|
| |
|
|
|
|
Recomendar |
|
|
Agregar a
favoritos |
|
|
Página de inicio |
|
|
¿Quiénes somos? |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Greenland
is melting
London, April 24th, 2004 (ACPress.net).
The Greenland ice-cap
could disappear altogether over the next thousand years if the
rate of global warming remains the same, according to a report
in 'Nature' magazine.
Scientist Jonathan Gregory and his colleagues at Reading University
in England, say that their research suggests a rise of 8 degrees
Centigrade in the temperature of Greenland by 2350. They calculate
that if the ice-cap melted, sea levels worldwide would rise
by 7 metres. Even if global warming is reduced, the rise in
water levels might be irreversible.
The Greenland ice-cap is the second largest in the world after
Antarctica, and the scientists believe it will cross a heat
threshold which would make it unsustainable without a considerable
reduction in the emissions which produce the greenhouse effect.
The only international agreement is the Kyoto Protocol, which
Russia has not ratified and which the USA - the world's largest
producer of greenhouse gases - has flatly rejected.
Source: BBC. Editing: ACPress.net
'Church of Fools' to be
launched on Internet
London, April 25th, 2004 (ACPress.net).
If your faith is not
strong enough to get you out of bed on a Sunday morning and
out to church, then 21st century technology offers you a 'virtual'
service in the aptly-named 'Church of Fools'.
A project shortly to be launched will have a minister, a congregation
and real prayers, but no building. The pulpit, seats and worshippers
actually seen will be 3 D cartoon characters, but a real minister
will get in touch with the real worshippers electronically.
Not for nothing is it called the 'Church of Fools.' The designers
of this Internet church have a background; last year they invented
an on-line game based on Noah's Ark.
The webmaster, Simon Jenkins, says "some websites help
people meditate and pray, but noone has built an interactive
church in 3 D before." a minister will coordinate the activities
of his virtual church, including a welcome, prayers and singing
the hymns. The idea is that the worshippers are inter-connected:
"In different parts of the world, the congregation will
be able to switch on their computers, become a cartoon character
and see others on screen." The system also enables the
congregation to give an offering if they wish.
Source: BBC. Editing: ACPress.net
Pope ends his Easter praying
to Mary
Rome, April 25th, 2004 (ACPress.net).
The Pope wound up his
Easter celebrations with a prayer to 'the queen of heaven' (apparently
Mary), and trusted all "the concerns and fears of the world"
to the Virgin who, he claimed, "gives us the inner peace
which no fear can change."
The Catholic idea is that the church joins those who experience
the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus in a real way,
by praying this prayer to Mary. She is the 'guide' for believers
and the Pontiff asked that she would be "a support in moments
of temptation and doubt." God's idea is that all this is
downright idolatry. Did Jesus die so that we could pray to Mary?
Source: LA RAZÓN. Editing: ACPress.net
|
|
L
a t i n . A m e r i c a |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The
numbers go down in Argentina demo
Buenos Aires, April 23rd,
2004 (ACPress.net).
A.C.Press has received
the following letter clarifying the confusion over the numbers
at an evangelical demonstration held on April 3rd in the Argentinian
capital.
"Dear brothers at A.C.Press. May the peace and love of
God be with you and your ministry. Thank you for sending us
your excellent weekly news service. We wish to make just one
observation: In the item referring to the demonstration in Buenos
Aires, you should correct the following figure: "though
the police estimated the numbers at only 35,000"; this
should read 3,500 ( yes, just three thousand five hundred).
(The organisers were quoted at estimating the numbers at around
80,000.)
"The news agency ALC used our report as their source. We
spoke to the police Press department and they gave us the figure
of 3.500. Of course, there were not so few as this attending.
According to the information we have been able to gather from
our own sources, independent of the organisers, it seems that
the total was somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000 people.
The letter is signed by César Dergarabedian, Pulso Cristiano
(an electronic publication belonging to Kohler Communications).
