Beeld

Isak Burger van die AGS se rubriek in vanoggend se Beeld.

Niemand hou van krisis en teëspoed nie. Dit is natuurlik en logies om vir jou ’n veilige gemaksone te probeer skep.

Die probleem met so ’n gemaksone is net dat ’n mens geneig is om die goeie as vanselfsprekend te aanvaar en dit wat eintlik genade is, as regte toe te eien. In so ’n gemaksone is ’n mens ook geneig om andere te ignoreer en te vergeet – veral as hulle minderbevoorreg as jyself is.

Die kerk het oor die eeue nie hierdie tendens vrygespring nie. Trouens dit lyk amper of daar ’n historiese en tradisionele noodwendigheid in die kerk bestaan om homself te vestig, gemaklik te maak en homself daarna net in stand te hou en die lidmate gelukkig te hou. As ’n dominee of pastoor dít regkry, is die meeste lidmate tevrede.

Vergifnis

André van Niekerk se rubriek in Saterdag se Beeld.

Op pad na ’n misdaadtoneel verontagsaam ’n polisieman, wat te veel by ’n braai gedrink het, ’n rooi verkeerslig. In die botsing sterf ’n talentvolle jong man.

Die pa van die man, Allan Colley, kan nie die polisieman vergewe nie. Sy seun se dood is te pynlik . . .

Allan se verhaal word morêaand op SABC 2 as Crossroads vertoon. Dit is deel van die Heartline-reeks wat Suid-Afrikaners oor etiese waardes aan die praat wil kry.

Keeping the Faith - Summer Journey | TIME Magazine

Om vrede tussen kompeterende Christelike kerke en groep te bewaar, is dit nodig om 'n Moslem te betaal om die sleutels tot die een van heiligste plekke in die Christendom te bewaar! Lies gerus hierdie artikel in die jongste TIME.

Wajeeh Nuseibeh is sitting on a bench in the shadow of a giant wooden door studded with iron. The door is so big that it seems to shrink Wajeeh to the size of a church mouse. A portly man of 55 years, Wajeeh has one of the world's more unusual jobs: his business card reads: "Custodian and Door-Keeper of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher." The Sepulcher, in Jerusalem, is Christianity's holiest shrine. Believers say it houses Golgotha, the site where Jesus Christ was crucified, the Stone of Unction on which Christ lay, and the tomb from which he rose again. Yet, for centuries, the guardianship of the Sepulcher has lain with a Muslim family whose latest representative is Wajeeh. "Nobody in the whole world," he says, "is allowed to open the church but me."

Jerusalem is at the center of three faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Each religion has fought for exclusive possession of the city, turning holy ground into a battlefield. The Sepulcher is sacred to Christians alone, but it's not immune to Jerusalem's fever of discord. Nobody knows this better than the Nuseibehs, who have witnessed this mixture of faith and acrimony for hundreds of years.

The practice of a Muslim guarding the Sepulcher began in A.D. 638, when the Islamic ruler Caliph Omar captured Jerusalem and placed one of his Arab warriors, an ancestor of the Nuseibehs, in charge. Since then, the Nuseibehs have not only guarded the church but acted as referees among seven warring Christian groups; the three most powerful—Roman Catholics, Greeks, and Armenians—own 70% of the property. Each group professes to be the rightful heir of the shrine. They loathe one another in a most un-Christian fashion, contesting every angel's hair-breadth of holy space inside the cavernous basilica. A few years ago, some 500 Greek and Franciscan monks brawled for hours, tossing benches and clubbing each other with giant candlestick holders, all because one sect might have trespassed on another's sacred property. Centuries of suspicion and envy have made it so only a Muslim can be trusted with the Sepulcher's keys. Says Wajeeh: "The Christians see me as neutral."

But when Marco Polo stopped in Jerusalem to obtain a vial of holy oil from the Sepulcher to present Kublai Khan, the Nuseibehs were anything but neutral. Jerusalem's Muslim rulers feared spies among the pilgrims to the Sepulcher, secretly mapping attack routes for the crusaders; visitors, therefore, were blindfolded and led to the shrine, and no Christian could spend the night in the city. According to Dan Bahat, an Israeli biblical archeologist, Polo and his armed followers probably camped on a hill beyond Jerusalem's Damascus Gate. The walls erected by crusaders had already tumbled by then, and at dusk, when the white stones caught the last sunrays, it must have looked to Polo as if the Holy City were still ringed by fire, the last embers burning from the Muslims' triumphant siege.

