Tree is granted membership in Manitoba Buddhist Temple

Spiritual buffoonery isn't restricted to New Agers, charismaniacs, or liberal "Christians." As reported by John Longhurst of the Winnipeg Free Press, September 26, 2022 (photo in original):

There’s a new member of the Manitoba Buddhist Temple: a tree.

The large tree, which stands in front of the Winnipeg temple, was made a member of the sangha, or congregation, at a ceremony Saturday.

“It’s a way to make a point about what’s happening to the environment today,” said Tanis Moore, sensei of the temple.

“Trees are vital for our survival, and they provide beauty and shade.”

Moore was inspired to hold the ceremony by what Buddhists in Thailand are doing to preserve their forests.

In the Southeast Asian country, monks have been ordaining trees in order to protect them from being cut down for environmentally destructive cash crops.

The Winnipeg ceremony, which was led by Moore and Fredrich Ulrich, former sensei at the temple, began with the ringing of a bell. It was followed by a chant beside the tree, which had an orange saffron coloured cloth wrapped around its trunk.

The tree was then given the name as Dharma Phala, or “Fruit of the Dharma,” along with the title “honoured one” and thanked for joining the congregation.

The ceremony included the playing of a shakuhachi bamboo flute by Eric Napier Strong, who attends the temple.

It concluded with a prayer: “We gently caress you, our planet and home… make us aware of the harm we have done to the life network upon which we ourselves depend.”

“It’s like baptizing someone into a Christian community,” said Ulrich, explaining the meaning behind the ceremony.

“It’s representative of all trees,” added Moore. “It’s a symbol of our desire to care for the planet.”

Fredrich Ulrich, former sensei at the temple, says the ceremony inviting the tree into the congregation is akin to baptizing someone into a Christian community.

Fred Ulrich has been around for a long time; he was a priest in Edmonton in the 1980s. On March 5, 1987, during Christian Awareness Week at the University of Alberta, he debated Jeff Amano (author of The Reincarnation Sensation) of Probe Ministries on the subject of reincarnation vs. resurrection.

40 years ago: Pope John Paul II meets the Dalai Lama

On October 9, 1980, Pope John Paul II held a private audience with the Dalai Lama at the Vatican. While this blogger is unaware of what was said, it can be reasonably inferred that the audience was one of the events leading up to the World Day of Prayer for Peace, which took place in Assisi, Italy on October 27, 1986, under the leadership of Pope John Paul II, with the Dalai Lama as his right-hand man.

See my post 25 years ago: Representatives of 12 religions join Pope John Paul II at World Day of Prayer for Peace (October 26, 2011).

Rabbi in Toledo presents lecture on "Jewish Mindfulness"

Mindfulness is a practice rooted in Buddhism that's being increasingly promoted in Western society. As Ray Yungen stated,

mindfulness involves focusing on the breath to stop the normal flow of thought. In effect, it acts the same way as a mantra; and as with Yoga, it is presented as something to cure society’s ills.

As reported by the Toledo Blade, September 13, 2019 (link in original):

Rabbi Laibl Wolf presents “Jewish Mindfulness and Meditation: Techniques to De-Stress a Stressful Life” via live webcast at Chabad House of Greater Toledo on Wednesday. Rabbi Wolf “has spent more than 30 years studying and serving as a spiritual mentor of the mystical side of Judaism,” and is expected to explore mindfulness in a Jewish context. He draws his teachings from the Kabbalah, which is described as “the source for much of the ‘new age’ wisdom that we are familiar with today.”

Rabbi Wolf speaks at Chabad House, 2728 King Rd., at 7 p.m. Wednesday. There is no cost to attend. To register, $12, go to chabadtoledo.com or call 419-843-9393.

Go to Lighthouse Trails Research Project and search under "mindfulness" for more information.

See also my post United Church of Canada-affiliated St. Stephen's College offers courses in Wicca, mindfulness, and Jungian psychology (April 3, 2017)

"Secular" Oasis community incorporates practices from various religions

The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God...Psalms 14:1a (also Psalms 53:1a)

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

The Oasis community in Toronto, whose board of directors includes the notorious atheist United Church of Canada minister Gretta Vosper (see post below), claims to be "secular" and "not atheist," which leads this blogger to suspect that they just prefer the word "secular" because "atheist" carries more negative connotations. As reported by Megan Dolski of the Toronto Star, December 28, 2016 (links in original):

A new Toronto group is expected to launch on Feb. 12, joining a growing network of communities popping up across the central and southern United States, with meetings based on shared common values instead of a religion.

It’s not a church, but in many ways is sort of like one.

Oasis groups meet weekly in whatever space they find suitable — from dance studios to conference centres — for talks, discussions and music. This movement is founded on five shared values including: people are more important than beliefs, reality has its roots in reason, and humans can fix human problems.

In Toronto, the group is being started by a core team of about 10 people, including West Hill United Church’s atheist minister Gretta Vosper, Humanist Canada’s Martin Frith, Bangladeshi author Raihan Abir and advocate and artist Agah Bahari. It will be the first chapter of the network in Canada.

Vosper, who joined the network’s board of directors this year, made headlines when the United Church ruled that she was “unsuitable” to do her job because she doesn’t believe in God. The church is expected to decide whether it will defrock sometime next year. Although she’s still at West Hill United, Vosper is expanding her work with Oasis, which she says is similar to what she’s doing already — but this time, with absolutely no church affiliation.

“I think there are a number of things that religion does within community and for individuals that are important,” Vosper said. “Church didn’t come up with the idea of gathering, and church didn’t come up with the idea of transmitting values from one person to the next or transmitting things from one generation to the next.”

She thinks Oasis can meet those needs in a non-religious way. Vosper said no membership is needed to attend an Oasis gathering and drop-ins are welcome.

Helen Stringer, who started an Oasis chapter in Kansas City and is the co-founder of the network, said the movement is growing faster than she expected.

“The real thing that we’re offering is really that type of community support that is missing, I think, in a lot of people’s lives,” she said. “We are more individualized and isolated probably than ever, our society has just kind of started to flow that way. So a lot of us are looking for alternative ways to still connect with human beings.”

Stringer said even though the group has made no attempt at promoting itself, the Oasis network has received media attention. She said people have expressed interest in starting their own Oasis communities as far as Africa, South America and Europe. Although the non-profit network hasn’t got around to translating its start-up materials to meet overseas demand, she thinks the concept can work anywhere.

Bahari, one of the Toronto group’s founding members, thinks the network will fit well here, even if it might initially “freak some people out.”

He notes that Oasis is a secular community, not an atheist one, and that it will be open to listening and morphing into what the local public wants it to be.

“I think the fact that there are many different people from many different backgrounds has a lot of significance,” Bahari said. “I think that’s the most Toronto thing about it.”

Closer to its launch date, founding members of the Toronto Oasis will announce details about upcoming, public weekly gatherings, which will be hosted at the University of Toronto’s multi-faith centre.

From a quick glance at the Toronto Oasis website, the movement strikes this blogger not so much as "secular," but rather just anti-Christian. I always find it amusing that secularists atheists can't invent anything of their own, but always seem to counterfeit Christianity; in the case of Oasis, they have their gatherings on Sunday. The blog posts announcing the topics of their gatherings promote several practices that have religious origins and associations. Just two recent examples:

Sun Oct 14th: Mindful Living: The True Path to Wisdom

Sun Nov 18 – Plant-based Eating: Discussion and Questions

Mindfulness comes from Buddhism, while vegetarianism is traditionally associated with pagan nature worship and Eastern religious beliefs, including reincarnation. The one consistent thing about Oasis is its anti-Christian worldview.

Buddhist and Roman Catholic nuns hold their first inter-religious meeting in Taiwan

It comes as no surprise to this blogger that the link that unites Buddhist and Roman Catholic nuns is the practice of contemplative spirituality. Those who claim to be Christians and who practice contemplative spirituality--Eastern meditation disguised as Christian--head first in the direction of Roman Catholicism and then in the direction of universalism. They start to read and follow the practices of "Christians" such as the Desert Fathers, which leads them toward Roman Catholicism. They then discover that followers of other religions have the same spiritual experiences, which leads to the natural conclusion that the experiences come from the same source for the non-Christian as for the Christian. Lighthouse Trails Research Project is the best source I know for information on contmplative spirituality.

As reported by La Stampa, October 17, 2018:

“Contemplative Action and Active Contemplation: Buddhist and Christian Nuns in Dialogue” this is the theme of the first joint international conference between the consecrated women of the two religions which is taking place in Kaohsiung, Taiwan from 13 to 20 October. As a note from the Vatican Press Office informs us, this is a joint initiative of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, the Association of the Major Superiors of Taiwan and the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Monastery, site of the work and place where the first formal Buddhist-Christian conversation took place in 1995.

Seventy Buddhist and Catholic nuns, mainly from Taiwan, but also from other countries such as South Korea, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Cambodia, the Philippines, Brazil, Italy, Germany, Norway and the United States, took part in the international dialogue.

Representing the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue are Bishop Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, Secretary of the Department, and Monsignor Indunil Janakaratne Kodithuwakku Kankanamalage, Undersecretary with responsibility for Buddhism. Father William Skudlarek Osb, Secretary General of the Monastic Interreligious Dialogue (MID) and also consultant to the Pontifical Council, will lead a delegation of fourteen Catholic women from Asia and Europe and the Americas. A European delegation from the World Council of Churches in Geneva, led by Lutheran Simone Sinn, was also present.

