The ETHIOPIAN CHURCH Journal

Ethiopian Cinderella Story? by Mitiku Adisu  A brother Melaku Tesfaye has written an interesting article entitled, "Ethiopia - From Mengistu's Dungeons to Addis Stadium: An Ethiopian Cinderella story." In the article, Mr. Melaku a/ recounts the harsh treatment Ethiopian Protestant Christians received at the hands of the Derg (though he should also have included Emperor Haileselassie's regime to the list) b/ praises God and current authorities for the "miracle" of freedom of worship and c/ gently suggests that "there is so much more to do." Here then is our assessment of the article: 1. As far as we can tell, the opinion contained in the article is solely that of brother Melaku and not those of the Kale Hiwot church or Protestant churches in general. Brother Melaku as a private citizen and as a Christian (if he so wishes to identify himself) is entitled to such an opinion. Readers should resist the temptation of prejudging Ethiopian Protestant churc...

Children are "born believers" in God and do not simply acquire religious beliefs through indoctrination, according to an academic. Dr Justin Barrett, a senior researcher at the University of Oxford's Centre for Anthropology and Mind, claims that young people have a predisposition to believe in a supreme being because they assume that everything in the world was created with a purpose. He says that young children have faith even when they have not been taught about it by family or at school, and argues that even those raised alone on a desert island would come to believe in God. "The preponderance of scientific evidence for the past 10 years or so has shown that a lot more seems to be built into the natural development of children's minds than we once thought, including a predisposition to see the natural world as designed and purposeful and that some kind of intelligent being is behind that purpose," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "If we...

We've heard enough times that Obama's dad was black and his mom white and that he was raised by his white grandma. Now that Obama has won the US presidency and wants us all not to dwell on our 'blackness' or 'whiteness' [but on our American-ness and our human-ness] how is this going to affect the thorny issue of inter-racial adoption? Will Obama's presidency usher in the heyday for international adoptions? The quick answer is 'we don't know.' However, we do know that it is simply not in human nature to change so fast from institutionalized identities to take on new ones no matter how attractive the rhetoric sounds. So, let us wait until the dust settles. Also, Obama is not only inter-racial but inter-national. Kenya. Kansas. Indonesia. Hawaii. And Kenya borders Ethiopia to the north. Adoption of Ethiopian children has dramatically evolved over the past few years. First, the government of Ethiopia has allowed private agencies to operate such servi...

Are Ethiopians a thankful lot? How often do we show gratitude? Do we tend to assume we deserve the good in life? The answer to these questions can be vexing. So what do we do? Well, we could sit around and complain. We could also listen to Scripture and be reminded about showing gratitude to God and to fellow humans. There is always room for improvement, of course; and it's never too late. If only we could commit to "live and move and have our being" in God, we certainly would Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. [Psalm 100: 1-5] Go ahead and thank someone. አመሰግናለሁ። Today.

credit: OS James William Hammock - or Brother Jim, as he referred to himself -- touched the lives of many around him. From the churches where he ministered for more than 30 years to his missionary work in Nicaragua and Ethiopia, he lived his beliefs through his actions... In 2001, Hammock was the founding pastor of Compass Community Church in Apopka. The church developed a world vision, and Hammock led teams to Nicaragua, to build a mission school, and to Ethiopia, to drill a well for water. He referred to his ministry at Compass as "planting a tree under whose shade you will never sit." More here .