Saturday 20 December 2008

40 CHRISTIANS ARRESTED IN NANYYANG , 16 SENTENCED TO ADMINISTRATIVE DETENTION , PLEASE DO PRAY FOR THEM


HENAN, China, -- In Taoling village, Pushan town, Nanyang city, Henan, more than 40 Christians were detained at a Christian leaders' gathering on December 16, 2008. Officials told them they must pay a 1,000 to 2,000 yuan fine to be released. Some Christians were released after paying the fine. However, 16 Christians were sentenced to 10 to 15 days administrative detention for engaging in an "illegal religious gathering." Mr. Yan Linshan, the host of the meeting received 10 days of administrative detention and a 1,000 yuan fine.

SARAH PALIN PICKED AS TIME'S RUNNER -UP PERSON OF THE YEAR


Completely ignoring Al Gore because he'd already won the world's other top two prizes -- the Nobel and Oscar -- and pretty well rested on his warming climate laurels this year, Time magazine has chosen Alaska's Republican Gov. Sarah Palin as a runner-up Person of the Year.
Along with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson.
Also Zhang Yimou.
The immense individual honors were created by the aging weekly magazine many years ago to help sell copies in a normally very slow year-end period for news and sales.
At one point in history this issue actually made news and people talked about it, if there wasn't much else going on.
But being in Time's year-end edition can also be a dangerous distinction. Many of Time's past Persons of the Year have died after receiving the honor, for instance, Adolph Hitler and Josef Stalin. Also President Eisenhower.
Sarkozy was obviously chosen a runner-up because of his wife's beauty and his ability to get french fries back on the menu in Congress.
Paulson was chosen for reasons that have something to do with the financial mess and still being unable to identify the mortgages of dubious value but being incapable of doing that in a very quiet, behind-the-scenes kind of way that didn't cause complete market panic because no one really understands the numbers stuff anyway.
Also in recognition of Paulson's work, President-elect Barack has decided to replace him with another numbers gnome.
Zhang Yimou's runnerup award really needs no explanation. His amazing accomplishments pretty much speak for themselves. So we won't.
Palin was picked because she almost singlehandedly saved the Republican Party from total annihilation as its surprising vice presidential candidate.
Her GOP selection by the old Arizona guy annoyed the nation's news media because it wasn't ready and thinks Washington is a qualifying experience for the White House now that Bill Clinton and the new guy have some.
So reporters wrote a lot about Palin's children and a future son-in-law and her baby with Down syndrome and jumped all over her effort to help salvage the 2008 women's clothing sales, as if that was a bad thing for the struggling economy.
Time calls hers "the most astonishing political debut in modern times" and says the 44-year-old mother of five who upset a corrupt GOP party establishment in a place many people don't ever want to visit "a one-woman rescue team for the Republican ticket."
Which, some of you may have heard, lost anyway.
In fact, Sarah Palin's Republican National Convention speech before a record TV audience electrified the party at a somnolent time of late summer.
Time, like all print, online and broadcast media, knows the magnetic draw of merely mentioning Sarah Palin's name among fans and foes. Putting Sarah Palin's name in a headline and adding Sarah Palin photographs draws thousands of people, even if they haven't a clue about her politics. Sarah Palin is simply great for the media business. The more photos the better too.
"Saturday Night Live" had its best ratings in 14 years the night it had the real Sarah Palin on. By golly, she just has a presence.
Time says it'll be interesting to see what happens to Sarah Palin's political evolution now and whether she emerges with a viable conservative philosophy beyond a beguiling but fiscally responsible wink.
Although many prominent Republicans campaigned for Saxby Chambliss in the recent Georgia Senate runoff election, it wasn't until Sarah Palin spent a day there that Chambliss actually won easily over a Democrat endorsed by Obama and Gore.
At the same time as it announced its Person of the Year runners-up, Time also revealed its winner, the same guy Ebony already picked.
-- Andrew Malcolm

WILL SMITH GIVES $1.5 MILLION TO CHARITIES ( TO BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN ORGANIZATION RUN REVEREND JAMES ROBINSON )


Just-released tax returns for movie star Will Smith’s charitable foundation show he and wife, Jada, gave $1.3 million in donations last year to a variety of religious, civic and arts groups.
Smith’s biggest single contribution was, as usual, Yesha Ministries of Philadelphia. He gave the born-again Christian based organization run by Reverend James Robinson a whopping $250,000. That’s a hefty raise from the $140,000 he gave them the previous year. Another $200,000 went to a Christian ministry outside Los Angeles called Living Waters.
He also gave a combined $122,500 to the Church of Scientology, broken into these donations: $67,500 to the New York Rescue Workers Detoxication Fund, $50,000 to the group’s Celebrity Center in Hollywood and $5,000 to ABLE, another Scientology offshoot. Smith and his wife have also supported a private school called New Village Academy they opened this fall in suburban Los Angeles that uses Scientology learning concepts.


The star ofmovies like “Hancock,” “I Am Legend,” and the upcoming “Seven Pounds” also donated thousands of dollars to a Los Angeles mosque, other Christian-based schools and churches, and to the Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Center in Israel. And though Smith is not featured in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” he also sent $25,000 to the Progeria Research Foundation. Progeria is a disease that causes rapid aging.
The newest federal tax filing for the Will Smith Foundation covers 2007, and there is no donation to New Village Academy. So far there is no listing with guidestar.org, the website that tracks charities and not-for-profit institutions, for New Village. That seems odd since it was announced more than a year ago that Smith had given them a $1 million endowment.
It’s the Smiths’ intense and sudden friendship with Tom Cruise over the last couple of years that sparked speculation the superstar couple had joined Scientology. But Smith told me earlier this year he was definitely not a Scientologist. He told "Access Hollywood" some time before that: "I was introduced [to] it by Tom and I’m a student of world religion. I was raised in a Baptist household, I went to a Catholic school, but the ideas of the Bible are 98 percent the same ideas of Scientology, 98 percent the same ideas of Hinduism and Buddhism."
‘Valkyrie’ and The L.A. Times
I sort of have to thank Patrick Goldstein, who writes a popular blog for the Los Angeles Times about movies and the film industry. He devoted his whole entry yesterday to this column getting banned from advance screenings of Tom Cruise in "Valkyrie."
There were also mentions of it in a variety of movie blogs like Dan Cox’s on mediabistro.com and Jeff Wells at hollywoodelsewhere.com
Is it a tempest in a teapot? Sure. But by preventing me from seeing "Valkyrie" at a regular screening, the flacks involved didn’t leave me much choice. I had to use Emanuel Levy’s review of "Valkyrie" in place of one I’d have written. Levy called Cruise "feeble" and predicted his move into secondary roles. The ironic thing is, I would never have used such a word nor made such an assumption. That’s where Cruise’s publicists went wrong. They bungled what could have been a simple process into a calamity.
One of my sources, who has seen "Valkyrie," tells me: "Tom is very wooden. On the face of it, this is a fascinating story. But Cruise is an external actor. It needed someone with real acting chops. The title sounds as if it should have been a musical. The problem is that it's not as awful as it should be, which in a way makes it worse. It's a bore!"
Or, to quote another advance screener: "This movie won’t make two cents."
And then what happens? "Valkyrie" cost $100 million to make, and another $50 - $60 mil to market. United Artists had a $500 million promise of credit from Merrill Lynch. That entity no longer exists. If "Valkyrie" really does tank, UA will likely cease to exist either as MGM struggles to right its leaking ship. Cruise has no movie ready for 2009, so it will be a year or more before he’s on screen again in anything to erase this memory.
In the end, the publicists capitulated to a lame duck leader with no future leverage but a lot of paranoia. Sound familiar?
On The Whole, She’d Rather Not Be In Cleveland
From the New York Times, yesterday: "The last 15 years have been boom years for theater — I always expected the pendulum to swing, and I simply see this as a correction," said Nancy Coyne, chairwoman of the theater advertising agency Serino Coyne. "The good news is that so many straight plays are now coming in the spring, and I think New Yorkers will come out for them once the tourists go away. We’re horrible snobs. We hate tourists from Cleveland."
Actually, Cleveland: we love you. Keep coming and buying tickets to all our shows. As Donald Trump might say: Nancy, you’re fired!
About Peter Falk: One More Thing
It seems like the great actor and good guy Peter Falk may be in some trouble. He’s 81, and his daughter says he has Alzheimer’s. There will be a court hearing next month. Let’s say this: it’s so unfair to freeze someone in time this way. Peter Falk was nominated twice, back to back in 1961 and 1962, for Academy Awards. He’s won five Emmy Awards out of 12 nominations. The movies he’s made with late pal John Cassavetes are classics, as well as the original "In-Laws" with Alan Arkin.
In the winter of 1990, Falk and I were each coming out of Madison Square Garden after a Knicks game. We flagged the same cab and wound up sharing it. He was just great, reminiscing about real Little Italy. I left on Mott Street, where he disappeared into one of his old joints. I hope he’s okay now, and if he’s not, that he gets lavish care and attention from his family.
By the way, the same daughter, Catherine, sued Peter back in 1992 and won an out of court settlement. She was 21 then and wanted her college tuition paid at Syracuse University. Falk wanted her to return to Los Angeles and participate in family counseling. Catherine is now 37 and a private investigator, according to reports. No word on Falk’s second wife, actress Shera Danese, who married Falk in 1977…