Source: César Dergarabedian.
Editing: ACPress.net Mexican
Christian singer to visit imprisoned music producer
Mexico City, April 24th, 2004
(ACPress.net).
The Mexican evangelical
singer, Yuri, will visit the ex-agent of her colleague, Gloria
Trevi, a man named Sergio Andrade, who is in prison accused
of sexually-abusing children. Yuri will seek to share the Gospel
with him.
Yuri, one of Mexico's most popular singers in the 1980s, said
Andrade's office had got in touch with her and requested that
she pay him a visit in Chihuahua prison in northern Mexico.
Yuri said she would be delighted to do so, adding that she was
in no position to judge whether Andrade was innocent or guilty,
and that she would limit herself to sharing God's Word.
One of Yuri's most successful songs, with which she won the
OTI Festival in 1984, was in fact produced by Andrade. In 1995,
Yuri became a Christian and changed the style of both her songs
and her clothing. She began touring evangelical venues and in
1997 made a film of her life. Towards the end of 2002, Yuri
launched her commercial career once more and began singing to
a wider audience.
Source: LA OPINIÖN. Editing:
ACPress.net
Lutheran leader in Argentina
denounces Bush as an antichrist
San Leopoldo, Brazil. April
23rd, 2004 (ACPress.net).
If he did not occupy
such a prominent position in his denomination, his comments
would be dismissed as the rantings of an extremist, but the
Chairman of the Lutheran Church in Argentina, Angel Furlan,
has made one of the most outspoken and outlandish attacks on
the self-confessed Christian President of the USA, George Bush.
Furlan said: "President Bush is one of several antichrists
in the world today, and the promotor of economic terrorism practised
by the USA."
Furlan explained that what he meant by 'economic terrorism'
included the external debt repayment which afflicts poor countries
and swallows up their budgets. At a meeting in San Leopoldo
of Lutheran bishops and church leaders, Furlan said each year
11 million people die in the Third World from illnesses such
as Aids, malaria and tuberculosis. The Lutheran Church opposes
strongly the external debt repayment problem of undeveloped
nations, and Argentina is a case in point. It follows IMF and
World Bank instructions to the letter but still cannot escape
its debt. Repayment of interest exceeds what it spends on health,
education and civil servant salaries.
Furlan alleges that the IMF and World Bank are collaborators
with the military regime which ruled Argentina a few years back,
"who used the money against the people, in the genocide
of 30,000 people who were killed or who disappeared. So "they
(the moentary institutions) are accomplices in the murder of
many people, and in (those who suffer) hunger and malnutrition."
The Lutheran Church does not participate in campaigns to get
the debt lowered or pardoned, as it feels it is illegitimate
and should be regulated by the International Court of Justice.
Source: ALC. Editing: ACPress.net
The problem of violence
in Christian homes aired in Nicaragua
Managua, April 23rd, 2004
(ACPress.net).
An ecumenical meeting
of 60 women and 6 men in Matagalpa, in northern Nicaragua, comprising
Protestants and Catholics, heard how violence against women
and other domestic ills are much more widespread than is commonly
thought.
Brenda Consuelo Ruiz said that many myths prevent more effective
measures being taken. She said one myth is that domestic violence
only occurs in very poor families, and only affects a small
percentage of the population. Another is that incest only occurs
in the countryside, and that inter-family violence is a private
affair which others should leave well alone. The most worrying
myth, however, is the belief - equally false, said Ruiz - that
domestic violence does not occur in evangelical homes.
A survey of 320 evangelical women from four denominations undertaken
two years ago, showed that 62% had been abused at home. She
said that there were some pastors who abused their wives, as
well as young people in their churches, and that domestic violence
among church families was actually increasing.
Source: ALC. Editing: ACPress.net
|
|
R
e s t.. o f..
t h e.. W o r l d |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bible
quotes fly in American presidential campaign
Missouri, USA. April 25th,
2004 (ACPress.net).
