Library In Britian Pays $14.3M For Ancient Gospel Of John

This photo, released by The British Library Tuesday April 17 2012, , shows the St. Cuthbert Gospel, a remarkably preserved palm-sized book which is a manuscript copy of the Gospel of John in Latin which was bought from the British branch of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), the library said Tuesday April 17, 2012. The small book - 96 mm (3.8 inches) by 136 mm (5.4 inches) - has an elaborately tooled red leather cover. It comes from the time of St. Cuthbert, who died in 687, and it was discovered inside his coffin at Durham Cathedral when it was reopened in 1104. Photo: AP / The British Library 

LONDON (AP) — The British Library has paid 9 million pounds (US$14.3 million) to acquire the St. Cuthbert Gospel, a remarkably well-preserved survivor of seventh-century Britain described by the library as the oldest European book to survive fully intact.
The palm-sized book, a manuscript copy of the Gospel of John in Latin, was bought from the British branch of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), the library said Tuesday.
The book measures 96 mm (3.8 inches) by 136 mm (5.4 inches) and has an elaborately tooled red leather cover. It comes from the time of St. Cuthbert, who died in 687, and it was discovered inside his coffin when it was opened in 1104 at Durham Cathedral.
The British Library said the artifact is one of the world's most important books.
"To look at this small and intensely beautiful treasure from the Anglo-Saxon period is to see it exactly as those who created it in the seventh century would have seen it," said the library's chief executive, Lynne Brindley.
"The exquisite binding, the pages, even the sewing structure survive intact, offering us a direct connection with our forebears 1300 years ago," she added.

Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/British-Library-buys-14-3M-ancient-gospel-3486095.php#ixzz1sb33EKxl

Some Youth Ministries Getting It Wrong, Teaching Behavior Modification Rather Than The Gospel

Christian Post--Ministry leaders are seeing a major problem among youth groups – an emphasis on behavior modification over the Gospel.

In a series featured on The Gospel Coalition website, several ministers discussed their concerns with how youths were being taught in the church, namely with messages aimed more at keeping them out of trouble.

"Many youth pastors preach moralism over the gospel in order to protect students from self-destruction," said Cameron Cole, director of youth ministries at Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, Ala. "Unfortunately, law-driven ministry often yields the opposite of its intention; law and pressure often inflame rebellion."

Cole doesn't see a lack of Gospel teaching in youth ministries when it comes to salvation and justification. He believes youth pastors may even be "more faithful" than senior pastors in "helping their flock understand Christianity as saving relationship rather than cultural religion."

But when it comes to sanctification, or the process of being set apart for holy use, youth ministries are getting it wrong, Cole believes.

"Youth ministry often focuses on emotional exhortation and moral performance," he observed. "A legalistic tone frequently characterizes the theology of sanctification in youth ministry."

According to Brian H. Cosby, associate pastor of youth and families at Carriage Lane Presbyterian Church in Peachtree City, Ga., such teaching has led to widespread belief in "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism" where "we are supposed to be 'good people'" and where God is more like a "cosmic therapist" or "divine butler."

But Cole understands why youth ministry tends to focus on legalism and behavior.
Simply put, "youth pastors want to see changed lives," he noted.

"Wanting validation for their tireless labor, youth ministers occasionally focus on behavior modification as a means of providing tangible proof of the efficacy of their ministry. A kid carrying his or her Bible to school, signing a chastity pledge, or sporting a WWJD bracelet may appear like signs of spiritual progress – the fruit of ministry labor for a youth pastor."

Cole cautioned, however, that "if these actions come out of a student misunderstanding Christianity as a code of behavior rather than heart transformation through the Holy Spirit, then they do not necessarily reflect lasting life change."

Parents aren't helping the situation either. Wanting their children to be moral, parents sometimes view "the church exclusively as a vehicle for moral education, rather than spiritually forming them in Christ, and put pressure on youth and senior pastors to moralize their children," Cole pointed out.

The Birmingham youth director stressed the need for youth ministry to be viewed not as a venue for entertainment and moral teaching but as a serious teaching and discipleship ministry.

And youth pastors, he stressed, need to view themselves as sowers who plant Gospel seeds for harvest down the road.
Read More From Christian Post

Nearly 900,000 U.S Veterans Are On Waiting List For Disability

National Journal--The Veterans Affairs Department faces a "staggering" backlog of 897,566 disability claims with more than 65 percent pending for more than 125 days, a problem compounded by an error rate of 16 percent, representatives of veterans' services organizations told lawmakers on the House Veterans Affairs Committee on Wednesday.

The department has seen a 48 percent increase in claims since 2008. Officials expect the backlog will grow to 1.2 million claims this year and another 50,000 will accrue in 2013 as veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars flood the system, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki told the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee in March. He vowed to process all claims in fewer than 125 days with a 98 percent accuracy standard by 2015.

Jeffrey Hall, assistant national legislative director for Disabled American Veterans, an advocacy group, told House lawmakers on Wednesday that "while the elimination of the backlog will be a welcome milestone, we must remember that eliminating the backlog is not necessarily the same goal as reforming the claims processing system, nor does it guarantee that veterans are better served."

James Wear, assistant director for veterans benefits policy for the group Veterans of Foreign Wars, testified that the high error rate and the poor quality of VA's rating decisions, which determine the financial benefits veterans receive, are a serious problem.

"Quality of decision-making is problematic.... The national average [error rate] has remained nearly stationary at 16 percent for months," Wear said, adding that the Veterans Benefits Administration's Baltimore regional office has the worst claims error rate in the country -- 29 percent, which is a slight improvement over its error rate of 33 percent just a few months ago.

Randall Fisher, the American Legion's service officer for Kentucky, told lawmakers that in order to improve the claims process, VA must make training a priority and hire more veterans whose experience would prove beneficial. Hall said due to budget constraints, VA has cut back on training, conducting it locally rather than using its national training academy.

"We have concerns that this change was made strictly for short-term financial considerations rather than to achieve the long-term goal of reforming the claims processing system," he said.

Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., the ranking member on the committee, said, "There's no shortcut of getting around the basics -- of having well-trained employees who are empowered with the right tools and the right systems to get the job done right the first time."

Shinseki promised earlier this month that VA will roll out its paperless Veterans Benefit Management System to 16 regional offices by September, with installation in all 56 regional offices in 2013. Hall said he was concerned that budget constraints could impede the national rollout of VBMS, and urged the committee to provide full funding for the system. VA requested $92.3 million for VBMS in 2013, and spent a total of $343.6 million on the system in 2011 and 2012.

Read More From National Journal