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Keeping Christ in Christmas
London, January 12th, 2005
(ACPress.net).
The General Director
of the Evangelical Alliance, Joel Edwards, sent this Christmas
message: 'This Christmas has a rather unusual feature, which
has made me do a double take. Just when Christians were settling
down to serial questions about the role of faith and bombarded
with stories about declining church attendance we are now faced
with the most energetic defences of Christmas that I can ever
remember.
The 'Keep Christmas' campaign led by newspapers like the Sun
has come to the defence of Christmas. The Sun, it seems, has
taken up arms against a contemporary Herodianism attempting
to strangle the Christmas story in the name of pluralism. It's
a kind of modern miracle. Perhaps we should rejoice when secularisation
protests against the secularisation it now calls 'political
correctness'. Joy to the world!
God moves in mysterious ways so perhaps we should welcome and
embrace this campaign. This is an ideological battle but for
Christian freedom to celebrate its faith in the midst of other
faiths is also good news for society. The really important thing
for us this Christmas is that we must promote the person of
Christ at the heart of our Christmas focus. It's still possible
to win the political battle for Christmas, to have the pageants
and parties and lose the person of Christ.
And we must not lose the message of Christ. A Saviour who came
to bring peace not by winning political battles but by changing
people's hearts and lives through a liberating and radical message
of forgiveness and hope. We know that faith to which we've been
called. How great it is that we can go out and tell people the
good news, being confident in what we believe and gracious in
the way we convey that belief to others.
Source: EA. Editing: ACPress
Cult
leader sent to prison in France for psychological coercion
Paris, January 13th, 2005 (ACPress.net).
The leader of an apocalyptic
sect called 'Néo-Phare' has become the first cult leader to
be tried and found guilty of 'psychological coercion' under
anti-sect laws brought in in France in 2001.
Arnaud Massy, 38, was sentenced to 3 years in prison and fined
90,000 euros by a court in Nantes, after being accused of "the
fraudulent abuse of the ignorance and weakness of a number of
persons in a state of physical and psychological coercion."
The court also put the guru under vigilance for a period of
five years, and handed down a more severe sentence than that
requested by the Prosecution. The Vice-Chairman of the National
Association of Family and Individual Defence Groups, Jean-Pierre
Gougla, called the decision "very important...it is the first
time a court has pronounced on the issue of coercion."
Source: EFE. Editing: ACPress.net
Archbishop of York retires
with fear of church split on his mind
London, January 13th, 2005 (ACPress.net).
The Archbishop of York,
David Hope, the second most important figure in the Church of
England, has warned that the Church is on the verge of division
over the ordination of homosexuals and / or women bishops. He
said that "the basic Christian message" of the Church is in
danger of being lost amidst these differences.
Hope says that internal wrangling over these issues is driving
people away from the Church, who calls for the debate to be
held in "the much wider context of the Christian doctrines of
creation, redemption and sanctification. If someone goes to
a hospital where there are people dying, you do not ask them
if they are in favour of women bishops or if they are homosexual,
or this type of thing. What is important is the work they are
doing." Hope did recognise that an active homosexual relationship
was unacceptable from the point of view of Christian teaching,
and he confessed that he and other clergy had to struggle daily
to live according to the Gospel.
The Archbishop also said that while he had initially supported
the war in Iraq, he now felt cheated and that he believed total
chaos reigned there. "The reasons (for which the war was waged)
have changed. We are on very slippery ground. Now we are told
there are no arms of mass destruction...but we went to war because
Saddam Hussein was the perfect baddie." David Hope retires this
week from his post as Archbishop of York which he has held for
10 years, to take the reins of a modest parish.
Source: EFE. Editing: ACPress
Madonna out to convert the
Isle of Man
London, January 13th, 2005 (ACPress.net).
Madonna seems to have
tried most things in her time, but her latest pitch is to convert
the good folk of the Isle of Man to her Jewish cult, the Cabala.
The 'material girl', now 46, is a member of the cult, along
with her English husband, Guy Ritchie, who is currently filming
his wife's latest foray into the cinema, 'Revolver', on the
island. Talking of material things, the couple donated well
over a million pounds of their hard-earned cash towards the
construction of the first Cabala centre in London, where as
it happens, Madonna owns a 12-room mansion.