The agenda of the First International Buddhist-Christian Dialogue for Nuns - explains the Vatican note - includes the following items: The Origin, Evolution and Present-day Situation of Monastic Religious Life for Women in Buddhism and Christianity; Buddhist and Christian Approaches to Active Contemplation and Contemplative Action (Right Mindfulness and Right Conduct); Buddhist Meditation and Christian Contemplation; The Service of Buddhist and Christian Nuns to Humanity; Religious Women Promoting the ‘Feminine Genius’; Sharing Stories of Buddhist-Christian Solidarity and Envisioning Future Possibilities.

The international dialogue seeks to achieve two main objectives: to promote the dialogue of spiritual or religious experiences and to create more space for women to participate in interreligious dialogue. The work of these days is marked not only by discussions in plenary sessions, but also by visits to sacred places in the region, individual conversations and small groups, testimonies of stories of solidarity.

In his speech, delivered on Sunday 14 October - and reported by L’Osservatore Romano - Bishop Ayuso stressed in particular the need to create more space for women to participate in inter-religious dialogue, strengthened by the encouragement of Pope Francis who - the prelate recalled - on more than one occasion stressed that many women are well prepared to face dialogue meetings at the highest levels and not only from the Catholic side. For this reason, he added, their presence today is more necessary than ever.

Recent articles from the Daily Telegraph document Britain's--and Western society's--increasing insanity

Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:..
...Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Isaiah 5:18, 20-21

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come...
...But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. II Timothy 3:1, 13

Here, surely, is the world's record in the domain of the ridiculous and the contemptible... Sir Winston Churchill

Western society is getting more insane every day, fulfilling the prophecy above. The London Daily Telegraph has provided ample documentation of the increasing decadence in recent articles such as the following (links in original).

As reported by Camilla Turner, October 4, 2018:

Parents who refuse to let their son wear a skirt to school may need to be referred to social services, a council’s guidance has advised schools.

Mothers and fathers who dismiss a “gender questioning” child’s requests to change their name could also be a trigger for concern, according to Brighton and Hove City Council’s “Trans Inclusion Schools Toolkit”.

It comes after warnings that schools are "sowing confusion" in children's minds by over-promoting transgender issues, and that children are being encouraged to “unlearn” the difference between boys and girls.

The guidance advises teachers on how to handle a number of different scenarios, including if parents say: “I refuse to allow my son to change his name or wear skirts”.

Schools are advised that some parents may “struggle” to accept their child’s gender identity and it may be a long time before they accept the change.

“If a setting has a significant concern about the child’s wellbeing and or safety in relation to how the parents or carers are managing the exploration of the child’s gender identity it may be necessary and advisable to follow safeguarding procedures,” schools are told.

The Department for Education (DfE)’s statutory guidance on safeguarding says that staff with concerns about a child must alert the school’s safeguarding lead, and if necessary contact social services or the police...

...The guidance document, now in its third edition, was produced by Allsorts Youth Project, a charity that supports young people who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender or Queer (LGBTQ).

It advises that in “all cases”, transgender pupils should be allowed to use the changing room that corresponds to their gender identity, rather than their biological sex.

This means that any boy who identifies as a female should be allowed to use girls’ changing rooms, even if it makes other girls feel “uncomfortable”.

“It is important to ensure that these are safe environments for all by challenging underlying attitudes and bullying behaviours,” the guidance says...

...Earlier this year, it emerged that a teacher who was accused of “misgendering” a child was told by police that she had committed a hate crime.

The teacher, who claimed they were a “grammatical purist”, refused to acknowledge that the pupil self-identified as a boy and failed to use the pupil’s preferred pronouns of “he” or “him”.

As reported by Ms. Turner, October 11, 2018:

A student union is seeking to ban students from dressing up as Tories at fancy dress parties to avoid causing offence.

Kent University’s student union has drafted a new set of “Fancy Dress Guidelines” which say that groups are allowed to host fancy dress parties so long as costumes are not “offensive, discriminatory and prejudice to an individual’s race, gender, disability or sexual orientation or based on stereotypes”.

This is to ensure that the university is a “safe space" for undergraduates, where no one is embarrassed or upset by seeing a fellow student's costume, according to the Canterbury Journal.

Dressing up as “Tories” and “chavs” are given as examples of costumes to avoid, as these would breach the “class and political stereotypes” section of the guidance.

“Fancy Dress themes should also not be centred around political group stereotypes or the stereotypes of different levels of perceived class in the means to diminish their worth or validity,” the guidance says.

“This again would promote an unsafe and exclusive campus to which we do not tolerate.” Among the dozens of outfits it deems "offensive" are cowboys, Native Americans, priests and nuns, and anyone who wears a Mexican sombrero.

Students have also been warned against anything that has a sensitive historical or religious connotations. It gives the Crusades, Isis bombers, Israeli soldiers and The Prophet Mohammed as examples of costumes to avoid.

The guidance says: "Fancy Dress themes should also not be centred around political group stereotypes or the stereotypes of different levels of perceived class in the means to diminish their worth or validity.

"This again would promote an unsafe and exclusive campus to which we do not tolerate."

But the union does list cave people, aliens, Ancient Greeks and Romans, and doctors and nurses as acceptable attire choices.

Costumes of celebrities known for their sexual misconduct or abuse of power have also been banned, including the disgraced DJ Jimmy Savile and movie producer Harvey Weinstein.

Aaron Thompson, the Kent Union president, said: “Over the last few years we have received complaints over some student groups’ choice of fancy dress.

“As a result we have drafted some guidelines as a discussion point with some of our groups and as part of a proactive approach to ensure that student events remain inclusive.

“We of course want students to enjoy themselves and often host fancy dress parties in our own nightclub, but we would ask students to be mindful of their choices and whether any offence could be caused.”

He said the fancy dress policy document is currently in draft form, and will the union is seeking feedback on its proposals.

As reported by Jamie Johnson, October 17, 2018:

Waitrose is to change the name of its Gentleman’s Smoked Chicken Caesar Roll because feminist campaigners said it was sexist.

The roll, from Heston Blumenthal’s range at the supermarket, contains anchovy mayonnaise, similar to ‘gentleman’s relish’ but the name was branded “outrageous” on social media and the chain has issued an apology.

Amy Lamé, Sadiq Khan’s London night Czar posted an image of the product on Twitter and said: “I never knew sandwiches were gender specific. I’m female but thankfully Waitrose let me purchase this anyway.”

She tagged the organisation Everyday Sexism, who document instances of sexism experienced on a day to day basis.

Other people were quick to pile in with criticism of the supermarket, with Sian Murray saying: “What a ridiculous name!” and Joe Alessi calling it “outrageous”. Nikki Alvey said she was "disappointed" with the product's name.

The roll costs £3.80, but is currently on sale at a cutdown price of £2.85 and features a picture of a rooster dressed in waders holding a fishing rod with a fish at the end of the line.

Waitrose describes the roll as: “The ultimate Caesar salad to go. A parmesan ciabatta roll filled with pulled, smoked chicken breast, beechwood smoked bacon and Parmigiano Reggiano all topped with anchovy mayonnaise and Cos lettuce for crunch.”

The supermarket addressed the complaints about the product by apologising to anyone who felt offended by the name ‘Gentleman’s Smoked Chicken Caesar Roll’ and promised to change it.

A spokesperson told the Telegraph: "It's never our intention to cause offence - we're not dictating who should eat this sandwich - we hope anyone who tries it will love the distinctive flavours. However we are planning to change the name of the sandwich soon."

They did not confirm when the name change would happen, or what the new product will be called...

...The ‘Gentleman’s roll’ is not the first product to fall foul of sexism claims. Back in 2002, Nestle’s Yorkie chocolate bar launched a brash campaign in which it was labelled “Not for Girls.” The slogan stayed for ten years before being dropped quietly.

It's no wonder that schoolchildren are reporting increasing anxiety, given that the "adult" society is around them has declared war on nature and common sense. As reported by Laura Donnelly, October 9, 2018:

Schools will be asked to monitor children's happiness and mental health in a bid to tackle growing levels of anxiety among young people, the Prime Minister will announce today.

The new measures are part of a wider mental health strategy which will see thousands of therapists sent into classrooms, and annual publication of a ‘happiness index’ tracking the state of the nation’s youth.

Theresa May will also appoint the UK’s first minister for suicide prevention and £1.8m funding for the Samaritans, as she pledges to “end the stigma that has forced too many to suffer in silence”.

It comes amid concern about an epidemic of anxiety and distress among young people, with record levels of mental ill-health among a generation dealing with the fallout from social media.

Half of mental illness begins by the age of 14, and statistics due out later this year are expected to show levels far higher than has previously been recorded.

Under the plans, the Government will publish a “State of the Nation” report every year highlighting trends in young people’s mental well-being.

This will be the first time it has been given the same focus as physical health and academic attainment.

And all primary and secondary schools will be asked to regularly measure their pupils’ mental well-being, as part of lessons in relationships, sex and health education.

Officials said teachers would be expected to help young pupils to cope with modern pressures, while schools would be offered tools to help them assess pupil wellbeing.

It comes after The Daily Telegraph launched a duty of care campaign calling for more stringent regulation of sites like Facebook and Instagram, in order to protect children from harm.

A report from the National Audit Office today reveals a five-fold rise in the number of children and teenagers ending up at Accident and Emergency departments because of psychiatric problems over the last decade.

