INDIAN CHRISTIANS CALLS AUGUST 23 ' PEACE DAY ' TO FORGET THE VIOLENT PAST

NEW DELHI, India – August 23 must be remembered as "Peace Day" to mark the murder of a Hindu fundamentalist leader and the ensuing violence that targeted the Christian community, says Archbishop of Orissa Raphael Cheenath.
Addressing reporters, the archbishop along with other like-minded people, called for a peace day in which the Indian people would "forget the past and build a harmonious society."
"The gruesome murder of [Swami Laxmananda Saraswati] destroyed peace and harmony. Let us unite and build a cohesive society," Archbishop Cheenath said.
The 84-year-old Saraswati was murdered on August 23, 2008, when Maoists allegedly opened fire at the Hindu monk and four of his aides at his Jalespata ashram. In retaliation, Hindu extremists blamed the Christian community and attacked the minority group, forcing thousands to flee their homes and churches.
To commemorate the day and express solidarity, Cheenath says Christians will take part in peace marches in different parts of the state. Fasting and prayers will also be conducted in churches.
“Orissa, known as the land of peace and harmony, was divided by criminals on religious lines. Their efforts must be thwarted and the minorities in India must be protected,” he said.
The violence last year against the Christian community left hundreds of houses were burnt, churches razed down and families injured. Dozens were murdered and thousands were forced out of their homes to the forests during the four month-long violence.
For the Christian community and the minority leadership, it’s not just the state and central governments that must declare Aug. 23 as peace day, but also the United Nations.

Indians Christians even called on the United Nations to declare the day as a “Global Day for Peace and Harmony” to ensure that such violence is not perpetuated on any community or individuals in any part of the world.
The Archbishop, meanwhile, told reporters that the situation was still tense in the riot-hit district and Christians were still feeling insecure considering the lack of arrests made during the anti-Christian violence.
He demanded that the government arrest the culprits and offer security and protection to religious minorities, their lives, property, institutions and places of worship.
Cheenath's plea was made not only on behalf of Christians but also for Hindu monks. Any violence against Swamijis and their disciples are misused to attack minorities and therefore the government must provide them adequate security, he demanded.

OLD CHURCH ' ALTERED ' FOR THEATRES IN NORTH TONAWANDA IN U.S

Old churches make great stages. Which is why you’ll find theater companies like Starry Night Theatre Inc. and Niagara University’s theater department performing in renovated 19th- and 20th-century churches
In 2001, Frieden’s United Church of Christ gifted Starry Night Theatre Inc. with their former church, on the corner of Schenck and Vandervoort streets in North Tonawanda, after they couldn’t find a buyer. The congregation moved to Amherst in 2000 because of declining membership.
Don Swartz, executive director, said it cost $100,000 in renovations to convert the church into Ghostlight Theatre. Swartz emphasized the importance of keeping the theatre “church-like” and preserving the original architecture amidst ongoing renovations.
“We tried to keep the integrity of the building,” he said. “Our building is still a church and looks like a church and that was something that was very important to us.”

CULT-LIKE GANG GAINS POWER IN MEXICO DRUGS WAR : USES BIBLE SCRIPTURES TO INSPIRE IT'S TRAFFICKERS

MORELIA, Mexico - A cult-like drug cartel is defying President Felipe Calderon in his home state in western Mexico by taking on security forces with a menacing mix of violence, pseudo-religion and gifts for the poor.

"La Familia" (The Family) uses Bible scriptures to inspire its traffickers and has taken over smuggling in the state of Michoacan, gaining power despite Calderon's near three-year assault on cartels in the state and across the country.After the group killed 16 police in a series of brazen attacks last week, Calderon sent some 5,500 troops, elite police and navy officers to the mountainous marijuana-producing state in one of the biggest surges of the drug war.

Helicopters whirred overhead on Wednesday and convoys of army trucks patrolled the colonial state capital of Morelia as tourists sat at cafes in the pink stone-colored city.

La Familia, whose leaders say they are proud natives of the state, has become one of Calderon's most formidable challenges as it goes beyond smuggling to seek political influence and social standing.

Led by evangelical Christian Nazario Moreno who calls himself "The Craziest One" and who has a $2 million bounty on his head in Mexico, the group preaches scripture mixed with self-help slogans to its members.Handing out toys to children and money to build schools, the cartel tries to promote a mystique unique among Mexican gangs by claiming openly to protect the local population.

La Familia bans its members from drinking alcohol or taking narcotics, holds prayer and indoctrination sessions and finances rural evangelical churches and drug rehabilitation centers across Michoacan, the army says."I ask God for strength and he gives me challenges that make me strong," says one slogan signed "The Craziest One" and found by soldiers on a raid last year on a cartel safe house.

