CFT'S bi-weekly CHRISTIAN NEWS

31 May 2000

* NEW VALUES TO BE TAUGHT IN SCHOOLS - A report by the Working Group on Values in Education under Professor Wilmot James, has been handed to the government. According to the report the values of equity, openness and tolerance are still absent in South African society. It regards Biblical teaching about the origins of mankind as potentially injurious, and promotes the teaching of the `scientific evidence' (evolution) for the common ancestry of all people, which the Working Group considers to be a fact essential to explaining racial equality. The report's definition for tolerance: "By tolerance we do not mean the shallow notion of putting up with people who are different, but a deeper and more meaningful concept of mutual understanding, reciprocal altruism and the active appreciation of the value of human difference". The report argues that to achieve this, schools should actively incorporate different traditions, cultures, religions and even sports. (Sunday Times, 14 May 2000)

* RASTA'S FAIL IN FREEDOM FOR CANNABIS - Attempts by dagga (marijuana) smoking would-be lawyer Gareth Prince to take on a Nelson Mandela mantle on behalf of Rastafarians were shot down by South African Appeal Court judges last week. Prince, of Cape Town, lost his legal battle to continue Rastafarian observance of smoking cannabis while at the same time practising as an attorney. He had tried to equate his situation to that of former President Nelson Mandela who had been struck of the roll of attorneys in the '50s. Prince had claimed that smoking dagga is a religious requirement of Rastafarians. The Appeal Court ruled that any exception made for Rastafarians could lead to a flood of recruits attracted by the prospect of unfettered use of an otherwise prohibited drug. (Sunday Times, 28 May)

* AUSTRALIAN SUICIDE - Australians are now taking their lives in greater numbers than ever. Latest government figures show that suicide deaths across the nation are now 55 per cent higher than road fatalities. But while massive governments funding and intensive media campaigns have helped reduce the road toll, suicide prevention programmes are crying out for more money, according to counsellors. Alan Staines, national secretary of Suicide Prevention Australia, believes it can be prevented in most cases. Mr Staines does not only want more assistance for the potential suicide victims (mostly young people), but also for their families. He would like a national awareness day, bringing across the message that no matter how black things can seem, there is a way through, and life is worth living. (The Weekly Times, 10 May 2000)

* ANGOLAN CHRISTIANS SUFFER – Christians are the target in the Angolan civil war because they do not want to take sides in the battle between Unita and the government, according to Rev Jaime Paulo. Christians are falsely accused of passing information about the rebels to the government. Six children have recently been stoned and crucified. According to Rev Paulo more than eighty Christians have been innocently murdered this year. The war, which was temporarily halted by a peace accord in ’94, was resumed in ’98. (Die Kerkbode, 7 April 2000)

* ISRAELI LESBIAN COUPLE WIN RIGHT TO ADOPT CHILD - An Israeli lesbian couple won the right to be registered as the mothers of a son born to one of them, angering Jewish traditionalists who accused the court of trying to play God. In a landmark decision, a three-judge Supreme Court panel ordered the Interior Ministry to register Nicole Brener Kadish as an adoptive mother to Matan, the four-year-old son of her lesbian partner Ruthy Brener Kadish. "The Supreme Court is more powerful than God because to this day God has yet to create a single child from two mothers and now the Supreme Court has succeeded," Michael Eitan, a lawmaker from the Likud party, told Reuters. Two lawmakers from Israel's National Religious Party demanded parliament pass a family law for fear that otherwise Israel would adopt the evils of the Biblical cities Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed by God for their wickedness. The court - by a vote of two women judges to one man - said the Interior Ministry must register the two women as mothers to one child. The Israeli Interior Ministry had refused to register the adoption, saying that from a biological standpoint two parents of the same sex was impossible. (Reuters, 29 May 2000)

* USA Presbyterian Church's highest court has ruled that congregations have the right to conduct religious ceremonies celebrating gay unions that stop short of marriage. The case, one of three on gay issues argued recently before the tribunal, stemmed from a same-sex ceremony performed in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. The Northeast regional church court ruled that ceremonies of ``holy union'' for same-sex couples may be conducted if it is* PRESBYTERIANS OK GAY `HOLY UNIONS', BUT NOT GAY MARRIAGES - The made clear they are not marriages. The high court agreed, though it instructed regional church bodies to make a clearer distinction between marriages and ``blessing services.'' A second case before the high court involved a homosexual candidate for the ministry who said he did not intend to remain celibate, even though church rules require clergy to observe either ``fidelity in marriage'' or ``chastity in singleness.'' In that case, the Northeast regional court decided that he could continue as a candidate, and that his ``manner of life'' could be evaluated prior to ordination. Homosexual issues will surface again when the General Assembly meets in Long Beach, Calif., from June 24 to July 1. Among legislation to be considered: a proposal to ban same-sex marriage.(AP 24 May 2000)

* CANADIAN HIGH COURT MAY CURB RELIGIOUS FREEDOM - The Supreme Court in Canada will rule on whether a Christian college that disapproves of homosexuality, saying it is sin, may train teachers for Canadian public schools. The case involves Trinity Western University (TWU) and the British Columbia College of Teachers (BCCT) and may set a historic precedent concerning religious freedoms in Canada. The teacher-training program at TWU, a Christian school 20 miles east of Vancouver, was first denied full accreditation by BCCT in 1996. Guy S. Saffold, TWU executive vice president, says the Supreme Court ruling holds a great deal of significance for religious institutions in North America. "This case is about Christian people's religious right to maintain their beliefs and not be excluded because of them," Saffold says. "If you can't train teachers because you disapprove of homosexuality, can you be a teacher if you disapprove of homosexuality? Can you be a doctor or a lawyer or a judge?" TWU expects a hearing date in the fall of 2000 or early 2001. (16 May 2000, NEWS religion-53)

* US CHURCH PICKETED FOR HONOURING ABORTIONIST - More than 100 pro-life demonstrators lined the sidewalks outside Westminster Presbyterian Church Sunday in a protest against abortion. At least two Lincoln police officers and many people from outside Nebraska were among the participants. Protesters displayed signs with pictures of aborted fetuses and opposing the fact that Dr. Winston Crabb, a physician who performs abortions, is a member of Westminster. Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Richard W. Ulbrich, one of several protesters from Colorado, said he was picketing Westminster "because they're honoring an abortionist by making him one of the pillars of their church." Rubin Rodriguez, president of The National Federation of Police Officers for Life, said: "I've been in demonstrations at abortion clinics, but this is the first one at a church. This church seems to be going to greater lengths than what we hear of elsewhere, in terms of protecting an abortionist." Demonstrations have continued at the church for three years. In his sermon Sunday, McDonald thanked his congregation for supporting each other in the face of the continuing protests. "The real issue here is about religious zealotry," he said. "It's about extremism and manipulation. Some people believe theirs is the only way and they will use any means necessary to try to coerce us into their narrow agenda." "This is not a pro-abortion church, this is not an anti-abortion church. This is a church of Jesus Christ that is trying to do its work and live within the broad guidelines of the Presbyterian Church." (Lincoln Journal Star, 23 May 2000)

* ANGRY YOUNG PEOPLE TAKE IT TO HEART - Angry young men and women are at far greater risk of hardening of the arteries than their calmer counterparts, according to a new study. Researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Programme in California found that high levels of hostility in people aged 18 to 30 were linked to heart disease in later life. (The Telegraph, London, quoted in Sunday Times 28 May)