It also warns of falling numbers of child psychiatrists, at a time when demand continues to rise.

Today Mrs May will announce the launch of a new campaign to train a million people in mental health awareness, starting with a pilot in the West Midlands...

...Mrs May will announce that new mental health support teams will start working in schools across England next year.

The plans will see a new profession of healthcare professionals trained to deliver therapy in schools, and to ensure specialist help is given to those in need.

And she will appoint health minister Jackie Doyle-Price as the UK’s first minister for suicide prevention.

Around 4,500 people take their own lives each year in England and suicide remains the leading cause of death for men under 45.

In her new role, the minister will lead government efforts to cut the number of suicides, working with charities, clinicians and those personally affected by suicide.

It comes as Health Secretary Matt Hancock hosts the first ever Global Ministerial Mental Health Summit in London, attended by more than 50 countries as well as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

While taking what used to be considered sins or symptoms of madness and redefining them as normal and deserving of "human rights" protection from any opposing views, those who presume to define society's values are now criminalizing and pathologizing normal, although perhaps impolite, attitudes and behaviours. As reported by Martin Evans, October 17, 2018:

The drive to target hate crime is forcing police officers to spend valuable time investigating wolf-whistles, bad manners and impolite comments, a police leader has warned.

Sergeant Richard Cooke, the recently elected chairman of the West Midlands Police Federation, said forces were expected to record and follow up reports of hate crime, even when no criminal offence had taken place.

Writing in the Telegraph, Mr Cooke warns police officers would be dispatched to offer words of advice to people, but this meant they had less time to focus on "genuine crimes" such as burglary and violence.

Mr Cooke said he did not believe this was what the public expected of its police service. While applauding the principle behind protecting those at risk of hurtful abuse, officers have expressed their frustration at being drawn into what they see as social rather than criminal issues.

Mr Cooke, who represents 6,500 rank and file officers in the country's second largest police force, said: "I fear a dangerous precedent could be set, where our scant resources are skewed further and further away from the genuine crisis in public safety taking place on our urban homes and streets.

"Nobody, especially police officers, would ever want to see any elderly person or woman subjected to any sort of crime. The same goes for any other innocent member of the community. But we do have laws to address all manner of crimes and anti-social behaviour already."

Earlier this week the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, announced that he had asked the Law Commission to consider whether misogyny and ageism should be added to the list of categories that constitute a hate crime.

It is hoped that by broadening out the definition of the offence, police and prosecutors will have more power to tackle and punish those who deliberately target vulnerable groups.

Newly published figures show how religious hate crimes rose by 40 per cent last year with attacks on Jewish people representing 12 percent of all offences.

Abuse against gay and transgender people and the disabled has also risen.

But there are increasing warnings that in the drive to identify and tackle the problem, police priorities are being impacted.

Mr Cooke said: "We all abhor and want to end genuine crimes motivated or aggravated by intolerance and prejudice. They should be investigated, and those who commit them should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, as should those who incite them."

But he went on: "Let us focus urgently on genuine crime, supported by basic evidence. Let’s not encourage people to think we can solve deep social problems or give impolite people manners.

"Are we really going to be required to routinely record, and potentially act on, incidents like a builder’s wolf whistle or an insensitive comment towards an elderly driver?

"I do not believe for one second that this is what the public, outside of the politically correct 'court of Twitter', expects or wants us to do."

South Yorkshire Police recently came in for criticism after urging people to report insults that did not necessarily constitute hate crimes.

Last month the newly elected chairman of the Police Federation, John Apter, warned that common sense policing was disappearing with officers forced to spend time intervening in trivial social media disputes rather than attending burglaries and other serious crimes.

He said it was time for a debate sensible debate about what the public expected of its police service.

"Where we get drawn into local disagreements, the argument over the remote control, the dispute in the playground, the row on Facebook it is frustrating. I certainly think police time can be better spent and it makes a mockery when we are so stretched," he said.

The immaturity and lack of self-discipline that often characterizes young people who are away from home without adult supervision for the first time is now considered a sign of mental illness, as reported by Ms. Turner, October 16, 2018:

For university students, falling asleep during lectures after staying up all night partying was once considered par for the course.

But now nodding off during classes at Buckingham University will be treated as a possible sign of a mental health disorder.

Under new plans, every member of staff at the university will be given mental health first aid training so they can spot signs of potential distress among students.

Starting from January, all university employees - from professors to cleaners, caterers and gardeners - will be enrolled on a compulsory half-day training course in mental health. They will also be able to sign up for a longer two-day course and become a mental health champion.

Dee Bunker, head of welfare at Buckingham University who is overseeing the staff training programme, said: “We will teach about the signs and symptoms of stress and of someone who is depressed: not being engaged, not attending classes, a lack of eye contact or a lack of sleep.

“If someone is anxious you may find them pale, sweating, wringing their hands or nervous. They may not be able to concentrate, look you in the eye, hold a conversation, sit still or sit in same room with you.”

Academics will be taught that if a “student is falling asleep in your lecture”, this could serve as “an indication that they are not sleeping at night” due to anxiety or depression.

"Our hope is that no member of staff would ever walk past anyone who is upset,” Ms Bunker said. “This training gives people the knowledge and confidence to say: ‘Are you ok? Is there anything I can help with?’ and signpost them towards where they can get more help.”

Ms Bunker said that staff will not be expected to diagnose mental health conditions on the spot. “It won’t make you an expert - but it means you won’t ignore someone who is distressed,” she added.

It is the latest in a series of mental health initiatives launched by Buckingham University, which will host a wellbeing in education conference this Friday.

Sir Anthony Seldon, the university's vice-Chancellor, said: "No member of staff should walk past a student clearly in distress. The aim is to save lives and we should all be playing our part.”

He has previously warned that universities are turning a blind eye to freshers’ week “excesses” and urged fellow institutions to end their “permissive” culture.

Sir Anthony, a former headmaster at Wellington College, said that said that first-year students should be offered alternative activities to parties and social events where heavy drinking and drug-taking are prevalent.

“Every student should be taught how to breathe deeply and to control the breath to manage stress,” the report said.

“Students who learn how to relax deeply and practise yoga, tai chi, pilates or other relaxation approaches develop growing resilience and confidence for life.”

His report, published last year by the Higher Education Policy Institute, outlines how to create "positive universities" also suggests first-year students take psychology courses that teach them about the importance of wellbeing and good mental health.

It suggests all students should be offered mindfulness classes, as well as a psychology programme in their first year which teaches them skills such as resilience, how to deal with emotions, build relationships and identify and use their own strengths...

Of course, it could just be that students drink and have parties because they enjoy it, and regard such activities as part of university life. The perceptive reader will notice that the Vice-Chancellor's solution involves mindfulness, a Buddhist practice masquerading as non-religious. I recommend searching the site of Lighthouse Trails Research Project for information on mindfulness.

Contemplative spirituality links various religions at syncretistic event in Little Rock

Can two walk together, except they be agreed? Amos 3:3

Associated Press expresses a dim view of unauthorized republication of its articles, and this blogger can't be bothered to obtain permission, so I'll merely reproduce the link to the article We gather 'together as one'; ‘Love Thy Neighbor’ interfaith event for belonging, oneness by Francisca Jones in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, September 1, 2018. The article is well worth reading as an indication of the way in which things are headed.

Chinese government officials are accused of taking over a Tibetan Buddhist monastery

Christian churches aren't the only religious institutions facing persecution from China's Communist government, but they will do well to keep an eye on similar activity elsewhere. As reported by Christian Shepherd of Reuters, January 25, 2018:

BEIJING—Chinese officials are engaging in a “takeover” of one of the world’s largest Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, with a plan to put Chinese Communist Party officials in charge of its administration, the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Jan. 24.

Larung Gar, a sprawling Buddhist center of learning and prayer in the mountains of southwestern Sichuan Province, has already been reduced in size through an eight-month program of demolition and expulsion that ended in April 2017, HRW said.

Chinese authorities are now splitting the center into two sections, an academy and a monastery, divided by a wall, according to an English-language translation of a document shared by HRW, which they said was received in August 2017.

The takeover measures include quotas for recruitment, a management system of “real-name registration” and tags for monks and nuns, as well as placing 97 Party cadres, who are required to be atheist, in top finance, security, and admission roles.
Monastic sources told HRW that a similar system would be set up in the monastery and that a large building had been constructed to house the cadres.

Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of the document or the claims from HRW sources.

“The administrative takeover of Larung Gar by party officials shows that the government’s aim was not merely to reduce numbers at the settlement,” said Sophie Richardson, the U.S.-based China director for HRW.

“Chinese authorities are also imposing pervasive control and surveillance over every level of activity within religious communities,” she said.

China’s religious affairs bureau did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

China has denied carrying out demolitions at Larung Gar, saying the work is to tackle fire and safety hazards, as well as to “reconstruct” old buildings.

Tibetan-populated areas of western China, including in Sichuan, had been at the epicenter of protests against Chinese rule, which included acts of self-immolation, although reported cases have declined in the past two years.

HRW’s Richardson said the micromanagement of Larung Gar encroaches on religious freedom and is likely to fuel resentment against Beijing.

Chinese law promises freedom of religion but in reality, authorities keep a close eye on religious believers and institutions. New regulations due to take effect at the end of this month are set to expand state oversight of religious institutions.

