Tuesday 31 March 2009

FOLLOWING ATHEIST TREND , MORE THAN 100,000 BRITONS SEEK ' DE - BAPTISM '; PRAY AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE




More than 100,000 Britons have recently downloaded "certificates of de-baptism" from the Internet to renounce their Christian faith.
The initiative launched by a group called the National Secular Society (NSS) follows atheist campaigns here and elsewhere, including a London bus poster which triggered protests by proclaiming "There's probably no God."
"We now produce a certificate on parchment and we have sold 1,500 units at three pounds (4.35 dollars, 3.20 euros) a pop," said NSS president Terry Sanderson, 58.
John Hunt, a 58-year-old from London and one of the first to try to be "de-baptised," held that he was too young to make any decision when he was christened at five months old.
The male nurse said he approached the Church of England to ask it to remove his name. "They said they had sought legal advice and that I should place an announcement in the London Gazette," said Hunt, referring to one of the official journals of record of the British government.
So that's what he did -- his notice of renouncement was published in the Gazette in May 2008 and other Britons have followed suit.
Michael Evans, 66, branded baptising children as "a form of child abuse" -- and said that when he complained to the church where he was christened he was told to contact the European Court of Human Rights.
The Church of England said its official position was not to amend its records. "Renouncing baptism is a matter between the individual and God," a Church spokesman told AFP.
"We are not a 'membership' church, and do not keep a running total of the number of baptised people in the Church of England, and such totals do not feature in the statistics that we regularly publish," he added.
De-baptism organisers say the initiative is a response to what they see as increasing stridency from churches -- the latest last week when Pope Benedict XVI stirred global controversy on a trip to AIDS-ravaged Africa by saying condom use could further spread of the disease.
"The Catholic Church is so politically active at the moment that I think that is where the hostility is coming from," said Sanderson. "In Catholic countries there is a very strong feeling of wanting to punish the church by leaving it."
In Britain, where government figures say nearly 72 percent of the population list themselves as Christian, Sanderson feels this "hostility" is fueling the de-baptism movement.
Theologian Paul Murray at Durham University disagrees. "That is not my experience," he said, but concedes that change is in the air.
"We are in an interesting climate where Catholicism and other belief systems have moved into the public, pluralist arena, alongside secularists," he said.
De-baptism movements have already sprung up in other countries.
In Spain, the high court ruled in favor of a man from Valencia, Manuel Blat, saying that under data protection laws he could have the record of his baptism erased, according to a report in the International Herald Tribune.
Similarly, the Italian Union of Rationalists and Agnostics (UAAR) won a legal battle over the right to file for de-baptism in 2002, according to media reports. The group's website carries a "de-baptism" form to facilitate matters.
According to UAAR secretary Raffaele Carcano, more than 60,000 of these forms have been downloaded in the past four years and continue to be downloaded at a rate of about 2,000 per month. Another 1,000 were downloaded in one day when the group held its first national de-baptism day last October 25.
Elsewhere, an Argentinian secularist movement is running a "Collective Apostasy" campaign, using the slogan "Not in my name" (No en mi nombre).
Sanderson hopes rulings in other European countries will pave the way for legal action in Britain, since European Union directives require a level of parity among member states' legislation.
"That would be a good precedent for us to say to the British Information Commissioner: Come on, what's your excuse?" said Sanderson.
The bus-side posters that hit London in January sported the message: "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."
The scheme was in response to pro-Christian adverts on buses directing passers-by to a website warning those who did not accept Jesus would suffer for eternity in hell.
Comedy writer Ariane Sherine, mastermind of the British bus campaign that saw a copycat version in Barcelona and other cities, said she backs the "de-baptism" movement but insisted the two initiatives were separate.
Sanderson meanwhile remains resolute. "The fact that people are willing to pay for the parchments shows how seriously they are taking them," he said.

A CHURCH RAISED $ 19 MILLION IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS


THE congregation at New Creation Church raised a whopping $19 million for the construction of its new premises at Buona Vista - in less than 24 hours.
In a show of support, a record number of 22,000 people turned up for services at the Rock Auditorium at Suntec City Mall three weeks ago.
The donations were collected over four services on Feb 15.
In comparison, a month-long charity drive by NTUC Income, Project Love, raised about $375,000.
Following the success of its fund-raiser, the New Creation Church announced the amount it raised to its members on Feb 22. However, when contacted, the church declined to comment.
New Creation Church-goer Angelique Lee, 26, a full-time student, said her donation was a form of thanksgiving and appreciation "for all that God has blessed me with".
'Attending church has helped to transform my life and make me a better person over time,' she explained.
Graduate student Huang Wei Hsuan, 26, who is not a member of the church, felt that part of the funds could be used to "help those who are really in need, instead of being fully used to construct a new building".


'Is it really a good idea to build a new building now? Should the church members be advised to keep more for rainy days?' he asked. But many others who are not from the church were heartened by the congregation's generosity.
'I feel it's incredible that such kindness, empathy and generosity can be shown in such bad economic times,' said Mr Shawn Chin, 24, a civil servant.

Sunday 29 March 2009

HAVE A CHECK AT THE LATEST CHRISTIAN RESOURCES IN www.gospel4unreached.blogspot.com


Our History and Our Focus
YouthPastor.Com started out in 1994 as a Crown College class project. The project was to compile a "Youth Ministry Resource Notebook" that we could take with us to our first ministry. My partner and I organized all the information electronically using Lotus® Approach 3.0. It was printed and published into a notebook that both James Moberg and Mike Picconatto turned in for a grade at the end of the semester. The organized collection of information received high honors.
The resource became the standard for all of the notebooks to follow. It was freely loaned it out to ministry students. 14 years have passed since the creation of the first resource notebook. Too much work was required to keep up with who was using it and it became expensive to make photocopies for others and attempting to keep it updated. The entire publication was repurposed in 1997 so it could be made freely available to everyone online. Always available. Always updated. Always FREE.
YouthPastor.Com was founded in 1997 to create the most comprehensive youth ministry network and online 'free' resource for youth pastors. Our focus is dedicated to the youth pastor, designing resources and services that are not typically available from the church denominations and Christian curriculum publishing services. Instead, our services complement the offerings of specialized ministries and curriculum publishers.

Leadership University has a very extensive, impressive interdisciplinary website, offering integration of the various disciples in the university with the Christian worldview – including good apologetic and philosophical material.


Universities & Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF) [http://www.uccf.org.uk/]
International Fellowship for International Students (IFES) [http://www.ifesworld.org/]
DNA [http://www.dna-uk.org/]


Ministries and Organisations:
Christian Medical Fellowship [http://www.cmf.org.uk/]
C.S. Lewis Institute [http://www.cslewisinstitute.org/]
Damaris [http://www.damaris.org/]
European Evangelical Alliance (EEA) [http://www.europeanea.org/]
European Leadership Forum [http://www.euroleadership.org/]
Evangelical Alliance UK [http://www.eauk.org/]
Jews for Jesus [http://www.jewsforjesus.org/]
L’Abri UK [http://www.englishlabri.org/]
London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (LICC) [http://www.licc.org.uk/]
New Wine [http://www.new-wine.org/]
Soul Survivor [www.soulsurvivor.com/uk]
The Philo Trust [http://www.philotrust.com/]
Wycliffe Hall, Oxford [http://www.wycliffe.ox.ac.uk/]
Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics [http://www.theocca.org/]


Apologetics Websites:
Bethinking [http://www.bethinking.org/]
Apologetics Index [http://www.apologeticsindex.org/]
Apologetics.com [http://www.apologetics.com/]
Christian Apologetics & Research Ministries [http://www.carm.org/]
Impact Apologetics [http://www.impactapologetics.com/]

