun Joshua, popularly called T.B, Joshua, has made some shocking revelations about his beginning.

Speaking in a interview with Vangaurd, T.B Joshua said he spent over 15 months in his mother’s womb.

The renowned cleric also revealed some mysteries that came with his early development, while giving account of his school days.

Joshua said, “Don’t forget, that I was born in a rustic village of Arigidi in Akoko, Ondo state, Nigeria; I spent 15 months in my mother’s womb.

“My birth and early development was said to be shrouded in mysteries after narrowly escaping a boulder from a nearby quarry which came crashing inches near me in my parents’ house hence the name ‘Temitope’, meaning “what you (God) has done for me is worthy of thanks,” I attended St. Stephens’ Anglican Primary School but failed to complete secondary school due to poverty.

“While in primary school, I was referred to as the small pastor and led evangelical activities. My ambition to join the Nigerian Army crashed after the train that was to convey me developed fault along the way and left me stranded for six days.

“I also washed people’s feet on the muddy corners of Lagos and worked as a poultry attendant to earn a living. My ministry, (The SCOAN), alongside the Emmanuel TV Partners, had today become synonymous with acts of charity, healing and humanitarian efforts across the globe.”

As they used to say in Get Smart, "I find that very hard to believe."

Nigerian Charismaniac pastor claims that church members have an obligation to tithe to the pastor--even if the pastor embezzles it

Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. Romans 16:17-18

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. II Corinthians 11:13-15

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. II Peter 2:1-3

Preachers of the false gospel known as the "prosperity gospel" aren't just to be found among the ranks of North American televangelists. The Lagos Daily Post contains more articles on these false shepherds than this blogger is prepared to examine (readers are encouraged to click on the link above and search for themselves), but enough to give the impression that Nigeria has more than its share of prosperity preachers (is it just a coincidence that Nigeria is notorious as the country of origin for more than its share of Internet scams?).

Submitted for your disapproval, the following item, as reported by Ameh Comrade Godwin of the Daily Post, January 14, 2018:

Pastor Seyi Adeyemi, the Senior Pastor of The Worship Centre, has reacted to the debate on whether pastors are entitled to collect tithes from members.

The cleric said it was a must for people to pay tithe, even if their pastor embezzled it.

Speaking with Vanguard, the cleric said tithing had been in existence since Abrahamic era and could not be stopped for any reason.

He said, “When you speak about the things of God, you need to speak out of the knowledge which reveals the mind of God and not from convenience or circumstance. A lot of the people who spoke against tithe spoke because they don’t pay and they probably want to get people to align with them.

“Second, they spoke because they felt that recession is biting so hard and they felt that tithe was taking part of their income and, therefore, affecting their ability to live which, in itself, is ignorance. Third, because I know that whenever you see a campaign against biblical principles and doctrines, the devil is behind it. The scriptures that talk about tithe began as far back as Genesis where Abraham paid tithe to Melchizedek. Then it moved on to Deuteronomy where the people of Israel were required to make 10 per cent contribution to the house of God in order to take care of the Levites.

“That is how the issue of tithe was established in the Jewish setting and, of course, when it got to Malachi, which is the popular scripture, Malachi 3:10, the Bible says ‘bring all tithes into the house that there may be meat in my house’. That is the first part of that scripture. Then it says ‘prove me now if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing’. Now here’s the question, by demanding tithe, does God really need our money? No. God requires man, wherever there is a physical demand for anything in church, it is not because God is in need, it is because God wants us to learn how to honour Him with what He has given to us.

“People need to understand that the needs in the house of God will be met whether or not people decide in their own wisdom or knowledge to bring. So people need to come to the understanding that we are not doing God a favor by obeying that scripture, we are doing ourselves a favor. The argument that tithe was given as a commandment to Jews and that it was supposed to be paid to the Levites, and we are not Jews and neither are pastors Levites simply shows the ignorance of those who say so.

“The Bible makes it clear that everything that took place in the Old Testament was an example for the future. It used physical things to give analogy for the understanding of spiritual things that were going to come. So when we talk about tithe, there is a need in the house of God that transcends just meat and drink. The Church has a role to take care of the brotherhood. The Church has a role to step in and try to bridge the gap where government fails as far as people’s welfare is concerned. The Church has a role to propagate the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ for God till the end of the earth. All these assignments require money and that is what tithe is meant for.

“Do people arrogate tithe and offerings to themselves? Yes! But the misuse of something does not nullify the authenticity of its command. Every man, pastor will give an account of his stewardship to God. So if somebody is not being faithful, it does not nullify the Commandment of God. It simply means that you are being unfaithful to the commandment of God. So, if somebody takes the tithe that belongs to the church and uses it for his own personal need, that is unfaithfulness. I don’t believe that the money that comes from tithe and offering is enough to buy private jets. We need to talk about something else.”

Fortunately, not everyone in Nigeria is taken in by the prosperity preachers, as reported by Fikayo Olowolagba in the Daily Post, January 10, 2018:

Reno Omokri former aide to ex president Goodluck Jonathan has spoken against issue of tithe and ownership of jets by pastors.

Making reference to richest men in the world: Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, Omokri said tithe does not guarantee riches as those men don’t pay their tithes but were the richest.

According to him, point of faith is salvation, not prosperity.

He also condemned ownership of jets by pastors, saying Jesus never flew jets but his message was everywhere.

“If paying tithes makes you rich, then @BillGates and Mark Zickerberg would have been poor. Go to Forbes lists of the top 10 richest men-none of them pay tithes. And bedsides, the whole point of faith is salvation, not prosperity.

“While some do, very very few pastor need a private jet to do the work of God. There are commercial flights that can get you there ON TIME. Jesus never flew but His message is everywhere. Your lifestyle preaches more than your message. Live like Jesus. Die to self.

“One of the greatest deception satan has perpetuated in churches is that financial breakthroughs and prosperity is evidence that God is pleased with you. People don’t realize that satan can give wealth if it will deceive you as to your true spiritual state,” he said.