Japanese Buddhist priest charged with theft of women's lingerie

An old item that I recently discovered, as reported by Casey Baseel of SoraNews 24, August 26, 2015 (originally reported by Sankei News, August 24, 2015) (bold in original):

It stands to reason that, upon reaching the age of 60 years, a man will find himself in possession of knowledge that he wants to share with younger generations. As a matter of fact, he may even feel compelled to do so, especially if his vocation is one that involves the dissemination of important lessons.

That might have been a factor in the decisions made by Shoden Yamazaki, former head priest of the Choshoji Buddhist temple in Akita Prefecture. And, truth be told, the lesson he claims he wanted to spread, “If you’re not careful, people might steal your lingerie,” is a valuable one.

However, being a good teacher is as much about how you deliver the message as it is the message itself. While it drives the point home, warning people about underwear security by dressing up in a skirt and high heels, then stealing their bras and panties, probably isn’t the best, or even really legal, methodology, which is why Yamazaki now finds himself on trial for lingerie theft.

This isn’t the 60-year-old Yamazaki’s first time to end up on the wrong side of anti-underwear theft legislation. During the investigation, it came to light that he began stealing underwear, upper elementary school girls’ in particular, at the age of 19. He continued his activities even after getting married (unlike their Catholic counterparts, Buddhist priests in Japan are allowed to wed), although when he was caught stealing underwear at the age of 29, he took a five-year break from his criminal activities.

He started up again at the age of 34, though, but was apparently able to keep his perversions well enough on the down low that in 2006 he assumed the position of head priest at Choshoji Temple. You’d think the added responsibilities would leave him less time for grabbing strangers’ panties hanging on their balconies to dry, but according to the prosecution, Yamazaki instead added a new wrinkle, and since four years ago has been dressing as a woman while on lingerie-stealing excursions.

The prosecutors claim that on June 16 Yamazaki set out from his home in Yurihonjo City by car, stopping in Kitagami City to change into a skirt and high heels. He then proceeded to Akita City, the prefectural capital, and found an adult woman’s bra and panties drying outside a first-floor apartment at around 11:30 p.m.

Seizing the opportunity, prosecutors say Yamazaki helped himself to the woman’s underwear. And he would have gotten away with it too, if it hadn’t been for those meddling high heels. From inside the apartment, the husband of the lingerie’s owner heard the clack of the footwear on the pavement. Spotting Yamazaki’s suspicious figure, the husband called out “Hey!”, to which Yamazaki cleverly retorted “This ain't got a damn thing to do with me!” His ruse would probably have been more effective if, being dressed in women’s clothing, he’d refrained from using ore, the Japanese word for “me” that’s used almost exclusively by males, but everyone cracks under pressure sometimes.

Seeing through the disguise, the couple called the police. Yamazaki was subsequently arrested, after which he resigned from his position as head priest of Choshoji.

Yamazaki’s trial opened on August 24, during which he asserted that:

“It is dangerous to hang your underwear to dry outside in the middle of the night, so I stole the victim’s underwear to teach her that.”

The prosecutor responded with the obvious question “Isn’t that an unusual way of thinking?” because when the defendant himself is already using words like “stole” and “victim” to describe the incident, well, your job is pretty much being done for you.

Yamazaki’s wife also took the stand, stating:

“I knew my husband was into that sort of thing when he was younger, but I did not think he was still interested in it. I think stress was one of the causes.”

The prosecution is seeking one year in prison for Yamazaki, while the defense is asking for a suspended sentence, based on the fact that the defendant has been undergoing psychological treatment as a sex offender.

I've been unable to find anything more current on this case, but I suspect that Mr. Yamazaki was convicted.

And now--robot priests

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Beware of the Simplicity Institute

The Simplicity Institute, which appears to include some people who are ostensibly Christians, also seems mostly composed of woolly-headed idealists and hippies who turned off their alarm clocks in the '70s, and get their lunch by squeezing it out of their beards. I agree with them to the extent that it's not necessary to live an affluent lifestyle, but these are the kind of people who know little or nothing about economics, and are always talking about distribution of wealth, but not about production of wealth, which is necessary in order for distribution to take place.

They go on about how economic growth is bad for the environment, but don't mention that it's the countries with the most productive economies that have the cleanest environments and healthiest people. Their "Charter of Sufficiency" is a masterpiece of vagueness, with no careful definitions of anything (link in original):

The following ‘Charter of Sufficiency’ is a vision statement for a sufficiency economy, which is intended to provoke thought about the contours of a just and sustainable society. (It is adapted from the ‘Charter of the Deep Future’ found in Chapter Five of Entropia: Life beyond Industrial Civilisation).
_______________________________________

CHARTER OF SUFFICIENCY

Enough, for everyone, forever

We affirm that providing ‘enough, for everyone, forever’ is the defining objective of a just and sustainable economy, which we seek to achieve by working together in free association.

We affirm that everyone should be free to create the meaning of their own lives, while acknowledging that this freedom legitimately extends only so far as others can have the same freedom. Freedom thus implies restraint.

We affirm that an inclusive democracy must not discriminate on such grounds as race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexuality, politics, or faith.

We affirm that generations into the deep future are entitled to the same freedoms as present generations.

We affirm that respecting the deep future requires maintaining a healthy environment.

We affirm that technology can help to protect our environment only if it is governed by an ethics of sufficiency, not an ethics of growth. Efficiency without sufficiency is lost.

We affirm that maintaining a healthy environment requires creating a sufficiency economy that operates within environmental and energy limits.

We affirm that a sufficiency economy means stabilising consumption and population, transitioning to renewable sources of energy, and adapting to a very moderate energy supply.

We affirm that strict limits on material accumulation are required if a sufficiency economy is to maintain a just distribution of resources and avoid corrosive inequalities.

We affirm that property rights are justifiable only to the extent they serve the common good, including the overriding interests of humanitarian and ecological justice.

We affirm that a sufficiency economy depends on a culture that embraces lifestyles of material sufficiency and rejects lifestyles of material affluence.

We affirm that material sufficiency in a free society provides the conditions for an infinite variety of meaningful, happy, and fulfilling lives.

It's hard not to notice that for SI's promotion of "degrowth," its leaders are content to live in countries that practice economic growth. Let's see the SI leaders move to countries that practice "degrowth," and I might be more inclined to take them seriously. They talk about voluntary simplicity, but experience shows that if enough people won't go along voluntarily, compulsion will follow. I highly recommend Thomas Dixon's novel Comrades (1909), about a utopian socialist community created off the coast of California that quickly becomes a total disaster. It's similar to Animal Farm, but is much funnier, and is available for free download.

The perceptive reader will notice that SI's homepage positively quotes New Ager Buckminster Fuller, which is par for the course for SI. Other than the Charter of Sufficiency, the only SI publication I've read is Mark A. Burch's report Mindfulness: The Doorway to Simple Living (2012), but that was enough for me to recognize him as a false teacher:

Mindfulness, or Right Mindfulness, is one precept drawn from a set of interdependent precepts called The Noble Eightfold Path of Buddhism. (p. 3)

Formal mindfulness practice consists of sitting meditation with attention focused on one’s breathing, either by counting breaths or by silently witnessing the act of breathing, to the exclusion of all other internal or external distractions...

...Practices that specifically develop stable states of mindful awareness often entail formal meditation or contemplation. In Buddhist Vipassana (mindfulness of breathing) practice, for example, attention is focused on the breath with the intention of slowly developing concentration, cultivating inner stillness and eventually an ever deepening insight into the activities and dynamics of one’s own conscious awareness ...

...Christian “Centering Prayer,” while differing from Buddhist Vipassana in its intention, is nearly indistinguishable in its method. The Buddhist is intent on liberation from suffering and growing in compassion whereas the Christian practitioner of centering prayer is intent on cultivating a state of inner stillness and spiritual receptivity to the action of the Holy Spirit. The Buddhist “anchors” attention on the breath while the Christian anchors it on a “prayer word,” not unlike a mantra, expressing the contemplative’s intention to open themselves to intimacy with God (Keating, 1998). But otherwise, all the physical postures, preparation, attitudes and activities that one brings to the practice are nearly identical. (pp. 4-5).

The reader will notice that Mr. Burch admits that mindfulness comes from Buddhism, and that Christian "Centering Prayer" is indistinguishable, in practice, from the Buddhist practice of mindfulness. The inevitable conclusion for those who indulge in such practices is that since the experiences are similar regardless of one's religious tradition, they must derive from the same source, leading the practitioner toward universalism. Why is Mr. Burch, a supposed Christian, engaging in and recommending a pagan practice?

Another thing I noticed was that Mr. Burch cites James Lovelock's belief on evolution (on page 21), without mentioning that he was the man who gave us the Gaia hypothesis, which states that the Earth is itself a living being--the natural spiritual result being nature worship. Right under that, Mr. Burch praises Carl Jung as a "great Viennese depth psychologist." Carl Jung is popular with New Agers--especially those who claim to be Christians--but was a man whose "wisdom" came from a "spirit guide," i.e., demon, named Philemon. For more on Carl Jung, see PsychoHeresy: C. G. Jung's Legacy to the Church.

Buddhist monk in Myanmar arrested while in possession of four million methamphetamine pills

As reported by Associated Press, February 7, 2017:

YANGON, Myanmar -- A Buddhist monk has been arrested in Myanmar after authorities found more than 4 million methamphetamine pills in his car and in his monastery, police said Tuesday.