Gospelcom (Christian Portal):
Answers in Genesis [http://www.answersingenesis.org/]
Reasons to Believe [http://www.reasons.org/]
Arab World Ministries UK [www.awm.gospelcom.net/awmuk]

Jewish world ( http://www.aish.com/ )


CHRISTIAN SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES

Social networks using PHPFOX:
yourchristianspace.com
christianspace360.com/
coolteens4christ.com/
jcfaith.com
christunion.com
inchristnet.com


Social networks using Alstrasoft E-friends:
xianz.com
bornagainster.com


Other Christian Social networks:
Cobblestone Community Network
Unifyer
the Common
Circle Builder
Oikos HQ
holypal.com
praize.com
oaktreeidea.org
mypraize.com
battlecry.com
dittytalk.com
christianster.com
Missionaries.in
crossconnector.com
people2pray.com
ministryhome.org
youthroots.com
5loaves.net
ChristiansUK.com
faithbuddies.com
Connectourpeople.com
myflock.com
cmatch.com
spirittag.com
swordwalk.com
churchcircle.org
missionster.net
ldscircle.org (Mormon)
churchster.org
meetfish.com














Saturday 28 March 2009

PhD PROGRAMME EXPLORES CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY


LOUISVILLE— A new doctorate program at a conservative Baptist seminary will explore the life lessons of the Bible at a time when self-help spirituality is being popularized by celebrities like Oprah.
The spirituality doctorate at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary arrives at a time when the cultural interest in spirituality — and disinterest in organized religion — is growing, said Michael Haykin, a church history professor in the seminary's Ph.D. program.
"The way the word (spirituality) is used broadly in our culture, it's very eclectic and it can mean whatever a person wants it to mean," Haykin said. "So we're trying to ground it in a certain context."
Scholars disagree on how to define the term. But it is widely used to refer to devotional practices of religion and the interior individual experiences of believers, according to the book "Christian Spirituality: An Introduction," by Protestant scholar Alister E. McGrath.
Spirituality differs from a purely academic, objective or detached approach to religion, which focuses on identifying key religious beliefs and practices rather than delving into how people experience and practice their faith, McGrath wrote.
Christian spirituality, he wrote, "concerns the quest for a fulfilled and authentic Christian existence, involving the bringing together of the fundamental ideas of Christianity and the whole experience of living on the basis of and within the scope of the Christian faith."
From Beatle George Harrison's embrace of Hare Krishna in the 1960s to Madonna's advocating of Kabbalah three decades later, celebrities have played a major role in introducing lesser-known and non-Christian spiritual practices to the public. Haykin said Americans were not familiar with Kabbalah, a form of Jewish mysticism, before Madonna began talking about it in her music.
"Spirituality is such a buzz word today," said Don Whitney, founder and president of the seminary's Center for Biblical Spirituality.
Whitney said his review of the book "The Secret," touted by Oprah on her talk show, is the most-read article on his Web site. But he said many media-driven forms of spirituality leave out God and Jesus in exchange for a focus on the individual.
Whitney said too many Americans, Christians included, want to accept God "kind of cafeteria-style ... Heaven, yes, no thanks on the hell."
Evangelical and traditional Christians have been fighting the self-help movement since the 1960s, arguing that obsession with individual betterment is at odds with Christian teachings. Evangelical pastor Rick Warren's best-selling book "The Purpose Drive Life" opens with the words, "It's not about you. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God."
Other evangelical authors, like Texas pastor Joel Osteen, have embraced the self-help genre. Osteen's book, "Your Best Life Now" explores self-betterment at home and in the workplace.
Haykin and Whitney noted that many Americans describe themselves as spiritual but aren't followers of any particular organized religion.
"Even within the sphere of Christianity there are many people who will turn to a lot of non-Christian traditions or emphasize forms or practices of spirituality that are not rooted in scripture," Whitney said.
Arthur Holder, a Christian spirituality professor and dean of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif., said modern-day spirituality seekers share a common pursuit with the 19th-century American transcendentalists like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, who said: "I should not talk so much about myself, if there were anybody else whom I knew as well."
"They were drawing on Hindu and Buddhist traditions and putting that together with kind of a broad interpretation of Christianity," Holder said. "This is a long-standing movement."
The California school — a graduate school and consortium of nine theological seminaries and eight centers and affiliates from many faith traditions — offers a Ph.D. in Christian spirituality. Holder said students in the program are also required to take a comprehensive exam on a non-Christian religious tradition.
Holder said some recent topics by doctorate students in the program include studying the spirituality of Christian Korean women in a changing society and Christian understanding of suffering after the Holocaust.
Biblical spirituality is a budding pursuit at other higher learning institutions, as well. Diane Traflet, founder of the 4-year-old Institute for Christian Spirituality at Seton Hall University, a Catholic school, said in the last two years there has been an increasing demand from students for courses on Biblical spirituality.
"So we now offer a course in the spirituality of John, we offer a course in the spirituality of the Old Testament, and those classes are packed," Traflet said. "People are very very interested in them."
In Louisville, the Southern Baptist seminary's biblical spirituality doctorate program has three students so far and the first started his course work in January.
Haykin said courses will deal with spirituality concepts in the Old and New Testaments, how Christians have understood spirituality throughout history and how modern Christians can use the life lessons.
For example, Haykin pointed to Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, where Paul talks about the Last Supper, when Jesus mapped out a course for his disciples before the crucifixion.
That passage is certainly something one might hear during a sermon in an evangelical church. But Whitney said the studies in the seminary's Ph.D. program go deeper than the stories Baptist preachers tell their flocks.
"Unlike an exposition of scripture one would hear from a pulpit, the Ph.D. will have a much more academic emphasis," with research into historical and theological studies, Whitney said.
Adam McClendon, the seminary's first spirituality Ph.D. student, will spend the next five years in class work and on research of the subject, he said.
The former Marine, now a 33-year-old father of four, said the degree could provide a career in writing or lecturing, but McClendon said he sees his future as a pastor or lay leader in a local church.
McClendon described spirituality as a "conduct of life," or what Christians call "holiness."
"Our lifestyle really reflects what we truly believe about God," he said.

Thursday 26 March 2009

PARENTS SUE SCHOOL DISTRICT OVER RELIGIOUS SONG IN JACKSONVILLE

JACKSONVILLE — Parents are suing the St. Johns County School Board saying a teacher made their children learn a religious-themed song for an end-of-the-year program.
The lawsuit, filed last week in federal court, says “In God We Still Trust,” interferes with the parents’ right to raise children according to their own beliefs.
The song was cut before the lawsuit was filed after another parent complained. But the lawsuit says they are still entitled to damages because their children were required to learn the song. They are seeking to bar the district from the “religious instruction” the song represents.
School Board attorney David Marsey says the issue differs from school prayer because public school choirs historically have been permitted to sing religious songs.

ANOTHER HINDU LEADER MURDERED IN ORISSA; PRAY THAT THIS WOULDN'T RESULT IN ANOTHER WAVE OF PERSECUTION


India ― Suspected Maoist rebels murdered another Hindu leader of the fundamentalist organization, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), last week in Orissa, according to reports .
According to reports ,a group of about 15 attacked 30-year-old Prabbhat Panigrahi in Orissa's Kandhamal district and shot him on Thursday, March 19. Panigrahi was recently released after being arrested in connection with anti-Christian riots; he was one of 14 local RSS leaders targeted on a hit-list released by Maoists.
The RSS is an all-male organization designed to foster nationalism in India's Hindus. To the RSS, Hinduism isn't simply a religion; it's a way of life. Maoists targeted local RSS leaders for their alleged anti-Christian activities during the riots.
As they have in the past, Hindus are accusing Christians of being involved with the Maoists. They accuse believers of working with Maoists to kill their enemies; some hold that Maoists aren't killers but the church's "paid goons."
In August 2008, fundamentalist groups blamed Christians for the murder of Hindu swami Laxmanananda Saraswati. A wave of anti-Christian attacks followed, resulting in hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries.We asks you to join them in urgent prayer that this recent murder wouldn't result in another wave of persecution.

