MUSLIM APPOINTED BBC HEAD OF RELIGION AND ETHICS : PRAY FOR UK

Maybe you have already heard the news about how the BBC has appointed a Muslim as the head of Religion and Ethics, and if not, let me tell you about it. According to the news services, Aaqil Ahmed's appointment is controversial because it steps away from the Christian roots of England.
Andrea Minichiello Williams, a barrister with the UK based Christian Concern for our Nation (http://www.ccfon.org/), said, “Until now, our public national broadcaster has been charged with reflecting our country’s Christian heritage and ethos. Aaqil Ahmed’s appointment is controversial because his background and previous work at Channel 4 has revealed a noticeable bias towards Islam and multiculturalism.”

According to The Daily Telegraph, senior bishops wrote to the BBC’s Director General Mark Thompson when it was envisaged that Mr. Ahmed might be appointed, to question the BBC’s commitment to Britain's Christian audience. The Archbishop of Canterbury had also raised concerns with Mr. Thompson that the “Christian voice is being sidelined” after Mr. Ahmed was first connected to the role.
Ms. Williams went on to say, “The appointment could be seen as the inevitable result of our multicultural society, in which all religions are viewed as of equal value. This is the secularist point of view—that religion should be confined to the home and the church and excluded from the public square and the workplace. A cursory survey of the Christian Legal Centre’s website (www.christianlegalcentre.com) will reveal the increasing intolerance of this ideology as far as Christians are concerned.

CHINA'S FIRST SEX PARK STIRS UP ROW

BEIJING: Plans to establish China’s first sex themed park is causing a lot of controversy with a section saying it would harm children. The park with naked human sculptures and giant replica of human genitals is due to open in October in Chongqing, the booming city on the Yangtze River.

Promoters of the park named Love Land say it would serve the purpose of sex education and encourage healthy discussion on sex in a society, which frowns on any talk on the subject. It will also help adults "enjoy a harmonious sex life," the local media quoted park manager Lu Xiaoqing, as saying.

"Sex is a taboo subject in China but people really need to have more access to information about it," Lu said. "We are building the park for the good of the public," he said. Love Land, which is based the sex park in the South Korean island of Jeju, has drawn a barrage of criticism over the internet with hundreds of people saying China is not the place for “vulgar exhibition” of what is essentially a private matter.

The local media has also been publishing comments from the local people opposing the opening of the park. "I would be embarrassed looking at sex sculptures and pictures with other people around me,” Zhao Fang, a woman school teacher in Beijing told TNN. But she conceded that it might draw teenagers, who may be curious to know sex is practiced in foreign countries. Local authorities in Chongqing gave permission for establishing the park hoping it would draw a lot of tourists.

But the rising wave of criticism might force them to place restrictions on at least some of the exhibits in the part, a government official said. The park will have an exhibition showing different facets of sex as practiced in different countries and lessons on how the subject has been treated through history. It will contain details on the use of condoms and other measures to prevent AIDS.

ICPF OBSERVING JULY 12 AS STUDENT SUNDAY ACROSS INDIA : PRAY FOR THE STUDENTS AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE....

Student Sunday, July 12, 2009

Loving greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus whose we are and whom we serve!
Pastor, we salute you and honestly appreciate your commitment to Lord’s work and praise God, our Father, for having chosen you to do His work. We also remember your cooperation with ICPF (Inter Collegiate Prayer Fellowship) ministry in the past.

ICPF, as you know, with its one target of evangelizing the postmatric and college going youth of our generation, has already impacted thousands of young men and women across the length and breadth of our country to follow Lord Jesus and be His witnesses wherever God places them.

Ministering in Nineteen states in India, ICPF has at present 100 full time staff workers and associate staffs, in addition to staffs in our musical teams.

Apart from direct evangelization, Programmes aimed at educating the public and creating awareness of the social evils and drug menace among the youth are the main concerns of ICPF ministry.

We need roughly about 10 lakhs of rupees every month to cover our expenses. So far, God had been graciously raising people to support this ministry. Most of our supporters are young men and women who have been benefited by ICPF in their personal lives.

As a Pastor, we are sure, you will appreciate how committed youths are our real hope of the future assistance of our churches. So we look forward to your more active contribution towards this ministry in the coming days. Kindly set apart this day for the students and youths in your church and try to give them ample time to share their testimony or from the word of God.
· You can encourage your congregation and decide to send a fixed monthly contribution to the ministry.
· Your church can support one staff worker (RS 6000/- per month)
· You can set apart this day in a year as a student / youth Sunday and invite ICPF team to minister in your church.
This year, ICPF has decided to set apart July 12th as ‘Students’ Sunday’. Kindly pray for the student ministries especially ICPF on that day.
We would appreciate if you could collect an offering on the occasion and send it to the ICPF Central Office or hand it over to the ICPF Senior Forum (CGPF) Secretary or Staff in your area.

As the ministry is expanding and as we aim to cover more states in the coming years, we will need more financial support and we look forward to ministers like you to help our cause. Co-operation from your church, I am sure, will help us to achieve our goals faster.
A giving church is also the growing church. So let us both grow together and glorify our Master’s name in our motherland.
God bless you and your congregation.

Yours faithfully,
Prof. Mathew P Thomas

CHURCH BELLS COULD PUT BISHOP IN JAIL IN PHOENIX

The leader of a Valley church could go to jail for ringing church bells.
The bells, which chime every hour between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., were not music to the ears of four people who live by the Cathedral of Christ the King near 29th Ave. and Greenway.
Bishop Rick Painter was found guilty in Phoenix Municipal Court of violating noise ordinances.
"I am guilty of honoring God," said Bishop Painter. "I apologized on the stand that the people are disturbed."
The Bishop added that many neighbors have expressed support for the electronic church bells. The neighbors who complained testified that the bells affected their daily routine and held them captive at home.
"Any church in Phoenix that rings bells have got a problem."
Bishop Painter was convicted without any set standard or noise dosimeter readings, just testimony from the upset neighbors.
Sentencing is July 3.
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BOMB EXPLODES NAER A CHURCH IN CAIRO ( EGYPT )

CAIRO — A small bomb exploded near a revered church in the Egyptian capital but caused no casualties or damage, police officials said Monday.
The officials said late Sunday night's explosion was caused by primitive bomb planted under a parked car near Saint Mary Church in Cairo's Zeitoun district. The church is one of the holiest sites for Egypt's Coptic Christian minority because an apparition of the Virgin Mary is believed to have appeared there in 1968.
The bomb went off around 9 p.m. and the car burst into flames while a wedding was under way in the church, causing a panic among passers-by in the mainly Coptic neighborhood, witnesses said.
"Shop owners closed their stores, and most people ran in panic," said a pharmacist working in a near by drug store. She spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of government harassment for speaking about the attack. Most shops in the neighborhood remained shut Monday.
A police official said the bomb appeared to be intended "to scare rather than to kill." The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press.
Egypt's Christians, estimated at 10 percent of Egypt's nearly 80 million people, often complain of discrimination at the hands of the Muslim majority. A government decision to slaughter all the pigs in the country in reaction to the swine flu scare angered some Christians, who argued that the order targeted their community, which is the only one that raises or eats pigs.