OBAMA DEFENDS WARREN CHOICE


Responding to outcry from homosexual-rights leaders over his choice of evangelical pastor Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his inauguration, President-elect Barack Obama said today Americans who disagree with each other on social issues need to "come together."
"That dialogue is part of what my campaign is all about," he told reporters in Chicago.
The announcement yesterday of Warren's role in the Jan. 20 inauguration prompted an angry response from homosexual-rights activists who decried the Southern California megachurch pastor's vocal support for Proposition 8. The ballot measure, which passed Nov. 4, enshrines in the California constitution a definition of marriage limited to one man and one woman.
Defending his choice, Obama told reporters today he's been a "fierce advocate for equality" for homosexuals and will remain so.
Obama noted that despite his disagreement with Warren on a number of issues, the pastor invited him to speak at Saddleback Church's Global Summit on AIDS and the Church in 2006. Some evangelicals at the time objected to a pro-choice Democrat being given the pulpit of a church that opposes abortion. At last year's AIDS summit, in November, Sen. Hillary Clinton gave a warmly received speech while Obama was among several candidates who presented taped messages via satellite.
In August, Obama appeared with Republican presidential nominee John McCain at Warren's church for a forum in which each candidate was questioned by the pastor for an hour.
Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., an outspoken homosexual, said he was "very disappointed" with Obama's choice, according to The Hill, and insisted it is irrelevant that Warren had invited Obama to the Saddleback forum, since McCain was there.
"Religious leaders obviously have every right to speak out in opposition to anti-discrimination measures, even in the degrading terms that Rev. Warren has used with regard to same-sex marriage," Frank said. "But that does not confer upon them the right to a place of honor in the inauguration ceremony of a president whose stated commitment to LGBT rights won him the strong support of the great majority of those who support that cause."
Warren, in his first statement after the announcement, commended Obama "for his courage to willingly take enormous heat from his base by inviting someone like me, with whom he doesn't agree on every issue."
"Hopefully individuals passionately expressing opinions from the left and the right will recognize that both of us have shown a commitment to model civility in America," Warren said.
"The Bible admonishes us to pray for our leaders," he continued. "I am honored by this opportunity to pray God's blessing on the office of the president and its current and future inhabitant, asking the Lord to provide wisdom to America's leaders during this critical time in our nation's history."


Obama said the inaugural ceremonies in January will include people with a "wide range of viewpoints."
Yesterday, Joe Solomonese, president of the "gay" rights group Human Rights Campaign, fired off a letter to Obama calling the president-elects choice of Warren "a genuine blow" to homosexuals.
People For the American Way also quickly issued a statement, calling the pick "a grave disappointment."
Rick Warren and Barack Obama at presidential candidate forum in August
Solomonese said to Obama that "by inviting Rick Warren to your inauguration, you have tarnished the view that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans have a place at your table."
The homosexual-rights leader cited Warren saying during the Proposition 8 campaign: "There is no need to change the universal, historical definition of marriage to appease 2 percent of our population. ... This is not a political issue – it is a moral issue that God has spoken clearly about."
Solomonese complained Warren "cannot name a single theological issue that he and vehemently, anti-gay theologian James Dobson disagree on."
Homosexuals, Solomonese wrote to Obama, have been "moved by your calls to religious leaders to own up to the homophobia and racism that has stood in the way of combating HIV and AIDS in this country."
"But in this case," he said, "we feel a deep level of disrespect when one of architects and promoters of an anti-gay agenda is given the prominence and the pulpit of your historic nomination."
People for the American Way accused Warren of being a true conservative.
"Pastor Warren, while enjoying a reputation as a moderate based on his affable personality and his church's engagement on issues like AIDS in Africa, has said that the real difference between James Dobson and himself is one of tone rather than substance," the statement said.
The group says Warren, author of all-time best-selling hardback, "The Purpose-Driven Life," has "repeated the Religious Right's big lie that supporters of equality for gay Americans are out to silence pastors."
"He has called Christians who advance a social gospel Marxists," People for the American Way said. "He is adamantly opposed to women having a legal right to choose an abortion."

WOMAN SAYS CHURCH THREATENING TO MAKE SINS PUBLIC



Woman Says Church Threatening To Make Sins Public


JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A divorced Jacksonville woman said her former church has threatened to "go public with her sins" and tell the congregation about her sexual relationship with her new boyfriend.
Rebecca Hancock said harassment from Grace Community Church in Mandarin over her sex life caused her to leave, but she said that didn't put an end to the problem. She said she received a letter from the church's elders telling her the church plans to make her personal life very public.
"I'm basically run out. I'm the church harlot," Hancock said.
The 49-year-old said she has been dating a man for a while and she said members of the congregation at Grace Community Church haven't been happy about the relationship.
"Because I have a boyfriend that I'm involved with … to not be married to that person is a sin," Hancock said.
She said the issue caused her to leave the church. However, she said the church has not let go of her.
The letter Hancock received from the church states that because she has refused to end her sexual relationship with her boyfriend, "you leave us with no other choice but to carry out the commands of the Lord Jesus Christ" … "In accordance with Matthew 18:17 we intend to 'tell it to the church.'"
"On January 4, my sins will be told to the church, publicly, with my children sitting in the church and my friends," Hancock said.
The pastor of Grace Community Church, Dr. T. Scott Christmas, told Channel 4 he had no comment.
Pastors with whom Channel 4 spoke on Monday said announcing a sin to a congregation is not abnormal. They said it's written in the Bible to punish sinners who continue to sin.
The difference in Hancock's case is that she has left the church, and the pastors said that's is usually where punishment ends.
Despite the church's letter stating its biblical backing, Hancock said she has backed out of the church and they should leave her alone because she is no longer a member.
"I am a Christian, and that will never change. My relationship with Jesus has to do with me and Jesus, and he knows my heart," Hancock said.
The book of Matthew does have three steps that the church talked about in taking action against a member who is in sin.
Hancock said she is now attending a different church, and said she is planning to send a letter to Grace Community Church to make sure it's understood that she no longer a member.

U.S TURNS ' BLIND EYE ' TO PERSECUTIONS IN IRAQ


U.S. Turns 'Blind Eye' to Persecution of Christians in Iraq


Congressman SaysWednesday, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) said at a press conference at the Capitol on Tuesday that the Bush administration has ignored the persecution of religious minorities in Iraq. Washington - The Bush administration has “turned a blind eye” to the plight of Christians and other religious minorities in Iraq, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) said Tuesday at an event sponsored by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Wolf blamed Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and even Christian churches in the United States for not coming to the aid of people in Iraq who are fleeing the country by the thousands to avoid torture and even death because of their allegiance to non-Muslim faiths. “We are spending billions of dollars and have shed the blood of some of this country’s finest, and the U.S. government has not done a darn thing to protect the freedom and safety – forget freedom – the safety of Christians in Iraq,” Wolf said. “Secretary Rice has failed when it comes to this point. “When I talk about it, I get mad,” Wolf said. Tuesday’s press conference marked the release of the commission’s 2008 study on religious freedom around the globe. The commission also announced that it voted 5-4 to elevate Iraq from the watch list of countries where religious persecution is suspected, to a “country of particular concern” because of “ongoing severe abuses of religious freedom and based on the Iraqi government’s toleration of these abuses.” The report names the minority religious groups being persecuted in Iraq, including the ancient Chaldean Catholics and Assyrian Christians, the Sabean Mandaeans and the Yazidis. “The lack of effective government action to protect these communities from abuses has established Iraq among the most dangerous places on earth for religious minorities,” said Felice D. Gaer, chairwoman of the commission. Aside from a panel of seven of the nine commissioners, several other lawmakers weighed in on the commission’s report and recommendations at the press conference. “In the last three months alone it is estimated that about half of the 20,000 Christians in the largely Kurdish city of Mosul have fled that city,” Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said in a prepared statement. “Since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, over one-third of the Christian population of Iraq, a community of some 800,000, have left the country.” In a joint statement by Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) and Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), co-chairmen of the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, the lawmakers said both the U.S. and Iraqi governments should be held accountable for the ongoing religiously motivated violence in Iraq. “The Iraqi government has a moral obligation to protect the rights of all minority communities by implementing concrete solutions to ensure their safety,” the statement said. “The United States must take the lead and provide a ‘humanitarian surge’ in responding to this crisis.”