100,000 AMERICAN CHRISTIANS SIGNED A PETITION EXPRESSING SOLIDARITY WITH ISRAEL


More than 100,000 American Christians have signed a petition expressing solidarity with Israel.
The petition, organized by Pastor John Hagee's group Christians United for Israel, was presented Tuesday to members of Congress.
It states that "there is no excuse for acts of terrorism against Israel and Israel has the same right as every other nation to defend her citizens from such violent attacks.
The petition goes on to say that its signers pledge to speak out on behalf of their "brothers and sisters in Israel" whenever and wherever necessary "until the attacks stop and they are finally living in peace and security with their neighbors."
In a statement, Hagee said, "As our leaders in Washington make decisions about American foreign policy in the Middle East, it is important for them to know that Christians across the country remain solidly committed to a strong US-Israel relationship."

Wednesday 25 March 2009

ESV STUDY BIBLE NAMED THE ' CHRISTIAN BOOK OF THE YEAR '




The ESV Study Bible has been named the "Christian Book of the Year" by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, marking the first time the honor has been given to a study Bible.
The Bible, which is in the English Standard Version, includes study notes from evangelical Christian scholars and other reference materials. Published by Crossway, it also won in the best Bible category.


The honoring of the study Bible follows two previous first-time wins of other products. In 2008, the Word of Promise New Testament Audio Bible became the first audio product to win; in 2007, Karen Kingsbury became the first woman and the first novelist to win, for her book, Ever After.
The award was announced March 19 at the kick-off for the 2009 Christian Book Expo in Dallas. The Christian Book Awards, which previously were known as the Gold Medallion Book Awards, were established in 1978 to recognize Christian books for excellent content, design and literary quality.

MOB BRUTALLY ATTACKS MISSIONARIES IN HIMACHAL PRADESH,INDIA



The mob of about 30 people barged into the place where Murari and Atul were staying. Humiliating the missionaries, the group tore the men's clothes off and beat them. Murari sustained severe injuries to his back after mob members repeatedly kicked him, and Atul suffered acute head trauma. Other members of the mob set fire to everything the missionaries owned. After assaulting the missionaries, their attackers grabbed Murari and Atul, forcing them to go to the police station. Authorities took the two men into custody.

When GFA leaders in the area heard about the attack, they immediately went to the police station to help the missionaries. After much discussion, authorities released Murari and Atul at 11:30 p.m. Even in this difficult situation, the missionaries were praising Jesus and told the GFA leaders that they felt the experience increased their faith in Him. "It was a great privilege to be persecuted for the Gospel of Christ," both missionaries responded when asked about the attacks. The next morning, the two missionaries had to go back to the police station to clear the case. After investigating the situation, the police found no fault in the mob for the unproved beatings, and the missionaries were not charged with any crime. Murari and Atul also received treatment at a local hospital following the attack. They are now home and, through medical care, are recovering quickly.

Tuesday 24 March 2009

JOHN 3:16 NOT WELCOME AT NCAA TOURNAMENT; SECURITY GUARD SNATCHES AWAY SIGN WITH FAMOUS BIBLE QUOTE



Some might be asking that question after a basketball fan at the NCAA Tournament had his sign featuring the famous New Testament quote snatched away from him by a security guard.The incident took place last week during Round One of the annual contest, as Siena College, a Catholic school, was taking on Ohio State

"Well, there goes the First Amendment," wrote one commenter online.While the action may seem harsh, NCAA guidelines actually ban sports fans from displaying signs, though the rule is not always enforced at some venues.

"They don't allow signs at NCAA events because they block people's view," wrote another online commenter. "I for one am glad they don't. It's not pro 'rasslin,' it's a real sporting event that people pay to see."

John 3:16 is considered to be among the most well-known verses from the Bible.It states: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."The verse has appeared in various forms at nationally televised sporting events over the years.And as WND reported in January, after University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow inscribed it on his eye black for this year's BCS National Championship game, the biblical reference became the most popular search item on Google.com. "I am fortunate to have family members, coaches and teammates around who can help me stay focused on the right things for us to be successful," Tebow said. "For me, every day includes four things: God, family, academics and football, in

Monday 23 March 2009

POPE WARNS AGAINST WITHCRAFT IN ANGOLA


LUANDA — Pope Benedict XVI issued a warning against witchcraft Saturday during his visit to Angola, after calling on African leaders to battle corruption and drawing a tough line against abortion.
The pope celebrated a private Mass for Angola's clergy and laypeople in the modernist Sao Paulo church, which along with much of the surrounding neighbourhood has been freshly painted and upgraded for his visit.
He praised the work of activists within the Church, and called on them to work to convert people to Catholicism, saying evangelising remains as important today as it was when Catholics first arrived in this region of Africa 500 years ago.
"Today it is up to you, brothers and sisters, following in the footsteps of those heroic and holy heralds of God, to offer the risen Christ to your fellow citizens," he said to the invitation-only crowd.
"So many of them are living in fear of spirits, of malign and threatening powers. In their bewilderment they end up even condemning street children and the elderly as alleged sorcerers," he said.
The issue has particular resonance in Angola, where traditional and home-grown faiths are flourishing, even though some sects have been linked to child abuse and human sacrifice.
Benedict criticised the idea that seeking to convert people was an affront to believers of other faiths.
"We do no injustice to anyone if we present Christ to them and thus grant them the opportunity of finding their truest and most authentic selves, the joy of finding life," he added.
Sao Paulo claims the largest congregation in Luanda, with seating for 1,500 people. Next door is the headquarters of Radio Ecclesia, a Catholic radio station that is one of the few independent voices in Angolan media.
Local Church leaders hope the pope's visit will push Angola's government -- run by the formerly Marxist Movement for the Popular Liberation of Angola -- to allow the station to broadcast nationwide, rather than only in the capital.
In a speech at President Jose Eduardo dos Santos's residence late Friday, Benedict urged African leaders to allow greater press freedom, as he made a stern call for the continent to do more to fight poverty and corruption.
Dos Santos has ruled Angola for 30 years, and the country is ranked among the most corrupt in the world by Transparency International.
But in a country still recovering from decades of war, two thirds of the population lives on less than two dollars a day, despite Angola's oil riches.
"The multitude of Angolans who live below the threshold of absolute poverty must not be forgotten. Do not disappoint their expectations," Benedict said Friday.
He called on Africa to show "a determination born from the conversion of hearts to excise corruption once and for all".
"Armed with integrity, magnanimity and compassion, you can transform this continent, freeing your people from the scourges of greed, violence and unrest," he said.
Benedict has also sought to reinforce Catholic teachings on social issues, taking aim at a part of the African Union's charter that guarantees women a right to an abortion in cases of rape, incest, or major health risks to the mother, saying abortion was not a health issue.
Those remarks followed his controversial denunciation of condoms as a tool to prevent AIDS, which has sparked an international uproar among activists and some governments.