The inhabitants of the Isle of Man told reporters that Madonna
and her husband had promised to give them Cabala bracelets if
they showed interest in the cult. In recent months, the singer
has asked her closest friends to call her 'Esther', a Hebrew
name, so that they might get in touch with "her spiritual side",
and be in tune with God. She may not exactly be close to the
Gospel, but she's certainly come a long way since 'Like a virgin.'
Source: EFE. Editing: ACPress
Banking on the Kingdom
London, January 13th, 2005 (ACPress.net).
The Kingdom Bank has
today opened its doors for trading, following last month's landmark
High Court ruling which gave the go-ahead for Kingdom Bank to
start operating as a subsidiary of Assemblies of God Property
Trust.
From December 31st, Property Trust's staff team will move to
work for Kingdom Bank ensuring continuity of service to existing
customers, who will automatically become customers of Kingdom
Bank. The move, which has been authorised by the Financial Services
Authority [FSA], will liberate the newly formed bank and give
it more freedom to operate than its predecessor.
The new bank, which has evolved from Assemblies of God Property
Trust, has its headquarters situated in Nottingham. It will
seek to build on the success of Property Trust, which was established
in 1954 and which now serves some 2,000 personal and charity
customers. Kingdom Bank will offer its customers a true 'values-based
banking service' founded on ethical Christian practices that
will benefit individuals and church projects alike. Colin Emmett,
Chief Executive of Kingdom Bank explained the ethos that led
to setting up the new venture. "The key aims of Kingdom
Bank are to provide an excellent service to its customers and
develop further the work established by Property Trust of lending
money for Christian building projects and other programmes.
In time we will also seek to provide a responsible comprehensive
banking service that serves our clients and helps them to fulfil
their God-given plans and aspirations."
"Kingdom Bank's vision of 'values-based' banking is based
on the Christian principles of responsibility, integrity and
human respect that will ensure our customers are able to put
their money to work in furthering Christian-led projects and
programmes." Kingdom Bank provides its customers with a
wide range of banking services including charity mortgages,
and personal and charity savings accounts. The Bank offers a
series of interest rates for its various savings and investment
accounts that it believes are competitive and stand up well
against those offered by its competitors.
Emmett went on to outline his vision for the future. "Kingdom
Bank has set itself some ambitious performance targets - thousands
of personal customers and advancing our mortgage and insurance
business significantly. Over the coming years Kingdom Bank aims
to establish itself firmly in the banking industry as a byword
for 'values-based' banking and respectful customer service."
Source: EA. Editing: ACPress
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Christmas
concert in Cuba has the audience on its feet
Havana, January 12th, 2005
(ACPress.net).
Coco Freeman, one of
the bright young things of Cuban music, had the audience on
their feet just before Christmas with his performance of 'Silent
Night' along with the Pax Dei Choir, at an evangelical concert
in the Amadeo Roldán Theatre.
It was the fifth such Christmas concert since the Cuban authorities
allowed public buildings to be used for cultural events of this
nature at such a key time of year. The concert is a kind of
Christmas card to the Cuban people from the island's evangelical
churches as it is broadcast a few days later on state television,
but similar events are held with permission all over the country.
The Pax Dei Choir is made up of more than 90 singers from seven
denominations and practised daily for more than three months
to prepare the 2-hour performance. The choir's director, Rita
Oliva, says: "We only managed to put it together by the grace
of God, as the increase in the number of churches participating
in the choir meant more work, because many of these people have
no vocal training nor are they professional singers, and the
rehearsals came when everybody had finished their day's work."
She added that the work with children was also exhausting, but
rewarding. They sang a number of traditional carols to popular
tunes, using arrangements by the Cuban composer, Andrés Alén.
Roberto Fergursón, a TV presenter, said it was a real headache
to reduce the concert to an hour for broadcasting purposes when
the whole two hours were of unbeatable quality. Various soloists
had come and gone successfully on the platform in the first
half of the concert when Freeman got up to sing 'Silent Night'.
He has recently conducted a tour among evangelical churches
in central Cuba.
Source: ALC. Editing: ACPress
Pro-gay
sex education proposal rejected in Argentina
Buenos Aires, January 12th, 2005 (ACPress.net).
After a five-hour debate,
the legislative assembly in the Argentinian capital rejected
two proposals to give sex education in schools. The proposals
had provoked a huge debate in Argentina in recent months, especially
among the evangelical community where most Christians were against
the proposal. They will greet the decision with relief and gratitude
to God.