The commission’s report provides details of violence against Christians in Iraq, including the February 2008 abduction and murder of the Chaldean archbishop of Mosul, Paulos Faraj Rahho, and two of his aides. In April 2008, Assyrian Orthodox priest Youssef Adel was killed in a drive-by shooting in Baghdad. The summary of the report details numerous recommendations the U.S. and Iraqi governments should take. Recommendations for Iraqi action include training and funding police units representative of minority communities to enhance security in neighborhoods and places of worship, and prosecution of individuals or groups that commit human rights violations. It also calls for changes in the Iraqi constitution, including revising Article 2, which guarantees “the Islamic identity of the majority” to ensure the “identity of minorities” in Iraq. The long list of recommendations for the U.S. government – noted by panelists and Wolf to be aimed at the incoming Obama administration – includes increased funding for the cause of reducing violence against religious minorities and the creation of task forces to study the issue and to send a human rights special envoy to Iraq. The report also calls for the upcoming election in Iraq to be “safe and fair,” and recommends that the U.S. government also address the plight of religious refugees who have fled Iraq, including facilitating the resettlement of the “most vulnerable Iraqis” in the United States and to work to curtail delays in that resettlement process.

ABORTION PILL TO BE MADE AVAILABLE IN ITALY : PLEASE DO PRAY



Abortion pill to be made available in Italy
RU486 abortion pill to be made available in Italy next month despite Vatican's objections

The RU486 abortion pill is to be made available in Italy next month despite objections from the Vatican and the ruling centre Right, which described it as "legal back door abortion".
The pill, which blocks the action of hormones needed to keep a fertilized egg implanted in the uterus, was censured by the Vatican in a basic document last week on bio-ethics which also condemned artificial fertilization, human cloning, "designer babies" and embryonic stem-cell research.
Today Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, the Holy See's health minister, said "The Catholic Church understands the personal drama of a young woman who is pregnant against her will, but condemns abortion, in whatever form it is practised, because an innocent being is killed. An embryo is a human being, with all the rights of a human being".
However Corriere della Sera reported that a decision to approve the RU486 pill by the then centre Left government of Romano Prodi in February, cannot be reversed by the present centre Right government of Silvio Berlusconi, which took office in May.
Francesca Martini, deputy minister of Welfare, said "Experience abroad has shown there are wide margins of risks, ineffectiveness and complications related to chemical abortion attempts." However Guido Rasi, head of the Italian medicines agency AIFA, said it expected to give the final go ahead by the end of this week. RU486 would be available only in hospitals, and doctors who disapproved had the option of conscientious objection.
Giorgia Meloni, the Minister for Youth, said "This is not a contraceptive. This is something else. It's a drug with serious risks that interrupts a pregnancy already under way. Every new tool to stop life is not a victory for someone. On the contrary, it is a defeat for society".
However Silvio Viale, a gynaecologist at a Turin hospital, insisted that "Worries about the dangers are baseless: studies have proved it is safe. Patients have to return to the clinic two days after taking the first pill for a second one based on prostaglandin, which aids expulsion of the foetus". Silvana Mura of the centre Left Italy of Values party said the Prodi government had taken its decision "in the interests of women. They will now have an alternative to surgery".

CONGO'S BLOOD DIAMONDS : FACT , FICTION IN WASHINGTON


Congo's Blood Diamonds: Fact, Fiction in Washington


WASHINGTON-Famous television journalist Valerie Grey went to the Democratic Republic of Congo to cover the seemingly endless and bloody war that's being waged between rival Congolese factions. What she found was a multibillion-dollar diamond smuggling scheme that began with slave labor, was orchestrated by both a famous American televangelist and the Congo's controversial dictator and blazed a trail of corruption all the way to the White House.
Throw in a saucy love triangle, and this enticing tale of suspense and romance sounds like a great premise for a fictional thriller. After all, a conspiracy of this magnitude couldn't possibly be true-And that's because it isn't, at least not completely.Westchester County author Dave Donelson, who offered the narrative in his third book, the recently released "Heart of Diamonds," admits that his work is fiction, but it certainly contains carats of truth.Those interested in learning exactly how true or not the story is can ask Mr. Donelson directly at a reading and discussion next week at the Gunn Memorial Library."This war has been going off and on for 15 years, but it's really heated up in the past couple of months. And the parties are fighting over the same thing as always-mineral wealth," said Mr. Donelson about the African conflict. "In [the book], a television reporter goes to cover this war and discovers a diamond smuggling scheme meant to avoid paying ... the Congo government. As bizarre as it may sound, even though the book is fiction, it is based on some actual events."It seems that the book finds itself jumping between literary invention, reality and that opaque area in between the two. Fiction: Though some resemblances are uncanny, all the characters, even the politicians, are made up. So is the love triangle, which finds the main character caught between conflicting feelings for companion David Powell, the colleague who helped shape her career, and Dr. Jaime Talon, who runs a struggling clinic near the diamond mine she has discovered.Truth: The backdrop for the story, the Second Congo War, has seen nearly six million people killed in the past 10 years. It is officially the bloodiest war the world has witnessed since World War II. The diamond mines in the book, ones which have too many Africans employed at the end of a gun, do exist. In modern vernacular, the product they generate is known as "blood diamonds."Curiosity: The book's televangelist, Gary Peterson, befriends the Congo's illusory dictator, Moishe Messime, and the two become business partners in a large-scale mining operation. When a rebel faction threatens the operation, the reverend uses his powerful political connections to send American troops into the country under the guise of a humanitarian effort. In the mid-1990s, famed televangelist Pat Robertson received a 50,000-acre diamond mine from the now-deceased Congo dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. In return, Mr. Robertson pushed, though unsuccessfully, for American military support and political asylum for Mobutu. Though questions about his dealings, and so-called humanitarian efforts, in Africa have been raised, there is no evidence Mr. Robertson was ever involved in a blood diamond smuggling scheme. Mr. Donelson, a writer and entrepreneur, has been working on "Heart of Diamonds" for about five years. The inspiration came to him after first reading of atrocities in the Congo in a 1995 Time magazine article. Since then, he has twice visited the Congo's surrounding region, though for safety reasons, never ventured into the actual country."We went to Zambia, which is to the south of the Congo, and by that time the war was at its peak, so I was not permitted to visit the Congo. Nor would my wife let me," commented Mr. Donelson. "As the manuscript wrapped up, we went to Uganda, right over the eastern border of the Congo. There were thousands of refugees there, and that's where the fighting is going on." The eastern section of the Congo is arguably the most lawless region of the planet. Ever since the country's liberation from Belgium some 50 years ago, it has been mired in political corruption and social upheaval. Dozens of rival tribes harbor ethnically-charged resentment toward each other that dates so far back it is fit for a Shakespearian tragedy. If battles are waged over anything tangible, such as minerals, all the money earned typically winds up in a Swiss bank account, as opposed to the revenue side of a federal budget. This unchecked greed leaves basically no funds for medicine, education or infrastructure. In land area, the Congo is about the size of Western Europe, yet it only has about 2,500 miles of roads. Malnutrition and disease are rampant. Children carry semi-automatic weapons like T-ball bats. And it's almost unheard of for a woman to make it through life without experiencing some degree of sexual assault. All of this, according to observers, raises an interesting policy question: Given the level of these atrocities, why hasn't the United States, or any other country, intervened? Though Saddam Hussein was an indisputably vicious man who gassed scores of Kurdish Iraqis, he kept Iraq relatively stable and, at least by Middle Eastern standards, Westernized. Millions of Congolese, meanwhile, live daily in unspeakably horrific conditions yet have seen almost no American presence. "We don't have a dog in this fight," said Mr. Donelson of the current political climate. In other words, despite all that there is to gain from implementing stability and building good relations with a country so rich in natural resources, the U.S. lacks a vested interest in the Congo. "The U.S. doesn't have a good record of world policing. The battle cry, 'We will never let Rwanda happen again' has proved largely untrue," said Mr. Donelson, referring to the massive Rwandan ethnic genocide of 1994. "But the U.N. hasn't done anything either. U.N. mandates protect the civilians, but it won't stop the fighting."But not all hope is lost. Mr. Donelson sees better days ahead for the Congo, just not anytime soon. Away from the eastern portion, the rest of the country is in the midst of slowly rebuilding. And a central government is on its way. Two years ago, a new president, Joseph Kabila, was voted in, and next year the country will vote for a new parliament and a more efficient system of checks-and-balances. "As dark as it is, steps are being taken. It's going to be a long struggle," said Mr. Donelson, who said he would take "Heart of Diamonds" off shelves if it meant peace in the African nation. "But I'm optimistic the Congo can be a leader of the continent."The library program, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 9, is free and open to the public. A book-signing will follow the discussion.