PRESBYTERIAN LESBIAN MAKES THIRD ATTEMPT AT ORDINATION



Lisa Larges, a deacon at Noe Valley Ministry Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, has been blocked from ordination for more than 20 years and may get blocked again should the Synod of the Pacific's Permanent Judicial Commission rule that the San Francisco Presbytery was wrong in deciding that Larges could move forward in the ordination process.
On Jan. 15, the San Francisco Presbytery deemed Larges ready for examination by a narrow 167 to 151 vote despite the PC(USA)’s ban on clergy that do not practice “fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness.”
Under a controversial policy adopted by the PC(USA)’s 217th General Assembly in 2006, ordaining bodies were given greater leeway to ordain candidates who declare conscientious objections to specific Presbyterian teachings, as long as the ordaining body does not consider them “essentials” of church belief.
In her written objection, Larges stated that she would not concur with the church’s requirement that she be married to a man or be chaste in order to become a minister.
She called the provision a “mar upon the church and a stumbling block to its mission” and said it did not express essentials of Presbyterian faith, according to the PC(USA)’s news service.
On Friday, Larges, who was blind from birth, appeared during a meeting in Oakland of the Synod of the Pacific's Permanent Judicial Commission to ask church officials to let her application proceed.
A ruling is expected Tuesday.

NANCY EIESLAND WROTE OF A ' DISABLED GOD ' IS DEAD AT 44



The reason, which seems clear enough to many disabled people, was that her identity and character were formed by the mental, physical and societal challenges of her disability. She felt that without her disability, she would “be absolutely unknown to myself and perhaps to God.”
By the time of her death at 44 on March 10, Ms. Eiesland had come to believe that God was in fact disabled, a view she articulated in her influential 1994 book, “The Disabled God: Toward a Liberatory Theology of Disability.” She pointed to the scene described in Luke 24:36-39 in which the risen Jesus invites his disciples to touch his wounds.
“In presenting his impaired body to his startled friends, the resurrected Jesus is revealed as the disabled God,” she wrote. God remains a God the disabled can identify with, she argued — he is not cured and made whole; his injury is part of him, neither a divine punishment nor an opportunity for healing.
Ms. Eiesland (pronounced EES-lund), who was an associate professor at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, died not of her congenital bone condition, nor of the spinal scoliosis that necessitated still more surgery in 2002, but of a possibly genetic lung cancer, said her husband, Terry.
Ms. Eiesland’s insights added a religious angle to a new consciousness among the disabled that emerged in the 1960s in the fight for access to public facilities later guaranteed by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The movement progressed into cultural realms as disabled poets, writers and dramatists embraced disability as both cause and identity.
Pointing out that anyone can become disabled at any time, the disabled called those without disabilities “the temporarily able-bodied.” They ventured into humor, calling nondisabled people bowling pins because they were easy prey for wheelchairs.
Ms. Eiesland’s contribution was to articulate a coherent theology of disability. Deborah Beth Creamer, in her book “Disability and Christian Theology” (2009), called Ms. Eiesland’s work the “most powerful discussion of God to arise from disability studies.”
In an e-mail message, Rebecca S. Chopp, the president of Colgate University, who is known for her feminist theological interpretations, characterized Ms. Eiesland as “a, if not the, leader of disability studies and Christianity and disability studies in religion.”
In four books and scores of articles, Ms. Eiesland’s scholarship also included a much-cited book on the dynamics of churches in an Atlanta suburb. Groups like the World Council of Churches asked her to speak on disability.
For 10 years, she consulted with the United Nations, helping develop its Convention on the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities, which was enacted last year. The convention describes the disabled as “subjects” with rights, rather than “objects” of charity. It explicitly endorses spiritual rights for the disabled.
Nancy Lynn Arnold was born in Cando, N.D., and grew up on a farm nearby. Operations to remedy her birth defect began when she was a toddler. Her parents also took her to faith healers. She wrote that she was a poster child for the March of Dimes, a charity that some advocates for the disabled criticize for its appeals to pity.
After she was fitted with a full-leg brace at age 7, her father told her: “You’re going to need to get a job that keeps you off your feet. You’ll never be a checkout clerk.”
In high school, she won a national contest with an essay on the inaccessibility of rural courthouses in North Dakota. She organized a letter-writing campaign on the issue.
She enrolled at the University of North Dakota, where she campaigned for ramps into the library and accessible parking spots. She dropped out after her beloved older sister was killed in an automobile accident.
Nancy and her stricken family joined the Assemblies of God and moved to Springfield, Mo., where the church has its headquarters. She enrolled in Central Bible College, which trained ministers, and graduated as valedictorian in 1986. She became an Assemblies of God minister, but gradually drifted away from the denomination.
She became a student at Candler, where she studied theology under Ms. Chopp. Ms. Chopp remembered Ms. Eiesland’s complaining that for all Christianity’s professed concern for the poor and oppressed, the disabled were ignored.
“I looked at her and said, ‘That is your work,’ ” Ms. Chopp said.
After a stunned silence, Ms. Eiesland accepted the challenge as fodder for a master’s thesis, which evolved into “The Disabled God.” She earned her master’s degree in 1991 and her Ph.D. in 1995, both from Emory.
Ms. Eiesland is survived by her husband; their daughter, Marie; her parents, Dean and Carol Arnold; two brothers, Neal and Victor Arnold; and two sisters, Katherine Arnold and Jocelyn Gracza.
As she strove to define new religious symbols, Ms. Eiesland’s metaphors were startlingly incisive. She envisioned God puttering about in a “puff” wheelchair, the kind quadriplegics drive with their breath.

PARISHIONER AND PASTOR CITED FOR FIRING AN ARROW IN THE CHURCH FOR A SERMON ILLUSTRATION



About 120 people were attending the evening service at Pentecostals of Sheboygan County, 621 Broadway, when the Rev. John Putnam had Jason Wilke, 26, draw and fire a steel-tipped practice arrow across the front of the church.
Putnam called it a "teaching tool."
Police call it illegal.
Wilke, of Sheboygan Falls, was cited for using a missile indoors, and Putnam was cited for aiding and abetting that ordinance violation. Both will be fined $109.
But Kohler Police Chief Bill Rutten said no criminal charges will be filed.
"Our department did not feel that it rose to the level of endangering safety," Rutten said. "Anytime with bows and arrows or firearms, there's always that chance for a malfunction to happen, but nothing did happen aside from the firing into the target, so we're thinking that an ordinance violation is appropriate in this case."
Rutten said Wilke, at Putnam's direction, stood on the far left side of the occupied front row and fired at a foam target on the right side of the stage, shooting the arrow across the congregation but slightly away from them.
"Even if their had been a malfunction, the likelihood of something bad happening (is slim)," Rutten said.
Putnam, 30, defended the illustration when contacted at his office on Thursday.
"We use props all the time for messages," he said. "It was a completely controlled, choreographed demonstration."
Not all churchgoers agreed.
One man stood up and objected as Wilke drew the compound bow, telling Putnam firing the arrow was unsafe and illegal, according to two parishioners. Putnam told the man to be quiet and sit down, which he did until Wilke drew the bow again.
The man objected a second time, after which Putnam said he asked the man to leave. Putnam said the church will seek a restraining order against the man, who he said was yelling and "causing a disruption."
The man then reported the incident to Sheboygan Falls police, who responded to the church and spoke with the pastor. The incident was turned over to the Kohler Police Department on Monday since Putnam is the former chaplain of the Sheboygan Falls Police Department.
One woman in attendance described the scene differently from Putnam, saying the man's objection was "very gentle and very respectful."
The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said church leaders closed the rear doors of the church after the man left, and Wilke then fired the arrow.
"Our family was a little scared," she said. "They can easily ricochet and kill a person. That's happened."
Putnam said he was challenging churchgoers to be active in sharing their testimonies with others. He was elaborating on a passage that details spiritual "equipment" given to Christians, such as the helmet of salvation, the sword of the spirit and the belt of truth.
"I used the practice arrow just as the fact that an arrow by itself — your testimony by itself — is no good, so you have to have a bow, and the bow is that equipment," Putnam said. "And you have to have a target, and still with all that if you never pull it back and release it then it still does not accomplish its objective."
He said the illustration — which was practiced in the church basement before the service — endangered no one.
"Was it completely safe? Absolutely — it was completely safe," Putnam said. "If I knew it would cause this kind of problem, I certainly would have reconsidered."

