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People
still believe in God, despite the BBC
London ,March 11th, 2004 (ACPress.net).
Institutions dominated
by secular humanism, such as the BBC, love holding surveys to
determine the true level of religious belief, perhaps in an
attempt to show that deep down we are all just monkeys after
all. However, they are continually frustrated in their efforts.
The latest survey shows that more than 80% of human beings believe
in God, or a higher being.
10,000 people were questioned in Britain , the USA ,Israel ,South
Korea ,Indonesia ,Nigeria ,Russia ,Mexico ,India and Lebanon
. The survey shows that belief in God is higher in poor countries
than wealthy ones. However, the USA is an exception to this
rule, as the vast majority of its inhabitants believe in God.
Nigeria topped the list with 100% positive response, followed
by Indonesia at 99%, Lebanon 98% and India 98%. The least faith
was found in Great Britain , where only 67% said they believed
in some kind of higher being. (Did the BBC conduct the survey
in Islington?) Mexico registered 93% and was the only Latin
American nation consulted.
Source: BBC. Editing: ACPress.net
Evangelical
President killed in plane crash
Strumica, March 11th, 2004 (ACPress.net).
The President of Macedonia,
Boris Trajkoski, killed recently in a plane crash in Bosnia
, was an active member of an evangelical church and just 43
years old when he became leader of his country in 1999.
Trajkovski was born in Strumica in central Macedonia in 1956.
He studied law. He married, and had two children. Pro-European,
he was a firm defender of ethnic tolerance in a country plunged
into serious armed conflict in 2001, between government forces
and Albanian guerrillas. After 7 months of fighting which caused
between 70 and 150 deaths, normality was resumed with the support
of NATO and the European Union.
The population of Macedonia is almost 25% Albanian, who live
mostly in the north and north-east of the country, near the
border with Serbia and Kosovo. Trajkovski was hoping to be re-elected
for a second term as President later this year. He was buried
in the capital, Skopje , at a Protestant funeral. Most Macedonians
belong to the Orthodox Church, while most Albanians are Muslims.
Source: Agencias. Editing: ACPress.net
Pope says
Turkey must protect religious freedom before entering Europe
Rome ,March 11th, 2004 (ACPress.net).
The presentation of his
credentials by the new Turkish Ambassador to the Vatican , Osman
Durak, was the opportunity for John Paul II to make a political
statement. He said he supported Turkish entry of the European
Union so long as it gave protection to religious minorities
in its country, especially the human rights of Catholics there.
Gains made by fundamentalists in the 2002 elections, in which
moderate Islamists won with 34% of the vote, and the lay sector
favoured by the West only won 19%, set the process back considerably.
The greatest difficulty to entry is that Turkey has not reformed
its governmental system to bring it into line with EU states.
In the past, the Vatican has expressed doubts about the viability
of a Muslim-majority state entering the Union , and has called
for countries with a Christian majority - such as the Ukraine
or Moldova - to be given preference. Above all, it has called
on Turkey to protect basic human rights and the freedom to practice
one's own faith. One of the current Pope's first trips was to
Turkey , in November 1979.
The Pontiff recognised that the Turkish constitution enshrines
religious liberty, and added: "Given that Turkey wants
to establish a new relationship with Europe , I join the Catholic
population in requesting the legal recognition of the Catholic
Church by the Turkish authorities. Christians make up 0.6% of
the population in Turkey , and there are 28,000 Catholics.
Source: ESD. Editing: ACPress.net
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Brazilian
missionary murdered in Mozambique
Porto Alegre ,March 10th,
2004 (ACPress.net).
Brazilian Lutheran missionary,
Doraci Edinger, 53, has been murdered in Nampula, a town 400
miles north of the Mozambique capital, Maputo.
Her body was found in the flat where she lived on February 23rd,
although the crime probably occurred two days earlier, in circumstances
which the local police have yet to unravel. Edinger had been
working in Mozambique since 1998, with the World Lutheran Federation,
and had expressed fears for her own safety more than once.
She had been granted permission to return to Brazil but had
preferred to stay and carry on her work with very poor people
in the Moma region.