UNCLE SAM WILL PAY $450 MILLION THIS YEAR JUST TO COVER INYEREST ON NATIONAL DEBT


Uncle Sam Will Pay $450 Billion This Year Just to Cover Interest on National Debt


- A November Treasury Department report states that the interest payment on the federal debt for Fiscal Year 2009 will be about $450 billion, making it the fourth largest expense in the federal budget behind Medicare-Medicaid, Social Security and defense spending. The federal fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30. The Treasury Department report presents the budget estimates for the full fiscal year 2009, which the interest payment and federal department budget projections are based upon. If President-elect Barack Obama and the Democratic congressional leadership enact a proposed $1 trillion stimulus plan in early 2009, it could add about $50 billion to those annual interest payments, budget experts told CNSNews.com on Monday. According to the Treasury Department report, released on Dec. 10, the federal government expects to pay $449,070,000.00 in interest on Treasury debt securities for FY 2009. The Health and Human Services budget, which includes Medicare and Medicaid, will cost $739,241,000.00 for the fiscal year; Social Security Administration, $699,976,000.00; and the Defense Department-Military budget, $656,722,000.00. (Estimates by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget are nearly identical.) Chris Edwards, director of tax policy studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, told CNSNews.com on Monday that the money paid by the Treasury for interest is different than other expenditures, because it does not directly benefit taxpayers. “It represents money that can’t be used for tax reduction or spending programs,” said Edwards. If the Obama administration is able to enact a $1 trillion stimulus package, taxpayers can expect to see $50 billion added to the annual payment, because the federal government usually borrows at an interest rate of about 5 percent, said Edwards and Brian Riedel, the latter who is a senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation. The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that Obama's team is considering a stimulus package for the faltering U.S. economy that could reach $1 trillion over two years. “The fact that we are borrowing a trillion dollars means that someone has to pay that back,” said Edwards. “The economic fact is that while Americans are consuming a trillion more in stuff this year, people in later years will have to pay for it.”

CATHOLIC NEWSPAPER FACES BAN FOR WRITTING " ALLAH "



Catholic newspaper faces ban for writing "Allah"


A Catholic newspaper in Malaysia is facing a ban for using the word "Allah" to describe the Christian god.
Unless the government changes its mind, the Herald Catholic Weekly has only two weeks left to run before its licence expires at the end of the year.
The deputy home minister Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh said: "Until December 31 we are not going to announce anything. There is plenty of time till then. Let them wait."
Malaysia is a semi-authoritarian country with strict media laws which has been ruled by the same government since independence from Britain 51 years ago.
Almost 60 per cent of the population are ethnic Malay Muslims and the remainder are ethnic Chinese or Indians following a variety of religions. These large ethnic and religious minorities claim that the government is attempting to stir Malay Muslim sentiment in attempt to deflect its unpopularity and maintain power.
"The Catholic Herald's 'Allah' is seen as a threat to national security," said Father Lawrence Andrew, editor of the Herald.
"We are now a scapegoat, a means for the Malay Muslims to rally together."
His newspaper, established in 1980 with a circulation of 14,000, is published in a variety of languages. In the Malay language the only word for "God" is "Allah" and the enwspaper claims it is impossible to avoid.
In March this year the government slumped to its worst ever election result due, analysts say, to a weakening economy and public anger over corruption. Ethnic minorities are also angry at laws which offer cheap loans, job opportunities and other preferences to ethnic Malays.
The 51-year-old regime is now seen as vulnerable to a challenge by the opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who wants to abolish the racial preferences system.
In recent weeks the Chinese community has been angered by a proposal to close Chinese language schools. A group of Indian community leaders are languishing in prison without charge after leading a protest against the demolition of Hindu temples a year ago.
Earlier this week police detained a group of mostly Indian protesters attempting to deliver a petition on labour rights to the government.
The ruling UMNO party has internal elections early next year and the new prime minister designate, Najib Razak, is seen as a hardliner.

LIVING DISPLAY OF JESUS'S LIFE DRAWS RECORD CROWDS



Living display of Jesus' life draws record crowds

STERLING HEIGHTS
-- Bethesda Christian Church's popular drive-through Christmas display logged more visitors than ever this year, as modern worshippers sought a leisurely -- and warmer -- way to celebrate the season.
More than 7,000 people wound through the church property at Metropolitan Parkway and Schoenherr during the four-day "Living Christmas Story" last week, the biggest attendance in its three-year history, organizers say.
The homage to the life of Jesus is "a gift to the community," Senior Pastor Analee Dunn said. "We don't always have things people can come to and feel comfortable ... especially if you're on a tight budget. Each year we get a little better at it."
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More than 500 volunteers took part in the event that featured outdoor scenes stationed around the property. Drivers watch the story while creeping along in their vehicles and listening to the narration on a complementary compact disc. The event featured 11 scenes, each depicting an aspect of Jesus' life, including the angel visiting Mary, the Last Supper and Jesus walking on water.
Mary Cherry, 91, said the retelling of Jesus' life had a profound impact.
"We went through the gates of Jerusalem, and it felt like we were right there," said Cherry, who attended a preview show with seniors from Maple Village Retirement Center in Bloomfield Hills. "I have never seen anything like it. It was remarkable.
"It was such a contrast to what's going on in the world around us."
With the economy in the doldrums, "people are looking for hope," said the Rev. Timothy Helland, a family pastor at the church. "The story of Jesus is a story full of hope."
Denise Johnson said it was a necessary reminder of what the holiday is all about.
"Unfortunately, we sometimes forget the meaning of Christmas," said Johnson, a Medilodge employee. "It can see how it would become a family tradition. It was fabulous."

Tuesday 16 December 2008

CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES STIR UNEASE IN NORTH AFRICA


RABAT - A new breed of undercover Christian missionary is turning to Muslim north Africa in the search for new converts, alarming Islamic leaders who say they prey on the weak and threaten public order.

Missionary groups say the number of Moroccan Christians has grown to 1,500 from 100 in a decade and that Algerian Christians number several thousand, although no official figures exist.

They say their message is reaching thousands more, thanks partly to satellite TV and the internet.

The Koran states no-one can be forced to follow one religion, but many Muslims believe that to abandon Islam is to shun family, tribe and nation and bring shame upon relatives.

"Many Muslims told me 'If I find you I will kill you'," said Amin, a young man from northern Morocco who did not want to give his full name for fear of reprisals.

Amin said he became aware of Jesus Christ after dreaming that a figure dressed in a white robe approached him in a forest and handed him a Bible.

"When I told my father I had become a Christian he just stared at me without speaking. Then he said: 'From now on, you are not my son. Go to those people, let them feed you and give you a home -- we'll see who cares for you'," said Amin.

He left town, stopped his studies and now lives from translation work offered by a Christian missionary group.

Mission groups in North Africa range from broad alliances such as Partners International and Cooperative Baptist Fellowship to small Baptist and Pentecostal churches based in the Americas and Europe, according to their Web sites.

Their activity is growing as churches turn their focus to places where the Christian message is rarely heard, said Dana Robert, world Christianity professor at Boston University.

"With the internet and the increase in travel, you have a democratization of missions where anyone who feels like it can go anywhere they want," said Robert. "The new breed of missionary doesn't have the same historical training as the older established denominations, nor necessarily the cultural training, so there's a bull-in-a-china-shop effect."

PERSECUTION, EXPLOITATION

Converts recount stories of persecution as evidence of the risks they run. These are impossible to verify, but one said he heard a newly converted Moroccan was thrown from a balcony in a shopping mall by two acquaintances, leaving him paralyzed.

Another said people of a town in eastern Morocco threatened to decapitate a convert unless he renounced his faith.

Islamic leaders say missionaries exploit people with a weak understanding of their religion, target the poor and the sick and try to win over north Africa's Berbers by telling them Islam was imposed on them by Arabs. Continued...

AT THE APOLLO,A THEATRE GETS RELIGION


APOLLO THEATRE - In a neighborhood with no shortage of places to worship, a new religious service may not draw much attention. But when the program is in one of the best-known venues in Harlem — the Apollo Theater— and focuses on realities like the economy, people take notice.


