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Theology made simple

11 Jan 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

One of theology's purposes is to "make known" God's deeds among the nations, as the responsorial from Isaiah puts it this Sunday. A group of Asian Christian leaders is asking for a new theology that will help nations address current global crises. The group is pushing for a "theology of simplicity and caring" to bring hope to a "prodigal world" staggering under the burden of widespread economic crisis and undergoing climate change that could submerge small islands in the Pacific Ocean. "It is time to challenge the growth-is-success myth, which also has contaminated the church, and shift to a more transformative way of thinking and lifestyle in tune with God's creative order and purpose," said the Rev. Daniel Kim Dong-Sung of the Saemoonan Presbyterian Church in Seoul, which is said to be the oldest Protestant congregation in South Korea. Source: An article by Ecumenical News International

Success saemoonan presbyterian church daniel kim dong-sung climaye change crisis pacific asia theology
An anything-but-peaceful week in the Pacific

04 Oct 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The Pharisees tested Jesus with their question on divorce, we hear in this Sunday's gospel. The people and disaster resources of nations across the Pacific are being tested this week by a spate of powerful natural disasters. The Philippines suffered the worst flooding to hit the country in more than 40 years after tropical storm Ketsana swept through earlier in the week. Overwhelmed officials have called for international help in the storm's aftermath and fear that another powerful storm could hit as early as Friday. Ketsana grew to typhoon-force as it gathered strength across the South China Sea before blowing down wooden villages in Cambodia and crushing Vietnamese houses under mudslides. "We're used to storms that sweep away one or two houses. But I've never seen a storm this strong," said Nam Tum, governor of Cambodia's Kampong Thom province. The storm has claimed at least 331 lives across the region. The Vietnamese government said the tempest destroyed or damaged nearly 180,000 homes, inundated 150,000 more, and flattened crops across central Vietnam. More than 350,000 people were evacuated from the typhoon's path, posing a logistical headache to shelter and feed them. "The scale of the devastation is stretching all of us," said Minnie Portales, a World Vision aid agency official in the Philippines. Meanwhile, disaster officials rushed food, medicine, and a temporary morgue to the Samoas on Wednesday after a powerful earthquake unleashed a tsunami that leveled villages and swept cars and people out to sea. At least 119 people were killed, and the death toll is expected to rise. Many towns and tourist resorts along the southern coast of Samoa's main Upolu Island were "destroyed," according to witnesses. In addition, a powerful earthquake rocked western Indonesia Wednesday, trapping thousands under collapsed buildings--including two hospitals--and triggering landslides. At least 75 people were killed on the island of Sumatra, and the number of dead is predicted to climb sharply. Source: Articles by Rohan Sullivan, Teresa Cerojano, and Tran Van Minh for Associated Press

pacific indonesia upolu island tsunami samoas world vision minnie portales nam tum vietnam cambodia ketsana philippines disasters earthquake flooding sumatra
Nike jumps into the climate-change fray

04 Oct 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The psalmist this Sunday employs lush images drawn from nature, such as a fruitful vine and olive plants, to describe the blessings that come to those who walk in the Lord's ways. Supporters of climate-change legislation working its way through the U.S. Congress were cheered this week when Nike Corporation became the latest member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to protest the organization's stance on the legislation. Nike will remain a member of the Chamber but is resigning its seat on the organization's board of directors, saying it "fundamentally disagrees" with the Chamber's position on the climate bill. Although environmentalists called on Nike to quit the lobbying association altogether--as several other high-profile corporations have done recently--Nike planned to continue its membership in the Chamber in order to "advocate for climate change legislation" from within the organization, the company said. A large part of the campaign against Chamber membership stems from the group's call to launch a "Scopes Monkey Trial of the 21st century" about the science of climate change, referring to the 1926 trial that challenged Tennessee law mandating the teaching of divine creation and forbidding the teaching of evolution. "We find it dismaying that the Chamber neglects the indisputable fact that a decisive majority of experts have said the data on global warming are compelling and point to a threat that cannot be ignored," wrote Pacific Gas & Electric, a major California utility, in a letter resigning from the Chamber last week. "In our opinion, an intellectually honest argument over the best policy response to the challenges of climate change is one thing; disingenuous attempts to diminish or distort the reality of these challenges are quite another." Source: An article by Lisa Lerer for Politico

nike climate change us chamber of commerce pacific gas electric