Bible keeps quiet on the age of women

Sao Paulo, January 8th, 2004 (ACPress.net).
The tradition of not revealing a woman's age may come from the Bible. The Holy Scriptures - 31,173 verses in 1,189 chapters with a total of 810,600 words and more than 3.5 million words - only mentions the age of two women: Sarah in Genesis 23:1, and Anna in Luke 2:36-37.

The stranger kind of biblical data are registered at 'Evangélicos On Line', a website run by a Brazilian, Roberto Camargo. Among the information to be found there is the fact that the character most mentioned in the Bible is David, with 1,105 references. The word 'sheep' occurs 500 times. The site also includes 371 stories, 60 sermon outlines, 68 Bible studies, 182 poems, works by Luther, testimonies and prayer points. There are even recipes with a biblical flavour.

The site tells visitors that the only two Bible books not to mention the name of God are Esther and Song of Solomon. And that Psalm 53 is the same as Psalm 14 in the original texts, even though some translations make it look a little different. Musical instruments mentioned in the Bible include the trumpet, harp, lyre, tambouine and cymbals. The middle verse in the Bible is Psalm 118:8, and the site also offers the meaning of 434 Bible names.

Mexico City, January 8th, 2004 (ACPress.net).
Evangelicals in Mexico have condemned the failure of the authorities to track down the perpetrators of the massacre in Acteal, in December 1997. The police blame indigenous Protestants and the Christian community claims there has been political connivance in order not to follow the case up more closely.

Yet requests to re-open the case have met with rebuffs. Indigenous Protestants who went to testify voluntarily about what happened were summarily put in prison, without proper legal representation or the presence of a translator. No evidence from the scene of the crime was produced, and no attempt made to reconstruct the crime. No weapons were found on any of those accused of the murders, and there are no witnesses.

Evangelicals have written to President Fox asking him to fulfil his promise of justice and to find the culprits. They say nothing has been done because of the absurd accusation against the indigenous people who are considered to be 'a threat to traditional values.'

Quito, January 8th, 2004 (ACPress.net).
"I want to become a preacher of Christ as a means to save men and bring peace to the world", says Rodríguez, veteran footballer and goalkeeper trainer for the last 15 years, in his native Ecuador.

Dressed in jacket and tie, Rodríguez says his immediate future lies with teaching the faith. "I shall be a pastor", he says with evident satisfaction. He recognises that Ecuador is a country in the midst of conflict which "needs a miracle that we can only find in Christ." He has yet to say when he will leave football behind, but he presided over a well-attended Christmas event to celebrate the birth of Jesus in Ruminahui Stadium.

Buenos Aires, January 8th, 2004 (ACPress.net).
The Argentinian Supreme Court has got to remove a statue of Mary - the so-called 'St. Nicholas' Virgin' - from the entrance to the main court building.

A court decision has decided its presence is discriminatory against non-Catholics. The case was brought by a civil rights group who argued that the existence of religious symbols at a court threatened the principle of judicial impartiality. A Catholic spokesman, Jorge Oesterheld, said "the decision is surprising in a traditionally Catholic nation where it forms part of national culture." He claimed that the existence of religious symbols in public places "never implied religious discrimination, nor were an obstacle to true freedom of worship."

The Supreme Court had allowed a Catholic group to place a statue in the court entrance in February 2002. This was later replaced with the current figure of Mary. However, the latest judgment - while recognising the Catholic nature of much of Argentinian culture - argues that such symbols have no place in a pluralist society.

Sao Paulo, January 8th, 2004 (ACPress.net).
A five-year-old girl who was apparently destined to be sacrificed in a pagan ritual has been rescued by Brazilian police. She had been kept in a bamboo cage inside an Afro-Brazilian 'temple' for ten days.

The child, whose head had been shaved and who showed signs of malnutrition, said she had been in the cage for at least 10 days. Police arrived at the building in the Registro area of San Paulo thanks to an anonymous phone call, and arrested five people in connection with the crime, including the child's mother. They were charged with illegal imprisonment, torture and child abuse.

The anonymous caller said the child was being prepared for a sacrifice ritual, but those arrested claimed she was 'merely' the object of an initiation rite in an Afro-Brazilian religion called 'candomblé.'

Caracas, January 8th, 2004 (ACPress.net).
Two recent attacks on Catholic property in Venezuela have exacerbated the tension which exists between that institution and the government of this troubled South American nation.

A statue of the virgin Mary was vandalised, and an explosion occurred in the doorway of a Catholic church. The Evangelical Council of Venezuela (CEV) said it deplored the attacks, arguing that all human beings have been made in the image of God and should be treated with respect and dignity. Whatever our religious, or other, differences, said the CEV, we ought to love one another and respect each other as people.

In a communiqué put out shortly before Christmas, the CEV said such attacks, apart from violating the Constitution, only separated people even more, and that dialogue and respect were necessary to try and achieve reconciliation and peace in Venezuela. "In these days in which we celebrate the birth of the Son of God, we raise our voices to God and call on every Venezuelan, whatever his faith, belief or politics, so that this Christmas might be an example of the love and blessing of God upon every inhabitant of this country."