Towards the end of last year, a Catholic Brazilian missionary,
María Elilda Dos-Santos, condemned the trafficking in
human organs that goes on in Nampula. She presented a dossier
to the Human Rights Commission in Mozambique which included
information about a group of people who kill poor children to
use their organs commercially. The first case investigated by
Dos-Santos was that of a 12-year-old girl whose body was found
in October 2002, missing its heart, lungs and kidneys. The police
were notified and they cordoned off the area, but they did not
examine the body, which was buried, and the case filed.
Dos-Santos and five children threatened with death took refuge
in a monastery in Nampula. Once the safety of the children was
guaranteed, the missionary returned to Brazil early this
year. It is possible that this group of murderers are implicated
in the case of the Lutheran missionary. Since Doraci arrived
in Nampula, the small Lutheran Church of Mozambique has doubled
its membership, reaching a total of 3.000. In Cabo Delgado,
the neighbouring province, where she helped establish several
congregations, more than 800 people were baptised in a weekend.
Doraci helped build schools and health centres in rural areas
of Moma, as well as sinking wells and ensuring the population
had access to drinking water. She encouraged the self-sufficiency
of rural villages through a better choice of crops and the distribution
of vegetable seeds. She also spread the Gospel and obtained
Bibles and Sunday School materials for the churches.
Source: ALC. Editing: ACPress.net
'Jesus healed me of my homosexuality'
Sao Paulo ,March 10th, 2004
(ACPress.net).
An ex-lesbian who has
repented of her previous lifestyle and now works as a missionary,
Lana Holder, says she "was healed by Jesus." She now
visits churches encouraging them to deal with members of their
congregations who have problems relating to homosexuality.
Holder is well-known in Brazil for her testimony of how the
Lord converted her from a life of drugs and homosexual behaviour.
She now admits that her testimony became a lucrative business,
as she toured the country and sold tapes. However, she had a
relapse and fell into a lesbian relationship with a worship
leader in the World Revival Church . "Someone who has a
past like mine is always open to a fall", she says.
She accused some pastors of hypocrisy for advising her to marry
and carry on preaching, even though they knew she was in love
with another woman. Holder says Brazilian churches are unready
to tackle the issue of homosexuality head on. "That's why
hardly anyone tells their pastor if they have a homosexual inclination."
She also complains that the church is harder on sexual sins
than others, such as stealing money from the church or speaking
ill of others. "They are considered 'normal sins' and sometimes
are not even punished."
Source: ALC. Editing: ACPress.net
Missionaries
pull out of Haiti
Port-au-Prince ,March 10th,
2004 (ACPress.net).
The American Presbyterian
Church (PCUSA) has begun pulling out its missionaries from Haiti
after the popular uprising against the government of President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide claimed more than 50 deaths.
As rebels closed in on the capital, Port-au-Prince , various
countries evacuated their citizens, and the United Nations brought
out their personnel. Paul and Joan McClain, from Florida , who
work in north-east Haiti , left on February 20th. Paul is a
doctor, and Joan a Mission Coordinator. They left on board a
Missionary Aviation Fellowship (MAF) plane. McClain said "The
rebels are taking over the region methodically, they occupy
a village and either force the police out or kill them and impose
martial law."
They decided to leave when they learnt that three out of four
roads to their village had been closed. "The situation
of North Americans in an anarchic scenario is not good."
PCUSA's Mission Department has advised voluntary groups not
to go to the island for the time being.
Source: ALC. Editing: ACPress.net
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e s t.. o f..
t h e.. W o r l d |
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US
Protestant candidate closer to Rome than Catholic Kerry
New York ,March 4th, 2004
(ACPress.net).
John Kerry is hoping
to become the second Catholic President of the United States
but if he does so, it will not be due to Catholic votes. Apart
from the fact that Catholics only make up a small percentage
of the electorate, Kerry's pro-abortion stance has led to several
Catholic bishops warning their flocks about this candidate.
