FIRST, THE NEWS:

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(Note: the "prayers" link in the heading will take you to this issue's "Prayer and Praise" list.)

MOST RUSSIANS PRAISE PUBLIC ACTIVITIES OF PATRIARCH KIRILL
from Interfax-Religion

(5 Aug) Over half of polled Russians (53%) praise the public efforts of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, 15% more regard them as average and only 7% hold them in low respect, Interfax was told on Friday at Sreda service in relation to a nation-wide poll of 1,500 people conducted together with the Public Opinion Foundation. The highest praise comes from Russians aged 45 and over, residents of big cities, parents of big families (63%), the retired (58%), people in the medium income bracket (58%) and those who vote for United Russia party (58%).

Men rate the patriarch lower than women. Young people and students constitute the most critical group. Low grades are more frequently given by respondents with a university degree (9%), childless couples (10%), non-superstitious people (12%), supporters of the Liberal-Democratic Party (14%) and those not planning to take part in the upcoming elections (12%). Every fourth respondent was undecided. This group is comprised mainly of people with low educational standards and residents of small towns. Meanwhile, atheists and those not belonging to any particular creed tend to think that the Patriarch's public efforts are not worth much. [read more...]

A CLOSE ENCOUNTER OF CHRISTIANITY'S EAST, WEST TRADITIONS
from Seattle Times

(13 Aug) Despite some attempts through the last millennium, the East and West Churches are still at odds with each other, though considerable progress has been made since the breakthrough encounter in Jerusalem of Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantinople in 1964. This historic meeting between the pope and the patriarch led a year later to a mutual declaration rescinding the dual excommunications of 1054 which began the Great Schism between the churches of the East and the West. Though the declaration did not end the schism, it showed a great desire for reconciliation between the two churches.

Roman Catholic relationships with the Russian Orthodox reached their lowest ebb about 10 years ago when the Vatican established four Catholic dioceses in Russia - mainly to serve the ethnic Germans, Poles and others who had been sent into exile during the Cold War. Today, with a new Russian Orthodox patriarch, relationships are much more cordial and open. But the Russian Orthodox are particularly negative toward the proselytizing by American-based evangelical churches. [read more...]

BELARUS: "INMATES ARE AFRAID OF EXERCISING THEIR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM RIGHTS"
by Olga Glace, Forum 18 News Service

(4 Aug) In Belarus non-Orthodox prisoners face difficulties in exercising their freedom of religion or belief, Forum 18 News Service has found. In maximum security prisons, "prison administrations make prisoners face a difficult choice whom to see once a year - either clergy or relatives", lawyer Vlasta Oleksuk told Forum 18. Prisoners sentenced to death - such as Andrei Burdyka executed in July - are denied the possibility to meet clergy before their execution, even if they request this. There are also problems in ordinary prisons, for example Muslims having no allowance made for their diet

Anatoly Tunchik of the Punishment Implementation Department, asked about visits by non-Orthodox clergy, replied: "We are very strict at not admitting any random person into prisons. Sometimes", he continued, "they disguise themselves as other religions and have a negative influence over the inmates. For this reason access is only possible for Orthodox and Catholic priests, which means registered religions". Many convicts and clergy of different religions were not even aware of the rights they had. Also, "inmates are afraid of exercising their religious freedom rights, as they fear that the prison staff's attitude will be tougher", Protestant Pastor Boris Chernoglaz told Forum 18. [read more...]

VANDALS DETAINED FOR DESTROYING CROSSES ON GRAVES
from Religious Information Service of Ukraine

(11 Aug) In the village of Lozovske of Sloviano-Serbskyi District of the Luhansk Oblast in the east of Ukraine, police have detained a group of minors who danced on graves at a local cemetery and destroyed twenty gravestones and crosses, Tetiana Pohukai, the press secretary of the Main Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in the Luhansk Oblast, reported to UNIAN.

