By Rev. Dr. Eric Haley l December 18, 2022
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God promised to send them a redeemer to take back the authority that they had relinquished to the devil in the garden of Eden. Genesis 3:15 reads, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” At that point in human history, Satan had become the god of this world. (II Corinthians 4:4)
Therefore, when Adam and Eve had a son they named him Cain. The name Cain means: fighter, warrior, the one; spear. Adam and Eve thought their son, Cain would be the one that would defeat the devil and take authority back from the devil on this earth.
The Bible story of Cain killing his brother Abel is a sad plight. Cain became jealous of God accepting his brother’s offering to God and he killed Abel. God put a mark on Cain and he was labeled a vagabond. There was even a chain of motels called, “The Vagabond Hotel.”
Made for the weary traveler. This depicted Cain’s continual wandering on the earth seeking safety from his own brothers; children of Adam and Eve.
If you know the Bible story, God did fulfill his promise to Adam and Even when Jesus Christ -was born of the virgin Mary in Bethlehem, Ephratah in 4BC. You might ask the question, “How can Jesus be born in 4BC?” My simple response is that we really don’t know exactly which year it is? But that remains the topic for another story.
The point of this writing is that God kept his promise to Adam and Even to send a redeemer in the world to take away mankind’s sin and to redeem us from the curse of the Mosaic Law.
One of Jesus’s name is Emmanuel which is translated, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23) The penalty for sinning against God is death. II Corinthians states, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
So, Christmas is about God fulfilling his promise to Adam and Even way back in the Garden of Eden. God sent us his greatest gift; his son Jesus so that we might have eternal life.
I know we like to give gifts to friends, relatives, and family members this time of year to reflect on how God has blessed us. So, take a moment and reflect on the greatest gift in the universe; God giving his only be gotten son so that anyone and everyone, if they choose to do so can be saved and experience eternity with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ in heaven where there will be no more tears, pain, hunger, evil, and sorrow. Something to think about this holiday season.
Church Of God in Christ, Inc. Official Statement on Abortion
The Official Statement on Abortion Church of God in Christ, Inc. 2019
CVV News l August 26, 2022
The Church Of God In Christ believes the Bible to be the only inspired and infallible word of God. Thus, in accordance with sacred Scripture, we acknowledge life as a sacred and gracious gift of God and affirm that He is the Creator of all life and that human beings are created in His image (Genesis 1:26-31).
As the Bible is clear that life begins at conception in the womb (Psalm 139:13,15; Psalm 22:10-11, Galatians I: 15, Luke I:41, Jeremiah 1:5), we recognize the precious gift of life and must speak to the painful and difficult issue of abortion as an act that is antithetical to Christian belief (Exodus 20:13, Psalm 106:35-38, 2 Kings 17:17, Deuteronomy 5:17, Revelation 22;15), and to an industry that has garnered trillions of dollars in profit while simultaneously creating health risks for women such as PTSD.
The Church of God in Christ opposes abortion:
- as a means of avoiding responsibility for conception;
- as a primary means of birth control; and,
- without regard for the far-reaching consequences of the act.
We denounce irresponsible sexual behavior and acts of violence that contribute to the large number of abortions each year.
We grieve with all who struggle with the difficult circumstances that lead them to consider
abortion. We affirm that God is merciful and forgiving and that His love is extended to those who have gone through abortion procedures.
Recognizing that each person is ultimately responsible to God, we encourage men and women in these circumstances to seek spiritual counsel as they prayerfully and conscientiously consider their decision.
We condemn violence directed against abortion clinics, their staff and clients, as well as
sanctions and discrimination against medical professionals whose consciences prevent them from being involved in abortions.
As abortion disproportionately affects communities of color, the Church Of God In Christ
systematically denounces the heinous destruction of human life through abortion.
We commit to support the following actions to mitigate unplanned pregnancies and to address the current abortion crisis:
- providing proactive Abstinence Education for students;
- providing true Sexual Education that supports Marriage and Family;
- offering alternatives to Abortion{i.e., Adoption, Family Support, and Education);
- providing counseling and support for women and men that are suffering silently from post-abortive trauma;
- funding of clinics that provide full range of true Women’s Health Care that excludes
elective abortions (i.e., mammograms, STD testing, pre-natal care, parenting
support, early childhood support); and, - creating a community safety net encompassing parental support, especially from our churches to include, respite child care, and other ways to support parents; and,
- providing and advocating for public policy to increase financial support and job training for women facing unplanned pregnancies and the fathers of their unborn babies.