After extracting a princely sum from the Venetians, the Nuseibehs would have guided Polo and his party down the descending labyrinth of alleys to the Sepulcher. Early travelers warn of pickpockets infesting the bazaar, and Polo, blindfolded, must have felt that any bump or jostle was a thief trying to snip his purse strings. Quick-fingered thieves still abound, preying on distracted spiritual tourists. Church bells were outlawed, so Polo would have heard only the muezzin's call to prayer and, quite possibly, the hissing of wily merchants offering a splinter of the true Cross, or a piece of an apostle's kneecap. Trade in biblical forgeries was big business back then in Jerusalem, says archeologist Bahat, as it still is today.

Once Polo entered the arched doorway of the basilica, his Nuseibeh guide would have lifted aside the blindfold and led him to Christ's tomb. Then, as now, the Greek Orthodox monks were in possession of the Sepulcher. Today, they herd pilgrims in and out of the stone grotto like surly cattlemen. Polo would have had only a minute to grab his oil before he was yanked out.

Wajeeh helps manage the stampede. Even though he is paid only $5 a month by each of the seven sects, he takes his job seriously because of family duty, he says. The Nuseibehs once possessed vast olive groves; these were lost after the 1967 war when Israel conquered Jordanian territory. Wajeeh earns extra money as a tour guide. Some Nuseibehs are professors and businessmen, but it's Wajeeh's destiny, passed on by his father, to be custodian of the Holy Sepulcher. "Sometimes people yell at me: 'You're a Muslim. What are you doing here?' I tell them, 'We are not fanatics. We give respect to the Christians.'" And help bring peace to the Holy City.

Virgin spot eintlik met Griekse god

Nog 'n bydrae tot die Virgin Mobile-advertensie debat.

Virgin Mobile se advertensie is vermaaklik en dis baie komieklik om te lees dat daar mense is wat ’n probleem het met die advertensie en dit assosieer met die hemel van die Christendom.

Ek het nog nooit enigsins in die Bybel raakgelees dat die hemel ’n groot, goue hek as ’n ingang het nie of dat ons op wolkies kan gaan rondhop nie.

Doppers kla 36 dominees aan oor vroue in dié ampte

’n Groep van 36 gereformeerde predikante wat almal vroeër vanjaar ’n verklaring geteken het ten gunste daarvan dat vroue as diakens, ouderlinge en predikante kan dien, is almal by hul kerkrade aangekla.

Preutsheid vs. Christenskap

'n Briefskrywer in Beeld lewer 'n bydrae tot die Virgin Mobile advertensie debat:

Die Virgin Mobile-advertensie is nie Godslasterlik nie.

Godslastering is wanneer die Here se Naam ydellik gebruik word en dít gebeur nie in dié advertensie nie.

Die inhoud van die advertensie kan dalk preutse, konserwatiewe mense ontstel, maar preutsheid was en is steeds nie ’n ware aanduiding van Christenskap nie en dit is iets wat Suid-Afrikaners nie verstaan nie.

George Barna besoek Suid-Afrika

Die wêreldbekende navorser, George Barna, besoek Suid-Afrika gedurende Oktober. Op 17 Oktober tree hy by die NG Gemeente Skuilkrans (Koste: R150; kontak Elna de Bruyn by 012-804-9547) op en op 18 Oktober is hy by NG Moreletapark vir 'n jeugkonferensie. 19-21 Oktober is hy in Johannesburg. Hier is meer besonderhede oor hom:

Born in New York City, George Barna grew up primarily in Princeton, NJ and later worked in the Massachusetts state legislature and as a pollster and a campaign manager. Introduced to Jesus Christ during his grad school years, he moved to California, where he worked in media research and then as an executive in an advertising agency. George and his wife, Nancy, founded the Barna Research Group in 1984. In 2004, he re-engineered the for-profit corporation into The Barna Group, of which he is the Directing Leader. The firm analyzes American culture and creates resources and experiences designed to facilitate moral and spiritual transformation. Located in Ventura, California, The Barna Group provides primary research (through its Barna Research Group division); musical, visual and digital media (through BarnaFilms); printed resources (BarnaBooks); spiritual and leadership development for young people (The Josiah Corps); and church enhancement (Transformational Church Network).