Thursday 19 March 2009

FATHER RAPED ' DAUGHTER ' FOR 9 YEARS AT THE BEHEST OF AN OCCULTIST TO BRING PROSPERITY TO THE FAMILY; HEY INDIA, ARE YOU HEARING THIS.....



MUMBAI: In a shocking case, a man allegedly raped his daughter repeatedly over a span of nine years at the behest of an occultist, who said the act would bring prosperity to the family.
The 21-year-old victim, who had been silent about the incident, mustered courage to approach the police after her businessman-father attempted to rape her 15-year-old younger sister. Besides the father, the Mira Road police in neighbouring Thane district arrested the victim's mother for abetting the crime and also the occultist, Hasmukh Rathod. The 60-year-old businessman K Chavan has been sent to police custody till March 21. The court has also sent Chavan's wife and a 'tantrik' to police custody till March 21st. According to police, the husband and wife were under the influence of the occultist, who told them in July 2000 that the family would prosper if the father were to have a sexual relationship with his elder daughter, who was then 12. The victim told the police that she could not muster the courage to approach anyone about the incident. But when her father attempted to rape her younger sister, she approached her maternal uncle after which a police complaint was filed, Additional Superintendent of Police Sashikant Mahavarkar told In November 2008, Rathod told the businessman to start having a sexual relationship with his younger daughter also. Police arrested the three last evening. The occultist (tantrik) was manhandled by local residents when he was being taken to the police station. The family, originally from Gujarat, resides in an apartment on Mira-Bhayander Road. Both the girls are currently staying with their maternal uncle and grandmother.

EVANGELICALS APPLAUD OBAMA FOR SUDAN ENVOY APPOINTMENT



In a statement, President Obama announced that his campaign adviser and close friend, retired Air Force Gen. J. Scott Gration, will serve as the special envoy to Sudan. Gration had lived in Africa as a child when his parents served as missionaries there.
“I believe President Obama is taking the right action by appointing retired Air Force General Scott Gration as Special Envoy to Sudan,” said Rev. Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan's Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. “This is a critical time in Sudan and it is important for the United States to do as much as possible to help the millions of people whose lives hang in the balance because of the ongoing crises there.
"My prayers go out to both the President and General Gration that God would grant them wisdom as they navigate the complexities of Africa's largest nation."
Graham, who recently returned from a trip to Sudan where he met with President Omar al-Bashir, had repeatedly called on President Obama to appoint an envoy to Sudan after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Sudanese president earlier this month. The arrest led to the government retaliating by expelling several large relief groups from the country.
Relief groups have expressed serious concern that millions of Sudanese lives are now at risk without the aid provided by these agencies.
Samaritan’s Purse, which operates several relief projects in Darfur and southern Sudan, was not ordered to leave and is still providing aid in Sudan.
The Rev. Dr. Geoff Tunnicliffe, international director and CEO of the World Evangelical Alliance, also welcomed President Obama’s new appointment at “a most critical time” for Sudan.
“With the expelling of international aid agencies by the Khartoum regime, millions of lives are at great risk,” wrote Tunnicliffe, who often speaks at Darfur rallies, to The Christian Post via email. “The international community must respond quickly and decisively to this crisis. It is imperative that the new U.S. envoy provide crucial diplomatic leadership at this time.”
The World Evangelical Alliance is a member of the Save Darfur Coalition.
Sudan is currently in a precarious situation with its sitting president, along with other high level government officials, being charged with crimes against humanity in Darfur. The ICC has issued several arrest warrants for Sudanese government officials, but Sudan has refused to turn them over to the court.
Instead, just days after the arrest warrant was issued Sudan announced that some of the largest international aid groups, most of them operating in Darfur, must leave the country. The government accused the foreign aid groups of spying and providing the ICC with false information against President al-Bashir and his government.
Then on Tuesday, al-Bashir made what appears to be an unplanned announcement that all foreign aid groups must leave Sudan within a year. Sudanese government officials later in the day tried to downplay al-Bashir’s statement, saying that not necessarily all foreign aid would have to leave and U.N. agencies would not be affected.
The Save Darfur Coalition, an alliance of more than 180 faith-based, advocacy and human rights organizations, expressed hope that Gration’s experience and close relationship with President Obama “will contribute greatly to his effectiveness.”
“Equally important, he must have the mandate and authority to drive U.S. policy on Sudan,” said Jerry Fowler, president of the Save Darfur Coalition, in a statement.
It is estimated that about 1.1 million civilians will be without food aid, 1.5 million without health care, and over a million without potable water after the 13 international aid agencies leave Sudan due to government order.
“General Gration will need to hit the ground running and spearhead an urgent and sustained diplomatic push - involving China and key African and Arab countries - to establish unimpeded humanitarian access, hold President Bashir accountable for meeting Sudan's obligation under international law to protect the lives of Sudanese civilians and move toward lasting peace,” Fowler said. “Presidential engagement and U.S. leadership are more vital than ever."

IRAN ; CHRISTIAN RELEASED AFTER 27 DAYS IN PRISON



On Feb. 25, 27-year old Hossein Karimi was released from prison after placing his home as collateral, according to Farsi Christian Network News (FCNN).
Hossein, a new convert, had been arrested on charges of attending home churches, evangelizing, storing Bibles and converting to the Christian faith, FCNN reported.
Hossein was arrested by Iranian secret police on Jan. 30 and was held for 27 days in an unknown location until his release. He’s now waiting for the courts to give him a scheduled date to appear to present his case.
Prior to this recent incident, Hossein was arrested in November 2008. According to FCNN, he was taken into custody, fingerprinted and photographed. He was then released after four days on bail with a consent that he would no longer participate in any Christian activities.
Praise God for Hossein’s faithfulness to the Lord and his release. The Voice of the Martyrs encourages you to pray for him. Ask God to protect him as the Iranian government will be watching him closely. Pray he will continue to stand for Christ.

