Roll Over Menno

The following is about a response to a document by Muslim leaders titled “A Common Word Between Us and You” which says that 138 Muslim scolars, clerics and intellectuals have come together for the first time to declare common ground between Christianity and Islam. Apparently this has ‘deeply encouraged and challenged’ the Christian community and they have decided to respond.

The response can be found on the website of Yale Center for Faith and Culture:

Loving God and Neighbor together:
A Christian Response to ‘A Common Word Between Us and You’
In the name of the Infinitely Good God
whom we should love with all our Being
(http://www.yale.edu/faith/abou-commonword.htm)

“What is common between us lies not in something marginal nor in something merely important to each. It lies, rather, in something absolutely central to both: love of God and love of neighbor.”

Signatories to make Menno roll over include:

Robert & Betty Lou Buckwalter, Prince of Peace Mennonite Church, Anchorage, Alaska
Thomas P. Finger, Mennonite Central Committee, Evanston, IL
Millard Garrett, Vice President, Eastern Mennonite Missions, Salunga, PA
Marian E. Hostetler, former worker, Mennonite Mission Network and Eastern Mennonite Mission, Elkhart, IN
James R. Krabill, Senior Executive for Global Ministries, Mennonite Mission Network, Elkhart, IN
Catherine Kurtz, Landisville Mennonite Church, Landisville, PA
John A. Lapp, Executive Secretary Emeritus, Mennonite Central Committee, Akron, PA
Albert C. Lobe, Interim Executive Director, Mennonite Central Committee, Akron, PA
Harold E. Metzler, Member, Church of the Brethren and heritor of the Amish/Mennonite tradition
David B. Miller, Pastor, University Mennonite Church, State College, PA
Dr. Donald H. and Mary M. Reimer, Charlesewood Mennonite Church, Winnipeg, Manitoba
David W. and K. Grace Shenk, Global Consultants, Eastern Mennonite Missions, Salunga, PA
Mark R. Wenger, Director of Pastoral Studies, Lancaster Eastern Mennonite Seminary P.O., Lancaster, PA
Byard & Judy Yoder, Landisville Mennonite Church, Pennsylvania

You can find many others who have offered their names at the bottom of this PUBLIC signatory list of A Christian Response for all to see. By including their names, these leaders are all agreeing and proclaiming ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB that they believe Christians and Muslims worship a common God. Among those names you will also see Brian McLaren, Tony Jones, Jim Wallis, Leith Anderson, Rick Warren, Bill Hybels and Robert Schuller.

Also read:
Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Brian McLaren and other Contemplative/Emerging Leaders Invite Muslims to Love God, Neighbors Together
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/index.php?p=891&more=1&c=1

ROM Index: uncommonly high

***Recommended reading for these Mennonites:

Christian leaders criticized for seeking ‘common ground’ with Muslim imams
(@onenewsnow.com)

Read this VERY important article from the Barnabus Fund explaining how these evangelicals may have been given a hidden message from the Muslims. This is from the article:

“Most Westerners, reading the verse as quoted in the letter, simply do not realise what it means. But for Muslims reading the letter, the meaning is clear: a call to Christians and Jews to avoid God`s anger and judgement by accepting Islam.”

A sobering thought, indeed.

Last month a one day conference called Going Barefoot was held at Canadian Mennonite University. It was sponsored by the Canadian MB Conference. (See here.) If you read the fine print, this conference was also sponsored by:
Council on Church and Media; Mennonite Church Canada; Mennonite Central Committee Canada; Mennonite Church Manitoba; Canadian Mennonite University; The Salvation Army, Manitoba and Northwest Ontario Division, the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches; and InterChurch Communication, comprised of communicators from the Anglican, United, Presbyterian, Lutheran and Roman Catholic churches.

The theme was about the new possibilities of communication using new marketing strategies, blogs, web, email and other new media.

This is what one of the workshops was about:

Controlling the Uncontrollable: What to do about blogs, Facebook and websites that talk about your organization? (And maybe not always positively.) Led by Keith Knight of the Presbyterian Church of Canada.

To begin with, it is very interesting to note that this Mennonite sponsored workshop was led by a representative of the Presbyterian church, since the Presbyterian Church USA are the ones who are reclaiming the doctrine of the Trinity, and recently decided to call God MOTHER (see HERE). There is no doubt that there is a wealth of information on the internet exposing the truth about some Christian organizations. However, one would think that if a ‘Christian organization’ teaches the Word of God, represents His truth, and holds to His standards, this would not be an issue. Sometimes, however, things can turn around and get nasty. Take for example Daniel…

3 Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm. 4 So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him. 5 Then these men said, “We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.” Daniel 6

A modern day example of this might be Roger Oakland of Understand the Times, who speaks the truth from the Word of God. Not only were his personal belongings recently removed from his church office while he was away, more recently his program was removed from a Christian radio station after being on the air for 15 years. This is because certain people within ‘Christian organizations’ don’t like it when the truth is exposed.