To date, Barna has written more than 35 books, predominantly in the areas of leadership, trends, spiritual development and church health. Included among them are best-sellers such as Revolution ,Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions, The Frog in the Kettle, The Power of Vision and User Friendly Churches . Several of his books have received national awards. He has also written for numerous periodicals and has published various syndicated reports on topics related to faith and lifestyle. He also writes a bi-monthly research report, The Barna Update, that is accessed by hundreds of thousands of people through his firm’s website (www.barna.org). His work is frequently cited as an authoritative source by the media. He has been hailed as “the most quoted person in the Christian Church today” and is counted among its most influential leaders.

Many people know Barna from his intensive, research-based seminars for church leaders. He is a popular speaker at ministry conferences around the world and has taught at several universities and seminaries. He has served as a pastor of a large, multi-ethnic church, has been involved in several church plants and has been on the board of directors of various organizations.

Virgin krap Christene om met reklame

Baie Christene voel kwaad oor Virgin Mobile se nuutste advertensie

Virgin Mobile sal moontlik vroeg volgende week hoor of hy mag voortgaan om “pruilende wulpse engele” en ander dele van ’n “godslasterlike televisie-advertensie” te gebruik om sy dienste te adverteer.
Ontstelde Christene het met sulke opmerkings beswaar gemaak teen die advertensie waarin ’n man doodgaan, per hysbak “hemel” toe geneem en dan deur ’n persoon met ’n groot boek teruggestuur word aarde toe, omdat hy nog aan ’n selfoonkontrak verbind is.

Beeld

Prof Nico Botha skryf in sy rubriek in vanoggend se Beeld oor die eenwordingsproses tussen die NGK en die VGKSA.

Die feit dat die leierskap van die NGK en die VGKSA onlangs besluit het om die eenwordingsproses binne drie jaar te voltooi, behoort met groot dankbaarheid begroet te word. Met wedersydse skuldbelydenisse en vergifnis en in ’n gees van versoening – so word vertel en so staan dit in die verklaring wat ná die Kempton Park-byeenkoms uitgereik is – is die nagmaal gevier. Welgedaan.

Beeld

In 'n hoofartikel ondersteun Beeld Radiokansel se pogings om hulle FM uitsendings te behou.

Die SAUK verdien lof vir sy aandeel in die Mass Media Project se Heartlines-veldtog wat gerig is op die morele herlewing van die samelewing. Enigiets wat kan bydra om moraliteit in die land te herstel, behoort verwelkom te word.

Daarom is dit ironies dat die Christelike stasie Radiokansel onder die swaard moet werk dat sy FM-uitsendings oor Radio 2000 moontlik einde vandeesmaand beëindig gaan word.

Teken in op ons gereelde e-pos nuusbrief

As jy graag ons gereelde e-pos nuusbrief wil ontvang, vul jou e-pos adres in die blokkie hieronder in:

Ontvang ons gereelde e-pos nuusbrief

E-pos adres:

Tony Jones besoek Suid-Afrika

Youthnet van Deon Kitching bied hulle 14e Winterskool in samewerking met verskeie gemeentes regoor die land. Die tema van vanjaar is uiters relevant: “Postmodernism, Youth Culture and the Church”. Die hoofspreker wat optree is Tony Jones – Nasionale Koordineerder van die Emergent Church Beweging in die VSA.

Tony Jones is an expert in youth ministry, postmodern youth ministry and this book shows why. Tony lectured in my class at seminary and it was the first lecture I heard in my first year that totally made sense. Tony knows the landscape has changed and will change dramatically, as fast as we can figure it out it will change.

So many books are stuck in formulas A + B = Great Youth Ministries, Tony goes beyond formulas and explains the landscape. Tony is a tremendous teacher, and yet very humble with the knowledge he has gained over years of youth ministry experience.

I recommend this book to followers of Christ both young and old, especially those who are trying to figure out what in the world is postmodernism.