' AMERICAN IDOL ' CHRISTIANITY STORY GETS HEATED REACTIONS


We learned two things about "American Idol" fans last week when we ran a story on how this year's show features more Christian-affiliated finalists than ever before: Most of you don't care what religion a singer is as long as they're good, and the rest of you think even pointing out religion on "Idol" is "absolutely outrageous."
Hundreds of comments flooded MTV.com and other sites that re-posted the story, and they ran the gamut from "good job!" to, well, not so good job. (Comments have been edited for grammar, clarity and length.)
"What does their faith have to do with singing?" Selena1 asked on MTV.com. "Christians sing in their churches all the time in America. ... If someone does it every week, sometimes a couple of nights, then imagine the practice they get compared to others who don't. ... So of course you get a lot of singers with Christian backgrounds who are not pros but have no fear to get up and sing in front of groups."
Then there was MTV reader Gchata, who wondered if the implied math of "Christian viewers + Christian contestants = a potential Christian winner" would work for gay contestants or any other group: "Does this really matter? Yeah, a lot of Christians watch 'American Idol.' They also watch '24,' 'Heroes' and, on occasion, MTV. Having Christian people on the show doesn't mean Christians are more inclined to watch because someone with their 'values' or 'morals' might win. I'm a Christian, and I personally don't care if the person who wins is or not. It's a singing competition. Religion is a non-issue."
Over at MJsBigBlog.com, one of the leading "Idol" fan sites, the discussion about the story was fierce, with nearly 150 responses. Commenter Tess said she was "appalled and offended" by the article. Tess had particular scorn for a comment from writer CJ Casciotta, who was quoted in the story as saying he thought some Christian viewers might go with their faith if presented with a top two featuring a pair of equally talented singers in which one was Christian and the other was not.
"If I wasn't a sane, God-loving individual, I would not vote for any of the listed contestants (Danny, Michael, Kris, Scott, Matt and Lil) just out of pure spite," Jess wrote. "I knew the country was going to be divided on this issue, but for the Christian right to pronounce that they support an us-vs.-them philosophy is absolutely outrageous."
Many readers vehemently stated that they thought religion should remain a personal, private matter, not fodder for stories, while others, like Lys, said they don't feel that the singers should have to hide their beliefs "any more than they should hide their hair color. If it's truly a part of who they are and if they want to talk about it, fine."
On a similar note, Terrie felt that the show's "pimping" of performers' religions is not different from their spotlight on the singers' families "or personal challenges or favoring more attractive contestants."
A number of readers were put off by a comment from one of the story's subjects, Christian writer Joanne Brokaw, who suggested that viewers could sense Kris Allen's faith when it was mentioned that he helped other contestants last week.
"Are Christians the only people allowed to help others???" Baxter asked.
The site's founder, MJ Santilli, also sounded off, saying she was offended by "nearly all the quotes" in the article (thank you, I think?) and pointed out that the show has long featured Christian contestants (which the article mentioned).
Speaking to MTV News on Tuesday (March 17), Santilli said she felt the same way many of her readers did about the piece. "I think coming so soon after the presidential election, maybe some people are feeling that 'Idol' themselves might be setting up this kind of divisive ... us-vs.-them mentality," she said of a possible Danny Gokey vs. Adam Lambert showdown. "I think the comments were split between people who can't stand religion and others who were churchgoers who didn't like that idea that, 'I'm a Christian, and just because I am, I won't vote for [a non-Christian].' "
Maybe CFIdolsFan said it best with the comment "I'm a Christian and a worship leader. I've watched 'Idol' since season one, and I vote for whoever I want, whenever I want, however I want. ... Neither Casciotta or Brokaw speak for me, but I am not ashamed to say that I am Christian and am delighted to see Christians on the show."
On JoesPlaceBlog.com commenter Suebrody said, in some ways, all the comments missed the real point of the reality singing competition, a sentiment that was shared by a number of other posters. "I am a non-Christian and would hope the viewers are open-minded enough to vote for the best singer, not the most religious one."

A NEW PLAN WOULD LIMIT PRISON CHAPPEL BOOKS IN AMERICA ; PRAY AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE


A broad swath of religious organizations and civil liberties groups — often on opposite sides of contentious issues — have joined together to condemn a proposed rule that they say would prohibit some religious texts in federal penitentiary libraries.
The Bureau of Prisons in January proposed that “materials that could incite, promote, or otherwise suggest the commission of violence or criminal activity” may be excluded from chapel libraries. An alliance of groups — Christian, Muslim and Jewish, conservative and liberal — opposed the rule during the open comments period, which ended Tuesday.
The word “could” is at the center of a two-year dispute between the agency and these groups over which religious texts should be banned from prison libraries.
The American Civil Liberties Union and several other civil rights and religious groups argue that the agency is going beyond the provision of the Second Chance Act of 2007, which included a restriction on materials that “seek” to incite violence.
They argue that the act was meant to prohibit only books that intend to suggest violence, and that the agency’s new rule would expand that ban to all books that could possibly lead to violence.
“Those one or two words have incredibly broad significance because of what they do to the scope of what books can be taken away,” said David Shapiro, an A.C.L.U. lawyer. “They could remove texts that are critical to prisoners’ ability to practice their religion.”
Bureau officials did not respond Tuesday to calls or e-mail messages seeking comment.
In its proposal, the agency cited a 2004 report on prison religious services by the Justice Department inspector general that suggested censoring certain materials to prevent the radicalization of inmates.
In 2005, the authorities in Los Angeles uncovered a plot by three Muslim men, at least one of whom was believed to have been radicalized in a California state penitentiary, to carry out attacks on National Guard recruitment centers in the state.
Afterward, bureau officials compiled a list of about 150 books for each of about 20 religious categories in a plan called the Standardized Chapel Library Project.
At the time, critics of the plan said it omitted important religious texts and violated the First Amendment rights of prisoners. The bureau scrapped the list.
Tuesday was the second time in two years that civil liberties and religious groups joined in opposition to officials’ plans to restrict prison library books.
The Alliance Defense Fund, a group of Christian lawyers who litigate religious rights cases, joined its arch foe, the A.C.L.U., in opposing the new rule. The groups are usually on opposite sides of thorny issues like the role of religious expression in schools and same-sex marriage.
The A.D.F.’s Web site is promoting a publication called “The A.C.L.U. vs. America.” The A.D.F. accuses the group of “attacking religious expression” and “protecting child pornographers and pedophiles.”
On the matter of religious texts in prison libraries, however, Kevin Theriot, a lawyer with the A.D.F., said the group had little disagreement with its rival.
“We’re with the A.C.L.U. on this particular issue because it’s very important for religious freedom that these texts be available,” Mr. Theriot said. “Somebody could take offense with the Bible, which teaches that Jesus is the only way to the Father. That’s an offensive idea to people who are not Christians. They could say that’s inciting trouble.”
Other groups opposing the rule change include Muslim Advocates, the Seventh-day Adventists and various Jewish organizations.

Tuesday 17 March 2009

BRITNEY SPEARS UNDER ORDERS TO READ THE BIBLE EVERYDAY



Top of the list is that she must read the Bible for one hour a day... Holy Moly!
Brit is also banned from tucking into junk food (not sure she is keeping to that one), leaving the hotel unless accompanied by security, or meeting K Fed without her dad or manager.
She has no access to the net alone and "feels like a prisoner on her tour". Ouch!

CATHOLICA HOPE POPE CAN WIN GROUND IN ANGOLA


LUANDA - The surge in worshippers at the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in staunchly Catholic Luanda has prompted the pastor to buy a $20,000 grand piano and six loudspeakers for those outside to listen to his sermons.
In mountainous Huambo province, home to the fastest-growing evangelical churches in Angola, dozens of people crowd inside the Christ Vision Church, a small tin hut, singing: "You are poor but God loves you."
Like other evangelical churches across Angola, these two have flourished since the end of civil war in 2002, raising fears among Catholics their Church is losing ground. A visit by Pope Benedict will address that this month.
Just over half Angola's 16.5 million people are Catholic, but the number of diversified sects has jumped to 900 from just 50 in 1992 -- the year the government abandoned Marxism, according to Angola's national institute on religion.
The Pope's visit will officially celebrate 500 years of evangelization in Angola, and may bring a boost to Catholic media as part of a Church bid for more hearts and minds.
"The Catholic Church lacks passion. It's really not a very exciting place," said Joao, from the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in Luanda, before holding his hands in the air to ask God to expel the evil demons from his body.
Less than a block away, a woman knelt down before a statue of Christ in a half-empty Roman Catholic Church and began her daily prayer in silence.
"These evangelical churches make too much noise and empty promises to attract people, but soon people will realize we are the only path toward God," said Madalena, 44, after finishing her hour-long prayer.
SECTS
The attraction of evangelicism is clear, experts say.
"Evangelical pastors are now going to provinces like Huambo that were hard to reach during the war," Fatima Viegas, the head of the national institute on religion and author of books on religion, told Reuters.
"These churches have become very attractive to Angolans because their rituals are very intense and some of them promise an immediate end to suffering, in a country where the majority of the population is still poor."
The widespread belief in witchcraft has also been a problem for the Catholic Church in Angola.
Jonas Savimbi, who led the opposition party UNITA in its war against the government, fought alongside a woman whose magic he believed would protect him from enemy fire.
Last year, police rescued 40 children who had been held in a house by two religious sects after being accused by their own families of witchcraft. The sects' leaders were later arrested.