The Evangelical Christian Alliance (ACIERA), which encompasses
a majority of evangelical churches in Argentina, opposed the
proposal, and only the Methodist, Lutheran and River Plate Evangelical
Churches were in favour, with some reservations. ACIERA said
the proposal was an attempt to impose the ideological aims of
a minority. "They wanted to infiltrate the concept of homosexuality
into schools as a third 'natural' option for human beings."
The proposal included teaching about 'sexual orientation and
gender perspective', which sounds like a euphemism for the promotion
of a gay lifestyle.
Christians in Argentina certainly thought so, and claimed the
proposal would allow heterosexuality and homosexuality to be
taught as equally valid options. They revealed that the proposal
was drafted by the Gay-Lesbian Integration Society in Argentina,
a group which advises the MPs who put forward the ideas in the
Assembly. ACIERA warns that technically the proposal could be
revived next year.
Source: ALC. Editing: ACPress
Brazilian pastor thinks evangelical growth in South America
is coming to an end
Sao Paulo, January 12th, 2005 (ACPress.net).
A Pentecostal minister,
Ricardo Gondim, says the evangelical movement, the greatest
religious phenomenon of the 20th century, is losing momentum
in Brazil.
Gondim, a pastor with the Assemblies of God, suggests that the
cycle of evangelical growth is at an end as the Church loses
its way. He doubts whether the 'results Gospel' will produce
"a more live spirituality or a more intimate relationship with
God", and he thinks it will lead to a more human approach to
the Scriptures. The signs of tiredness are there. "One of them
is the fragile theology and doctrine of the masses of the evangelical
movement. For instance, if you asked a member of an evangelical
church why they are evangelical, they would probably reply with
a traditional answer or relate some mystical experience, without
any basic, exegetical or hermeneutical content."
"We've got a pragmatic church, where it is more important to
'give the truth' than it is to be in the truth. The paradigm
of God's blessing is prosperity, so if you are earning money,
if your business is going really well, that is a sign that God
is blessing you." The leader says this theology begins to disappoint
people who feel frustrated with God and the church. He also
questions evangelical TV programmes which promote their own
institutions more than they actually preach the Gospel.
Source: ALC. Editing: ACPress
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Southern
Baptists set record mission offering target
Dallas, January 13th, 2005
(ACPress.net).
America's largest evangelical
denomination is trying to raise around 130 million euros (150
million American dollars) to send missionaries out into the
field.
The record goal was set by officials in the Southern Baptist
Convention (SBC) as they prepared for the annual "Lottie
Moon" Christmas offering for international missions. Dr.
Jerry Rankin, president of the International Mission Board of
the SBC, says while many of the large churches garner attention
for large offerings, numerous smaller churches are stepping
out in faith. "The most thrilling thing for me is to hear
from a lot of our little churches -- [those] with just maybe
30 or 40 members, or less than a hundred members -- that give
far beyond what they would have ever envisioned being capable
of giving in the past." Currently there are more than 3,000
candidates in the missionary appointment process. Rankin notes
that missionaries often serve in volatile areas; eight SBC missionaries
have been killed over the past two years while serving in the
field. Because giving for the Lottie Moon offering was $10 million
below the goal in 2002, missionary appointments were down in
2003. The 2003 goal of $135 million was exceeded by slightly
more than one million dollars. The namesake for the international
missions offering, Lottie Moon, was a 19th-century SBC missionary
to China.
Source: Agape Press. Editing:
ACPress
Muslim convert to Christianity
shot and injured in Philippines
Manila, January 13th, 2005
(ACPress.net).
A Philippine Christian
who converted from Islam is recovering from serious injuries
after being shot recently by Muslim activists. The 24-year-old
man, a fruit vendor, was shot in Zamboanga City as he took his
usual route home from the market.
Friends and family have asked that the victim not be identified
by name because they believe the three men who attacked him
and left him for dead are likely to come back to finish the
job. His fiancée said the gunman who shot him has attempted
to trace his location. Hospital workers are on the alert for
anyone attempting to enter his hospital room. The shooting victim
is a member of the Tausug tribe, the first tribe in the Philippines
to accept Islam and one of at least 13 mostly Muslim tribes
in the nation's southern region. Originally a Muslim, the man
saw several members of his family converted after he became
a Christian. He started reaching out to others through public
evangelism. This led to several death threats from Muslims in
Zamboanga, who objected to his profession of faith. Several
Muslim terrorist organisations exist in the Philippines, including
the Abu Sayyaf and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which
have been linked to Al-Qaeda.
Source: Charisma. Editing: ACPress
Final verdict awaited in
Jordanian widow's case
Amman, January 13th, 2005
(ACPress.net).