One of the American Democratic
presidential candidates, John Kerry, a liberal Catholic, criticised
the economic policy of President George Bush in a speech in
the southern American state of Missouri. Using quotes from the
Bible, he accused Bush of having "faith without works",
saying that during his tenure employment had increased, as had
the budget deficit.
Kerry was after the black church vote and claimed that Bush
has helped the better-off but ignored those who live in poorer
areas like many in the Southern states. "Today there are
3 million people who have lost their jobs and with it their
hope as well." Showing that he knows how to adapt, Kerry
spoke from a church pulpit and quoted the Bible. The economy
is the issue Democrats hope will swing November's election in
their favour.
However, while Kerry was speaking in a Protestant Church, his
own church leaders were considering withdrawing the privilege
of communion from him due to his pro-abortion and pro-gay marriage
stance. Kerry's use of Scripture could also rebound on him.
Steve Schmidt, Bush's campaign spokesman, accused him of exploiting
God's Word for political ends. Kerry is also likely to come
unstuck if he attempts to fight on biblical grounds, as Bush
is a convinced evangelical Christian and always end his own
speeches with the phrase 'God bless America.' On ethical issues,
Bush is also much clearer about what the Bible teaches than
Catholic Kerry. Apart from abortion, Bush has said that homosexual
marriage must be opposed, and defence made of the "sanctity
of marriage as a union between a man and a woman."
Source: AFP. Editing: ACPress.net
Zanzibar churches on guard
following attacks
Zanzibar, April 25th, 2004
(ACPress.net).
Churchgoers on the tiny,
Muslim dominated island of Zanzibar off the coast of Tanzania
are aware of a growing threat by Muslim extremists suspected
of carrying out recent attacks against churches.
"There are some people who think they can do away with
the Christians, and most of them are coming from outside (the
country)," said Father Arbogast Mushi of the Roman Catholic
Diocese of Zanzibar. Tensions increased on March 5th when the
Islamist group UAMSHO (Revival and Propagation Organisation)
held an illegal rally despite a government ban imposed after
previous demonstrations in which UAMSHO distributed jihad-training
videos and literature. The group urged killing secular politicians
who refuse to impose sharia, or Islamic law. Five days later,
arsonists set fire to a Roman Catholic church in the Jumbi district.
The Associated Press quoted police official Hamad Issa describing
the attack as "a deliberate act aimed at inciting religious
hostilities in ( Zanzibar )."
Source: Compass direct, Religion
today. Editing: ACPress.net
Hispanic conversions increasing
in the USA
Los Angeles, April 25th, 2004
(ACPress.net).
More Hispanic Catholics
are turning to Christ in the United States.
A report in the 'Los Angeles Daily News' said that nearly 20%
of Hispanics living in the USA have converted to evangelical
Christianity in the last 10 years. After centuries of devotion
to Catholicism in their communities, many are now finding new
hope in Jesus Christ. "Drawn to the no-nonsense sermons
on pious, drug- and alcohol-free living, many Latinos say evangelism
is a powerful antidote to everyday troubles plaguing their communities,"
the newspaper observed.
Pedro Villarreal, a pastor at the evangelical 'Iglesia del Dios
Vivo' in Los Angeles, whose congregation has grown 15% over
the last year, noted that: "They come from the Catholic
Church because they receive something better. They receive peace
and security here. There is a movement. The [Catholic Church]
has good morals, but the people don't have spiritual experiences.
We are growing because people needed something more." The
sermons at La Iglesia 'En El Camino' are so popular that Sunday
services often fill the church to capacity, with dozens of worshipers
overflowing into the hallways. Many Latinos who converted from
Catholicism say the strict moral code demanded by evangelical
preachers is the main attraction. "Here, lives are transformed.
You are rehabilitated," said Juan Zelaya, 31, a former
womaniser who reconsidered his lifestyle after hearing a sermon
at El Camino.
In the light of all this, the American Methodist Church has
launched a publicity campaign in Spanish, for the first time.