I've become increasingly convinced in recent years that tithing isn't for the church, but was limited to Israel under the Old Testament. The tithe in the Old Testament was of food grown in the Holy Land, not income. Nowhere in the New Testament are Christians commanded to tithe; it's worth noting that when the apostles and elders came together in Jerusalem in Acts 15 to discuss the requirements for Gentile converts to Christianity, there was no mention of tithing (or sabbath-keeping, for that matter). The New Testament standard for giving is that of II Corinthians 9:7:

Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

Converts to Judaism in Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) are numerous enough to form a community

Funny, they don't look Jewish. As reported by Josefin Dolsten of Jewish Telegraphic Agency, January 26, 2018 (links in original):

Avraham Yago, a married father of five who works as a linguistics professor at the University of Abidjan in the West African nation of Cote d’Ivoire, has visited Israel four times to learn about Judaism and practice his Hebrew.

Yago, 64, grew up without any religious affiliation. As a teenager, however, he embarked on a religious journey that led him, by way of Christianity as well as studies at the Kabbalah Center in Abidjan, to Judaism.

“For me, the Torah is the truth,” he told JTA from Abidjan, the country’s largest city.

Last month, after over 20 years of studying Judaism, Yago converted to Judaism along with 47 others, most of whom are members of the community he leads.

Gathering in Jacqueville, a coastal town in the country known in English as the Ivory Coast, the community members answered questions in front of a rabbinical court, or beit din, whose members flew in from Israel and the United States. For the immersion required of converts, they used a lagoon that served as a mikvah, or ritual bath. Male converts underwent a ritual drawing of blood since they were already circumcised.

The conversions were facilitated by Kulanu, a New York-based group that supports communities around the world seeking to learn about Judaism. Kulanu, which has been in touch with the community since 2012, had brought a Torah scroll, prayer books and other ritual items there on an earlier visit in 2014.

After the conversions, rabbis performed Jewish weddings for six couples in what Kulanu believes is a first in the country.

“This is the establishment of the first Jewish community in Cote d’Ivoire, and it was the first Jewish wedding,” said the group’s vice president, Bonita Nathan Sussman.

The converts belong to two communities in Abidjan, Sussman said. The larger one, led by Yago, has 42 members, consisting of five families as well as singles. Another six people identify as a separate group.

Like most members of his community, Yago believes he has Jewish roots.

That’s not unique in the communities that Kulanu works with. Last year, the group brought rabbis to Nicaragua to convert 114 people, and in 2016 it helped 121 people become Jewish in Madagascar. Both communities also believe they have Jewish heritage, with the Madagascar community believing they are members of a lost tribe.

The Cote d’Ivoire community is relatively affluent, allowing them to buy Jewish ritual objects and books, said Nathan Devir, an assistant professor at the University of Utah who researches emerging Jewish communities.

“They are a very privileged kind of community, I think much more so than any other African communities could ever dream of being,” said Devir, who visited the Cote d’Ivoire community in 2015.

The community counts among its members doctors, dentists, university professors and diplomats.

Members follow Sephardic Orthodox customs and eat a pescatarian diet since they do not have access to kosher meat, according to Sussman.

“They dress very modestly. They’re very into laws of niddah and mikvah,” she said, referring to ritual laws surrounding menstruation and sex. “On Shabbat they have a full day of prayers.”

Shabbat services are held in Yago’s home, but he said the community hopes to construct a synagogue and mikvah.
The community’s beliefs are centered around the idea of a personal relationship with God, said Marla Brettschneider, a professor of political science and women’s studies at the University of New Hampshire who joined Kulanu on the trip last month.

“[T]hey imagine their activities, it’s a work they need and want to do to bring themselves closer to God, and [they believe] that the Jewish framework is the best or primary framework for them to be pursuing that relationship with God,” said Brettschneider, who has done research on Jewish groups in Africa.

Conversions to Judaism in the developing world aren’t without controversy.

Devir said that while the Cote d’Ivoire community is likely to be accepted as Jews by Jews in the United States, including the non-Orthodox denominations and the Modern Orthodox, they would face more difficulties among haredi Orthodox Jews and in Israel.

Community members do not want to move to Israel, Yago said. Still, recognition in Israel is necessary if members want to receive visas to study at yeshivas there. Members of Uganda’s Jewish community, who converted under the auspices of the Conservative movement, have found it hard to obtain certain visas and stipends that Jews can apply for in order to study and live in the Jewish state, Haaretz reported in October.

Suspicions about the validity of conversions such as the ones done in Cote d’Ivoire stem from various concerns, Devir said. Among the concerns: the rabbis are flown in to perform the conversions and have not met with the community beforehand, and that following the conversions the communities may not have adequate funds or infrastructure to sustain Jewish life. Some skeptics also worry that converts still subscribe to Christian beliefs, Devir said.

Sussman said that the American Jewish community is used to seeing people who are born Jewish lose interest in the faith, not the other way around.

“In South America and in Africa, we find groups yearning to run and break through the doors to come in, and no one’s letting them in,” she said. “This is a huge problem. It’s an unfamiliar challenge to the worldwide Jewish community.”

Sussman said the three rabbis on the beit din — Leonard Book, Shmuel Mayteles and Andy Eichenholz — had Orthodox credentials. Book received his ordination from Jews’ College in London (now known as the London School of Jewish Studies), while Mayteles was ordained privately by a rabbi ordained by the Lander College for Men in Queens, New York. Eichenholtz, who lives in Israel but serves as a rabbi at a synagogue on Staten Island, New York, declined to say where he was ordained.

“I did not and will not involve yeshivot or other people in the special mitzvoth I do such as helping lost and neglected communities come to Judaism in the 21st century,” he wrote in an email.

The website for Congregation Ohel Abraham, his synagogue on Staten Island, says Eichenholz has studied at Yeshiva Mercaz Harav, an Orthodox yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Sussman sees the conversions as having a larger significance. She has said she sees her work as a way to “rebuild the Jewish people” following the Holocaust and the persecution of Jews in Arab countries.

