State of the Union

On a day when U.S. President Barack Obama gave the “State of the Union” address, it’s apropos that today is the feast marking the conversion of Saint Paul. This, in turn, denotes the close of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. And without true conversion, Christian unity will always be relegated to fantasy status. It seems that many Christians have either a) given up on the concept completely, or b) have a skewed vision of what true Christian unity looks like.

Pope Benedict XVI had some strong words mere hours ago for those who have given up on the possibility of Christian unity. At an ecumenical event capping the week of prayer at the Basilica of St Paul outside the wall in Rome, the Pontiff said that this attitude is a “temptation of resignation and pessimism”, and amounts to “a lack of trust in the power of the Holy Spirit.”  So much for option a)!

What of option b)? Many Catholic and Protestatnt Christians view success in ecumenism as simply “agreeing to disagree”. They believe there are “many valid expressions” of Christianity, even though they differ with each other on key aspects of faith and morality. But such an uneasy peace is not what either Jesus, Paul, or Pope Benedict has in mind.

Pope Benedict noted today that Christian unity is “a moral imperative, a response to a precise call of the Lord.” One of the passages he may have had in mind was John 17:20-21, when Jesus addressed his Father: “I do not pray for these only (the Apostles), but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they all may be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

Christian disunity is not only therefore direct disobedience to Christ, but we must also recognize that Christian unity must be a corporate unity. That is, we must be visibly one, not just in agreement about some core essentials of doctrine – “Mere Christianity”, as it were (and who’s to say exactly how many elements constitute the “Mereness”?) – is not enough. The union must be visible, corporeal, for Jesus said if it was, “the world may believe that you have sent me”. Seeing is believing for the skeptic.

“That for which we yearn is the unity for which Christ himself prayed and which, by its nature, is manifested in a communion of faith, sacraments and ministry”, Pope Benedict said.

Christian disunity is not what Paul wanted, either. In fact, he was mortified at the beginnings of what amounted to “denominationalism” (denomination means “of a name” – hence Lutheranism, Calvinism, etc.) in Corinth:

I urge you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose. For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers, by Chloe’s people, that there are rivalries among you. I mean that each of you is saying, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.”Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

-1 Corinthians 1:10-13

To the contrary, as Paul writes to the Ephesians, “There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5).

The theme of the Week of Christian unity was, “One in the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer” (cf. Acts 2:42). There will be no Christian unity without an acceptance of all the apostles’ teaching, preserved in the Catholic Church. There’s no unity without the “breaking of the bread” – code for the Mass. And true fellowship derives from oneness in purpose and belief, for, as Jesus said, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand” (Matthew 12:25). Another U.S. President, Abraham Lincoln, once famously quoted those words. And the Civil Wars within Christianity must likewise end.

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Did Jesus Exist?

A friend who is a spiritual seeker recently asked, “Why are there so few non-religious documents to support the existence of Jesus?”

In fact, there are numerous references to Jesus in ancient documents. Amazingly, we can actually authenticate dozens of specific facts about his life and teachings – even from non-Christian, non-New Testament sources. Let’s take a look at just one of these ancient sources – Tacitus.

The following is excerpted from The Historical Jesus, an excellent resource (although it appears to be currently out of print) written by a former professor of mine, and a leading expert on the Resurrection of Jesus, Dr. Gary Habermas:

Cornelius Tacitus (ca. 55 120 A.D.) was a Roman historian who lived through the reigns of over a half dozen Roman emperors. He has been called the “greatest historian” of ancient Rome, an individual generally acknowledged among scholars for his moral “integrity and essential goodness.”

Tacitus is best known for two works — the Annals and the Histories. The former is thought to have included eighteen books and the latter to have included twelve, for a total of thirty. The Annals cover the period from Augustus’ death in 14 A.D. to that of Nero in 68 A.D., while the Histories begin after Nero’s death and proceed to that of Domitian in 96 A.D.

Tacitus recorded at least one reference to Christ and two to early Christianity, one in each of his major works. The most important one is that found in the Annals, written about 115 A.D. The following was recounted concerning the great fire in Rome during the reign of Nero:

“Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired.

“Nero offered his gardens for the spectacle, and was exhibiting a show in the circus, while he mingled with the people in the dress of a charioteer or stood aloft on a car. Hence, even for criminals who deserved extreme and exemplary punishment, there arose a feeling of compassion; for it was not, as it seemed, for the public good, but to glut one man’s cruelty, that they were being destroyed.”

From this report we can learn several facts, both explicit and implicit, concerning

Christ and the Christians who lived in Rome in the 60s A.D. Chronologically, we may ascertain the following information.

(1) Christians were named for their founder, Christus (from the Latin), (2) who was put to death by the Roman procurator Pontius Pilatus (also Latin), (3) during the reign of emperor Tiberius (14 37 A.D.). (4) His death ended the “superstition” for a short time, (5) but it broke out again, (6) especially in Judaea, where the teaching had its origin.

(7) His followers carried his doctrine to Rome. (8) When the great fire destroyed a large part of the city during the reign of Nero (54 68 A.D.), the emperor placed the blame on the Christians who lived in Rome. (9) Tacitus reports that this group was hated for their abominations. (10) These Christians were arrested after pleading guilty, (11) and many were convicted for “hatred for mankind.” (12) They were mocked and (13) then tortured, including being “nailed to crosses” or burnt to death. (14) Because of these actions, the people had compassion on the Christians. (15) Tacitus therefore concluded that such punishments were not for the public good but were simply “to glut one man’s cruelty.”

Several facts here are of interest. As F. F. Bruce has noted, Tacitus had to receive his information from some source and this may have been an official record. It may even have been contained in one of Pilate’s reports to the emperor, to which Tacitus would probably have had access because of his standing with the government. Of course, we cannot be sure at this point, but a couple of early writers do claim to know the contents of such a report…Also of interest is the historical context for Jesus’ death, as he is linked with both Pilate and Tiberius. Additionally, J. N. D. Anderson sees implications in Tacitus’ quote concerning Jesus’ resurrection:

“It is scarcely fanciful to suggest that when he adds that “A most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out” he is bearing indirect and unconscious testimony to the conviction of the early church that the Christ who had been crucified had risen from the grave.”

Also interesting is the mode of torture employed against the early Christians. Besides burning, a number were crucified by being “nailed to crosses.” Not only is this the method used with Jesus, but tradition reports that Nero was responsible for crucifying Peter as well, but upside down. The compassion aroused in the Roman people is also noteworthy.

– Habermas, The Historical Jesus, pp. 187-190

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The New Mass App is Updated!

Now you can download version 1.1 of The New Mass app from the iTunes App Store! For those of you who already have The New Mass, simply download the update from the App Store on your iOS device. Click here for all the info.

It only took 1 hour and 44 minutes for Apple to approve the update once it was under review. That has to be some kind of record! We are so excited to present the latest version of the first app to explain the new English translation of the Mass to the world. Version 1.1 features many exciting additions, including high-res graphics for the new Retina display on the new iPod Touch and iPhone 4. We also added an important feature which was the #1 request from users, namely, the ability to advance back and forth over the various parts of the Mass. before, one had to return to the root menu.

We also included the final update to the new Nicene Creed translation, and added a “More” page featuring “Tell a Friend” and social media connectivity via Twitter and Facebook.

Many thanks to the phenomenal Kevin Birch, who programmed the update. If you like the upgrade, please give it a rating via the App Store.

Enjoy the new download, everyone!

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