OUR COLUMNISTS The Antidote to Barna's Stats Guest Commentary by Matt Friedeman The Barna Group has an annual listing of their findings that is capable of putting the optimist in a blue funk. But there is hope -- and it won't be in sitting around thinking through what's wrong with the Church. New Year's Resolutions: Another Kind of Diet Commentary by Jane Jimenez Resolving to make the New Year better, this is the perfect time to consider a new kind of diet. Knee-Jerk Unions Commentary by Brad Locke The basic concept of unions is good, but there is ample room for abuse -- and unions also tend to cultivate mean-spiritedness and an almost cult-like mentality. Christmas As It Was Originally Celebrated Commentary by David Sisler Christmas used to mean more than great deals on computers and peripherals. The conception of Christmas used to be a teenaged girl, pregnant before marriage, drenched in sweat. She had just pushed her first child into the cold night air of an unheated, smelly barn. What's Really Behind the First Noel? Commentary by Mark Creech Why does the Christmas story hold a place of adoration in the hearts of millions throughout the world? I suggest it is because the evidence in favor of its truth claims far outweighs the declarations of skeptics.

...A conservative minister from Pennsylvania has quit the Episcopal Church to become a bishop in the Anglican Church in America. David Moyer will oversee the traditionalist denomination's military chaplaincy. Moyer says he could not submit to the heretical teaching of Episcopal Bishop Charles Bennison, who once said since the Church wrote the Bible, the Church can rewrite the Bible. Bennisson, says Moyer, "denies the physical, bodily resurrection of Jesus -- which I guess would mean that the tomb was not empty on Easter day." And there is more, Moyer says. "He also is the leading advocate in the Episcopal Church for same-sex marriages," he says, adding that Bennison "brags about the fact that in the diocese of Pennsylvania there are 22 priests serving the diocese [who have] live-in, same-sex lovers in their rectories." Bennison defrocked Moyer in September 2002, a move that Moyer is fighting in court. Moyer's parish, the Church of the Good Shepherd in Rosemont, does not accept his defrocking and has voted to keep him as rector. [Jim Brown]

...A private funeral is being held today (December 30) for football great Reggie White -- the ordained "Minister of Defense" -- who died Sunday at the age of 43. As thousands paid their respects Wednesday at a viewing in North Carolina, White's family released a statement saying, "Reggie lived the essence and the spirit of life by faith." One mourner at the Charlotte funeral home said, "Everybody knows he was a minister, and he was trying to teach those other guys about life." A preliminary autopsy report showed White might have died because of a respiratory disease combined with other health problems. [AP]

...A close friend of Reggie White says the football great will be remembered not only for his success on the gridiron, but more importantly for his commitment to follow Christ in all areas of life. White's unexpected death on Sunday, December 26, at the age of 43 brought out numerous analysts who gave their insights into his life on and off the field. Bill Horn became White's media spokesman after controversy erupted over remarks White made to the Wisconsin legislature in 1998 in which he said the Bible portrayed homosexuality as a sin. Horn says White lived out his faith on a daily basis -- and did it without fanfare. "We would go into a city and he'd say, 'Bill, let's go to the hospital, to the children's ward, unannounced.' He didn't want any media knowing what he was doing," Horn shares. According to the spokesman, the former NFL all-pro defensive end would "go in, touch these kids' lives, and get out." Horn recalls White's motto: "I'm not here to make a name, I'm here to honor a name." "And that's exactly what he did," Horn says. According to Horn, White would study the Bible for hours at a time instead of regularly attending church. White was also studying Hebrew at the time of his death. [Allie Martin]

