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1. 'Tis the season to evangelize

Years ago, when Weblog was an intern in D.C., he was sitting in Union Station awaiting a train home. It was the end of the summer, and a youth ministry conference was going on just miles away. A young woman walked up to the bench and awkwardly began a conversation. Weblog had seen this before and knew what was coming—a gospel invitation. Unfortunately, the girl was so nervous she could barely converse, much less share the gospel. So Weblog was able to do some Barnabas ministry, comforting the young woman who was sent to Union Station and told to preach the gospel to a specified number of non-Christians. Weblog felt sorry for her, having been in similar pressure situations in which a conference leader exhorted attendees to head out to the streets and preach the gospel. Christians shouldn't be ashamed to walk up to strangers and tell them why they're going to hell, after all this is eternity we're talking about.

Turns out, it's a late summer ritual, and missionary trips to the city are going on across the country. The New York Times says, "If it is summer in New York, it is high season for visiting missionaries, whose numbers have swelled greatly in recent years, according to the leaders of several mission groups. That is not only because of the growing pull of evangelical churches, but also because of New York's appeal as a challenging landscape for young evangelicals."

Street preachers are out in force in Dallas-Fort Worth, though it turns out they're not so welcome. And smaller festivals are attracting youth in Middle America, while on the West Coast masses are filling Angel Stadium.

2. Indonesia waits on execution of Christians

The AP reports, "The delay, early on Saturday, came hours after an appeal by Pope Benedict XVI to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to spare the lives of the men, found guilty of killing Muslims in religious clashes in 2000 on Sulawesi island."

3. Why is this news?

Weblog is trying to think of appropriate analogues: A teenager, upset that his parents won't let him take the car out with friends, decides to do it anyway; an employee, bothered that his boss won't let him manage a project, decides to create a team and do it anyway, knowing he may be fired.

This story of a female "Catholic priest" who started her own church because the Roman Catholic Church doesn't allow female priests sounds too whiny, too full of "it's not fair" complaints. Perhaps that's because the article only quotes people complaining about the Catholic church's policy.

The L.A. Times profiles Jane Via's first solo mass at the independent "Catholic" church she started. The service "marked her congregation's first gathering since she met with San Diego Bishop Robert Brom to discuss the consequences of her ordination, which could ultimately include excommunication."

The Times goes on to note that while other denominations allow female priests, the Roman Catholic Church doesn't. "The Vatican's position on women entering the priesthood has not budged, despite polls showing a majority of American Catholics favor allowing them to do so."

The article quotes no one, including Bishop Brom, who opposes female ordination. It doesn't explain the church's theological basis for its opposition. The article, as well as others recently, simply champion women's ordination. Again, since there seems to be no chance of Via's protest having any effect on the church, why is this news?

4. Cruising for Jesus

Religious tourism is nothing new. Christians have been visiting the Holy Land for millennia; monasteries once earned sizable fortunes as pilgrims flocked to gain spiritual and physical benefit from relics the monasteries housed.

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August (Web-only) 2006, Vol. 50