"The increasing number of sects is a threat to everyone, including the Catholic Church, because more and more people are being lured to these churches with empty promises," said Jose Queiroz Alves, archbishop of Huambo, after holding an hour-long mass in the local Umbundo language.
Some Catholic leaders see things from a different perspective. "The positive side of this phenomenon is that it shows there is an increasing thirst for God," Cardinal Alexandre do Nascimento said in a recent interview with Reuters.
"But those who are thirsty need to seek the right fountain: the one without the spoilt water."
GOVERNMENT RESTRICTIONS
The Catholic Church hopes Pope Benedict's visit to the former Portuguese colony will help strengthen Catholicism in Africa, where a recent row about a bishop who denies the Holocaust happened has resonated less than in Europe and the United States.
Pope Benedict's predecessor, John Paul II, visited Angola in 1992 during a lull in fighting between the ruling MPLA and UNITA rebels. The fighting resumed after UNITA failed to accept the results of an election.
Benedict's March 20-23 visit will include an open-air mass in the capital Luanda and a meeting with President Jose Eduardo dos Santos that experts say could help end years of government restrictions on Angola's only Catholic radio station.
The government pulled the plug on Radio Ecclesia two years after the post-independence civil war began in 1975, accusing it of siding with rebels of the main opposition UNITA, which continued to fight the government for 27 years.
Ecclesia returned to the air in 1997 after the government abandoned Marxism but its diet of Sunday mass, political debates and regular criticism of the government has since been limited to the capital Luanda.
"The radio ban is a trauma the government still has from the war years because of Ecclesia's determination always to speak loud and clear to everyone," Mauricio Camuto, head of Radio Ecclesia, told Reuters.
Ecclesia is the only religious radio station in Angola, boasting an audience of over 3 million in Luanda, according to Camuto. The government controls the only nationwide broadcaster in a country twice the size of Texas.
There are no evangelical radio stations in Angola, but the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God owns an international media network whose television channel Record can be viewed through Angola's cable network.
Asked if he feared growing competition from evangelical churches could weaken the Catholic community, Camuto said: "In a country where there is still widespread poverty it is easier for other religious sects to attract followers with all kinds of promises.
"But a visit by the Pope could finally allow us to speak the word of God to all Angolans and remain ahead of the competition," added Camuto.

SUDAN WANTS AID GROUPS TO STOP DISTRIBUTING RELIEF; PRAY AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE



President Omar Hassan al-Bashir expelled 13 international aid groups this month, accusing them of helping the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant against him, accusing him of orchestrating atrocities in Darfur. Aid groups deny working with the court.In an emotional speech to thousands of soldiers and police, Bashir said he had ordered Sudanese aid groups to take over the distribution of all relief inside the country -- a move that could freeze the work of more than 70 foreign organisations still operating in Darfur and other strife-torn areas.

If carried out, the order will also create a dilemma for international donors, including the governments of the United States and Britain, over whether they will be able to continue to pour millions into projects across the underdeveloped country without full control over how their aid is distributed."We have ordered the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs to completely Sudanise the voluntary work in Sudan within one year and after that we don't want international organisations to deal with Sudanese citizens with relief," Bashir told the rally."If they (the international organisations) want to continue providing aid, they can just leave it at the airport and Sudanese NGOs (non governmental organisations) can distribute the relief."


"We need to clear our country of any spies," he told the cheering crowd in Khartoum's Green Square rally ground, close to the city's airport.Bashir said Sudan's neighbours Ethiopia and Eritrea had carried out similar programmes to distribute foreign aid through local groups.Bashir did not specify how the order would be carried out. It was not clear whether more than 70 foreign aid groups still working inside Sudan would also be expelled, or how the order would affect U.N. agencies.It was also not certain whether the order would cover aid programmes in Sudan's semi-autonomous south. The earlier expulsion of 13 aid agencies, including Oxfam, Save the Children and two branches of Medecins Sans Frontieres, only affected operations in the north.Thousands of soldiers from the regular army and the state-aligned Popular Defence Forces militia pledged allegiance to Bashir during the rally, the latest in a series of demonstrations against the ICC's warrant in Khartoum.Bashir was a career army officer when he overthrew a democratically-elected civilian government in 1989. The army remains one of his strongest power bases.

Monday 16 March 2009

HNIDU RADICALS OPPOSE ' CHRISTIAN ' STATUE OF CHARLIE CHAPLIN


Radical Hindus have opposed and interfered with the erection of a statue of comedic actor Charlie Chaplin in the Udupi district of India on the grounds that he was a Christian.
According to reports, the 67-foot statue is being built for the filming a movie called “House Full,” and the foundation stone for the statue had already been laid in the presence of the film director Hemanth Hegade.
“The very next day [after laying the stone], a group of youth had opposed the construction of the statue citing silly reasons,” Hegade said, as reported by Expressbuzz.
According to the film director, around 10 to 20 activists of the Hindu Jagarna Vedike had come in three vehicles and stopped the construction.
"They said Charlie Chaplin was a Christian and said they would allow construction of the statue on condition that it would be demolished after the shooting. When art director [Chethan] Mundadi said Charlie Chaplin was a great artiste, they said they suspected that we would also build a statue of Jesus Christ," reported Hegade.
“They also said they could not go to the nearby Someshwara Temple seeing the face of a Christian,” the film director added.
In his account of the incident, art director Mundadi said, “We had dug a eight by eight feet pit. They threw the construction materials and forced our workers to fill up the pit."
Though Hegade said he and his team held talks with local government leaders and other social leaders and decided to continue the construction work, the director said they are considering moving out of the area and finding a different place to build the statue. He also said that he was planning on organizing a protest as a result of the opposition.
“What has happened to Udupi district? Is it Taliban land?" he asked, incorrectly referring to the Islamic terrorist movement.
Although Chaplin was formally baptized into the Church of England, some claimed he was Jewish or of Jewish ancestry. He is best known for his work as an academy award winning film actor and director, remembered for comedy films such as “Modern Times” and “The Great Dictator.” He lived from 1889 to 1977.

ATHEISTS CALL FOR ' DEBAPTISM '


John Hunt was baptised in the parish church of St Jude with St Aidan in Thornton Heath in south-east London. But 50 years later he stands outside and regards its brick facade without much affection.