When Kennedy - the only Catholic to make it to the White House
thus far - stood in 1960, most Catholics were Democrats, and
he could count on most of their votes. However, times have changed
and since Reagan's conservative revolution in favour of the
family and against such atrocities as abortion, the Catholic
vote is no longer mainly Democrat. A Catholic voter in November
looks likely to have to choose between the only President to
have done anything to limit abortion in the last 30 years -
Protestant George Bush, whose view on homosexual marriage also
coincides with the Pope's view, and, on the other hand, Catholic
Kerry, pro-abortion, divorced and who supports gay rights.
Indeed, Kerry has already come under fire from leaders within
his own Church. The Archbishop of Boston, Sean O´Malley,
said that Catholic politicians who support abortion cannot receive
communion due to their serious deviation from their Church's
teaching. Statistics show that Catholics have supported 14 out
of 18 presidential winners since 1932, so perhaps Kerry - whether
he likes it or not - will have to do something to placate the
men in purple, and those who follow them. On the other hand,
he may have made a pragmatic decision to distance himself from
a Church hierarchy tainted with the continuing scandal of paedophilia
within the clergy.
Source: ESD. Editing: ACPress.net
Israeli police to put bags
of pig fat on buses to stop terrorists
Jerusalem ,March 11th, 2004
(ACPress.net).
Israeli police are considering
using pig fat in their attempts to thwart Palestinian suicide
bombers. Pigs are impure animals both for Muslims and Orthodox
Jews.
In future, if you travel in Jerusalem by bus, it may well smell
of pig. Bags of fat from the animal may be placed in buses as
a protective measure against Islamic terrorists. The police
have the backing of the Rabbinical Court in Jerusalem , whose
judge Eliezer Moshé, has approved the measure. Pigs are
not just impure for Muslims; according to Islamic belief, if
a man comes into contact with one before his death he cannot
enter paradise. It is to be hoped he will not be able to enter
the bus either.
Source: ABC. Editing: ACPress.net
Americans
refuse visa to Cuban pastor
Washington DC ,March 11th,
2004 (ACPress.net).
American authorities
have denied a visa to Cuban Protestant minister, Raúl
Suárez, who was due to visit a number of churches in
Alabama as part of Black History Month.
Suárez, who is the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church
in Havana , is also an MP in the Cuban Assembly. The American
Office in the Cuban capital refused to comment on why his application
had been turned down. Suárez was due to speak at various
civic meetings, and preach in a number of churches. The reason
behind the visa rejection is undoubtedly the link between Suárez
and the Cuban government.
Source: AP. Editing: ACPress.net
Protestant
candidate in Philippine Presidential election
Manila ,March 11th, 2004 (ACPress.net).
There is a Protestant
candidate standing in the Presidential election in the Philippines
, to be held on May 10th.
His name is Eddie Villanova, and he will be challenging against
five other candidates, including the current incumbent, Gloria
Macapagal. The favourite to win, according to opinion polls,
is an actor, Fernando Poe Jr., but the courts have yet to decide
if he fulfils the condition of having Philippine nationality
in order.
Source: ZENIT. Editing: ACPress.net
Creation
on the curriculum in the USA
Indiana ,USA .March 11th,
2004 (ACPress.net).
A Christian distance-learning
school in Indiana has launched a biblical creation apologetics
course.
Evansville-based Master's Divinity School is hailing the course
as the first of its kind in the world. "This particular
programme is designed to prepare the pastor, the school administrator,
the Christian school teacher, or just the layman, who wants
to become a thoroughly trained apologist for biblical creation",
says Headmaster Frey. He believes the need for such a course
is great because most Christians are uninformed about the truth
concerning origin of life theories.
According to Frey, Darwin 's evolutionary theory is more than
just a matter of popular bad science. "I know the negative
consequences of the teaching of evolution in our society are
not insignificant. They're tied to the holocaust of abortion,
and so many of our social ills in today's world have some link
back to the teaching of evolution." The divinity school
president says the MDS apologetics course prepares students
to confront evolutionists with practical, Bible-based, and scientifically
defensible evidence supporting the Genesis account of creation,
and other related issues. Frey says in fewer than five years
of existence, the distance-learning school has grown to such
a degree that its current student body numbers nearly 3,000
students.