Source: ALC. Editing: ACPress

Dallas, USA. January 8th, 2004 (ACPress.net).
The world Baptist movement is in shock after by far the largest single grouping within the World Baptist Alliance (WBA), the American denomination, the Southern Baptists, have pulled out of the Alliance alleging liberal tendencies in that organisation.

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) of the USA informed WBA Chairman, Billy Jwang Kim, and General Secretary, Denton Lotz, of their decision to pull out and stop their contributions on October 1st, 2004 (ACPress.net). The immediate context of their decision seems to be the fact that they were the only major denomination - they are easily the largest in America - to support President Bush in his war against Iraq. Jimmy Carter, one-time President of the USA and life-long Baptist, recently left the SBC over his pacifist stance and formed his own grouping.

Yet the issues go deeper. The SBC has been returning to orthodox biblical views on various points of doctrine in recent years, such as the absolute infallibility of Holy Scripture, and the exclusion of women from the pastorate. More liberal tendencies among Baptists have been uncomfortable with such forthright views. Yet the departure of the SBC from the WBA is one of seismic proportions; the SBC has 16 million members, one in three of all WBA members, who total 48 million worldwide.

Paige Patterson, Principal of South-West Theological Seminary, and Morris Chapman, Chairman of the SBC Executive Committee, communicated the decision to the WBA on behalf of the General Convention which had recommended the move. The SBC accuses the WBA of "liberalism" but the WBA rejects the charge. Lotz retorted, rather lamely, "if some people don't like someone or some movement, they call it liberal. There is some of that in our local churches. But we do not belong to this tendency, because we belong to Christ."

"We Baptists have a place in history for our defence of religious freedom and our congregational policy. Unfortunately, there are those who do not recognise this history and want to return to authoritarianism and central control. We reject this line of thought as contrary to the Scriptures and to our history." The WBA has called on the SBC to continue supporting the Church 'World Impact' programme, and to attend the Youth Conference in Hong Kong in August, as well as the Centenary of the Alliance, due to be held in Birmingham, in July 2005.

Istanbul, January 8th, 2004 (ACPress.net).
A Christian mother fighting for legal custody of her two children admitted recently that she has little hope that Jordan's judicial system will rule in her favour.

"Everyone is giving me promises," Siham Qandah said, "but no one is really doing anything. I am only counting on God and all the prayers of His people." The past 10 weeks have been particularly discouraging to Qandah, who has watched again and again as scheduled court hearings were postponed in both Amman and Irbid. When her children's Muslim guardian failed to appear at the last hearing set for November 23rd, the judge ordered another delay.

"I hardly expect him to show up this next time either," Qandah said. Concerned members of the U.S. Congress have reportedly addressed inquiries to King Abdullah II about the case, and Prince Mired bin Raed has discussed it with the monarch. The prince said however, that it remains "quite difficult" for anyone in the royal family to interfere with the court. "We do not want to be accused of tampering with the judiciary," he stressed.

Khartoum, January 8th, 2004 (ACPress.net).
Latin American evangelical leaders may have their doubts, but Sudan's leader was happy to meet evangelist Franklin Graham, president of the international relief organisation, 'Samaritan's Purse', when he visited the African nation recently. President Umar Al-Bashir of Sudan entertained Graham at the presidential palace in Khartoum.

The two discussed the ongoing peace talks between the government of Khartoum and the Southern People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) - talks aimed at bringing an end to one of the longest and most horrible civil wars in history. Graham, making his third trip to Sudan this year, is in Khartoum for the first time, at the invitation of President Al-Bashir. He also met the Vice-President and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as representatives of the Sudan Council of Churches and the Sudan Inter-Religious Council.

Graham then met an SPLM delegation that was in Khartoum for a round of historic government talks and meetings. Finally, he was guest of honour at a banquet hosted by Sudan's Secretary General of International Friendship.

Madrid, January 8th, 2004 (ACPress.net).
The fault-lines widen in the wake of the ordination of a homosexual bishop in the American Episcopal Church (AEC). While most of the rest of world Anglicanism has distanced itself from the appointment, and 10 out of 38 'provinces' have broken off all contact with the AEC, many Anglicans within the USA are now doing the same.

The appointment of Gene Robinson to head up the diocese of New Hampshire in northern USA threatens the break-up of the Anglican Communion, which came into being when Henry VIII broke with Rome in the 16th century. The Church of England was formed, then exported via the British Empire to all parts of the world. Missionary endeavour has extended it even further, until now. Anglicans in Africa - the largest grouping within the Communion - are especially incensed at the immoral line taken in the USA.

Yet they are not alone. In a surprise move, the Archbishop of Seattle, in N.W. USA, Alexander Brunett, has announced that an American Anglican diocese has asked to join the Catholic Church in the wake of Robinson's appointment. Brunett is responsible for the Anglican contribution to ongoing talks with Rome (suspended in the light of Robinson), and admits that he has received many negative reactions from Anglicans over the issue. Reports have come from Rome about Anglicans talking about joining the Catholic Church but maintaining Anglican customs and liturgy. Get your head around that one.