Meanwhile, becoming Jewish has allowed Yago to fulfill a longstanding wish.

“For me personally, it was a gradual realization that [Judaism presented] a God that I had been pursuing for a long time,” he said. “And today, now that I am Jewish, I am satisfied.”

There must be something defective in what passes for Christianity in Ivory Coast and the other countries mentioned in this article if these people mistakenly think that converting to Judaism, a religion of the commandments of men (see Isaiah 29:13, Mark 7:7), gives them a personal relationship with God, "for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." (Galatians 2:21b). Neither is having Jewish roots enough to establish a relationship with God, as the Lord Jesus Christ told those Jews that "believed on him" in John 8:30-58. Rather, one must believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that He rose from the dead, and one must receive the salvation provided by his death on the cross, paying in full the penalty required by our sins see, e.g., Romans 4:24-25, 10:9-13).

North London Jewish leaders call for senior coroner's dismissal for refusing to prioritize Jewish burials

As reported by Yaniv Halily of Ynet News, January 21, 2018:

The Jewish community in London is in turmoil, following a decision by a local coroner not to approve the expeditious burial of Jews.

According to British law, the burial of every dead body is bound by a coroner's approval, which states that there is no suspicion of foul play. In areas where there is a large Jewish community, the coroner tends to give priority to the bodies of Jews, in order to allow their burial to take place as quickly as possible, according to Jewish law.

Mary Hassell, north London's new senior coroner, recently decided not to approve the prioritization of deceased Jews, meaning that their bodies may have to spend days in refrigeration.

"No death will be prioritized in any way over any other because of the religion of the deceased or family," Hassell said in a statement, suggesting that members of her staff have been "bullied or intimidated" by Jewish community representatives over the matter.

"I have received complaints in a similar vein from my other officers and from the mortuary manager … My team has the right not to be bullied or intimidated at work," she wrote.

The heads of north London's Jewish community called Saturday for Hassell's dismissal, stating that "many of her imposed rules, bureaucracy, inflexibility and unnecessary delays offend traditional and/or religious practices."

They also denied her notion that members of the Jewish community bullied her staff, but family members who lost loved ones do have to call her offices several times on an occasion in which they may have been stressed or even desperate due to her policies, which may have caused them to become frustrated.

Their call for Hassell's removal came after a meeting they had with her, which they described as "very disappointing." They claimed she showed "very little interest in the concerns of the Jewish community about the delays in burial."

The coroner refused to comment on the affair as responding to requests from the media "contradicts the legal definition of her role," Hassell's office said.

University of Haifa exhibition depicts Hippos in transition from paganism to Christianity

As reported by the University of Haifa in an undated, but presumably recent release (bold in original):

A pagan amulet used by a senior clergyman at the church in Hippos (Sussita), a fresco depicting the Greek goddess Tyche on a wall by the church; and a figurine of one of the regular participants in the alcohol-soaked processions devoted to the god of wine Dionysus all tell the story of ancient Hippos during the transition from the pagan Roman period to the Christian-Byzantine era. These and other findings are on display in a new exhibition in the University of Haifa’s Hecht Museum entitled Before the Earth Shook: the Ancient City of Hippos-Sussita Emerges.

“The case of Hippos clearly shows how in the center of the city, the residents – including Christian clergy – openly and publicly continued to use the pagan emblems of the Roman era,” explains Dr. Michael Eisenberg of the Zinman Institute of Archaeology at the University of Haifa, who is directing the excavations at Hippos.

Hippos, situated to the east of the Sea of Galilee, was founded in the second century BCE and destroyed by the strong earthquake of 749 CE. Over the past 18 years, the site, which lies within the Nature and Parks Authority’s Sussita National Park, has been excavated and explored by researchers from the Institute of Archaeology at the University of Haifa. The excavations have yielded many impressive and unique findings over the years, both from the period when the city was still pagan and from the Byzantine and Umayyad periods, when Hippos had a clear Christian majority. For the first time, the new exhibition at the Hecht Museum presents the story of this transition from a society that worshipped the classic Greco-Roman gods to one that adopted the Christian faith.

The most fascinating finding in this context is a trove of 24-karat gold buckles and an amulet against indigestion. The amulet, with dimensions of 2.2 x 2.4 cm, is made from hematite and set into a gold pendant bearing an inscription in Greek with the command “digest!” The amulet itself is from the Roman period (the 3rd-4th century CE), but it was set into the gold pendant during the Byzantine period (the late 6th century CE). The researchers found the pendant in a stratum dated to the early 8th century CE in the North-East Church – in other words, some three to four centuries after the Roman Empire embraced Christianity. Together with associated findings, the researchers believe that the item was probably worn by an important Christian cleric, who continued to use it for its original purpose of warding off indigestion.

Another finding on display at the exhibition is a small bone carved figurine, approximately 12 cm in height, depicting a dancing woman. On closer inspection, the woman turns out to be a “maenad” – one of the regular members of the retune that accompanied the processions devoted to the god of wine Dionysus. The figurine, which was found in a building adjacent to the church and has been dated to the Roman-Early Byzantine era, was probably set in a wooden box or casket featuring other images of the processions to Dionysus that have not survived. “The processions to Dionysus, who was usually accompanied by the dancing maenads, was dominated by ecstatic dancing, drinking to excess, debauchery, and rich manifestations of sexuality. Yet now we find one of the images most closely identified with this procession and licentiousness in a building next to a church,” Dr. Eisenberg notes.

