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Cloning
breakthrough in Britain causes Christian concern
London, June
1st, 2005.
The Evangelical
Alliance has urged the scientific community, policy makers and
society as a whole to show more respect for human life after
scientists at Newcastle University
succeeded in cloning the first human embryo for research purposes
in the UK. This development flouts the United Nations' declaration
in February that overwhelmingly approved a ban on all forms
of human cloning.
Dr Don Horrocks, Head of Public Affairs at the Evangelical Alliance,
commented, "Creating and destroying human life for potential,
but as yet unproven and risky future therapeutic benefits remains
profoundly unethical, representing as it does the trading-off
of one human life against another. It is ironic that just a
week after Tony Blair highlighted respect as crucial for the
survival of society, the first human embryo is cloned for experimentation
in Britain. Civilised countries need to be agreeing now to remain
committed to the most fundamental expression of respect - that
human life in all its stages must be respected as sacrosanct
- before it is too late."
Scientists at the University
of Newcastle believe that the
cloned embryonic stem cells will pave the way for treating diseases
such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and diabetes. However, the
Evangelical Alliance suggests that other avenues of ethical
research, including the use of adult stem cell technology, which
could achieve similar results, should be pursued instead. Dr
Horrocks added, "We are increasingly seeing the cheapening
of human life by those who claim to represent life. Critical
ethical boundaries continue to be crossed which tend to be justified
by emotive and academic, rather than ethical, considerations.
And despite customary denials, how long will it be before the
next boundary is crossed and a living human being is cloned
for reproductive purposes? Christians take the view that life
starts at conception - a fertilised egg is a human life and
is just as deserving of the same amount of respect and protection
as a grown adult."
Britain is only one of a small number of countries to permit
the cloning of human embryos for research. The Newcastle team
was granted a licence by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology
Authority (HFEA) last year and they are now only a few steps
behind Korean scientists who are currently using cloned human
embryos to extract stem cells. In contrast, many countries throughout
Europe have introduced bans or severe restrictions on this kind
of research.
Source: EA. Editing: ACPress.net
Festival of Hope
draws thousands in Paraguay
Asunción, June
1st, 2005.
More than 40,000
people attended two ‘Festival of Hope’ rallies at which Franklin
Graham was the speaker. The President of Paraguay, Nicanor Duarte,
attended along with his wife and close associates.
Graham spoke about God’s love to man, personal repentance and
faith, and his talks were preceded by music by Christian soloists
and groups. During the Festival, Enrique Riera gave Franklin
a leather folder with the words ‘Illustrious citizen’ of Asunción
on it. “This is a simple token (to remind us) to pray for a
better country.” He thanked Graham for coming, highlighting
the importance of a visit by someone who enshrined the ethical
values so badly needed, he added, in Paraguay.
Source: ALC. Editing: ACPress.net
Persecution of Christians
continues in Eritrea
Eritrea, June 1st, 2005.
Persecution of
Christians in Eritrea continues. In March, a printer’s which
publishes Christian literature was closed down by the authorities.
Demoze Afwerki, Deputy Chairman of the Bank of Housing and Commerce
and an active member of an evangelical church, was arrested
in the same month and imprisoned.
It is thought Afwerki is in the same prison as Pastor Kidane
Weldou, also of the Full Gospel
Evangelical Church.
Both men are also members of the Executive Committee of the
Gideons in Eritrea. March was a busy month for the Eritrean
police as it also saw them raze a Christian church building
to the ground and arrest 10 members of the church who were worshipping
God there at the time. The ten are under detention at Assab
police station though no official charges have been made against
them.
Source: Compass Direct. Editing: ACPress.net
March and counter-march
in Berlin at 60th war anniversary
Berlin,
June 1st, 2005.
The evangelical
leader, Wölfgang Huber, added his voice to those of thousands
of Germans who joined in events to celebrate the 60th anniversary
of the end of the Second World War. The general feeling was
that it also marked the end of the Nazi barbarity, and many
Germans also demonstrated against the views and actions of the
ultra-Right National Democratic Party, which calls for an end
to ‘lies’ and ‘worship of guilt’.
Politics was to the fore however in both demonstrations. On
the one hand, the NDP and its supporters were allowed to march,
though not past the Brandenburg Gate nor the Holocaust Memorial.
On the other, anti-globalisation and Left-wing marchers took
the opportunity to call for an end to participation by German
soldiers in foreign operations. Apart from the marches, there
were other events in the German capital marking the 60 years
since it fell to Allied forces.
Source: DW. Editing: ACPress.net
Parliamentary award
for evangelical pastor in Colombia
Cúcuta, Colombia. June 1st, 2005 (ACPress.net).
At the opening
ceremony to mark celebrations of the 30th anniversary of the
Christian Centre in Cúcuta, Pastor José Satirio Dos Santos received
the parliamentary award, ‘Simón Bolivar, Order of Democracy,
Official Grand Cross level-.’
The Order was awarded by Ricardo Arias, MP, who said that those
who receive it “are those who have achieved something notable
in the institutional life of our country. We are not talking
about a useful man, as his life has...blessed significantly
not just this city, but the whole country.”
Source: ALC. Editing: ACPress.net
Peace Commission
calls for action after another Christian murdered in Pakistan
Lahore, June 1st, 2005 (ACPress.net).
The Commission
for Peace and Human Rights Development in Pakistan has called
for an end to religiously-motivated attacks, especially against
Christians, after yet another Pakistani believer was tortured
and murdered by Muslims.
The Commission, based in Lahore, is run by Anthony Waseem, an
intellectual who works in favour of respect between people and
for human rights in his country. It includes both Christians
and Muslims, and calls for an end to all religious discrimination.
It wants Pakistan to enjoy religious liberty and for people
of all religions to be protected. His call comes after the latest
Christian victim, Shahbaz Masish, was found dead, having been
tortured until he was unconscious, then murdered.
Apparently, a couple of work colleagues invited him to convert
to Islam. When he refused, they threatened to kill him. They
tricked him into a trap by offering him a job and then, when
he arrived, along with other men, tortured and murdered him.
The Commission has called on the authorities to track down those
guilty of the crime and to punish them. “Measures must be taken
to halt this kind of hateful act”, said the statement, which
also called on the police to change its attitude, so often one
of complacence in cases where Christians are the victims.
Waseem believes a whole network of groups must be mobilised
in order to eradicate this evil from Pakistani society, and
imbibe people with a more moderate attitude, so as to counteract
the threat of terrorism and religious intolerance effectively.
Source: FIDES. Editing: ACPress.net
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@acpress.net
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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