Source: Religion today. Editing: ACPress.net
Morality
biting into films, says Christian critic
Los Angeles ,March 11th, 2004 (ACPress.net).
Is Hollywood really getting
better? Since telling the entertainment industry his group would
be monitoring the moral and spiritual content of films and television
programmes, Dr. Ted Baehr reports notable increases in the number
of films with positive moral content.
Baehr founded the Christian Film & Television Commission
in 1978 with the objectives of redeeming the values of the entertainment
industry according to biblical principles, and influencing top
executives and creative artists to adopt higher moral and spiritual
values in their productions. Acccording to Baehr, only 68 films
in 1991 had "positive moral" content -- but by 2002,
that number had increase to more than 200. In the same vein,
he says the number of movies with "spiritually uplifting,
redemptive, and/or Christian content" jumped from 27 to
135 in the same time period -- an increase of 400%.
Next month, the Christian Film & Television Commission will
present its 12th annual Faith & Values Movieguide Awards,
honouring those in the entertainment industry who the group
feels have best extolled moral/biblical values and Christian
principles in the pursuit of entertainment.
Source: Agape Press, Religion
today. Editing: ACPress.net
Storm
clouds gathering in Indonesia
Djakarta ,March 11th, 2004
(ACPress.net).
While physical attacks
against Christians and churches continue, Islamists are increasingly
turning their attention to legal means of oppressing Indonesian
Christians.
Since November 2003 there has been a spate of church attacks
and closures in Java and Sumatra . On Sunday 25th January seven
churches were closed down in one day in Banten Province to the
west of Jakarta . Two hundred protesters gathered in the town
of Tangerang and fiercely clamoured for the churches' closure.
Though some of the church doors were sealed up and daubed with
graffiti, there was no significant damage done to the buildings.
On 9th January a hundred protesters descended upon the Geraja
Protestant Indonesia Church . They forcibly stopped renovation
work on the building, in Bulak Kapal, just to the east of Jakarta
, and then proceeded to destroy much of the church's furniture
and fittings. The congregation had used the building as a church
since 1975, but now they have to meet in a large tent. Three
days before this attack a bomb was discovered and made safe
in a church in Medan ,North Sumatra . Before that, on 31st December
and 4th January, two more churches were forced to close in East
Java , near Surabaya . One of the pastors received death threats
and his congregation were badly traumatised.
Four further churches were closed in Jakarta itself between
27th November and 8th December. In one incident on 30th November,
protesters came bearing jerry cans full of petrol to burn down
the Bethel Church , in Pahlawan Revolusi, if the congregation
did not comply. Protesters calling for the closure of these
Jakarta churches have been citing "Letter of Decision no.
137"; this 2002 ruling states that churches in West Jakarta
can be closed down if the local community objects to them. Recently
extremists have been starting to mobilise local Muslims to exploit
this ruling. Several churches under construction have also been
blocked.
There is, however, some debate as to the legality of "Letter
of Decision no. 137". Nevertheless such decrees could have
the weight of the law behind them in the future under the currently
hotly debated Religious Tolerance Bill. This legislation may
well have a profoundly detrimental affect on the Indonesian
Church if it is passed. In its current form it would restrict
church building and conversions from one faith to another. The
Religious Tolerance Bill is the latest example of Islamic hardliners
increasingly making use of legislation to guide Indonesia towards
becoming an Islamic State that will codify repression of religious
minorities. However, as the bomb discovery in Medan on 6th January
shows, Islamists are not giving up their armed struggle in favour
of a purely political one.
The discovery of 13 homemade bombs in Poso, Central Sulawesi
, at the end of February serves to underline this point. Thankfully
the Indonesian judicial system is bringing more armed Muslim
extremists to justice. Nur Misuari, alias Nurdin, was found
guilty on 19th February of being involved in the July 2001 bombing
of a church in East Jakarta . One person died and 67 were injured
in this blast, some losing their sight and hearing. Nurdin was
sentenced to 12 years; both the prosecution and the defence
are appealing.
Source: Barnabas Fund. Editing:
ACPress.net
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