It has chosen a TV network known to have a large Hispanic audience,
and invites them to join an 'inclusive' church with open hearts,
minds and doors. It is estimated that by the year 2050, people
of Hispanic descent could make up a quarter of the US population.
Sources: Charisma News Service,
Religion Today, UMC. Editing: ACPress.net
Training church leaders
in Iraq
Baghdad, April 25th, 2004
(ACPress.net).
An American evangelical
group, 'Equip', is trying to help fill the void of church leaders
in Iraq, where - they say - the church is experiencing explosive
growth.
However, a lack of Christian leaders is hindering Iraqi believers
from planting much-needed churches in that nation. That is why
Equip, a ministry that provides leadership development for Christians
worldwide, is committing resources and personnel to train Iraqi
church leaders. Equip president John Hull says training will
continue even with the volatile situation in the war-torn nation.
He says there is great openness to the Gospel in Iraq, partly
because of the new freedoms being experienced in the post-Saddam
era.
"This is the first time in generations that there has been
freedom," he says, including the freedom to worship freely
and to learn what it means to develop networks and work in partnership
with other churches in a nation whose infrastructure he says
has been "severely limited by Saddam's own selfishness."
Equip was founded by author and Bible teacher John Maxwell.
Sources: Agape Press, Religion
Today. Editing: ACPress.net
Canadian police arrest refugee
in church after forced entry
Montreal, April 25th, 2004 (ACPress.net).
The United Church of
Canada has complained to the Prime Minister about police who,
they say, burst into one of their buildings in order to root
out illegal Algerian immigrants.
Police forced their way into St Pierre's Church, looking for
Mohammed Cherfi, around whom an immigration saga has raged for
six years. Police brushed aside efforts by the church's minister,
Rev. Gerard Doré, to prevent their entering and arresting Cherfi,
who was later deported from the country.
Doré says Cherfi was arrested because he is a passionate defender
of the rights of Algerian immigrants in Canada, and that the
police action violated a 'holy place' and a tradition dating
back to the Middle Ages. The 'Sanctuary' movement, based in
Canada, started defending refugees more than 20 years ago, first
working with some from Guatemala.
Also in Canada, there is growing concern that preaching against
homosexuality may soon be considered a crime, as homosexual
rights are increasingly being written into law. Now the Director
of the International Bible Society (IBS) in Canada predicts
that the federal government could soon add homosexuals to the
list of groups protected by laws against so-called "hate
propaganda." He says the bill could permit Canadian officials
to ban parts of the Bible as hate literature. If the bill becomes
law, as expected, Canada's Supreme Court may have to decide
if homosexual rights are more important than religious liberty.
Brooker notes that Canadian judges have already ruled that the
nation's constitution gives homosexual couples the right to
marry.
Sources: PE, ENI, Religion
today. Editing: ACPress.net
Unborn baby becomes a person
in American law
Washington DC, USA. April
26th, 2004 (ACPress.net).
The American President,
George Bush, has signed a law passed by the Congress by 61 votes
to 38 which makes it a separate crime in itself to harm an unborn
baby by attacking a pregnant woman. The attack on the woman
would of course already be considered a crime.
The law recognises a foetus as a person for the first time,
with rights independent of the mother. There is now hope that
the legislation will smooth the path for those wishing to outlaw
abortion. If a person comes into being at conception instead
of birth, then the deliberate interruption of a pregnancy could
be considered a criminal act. Pro-abortionists are on the defensive
as they see the ground cut from under their feet.
The legislation is, however, limited to cases where the mother
is the victim of a crime, such as a terrorist act or violence
by drug traffickers. Indeed, the politicians responsible for
framing the law, mainly Republicans, admit its language is not
clear enough to avoid confusion over the definition of abortion.
In a bizarre statement, the American Civil Liberties Union said
"this decision represents an attack against the freedom
of reproduction", when in fact it is exactly the opposite.
It allows reproduction, but seeks to curtail the freedom to
murder unborn babies with impunity.