Baptism represents death and rebirth for Christians
Mr Hunt was then sent to Sunday school in west London and later to confirmation classes, but he decided early on that he had no place in what he felt was a hypocritical organisation.
He recalls that his mother had to get lunch ready early for him to attend the classes.
"One Sunday I came back home and said 'Mum, you needn't get lunch early next Sunday because I'm not going to the class any more'. And she decided not to argue."
Now Mr Hunt has become the pioneer in a rejuvenated campaign for a way of cancelling baptisms given to children too young to decide for themselves whether they wanted this formal initiation into Christianity.
However, baptism is proving a difficult thing to undo.
The local Anglican diocese, Southwark, refused to amend the baptismal roll as Mr Hunt had wanted, on the grounds that it was a historical record.
"You can't remove from the record something that actually happened," said the Bishop of Croydon, the Right Reverend Nick Baines.
Expunging Trotsky
"Whether we agree whether it should have happened or not is a different matter.
"But it's a bit like trying to expunge Trotsky from the photos. Mr Hunt was baptised and that's a matter of public record."
Instead the diocese suggested that the best way for Mr Hunt to renounce his baptism was to advertise it in the London Gazette, a journal of record with an ancestry going back to the 17th Century.
Bishop Baines is willing to see such notices inserted into the baptismal roll to indicate decisions such as Mr Hunt's, but the Church of England's national headquarters made clear that such a concession was not official policy.
A letter from the the Archbishops' Council said that the Church of England did not regard baptism as a sign of membership, so any amendment to the record would be unnecessary.
The Roman Catholic Church does view a person's baptism as incorporating them into the Church - and membership is later important to the Church if, for example, the same person wants to get married in a Catholic church.
It is willing to place an amendment in the record.
The National Secular Society would like the Church of England to devise a formal procedure for cancelling baptisms, with a change in the baptismal roll as part of it.
Debaptism certificate
In the face of resistance from the Church, the society has come up with a document of its own.
The "Certificate of Debaptism" has a deliberately home-made look, with its mock-official decoration and quasi-official language.
Sitting on a bench in the grounds of St Jude's Church, John Hunt intoned the opening lines.
"I, John Geoffrey Hunt, having been subjected to the rite of Christian baptism in infancy... hereby publicly revoke any implications of that rite. I reject all its creeds and other such superstitions in particular the perfidious belief that any baby needs to be cleansed of original sin."
The society's president, Terry Sanderson, says the certificate is not designed to be taken too seriously, and he suggests displaying it in the loo.
However, he says, it has now been downloaded more that 60,000 times, and has taken on a life of its own.
"The debaptism certificate started out as a kind of satirical comment on the idea that you could be enrolled in a church before you could talk, but it seems to have taken off from there.
"People are beginning to take it seriously.

TANZANIA ' WITCH - NAMING ' UNDERWAY; PRAY AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE.....


Thousands of people in Tanzania have been taking part in an exercise aimed at identifying those behind the killing of albinos for ritual purposes.
The process - in which people fill in forms anonymously, naming those they suspect of involvement - was ordered by President Jakaya Kikwete.
But some fear the nationwide exercise, which has begun in the Lake Zone area, could be used for personal vendettas.
Witchdoctors reportedly buy albino body parts to make "magic" potions.
Since late 2007, 45 albinos have been slaughtered in Tanzania.
Forty-four of the killings have taken place in the Lake Zone district.
Police believe the killers are selling their victims' limbs, hair, skin and genitals to traditional medicine practitioners who make potions promising to make people wealthy.
Superstitious miners and fishermen in the region hoping to get rich quick have been accused of fuelling the demand.
President Kikwete has said the murders have brought shame on the country and urged the public not to fear retribution for naming the culprits.
But correspondents say it is not clear how effective the exercise will be in a society which believes in witchcraft and where confidence in the legal system is wearing thin.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon last month decried the albino killings during his official visit to the country.
The government issued a ban on all traditional healers in January in an effort to stop the killings and several have been arrested since then on suspicion of flouting the order.

U.K DEPORTS CHRISTIANS UNDER NEW IMMIGRATION RULES


March 12, 2009 -- A prominent Christian musician and a team of college-age missionaries were recently deported from the United Kingdom under new immigration rules that require religious workers to be sponsored by a licensed organization and obtain visas to enter the country.
In early March, Colorado-based singer Don Francisco was denied entrance into London and a Master's Commission team from Arkansas was deported from Scotland because immigration officials said they needed work visas under new regulations introduced in November.
"One of the things that has been said to me over the last few days is that Christians have to operate under the radar all over the world," said Judy Littler Manners, a Christian leader based London. "But this is the first time they may be forced to do it in this country."
Francisco was scheduled to participate in the Christian musical Why Good Friday, which includes 10 of his songs. But when he arrived at Heathrow Airport on March 2, he was detained, fingerprinted and escorted onto a flight back to the U.S., because immigration officials said he lacked the proper paperwork.
"I felt like they were looking for reason to keep me out," said Francisco, who has traveled throughout the U.K. for 30 years without incident.
"Anyone who goes into England from this point on for any reason other [than] to be a tourist and just spend money had better have their ducks in a row," he added.
The previous day, a Master's Commission team from Arkansas was denied entrance into Scotland when an immigration worker learned they would be volunteering in soup kitchens in partnership with Assemblies of God churches in Edinburgh.
"She told us that we'd have to have a work visa," said Craig Johnson, associate youth minister at Harvest Time Church in Fort Smith, Ark., and leader of the missions team. "So essentially you can stay [in the U.K.] as a tourist for six months, but if you want to volunteer some of your time working in a soup kitchen, you have to have a work visa."
Johnson said the chief immigration officer had the power to allow the 11-member group through, but she instead returned them to the U.S. on March 4, when the first flight became available.
"The [immigration] team kept apologizing to us profusely," Johnson said. "The [chief immigration officer] had the power to just discretionally wave us through. She was just doing her job; I understand that. But discretionally she could have waved us through."
Christian leaders inside the U.K. said few ministries are fully aware of the complex new Home Office regulations, which were quietly introduced late last year. The rules require that religious workers be sponsored by an organization that has registered with the government, and applicants must pay a fee to obtain a work visa.
Volunteer missions workers would register under Tier 5 of the Australian-style points-based system, while ministers, who would be considered skilled workers, would apply under Tier 2.
"All migrants, not just charity workers, coming to the U.K. to work or study require a Certificate of Sponsorship," said a U.K. Border Agency spokesman. "Anyone without this certificate and the right visa will be refused entry."
Daniel Webster, parliamentary officer for theLondon-based Evangelical Alliance, said the regulations were introduced in response to illegal immigration and the increased threat of terrorism. But the complicated rules have left many ministers confused.
"The recent cases highlight just how complex these cases are and the urgent need for churches and ministries to be kept up to date," Webster said. "The Evangelical Alliance is working on a full analysis to help churches better understand the law so that this does not happen again."
Although no one Charisma spoke with was willing to attribute the deportations to an anti-Christian bias, some leaders are concerned that ministries may be disproportionately affected by the new rules.
"I think what a lot of us thinks is that there definitely is a sub-agenda here," Manners said. "It's not aimed at Christians, but the ones it's going to affect are going to be Christians because they're going to be honest. If Don Francisco had said he was a singer, he probably would have gotten through, but because he said ‘gospel singer,' they got him."
Manners believes the new regulations are partly a means of generating income from the visa and sponsorship fees. But she said forcing sponsor organizations to register allows the government to create a master list of ministries and could open a door for officials to make "spot checks."
The Rev. Andrew Smith, superintendent of the Assemblies of God Churches in Scotland, said he was "horrified" by the way his nation treated the Arkansas missionaries. He said he paid the $550 fee to sponsor the Master's Commission team, but the application was not processed in time.
"I felt that the team should have been allowed to stay even though technically our application was being processed by the U.K. Border Agency," he said. "Even though technically they weren't allowed to do charitable work, they should have been allowed to stay as tourists."
He notified Member of Parliament Michael Connarty, who Smith said he was "outraged" at the deportation. Connarty is filing a complaint with the Home Office, but Smith wants to see the Border Agency issue a formal apology and refund of cost of the Arkansas team's airfare.
"We're not taking this lying down," Smith said, "because I was ashamed that my country would [deport the missionaries]. ... We don't want to be restricted from inviting co-workers from around the world in standing with us in sharing the gospel here."
Francisco said he still hopes to participate in the Why Good Friday? production, but he's worried that the deportation will prevent him from ever being allowed into the U.K.
"My main concern is that this one misinterpretation and misapplication of immigration law will result in my being unable to return to the U.K. in the future," he said. "One question that is always asked at a border is, ‘Have you ever been denied entry into this country?' Unless this present situation is reversed, my truthful reply would probably result in yet another denial of entry."