In addition to the small amulet and figurine, however, the site has yielded even more powerful testimony to the integration of the emblems of the pagan past in the Christian present. On the wall of a home not far from the North-East Church, an ashlar was uncovered bearing a fresco depicting the goddess of fortune Tyche (Fortuna in the Roman pantheon). Tyche is shown wearing a mural crown, which naturally represents the city-walls of Hippos. The North-East Church and the adjacent building were excavated by a delegation from Concordia University in St. Paul, Minnesota, headed by Prof. Mark Shuler. Dr. Eisenberg explains that Tyche was the goddess who protected Hellenistic and Roman Hippos. She appears on Roman coins from Hippos holding the reins of a horse or carrying a horse in her palm – both symbols of her role as the protector of the city. The motif of Tyche as the protector of Hippos was also chosen as the emblem for the new exhibition. “During the Byzantine period, Tyche became a municipal emblem embodying a local patriotism that had deep roots in the classical tradition. As time passes following the transition to Christianity, Tyche and the other former religious emblems probably lose their ritualistic characteristics and become cultural symbols that continue to accompany Hippos until the city was devastated and abandoned following the earthquake of 749.

“Since Sussita National Park has not yet been prepared for organized visits for the public, the new exhibition at the University of Haifa’s Hecht Museum offers an exceptional opportunity to see a city that was founded over 2000 years ago and has now come back to life following 18 years of archeological studies,” Dr. Eisenberg concluded.

Israeli scholars decipher one of the last two remaining unpublished Dead Sea Scrolls

As reported by the University of Haifa, circa January 21, 2018:

Dr. Eshbal Ratson and Prof. Jonathan Ben-Dov of the Department of Bible Studies at the University of Haifa have managed to decipher and restore one of the last two Qumran Scrolls that remain unpublished, out of some 900 scrolls uncovered at the site. The researchers spent over a year painstakingly reassembling more than 60 tiny sections written in a secret code. The reward for their hard work is fresh insight into the unique 364-day calendar used by the members of the Judean Desert sect, including the discovery for the first time of the name given by the sect to the special days marking the transitions between the four seasons.

Most of the Qumran Scrolls discovered in the 1940s and 1950s have long since been restored and published. The tiny remaining fragments, some smaller than one square centimeter, that remain undeciphered include some 60 sections written in code on parchment. An earlier researcher who examined these sections claimed that they came from several different scrolls. However, in an article published in the Journal of Biblical Literature based on a study funded by the Israel Science Foundation, Dr. Ratson and Prof. Ben-Dov show that the fragments actually constitute a single scroll. The researchers are now turning their attention to the last remaining scroll that has yet to be deciphered.

The members of the Qumran sect, who referred to themselves as the Yahad (“Together”) community, were a fanatical group that lived a hermitic life in the desert and faced persecution by the dominant establishment of the time. They wrote numerous scrolls, including a small number written in code. An important peculiarity for the present discovery is the fact that the sect followed a 364-day calendar. According to the researchers, this calendar was involved in one of the fiercest debates between different groups during the late Second Temple period. “The lunar calendar, which Judaism follows to this day, requires a large number of human decisions. People must look at the stars and moon and report on their observations, and someone must be empowered to decide on the new month and the application of leap years. By contrast, the 364-day calendar was perfect. Because this number can be divided into four and seven, special occasions always fall on the same day. This avoids the need to decide, for example, what happens when a particular occasion falls on the Sabbath, as often happens in the lunar calendar. The Qumran calendar is unchanging, and it appears to have embodied the beliefs of the members of this community regarding perfection and holiness,” the researchers explain.

As noted, the present scroll details the most important dates in the sect’s calendar. The scroll describes two special occasions not mentioned in the Bible, but which are already known from the Temple Scroll of Qumran: the festivals of New Wine and New Oil. These dates constituted an extension of the festival of Shavuot as we know it today, which celebrates the New Wheat. According to this calendar, the festival of New Wheat falls 50 days after the first Sabbath following Passover; the festival of New Wine comes 50 days later; and after a further interval of 50 days, the festival of New Oil is celebrated.

Nevertheless, the scroll also provides some surprises. The researchers were aware from the previous scrolls that the members of the sect celebrated the transition between the seasons, adding a special day for each of the four changes of season. Until now, however, the name of these special days has remained unknown. The present scroll reveals that these days were referred to by the word Tekufah. In today's Hebrew, "Tekufah" translates into the word "period". “This term is familiar from the later Rabbinical literature and from mosaics dating to the Talmudic period, and we could have assumed that it would also be used with this meaning in the scrolls, but this is the first time it has been revealed,” Dr. Ratson and Prof. Ben-Dov explain.

The present scroll also provides additional information about the customs of the authors of the scrolls. It emerges that the person who wrote the scroll – probably one of the leaders of the sect familiar with the secret code – forgot to mention several special days marked by the community. Accordingly, another scribe was forced to correct the errors, adding the missing dates in the margins between the columns of text. “The scroll is written in code, but its actual content is simple and well-known, and there was no reason to conceal it. This practice is also found in many places outside the Land of Israel, where leaders write in secret code even when discussing universally-known matters, as a reflection of their status. The custom was intended to show that the author was familiar with the code, while others were not. However, this present scroll shows that the author made a number of mistakes,” the researchers not.

“This scroll includes numerous words and expressions that we find later in the Mishna. This shows once again that many of the subjects discussed by the Scribes several centuries later had origins that predated the Second Temple period,” they conclude.

Mormons eschew youth in choosing their latest president

The Japanese have nothing on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, popularly known as Mormons, when it comes to choosing their leaders. The Mormons didn't have a president born in the 20th century until Howard Hunter succeeded to the office in 1994 at the age of 86. Their new President, Dr. Russell Nelson, is three years older than his immediate predecessor, Thomas Monson, who died on January 2, 2018 at the age of 90, a month short of 10 years in the position (see my post 40 years ago--Mormons build on youth in selecting new president (January 23, 2010)). Unlike most high-ranking Mormons, who seem to be selected for their business ability, Dr. Nelson had had a distinguished career as a surgeon. However, like other Mormon leaders, he doesn't seem to have any background as a theologian.

The following provides evidence that the Mormon Church--at least at levels below the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles--isn't quite the monolith that it may appear to outsiders. As reported by Peggy Fletcher Stack, David Noyce, and Bob Mims of The Salt Lake Tribune, January 16, 2018 (bold in original):

Three men sat behind a table in the LDS Church Office Building lobby in downtown Salt Lake City on Tuesday, taking turns fielding questions from reporters, building on one another’s comments and shooting their colleagues smiles of approval.