Officer Maung Maung Yin said the monk was stopped Sunday as he drove in northern Rakhine state, which borders Bangladesh. Authorities had been tipped off that the monk was carrying an illegal haul.

Maung Maung Yin said an anti-drug task force found 400,000 pills in the monk's car. A subsequent search of his monastery turned up 4.2 million pills along with a grenade and ammunition. A statement from the office of Myanmar's leader, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, said that one million kyats ($769) in cash was also found in the vehicle.

Myanmar is a major producer of methamphetamine, usually smuggled from the northeast to neighbouring countries. It is also the world's second biggest producer of opium, from which heroin is derived.

"This is not a normal case, and when we were informed that the monk was arrested, we were all shocked," said Kyaw Mya Win, a township police officer.

Asked about the case, the director general of the Religious Affairs Ministry, Soe Min Tun, acknowledged some surprise.

"It is not a very common case, but not impossible to happen. What will happen to the monk is that he will have to give up his monkhood right away and face trial as an ordinary person," he said.

Police said they were still questioning the monk Tuesday.

Last year, Myanmar officials seized 21 million methamphetamine pills with a street value around $35.5 million near the border with China in the biggest such seizure in recent memory.

50 years ago: Pope Paul VI promulgates Second Vatican Council's Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions (Nostra Aetate)

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Proverbs 14:12 (also Proverbs 16:25)

Can two walk together, except they be agreed? Amos 3:3

On October 28, 1965, the Second Vatican Council's Nostra Aetate--Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions--was promulgated by Pope Paul VI. It urged Roman Catholics to "enter with prudence and charity into discussion and collaboration with members of other religions," expressed a high regard for Muslims, and absolved the Jews of responsibility for the death of Jesus, reversing the decree issued in 1199 by Pope Innocent III. The declaration helped to pave the way for the current drive for a one-world religion being promoted by Pope Francis I and others. Here are some of the more notable passages (bold inserted by blogger):

...2. From ancient times down to the present, there is found among various peoples a certain perception of that hidden power which hovers over the course of things and over the events of human history; at times some indeed have come to the recognition of a Supreme Being, or even of a Father. This perception and recognition penetrates their lives with a profound religious sense.

Religions, however, that are bound up with an advanced culture have struggled to answer the same questions by means of more refined concepts and a more developed language. Thus in Hinduism, men contemplate the divine mystery and express it through an inexhaustible abundance of myths and through searching philosophical inquiry. They seek freedom from the anguish of our human condition either through ascetical practices or profound meditation or a flight to God with love and trust. Again, Buddhism, in its various forms, realizes the radical insufficiency of this changeable world; it teaches a way by which men, in a devout and confident spirit, may be able either to acquire the state of perfect liberation, or attain, by their own efforts or through higher help, supreme illumination. Likewise, other religions found everywhere try to counter the restlessness of the human heart, each in its own manner, by proposing "ways," comprising teachings, rules of life, and sacred rites. The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men. Indeed, she proclaims, and ever must proclaim Christ "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), in whom men may find the fullness of religious life, in whom God has reconciled all things to Himself.(4)

The Church, therefore, exhorts her sons, that through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions, carried out with prudence and love and in witness to the Christian faith and life, they recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among these men.

3. The Church regards with esteem also the Moslems. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all- powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth,(5) who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God. Though they do not acknowledge Jesus as God, they revere Him as a prophet. They also honor Mary, His virgin Mother; at times they even call on her with devotion. In addition, they await the day of judgment when God will render their deserts to all those who have been raised up from the dead. Finally, they value the moral life and worship God especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting.

Since in the course of centuries not a few quarrels and hostilities have arisen between Christians and Moslems, this sacred synod urges all to forget the past and to work sincerely for mutual understanding and to preserve as well as to promote together for the benefit of all mankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and freedom.

4. As the sacred synod searches into the mystery of the Church, it remembers the bond that spiritually ties the people of the New Covenant to Abraham's stock.

Thus the Church of Christ acknowledges that, according to God's saving design, the beginnings of her faith and her election are found already among the Patriarchs, Moses and the prophets. She professes that all who believe in Christ-Abraham's sons according to faith (6)-are included in the same Patriarch's call, and likewise that the salvation of the Church is mysteriously foreshadowed by the chosen people's exodus from the land of bondage. The Church, therefore, cannot forget that she received the revelation of the Old Testament through the people with whom God in His inexpressible mercy concluded the Ancient Covenant. Nor can she forget that she draws sustenance from the root of that well-cultivated olive tree onto which have been grafted the wild shoots, the Gentiles.(7) Indeed, the Church believes that by His cross Christ, Our Peace, reconciled Jews and Gentiles. making both one in Himself.(8)

The Church keeps ever in mind the words of the Apostle about his kinsmen: "theirs is the sonship and the glory and the covenants and the law and the worship and the promises; theirs are the fathers and from them is the Christ according to the flesh" (Rom. 9:4-5), the Son of the Virgin Mary. She also recalls that the Apostles, the Church's main-stay and pillars, as well as most of the early disciples who proclaimed Christ's Gospel to the world, sprang from the Jewish people.

As Holy Scripture testifies, Jerusalem did not recognize the time of her visitation,(9) nor did the Jews in large number, accept the Gospel; indeed not a few opposed its spreading.(10) Nevertheless, God holds the Jews most dear for the sake of their Fathers; He does not repent of the gifts He makes or of the calls He issues-such is the witness of the Apostle.(11) In company with the Prophets and the same Apostle, the Church awaits that day, known to God alone, on which all peoples will address the Lord in a single voice and "serve him shoulder to shoulder" (Soph. 3:9).(12)

Since the spiritual patrimony common to Christians and Jews is thus so great, this sacred synod wants to foster and recommend that mutual understanding and respect which is the fruit, above all, of biblical and theological studies as well as of fraternal dialogues.

True, the Jewish authorities and those who followed their lead pressed for the death of Christ;(13) still, what happened in His passion cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today. Although the Church is the new people of God, the Jews should not be presented as rejected or accursed by God, as if this followed from the Holy Scriptures. All should see to it, then, that in catechetical work or in the preaching of the word of God they do not teach anything that does not conform to the truth of the Gospel and the spirit of Christ...

NOTES

...

4. Cf 2 Cor. 5:18-19

5. Cf St. Gregory VII, letter XXI to Anzir (Nacir), King of Mauritania (Pl. 148, col. 450f.)

6. Cf. Gal. 3:7

7. Cf. Rom. 11:17-24

8. Cf. Eph. 2:14-16

9. Cf. Lk. 19:44

10. Cf. Rom. 11:28

11. Cf. Rom. 11:28-29; cf. dogmatic Constitution, Lumen Gentium (Light of nations) AAS, 57 (1965) pag. 20

12. Cf. Is. 66:23; Ps. 65:4; Rom. 11:11-32

13. Cf. John. 19:6

...

Those who think Chrislam is a recent invention might be surprised by the passages highlighted above concerning Islam. The idea that Christians and Muslims worship the same God can be proven false by a comparison of the Bible with the Qur'an; it should be obvious to anyone who's read both books that the God of the Bible and the god of the Qur'an are different gods. It must be emphasized that the views expressed in Nostra Aetate aren't the opinions of a rogue liberal priest, but are in fact the official teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, still in effect today--with the typical deadly mixture of truth and error, which is far more dangerous and deceptive than complete error.

It's now fashionable in Christian circles to play down or virtually deny Jewish culpability in the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. In rebuttal, I offer the following account from the gospel according to Matthew--the gospel account that's most directed toward a Jewish audience--as well as comments by three Jewish leaders of the early Christian church who were either on the scene or in the area at the time:

When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:
And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.
Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.
And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.
And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in.
Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.
Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value;
And gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me.
And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest.
And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.
Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?
And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.
Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would.
And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.
Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?
For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.
When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.
But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.
The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas.
Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.
And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.
When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.
Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children. Matthew 27:1-25

Peter: But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:...
...Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:...
...Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ...
...But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;
And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses...
...Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole...
...The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree...
...And we are witnesses of all things, whih he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree; Acts 2:14, 23, 36; 3:14-15; 4:11; 5:30; 10:39

Stephen: Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: Acts 7:51-52

Paul: For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews:
Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men:
Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost. I Thessalonians 2:14-16

Nostra Aetate was followed by Guidelines and Suggestions for Implementing the Conciliar Declaration "Nostra Aetate" (n. 4) , given on December 1, 1974.

An interesting postscript to Nostra Aetate is that in 2005, the United States Congress unanimously passed a resolution commending the decree on the 40th anniversary of its promulgation. The text reads as follows (bold in original):

H.Con.Res.260 - Concurrent resolution recognizing the 40th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council's promulgation of Noestra Aetate, the declaration on the relation of the Roman Catholic Church to non-Christian religions, and the historic role of Nostra Aetate in fostering mutual interreligious respect and dialogue.