Formed in the 1980s, La Familia has vowed to stop sales of the party methamphetamine drug "Ice" in the state, saying it is destroying local communities. Instead, it exports all meth production to the United StatesIn a call to a local TV station last week, a cartel member said its main aim was to bring order to Michoacan, help the poor with cash handouts and protect working families."They want to see themselves as Robin Hood figures," said Julian Gudino, a security consultant in Mexico City.

"Obviously this is false, but if they have that local support, they can run their trafficking business much more easily."INTENSELY VIOLENTAs La Familia has grown to develop distribution networks in U.S. states such as Georgia, California and Illinois, it has also taken on the Gulf cartel's armed wing, the Zetas, a group from northeastern Mexico that has tried to take control of Michoacan.

In a full-page newspaper advertisement in 2006, La Familia said it was fighting back the "destructive power" of the Zetas and offering a cartel that "helps families."Some residents in Morelia say La Familia may be the lesser of two evils. "If the army can't stop drug traffickers, I'd rather they had an interest in our communities even if it is only to benefit their business," said Ana Tinoco, an off-duty waitress sitting by Morelia's majestic cathedral.But La Familia is by no means a soft touch.

A fight with the Zetas for Michoacan just five hours drive from Mexico City has killed almost 300 people this year, mirroring the growing violence across Mexico. The drugs war has claimed 12,800 lives since late 2006, worrying tourists and investors.Intensely violent, the cartel dumped the blood-smeared bodies of 12 federal police in a heap by a remote highway last week in revenge for the capture of a gang leader by police.U.S. anti-drug experts say members of La Familia must complete a three-to-six month training camp in Michoacan run by former Mexican and Guatemalan elite soldiers, and the group may may have linked up with Mexico's top drug lord Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman to share smuggling routes over the U.S. border."The criminals have a very clear objective and they're not afraid of the military," state police chief Minerva Bautista said.

La Familia also wields great power in local politics, making the organization harder to confront.Troops earlier this year rounded up 10 mayors and a string of police chiefs accused of working for the cartel in one of the biggest single corruption sweeps of the drugs war.The half-brother of state governor Leonel Godoy, himself a politician, is accused of providing protection for La Familia. Godoy denies any wrongdoing and says he will help any investigation involving his brother, who is on the run.

ACTIVISTS CLAIM CHRISTIAN WOMAN BEEN EXECUTED IN NORTH KOREA ; LAST MONTH A CHRISTIAN WOMAN WAS EXECUTED FOR DISTRIBUTING BIBLE

Seoul, South Korea - North Korea publicly executed a Christian woman last month for distributing the Bible, which is banned in the communist nation, South Korean activists said Friday.

Ri Hyon Ok, 33, was also accused of spying for South Korea and the United States and organizing dissidents. She was executed in the northwestern city of Ryongchon near the border with China on June 16, according to a report from an alliance of several dozen anti-North Korea groups.

Ri's parents, husband and three children were sent to a political prison camp in the northeastern city of Hoeryong the following day, the report said, citing unidentified documents it says were obtained from North Korea. It showed a copy of Ri's North Korean government-issued photo ID. It is virtually impossible to verify such reports about secretive North Korea, where the government tightly controls the lives of its citizens and does not allow dissent.

On Thursday, an annual report from a state-run South Korean think tank on human rights in the North said that public executions, though dropping in number in recent years, were still carried out for crimes ranging from murder to circulating foreign movies. North Korea claims to guarantee freedom of religion for its 24 million people but in reality severely restricts religious observances.

The cult of personality surrounding national founder Kim Il Sung and his son, current leader Kim Jong Il, is a virtual state religion. The government has authorized four state churches, one Catholic, two Protestant and one Russian Orthodox, but they cater to foreigners and ordinary North Koreans cannot attend. However, defectors and activists say more than 30,000 North Koreans are believed to practice Christianity secretly.

The U.S. State Department reported last year that "genuine religious freedom does not exist" in North Korea. "North Korea appears to have judged that Christian forces could pose a threat to its regime," Do Hee-youn, a leading activist, told reporters, claiming public executions, arrest and detention of North Koreans are prevalent. The Investigative Commission On Crime Against Humanity also alleged in its report that in March, North Korean security agents arrested Seo Kum Ok, 30, another Christian, in a city near Ryongchon and tortured her.