The man in the middle was 93-year-old Russell M. Nelson, who was ordained and set apart two days earlier in the Salt Lake LDS Temple as the 17th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

On his right: Dallin H. Oaks, 85, next in line for leadership of the faith and tapped to be the first counselor in the new governing First Presidency. On his left: Henry B. Eyring, 84, who previously was the first counselor and is now Nelson’s second counselor.

“This is [Christ’s] church and we are his servants,” Nelson declared, adding that his dedication was to God and Jesus. “I know them, love them and pledge to serve them and you with every remaining breath of my life.”

The process of Mormon succession from Thomas S. Monson, who died Jan. 2 at 90, to Nelson was predictable, following a pattern set more than 170 years ago.

What was noteworthy at the news conference, however, was the fact that all three men responded to questions rather than just the “prophet, seer and revelator” at the top.

The mutual affection and rapport, especially between Nelson and Oaks, was palpable.

Oaks appeared utterly at ease as Nelson’s right-hand man. The former Utah Supreme Court justice leaned forward in his chair and quickly added his voice to Nelson’s on nearly every question.

After all, the two were called as apostles on the same day in 1984, but Nelson was ordained a month earlier.

“I have sat beside President Nelson in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for almost 34 years,” Oaks said. “… I know his love of the Lord and Jesus Christ and his commitment to our Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation. I know his love of people. I know of his wisdom.”

The two seem to “share a general worldview and have worked closely together for more than three decades,” Mormon historian Patrick Mason said, “so it’s only natural for Nelson to want a like-minded individual as his first counselor."

Longtime Sen. Orrin Hatch, who is Mormon, said Nelson is “a powerful force for good in this world.”

“I have watched him lead by example over many decades of dedicated service, and I am confident that he will continue to touch the hearts of millions,” the Utah Republican said. “I am also grateful to President Nelson for his efforts to promote religious liberty.”

Uchtdorf’s new place

Elevating Oaks into the First Presidency and retaining Eyring returned the popular Dieter F. Uchtdorf, 77, who was Monson’s second counselor, to his place in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

The last time a counselor was dropped from the First Presidency occurred in 1985, when an ailing Marion G. Romney went back into the quorum upon the death of Spencer W. Kimball. Before that, in 1970, Hugh B. Brown was released when Joseph Fielding Smith took the church’s helm.

Uchtdorf, a German, was lifted into the presidency when Monson took over in 2008. For many Mormons worldwide, he became the face of a global faith — dubbed the “silver fox” because of his full head of white hair — and a favorite speaker.

One clear effect of this change is that members likely will hear those Uchtdorf sermons they so eagerly await and embrace far less often at twice-yearly General Conferences (down from as many as three speeches to perhaps only one).

Nelson thanked Uchtdorf for his service in the previous First Presidency, adding that “he has already received numerous assignments to which he is uniquely qualified.”

Asked Tuesday what his “big assignment might be,” the apostle smiled and said, “Big assignment? You’ll see.”

Uchtdorf then said in his first year in the presidency, he gave a speech titled “Lift Where You Stand,” suggesting that Latter-day Saints should do whatever and serve wherever they are asked.

And that, he said, is what he plans to do.

Uchtdorf said he is enjoying his return to the camaraderie of his fellow apostles. That showed during the news conference as he chatted and chuckled at times with Jeffrey R. Holland.

But what does replacing the genial German, sometimes dubbed Mormonism’s Pope Francis, with the lawyerly Oaks, the religious-freedom warrior, mean for the nearly 16 million-member faith?

A right turn

Nelson, who found renown as a heart surgeon, is the second-oldest apostle in Mormon history to assume the presidency (Joseph Fielding Smith, the church’s 10th prophet, was a few months older) and the first physician.

With these moves, M. Russell Ballard, 89, became the acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, because Oaks is serving in the First Presidency.

“This is a great time in the history of the church,” Eyring said. “Prophets of the past have said that ‘the best is yet to come,’ and it has proved true. That is so because it is the Lord who leads his church … and he qualifies and calls his servants to lead in inviting God’s children to come … to him.”

Still, some observers see the leadership shuffle as a definite turn toward retrenchment.

“President Nelson is seen as a conservative, and Elder Uchtdorf as a centrist and even potentially a reformer, so many people will see this as sending a message about the direction of the church under President Nelson’s leadership,” Mason said. It may “indicate, and almost certainly will actually represent, a rightward turn in the First Presidency.”

Steve Taysom, a Mormon who teaches philosophy and comparative religion at Cleveland State University, echoed that sentiment.

Uchtdorf has been “an important symbolic presence for liberal-minded Mormons, and he clearly did not share President Nelson’s and Elder Oaks’ views on social activism in general and LGBTQ issues in particular,” Taysom wrote in an email. “This is going to be an administration characterized by social and ecclesiastical retrenchment, and the touchstone for this retrenchment appears to be the 1995 family proclamation, which, of course, Oaks spoke about in the last General Conference.”

It is worth noting that “several apostles, especially Holland and Uchtdorf, have been preaching a Christology that heavily emphasizes grace and the boundlessness of God’s love,” Taysom wrote, while Nelson and Oaks “take a more legalistic approach to salvific doctrine.”

At the news conference, the members of the new presidency were asked how they — three white, American males — could bring “women, people of color and international members into the church’s decision-making.”

Nelson acknowledged that the “Twelve and the Seventy are not a representative assembly of any kind,” but he said they are called of God.

Nelson added, though, that he believes “we will live to see the day when there will be other flavors in the mix. … We respond [to callings] because we’ve been called by the Lord. Not one of us asked to be here.”

As for the place of women in the church, Nelson noted that “we have women on our councils, women administering ordinances in the temples. … We depend on their voices.”

“I love [women],” he said. “I’m the father of nine beautiful daughters. … Those girls are now mothers of their own … and grandmothers. We need their voices, their input and we love their participation with us.”