Led by a prominent local minister, the Rev. Dr. Suzan D. Johnson Cook, the nondenominational worship series, called Harlem Hallelujah, began on Sunday, drawing more than 800 people to the Apollo.
Until now, the closest event to a religious service hosted on the heralded stage may have been the funeral for James Brown. “It was inevitable that church would come to the Apollo,” said Nina Flowers, a spokeswoman for the Apollo.
To Dr. Cook, it is the season for change.
“It’s an idea whose time has come, just like our new president,” she said.
Known to many as Dr. Sujay, Dr. Cook was the first woman appointed chaplain of the New York City Police Department, the only religious leader appointed to President Bill Clinton’s Initiative on Race and the first black woman to be elected a senior pastor in the 200-year history of the American Baptist Church.
“She’s on the cutting edge of prophetic ministry,” the Rev. Johnnie G. McCann of St. Luke’s Baptist Church of Harlem told a congregation at the John Street United Methodist Church on Wednesday, where Dr. Cook has led “Wonderful Wall Street Wednesdays” services since 2001.
Her ministry combined an energetic punch and an elegant poise. At a recent Wall Street Wednesday service, chords trickled from the piano, the choir broke into another refrain, and syncopated claps from the crowd broke free of cadence as they swelled into a clamor, roaring through Dr. Cook’s encouragement: “We need to turn our 401(k)’s into 401(j)’s!” she said, with an emphasis on the “j,” for Jesus.
“People need spiritual translation — other than the King James Bible — that applies to their realities,” said Dr. Cook, who was an adviser to President-elect Barack Obama’s campaign. “Twenty-first century ministry has to have the same ‘change’ and relevancy that Obama’s campaign had. Both our finances and our faith need revival.”
To that end, Dr. Cook will host her hourlong services with no dress codes and no liturgical expectations in the Apollo, a celebrated New York landmark that has survived hardships of all kinds, including the 1968 riots and its own bankruptcy.
“Let us thank Dr. Sujay for bringing God into the Apollo Theater,” said Representative Charles B. Rangel, addressing the crowd on Sunday. “Although these are hard economic times, we have hope and prayer to keep us on.”
In the last five years, Harlem has seen a surge of private investment from firms like A.I.G. and Lehman Brothers, but the recent recession has had a serious impact, affecting even the Apollo’s long-running Amateur Night, a program that, while not in jeopardy, is currently sponsored in part by the failed Washington Mutual bank. And the tightening credit market has wounded brownstone makeovers in the neighborhood and small business openings along 125th Street.
The services on Sunday were a way for Harlem to help itself; some of the proceeds went to the Multi-Ethnic Youth Center, which is run by the Bronx Christian Fellowship Baptist Church, where Dr. Cook is the pastor. Future services will be offered free on Sundays at 11 a.m. through the spring at the theater on West 125th Street.

MESSIANIC JEWS DETAINED IN BEN-GURION


A director of the US Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations and his wife were detained Sunday at Ben-Gurion Airport by Interior Ministry officials amid allegations he is involved in illegal Christian missionary activity.
It is illegal in Israel to proselytize among minors. It is also prohibited to engage in missionary activities among adults when economic incentives are offered.
After over eight hours of detention, Jamie Cowen, a former president of the union, and his wife, Stacy, were permitted to enter Israel only after they agreed to sign a document that they would not engage in missionary activities during their stay.
The Cowens are in Israel to visit their two daughters, one of whom is an Israeli citizen. The other is in the process of obtaining citizenship after she and a group of other Messianic Jews won a Supreme Court case against the state.
The Cowens and their daughters all identify as Jews but believe that Jesus is the messiah.
"This type of religious discrimination would be expected of Iran, not Israel," said Jamie Cowen, a US immigration lawyer, a few hours after he was released by immigration police.

"In the US we imprison individuals suspected of terrorism. Here apparently one can be jailed for his religious convictions. This is a case of blatant discrimination against basic rights. It is a story of a bureaucracy run amok. Someone has to crack down and bring in people of integrity."
Cowen said he had visited Israel about 10 times, and had been active in social causes via the Knesset Social Lobby.
"I've brought $100,000 in humanitarian aid to Israel. We've provided lone IDF soldiers with about $50,000 in aid. This is unbelievable," he said.
The Interior Ministry, which directed the police to arrest the Cowens, said they had classified information regarding missionary activity.
"The Immigration and Population Authority has reliable information that the Cowens were involved in missionary activity prohibited by Israeli criminal law during their last visit to Israel," a ministry spokesman said.
"This is the reason they were detained. As soon as they agreed to refrain from any missionary activity they were allowed in."
The Cowens arrived in Israel on a flight from Frankfurt at 3 a.m. They were arrested at passport inspection and placed in detention at the airport.
"As an immigration lawyer I have visited many detention facilities for illegal immigrants. This one was particularly dirty, smelly and overcrowded," Cowen said.
According to Cowen, the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations has 90 member congregations with membership ranging between 50 and 400 per congregation.
Calev Myers, founder and chief counsel of The Jerusalem Institute, which provides legal advice and representation to messianic Jews, said the Interior Ministry was filled will clerks who identified with a strictly Orthodox definition of who is a Jew.
"During the years that Shas controlled the ministry they made sure to appoint clerks who were willing to carry out their policies," Myers said.
"As a result, Israel is the only Western country where basic freedom of religion is denied. Today those who being discriminated against are messianic Jews. Tomorrow it will be Conservative and Reform Jews."
Myers said anti-missionary organizations such as Yad Le'achim often tipped off Interior Ministry officials regarding messianic Jews attempting to enter the country.
However, Meir Cohen, a Yad Le'Achim activist, said that while it was true that his organization did provide the ministry with information, they were not involved in the Cowens' case.
Cohen said the ministry had its own intelligence unit that gathered information on missionaries and on messianic Jews who were ineligible for Israeli citizenship due to their religious convictions.
The Supreme Court has ruled that Jews who embraced Christianity are not eligible for Israeli citizenship. However, the court has also ruled that people who are not Jews according to Orthodox standards, but who are eligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return do not forfeit this right if they adopt Christian beliefs.

A MIRACLE IN EGYPT - A MUST READ INCIDENT


EGYPT - A Muslim man in Egypt killed his wife because she was reading the Bible andthen buried her with their infant baby and an 8-year old daughter.The girls were buried alive! He then reported to the police that an unclekilled the kids. 15 days later, another family member died. When they went tobury him,they found the 2 little girls under the sand - ALIVE!The country is outraged over the incident, and the man will be executed.The older girl was asked how she had survived and she says:- 'A man wearingshiny white clothes, with bleeding wounds in his hands, came every day to feed us. He woke up my mom so she could nurse my sister,' she said. She wasinterviewed on Egyptian national TV, by availed Muslim woman news anchor. Shesaid on public TV, 'This was none other than Jesus, because nobody else does things like this!'Muslims believe Isa (Jesus) would do this, but the wounds mean He really wascrucified, and it's clear also that He is alive! But, it's also clear that thechild could not make up a story like this, and there is no way these children could have survived without a true miracle. Muslim leaders are going to have ahard time to figure out what to do with this, and thepopularity of the Passion movie doesn't help! With Egypt at the centre of themedia and education in the Middle East , you can be sure this story willspread.Christ is still turning the world upside down! Please let this story be shared.
The Lord says, 'I will bless the person who puts his trust in me.(Jeremiah 17)

Sunday 14 December 2008

DELHI ICPF YOUTH CAMP FROM 26TH DEC TO 31ST DEC


DELHI - Dear friends ,


The Delhi chapter has decided to conduct its 15th DELHI REGIONAL CAMP FROM 26TH TO 31ST DECEMBER 2008 , AT MOUNT CARMEL JR SCHOOL. As you may be aware that the ICPF camps have been always insyrumentl in bringing several yougsters to christ and lead them to deeper commitments. Though the camps require the service of many committed young leaders and also involves lot of finance, the joy of seeing young people being saved and led to deeper commitments prompt us to conduct such camps.

we are expecting a gathering of 120 students.


REV ARUN MICHAEL ( ALLAHABAD ) , BRO. GEO VARUGHESE ( AHMEDABAD ) , BR. REJI JOHN ( USA ) ARE THE MAIN SPEAKERS.


We have never stopped any student from attending the camp because of his inability to pay the registration fee. We also have made full concessional fees for students coming outside from delhi.

We encourage you to be a part of this camp, you can choose one of the following or more than one thing as the lord leads you.


