Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] WWI Presbyterian Chaplain Awarded Commonwealth of Virginia’s Highest Decoration
[2] Bible Scholar Dr. Joel M. Hoffman Claims All English Bible Translations Are Flawed
[3] Crystal Cathedral Creditors Committee Sues Schuller Family Members and Other Insiders for Allegedly Questionable Financial Dealings
[4] Washington State Federal District Judge Orders Release of Names of 137,500 Petitioners for 2009 Repeal of Same-Sex Marriage Law
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[1] WWI Presbyterian Chaplain Awarded Commonwealth of Virginia’s Highest Decoration
Ninety-Three years after Virginia National Guard (VNG) Chaplain 1st Lieutenant Thomas McNeill Bulla died from combat wounds received while rescuing wounded soldiers in ‘no man’s land’ in WWI’s Meuse-Argonne Offensive in France, family members on behalf of the heroic chaplain received the Commonwealth of Virginia’s highest decoration, the Virginia Distinguished Service Medal, at a 17 October 2011 ceremony at the First Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)) in Emporia, Virginia.
After attending Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, Bulla in 1911 became the pastor of First Presbyterian Church until WWI when he volunteered to be a chaplain in the VNG. As a member of the VNG 29th “Blue and Gray” Division, 1st Lt. Bulla sailed to France in June 1918. On 8 October 1918, the 29th Division began participation in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, where Chaplain Bulla began to repeatedly expose himself to enemy fire by entering ‘no man’s land’ to help wounded soldiers to safety. On 15 October 1918, Chaplain Bulla was struck by enemy fire while rescuing the wounded, and died from his wounds on 17 October 1918.
The VNG Public Affairs Office said of Chaplain Bulla’s actions: “This was duty neither required nor expected of an Army chaplain.” The U.S. Army has never recognized Chaplain Bulla for his sacrifice.
+ Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System, 3845 Pleasantdale Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30340, 877-384-3724, Fax: 678-421-6611, gbonaccorso@dvidshub.ne
+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005
+ Union Theological Seminary-Presbyterian School of Christian Education, 3401 Brook Road, Richmond, Virginia 23227, 804-355-0671, Fax: 804-355-3919
[2] Bible Scholar Dr. Joel M. Hoffman Claims All English Bible Translations Are Flawed
Bible scholar and translator Dr. Joel M. Hoffman on 14 October 2011 published “Five Ways Your Bible Translation Distorts the Original Meaning of the Text” in the Huffington Post where he claims:
“From the Ten Commandments to the Psalms to the Gospels, English translations of the Bible distort the original meaning of the text: The Ten Commandments don't forbid coveting. Psalm 23 is not primarily about sheep or a shepherd. And God didn't give his only begotten son because he loved the world so much.”
Hoffman identifies etymology, internal structure, and cognates as the “three pillars” of Bible translation, warning that they “don't work very well.” He adds that historical translations and misunderstood metaphors further “degrade all English Bibles.” As a result, he writes, English Bible translations “conceal what the Bible originally meant.”
+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com
+ Dr. Joel M. Hoffman, 718-834-1080, 815-642-4375, joel@lashon.net
[3] Crystal Cathedral Creditors Committee Sues Schuller Family Members and Other Insiders for Alleged Questionable Financial Dealings
A recent Los Angeles Times article by Nicole Santa Cruz titled “Crystal Cathedral Creditors Committee Sues Church Insiders” reports that the creditors committee for the Crystal Cathedral bankruptcy has filed suit against the Rev. Robert H. Schuller, members of his extended family, and other Crystal Cathedral insiders for allegedly questionable financial dealings that negatively affect the final settlement of the bankruptcy.
The creditors committee says that that Schuller family members borrowed US$10 million between 2002 and 2009 from an endowment fund, and continued receiving large salaries and benefits after the church began to struggle financially. Because of these actions, the creditors committee has proposed that Schuller family creditors be paid only after every other creditor is paid off in the bankruptcy settlement. Schuller family creditors want to be paid in the bankruptcy settlement at the same time as the other creditors.
+ Los Angeles Times, 202 West 1st Street, Los Angeles, California 90012, 213-237-5000, Fax: 213-237-7679, Contact Page
+ Reformed Church in America, 4500 60th Street Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49512, 800-968-6065, questions@rca.org
[4] Washington State Federal District Judge Orders Release of Names of 137,500 Petitioners for 2009 Repeal of Same-Sex Marriage Law
An 18 October 2011 article by Karla Dial of CitizenLink titled “Judge: Washington Group Must Release Petition Names” reports that on 17 October 2011, U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle of Tacoma, Washington, ruled that the 137,500 names of the people that signed Protect Marriage Washington (PMW)’s 2009 petition for Referendum 71, repeal of the Washington State same-sex marriage law, can now be publicized.
Homosexual activist Brian Murphy had threatened to put all the names on two searchable websites, whosigned.org and knowthyneighbor.org, to make it easier for others to harass them, so PMW had sought an exception to the Washington State law making all petition signatures a matter of public record.
The judge said PMW failed to show “serious and widespread threats, harassment, or reprisals” would be likely. Marriage advocates who witnessed the wave of harassment and even violence in California after a marriage protection amendment passed in 2008 said Settle’s ruling was “naïve.”
Ron Prentice of ProtectMarriage.com said:
“For the court to dismiss the potential for harassment and intimidation is ridiculous. Prentice added that California Proposition 8 advocates received “threatening phone calls to their home at all hours of the day and night and vandalized homes and cars….Businesses were called to protest their employment of so-called bigots and haters and even realtors had their open houses picketed. Places of worship were vandalized and services were interrupted by protesters…. In Washington, the democratic process will be significantly hindered as many people will not feel safe to simply sign their name in agreement with a moral cause for fear of retaliation. One hundred thirty-seven thousand people are frankly at risk, and the opposition doesn’t forget.”
+ Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80995, 800-232-6459
+ Protect Marriage Washington, Post Office Box 501, Arlington, Washington 98223, 360-631-1894, Contact Page
+ ProtectMarriage.com, 915 L Street, Suite C-259, Sacramento, California 95814, 916-446-2956, info@protectmarriage.com
+ U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle, Union Station Courthouse, 1717 Pacific Avenue, Room 3100, Tacoma, Washington 98402, 253-882-3850, info@wawd.uscourts.gov
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
19 October 2011