The church’s all-male priesthood precludes women from holding governing offices in the faith — and the new leaders offered no signs of that changing.

Eyring conceded that there is concern about women not getting recognition in the church, but “in terms of influence, the Lord has already given it to them [as mothers]. I think [there is] no greater influence [that] exists in the kingdom.”

Those answers failed to satisfy some Mormons.

On women and other issues

“The new First Presidency does not understand how those of us who are not white, not male, not old, not heterosexual, and not from the United States long for a face and a voice that represents us,” said Bryndis Roberts, a black Mormon in Atlanta and head of Ordain Women, a group seeking female entrance into the LDS priesthood. “To say that the representation occurs at the local leadership level ignores the reality that many of the concerns members have and the changes members seek cannot be addressed at the local level. As such, it is imperative that all levels of church leadership reflect the diversity of the church.”

Further, Roberts said, “it was painful to hear my value as a woman be limited to my ability to bear children and the terminology ‘more flavors in the mix’ did not capture the gravity and importance of the issues of diversity and gender equity.”

Nelson soon will have another chance to change the face of the faith’s top brass: There are two openings in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles after Nelson’s rise to president and the October death of Robert D. Hales.

Mormon writer and editor Emily Jensen found Nelson’s comments on women “contradictory.”

When asked, “What about women?” Nelson joked, “I love ’em.’”

But when the new president talked about his nine daughters, he mentioned only that they were “mothers and granddaughters whose value is gained by the fact that they raised children and grandchildren ‘strong in the faith,’” Jensen said. “What kind of message does this send to a worldwide membership that includes women who are single, childless, divorced, or with children who are not strong in the faith.”?

The new Mormon leaders also spoke:

On LGBT members • “There are commandments of God [and] challenges to enter his holy presence,” Nelson said. “… There is a place for everyone who wishes … to be with us [in the church].”

In November 2015, Mormon leaders adopted a policy that deems same-sex LDS couples “apostates” and forbids their children from religious rites until they turn 18.

A few months later, Nelson proclaimed the policy came as a revelation from God.

“As leaders of the church, we have a responsibility to teach love and also the commandments of God and the high destination he has for his children,” Oaks said. “It’s the love of the Lord [balanced with] the law of the Lord.”

On losing millennials • A number of Latter-day Saints left the church in the wake of the policy on same-sex couples.When asked about those departures, Nelson said that “every member needs to know the difference between what’s doctrine and what’s human. We have both elements to work with.”

Nelson and Oaks noted that millions of Latter-day Saints remain faithful and pointed to marriage as one key to retaining them.

“Young men and young women are stronger when they marry [and are in a relationship] that the Lord ordains,” Oaks said.

“Partnership. Partnership, that’s the secret — and one plus one are more than two,” Nelson added. “[They] can do things together that they cannot do by themselves.”

On infallibility • “Give your leaders a little leeway to make mistakes, as you hope your leaders will give you a little leeway to profit by your errors,” Nelson advised. “Don’t be offended by what may have been said, or what may have transpired. Make sure you are square with your Heavenly Father.”

Said Oaks: “We don’t believe in the infallibility of our leaders.”

At the end of the news conference, Nelson’s family — dozens and dozens of men, women and children — came in to hug and congratulate him.

The statement by Mr. Oaks that Mormons don't believe in the infallibility of their leaders seems to be a bit of a departure from the traditional Mormon belief that "when the leaders have spoken, the thinking has been done." Of course, it's hard to see if the Prophet, Seer and Revelator is infallible when it comes to prophecy, because no one can remember any time in living memory when the Prophet ever prophesied. As Dave Hunt said, Mormonism is a "non-prophet" religion.

Not everyone in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is happy with the apparent demotion of Mr. Uchtdorf, as reported by Ms. Stack and Mr. Noyce in The Salt Lake Tribune, January 17, 2018 (links in original):

Many Mormons want more Dieter F. Uchtdorf. Now, they’ll get less.

For the past decade, the German “silver fox” has been a kind of latter-day superstar, ever since President Thomas S. Monson catapulted him into the LDS Church’s governing First Presidency.

Sure, there had been a couple of non-American apostles before then-President Gordon B. Hinckley, in 2004, picked him (mostly Canadians), but he was the first one in a long while from another continent to join that elite group.

Thus, Uchtdorf became the symbol of what so many hoped would be seen as an increasingly global faith.

Now, many of those same Mormons who felt a jolt of excitement with Uchtdorf’s rise are mourning his departure from the more visible governing First Presidency and his return to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

They had been moved by Uchtdorf’s words and his life. He talked about twice being a refugee — once while leaving Czechoslovakia and again when fleeing then-East Germany to West Germany — which helped members identify with today’s generation of seekers. He talked about being a pilot (so often that it became a standing joke). He mentioned using iPhones and drinking a “diet soda that shall remain nameless,” which endeared him to younger members.

But it was more than his silver hair, his accent and smooth manner than endeared Uchtdorf to the masses. Believers loved his finely crafted but straightforward sermons, with profound messages of love and hope, grace and goodness, leaders’ humanity and the value of doubt — with faith in Jesus always making an appearance.

“President Uchtdorf set a special tone in his conference talks,” Ogden resident Aaron Nelson wrote on Facebook. “It was an open and respectful tone. He is a beloved leader.”

Mette Harrison, a Layton writer, remembered calling “a dear friend while Uchtdorf was speaking in General Conference about mistakes the church leadership had made.”

Harrison told her friend, “I can’t believe someone is saying this in General Conference.”

Uchtdorf’s “call to return, that the church had a place for everyone, was one of the main reasons I felt able to stay for so long,” she said. “Not sure what the future holds for me.”

Others worry about losing the European’s appeal to rising generations.

“He has such a connection to our youth,” Lorraine Azain Matagi wrote from Hawaii. “His spirit of optimism and hope closely aligns with that of President [Gordon B.] Hinckley. Others may preach humanity; President Uchtdorf exudes it. He was the closest thing to diversity there is in the Quorum [of the Twelve Apostles].”