...A pro-family organization is praising the appointment of two conservative Republicans to the important Senate Judiciary Committee. Veteran Kansas Senator Sam Brownback and freshman Tom Coburn of Oklahoma will be sworn in as members of the Judiciary Committee when Congress reconvenes in January. Tim Wildmon, president of the Mississippi-based American Family Association, says the two conservatives will represent strong voices for qualified judiciary candidates who have been unfairly filibustered by Democrats in the Senate. "Both Brownback and Coburn believe in the same kind of judges that President George W. Bush believes in -- [specifically] those who would interpret the law and not make up new law," Wildmon points out. "That's the kind of justices we need on the Supreme Court and [the kind of] appointments to the federal bench that President Bush has been attempting to make, but has thus far, in many cases, been blocked by Senate Democrats by filibustering." Wildmon says Brownback and Coburn will provide a good ideological balance to liberal members of the Committee like Democrats Dianne Feinstein, Pat Leahy, and Ted Kennedy. [Chad Groening]

...Some Colorado high school students claim their student newspaper was censored because it made references to Christmas. Principal Alan Nelms recently pulled the December issue of the student newspaper at Pueblo East High School. Nelms had copies of The Eagle's Cry destroyed, arguing this month's edition contained too many technical errors. However, co-editor James MacIndoe says Nelms objected to a centerfold titled "Merry Christmas 2004," as well as to an editorial called "The True Meaning of Christmas." According to MacIndoe, Nelms made a familiar argument. "Our principal, at first, said that we were imposing the Christian religion on people and we were [being] religiously insensitive because we didn't mention other holidays like Hanukah and Kwanzaa," the student journalist recalls. What has his response to the principal? "My response to that was, 'Well, it's an editorial about Christmas; it's not about Hanukah or Kwanzaa.' I said 'Kwanzaa's not even a religious celebration -- and I'm sorry, it's not about Hanukah, it's about Christmas.'" MacIndoe says he intends to appeal the decision to Superintendent Joyce Bales when she returns from Christmas vacation. [Jim Brown]

...A Christian musician who was born and raised in a Communist society says he's proof that intellectuals can have personal encounters with God that can change their lives. In his new book Somehow: A Miracle of Spiritual Birth (Quail Ridge Press), Darko Velichkovski chronicles his life from his days as a young musical prodigy in Communist eastern Europe to his meeting with an American tourist -- an encounter that eventually led him to the United States and to a relationship with Christ. Velichkovski says the book especially appeals to those who think they are too smart to believe and trust in Christ. "I feel that in this book you will find not only encouragement, if you are a Christian -- but if you're not, you will find a way to overcome the world," he says. "You will find that there is indeed a possibility for you, as an intellectual, to overcome that [obstacle]." Darko, as he prefers to be called, lives near Jackson, Mississippi, and is involved in full-time Christian music evangelism. [Allie Martin]

...A classical Christian school in North Carolina is being questioned over its use of a booklet that attempts to provide a biblical justification for southern slavery. At issue is a booklet being used at Cary Christian School titled "Southern Slavery As It Was." In it, authors Doug Wilson and Steve Wilkins argue slavery was not a systemic evil, but rather a benign institution. Wilson is slated to speak at Cary Christian's graduation in May. Idaho Presbyterian pastor Jack Davidson, who has written a critique of the booklet, says it purports to be a biblical and historical treatment of slavery, but falls well short of that. "If, in fact, the Bible does not object to slavery, as this booklet wants us to believe, then we can have no argument against the establishment of a modern-day slave state," he says. "There could be no argument against it -- as Christians, biblically, we couldn't really object to it. If, after all, we believe the Bible doesn't object to it, what objection could we have to it? I think that is a serious issue." Wilson and Wilkins, according to Davidson, week to use anecdotal accounts of relationships between slaves and masters to discredit the traditional view of slavery in America. Davidson says the controversial material is a double indignity to black Americans. "What we're doing when we accept into our curriculum booklets like Wilson and Wilkins -- even though it sounds as if we're trying to speak in a conciliatory way -- is it basically robs the black American of his history. That's what it does," the pastor says. "It basically tells him and her there was really no problem; there was really no issue." Cary Christian School would not return phone calls seeking comment. [Jim Brown]

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