1. PRAY FOR THE CAMP.

2. SPONSOR A MEAL WHICH IS EXPECTED TO BE RS 7000.

3. SPONSOR A BREAKFAST WHICH IS EXPECTED TO BE RS 3500.

4. SPONSOR A FEW STUDENTS @ RS 600 PER STUDENT .

5. SPONSOR THE VENUE EXPENDITURE WHICH WILL COME AROUND 20000.

6. PROVIDING GROUP LEADERS , WHO WILL BE ABLE TO STAY THROUGHOUT THE CAMP.

7. ENCOURAGE AND SEND AS AMAY STUDENTS AS POSSIBLE


CONTACT QUICKLY ON THESE NUMBER'S TO BOOK YOUR SEATS

09818396056 , 09811369980, 09891112849, 09810016903, 09811357019

PERFUMES VIAL'S FROM CHRIST ERA UNEARTHED IN ISRAEL


ROME – A team of Franciscan archaeologists digging in the biblical town of Magdala in what is now Israel say they have unearthed vials of perfume similar to those that may have been used by the woman said to have washed Jesus' feet.
The perfumed ointments were found intact at the bottom of a mud-filled swimming pool, alongside hair and make-up objects, the director of the dig conducted by the group Studium Biblicum Franciscanum told the Terrasanta.net religious website.
"If chemical analyses confirm it, these could be perfumes and creams similar to those that Mary Magdalene or the sinner cited in the Gospel used to anoint Christ's feet," Father Stefano de Luca, the lead archaeologist, told the website.
Mary Magdalene is cited in the New Testament as a steadfast disciple of Christ from whom seven demons were cast out. She is often considered the sinner who anointed Jesus' feet.
"The discovery of the ointments in Magdala at any rate is of great importance. Even if Mary Magdalene was not the woman who washed Christ's feet, we have in our hands 'cosmetic products' from Christ's time," De Luca said.
Magdala was the name of an ancient town near the shores of the Sea of Galilee in what is now northern Israel. A Palestinian Arab village stood near the site until the war at Israel's establishment in 1948, and an Israeli town called Migdal now occupies the area.
"It's very likely that the woman who anointed Christ's feet used these ointments, or products that were similar in composition and quality," De Luca said.
Studium Biblicum Franciscanum supports research in biblical studies but focuses on archaeological excavation of sites linked to the New Testament and early Christianity in the Middle East

CARDINAL AVERY DULLES ,THEOLOGIAN IS DEAD AT 90


Cardinal Avery Dulles, a scion of diplomats and Presbyterians who converted to Roman Catholicism, rose to pre-eminence in Catholic theology and became the only American theologian ever appointed to the College of Cardinals, died today died Friday morning at Fordham University in the Bronx. He was 90. His death, at the Jesuit infirmary at the university, was confirmed by the New York Province of the Society of Jesus in Manhattan.

Cardinal Dulles, a professor of religion at Fordham University for the last 20 years, was a prolific author and lecturer and an elder statesman of Catholic theology in America. He was also the son of John Foster Dulles, the secretary of state under President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and the nephew of Allen Dulles, who guided European espionage during World War II and later directed the Central Intelligence Agency.
A conservative theologian in an era of liturgical reforms and rising secularism, Cardinal Dulles wrote 27 books and 800 articles, mostly on theology; advised the Vatican and America’s bishops, and staunchly defended the pope and his church against demands for change on abortion, artificial birth control, priestly celibacy, the ordination of women and other issues.
His task as a theologian, the Cardinal often said, was to honor diversity and dissent but ultimately to articulate the traditions of the church and to preserve Catholic unity.
When Pope John Paul II designated dozens of new cardinals in early 2001, there were three from the United States. Archbishops Edward M. Egan of New York and Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington were unsurprising choices; it is common for heads of archdioceses to be given red hats. But the selection of Father Dulles was extraordinary. Although his was an influential voice in American Catholicism, he was not even a bishop, let alone an archbishop.
The appointment was widely seen as a reward for his loyalty to the pope, but also an acknowledgment of his work in keeping lines of communication open between the Vatican and Catholic dissenters in America. Cardinal Dulles considered it an honorary appointment. He was 82, two years past the age of voting with other cardinals in electing a new pope.
His investiture with 43 other scarlet-robed cardinals in Rome on Feb. 21, 2001, almost came unstuck. The last to step up to the pope’s golden throne to receive his biretta, the red silk hat of office, Cardinal Dulles approached with his cane, knelt and was accoutered. But as he embraced the pope, his biretta fell to the ground: a humbling at the great moment, he recalled wryly.
He carried the cane because of a recurrence of polio contracted while serving in the Navy in World War II. The polio had left him unable to walk for a time, but the symptoms had disappeared. They reappeared about a decade ago, affecting his leg muscles, and became progressively worse. About a year ago, his arms and throat were affected, leaving him unable to speak. Thus, his farewell address at Fordham last April was delivered by the university’s former president, the Rev. Joseph O’Hare.
Cardinal Dulles was typically self-deprecating, and soft-spoken, a bit awkward: a lanky, 6-foot 2-inch beanpole with a high forehead, a shock of dark hair going gray and a gaunt face with sharp features. Abraham Lincoln without the beard came to mind.
His spiritual passage to Catholicism was like a fable. A young scholar with a searching mind, he stirred from his establishment Presbyterian family to face questions of faith and dogma. By the time he entered Harvard in 1936, he was an agnostic.
In his second book, “A Testimonial to Grace,” a 1946 account of his conversion, Cardinal Dulles said his doubts about God on entering Harvard were not diminished by his studies of medieval art, philosophy and theology. But on a gray February day in 1939, strolling along the Charles River in Cambridge, he saw a tree in bud and experienced a profound moment.
“The thought came to me suddenly, with all the strength and novelty of a revelation, that these little buds in their innocence and meekness followed a rule, a law of which I as yet knew nothing,” he wrote. “That night, for the first time in years, I prayed.”
His conversion in 1940, the year he graduated from Harvard, shocked his family and friends, he said, but he called it the best and most important decision of his life.
He joined the Jesuits and went on to a career as a major Catholic thinker that spanned five decades.
His tenure coincided with broad shifts in theological ideas as well as sweeping changes brought on by the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s. These provided new understandings of how the church, after centuries of isolation from modern thought and even hostility to it, should relate to other faiths and to religious liberty in an age when the church was gaining millions of new followers in diverse cultures.
Cardinal Dulles devoted much of his scholarship to interpretations of the Vatican Council’s changes, which he said had been mistaken by some theologians as a license to push in democratic directions. The church, he counseled, should guard its sacred teachings against secularism and modernization.
“Christianity,” he said in a 1994 speech, “would dissolve itself if it allowed its revealed content, handed down in tradition, to be replaced by contemporary theories.”
Theological and academic colleagues, including many who disagreed with him, said Cardinal Dulles had set high standards of intellectual integrity, fairness in judgments and lucidity in lectures, essays and books. They said his was often a voice of mediation between the church and American Catholics who challenged church teachings.

In “The Reshaping of Catholicism” (Harper & Row, 1988), he wrote that the Vatican Council had acknowledged the possibility that the church could fall into serious error and might require reform, that the laity had a right to an active role and that the church needed to respect regional and local differences. But he also emphasized that “a measure of conservatism is inseparable from authentic Christianity.”
Avery Robert Dulles was born in Auburn, N.Y., on Aug. 24, 1918, the son of John Foster and Janet Pomeroy Avery Dulles. His family was steeped in public service. Besides his father, who was secretary of state from 1953 to 1959, and uncle, who directed the C.I.A. from 1953 to 1961, his great-grandfather, John Watson Foster, was secretary of state under President Benjamin Harrison, and a great-uncle, Robert Lansing, held the post under President Woodrow Wilson. Avery’s grandfather, Allen Macy Dulles, was a Presbyterian theologian and co-founder of the American Theological Society.
Avery Dulles attended primary schools in New York City and private secondary schools in Switzerland and New England, but had no strict Presbyterian upbringing.
He attended Harvard Law School for a year and a half before joining the Naval Reserve as a World War II intelligence officer. In 1946, he joined the Society of Jesus, began training for the priesthood and was ordained in 1956 by Cardinal Francis Spellman of New York.
He took a doctorate in theology at the Gregorian University in Rome in 1960, taught at Woodstock College in Maryland from 1960 to 1974 and at the Catholic University of America in Washington from 1974 to 1988, then joined the faculty at Fordham as the Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society.
Cardinal Dulles served as president of the Catholic Theological Society of America in 1975-76 and of the American Theological Society in 1978-79. His books include “Models of the Church,” (Doubleday, 1974), a theological best-seller that appeared in many languages; “A Church to Believe In: Discipleship and the Dynamics of Freedom,” (Crossroad, 1982) on American Catholic theological concerns, and “The Splendor of Faith: The Theological vision of Pope John Paul II,” (Crossroads, 1999).
The cardinal is survived by eight nieces and nephews. His brother, John Watson Foster Dulles, an author and professor, died in San Antonio on June 23, and a sister, Lillias Pomeroy Dulles Hinshaw, died in 1987. Cardinal Dulles remained an active voice in the church into the new century, responding when the church confronted sexual abuse scandals involving hundreds of priests in the United States. After the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops adopted a national policy barring from ministerial duties any priest who had ever sexually abused a minor, Cardinal Dulles said the policy ignored priests’ rights of due process.
“In their effort to protect children, to restore public confidence in the church as an institution and to protect the church from liability suits, the bishops opted for an extreme response,” he said. He noted that the policy imposed a “one-size-fits-all” punishment, even if an offense was decades old and had not been repeated. “Such action seems to reflect an attitude of vindictiveness to which the church should not yield.”