LDS historian Ardis Parshall appreciated Uchtdorf’s inclusive rhetoric.

“He consistently speaks of and to women as individuals, rather than as a mass of presumed wives and mothers,” the Salt Lake City woman said. “I so much need that encouragement now and hope he can continue to deliver that hope.”

Even non-Mormon Jeri Cartwright appreciated the LDS leader’s speeches.

“When I first heard Uchtdorf speak, I was driving my car. I didn’t know what radio station I was listening to. I heard a charismatic voice speaking in a marvelous, healing tone,” Cartwright wrote from Arizona. “Who was this man? What program was I listening to? I was enthralled. When I discovered that I was listening to LDS Church Conference … it was a ‘wow’ moment.”

She’s sure he “helped heal many hearts.”

Other Mormon devotees do not see the move in such dire terms, noting that he remains an apostle who will jet to other nations and speak to the worldwide church.

“Elder Uchtdorf is a great man of the people,” Brian Neff wrote. “Having him out of the office and back traveling the world is a great move, and one that — as I see it — is orchestrated through revelation.”

Yes, Neff said, Mormons will miss hearing from Uchtdorf more.

“But if you believe in the work, as he surely does,” he said, “you’ll know that mixing with the people of the world will be a much richer calling for him. And much richer for the rest of us.”

Discovery of ancient coins provides glimpse at medieval Roman Catholic Church in Norway

As reported by Steinar Brandslet of Science Nordic, January 2, 2018 (bold in original):

(bracteate)

NTNU Associate Professor Jon Anders Risvaag specializes in medieval coins. The one he’s holding weighs a mere 0.085 grams, but it’s far from the smallest. It’s called a bracteate.

“This coin is from the time of Sverre Sigurdsson,” says Risvaag. He works in the Department of Archaeology and Cultural History at the NTNU University Museum, and what he’s holding is flat, dark and small.

Sverre was king from 1177 to 1202. He has a pretty good reputation, but he also minted some of the world’s smallest coins. Most of us would have trouble identifying one. Risvaag does it in a few seconds.

One of the smallest bracteates in the museum’s collection weighs 0.042 grams, and is just a flake of a coin. The largest is around 0.3 grams. By comparison, a modern-day Norwegian krone weighs 4.35 grams – more than 100 times as much as the smallest bracteates and just over 14 times as much as the largest one...

...Given that almost 15 000 bracteates have been found in Norway, the coins were hardly very valuable.

Found in churches

Most of the coins have been discovered in churches. Why?

“Most coins were probably lost when people made their offerings at the altar,” Risvaag said.

That would lead us to believe that people at that time must have been at least as careless and clumsy as some of us are today. They dropped coins on the floor when they were making an offering, or the coins landed on the floor in the process afterwards and rolled into cracks.

In a dark church it certainly wouldn’t have been easy to see such a small coin amidst the dust and dirt on the floor either, so it would have been easy for the person cleaning up after a service to sweep it up with everything else. Of the 359 coins discovered in Høre Church in Valdres, exactly 100 of them were in a hollow behind the altar where anything that ended up on the church floor had been swept.

That’s why the coins found there were mixed with chicken bones, glass shards and clothing remnants, among other things.

Over 2000 coins were found in Lom Stave Church alone. Mære Church revealed an additional 575 coins, Dønnes Church 527 and Alstahaug Church 386. You might think that was a lot of cash squandered, but it turns out that it’s not.

Risvaag points out that the coins that have been found amount to only two or three coins a year.

Churches that people use steadily over a long time are of course also subject to a lot of fumbling fingers, and maybe some backs that don’t bend down to pick up a coin of lesser value.

Too little silver

The silver content in Norwegian coins varied greatly. The earliest coins from CE 995 were more than 90 per cent silver, but some rulers saw their chance to scrimp on silver and save on their precious metals as they deemed necessary.

Under Harald Hardrada in the mid-1000s, the silver content dropped to 30 per cent. By the time of Eric Magnusson’s reign at the end of the 13th century, the silver content in other coins fell as low as 6-7 per cent.

“That’s so low that the coins from that era are black today,” Risvaag says.

In 1276, Archbishop Jon Raude asked Pope John XXI how he wanted his taxes to be paid and suggested that the poor-quality Norwegian coins should be exchanged for goods that could be sold for foreign silver instead. The Pope agreed with Raude’s suggestion so that instead of receiving Norwegian coins with a little silver, he would receive proper currency.

The Norwegian coins were at this point of such poor quality that only money-hungry churches would accept them.

“That was a brilliant move,” says Risvaag.

Norwegian coins remained a viable currency in Norway, but since other nations didn’t want them, the king had secured complete control. He could continue to mint coins with little silver, and make a hefty profit producing and exchanging the currency.

Long break in production

But 1387 brought an end to Norwegian coin production. Norway had become severely weakened and was well on its way to entering into a union with Sweden and Denmark. Swedish, Danish and German currencies for the most part replaced Norwegian coins.

Norway didn’t resume minting coins until almost a hundred years later, in 1483. The right to strike coins was part of Norway’s requirement for approving King John of Denmark as king of Norway as well.

In practice, production was modest when it started up again because the king had mints in Copenhagen and Malmö and had no use for Norwegian coins. Oslo minted no coins and in Bergen coins were minted for only a short period. Only the Archbishop of Nidaros in Trondheim was interested enough to continue production.

“It was a tiny mint workshop, but it was very important as a political statement,” says Risvaag.

Church and king continued their long struggle with each other. In Norway, the Archbishop of Nidaros remained the dominant power until the Reformation when he was driven out of the country in 1537. This date marks the end of the late Middle Ages in the Nordic countries.

Archaeologists discovered the Archbishop’s coin workshop in Trondheim a few years ago...

The reader will note that a Roman Catholic archbishop was involved in the very spiritual activity of minting cons.

Site of possible Stone Age pagan rituals discovered in Sweden

An old item that I just discovered, as reported by Science Nordic, September 29, 2015 (link in original):

A 9,000-year-old ritual site has been discovered in caves on the uninhabited island of Blå Jungfrun in Sweden. The island has a long history of witchcraft and religious ceremonies, writes LiveScience.com.

