Christian News - 15 April 2001

Christian News

15 April 2001

* CFT CONDEMNS NEW EUTHANASIA STEP IN THE NETHERLANDS
* DOCTORS REJECT DUTCH EUTHANASIA LAW
* DUTCH GAY MARRIAGES
* DEGRADING ADVERT WITHDRAWN AFTER COMPLAINTS
* SUDAN: BOMBED HIGH SCHOOL RE-OPENS
* MUSLIM LEADERS HARASS HOUSE CHURCH IN AZERBAIJAN (BAKU)
* YAHOO! DUMPS PORN VIDEOS
* NAMIBIA'S NUJOMA TO SEND HOMOSEXUALS BACK
* WITH MORE SCHOOL VIOLENCE, US HOME-SCHOOLING ON RISE
* HOMELESS, HOMESCHOOLING TEEN GETS PERFECT SAT SCORES
* FIRST UZBEK EDITION OF "PROVERBS" PUBLISHED IN TASHKENT
* THIRD OF BRITONS BELIEVE JESUS ROSE FROM DEAD

* CFT CONDEMNS NEW EUTHANASIA STEP IN THE NETHERLANDS - (The Hague) The
Dutch Senate passed a law legalising euthanasia under certain conditions on
10 April, making the Netherlands the first country in the world to allow
mercy killing. Under the new law, euthanasia would be allowed on medical
recommendation under three conditions: that the patient's condition is
incurable, that the patient is of sound mind and fully agrees to the
procedure, and that their suffering is considered unbearable. Children aged
12 to 16 would need parental consent to end their lives voluntarily. Much of
the public debate in The Netherlands has focused on the definition of
"unbearable suffering" which can be either physical or mental. There are
concerns about it applying to people suffering from depression who often see
death as their only way out. News24 reports that the Dutch move is opposed
by many Christian-Democratic parties in the European parliament. Edeltraut
Gatteres, parliamentary spokesperson on euthanasia, said the Dutch
legislation was contrary to the European convention on human rights.
(news24.co.za, 10 April)

Frans Gunnink, CFT journalist in the Netherlands, reports: "...The
successive Dutch laws around these medical ethical issues in the past have
all been drawn up after courts judged certain behaviour of doctors tolerable
(which was always a step further than the law officially tolerated at that
time). This means that if the higher courts uphold the verdicts in these
ongoing court cases, further relaxing of the laws will be around the corner.
Research shows that already at least a thousand patients per year are being
killed without their explicit (recent) consent. The Dutch minister of
Health, Mrs Els Borst-Eilers, made it clear during the debate that a deeply
demented person who cannot express her/his will clearly anymore and refuses
food or drink, could be considered having a wish to die. If the person has
years ago made it clear that he/she would opt for euthanasia, the doctor may
think on the patient's behalf and decide that it will be according to
his/her wish to be killed, so the minister concluded... CFT, who took part in a quiet protest against the new euthanasia law on 10 April, the day of the discussions, was very thankful for the massive turnout of more than 10.000 participants. This was a rare show of unity in which many Dutch churches and individual Christians united against the new proposals. CFT hopes that this will be the start of further fruitful cooperation amongst concerned Christians in these dangerous times. " (for the full report click here)

* DOCTORS REJECT DUTCH EUTHANASIA LAW - Doctors for Life (DFL) predicted in
a press release of 13/08/99 that active euthanasia would be legalised in
Holland, and 11 April the prediction was fulfilled. In a press release, 12
April, DFL expressed deep concern about the decision of the Dutch government
"to continue with this disastrous experiment at the cost of the citizens of
its country." According to DFL, studies indicate that families, rather than
patients, generally decide when the time has come for euthanasia. The
example of a man who was hospitalised with terminal cancer and in great
pain, was quoted. "The son told the doctor they wanted to bury the old man
before they went on holiday. The doctor agreed and overdosed the man with
pain medicine. The next day, much to his shock, the old man was sitting up,
feeling great. The intended overdose had not killed the man, but killed his
pain." DFL says this is an indication that the doctor had not known how to
control his patient's symptoms - which, events proved, had been fully
controllable. They called on doctors to ensure that they have adequate
training in pain and other symptom control and that they have access to
specialist advice in these areas. "Patients who opt for euthanasia have
usually been offered one of only two options: the option of dying in
excruciating suffering, or else euthanasia. They have not been offered the
option of expert pain control (palliative care)." DFL quoted examples from
the Netherlands where the guidelines in euthanasia legislation did not
protect people who did not explicitly request euthanasia, from being killed
by their doctors. (DFL Press Release, 12 April)