One warning, don't come to this book for a guide of how to do youth ministry, Tony won't give it to you. What Tony will give you is the knowledge and the tools to figure out what to do in your area and with your students. This is a solid book. (Joseph Valentine Dworak “JVD” – St Paul, MN)

Naas Tony Jones wat by SES geleenthede optree is daar nog VEERTIEN ander sprekers wat op verskillende fasette van Jeug- en Gesinsbediening sal fokus. Daar is een hele dag opsygesit (Donderdag) vir ’n Youth Ministry Think Tank sessie, waarin ons met Tony in gesprek gaan tree – en met mekaar gaan “share”. Verder sal daar boeke van Tony Jones, ander jeugbedieningsboeke en relevante DVD’s en CD’s te koop aangebied word.

Indien jy belang stel om hierdie geleentheid by te woon, skakel Jaco van As (012-664-2149) of Freddie Schoeman (012-6643751 of 084-581-8139)

Erwin McManus besoek Suid-Afrika

Wie is Erwin McManus? McManus is 'n buite-die-boks denker oor die kerk. Hy dink radikaal en nuut oor die kerk se rol en taak in die (post)moderne wêreld. Hy tree Vrydag 18 Augustus 09:00 - 16:00 saam met ander sprekers soos Stephan Joubert en Johan Smit op by NG Moreletapark.

Koste: R200 per persoon (Ete en verversings ingesluit)
Vooraf bespreking noodsaaklik:
Lanel – 012-9978039 (Ma-Vr, 08h00-13h00); opleiding@moreleta.co.za

Meer oor Erwin McManus:

Erwin Raphael McManus is a husband, father, writer, futurist, activist, artist and spiritual and cultural leader.

He also serves as the lead pastor and Cultural Architect of Mosaic in Los Angeles. Known around the world for its spiritual creativity and cosmopolitan diversity, Mosaic is a community of followers of Jesus Christ committed to live by faith, to be known by love, and to be a voice of hope. Since the early 90’s, Erwin has led Mosaic in a pioneering enterprise whose primary focus is to serve the post-modern, post-Western, and post-Christian world.

Erwin is the catalyst behind Awaken, a collaboration of dreamers committed to creating environments that expand imagination and unleash creativity. Convinced that the world is changed by dreamers and visionaries, Awaken serves the purpose of history by maximizing the divine potential in every human being.

He is also the author of An Unstoppable Force, a Gold Medallion Award finalist; Chasing Daylight; Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul (also companion The Uprising Experience life storyboard); The Barbarian Way; Stand Against the Wind and Soul Cravings, soon to be released at the end of 2006.

Engaging such issues as culture, creativity, change, and leadership, Erwin is widely known as a thought-provoking communicator. His travels have taken him to over 30 countries and he has spoken to over a million people from a wide variety of audiences. His work is featured in numerous films, articles, and magazines across the US and internationally. He also partners with Bethel University as a distinguished lecturer and futurist.

Erwin is a native of El Salvador, and is a graduate of the University of North Carolina and Southwestern Theological Seminary. He and wife, Kim, have two children, Aaron and Mariah, and a foster daughter Paty.

Is That You, God? - Women

Hoe hoor 'n mense God se stem?

In his book The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer describes how the average person learns to recognize God's voice: "First, a sound as a presence walking in the garden. Then a voice, more intelligible but still far from clear. Then the happy moment when the Spirit begins to illuminate the Scriptures and that which had only been a sound or at best a voice now becomes an intelligible word, warm and intimate and as clear as the word of a dear friend."

Excerpt: Jesus Mean and Wild: The Unexpected Love of an Untamable God - Christianity Today Magazine

Ons maatstawwe vir sukses en relevansie is dalk nie God s'n nie! Lees hierdie uittreksel uit Mark Gill se boek.

Like Peter, we have to die to our notions of relevance and success, and let God—through a crucified Savior, through an amateurish church, through a stiff Communion service—raise up his people when he will and how he will, with a power and glory we can hardly fathom.

Beeld

Elsje Büchner se rubriek in die Beeld.

Ons sê so maklik: “Suid-Afrika is ’n land van groot verskeidenheid en diversiteit.”

Hóé divers, het ek nie besef nie. Ek het die afgelope maand by twee uiteenlopende plekke kon eet wat my uitkyk op die lewe onherroeplik verander het . . .