The agents alleged she was attempting to spy on a nuclear site and hand over the evidence to South Korea and the U.S. The report said it remains unclear whether she survived. Her husband was also arrested and their two children disappeared, it said. The commission said it was seeking to try to take North Korean leader Kim to the International Criminal Court over alleged crimes against humanity

Activists claim that such atrocities -- including murder, kidnap, rape, extermination of individuals in prison camps -- cannot take place in North Korea without Kim's knowledge or direction as he wields absolute power. "Let's file a suit against Kim Jong Il to the International Criminal Court," the activists chanted.

SERVING IN THE ARMY, ' FOR THE SAKE OF GOD AND JESUS '

Jesus supports the IDF and he wants his believers to be the best soldiers they can be.
That was the message conveyed by members of the local Messianic Jewish community via sacred texts, prayer and talks, to a group of 18-year-olds who took part this week in a premilitary program called Netsor.
"I am a soldier of God," said Boris, an intense redhead accepted to an elite combat unit, who is one of the 28 young men and women who participated in Netsor.
"I will do my best during my service in the IDF to serve God spiritually and physically. Not for the sake of state authorities but for the sake of God and Jesus," added Boris, as we sat in the dining room of a guest house that overlooks Lake Kinneret on Wednesday.
Not far from here, according to Christian tradition, Jesus walked on water, healed the sick and preached. Now, nearly two millennia later, young "believers," as they call themselves, convinced they are walking in Jesus's footsteps, hope to become the next fighter pilots, reconnaissance soldiers, paratroopers, tank commanders and sailors.
Some 150 highly motivated believers will join the IDF this year. Many of them will serve in combat units. Some of them have been through Netsor's week of mental and spiritual preparation offered by the Messianic community. Netsor is a Hebrew word that means "to guard" or "to stand vigilant."
The return of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel with the establishment of the State of Israel brought with it a small but growing group of Messianic Jews, numbering today between 10,000 and 15,000. These Christians celebrate their own version of Jewish holidays such as Pessah and Succot and set aside Friday night and Saturday as a day of rest.
But they also believe that Jesus is the messiah and that he is the only path to redemption. Messianic Jews, who distance themselves from the more in-your-face proselytizing tactics of Jews for Jesus, are nevertheless very open about their beliefs, including their conviction that traditional Jewish faith is not sufficient for redemption.
Due to their religious beliefs, Messianic Jews have been subjected over the years to physical attacks and discrimination, including in the IDF.
M., a platoon commander in an elite demolition unit who is one of the founders of Netsor, asked The Jerusalem Post to leave out identifiable personal details of individuals who agreed to be interviewed out of concern that they would be singled out and blackballed by antagonistic elements with connections in the army.
"In the end, we believe that God opens and closes doors," said M. "And if he does not want someone to advance in the IDF it won't happen. But we don't want to make any mistakes that will hurt someone's IDF career."
For Messianic Jews, military service in the IDF is not only a mandatory civil duty, it is a religious obligation. Lacking an exegetical tradition but serious about the sacredness and relevance of the biblical text, "believers" learn this obligation to serve in the army right out of the New Testament.
Romans (13:1-7) warns not to resist political authority, because it is "the ordinance of God."
Colossians (3:22,23) teaches that one must excel as a faithful servant of one's superiors, not for personal aggrandizement but to serve God.
The group's interpretation of these texts, combined with a strong religious faith, transform them into soldiers of God determined to do his will during their stint in the army of the Jewish state.
Other verses, such as the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew, 5-7), which some Christians interpret as Jesus's support for pacifism, are seen by Messianic Jews as an obligation to love one's enemies while fighting and killing them.
"I hate what Palestinian terrorists do, therefore I will do anything, including kill, if necessary, to stop them," said Tzvi, an educator and counselor at Netsor. "But I do not allow that to prevent me from loving them as human beings."
Many Messianic Jews see their obligation to serve in the IDF as no different from the obligation of other Christians in the US, Britain or even Jordan and Egypt to serve their respective countries.
"If I lived in Jordan I would have the same feelings for the Jordanian army," said Tzvi.
But for some, serving in the IDF has special theological meaning. Yoel, who was an officer in an IDF combat unit, believes the return of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel is part of God's plans.
"The IDF is an instrument in the hands of God because it facilitates his plan," said Yoel. "But I would not call it a holy army or the army of God."
The Netsor program, which began three years ago, has quadrupled the number of students from seven in 2007 to 28 this year.
Yoel, one of Netsor's founders, hopes one day to create a premilitary academy for Messianic Jews modeled after existing academies for religious and secular Israelis.
"We pray that sometime in the future we will succeed in establishing a full-fledged premilitary academy that will offer a one-year program; with God's help."