According to her, six boys and girls aged 11-16 committed the sacrilege, being drunk. She said that the vandals were detained. Proceedings were initiated against two of them aged 14 and 16 according to Article 27 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. They may be imprisoned for 3-5 years. [read more...]

UZBEKISTAN: "SPIRITUALLY RICH AND FOR FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE AND RELIGION"?
by Mushfig Raybam, Forum 18 News Service

(2 Aug) An indictment has been filed against a Baptist in Uzbekistan's capital Tashkent, Forum 18 News Service has learned. Konstantin Malchikovsky is accused of not paying in monies from church offerings and book sales. Baptists strongly dispute the charges, describing them as "absurd," and noting that they "violate the Religion Law." They also note that courts have ignored what they describe as "exhaustive proofs of falsification and forgery of documents by the tax authorities."

The charges have, as in previous cases, been accompanied by a hostile campaign in the state-run media accusing Baptists among other things of running an "illegal training center." After attacking the Baptists' work with children, an article claims that Uzbekistan has "created an environment where all conditions exist for children to grow spiritually rich and for freedom of conscience and religion." In other cases, a computer hard disk belonging to a Baptist has been ordered to be destroyed, and a prisoner of conscience on a ten year jail sentence for exercising freedom of religion or belief, Tohar Haydarov, has had his sentence confirmed by the Supreme Court. [read more...]

OTHER NEWS HEADLINES:

INDOMITABLE SOUL BRAVED STALIN'S WORST
from TheAge.com

ESCALATION OF CHRISTIANOPHOBIA IN THE MIDDLE EAST IS A THREAT TO ORTHODOXY
from Interfax-Religion

AZERBAIJAN: WARNED FOR MEETING WITHOUT STATE PERMISSION, LEGAL STATUS APPLICATIONS STILL DELAYED
from Forum 18 News Service

TEAM BRINGS THE GOSPEL TO SAVE ORPHANS FROM A PATH TO DRUGS AND PROSTITUTION
from Mission Network News

UKRAINIANS MARK 20 YEARS AS A NATION
from Religious Information Service of Ukraine

PATRIARCHATE MUM ON REPORTS OF KIRILL'S HEART ATTACK
from Interfax-Religion

METROPOLITAN HILARION: LACK OF FAITH IS AN ILLNESS, WHILE FAITH IS SPIRITUAL HEALTH
from Russian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate

SUMMER CAMP WELCOMED HIV-POSITIVE CHILDREN IN UKRAINE
from Russian Ministries

See HOSKEN-NEWS Daily for more of the latest news!

NOW, OUR VIEWS:

The past two weeks since our last Hosken-News have been a real roller coaster ride, not only for the U.S. but for much of the world: Great Britain, Ireland, France, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain, Japan and China are desperately struggling with social and economic problems. In the article The Invisible Hand Is Writing On Our Wall we read: "The invisible hand has been writing on our wall of late, and the message is scaring the markets. The markets should be scared; there is real trouble afoot, and the world's political and economic leaders are terrifyingly out of their depth. In the Book of Daniel, King Belshazzar of Babylon held a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and as they ate and drank from the vessels captured when the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, they praised the false gods of gold and of silver and of brass, iron, wood and stone."

Adam Smith introduced into popular thought the concept of of the "Invisible Hand" in his book The Wealth of Nations. Today most people think of this "Invisible Hand" as merely the combination of economic and political forces that somehow average out the selfish desires of each person to form what is good for society as a whole. In our modern secular society, God has been shut out of the picture almost entirely, and we are indoctrinated to see the world as made up only of blind material forces and objects. But the mistake here is forgetting where Adam Smith was coming from: he was part of a largely Christian society, and he himself was Rev. Adam Smith, a Christian minister as well as a political-economics philosopher. To Rev. Smith, the "Invisible Hand" was nothing other than the Hand of God. Only God can make "all things work together for good," and only "for those who love God and are called according to His service."