Getting back to the Going Barefoot conference workshop, sometimes comments about an organization may be perceived as negative when in fact this ‘negativity’ is simply the truth exposing error. Take for example the plan organized by Haman who was exposed by what he surely perceived to be negative comments. As we know, Haman’s plan was revealed by someone who was placed in the right place and “for such a time as this” by God.

Some of the things going on within some Mennonite organizations are being exposed by blogs like Roll Over Menno. These organizations many not like it and see it as a negative problem, but as long as these Mennonites continue to promote contemplative spirituality, labyrinths, Spiritual Direction International, and the green gospel, while chumming with our modern day Haman on the bridge to Rome, there will continue to be blogs and websites like this that tell the truth. Maybe it’s time for these organizations to truly go barefoot and remove the steel toed boots that are covering up the bare facts.

ROM Index: barely changing

The Interfaith Justice and Peace Center of Northwest Ohio (http://ijpcnwohio.org/Mission.html) is an interfaith organization
in Northwest Ohio that fosters the awareness and sacredness of all human beings. They consist of workers of different faiths…Baha’i, Episcopalian, Hindu, Jewish, Lutheran, Methodist, Muslim, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Toledo Friends, Unitarian, United Church of Christ…and yes, Mennonites.

Another interesting thing about the IJPC is that they have adopted the Earth Charter and the emerging global society to help build a sustainable world. Together they are all planning various interfaith events such as lectures, prayer vigils, fairs, etc.

Prayer vigils? To which God?

Speaking of interfaith organizations and Mennonites, there are three representatives of the Mennonite Central Committee (US) who have joined with something called the World Interfaith Congress, and are on the members list here:

http://interfaithcongress.org/memberlist.cfm

(Members must voluntarily fill out a form in order to join the World Interfaith Congress.)

By the way, the Mission Statement for WIC is ‘unfolding through dialogue and continuing conversation’. They are generally working towards common ground between faiths. The World Interfaith Congress (WIC) has emerged after years of involvement with the Interfaith movement and is associated with the Interspirit network, which consists of those interested in working with together to ‘build a better world’.

Note the symbols at the top of the WIC page. If you click on the freemasonry symbol (6th from the right) you will get something called the Arcane School established by Alice Bailey. This is from Lucis Trust. Note the name (yes, it comes from Lucifer). There you will see the great Invocation, the world prayer of the New Age Luciferians who are waiting for their “Christ” to return. And who is this Christ? He is called the Christ by Christians, the World Teacher, and by others, the Lord Maitreya, the Imam Mahdi, and the Messiah.

Now click on the pretty star, second from the right on the same WIC page. What do you see?

This is what representatives of the US Mennonite Central Committee have joined with.

1 Corinthians 10: 21 says this:

Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.

ROM Index: still rising

The is from an article in the Canadian Mennonite (Volume 11, No. 06 March 19, 2007):

Pastors learn of ‘emerging church’ phenomenon
http://www.canadianmennonite.org/vol11-2007/11-06/localchurch.php

Pastors attending the Mennonite Church Eastern Canada School for Ministers last month stepped right into an “emerging worship” experience as they descended the stairs of the Great Hall at Conrad Grebel University College—an experience anything but typical for many of the more than 120 registrants…

What did they learn about?

-“restless Gods and restless churches”
-songs adapted from St. Ignatius’ examen
-emerging churches worship
-projected images engaging worshippers through the visual senses
-invitations to draw on wall-mounted papers, to come forward to receive ashes (on Ash Wednesday)
-“communion stations”
-workshops that gave pastors the opportunity to immerse themselves in expressions of the emerging church

Unfortunately, the article does not state whether or not these pastors were informed of the other side of the emerging conversation. Like the emerging confusion this dangerous new trend has been causing…

Emerging church Confusion
-www.crossroad.to

The Emerging Church
Revival Or Return To Darkness?
-understandthetimes.org

The Emergent Church: A Dangerous Fad or Solid New Movement?
Jan Markell
-omegaletter.com

How to Know When the Emerging Church
Shows Signs of Emerging in Your Church
understandthetimes.org

Regarding the ashes pictured on the pastors’ foreheads in the above Canadian Mennonite article, Ash Wednesday is the first day of the observance of Lent. Read about where this originated here:

The Observance of Lent

The Canadian Mennonite article does not state whether or not the pastors were taught the truth about this tradition.

ROM Index: Rising

Everyone was there this November. Anglican, Baptist, Evangelical, (Roman) Catholic, Disciples (Churches of Christ), Friends, Holiness, Lutheran, Methodist, Moravian, Old Catholic, Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Pentecostal, Reformed, Salvation Army, Seventh-Day Adventist, United Church, ecumenical organizations, youth and student international movements, YMCA and YWCA, United Bible Societies, World Vision International, the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, the World Evangelical Alliance, and the World Council of Churches. The World Council of Churches calls this the Most diverse Christian gathering ever to discuss unity and common witness.

And of course, the Mennonites were there too. (And if you click on the global links list at the bottom of that article, you will find The Mennonite World Conference listed.)

ROM Index: high

*Updated: January 17, 2008
ROM note: These links have all been recently changed. The WCC article link has been fixed, but the global links list has disappeared.