Turkey, WCC, Steve Snyder, Donahue & John the Baptist
- Turkish Churches Face Twin Hurdles
- WCC Facing Financially 'Unsustainable' Position
- President of International Christian Concern Dies Suddenly
- "Donahue" Debates Jewish Evangelism
- Debate Rages over Grave of John the Baptist
Turkish Churches Face Twin Hurdles ... Two major hurdles face evangelical churches in Turkey, according to Christian Aid's Mission Insider: lack of trained leadership and suitable buildings. A Turkish church planter says conditions are now right to do something about both.
Visiting the Christian Aid office last week, the man told Christian Aid that part of the problem of Turkey's evangelical churches is the lack of provision for them in the Turkish constitution. "Turkey's laws are based on the way things were when the Lausanne Treaty was signed in 1923," he said. "At that time there were virtually no evangelicals in Turkey. So the only Christians recognized by the constitution are Roman Catholics and Greek Orthodox."
Until recently, all churches were banned from constructing new buildings or renovating existing ones. That all changed earlier this month, he said, when the Turkish Parliament changed laws to allow churches to buy land, construct new buildings and repair old ones. "Turkey wants very much to be part of the European Union," he said, "so this is prompting a lot of changes in traditional ways of doing things, especially in the area of human rights."
Still, evangelical churches are looked upon as an anomaly by the government. Meeting in storefronts and houses, they aren't considered true churches and authorities view them with an air of suspicion and illegitimacy, including the false notion that they are cells spawning the overthrow of the government. The total number of evangelical believers in all of Turkey (population 67 million) is only about 3000. For more information, contact insider@christianaid.org and put MI-333 416-KCT on the subject line.
WCC Facing Financially 'Unsustainable' Position ... The World Council of Churches (WCC) is in a "financially unsustainable position" and its central committee, meeting in Geneva until Sept. 3, will have to take decisions to restore "financial stability," the committee was told. Anders Gadegaard, on behalf of the WCC's finance committee, said the council's audited financial results for 2001 showed an operating deficit of $3.91 million. The WCC is the world's biggest church grouping, with a staff of about 180 at its Geneva headquarters.
The preliminary report of the finance committee placed the blame for poor financial results in 2001 on a shortfall in investment results, a decrease in contributions and on a one-time cost of an early retirement program for departing staff. The report said the Geneva meeting would have to make decisions that would reshape the council in terms of its organizational setup and activities. "Management has exhausted possibilities to decrease costs within the current structure," the report stated.
Michiel Hardon, the WCC's income monitoring and development manager, said many WCC member churches were facing financial difficulties, including cuts in budgets and staff, and that competition from other ecumenical agencies for funding had increased. The fall in stock markets had affected the WCC both directly and indirectly through its effects on the finances of member churches.
President of International Christian Concern Dies Suddenly ... Steve Snyder, President of International Christian Concern, an organization for assisting believers persecuted for their faith, was rushed to the hospital Aug. 27 with an extremely high fever. He had to be put on a respirator immediately. Snyder passed away at 7:55 p.m. that evening. The doctors ruled out several causes of death and they believe now that he suffered from extensive septicemia from a streptococcus infection. Snyder experienced kidney failure and his blood pressure was extremely low.
Pat Bradley of ICC sent out the following e-mail message: "The family is in need of a lot of prayer. His wife told me it was just 23 hours ago that they took him to the hospital. They are, as can be expected, in shock and sorrow.
"Donahue" Debates Jewish Evangelism ... (BP) -- A seminary president joined a Messianic Jew, a rabbi and host Phil Donahue in debating the issue of Jewish evangelism -- a subject that came to the national forefront when the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement rejecting the need for Jewish people to embrace Jesus as the Messiah. Christians have a responsibility to proclaim the gospel to all people, including Jews, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr. said during a spirited debate on MSNBC's "Donahue" Aug. 20.
Donahue, a Roman Catholic, and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach hotly contested any contention that Jews should be evangelized. Donahue called such thinking "intolerant" and "arrogant," while Boteach went one step further in calling Mohler a "spiritual Neanderthal." But Mohler and Michael Brown, a Messianic Jew, grounded their answers in Scripture.
Donahue began the show by joking that "all we have to do is convince the Southern Baptists" to follow the Catholics' lead. In fact, the first few minutes were a mini-debate between Donahue and Mohler. Donahue began by asking Mohler if the Southern Baptist Convention's 16 million members believe that Jews can go to heaven. "Southern Baptists, [along] with other Christians, believe that all persons can go to heaven who come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ," Mohler said, "[T]here's no discrimination on the basis of ethnic or racial or national issues."
Debate Rages over Grave of John the Baptist ... According to a report from the BBC, scholars are pondering whether an archaeological site on the shores of the Dead Sea could be the grave of John the Baptist. The BBC's Ari Ben Goldberg looked at both sides of the argument. Dozens of researchers and volunteers, as well as a million dollars worth of equipment, have been digging in Qumran on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea for the past two years. Despite claims that the bones of John the Baptist - or Jesus' brother James - have been found, "only one thing is clear - nothing has been proven for certain," said the report.
According to the BBC, the latest controversy revolves around what is called "T (Tomb) 1000," a pile of dirt located just outside the perimeter of Qumran's ancient cemetery. Most scholars believe the Qumranites to have been Essenes - a Jewish sect that broke away from the Jerusalem establishment between the 2nd Century BC and the 2nd Century AD. Archaeologists ignored T-1000 until this summer, when scientists found that there were unnatural disturbances below the surface and recommended an excavation.
At least one scholar believes they have found the grave of the leader of the Qumran sect, whom the Dead Sea scrolls call the "Teacher of Righteousness". "We have an unprecedented structure in the middle of 1,212 other graves," said Professor Richard Freund, coordinator of the Qumran digs in 2001 and 2002. "Since it's the biggest structure around, and since we know it's from the 1st Century, it's not a big leap to assume it's the tomb of the Qumranites' leader," he added.
As for the suggestion that the remains are those of John the Baptist, Freund said that some scholars have identified John as an active leader of the Essenes. But he cautioned that evidence that the site is John the Baptist's grave is circumstantial.
Another renowned Israeli archaeologist says there is no evidence to backup Freund's claims regarding the grave site's age. He theorizes that the skeleton is from a recent Bedouin grave.
Originally published August 29, 2002.
