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CFT’s bi-weekly CHRISTIAN NEWS 15 November 1999 * TEACHER FOUND GUILTY FOR "PADDLING" CHILD AT CHRISTIAN SCHOOL - (RSA) An assistant teacher at the Highway Christian Academy has been found guilty, on 15 November in the Pinetown court, of assaulting a 13-year-old girl by "paddling" her twice on the buttocks. Mrs Valerie Ryan, a widow and mother of six, had never hit a child at school until she was asked to do so on 4 March this year. The parents of the child had, in accordance with the school’s policy, signed a "General Acceptance/Indemnity" form, which allowed the school to discipline pupils as "it deems wise and expedient for the training of my child." Magistrate S.J. Mayeza found that parents could not sign their rights away and were not justified in doing so. According to the school’s "Biblical Correction" code, boys and junior school girls are smacked by headmaster Chris Barnard, while high school girls’ corporal punishment is meted out by a woman teacher. In both cases the punishment is witnessed and written up in a book. Mr Mayeza said Mrs Ryan’s actions appeared to be justifiable in terms of the correction code because she had correctly followed the procedure. But he ruled that the school’s code was illegal because it violated the constitution. Mr Ryan’s attorney, Mr Syd Taverner, said he had been instructed to appeal against the magistrate’s conviction. (The Mercury, 16 November) In an interview with Advocate D. Achtzehn, who is representing Christian schools in a corporal punishment constitutional challenge in Port Elizabeth, he told Christian News that the Ryan case is "unfortunately the way the government is going and the path they have chosen to follow." Achtzehn said that on 29 November a decision will be taken whether to appeal against the Port Elizabeth ruling which earlier this year confirmed the School’s Act that no corporal punishment can be administered in Christian schools. He pointed out that Christian Educators in Australia and Britain are leading similar challenges to the law. * CHRISTIANS PROTEST ENGLISH ABORTION CLINIC IN SA - About 450 pro-lifers have demanded the closure of the Marie Stopes abortion clinic in Pietermaritzburg. Organiser of the Christians for Truth demonstration, Rev Derek King, said that over 60,000 South African babies have been killed in abortion clinics since 1997. He told the media that similar protests resulted in the closing of the city’s Nightingale Clinic which was the first abortion clinic in Pietermartizburg. King said that the community is appalled at the rate of "innocent lives snuffed out" by abortion clinics. "The Marie Stopes clinics lie when they advertise that their abortions are safe. Abortion doesn’t only hurt babies. We are also concerned about the damage done to women," he told the Natal Witness (15 November). Speaking to the crowd, Reverend Mene of the Imbali Ministers Fraternal gave a strong message based on the Ten Commandments. "God gave the command ‘You shall not kill’. Today, people are trying to change this, but God’s command is absolute. Abortion is murder in God’s eyes". The Marie Stopes clinics are an English-based company and is the biggest organisation performing abortions in South Africa. * REFORMATION BASED ON A "MISUNDERSTANDING" - Leaders of the Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches have signed a "Common Statement" in Augsburg on 31 October which in essence claims that the Reformation which began in the 16th century was based on a misunderstanding. Rev Tom Bruch, general secretary of the Lutheran Council for Great Britain, said yesterday: "It is very dramatic. We have come to a serious agreement on a core doctrine by which all our beliefs and practices are measured. It is the first time the Vatican has signed any such agreement with any Church of the Reformed tradition." Justification is defined in the "Joint Declaration" by the Lutheran and Catholic Churches as "the forgiveness of sins, the liberation from the dominating power of sin and death . . . It is acceptance into communion with God". The crux of the disagreement was Martin Luther’s belief that the process came "through faith alone" and was an act of God, while the Catholic Church taught that justification required man’s co-operation with God. Fr Bernard Longley, secretary of the Bishops’ Conference Committee for Christian Unity, said yesterday the Common Statement would "bear fruit wherever Protestants and Catholics are seeking reconciliation and unity". He said: "It is the first time the Vatican has celebrated publicly the signing of an ecumenical agreement and it is significant that they have chosen Oct 31 [Reformation Sunday]." (The Daily Telegraph) (Ed: A result of indulgence in humanist thinking – perhaps neither side understands the meaning of justification by faith?) * CHRISTIAN PARTY OBJECTS TO WORLD PARLIAMENT BLASPHEMY - The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) Vice President Louis Green has called all Christians to express their displeasure toward the Parliament of World Religions (PWR) for its blasphemy toward Jesus Christ and demand the immediate withdrawal of the PWR’s topic for discussion which refers to Jesus as a fool. Speaking in the House of Parliament on 11 November, he gave notice that the house notes with dismay and concern that the PWR had included the blasphemous topic for discussion in the proposed schedule for its December meeting. Mr Green said, "(O)ur constitution guarantees the right to freedom of expression, but this right is not extended to the advocacy of hatred based on religion." (ACDP News Release, 12 November) (To lodge a letter of complaint to the Parliament of the World’s Religions: Address: PO Box 42, Woodstock, Cape Town, 7915 - Fax: (021) 4484520 - Email: pwrsajoy@sn.apc.org) * GAYS FLOCK TO SAFE ‘SA’ - SA has received its first applications for asylum from gay men who fear persecution in their home countries, it was reported in Cape Town yesterday. A Ugandan doctor and two Pakistani men are seeking asylum on the grounds that they are homosexual and their safety is in jeopardy in their own countries. The applications will be a test case for SA, which has one of the most gay-friendly constitutions in the world. Gay activists believe a bomb blast that ripped through Blah Bar, a popular gay bar in Green Point late at night on 5 November was in response to a report that gay men from foreign countries were hoping to find a home in SA. (DNB, 8 November) * PASTORS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA OVERWHELMED BY AIDS CRISIS - Sub-Saharan Africa is the "global epicenter of AIDS," SIM reports. Nearly 12 million Africans have died from the disease and there are an estimated 5,500 funerals a day in Southern Africa alone, it said. According to SIM missionary Eldon Howard, pastors are so busy performing funerals, visiting the sick, and counseling grieving families that they don’t have time to prepare or preach sermons. Church members are despondent because the emotional toll of so many deaths is draining, he said. (Religion Today, 5 November) * DEEDAT RECEIVES AWARD FOR ISLAMIC PROPAGATION – Islamic activist and founder member of the Institute for Islamic Services Ahmed Deedat yesterday received an award in recognition of his work in propagating the Islamic faith. According to ISS representative Farhad Hussein, who presented the bedridden man with a plaque at his home, Mr Deedat had made a great contribution in relaying the Islamic message in comparison with other religious work. (The Mercury, 8 November) * RECONCILIATION OF JERRY FALWELL AND GAY ACTIVIST MEL WHITE - The meeting between
Baptist pastor and television preacher Jerry Falwell and a homosexual leader is the
beginning of an ongoing dialogue to stop hate speech. Falwell, long known for his strong
condemnation of homosexuality, and Soulforce leader Mel White, who describes himself as a
gay minister, will have more meetings in an attempt to lay a foundation of understanding
and friendship, Jeremy Blume of the DeMoss Group, a spokesman for Falwell said. No date
has been set for the meetings. ...About 400 people, including those from Falwell’s
group and gays and lesbians, attended a forum in the gym at Falwell’s Christian
school in Lynchburg, Va., Oct. 23. The Baptist minister apologized "for not always
loving homosexuals," and White apologized for harsh words about conservative
Christians. ...According to Blume the purpose of the dialogue is "to look at the
rhetoric" that gays and conservative Christians use against each other in order to
reduce violence. "Everyone realizes that, without compromising convictions on either
side, everyone can agree on non-violence." Falwell said he has not altered his
position that homosexuality is a sin. "My ultimate goal, I’ll make no bones
about it, is to bring them out of the lifestyle and to the Lord," he said. But
Falwell said he hopes to establish better relations with gays and lesbians. (Religion
Today, 13 November) * ATHEISTS AND AGNOSTICS ATTENDING CHURCH? - Hundreds of thousands of atheists and agnostics attend Christian churches, according to a new study from the Barna Research Group. The study’s organizers note that their findings could be seen as a cause to rejoice (because an easily reached mission field exists within the nation’s churches) or as a reason for concern (because churchgoers are losing their faith). (Newswatch, 7 November) * "GAY JESUS" PLAYWRIGHT UNDER ISLAMIC DEATH SENTENCE - A play depicting Jesus Christ as a homosexual has drawn outrage, not so much from British Christians, but from Muslims, including a scholar who has issued a religious edict (fatwa) condemning the playwright to death for blasphemy. Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed, a judge of the UK Shari’a (Islamic law) Court said he was surprised and disappointed Christians had not come out more strongly against the play. (Newswatch, 3 November) * TRADITIONAL "ONE-MAN-AND-ONE-WOMAN" FAMILY SUPPORTED - (Washington) A new study from the World Congress of Families, meeting this month in Geneva, finds that across the globe people are concerned about the state of the family and support a traditional understanding of it. For example, 84 percent of people polled agreed that marriage is defined as ‘one man and one woman,’ and 78 percent agreed that families were the ‘fundamental unit of society.’ (Daywatch, 8 November) * CONGRESSMEN REQUEST SUPREME COURT SUPPORT FOR PRAYER BEFORE PUBLIC SCHOOL SPORTING EVENTS - The House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution asking the court to support the constitutionality of such prayers when it considers a case in coming weeks. The resolution carries no legal force and is merely an expression of the representatives’ wishes. Texas Reps. Henry Bonilla, a Republican, and Charles Stenholm, a Democrat, introduced the resolution in response to an appeals court’s February decision banning the prayers in Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. An important religious tradition "has been threatened by a foolish decision in federal court," Bonilla said. "This resolution gives the U.S. Congress a chance to take a stand." (Religion Today, 4 November) * EX-PORN PUBLISHER RAISING MONEY TO BUY BACH MAGAZINES - Former porn publisher-turned-preacher Steve Lane is trying to raise $50,000 so that he can buy back a small mountain of hard-core magazines. He wants to pay off an investor so he can trash 30,000 copies of the triple-X publication he launched before becoming a Christian and walking away from a multimillion-dollar business. (Newswatch, 3 November) |
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