Text: H.Con.Res.260 — 109th Congress (2005-2006)

[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 260 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

H.Con.Res.260
Agreed to November 10, 2005

One Hundred Ninth Congress of the United States of America

AT THE FIRST SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, the fourth day of January, two thousand and five

Concurrent Resolution

Whereas 2005 marks the 40th anniversary of the promulgation of Nostra Aetate, the declaration on the relation of the Roman Catholic Church to non-Christian religions;

Whereas on October 28, 1965, after the overwhelmingly affirmative vote of the Second Vatican Council of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Paul VI issued Nostra Aetate, which means ``in our time'';

Whereas Nostra Aetate affirmed the respect of the Roman Catholic Church for Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism, and exhorted Catholics to engage in ``dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions'';

Whereas Nostra Aetate made possible a new relationship between Catholics and Jews worldwide and opened a chapter in Jewish-Christian relations that is unprecedented in its closeness and warmth;

Whereas Nostra Aetate states that the Roman Catholic Church ``decries hatred, persecution, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone''; and

Whereas Nostra Aetate clearly states that ``No foundation therefore remains for any theory or practice that leads to discrimination between man and man or people and people, so far as their human dignity and the rights flowing from it are concerned.'': Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That Congress--
(1) recognizes the 40th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council's promulgation of Nostra Aetate, the declaration on the relation of the Roman Catholic Church to non-Christian religions;
(2) appreciates the role of the Holy See in combating religious intolerance and religious discrimination;
(3) encourages the United States to continue to serve in a leading role in combating anti-Semitism and other forms of religious intolerance and religious discrimination worldwide;
(4) acknowledges the role of Nostra Aetate in fostering interreligious dialogue and mutual respect, including, in particular, new relationships of collaboration and dialogue between Jews and Catholics since the issuance of Nostra Aetate; and
(5) requests the President to issue a proclamation recognizing the 40th anniversary of Nostra Aetate and the historic role of Nostra Aetate in fostering mutual interreligious respect and dialogue.
Attest:

Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Attest:

Secretary of the Senate.

The resolution, introduced on October 6, 2005, was sponsored by Rep. Rush Holt (Democrat--New Jersey), and there were 65 co-sponsors. The actions were:

11/10/2005 Passed/agreed to in Senate: Resolution agreed to in Senate without amendment and with a preamble by Unanimous Consent.(consideration: CR S12710-12711)
11/07/2005 Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 349 - 0 (Roll no. 570).(text: CR H9701-9702)

I don't remember hearing anything about this at the time, and it makes me wonder where all the "separation of church and state" crowd were when the United States Congress was unanimously recognizing a decree from the Roman Catholic Church. Although the resolution emphasizes the importance of Nostra Aetate in fostering improved relations between the Roman Catholic Church and Jews, it should be kept in mind that Nostra Aetate also had many nice (and false) things to say about Islam, but the resolution omits any mention of that aspect of Nostra Aetate.

Newspaper "Religion Calendar" items offer an interesting snapshot of the current scene

From the Edmonton Journal 's Religion Calendar, July 11, 2015 (bold in original, links inserted by blogger):

Summer Silent Directed Retreat: Sunday, 5 p.m. to July 16, 1 p.m., at Star of the North Retreat Centre, 3A St. Vital Ave., St. Albert. Refresh your spirit and renew your relationship with God on this summer retreat. Spiritual directors: Patricia MacDonald, Fr. Mike McCaffrey, archbishop emeritus Sylvain Lavoie, and Pat Jamison. Call 780-459-5511 or visit starofthenorth.ca

Ramadan Iftar Dinner: Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. at the legislature grounds. Cultural exhibition, live music performances, pocorn and complimentary sundown Iftar dinner, the traditional meal that celebrates the end of daylight fasting during the Muslim month of Ramadan. RSVP to edmonton@interculturaldialog.com by Monday.

All Beings Confluence: July 19, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., at Southminster Steinhauer United Church, 10740 19th Ave. A community-based interactive project inspired by Carolyn McDade, a composer, social activist and environmentalist whose music has sustained and nourished many over the decades. It is an ever-expanding installation of more than 250 sheer fabrics created by many different individuals. Walk among them to experience being a part of a vast, complex and interconnected whole. For information: allbeingsconfluence.wordpress.com

Mindfulness Meditation Circle: July 22, 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., at Star of the North Retreat Centre, 3A St. Vital Ave., St. Albert. Mindfulness practice helps to reduce stress, improve attention, boost the immune system, reduce emotional reactivity, and promote a general sense of health and well-being. All are welcome: beginners, newcomers as well as seasoned practitioners. For information, contact Laurel Vespi, or visit events at stonecirclecoaching.com

Christian Weekend Retreat Yoga: July 24, 7 p.m. to July 26, 1 p.m., at Providence Renewal Centre, 3005 119th St. Practise yoga postures and breathing techniques that will calm the busyness of your mind, open your heart to God, and help your body build flexibility, strength, and balance. Bring a yoga mat and blanket. Contact Kathy, 780-701-1854, or visit providencerenewal.ca

Meditation Retreat: July 25, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at Providence Renewal Centre, 3005 119th St. Instruction in meditation with Kushok Lobsang Dhamchoe, a Buddhist monk who is a knowledgeable teacher and lifelong practitioner. Contact the Gaden Samten Ling Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Society office, gadensamtenling.org, 780-479-0014, or visit gasamling.ca

Gilligan's Island Vacation Bible School: July 27 to 30, 6:30 p.m. to 8:15 p.m., at Hosanna Lutheran Church, 9009 163rd St. Join Gilligan and his mates for an enriching week as we discover the hidden treasures of the Bible. Crafts, science, music, drama and more. Free event. For information, contact sonja@hosannalutheran.ab.ca, 780-484-3932, or visit hosannalutheran.ab.ca

Vacation Bible School: Aug. 17, 6 p.m. to Aug. 21, 9:30 a.m., at Millwoods Presbyterian Church, 6607 31st Ave. Vacation Bible School for stories and songs, games, crafts and snacks. Join us for all the fun.

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See also my previous posts:

Today's "Vacation Bible School" offers more "vacation" than "Bible"

More evidence that today's yesterday's evangelicals are tomorrow's today's liberals

25 years ago: Violent Islamic protests over The Satanic Verses contrast with peaceful Christian protests over The Last Temptation of Christ

On February 14, 1989, Iran's Supreme Ruler, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa--a legal judgment--encouraging Muslims to kill Salman Rushdie, author of the novel The Satanic Verses (1988), accused of being disrespectful to the prophet Muhammad. The fatwa came amidst violent protests against the novel in several Muslim countries. The day after the fatwa, one of the Ayatollah's aides offered $1 million for the death of Mr. Rushdie. On February 18, Mr. Rushdie issued a statement saying, "I profoundly regret the distress that publication has occasioned to sincere followers of Islam." The next day, the Ayatollah rejected the apology, and Mr. Rushdie was forced into hiding for the next 9 1/2 years, until a new Iranian President, Mohammed Khatami, publicly stated that Iran would not support the fatwa. Of course, just because the government of Iran may not officially support the fatwa doesn't mean that private individuals or organizations don't still support it, and there are still people who would be quite happy to kill Mr. Rushdie or reward anyone who does.

In Western nations, university campuses showed their support for freedom by holding marathon public readings of The Satanic Verses. As an aside, it was during such activity at the University of Alberta that I discovered a number of books by American novelist Thomas Dixon (1864-1946) on the shelves of Rutherford Library. I'd heard of Mr. Dixon years earlier, but had never read any of his books, and had never bothered looking for them. When I found his novels in the library early in 1989, the first one I read was his most notorious: The Clansman (1905), which inspired the famous film The Birth of a Nation (1915). I found the book to be racist and offensive by modern standards, but it's also entertaining and fascinating to read, and is one of my guilty pleasures. I couldn't help but think that if people at the university really believed in "freedom to read," they should hold public readings from The Clansman. The reader may go here for a free dowload of The Clansman and make up his own mind.

The protests by Muslims against The Satanic Verses occurred about six months after protests by Christians--mainly in the United States--against the motion picture The Last Temptation of Christ, which portrayed Jesus Christ in a manner that could charitably be described as blasphemous and defamatory. It's hard not to notice the difference between Islamic reaction against The Satanic Verses--a novel that hadn't yet been committed to screen--and Christian reaction against The Last Temptation of Christ. The movie was based on a novel by Nikos Kazantzakis, originally published in Greek as O Teleutaios Peirasmos in 1953, and first published in English as The Last Temptation in 1960.

As to the movie and the controversy surrounding it, a typical establishment media view was expressed by critic David Ehrenstein in his notes accompanying the DVD of the movie. Mr. Ehrenstein is a typical liberal--accusing others of what he's guilty of himself. To paraphrase Mr. Ehrenstein, his account is a mixture of half-truths, outright lies, and anti-Christian slurs--with the addition of a large dose of Jewish paranoia. However, his description of the movie's content is very accurate:

The Last Temptation of Christ is, without question, one of the most serious, literate, complex, and deeply felt religious films ever made...this adaptation of Nikos Kazantzakis' imaginative retelling of the life of Christ should surely be discussed...by theological scholars and thoughtful moviegoers for years to come. Unfortunately, such serious discussion has been blocked by a yowling mob of right-wing zealots who have stood in the way of all discussions of the work since it was first released in 1988...

...In 1983, Scorcese began preproduction on the film for Paramount Pictures...But weeks before the shooting was to begin the project was canceled--at least in part as a result of a letter-writing campaign engineered by right-wing Christian groups. They claimed that Last Temptation would portray Christ as a homosexual--though such a notion figured neither in the Kazantzakis novel nor in the film Scorsese planned. Unbowed, Scorsese persevered, eventually making Last Temptation for Universal (for an estimated $6 million to $8 million) four years later...