The Church Of God In Christ takes seriously the obligation to help form the consciences of her members and to speak to the broader society concerning the sacredness of human life, which should only be procreated advisedly and in full accord with the biblical understanding of conception and birth within marriage as blessed by God.
We therefore encourage each of our congregations to assist their members in becoming informed regarding the spiritual, physiological and psychological aspects of sex and sexuality so that the birth of each child is a joyous and solemn occasion in the life of a family and the community.
Most Black Catholic churchgoers are racial minorities in their congregations
CVV News-Posted: May 14, 2022
Black Catholics are a minority in the United States in numerous ways. They comprise a small share of Black adults (6%) and an even smaller share of Catholic adults (4%). A recent Pew Research Center study designed to capture the diversity of Black American religious life offers new insights into Black Catholics’ religious habits and experiences, finding that their experiences at parishes and at Mass are often distinctive from those of other U.S. Catholics. It also shows that their religious beliefs and practices differ from those of Black Protestants.
One way the religious experience of Black Catholics stands out is that they are a lot less likely than White or Hispanic Catholics – who together make up the vast majority of U.S. Catholics – to worship in parishes where most people share their race or ethnicity. In this way, Black Catholics also tend to have very different experiences than Black Protestants, who make up the majority of Black Christians in the U.S. About two-thirds of Black Protestants who attend church at least a few times a year (68%) say they routinely worship where most other attendees are Black. Many Black Protestants belong to historically Black Protestant denominations, such as the National Baptist Convention and the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
In addition, the majority of Black Catholics say that opposing racism is important to how they think about being Christian. About three-quarters of Black Catholics (77%) say opposition to racism is essential to what being Christian means to them. Most Black Catholics also say opposition to sexism (75%) and believing in God (73%) are essential to what being Christian means to them, while much smaller shares say attending religious services regularly (26%), opposing abortion (22%) and avoiding sex before marriage (16%) are essential to their Christian faith.
Black Catholics are a little more likely than White or Hispanic Catholics to say that opposing racism and sexism are essential to what being a faithful Christian means to them. They are about as likely as Black Protestants to say that opposing discrimination is essential to their faith, but they are somewhat less likely than Black Protestants to view regular church attendance, belief in God and avoiding sex before marriage as essential to their religious identity.
The survey finds that 16% of Black Catholics are converts to the faith – people who identify as Catholic now, though they were raised in another religious tradition or as religiously unaffiliated. The share of Black Catholics who are converts to Catholicism is higher than the share of White or Hispanic Catholics who are converts.
That said, the share of Black Americans who were raised as Catholics and remain Catholics is lower than the corresponding shares of Hispanic and White Catholics. Roughly half of Black adults who were raised Catholic still identify as Catholic (54%), compared with 61% of White adults and 68% of Hispanic adults who were raised as Catholics and still identify with the faith.
Furthermore, the survey shows that among Black adults, there are more people who have left Catholicism than have come to the faith. Overall, 4% of Black Americans say they were raised Catholic and no longer identify as such, while 1% of Black adults are converts to Catholicism.
A similar pattern prevails among U.S. Catholics as a whole. The Center’s 2014 Religious Landscape Study found that 13% of all U.S. adults are former Catholics – people who left Catholicism after having been raised in the church – while 2% of U.S. adults have become Catholic after being raised in another religion (or no religion). The same study found that Catholicism had experienced the greatest net losses due to religious switching of any Christian religious tradition in the U.S. as of 2014.
These are among the key findings of a new Pew Research Center analysis of the characteristics of Black Catholics. The analysis draws largely on a survey conducted Nov. 19, 2019-June 3, 2020, among a nationally representative sample of 13,234 adults, including 8,660 Black Americans. The survey was designed to capture the diversity of Black religious life in the U.S., allowing for a detailed look at the religious views and experiences of Black subgroups. A broad overview of the survey’s findings is available in the 2021 report “Faith Among Black Americans.” While this new analysis focuses specifically on Black Catholics, it also incorporates data on White and Hispanic Catholics, as well as on Black Protestants, for comparison purposes.