An Islamic court in Jordan
postponed a final verdict on Christian widow Siham Qandah's
legal saga to prevent a Muslim guardian from taking custody
of her two minor children. The verdict is now expected this
week.
The delay was the second postponement within three weeks in
the drawn-out lawsuit. Qandah said she did not know why her
lawyers had asked for the delay, although so far as she knew,
the courts still did not have any address or direct contact
information for the guardian, Abdullah al-Muhtadi. Al-Muhtadi
had refused to attend a previous hearing on November 23rd, despite
a summons from the Al-Abdali Sharia Court in Amman requiring
his presence. Instead, he sent word to the judge that he feared
for his life if he came to the court. "I do not know what he
is trying to accomplish, since this is a lie," a Christian friend
of Qandah said. Al-Muhtadi is Qandah's estranged brother who
converted to Islam as a teenager. Qandah has appealed to King
Abdullah II and Queen Rania for a just resolution of her case.
Source: Compass. Editing:
ACPress
Police
arrest Muslim militants for attack on preaching team in Nigeria
Lagos, January 13th, 2005
(ACPress.net).
Police have arrested
10 Muslim militants for attacking a team of evangelists in northern
Nigeria.
According to police, the militants' action against the 'New
Life for All' gospel team provoked a violent clash with local
Christians in Dutse, the capital of the state of Jigawa, located
in the country's northern region. The incident reportedly resulted
in two deaths and caused injuries to at least 20 people. Police
said the 10 heavily-armed extremists attacked the gospel team
and members of the public during an open-air preaching event.
Police arrived to restore order and arrested the militants.
'New Life for All' is an interdenominational gospel ministry
launched in 1969 as a united effort of evangelical churches
in northern Nigeria to preach the gospel in the area. Members
of the evangelistic team were among those injured in the attack.
In November 2003, Muslim extremists burned down 10 churches
and destroyed more than 100 properties belonging to Christians
in Kazaure town, located in Jigawa. A number of Christians were
killed during the attacks. "The attack on us is premeditated
and [shows] continuous persecution of the Christian community
here," said a Christian there. "We have faced these
attacks over the years, and the situation is becoming more difficult
for us."
Source: Charisma. Editing:
ACPress
The beginning of the end of Christianity in Australia?
Sydney, January 13th, 2005
(ACPress.net).
In direct contrast to
the way the West treats Islam, two Christian ministers were
recently found guilty of committing blasphemy against Islam
in a ruling one Christian group called "the beginning of
the end of Christianity" in Australia.
On December 17th, Judge Michael Higgins ruled that 'Catch the
Fire Ministries' pastor Danny Nalliah and speaker Daniel Scot
vilified Muslims at a seminar in 2002, in a newsletter and an
article on a website. Higgins said that in the seminar, Scot
made fun of Muslim beliefs and conduct in a way that was "hostile,
demeaning and derogatory of all Muslim people, their god, Allah,
the prophet Muhammad and in general Muslim religious beliefs
and practices." Scot said he was disappointed but not surprised
by the decision. Nalliah added: "We may have lost the battle,
but the war is not over. The law has to be removed, there is
no question." Nalliah was referring to Australia's Racial
and Religious Tolerance Act 2001, which says a person cannot
engage in conduct that "incites hatred against, serious
contempt for, or revulsion or severe ridicule of, that other
person or class of persons." Although violating the act
provides for prison sentences, Higgins said earlier in the case
that jail was not an option for Nalliah and Scot. The duo, though,
are expected to be fined.
Source: Charisma. Editing:
ACPress
A.C.Press:
The News Agency of the AEE (Spanish Evangelical Alliance)
Digital magazine at the website: www.ACPress.net
Telephone: 91 747 14
89; Fax: 91 747 59 24; E-mail: noticias@ACPress.net. Postal
address: Apartado 59198, 28080 Madrid, Spain. Co-ordinator
of A.C.Press News: Jonathan Dawson, E-mail: jdawson@protestantedigital.com
A.C.Press is part of the Spanish Evangelical
Alliance, whose E-mail is: oficina@AEEsp.net (www.AEEsp.net)
The Alliance is a forum for fellowship, reflection and the development of Christian
thought, produces various publications, and is involved in
the struggle for religious liberty. It is also part of the
European and World Evangelical Alliances.
A.C.Press news items may be reproduced as long
as their source is mentioned (ACPress News) |
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