* DUTCH GAY MARRIAGES - CFT Netherlands reports: "Filled with thankfulness,
we returned home at 01:00 on 1 April. Seven CFT members had been standing
before the Amsterdam Town Hall, each holding a sign, spelling out the words:
"Come, let us return to the Lord". (Hosea 6:1). At 24:00 the Mayor of
Amsterdam, Job Cohen, was to marry the first four homosexual couples. Before
he became mayor, he had been the junior minister of Justice who had defended
the law permitting gay marriages, in Parliament. The law was to take effect
on April 1. At 22:45, standing at the entrance, we were discovered by the
media. There were more media people at the scene, than visitors. About
twenty to thirty TV crew members, 40 photographers and 40 journalists from
Japan, Canada, Italy, Australia etc. We could tell them that we were
offering an alternative to that which was going inside the Town Hall, a
better way of real happiness. We had a wonderful opportunity to testify to
that which God had done in our lives, and we could also give our opinion
about homosexuality and the medical reasons why it is bad for individuals
and society as a whole". (CFT Netherlands, 1 April)

* DEGRADING ADVERT WITHDRAWN AFTER COMPLAINTS - An advertisement heard
during prime time on SAFM on Monday, 10 April, was withdrawn due to a large
number of complaints. In the advert, for a strip club called Teazers, men
were encouraged to visit the club, as it was "the right thing to do".
Various `good' things for which the club's girls needed money (eg. a breast
reduction operation), were broadcasted to give men `justification' for
visiting the club. In a letter of complaint to SAFM, a CFT member wrote
:"... If you want men to help these young women to pay for the various
things they need, why not simply ask for donations? Why degrade these women
in the process, by making them expose their bodies, and maybe doing even
worse things? And to say that 'you know it's the right thing to do' will
have a tendency of normalising, or even elevating, a behaviour that the
majority of South Africans, and the World would consider is wrong for our
own husband, wife or daughters...." . In a reply from SAfm Marketing Manager
she was assured: "Should the client request that we accept further
advertising for his business, we will ensure that the wording and approach
are more acceptable, and that the advertisements are broadcast at times when
it is unlikely to be heard by minors." (Report by CFT member, Dr A. Hyams)

* SUDAN: BOMBED HIGH SCHOOL RE-OPENS - Despite having been subjected to
aerial bombardments 9 times in the last year, the Christian Liberty High
School has been officially opened with all the civil and church leaders in
Moruland, Sudan, joining in the celebrations. The Christian Liberty High
School (CLHS) is the first Christian high school in war afflicted Southern
Sudan. It has been established by Frontline Fellowship amidst the ruins of
the old Bishop Gwynne College (BGC) in Mundri. The college had first been
built in 1947 by the Church Missionary Society. It was surrounded by Muslim
government forces in 1965 and completely destroyed. The college was rebuilt
in 1975, but attacked again and abandoned in 1987. Since Frontline
Fellowship began repairing the badly damaged and vandalised buildings of
BGC, over 100 bombs have been dropped on Mundri by the Sudan Air Force.
(Frontline Fellowship, 12 April)

* MUSLIM LEADERS HARASS HOUSE CHURCH IN AZERBAIJAN (BAKU) - Two Christians
were arrested and sent to jail on 10 April for seven days on charges of
"disobeying the police" in the town of Ismailly, 120 miles west of the
Azerbaijani capital of Baku. Three days prior to this Asif Mardanov and Azer
Gasymov and five other Azerbaijani Christians had been detained by police
for several hours. The seven Christians had been accused of conducting "mass
evangelism", although no villagers in the area were known to have complained
to the authorities, Baku church sources said.
The Christians are members of a house church in Ismailly linked with Baku's
Greater Grace Church. The Ismailly house fellowship, now numbering some 24
members, has faced growing pressures from local police, government officials
and Muslim leaders over the past two years, a church leader confirmed from
Baku. In December, Ismailly police began to harass Pastor Roman Abramov
regularly, demanding that he leave the city, stop distributing Christian
literature and discontinue meetings with Christian believers. The pastor
politely declined to stop his activities, saying that the church was
operating within the rights of religious freedom guaranteed by the
Constitution of Azerbaijan... "There is great pressure from the government,
police and mass media," an Azeri Christian leader said yesterday. He
emphasized that over the past year, members of the Ismailly house church
have been so intimidated by repeated summons to police headquarters for
interrogation that they are becoming frightened to attend church services.
(Compass Direct News Service, 11 April)

* YAHOO! DUMPS PORN VIDEOS - After receiving numerous complaints from
customers after revelations that the company has been peddling x-rated
materials, Yahoo announced on 13 April it will no longer sell pornographic
videos. "We consistently strive to act responsibly and constantly evaluate
our policies based on what our users tell us," said Yahoo president and
chief operating officer Jeff Mallet, who contends that his company has gone
to great lengths to block under age buyers by requiring an e-mail address
and credit card number. Also, the company will no longer sell banner ads to
the pornography industry.(CNSNews.com, 14 April)