President Bush observed that the law recognises that there are
often two victims in an attack on a pregnant woman. "Therefore,
in these cases, there are two crimes which must be punished."
He also alluded to the case of Laci and Connor Peterson, which
is going through the American courts, in which a mother was
murdered. along with her unborn baby of 8 months.
Source: La Razón. Editing:
ACPress.net
Supermarket competition a cover for forced conversion to Islam
Cairo, April 26th, 2004 (ACPress.net).
Christians in Egypt are
facing increasing persecution, as vulnerable girls are being
targeted in a bid to force them to adopt Islam and Christian
students have been arrested for having Bibles.
In the latest ruse a number of supermarkets have been running
bogus competitions, where Christian girls always seem to be
the winners. The girl is asked to go upstairs to receive her
prize, and once upstairs she is ushered into a private room
and asked to sign the 'receipt for the reward'. The paperwork
actually turns out to be a statement of conversion to Islam.
Those who are old enough and literate enough to realise what
the statement is and who refuse to sign are accused of theft
and strip searched. The US Copts organisation reports that some
of these girls are raped. Furthermore the girls who have gone
through this experience remain in the custody of their abductors.
His Holiness Pope Shenouda III of the Coptic Orthodox Church
made a rare departure, in his weekly address on 16th March,
from his normally conciliatory tone and highlighted these incidents.
The Pope said that he had received many letters about the girls.
"I envisage this will cause serious sectarian strife in
our country. I call upon the police to take DECISIVE action",
he said with great emphasis. "We do not want to carry on
suffering! Enough is enough!" He went on to mention the
arrest of four Christian students in their late teens apparently
for possession of Christian literature and tapes. Police entered
the hotel in South Sinai where they were staying at 9am on 26th
January, arrested the four and seized all the Christian material.
Their detention was extended once on 9th February and then again
on 28th March.
Source: Barnabas Fund. Editing:
ACPress.net
Ride-by shootings claim
more Christian victims in Indonesia
Poso, Indonesia. April 26yh,
204.
Three shootings in four
days left two Christians dead and one seriously injured in the
Poso area of Central Sulawesi.
Pastor Freddy Wuisan, 25, was fatally shot in the chest, in
front of his wife, in Membuke about 30 miles west of Poso, by
gunmen who knocked on the door to his house next to the church.
Six hours earlier, the Christian Dean of the School of Law at
Sintuwu Moroso University, Poso, was seriously injured by shots
to the head and right hand. Rosia Pilongo, 41, is in critical
condition at Poso General Hospital. Witnesses near the shootings
saw in each case two people quickly leaving the area on a motorcycle.
The two attacks followed another shooting in which Christian
Tanalida, 37, was killed near central Poso. This shooting occurred
a few hours after the discovery of a bomb outside a church in
Maleali subdistrict, some 60 miles northwest of Poso. 'Ride
by shootings' and other attacks by motorcyclists are becoming
a common feature of anti-Christian violence in Central Sulawesi,
suggesting some kind of coordination in these attacks which
occur over a widespread area. In another incident, a woman in
the village of Maranatha, 18 miles to the south of regional
capital Palu, was hacked to death by motorcyclists wielding
machetes. There have been several other attacks, some fatal,
over the last year.
Between 1999 and 2001 all-out fighting in the area around Poso
claimed some 2000 lives. It ended with the Malino Peace Accord
in December 2001, but sporadic violence has continued ever since.
Analysts say that several of the recent attacks are being carried
out by a particularly violent local Islamic group called Mujahideen
Kompak. They in turn are a subgroup of the militant Islamist
group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) that operates in many countries
of Southeast Asia with the aim of setting up an Islamic super-state
under the rule of shari'a (Islamic law). JI were responsible
for the Bali bombings and for the church bombings on Christmas
Eve 2000 which killed 18 Christians.
Source: Barnabas Fund. Editing:
ACPress.net
|
|
|
