Crystal Cathedral and Christ Cathedral

Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove, California was formerly known as Crystal Cathedral; however, Christ Cathedral is Roman Catholic, but Crystal Cathedral was part of the Reformed Church in America. So, what happened, how did this transition take place? Well, I am not here to get into those details or give answers about it, but if you really need to know than I am sure you can find out easily. I normally don't watch evangelical television shows anymore, but a few weeks ago while changing channels, I noticed a priest being interviewed by Bobby Schuller on The Hour of Power and it caught my attention, so I decided to listen to the interview. It turns out that the priest was Father Christopher Smith who is Episcopal Vicar and Pastor of Christ Cathedral which is formerly Crystal Cathedral. The first question from Bobby was about the light bill at the building. Obviously, they both knew it was expensive. The building is very beautiful, but seemingly high maintenance. We do know that St. Paul once said while standing in the midst of the Areopagus in Athens that: "The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything (Acts 17:24-25, ESV Bible)." But, these foregoing verses do not mean that God cannot be worshiped in such Temples. Moreover, I love beautiful churches, and I think beauty is part of spirituality, plus I am also guilty of enjoying worship in beautiful churches. What really matters either way is not the building; it is as the Psalm which says: “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity (Psalms 133:1, ESV Bible)!” What I found fascinating during the interview was that the more I watched the dialogue that it was very ecumenical. The two ministers knew that they were from different denominations, but they showed the love of Christ towards each other even though the transition from one building to another had been difficult for the listening audience which had previously congregated at the former Crystal Cathedral. To close, I simply want to share the link that contains a transcript of the interview in reference. The link is below, I hope you enjoy reading it.

Hour of Power : Guest Interviews : Father Christopher Smith


Reference:

ESV Bible

http://www.hourofpower.org/interviews/detail.php?contentid=8232

Pastor Rick Warren, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County, Mental Illness, and Ecumenism

I suppose the title of this post says it all, but it does leave one with questions, so I will try to explain a bit. Rick Warren’s son, Matthew Warren, shot himself almost a year ago on April 5, 2013. Mathew struggled with mental illness for many years, and sadly his suicide was a tragedy. But, that less than a year later, Mathew's father, Rick Warren has begun a Mental Illness Ministry at Saddleback Church. Saddleback Church, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness-Orange County, last week on March 28th, 2014 hosted an event. More than 3,000 people came together for this event which was called: The Gathering on Mental Health and the Church. Now, why am I talking about it on this blog? Well, did I mention that Saddleback Church is an Evangelical church? Well, it is! Did I mention the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange? Yes, I did! Well, if you put Roman Catholics and Evangelicals together in one room than you are having ecumenism. And, on this blog ecumenism among any Christian denominations seems like good thing, and focusing on mental illness is also a good thing because maybe it can prevent another person from ending their life just like Mathew Warren. If you want to learn more about the event I spoke about, please read the article by Sophia Lee on World Magazine at the link below. 

WORLD | Rick Warren launches mental health ministry | Sophia Lee | April 1, 2014



Reference:

http://www.worldmag.com/2014/04/rick_warren_launches_mental_health_ministry

Hans Küng and the Global Ethic Foundation

Hans Küng is a Roman Catholic priest, an author, and a theologian who was born in Switzerland in 1928. In 1962 he was appointed by Pope John XXIII to serve as an expert theologian advisor to the Second Vatican Council. He is known for rejecting the doctrine of papal infallibility; consequently, the church does not allow him to teach Catholic theology, but he is allowed to teach ecumenism. He is professor of ecumenism at the University of Tübingen. Since 1995, Küng has presided over the Global Ethic Foundation (Stiftung Weltethos). The purpose of this blog is to promote ecumenism and those who promote it; therefore, this is the reason why this post is being made because Hans Küng has been at the forefront of ecumenical thought much longer than I have been on planet Earth. If you would like to learn more about the Global Ethic Foundation, please visit their website which will be provided at the end of this post, but let’s first address the topic of Global Ethic.  