* NAMIBIA'S NUJOMA TO SEND HOMOSEXUALS BACK - Mr Sam Nujoma, Namibian
president, said during the first week of April that homosexuals who attempt
to enter the country through the international airport Hosea Kutako, will be
deported to their own country by the Namibian government. According to
Rapport, he expressed his disgust at the gay and lesbian marriages recently
performed in the Netherlands in the "Namibian". At the opening of an
agricultural center, he reportedly said "In Namibia we don't allow
lesbianism and homosexuality... It is definitely against God's will. It is
the work of the devil." He said that the Namibian constitution gets
misinterpreted to protect the rights of homosexuals. (Rapport, 8 April)

* WITH MORE SCHOOL VIOLENCE, US HOME-SCHOOLING ON RISE - The number of kids
receiving instruction from their parents, other relatives or adult
neighbours has tripled from about 500,000 in the mid-1990s to at least 1.5
million this year, according to home-schooling expert Brian Ray. In the same
period, schoolhouse shootings have become all-too-frequent tragedies. "There
definitely has been an increase in home-schooling because of the widely
reported violence in public schools," said Ray, president of the National
Home Education Research Institute in Salem, Ore. "Parents know that this is
just a symptom of some very serious things going on in society. They have no
good reason to put their children in harm's way." About one out of every 50
school-aged children in America is now learning at home, and Ray said the
numbers are likely to continue to rise. He said home-schoolers could already
number 1.9 million. Although the Bush administration has made little
provision to assist home-schooling, the alternative education at least is
getting more acceptance. "We must be open to new ideas," Colin Powell - now
secretary of state - told the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia
last summer. "Let's not be afraid of home-schooling. Let's experiment
prudently with school voucher programs to see if they help. What are we
afraid of?" (Scripps Howard News Service, 30 March)

* HOMELESS, HOMESCHOOLING TEEN GETS PERFECT SAT SCORES - A Northern
California student is proving that perfection is possible after taking the
tough SAT exam and recording two perfect scores. Trevor Loflin (17) from
Sonora, Calif, scored a perfect 800 on the verbal section and 800 on the
math section of the Scholastic Aptitude Test. The task is even more amazing
considering that Loflin's family was homeless at times. Loflin not only got
the score without the benefit of a home, he got it without a school, because
he is home-schooled. He said that his mom has been a great teacher. "I'm a
lot more motivated now and more capable. The challenge of it has
strengthened me," Loflin said. The family thanks their Baptist faith for
seeing them through the tough times. They just moved in to their first real
house in Sonora a few weeks ago. (worthynews.com, 6 April)

* FIRST UZBEK EDITION OF "PROVERBS" PUBLISHED IN TASHKENT - An Uzbekistan
government official publicly hailed the Bible as "a priceless source of
knowledge" during a March ceremony marking the first local publication of an
Uzbek edition of Proverbs. Deputy Chairman Shoazim Minovarov of the
Committee for Religious Affairs congratulated the Bible Society of
Uzbekistan (BSU) and its partnering translators on the historic release of
"The Proverbs of Solomon" at the March 30 presentation. He told the
government officials, diplomats, religious leaders and international
representatives of cultural and humanitarian organizations, gathered for the
occasion in Tashkent's Museum of Applied Arts, that "in order to understand
the history of mankind, one must study the Bible". "The translation of the
Bible into the Uzbek language will contribute to the spiritual enrichment of
the Uzbek people. It is of help not only to scholars and historians, but to
the whole people." Minovarov also noted that more than 200 non-Muslim
religious bodies belonging to 14 confessions have official registration
status in Uzbekistan. Although officially secular, Uzbekistan prohibits
proselytizing or private religious instruction by its tightly restricted
religious minorities. In respect to local laws forbidding missionary work,
BSU declares its policy to be "simply making Uzbek Bibles available to those
who ask for them." (Compass Direct News Service, 5 April)

* THIRD OF BRITONS BELIEVE JESUS ROSE FROM DEAD - A third of people in the
UK still believe in the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ as described
in the Bible, according to a report in the Telegraph. The findings of a
national poll contradict the picture of an increasingly secular society
where Easter is little more than a chocolate-eating holiday. The survey
found that 33 percent of people hold to the central tenet of Christianity -
although most of them were not planning to go to church this Easter.
According to the findings, 37 percent of women believe in the resurrection
compared to 29 percent of men. Wales emerged as the most Christian country
in the UK with 43 percent of people saying they believe Christ rose from the
dead. The survey was commissioned for the April edition of Fortean Times,
published 7 April. A similar survey was conducted by The Spectator on the
beliefs of the Church of England's 43 diocesan bishops - with more
reassuring results. The bishops were asked if they believed in Christ's
physical resurrection and most answered a simple "yes". (Telegraph.co.uk,
12 April)