...But by that time, the hysterical fantasies of a select few had given way to the organized campaign of a larger and more sinister consortium. Fueled by half-truths, outright lies, and anti-Semitic slurs--the likes of which haven't been heard since the executions of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg--this well-orchestrated campaign demanded nothing less than Last Temptation's total destruction. Spearheaded by Tim Penland of MasterMedia and Bill Bright of the Campus Crusade for Christ, an ad hoc committee of self-styled "fundamentalist leaders" declared that a film none of them had seen depicted " a mentally-deranged, lust-driven man who, in a dream sequence, comes down off the cross and has a sexual relationship with Mary Magdalene." If Universal would not burn the negative, they offered to buy it to destroy it themselves.

Predictably, those TV-savvy reverends Jerry Falwell and Donald Wildmon joined the chorus of disapproval, along with the three Pats--Robertson, Buchanan, and Boone. Though they hadn't seen the film, they were far from disinclined to discuss it. Likewise, director Franco Zeffirelli withdrew his Young Toscanini from the Venice Film Festival when he learned that Last Temptation--which he described sight-unseen as "truly horrible and completely deranged"--was invited there for a screening. In this he was little different from the Roman Catholic archbishop of Los Angeles, Roger Mahony, who, though he hadn't seen the film, deemed it "morally offensive."

Still, the archbishop made a point of distancing his critique from the protests of the Reverend H.L. Hymers, who staged a rally in front of the home of Lew Wasserman, then chairman of MCA, the parent company of Universal Pictures. Carrying placards proclaiming "Wasserman fans anti-Semitism," the minister and his flock proceeded to provide the fanning--chanting to all who'd hear that "Jewish money" was behind Last Temptation.

Had the Reverend Hymers been a bit more attentive to detail, he would have been aware that Nikos Kazantzakis was of the Greek Orthodox faith; that Paul Schrader, who wrote the screenplay, was raised as a Calvinist; and that Martin Scorsese was a Roman Catholic. But then, Hymers hadn't seen the film either. And why should he, or any of Last Temptation's foes, want to confuse themselves with the facts?

Rather than a "blasphemous" attack on Christ's divinity, climaxing with a salacious "sex scene," The Last Temptation of Christ is a stirring affirmation of faith both in the person of Jesus and in his teachings. This affirmation is unorthodox only in that it requires a viewer to think about the meaning of the gospels for every one of the film's 163 minutes. And it is this process of thought that the film's attackers can't abide--particularly as such thought involves the paradox of Jesus' simultaneous divinity and humanity. And this is the crux of the matter. For The Last Temptation of Christ presents divinity not as a given, but rather as a process Christ explores through his humanity. Consequently, the film's message couldn't be simpler. By experiencing Jesus' divinity as a process, we come to learn how the divine might enter our own lives.

We first meet Jesus as a grown man--frail and terrified. Troubled by crippling headaches and mystical visions, he's well aware that he isn't like ordinary men but is uncertain about what the future holds in store for him. He sees himself as a sinner, for while he's resisted sin, he feels he's done so out of cowardice. He takes personal responsibility for the fact that Mary Magdalene has become a prostitute--blaming himself for not having married her and provided a normal life.

His friend Judas is convinced that Jesus' future is in politics--as the man who will lead the Jews in revolt against their Roman captors. But after meditating in the desert, Jesus comes to a different realization of his destiny. Slowly gathering about him the group of men and women who would become his disciples, he begins to preach.

"I'll just open my mouth and God will do the talking," he says at first. Later, as he gains conviction, he talks both of love and of "the sword." Finally, he comes to realize that his purpose on Earth is to be the "lamb of God," sacrificing himself on the cross. He urges Judas to betray him in order to accomplish this mission. And it is on the cross he faces his "last temptation."

Looking down, Jesus sees a beautiful little girl who claims to be an angel of the Lord. She tells him his sufferings are over and that he doesn't have to go through with the crucifixion. It is only a test--like God's telling Abraham to kill his son Isaac. Taking him to a verdant valley, the girl presents him to Mary Magdalene for marriage. Magdalene later dies, but Jesus continues living a quiet life with Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus--the man whom he raised from the dead. "There is only one woman in the world," the girl tells him. He fathers children and lives to a ripe old age. But on Jesus' deathbed an angry Judas confronts him. He tells him he's missed his calling by not being crucified. And he reveals that the angelic-looking girl is, in fact, the devil. Realizing the truth, Jesus recommits himself to God--and finds himself back on the cross. In truth, he's been there all along. The "last temptation" took place in a flash, between his questioning why God has "forsaken him" and his final declaration that "it is accomplished." It is in this final moment that Christ's divinity is fully revealed.

All of this, needless to say, means nothing to the film's enemies, who have used it as little more than a ploy to regain ground lost in the wake of the Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart money and sex scandals. And that's not to mention those other opportunists, who, in the wake of Last Temptation, have created a powerful reactionary political lobby within the Republican Party that calls itself "Christian" while harboring beliefs and attitudes that are more political than spiritual.

But that is another matter--and the possible subject of another movie. For the moment, it is enough to contemplate--in reasoned calm--the power and glory of Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ. David Ehrenstein, DVD, 2000, The Criterion Collection

Evidence to rebut Mr. Ehrenstein's contentions are taken mainly from Michael Medved's book Hollywood vs. America (1992), pp. 37-49, and John Ankerberg & John Weldon's out-of-print but very informative booklet The Facts on "The Last Temptation of Christ" (1988). I saw the movie on DVD in 2013 (which explains why I'm able to quote Mr. Ehrenstein's notes), and I can confirm that everything in the movie cited by Messrs. Ankerberg & Weldon and others critical of the film is accurate.

Mr. Ehrenstein claims that serious discussion of the film has been blocked by a "yowling mob" of right-wing zealots who have stood in the way of all discussions of the work..." On the contrary, it was Christian leaders who wanted a serious discussion of the movie's content, and they were denied that privilege. Two weeks before the movie's release, John Ankerberg invited representatives of Universal Studios to appear on the John Ankerberg Television Show to discuss the movie with Campus Crusade for Christ president Bill Bright, American Family Association director Donald Wildmon, newspaper columnist Cal Thomas, and lawyer and Christian apologist John Warwick Montgomery. Universal Studios officially declined the opportunity (Ankerberg & Weldon, pp. 40-41). At the National Religious Broadcasters convention in Washington, D.C. in February 1988, representatives of Universal Studios promised to allow 10 Christian leaders to view the film two months before its release, and that they would be allowed to delete materials that they found offensive to their beliefs. A preview screening scheduled for June 1988, and a July 12 preview screening for evangelical leaders was also cancelled--although a screening was held that day for liberal clergy (Ankerberg & Weldon, p. 41).

Mr. Ehrenstein may be partially right when he says that early protest against the movie was based on a belief that Jesus Christ would be portrayed as a homosexual. There's a long-standing urban legend within evangelicalism that says that a movie portraying the sex life of Christ is in the works. This goes back at least as far as 1978; I remember seeing a half-hour television broadcast that summer on that subject, hosted by Pat Boone and sponsored by an organization called the Interfaith Committee Against Blasphemy, based in Glendale, California, if I remember correctly. A campaign urging that protest letters be sent to "Attorney General Scott" of Illinois (why, I don't know) was still going on 10 years later (when I received one such form letter with a space for my signature, to be sent to the aforementioned Mr. Scott). Chicago Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper discussed the myth in his book Hollywood Urban Legends (2001), pp. 113-118. I don't know if Christians in 1983 were assuming that The Last Temptation of Christ was the movie that they had been hearing about, or whether Mr. Ehrenstein is confused or misinformed about the early protests.

The "sinister consortium" that Mr. Ehrenstein mentions, whose protests culminated in a protest of 25,000 people outside the "Black Tower" housing the head offices of MCA/Universal in Universal City, California on August 11, 1988, included the National Council of Catholic Bishops; National Catholic Conference; Southern Baptist Convention; Eastern Orthodox Church of America; Archbishop of Canterbury; Archbishop of Paris; Christian Democratic Party of Italy (Italy's largest political party); 20 members of the United States House of Representatives; and Mother Teresa of Calcutta (Medved, pp. 37-39).

Mr. Ehrenstein makes much of Rev. R.L. Hymers' protests as if he was typical of those who were opposed to the movie, although Mr. Ehrenstein is generous enough to note that Los Angeles Roman Catholic Archbishop Roger Mahony distanced himself from Rev. Hymers. Mr. Medved points out that Rev. Hymers represented virtually no one other than himself and his 250-member Fundamentalist Baptist Tabernacle, but received a disproportionate amount of press coverage, while mainstream Protestant and Catholic protesters denounced Rev. Hymers. However, southern California pastors such as Jack Hayford and Lloyd Ogilvie, whose congregations were each at least 20 times as large as those of Rev. Hymers, were virtually ignored (Medved, pp. 43-44).

The overwhelming majority of the protesters focused their opposition where it rightly belonged--on the content of the movie itself. Mr. Ehrenstein is correct in pointing out that the creative talent behind the movie was Gentile, although novelist Nikos Kazantzakis was actually a pantheist in his beliefs (Ankerberg & Weldon, pp. 47-48). However, as boorish and distasteful as Rev. Hymers' protests were--I especially dislike the idea of protesting outside people's homes--I think it's legitimate to look at who was in charge of the studio that made and distributed The Last Temptation of Christ, especially since MCA/Universal went out of its way to be as offensive and insensitive toward Christians as possible. Tal Brooke, president of Spiritual Counterfeits Project, isn't shy in expressing his opinion:

You recall the timid protesters who dared name Lew Wasserman as the power behind the film on their posters. It was written up in the LA Times. Then Mel Brooks was quoted as becoming so enraged with these protesters as to threaten to do his own film spoofing Jesus Christ. The message: Christians had better shut up fast and learn who's running the show. Jesus Christ Superstar and Godspell were nothing compared to what would come ahead.