The finds, some of which are shown in the gallery above, were presented at the European Association of Archaeologists annual meeting in Glasgow, Scotland.

At the meeting, the archaeologists behind the discovery described it as “astonishing” and say that it “reveal[s] extensive human activities on the island in the Mesolithic Stone Age," according to LiveScience.

Among the discoveries is an altar that shows clear signs of having been shaped with grinding tools. The archaeologists suspect that offerings to deities might have been made here.

There is also an area of the cave that looks like a stage, which could be where ceremonies were performed.

They also discovered the remains of a fireplace that they suspect would have been viewed from above as onlookers watched the ceremonies. It could even have been a theatrical part of the ceremonies held within the caves.

Other finds include stone tools and the remains of seals that date to around 9,000 years ago, found within a shelter between the two caves.

"A few people could’ve been sitting or standing, perhaps just resting or spending the night during sporadic stays on the island," says Ludvig Papmehl-Dufay from Kalmar County Museum to LiveScience. He is one of the archaeologists that discovered the site.

"However, more specific activities with ritualistic elements to [them] cannot be ruled out, such as feasting in connection to the rituals performed in the nearby caves," he explains to LiveScience.

Norwegian school accused of censoring Christmas songs

Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, Romans 1:21-22

Here's an old item that I just discovered, providing more evidence of a denial of anything having to do with the Christian faith in what were once known as "Christian" countries. As reported by The Local (Norway), December 15, 2016:

A primary school in Stavanger has been criticized for not allowing children to sing the hymn ‘Deilig er jorden’ at the school’s Christmas party, but the school’s principal says the media has gotten the story all wrong.

Children at Nylund School were told that they could not perform the song, which was written by Danish hymnist Bernhard Ingemann in 1850 to the tune of ‘Fairest Lord Jesus’. Instead, they were only allowed to hum the melody.

In addition, other Christmas songs were altered to remove all references to Santa Claus and elves and the party itself was renamed from ‘Christmas celebration’ to ‘December gathering’.

Stavanger Aftenblad originally reported the changes, which quickly spread throughout the national press.

The school’s principle, Frøydis Anthonsen, told Stavanger Aftenblad that the changes were made so as not to offend anyone.

“Someone who doesn’t want the Christmas message would perceive it as offensive that the word ‘Christmas’ is included, because they associate the word ‘Christmas’ with something Christian,” she said.

But Anthonsen later said that she misspoke and denied that Christmas had been systematically stripped from the Christmas party.

“In a hurry I answered questions when the reporter called earlier today and without checking the matter further they published the story as if we wanted to change the Christmas songs,” she told Dagbladet.

Anthonsen said Christmas songs had not actually been censored, but that the school’s music teachers were making examples of what would happen if religious accommodation was taken “to the extreme”.

“The music teachers wrote a proposal for how it would look if we went to the extreme [and] took away all the words. ‘Is that how we want it? What does society want? What do the parents want?’ That was the discussion,” she said.

Anthonsen said the amended Christmas songs reached one class’s weekly schedule by mistake, leading to the misunderstanding that the songs had been changed.

She did, however, admit that the school had made changes to its annual Christmas celebration.

“What is true is that we are not going to church this year but will instead gather at school. There, we will of course sing the original Christmas songs. And next year we will be in the church again, and then those who do not want to take part can opt out,” the principal said.

Italian headmaster ends school prayers, orders Catholic statues removed

This sort of thing seems to be happening everywhere; as reported by The Local (Italy), November 24, 2017 (links in original):

Nicolò La Rocca, headmaster of the Ragusa Moleti primary school in Palermo, issued a circular on Thursday morning instructing teachers that they should no longer ask children to say prayers or sing hymns before meals or at the beginning of class.

He also removed a statue of the Virgin Mary and other Catholic icons from display, including pictures of Pope Francis, reported La Repubblica.

The newspaper, which filmed a video report from the school, said that the statues were now placed on a windowsill in the toilets.

La Rocca said that he acted in response to complaints from parents that certain statues were in the way. “They were simply two very cumbersome statues,” he told La Repubblica.

“An enormous Buddha would have caused problems too, no?”

ome mothers told the paper that they would protest the head’s decision.

Yet La Rocca has Italian law on his side: as he pointed out in his circular, a 2009 opinion from the state’s lawyers ruled that religious rites should not be conducted at schools during lesson time. The same advisory states that they can be carried out on school property outside teaching hours, including during breaks.

But “having a sacred image up doesn’t hurt anyone”, Italy’s undersecretary for education, Gabriele Toccafondi, commented. “It seems to me that the headteacher’s decision has less to do with freedom and more to do with ideology.”

Politicians across the spectrum joined him in criticizing La Rocca. Giorgia Meloni, leader of the right-wing Brothers of Italy party, called his decision “shameful and offensive”, while Edoardo Patriarca, MP for the centre-left Democratic Party, said that it “denies our roots”.

Though Italy officially separates church and state, Roman Catholic traditions run deep in the country’s society and culture. Many Italians consider religion a part of public life – including in secular, state-run schools.

There was outcry ten years ago when a Finnish-Italian mother sought to have crucifixes removed from her sons’ school. She challenged the Ministry of Education’s directive that every state school should display the symbol, taking the case to the European Court of Human Rights.

The court initially found in her favour, but the Italian government convinced judges to reverse the ruling on appeal. In 2011 they decided that a crucifix was “an essentially passive symbol” and couldn’t therefore be considered “a process of indoctrination” (though they did indicate that “participation in religious activities” – such as saying prayers – was different).

Several politicians called on Italy’s Ministry of Education to apply pressure on La Rocca.

For the meantime, however, the headmaster remains undeterred. “I was only thinking about doing my duty,” he told local news site LiveSicilia.

The school, attended by some 800 children between three and ten years old, will still celebrate Christmas, he assured La Repubblica.