AMISH HOMEOWNERS : RELIGION TRUMPS HOME CODES

TOWN OF FRANKLIN—Daniel Borntreger's home looks like hundreds of other Wisconsin farmhouses: two-story A-frame, porch, clothes on the line.
But his home could cost him thousands of dollars in fines. Borntreger, an Amish farmer, built the house himself according to Amish tradition—but without a building permit.
His case is among at least 18 legal actions brought against Amish residents in Wisconsin and New York in the past year and a half for building without proper permits, according to court records, attorneys and advocates for the Amish.
The cases have sparked local debates about where religion ends and government begins. Amish advocates—the Amish religion precludes them from defending themselves physically or legally—argue the Amish belief that they must live apart from the world trumps local regulations.
"The permit itself might not be so bad, but to change your lifestyle to have to get one, that's against our convictions," Borntreger said as he sat in his kitchen with his wife, Ruth.
But local authorities say the Amish must obey the law.
"They just go ahead and don't listen to any of the laws that are affecting anybody else. It's quite a problem when you got people next door required to get permits and the Amish don't have to get them," said Gary Olson, a county supervisor in central Wisconsin's Jackson County, where Borntreger lives.
The Amish emigrated from central Europe to Pennsylvania in the early 1700s. Also known as the "Plain People," the Amish believe they must live a simple, nonviolent life. Many reject electricity, indoor plumbing and cars.
In Pennsylvania, home to a large Amish population, more liberal-leaning congregations have lobbied successfully for exemptions in the state building code, including permission to forego electricity and quality-graded lumber, said Frank Howe, chairman of the board of supervisors in Leacok township in Lancaster County.
Officials try to keep the Amish informed about what they can and can't do, and most conform, Howe said. He didn't believe his board had ever taken an Amish resident to court over building violations.
"You try to work with both sides," Howe said. "(We tell them) this is what we need you to do so everyone can go home and relax."
The Amish population has nearly doubled in the U.S. over the last 15 years, growing to 227,000 this year, according to estimates from Elizabethtown College's Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies. As the Amish look for new farmland, conservative congregations have migrated into states that haven't seen them before, said Karen Johnson-Weiner, an Amish expert at the State University of New York at Potsdam.
That sets up conflict between building officials with little experience dealing with their beliefs and conservative Amish who aren't familiar with the codes or don't want to compromise, Johnson-Weiner said.
Municipal attorneys in Hammond, a town of about 300 people in upstate New York, cited Joseph Swartzentruber and Henry Mast in August for building houses without a permit. That case is pending. Hammond attorney Fred Paddock declined to comment.
In Morristown, a town of about 450 people just north of Hammond, town attorney Andrew Silver has brought 13 actions against the Amish for not abiding by building codes. They're pending, too.
Silver declined comment except to say the town is treating the Amish as it would any homeowner who violates building codes.
In Wisconsin, authorities in Black River Falls, a city of 3,600 people about 130 miles northwest of Madison, have filed at least four cases against area Amish involving permit violations.
One action ended in April when a judge fined Samuel S. Stoltzfus $9,450 for building a house and driveway without permits. In July the same judge levied a $10,600 fine against Daniel Borntreger. Another pending action accuses Samuel F. Stolzfus of building two houses without permits.
Stoltzfus believed signing a permit would amount to lying because he wouldn't follow parts of the code that violate his religion, said Robert Greene, an attorney with the National Committee for Amish Religious Freedom, which has intervened in his case.
Custom-built homes are allowed in Wisconsin as long as the plans meet code standards, but apparently the Amish don't understand that, said Paul Millis, the attorney suing the Amish in Jackson County. The Town of Albion, where Samuel F. Stolzfus lives, waived a requirement that permits be signed so the Amish could avoid violating their religious beliefs, but they still won't comply, he said.
Attorneys acting on behalf of the Amish argue they have a constitutional right to religious freedom. They don't have to conform to building regulations that require them to use architectural drawings, smoke detectors, quality-graded lumber and inspections, Steve Ballan, an assistant public defender assigned to the Amish in Morristown wrote in court documents.
"They should be allowed to practice their religion and their religious traditions without interference from the government," he said in an interview.
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which has taken up the Amish's cause in Hammond, plans to file a federal lawsuit in New York in the next few weeks arguing that.
The Amish advocates have a strong argument, said University of Michigan law professor Douglas Laycock.
The government must show a strong reason why regulations outweigh religious freedoms, he said. Building officials argue permits and codes ensure structural safety, but Amish homes aren't falling down, he said.
"People aren't getting hurt," he said.


Thursday 11 December 2008

APPRAISAL BOARD DENIES COPELAND EXEMPTION ON JET

FORT WORTH - The Tarrant County chief appraiser has issued an ultimatum to prominent televangelists Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, either tell us how much money you're making or start paying taxes on your newest private jet.
Kenneth and Gloria Copeland are widely regarded as two of the most successful televangelists in the world. Their television ministry spans the globe, and their brand new Cessna Citation X jet often gets them there.
But in 2007, News 8 was the first to raise questions as to the possible private use of their new jet, taking it to such places as Steamboat Springs during ski season and a wild game ranch in south Texas.
Despite concerns, Tarrant County chose to award a tax exempt status to that jet. In May of this year, Copeland came into possession of another jet. But this time, a new Tarrant County chief appraiser took a harder stand. The jet will only be tax exempt if the Copelands supply the county with a standard list of ministry salaries.
'We are going to require a list of salaries; and we do require that of every religious organization," said Chief Appraiser Diane Collins.
Monday in Fort Worth, Copeland's attorneys decided to fight the ruling. Once again, they refused to divulge the Copelands' earnings. So, the appeals panel denied a tax exempt status for the new jet.
Copeland's attorneys, David Middlebrook, said they have provided the county with a CPA's certification that none of the ministry resources are being used for personal reasons.
"So, we are not dragging our feet," Middlebrook said. "We are doing our job to make sure that people like you and me can go to a church and exercise our religious freedoms consistent with the Constitution that our founding fathers put in place. Are those planes being used for personal reasons?"
But a religious watchdog group, the Trinity Foundation, said it has obtained government records that show the new jet has also made what appear to be personal trips. Once again, the records say the Copelands' used a jet to travel to Steamboat Springs, Colorado and then back down to South Texas, which is where the Copelands have been photographed on several big game hunts.
The flight information used to be accessible by anyone over the Internet. But after News 8's last investigation, the Copelands were able to block their trip information.
However, none of that is apparently on the chief appraiser's radar. Collins simply said if the Copelands or any church wants tax exempt status, they have to comply with state law and supply salary information.
Copeland's attorneys said they will release nothing and are considering an appeal with the district court.
Copeland's salary is also the subject of a United States Senate Finance Committee investigation. He is one of six televangelists that have been asked by Sen. Charles Grassley to supply salary information.
Four of the six are cooperating with Grassley's investigation. Thus far, Copeland has refused. He said his salary is constitutionally protected from disclosure.

PASTOR BEATEN UP WHILE DECORATING CHURCH IN CALIF

LOMA LINDA, Calif. -- The pastor of a Highland church is in critical condition after he was beaten and robbed by two men while trying to decorate his church with Christmas lights. Now he's fighting for his life in a Loma Linda hospital.
Pastor Dennis Warman is in critical condition. He suffered skull fractures, internal bleeding and is in a medically-induced coma.
Police say the beating was so bad, if they ever find the suspects, they say they will charge them with attempted murder. "He was just sobbing, and [we were] helping him, and he had fallen to the ground," said Mendy Warman, the victim's wife. "And he couldn't move, and there was just blood everywhere."
Mendy and her daughter Megan were there Saturday night at the Church of the Valley in Highland when it happened. Pastor Warman was there to make last-minute preparations for his sermon in the morning.
"I saw the Christmas tree, and half of one of our Christmas trees in the church, the lights had gone out. And so, he turned and said, 'Oh I'll go ahead and get you a light bulb out of the shed,'" said Mendy.
The next thing she heard was a cry for help from her husband.
"I got the guitar and just started running towards them with it," said Mendy. "And as I ran toward them, one guy grabbed the other one and said, 'Let's get out of here, let's go.' And so they took off running. And I kind of chased for about 50 feet until I thought, "What am I doing? And so I turned around, and remember being thankful that I didn't see a weapon. I didn't see a gun. I was just very thankful that I didn't see... It could've been much worse than even that."
Family members and friends of Pastor Warman will take any good news they can get.
"By yesterday afternoon, the bleeding had stopped. And there's no brain damage," said Mendy. "And so we're rejoicing today in a God that loves us and cares about the details."
"We're asking for the public's assistance," said Jodi Miller, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. "This is an awful, heinous crime -- very, very sad that this pastor was approached."
As police search for suspects, there's been an outpouring of support. But people are asking how something like this could happen.
"That's a question even my daughter asked," said Mendy. "'Daddy was serving God. How can someone attack him?' Because he loves people so much. And so my heart's desire is that God will get a hold of people's lives and it will stop being about violence, and all the things that are going on that are prevalent. Because there's a man up there in a bed that loves the community and wants to see a difference. And loves his God and has a calling in his life."
Police say the motive was robbery. The suspects got away with the pastor's wallet. There isn't much of a description. The assailants are believed to be between 19- and 25-years-old. If you have any information, call (909) 425-9793.
The pastor's wife says no fund has been set up, but people can make donations to the church.