But the protesters in Hollywood were right. Presiding over MCA Universal pictures when the film came out was Lew Wasserman, chairman and chief executive, and the undisputed ruler of MCA, Inc., the parent of Universal Studios. Beneath him were other collaborators: Sidney Sheinberg, MCA President; Gary Goldstein, heading National Promotion and Field Operations; and Simon Kornblitt, Vice President of Marketing.

The reality is that in film after film attacking the Christian Faith you have been looking at the credits and seeing prominently displayed the names of a trigger-sensitive minority who have helped produce and often directed the films. Ironically, they have been busy at work in the culture, introducing hate crime bills that would ban any critical speech against them, while they have been harping on their own persecution and building expensive museums around the world about their victimization and suffering. The double standard is outrageous, but no one dare protest above a whisper.

You wonder quietly to yourself whether you are really seeing a pattern here (just the fact that you are seeing the pattern may prove that you are just a bigot blinded by prejudice, as many would tell you). If you are the average Christian, this may take years for you to work through if you ever see it at all. Chances are it will be easier for you to look away. Tal Brooke, Sanctioned Mockery: And the Rise of Attacks on Christians, SCP Journal, 30:4-31:1, 2007, p. 6

Jews have more than enough enemies that they don't deserve, and it doesn't help their cause to attack the faith of those who are virtually their only friends. While inflammatory actions and words such as those of Rev. R.L. Hymers don't encourage Jews to think well of Christians, it's also true that inflammatory behaviour such as that of MCA/Universal and inflammatory language such as that used by Mr. Ehrenstein don't do anything to encourage Christians to think well of Jews. Mr. Ehrenstein's whining about anti-Semitic slurs that "haven't been heard since the executions of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg" is Jewish paranoia at its most absurd and hysterical (and it's probably not a good idea on his part to invoke the names of two traitors).

Mr. Ehrenstein mentions Bill Bright and Tim Penland in his critique, and cites them as examples of Christians who criticized the film without seeing it. As I stated earlier--and which Mr. Ehrenstein neglects to mention--one of the reasons that prominent Christian opponents of the film didn't see it is because Universal Pictures reneged on its promise to them of an advance screening. I didn't agree with Mr. Bright's idea of bribing the studio to destroy prints of the film; it would have been better if Universal had shown good taste and simply shelved the movie. As for Mr. Penland, Mr. Ehrenstein neglects to mention that he was Universal's agent who was dealing with Christian leaders, and he resigned in protest when the studio cancelled the June 1988 advance screening for Christian leaders (Ankerberg & Weldon, p. 41).

Mr. Ehrenstein, while harping on the film's opponents not having seen the movie, also fails to explain how, not having seen the film, their criticisms of the film's content were so accurate; all the things about the movie that they objected to were actually in the movie. The protesters' objections to The Last Temptation of Christ weren't based on nothing, but on a copy of the script that was leaked to Christian leaders in advance of the film's release (Ankerberg & Weldon, p. 41).

Mr. Ehrenstein's praise of the film's depiction of Jesus Christ indicates his total ignorance of the subject; I seriously doubt that he's read the New Testament. The Jesus of The Last Temptation of Christ is filled with doubt and fear, and is consumed with his own sin, which seems impossible for someone of "simultaneous divinity and humanity." He's not worth following, or crucifying. The movie is so far off the mark as far as historical accuracy is concerned that if the real names of the characters weren't used, I wouldn't know who they were. The most accurate part of the movie is the pre-title crawl quoting the novel:

"The dual substance of Christ--the yearning, so human, so superhuman, of man to attain God...has always been a deep inscrutable mystery to me. My principle anguish and source of all my joys and sorrows from my youth onward has been the incessant, merciless battle between the spirit and the flesh...and my soul is the arena where these two armies have clashed and met."

Nikos Kazantzakis
From the book
"The Last Temptation of Christ"

This film is not based upon the Gospels but upon the fictional exploration of the eternal spiritual conflict.

Blasphemy and historical innacuracy aside, The Last Temptation of Christ is a terrible movie. Mr. Medved says he knows of a number of critics who privately hated the movie, but publicly and hypocritically praised it because they didn't want to be seen as being in sympathy with Christian protesters. Mr. Medved was one of the few critics to publicly slam the film:

It is the height of irony that all this controversy should be generated by a film that turns out to be so breathtakingly bad, so unbearably boring. In my opinion, the controversy about this picture as a lot more interesting than the film itself. Michael Medved, Hollywood vs. America, 1992, p.47

In a 1991 interview on the Focus on the Family radio program, Mr. Medved accurately summed up the movie as 2 hours and 40 minutes of excruciating boredom punctuated with outbursts of pointless violence. As for protests after the release of the movie, the Saint Michel cinema in Paris was bombed shortly after the movie opened there in 1988; I'm not aware of any violent protests in North America. Fellow Christian cultural observer Chris Milner and I dropped by the Westmount Theatre complex in Edmonton on opening night to see if there was any protest taking place. The only protester was Bill Haines, who was handing out evangelistic tracts. He had quite a number left over, because we counted only seven people coming out of the theatre after the early evening screening. I don't think The Last Temptation of Christ lasted more than two weeks in Edmonton theatres, which was typical of its dismal performance at the box office. Estimates of the movie's losses range from $10-14 million (Medved, p. 43).

Nine years after The Last Temptation of Christ, Martin Scorsese directed another movie--Kundun--about a religious leader, in this case the 14th Dalai Lama, leader of Tibetan Buddhism. Mr. Scorsese made Kundun in association with the Dalai Lama, which certainly was in marked contrast to his attitude toward Christians while making The Last Temptation of Christ. Universal Pictures, which had been so "courageous" in producing and distributing The Last Temptation of Christ, passed on Kundun for fear of offending the Chinese, who refuse to recognize the independence of Tibet or the leadership of the Dalai Lama. Kundun was instead released by Disney. In contrast to the hypocritical near-unanimity in praise for The Last Temptation of Christ, critical opinion on Kundun was more divided. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times, who, along with his television colleague Gene Siskel had given an enthusiastic "thumbs up" to The Last Temptation of Christ, gave Kundun a less-glowing, but still positive review, while noticing the difference in Mr. Scorsese's depiction of the main character of each movie:

There is rarely the sense that a living, breathing and (dare I say?) fallible human inhabits the body of the Dalai Lama. Unlike Scorsese's portrait of Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ, this is not a man striving for perfection, but perfection in the shape of a man. ... Once we understand that "Kundun" will not be a drama involving a plausible human character, we are freed to see the film as it is: an act of devotion, an act even of spiritual desperation, flung into the eyes of 20th century materialism. The film's visuals and music are rich and inspiring, and like a mass by Bach or a Renaissance church painting, it exists as an aid to worship: It wants to enhance, not question.

Kundun managed to surpass The Last Temptation of Christ in one notable area: it was an even bigger box office flop.

It's worth noting that in contrast to the Islamic protests surrounding Mr. Rushdie's novel, the protests against The Last Temptation of Christ--with the exception of the theatre bombing in Paris--were peaceful (even those of Rev. R.L. Hymers). Martin Scorsese has continued to make movies, and no one associated with The Last Temptation of Christ has had to go into hiding for fear of his life. Lest anyone think I have a knee-jerk aversion to anyone associated with this awful movie, I've seen about 10 of Mr. Scorsese's movies, including some he made after The Last Temptation of Christ. I like some of his movies and dislike others. I rate The Aviator (2004) as the best of Mr. Scorsese's movies that I've seen. I haven't seen Kundun--but then, not many have. As for screenwriter Paul Schrader, I don't think he's ever been known to have written anything uplifting--Taxi Driver (1976) is an example of his work--and he's an example of the bitter fruit of Calvinism.

I have yet to hear of any "yowling mob" that's been preventing any serious discussion of The Last Temptation of Christ by, for example, threatening to bomb a film studies department that might want to screen the movie--but maybe Mr. Ehrenstein knows more than I do about that. On January 25, 2014, Wells Cathedral, which is affiliated with the increasingly buffoonish and pagan institution that still goes by the name of the Church of England, put on a screening of the movie, and the event included a live video address from Mr. Scorsese.

It's now been more than 25 years since The Satanic Verses was published. However, as Mr. Medved has pointed out, nobody in Hollywood--including Universal Pictures--has seen fit to make this novel into a movie (Medved, p. 40). Where's the "courage" that Hollywood people are always celebrating when they make movies that might be seen as "controversial?" Such cowardice is understandable, since non-Hollywood filmmakers who've dared to make movies critical of Islam have been the subject of protests similar to those that surrounded The Satanic Verses. One recalls Dutch director Theo van Gogh, who was murdered in Amsterdam on November 2, 2004, several months after the television broadcast of his 10-minute short film Submission (2004); or another Dutch director, Geert Wilders, whose short film Fitna (2008) earned him a fatwa from the terrorist organization al-Qaeda; or Innocence of Muslims (2012), a 14-minute trailer that appeared on YouTube and sparked violent protests in Muslim countries. This blogger awaits the same display of courage by Hollywood filmmakers regarding The Satanic Verses that they so boldly displayed when they inflicted The Last Temptation of Christ on an unreceptive public.