‘Christian SA’ must still exorcise legacy of the whip and the gun (Business Day)

Hier is 'n besonder insiggewende stuk wat Vuyo Mvoko in die Business Day geskryf het.

It is commonplace in the townships to see bishops, priests, church elders of the biggest “western” churches — Roman Catholic, Anglican, Methodist — drink home-brewed beer and slaughter on Saturday and then go to church the following day. In fact, they pray to God as they drag the scared animal to the home, pray again before slaughtering it, and then again before eating its meat. They find no contradictions. In fact, these people think that those who pray without slaughtering, invite bad omens.

Die Evangelie volgens Superman??

Sommige Christene sien in die Superman-karakter 'n soort Messias.

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- First there were the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Now, for many Christian moviegoers comes another gospel.

As the hype machine shifts into high gear for the upcoming release of "Superman Returns," some are reading deeply into the film whose hero returns from a deathlike absence to play savior to the world.

"It is so on the nose that anyone who has not caught on that Superman is a Christ figure, you think, 'Who else could it be referring to?' " said Steve Skelton, who wrote a book examining parallels between Superman and Christ.

As one of society's most enduring pop-culture icons, Superman has often been observed as more than just a man in tights.

Bring jou stem uit

Christene moet Comrades boikot oor Sondagbesluit, vra partye

Politieke partye vra vir 'n boikot van die Comrades wedloop.

Christene landwyd moet hul staal wys deur nie in die toekoms aan die Comrades-wedloop deel te neem nie.

Dít was gister die boodskap van die ACDP en die Vryheidsfront Plus (VK+) wat uitgevaar het teen die besluit om dié wêreldbekende wedloop in die toekoms op Sondae te hou.

Brief: Belhar bedreig die kerk se integriteit

Brief: G’n wonder SA word só regeer

Brief: Ek kies die Here bo Comrades

Lewe-verrykende voetwas-sessie

Stephan Joubert se rubriek in vanoggend se Beeld.

Comrades op 'n Sondag - reaksie

Reaksie op die Comrades-marathon-vereniging se besluit om die Comrades marathon die volgende drie jaar op 'n Sondag te laat hardloop.

Die Comrades-marathon- vereniging se besluit dat die Comrades die volgende drie jaar op ’n Sondag gehardloop word pleks van op Jeugdag, kan die Bybelgenootskap van Suid-Afrika duisende rande kos.

Dit gaan daarvan afhang hoe die verandering die Bybelgenootskap se Hardloop-vir-Bybels-projek uiteindelik raak.

Een manier waarop die projek geknou kan word, is dat van die deelnemers daaraan kan besluit om nie weer die Comrades te hardloop nie, omdat dit op ’n Sondag val.

Intussen het die Vryheidsfront Plus aangekondig dat hy in oorleg met kerke, Christelike organisasies en ander drukgroepe ’n veldtog wil begin teen die hou van die Comrades op Sondae.

Mnr. Willie Spies, woordvoerder van die VF+, sê dit sou onvanpas wees om steeds die temamusiek van die rolprent Chariots of fire te gebruik as die wedloop wel op ’n Sondag gehou word.

Dié rolprent het juis gehandel oor ’n atleet, Eric Liddell, wat tydens die Olimpiese Spele van 1924 geweier het om op ’n Sondag deel te neem.

Dr. Kobus Gerber, hoofsekretaris van die NG Kerk, het in ’n verklaring ook sy teenkanting vir die besluit te kenne gegee.

Gerber vra dat die besluit opgeskort word en dat die organiseerders ’n vergadering hou waar die burgerlike gemeenskap betrek word.

Of church and politics : Mail & Guardian Online

Kerk en politiek in Zimbabwe.

Nothing could have conjured the images of a riven country more eloquently than the Zimbabwe national day of prayer. An event meant to unite a country was marked by a slanging match that would not have looked out of place before a heavyweight boxing match.

At the event staged at the Glamis Arena in Harare, the country’s President, Robert Mugabe, was initially conciliatory, urging the church to point out his government’s “shortcomings, sins of commission or omission”.

But later he turned to lay into the outspoken Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bulawayo, Pius Ncube: “When the church leaders start being political, we regard them as political creatures — and we are vicious in that area,” he said.