Neuroplasticity, Authority and Truth

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You're probably thinking, "What is Neuroplasticity, and what does it have to do with anything at all, let alone the problems and trials of Christians in East and West?" I've been reading a few books recently on Neuroplasticity and a related topic called Epigenetics, and they tie in amazingly with the above issues. For well over a century, since Charles Darwin and others promoted the idea of evolution, we've been taught that our brains have evolved over millions of years and are "hard-wired" so that we behave in certain ways, and can't change. But in the last few decades, many neurologists and psycholigists have learned that our brain neurons are "plastic," that is, they can and do change over time. Also, B.F. Skinner's "Behaviorism" taught that our actions are simply the predetermined product of conditioned responses that are "hard-wired" into our nature, and therefore human free will is merely an illusion. Of course, this is very convenient for those scientists and philosophers who want to shut God entirely out of the picture, and thereby justify the idea that we can - indeed must - live only according to our animal nature.

The problem with this thinking is that it implies we can choose to live one way or another. If I can rationally understand Darwinism and Behaviorism, that means I can decide whether or not to accept these ideas and adapt my lifestyle accordingly. But that also implies that I could reject their conclusions and lead a different kind of life. So being able to think rationally and make decisions implies having the freedom of choice. And this is exactly what Neuroplasticity tells us: many areas of the brain even after serious trauma or illness, can re-learn what damaged parts of the brain contained, and also learn new things such as foreign languages, new habits and other new skills, even in adulthood.

The book The Brain that Changes Itself, by Norman Doidge, M.D. narrates his interviews with dozens of "neuroplasticians" who have rehabilitated people with strokes, autism, cerebral palsy and many other serious maladies. Time and again he illustrates that our brains are not "hard-wired" to make us behave only in a certain way, that we can freely choose to change. Of course, change is not easy for anyone, it requires great will-power and desire to be able to change. Many people are simply set in their ways, and choose not to change their ways. The ability to change also comes from the outside: the grace of God is more than merely "a free gift" that gives us a free ticket to heaven - it is God's almighty, transforming power that enables us to change. God works, and we are co-laborers together with God: He's the senior partner without which our efforts are almost impossible. God does His part, and we must do our part.

The related field of Epigenetics also debunks Darwinism and Behaviorism's scientific-philosophical viewpoint that says our genetics determine how we behave. The "epigenome" is the area surrounding the genome, about 500 times larger than the genome, that instructs which genes will be expressed and which genes will be suppressed. And the epigenome is affected by our conscious choices and life circumstances. Thus, our choices to partake in alcoholism, gluttony, sexual immorality, drug addiction and other harmful behaviors can cause certain genes to be expressed, and these bad behaviors to be passed on to future generations: "The sins of the fathers (and mothers) are visited upon their children to the third and fourth generation." Conversely, our choices to live in harmony and moderation cause certain "good" genes to be expressed and passed on to the following generations, up to several generations.

Why do people often choose harmful behaviors? The short answer is "sin." But to fill out that answer, sin is rebellion against God, "missing the mark" of His goal and purpose for our lives. When God says, "This is the way, walk in it!" - we often reply, "I'll do it my way!" This is rebellion against God's authority, thinking of ourselves as autonomous beings, independent of God. Choosing to do things "my way" often results in going the wrong way and messing things up. Then people often say, "It's not my fault, that's just the way God made me!" - thus blaming God, or fate, or determinism, or genetics. But in truth, it was often their own voluntary, free choices that brought about those results.

The answer to rebellion against God's authority is to recognize the truth about ourselves, our mistakes, and to confess them to God. Confession is literally "speaking the truth." When we confess our rebellion against God's authority, our sin, we're not telling God something He doesn't already know: we are acknowledging the truth about ourselves. Then God's almighty grace can begin to transform our lives, changing our behavior and even our bodies to reflect the glory of the transfigured Christ. Christ's body that was broken for us and arose again can heal our brokenness, making us whole again.

  Please remember to pray for Christians in the former Soviet bloc countries, and for...

  Your fellow-servants,

  Bob & Cheryl

p.s. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. - George Washington

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