What is a Global Ethic? Well, according to the Global Ethic Foundation it is as follows:

"The vision of a global transformation of ethical awareness: whether at a worldwide, national or local level, men and women are dependent on shared basic ethical values, criteria and attitudes for peaceful coexistence.

Such values can be found in all the great religious and philosophical traditions of humankind. They need not be invented anew, but people need to be made aware of them again; they must be lived out and handed on.

So there is a need for:

• A dialogue of religions and cultures, especially a knowledge of common features in ethics.

• An education in values which transcends cultures. Children, too, need to learn that peaceful coexistence at all levels depends on observing elementary rules. No society can function without a foundation of values which binds it together.

• Ethical and intercultural competence in business. More than ever, enterprises competing internationally need norms which transcend cultures.

• International policies anchored in law and ethics: understanding, cooperation and integration instead of military confrontation (http://www.weltethos.org/data-en/c-10-stiftung/10a-definition.php)."

Below is the link to the Global Ethic Foundation.

Global Ethic Foundation for Inter-cultural and Inter-religious Research, Education and Encounter

Reference:

http://www.weltethos.org/index-en.php

Pope Francis Calls for Christian Unity

I absolutely must share this link that I am about to share because it contains a video message from Pope Francis that is basically about the heart and purpose for this blog. I am urging everyone to please watch this video and pray, and search your hearts as to what is God's will or role in your life in order to bring about ecumenism among all in our Faith. The Pope expressed that he is full of longing because Christians are still separated, "separated because of sin, our sins." "Who is at fault?" he asked. "All of us are, we are all sinners. The link is below. Blessings!



Watch: In video message to Pentecostal community, Francis calls for Christian unity | Catholic World Report - Global Church news and views




Reference:

http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Blog/2950/watch_in_video_message_to_pentecostal_community_francis_calls_for_christian_unity.aspx#.UwahlGJdWSp

Religions of the World: Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christianity - YouTube

I hope and pray that everyone is well. I wanted to share the link to this video I found on YouTube which is titled: Religions of the World: Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christianity. Religions of the World is a series that is narrated by Ben Kingsley. This particular episode is about the history of Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christianity or, in reality, most of the history of the Christian Church. The program discuses and interviews experts with relevance to the history, the practices, and the theology of these, the two major denominations of Christianity. The executive producer of the program is Luis Florencio Tapia. I personally enjoyed this episode, and thought that it was very informative on matters of ecumenism between these two denominations or as some call them, the Eastern and Western Churches. The link to the video is below, and  I hope you enjoy watching and listening to it very much. Blessings!



Religions of the World: Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christianity - YouTube

Pope Francis’ Trip in May and Ecumenism

As I have mentioned in the past, I want this blog to be about promoting ecumenism and that includes informing about what is going on in the major denominations of the Faith with relevance to this subject. Well, Pope Francis will be doing a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in May which will be focusing or centering on a meeting with Patriarch Bartholomew I, the Eastern Orthodox archbishop of Constantinople. Why am I writing to inform you about this trip, because they will be discussing ecumenism? You can read more about the encounter in an article by Andrea Gagliarducci published by CAN and EWTN News on January 8^th, 2014. The article is titled: Pope Francis’ Holy Land Visit to Focus on Ecumenism With Orthodox. Things seem to be looking bright on the ecumenism front. The link to Andreas’ article is below. I hope you enjoy reading. Blessings!

Pope Francis’ Holy Land Visit to Focus on Ecumenism With Orthodox | Daily News | NCRegister.com


Reference:

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/pope-francis-holy-land-to-focus-on-ecumenism-with-orthodox/#ixzz2q6KtLF00

Arango's Apologetics Page: About the Previous Post, the Codex and Satan, On Doubt, On Scriptures like Daniel 10, and On Struggles

I wanted to share the latest post on my other blog because at the end it deals with issues on this blog as well, and also because I even mention this blog on it. I hope you enjoy reading the article. The link to it is below. Blessings!

Arango's Apologetics Page: About the Previous Post, the Codex and Satan, On Doubt, On Scriptures like Daniel 10, and On Struggles