WORLD'S HUNGRY " CLOSE TO ONE BILLION "

The food crisis has pushed the number of hungry people in the world to almost 1bn, in what the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation described on Tuesday as a “serious setback” to global efforts to reduce mass starvation.
“The ongoing financial and economic crisis could tip even more people into hunger and poverty,” the FAO added.
The Rome-based organisation said that a preliminary estimate showed the number of undernourished people rose this year by 40m to about 963m people, after rising 75m in 2007. Before the food crisis, there were about 848m chronically hungry people in 2003-05.
“High food prices are driving millions of people into food insecurity, worsening conditions for many who were already food-insecure, and threatening long-term global food security,” the FAO said in its report The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2008.
Prices of agricultural commodities such as wheat, corn and rice jumped to record levels earlier this year, triggering food riots in countries ranging from Haiti to Egypt to Bangladesh and prompting appeals for food aid for more than 30 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
Although food commodity prices have fallen about 50 per cent from this summer’s all-time highs, they remain well above pre-crisis levels. The cost of rice, for example, has halved since July, but it still trades at prices that are 95 per cent above 2005 levels.
In addition, the weakening of some emerging countries’ currencies against the US dollar has partially erased gains from the drop in commodity prices.
The new FAO estimates also show the food crisis has thrown into reverse a decline over a quarter-century in the proportion of undernourished people as a percentage of the world’s population. The percentage has risen now to about 17 per cent, up from a record low of 16 per cent in 2003-05 period, but still below the 20 per cent of 1990-92.
“Soaring food prices have reversed some of the gain and successes in hunger reduction, making the mission of achieving the internationally agreed goal on hunger reduction more difficult,” the FAO said.
Almost a decade ago, world leaders agreed in New York to the UN Millennium Development Goals, calling among other targets for a halving between 1990 and 2015 in the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.
Jacques Diouf, FAO director-general, said in a foreword for the report that the task of achieving the UN’s hunger reduction targets in the remaining several years to 2015 will “require an enormous and resolute global effort and concrete actions”.
However, with leaders’ attention firmly focused on the global financial crisis and its economic ramifications, many observers now believe that the hunger and poverty reduction targets are no longer achievable by 2015.
The vast majority of the world’s undernourished people – more than 90m – live in developing countries, according to FAO estimates. Of these, 65 per cent live in only seven countries: India, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Ethiopia.
In sub-Saharan Africa, one in three people – or almost 240m – are chronically hungry, the highest proportion of undernourished people in the total population.

PREACHER CHARGED IN THEFT OF $70000

SMYRNA - A Decatur pastor arrested on forgery charges in Smyrna on Friday pleaded guilty in DeKalb County last month to unrelated theft charges under the first offender statute.
Maurice Joseph Easley, 37, was given five years probation, ordered to pay $4,000 in restitution and complete 150 hours of community service for theft by taking when he was a property manager employed by NuRock Cos., according to court documents. The case was settled on Nov. 6.
Now the pastor of Sanctuary Church of the Living God in Scottdale, Easley is accused of funneling nearly $70,000 from a Smyrna apartment complex where he worked to his church’s checking account.
Police say he took money from residents’ rent payments, security deposits and other fees from September 2007 to March 2008 while he was employed as a property manager at Mission Galleria Apartments.
The missing money was discovered when the apartment complex conducted an audit early this year, Smyrna police spokesman Lt. Tony Leonard said. In addition to eight counts of forgery, Easley faces two theft by taking counts, which are also felonies.
The earlier incident in DeKalb County was similar as Easley stole money during his employment from June to August 2007. Many of the residents at the DeKalb apartment complex were senior citizens.
“I find it horrendous and incongruous that a man that calls himself a Christian would steal from elderly and poor people to try and build his church,” said Rob Hoskins, a spokesman for NuRock Cos.
Hoskins said many of the residents were about to be evicted for nonpayment before discovering that Easley was stealing the rent payments. Easley left the company before being fired, but Hoskins said the company took legal action once they tracked him down.
Easley posted a $75,000 bond on Friday. He did not return a reporter’s phone call on Tuesday.

Tuesday 9 December 2008

CONVERTS FROM ISLAM TO CHRIST: BEATEN , CUT AND FACE CHARGES . PLEASE DO PRAY FOR THIS FAMILY

MALUMGHAT, Bangladesh, December 8 – The harassment that Bangladeshi converts from Islam face from Muslim neighbors in this southeastern area near Cox’s Bazar can take serious turns – as it did last month, when an attack by about a dozen Muslims left a Christian family with machete wounds.
Confident that no police would side with Christian converts from Islam, the Muslims in Chakaria town, near Cox’s Bazar 380 kilometers (236 miles) southeast of the capital city of Dhaka, later filed false charges of assault against the wounded and limping Christians, family members said.
The smallest of claims can serve to provoke such attacks. Laila Begum, a 45-year-old Christian convert from Islam, said she was helping to make disbursements for a local non-governmental micro-credit agency called Darpan in Chakaria town on Nov. 1 when 10 to 15 Muslim neighbors blocked her way and demanded 200 taka (US$3).
Begum told Compass she had borrowed 2,000 taka (US$30) last year from a neighbor, a Muslim woman who goes by the single name of Kohinoor, and this year paid her back with interest. Telling the group she would give them no more money as she had already repaid the loan, Begum said, she asked why they were demanding more.
They began beating her, snatching a pair of gold ornaments from her ear.
“Suddenly they got equipped with sticks, iron rods, knives and machetes,” she said. “Several places of my head were lacerated by machetes and iron rods. They also cut two of my fingers when I tried to fend off their attacks. They beat me in several places of my body by iron rods and sticks.”

GFA MISSIONARY TELLS HIS HARROWING PERSECUTION STORY


India ( madhyapradhesh) ― Last week we told you about the mirculous escape of a Gospel for Asia missionary in Madhya Pradesh. For the first time since he was kidnapped and beaten on November 24, GFA missionary N. Chauhan is telling his story -- in his own words -- about the harrowing ordeal and his miraculous escape.
Chauhan was on outreach ministry in Madhya Pradesh, India, when he was kidnapped by a mob of about 40 anti-Christian extremists. "On November 24 at 11 a.m., while I was going for outreach ministry in a village 20 kilometers (12 miles) from my home, a group of young people belonging to an extremist group stopped me. They asked me several questions, such as what was I doing and where was I going. Then they opened my bag and found Gospel literature and teaching CDs. "The extremists started to beat me. They took my bicycle, mobile phone and two thousand rupees (US$40). They forcefully took me on their bike to a remote village, where around 200 people had gathered, and they made me sit in the middle of the crowd. They asked me several questions and told me to read Hindu literature, leave the Christian faith and worship one of their gods. I said "No," so they started to beat me again. "Then the crowd called for their leader. They took me to a small hut and locked me inside. They kept me locked up from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m."During that time, I was praying to the living God. I remembered the verse where Jesus said, ‘In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.' Through this Bible verse, I got courage to face any problem. "When they took me out of the room at 8:00 p.m., I was very hungry and cold. They took me to a road to meet the extremist leader. But I was thinking and looking for some way to escape. So I told them I needed to use the bathroom, and they let me walk into the forest. I walked a little ways and then started to run. Some started to chase me and loudly told the others that I was running away, and so many people ran after me. "I don't know from where I got such power to run. The mob even took their jeep and bike to catch me, but as I was running through paddy fields, they couldn't catch me. I even fell in a small well, but God helped me to get out. And again I started to run through the forest.
"Up until midnight, I was sitting in the forest. My whole body was in severe pain, but God gave me strength to walk 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) through the forest without fear. I found a village where I know a Christian family. "Around 3 a.m., I reached their house and told them what had happened to me. They gave me a place to sleep and kept me there for two days, until I went to another village and got some medicine. On November 27, I safely reached a GFA district office. Now I am in the office resting, but I still have pain in my chest and legs. "I thank God that He has saved my life. I also want to give thanks to all those who sincerely prayed for me. Kindly keep remembering me in your prayers."
Continue to pray for the thousands of GFA workers that are sharing the Gospel no matter what the cost.