White Smoke

Ooooopps. Did it again. I pushed save rather than publish!

White smoke has appeared! YES! There is a new Pope! The cardinals of the Roman Catholic church chose Jorge Maria Bergoglio as the 266th Pope. He took the name Francis, the first Pope to take this name. He is from Buenos Aires and is the first Jesuit priest.  

Black smoke, no pope. White smoke, new pope.

The cardinals of the Catholic Church held their first ballot today to elect a pope. The conclave began 12 days after Benedict XVI renounced the throne. He became the first pope in modern times to do this. As the cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel, they leave the outside world and enter a very private space. The cardinals remain locked in isolation until one of the candidates receives two-thirds of the votes. At that time, that man will emerge from the process as the new spiritual leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics. 

 Since the cardinals are locked in isolation, their only contact with the outside world (everyone waiting for the word that a new pope has been elected) comes in the form of smoke signals. Black smoke means that no decision has been made on who among them will be the next pontiff. However, if white smoke emerges out of the chimney, than the world knows there is a new pope. 

To create the smoke, the Roman Catholic Church use to burn wet straw with all the paper ballots to give them smoke a dark color, indicating no decision had been made. However, instead of creating black smoke, wet straw creates grey smoke. In the past this has led to some confusion. To help eliminate confusion, chemical compounds are know used to give the smoke its proper color.

According to the Vatican, there are two iron stoves in the Sistine Chapel. The older stove will burn the ballots and the modern one, which is controlled by a computer, will add the chemicals to produce either white or black smoke. With black smoke billowing from the chimney today, the signal is clear--no new pope on the first day of the conclave. 

Tebow

Tim Tebow has always been very open about his faith and as a follower of Jesus Christ, has always expressed his gratitude to his Lord and Savior. Throughout his collegiate career, Tim was known for the Bible verses he wore on his eye blacks during football games. During his first season in the NFL, his constant praying on one knee became trademark term known as “Tebow-ing.”

Since Tebow is so open about his faith, people were shocked to hear that he had canceled a scheduled appearance at First Baptist Church of Dallas. First Baptist is the megachurch of Robert Jeffress, the very controversial pastor whose views on other religions and homosexuality have drawn outrage in the past. Jeffress has said that Muslims practice a religion that came from the depths of hell and “promote pedophillia.” 

Tim Tebow tweeted:  

“While I was looking forward to sharing a message of hope and Christ's unconditional love with the faithful members of the historic First Baptist Church of Dallas in April, due to new information that has been brought to my attention, I have decided to cancel my upcoming appearance. I will continue to use the platform God has blessed me with to bring Faith, Hope and Love to all those needing a brighter day. Thank you for all of your love and support. God Bless!”

Tebow seems to have responded to the uproar with a honest stand against Jeffress and he did so without creating more controversy. This simple gesture is an effective rebuke of intolerance.

Christians in China

Christian missionaries have always seemed to go to China, despite how dangerous it can be if caught. In 2012, the number of persecutions increased, however Christianity in China is thriving. China tried to get rid of religion all together, but after realizing this was impossible, they just created a religious bureaucracy that oversees all sanctioned religious practices. Because of the control and influence the government has on religion and specifically within the state-sanctioned church, many Chinese Christians attend “underground” churches. China’s state-run seminaries also are not turning out enough pastors for China’s growing Christian population. With more persecutions occurring, there becomes an even bigger concern for being a Christian in China. However, according to Christianity Today, Christians are not being persecuted for simply being Christians. In fact, in all the persecution cases there have been certain triggers that prompt authorities to take action. Some of these include directly opposing the Communist Party, engaging in political activity, openly championing human rights, and having foreign involvement. Of the numerous Christians in China who have suffered persecution, more than two-thirds were involved in cases where one or more of these triggers were present. Despite incredible persecution, Chinese Christians have made progress, demonstrating their faith, flexibility, and perseverance.