Christian News

15 November 2001

* Storm over minister’s criticism
*’Religion’ issue at Curriculum hearings
* Rape crisis in SA
* "The hidden gift: war and faith in Sudan" goes global
* ‘Witchy’ fantasy entertainment draws children to witchcraft
* Christian aid workers rescued from Taliban
* ‘Laskar Jihad on war path’
* ‘Study: no signs of TV cleaning up its act’
* English towns ban Christmas
* Possible fund restriction for schools banning prayer
* ‘British Christian school wants rod’

* STORM OVER MINISTER’S CRITICISM - Pietermaritzburg Christian school educationists strongly deny accusations of Education Minister Kader Asmal, on 7 November, that they are "fundamentalists, especially Christian fundamentalists, who are opposing values such as tolerance and respect embedded in the new curriculum". "I plan to fight these right-wing, conservative tendencies and will use the Constitution as a basis," he said. Maritzburg Christian School principal Dave Meaker said that although it is very important for everyone in the country to have tolerance, they are concerned about being able to hold their value systems, like the freedom to teach children the Biblical values of the question of abortion. Des Morgan, a member of Heritage Academy's governing body, said "… there is a difference between tolerance and acceptance of someone else's faith system." Morgan believes that the minister is being intolerant by interfering with the right of parents to educate their children according to Biblical values. Nizamia Islamic School principal Omar Mohideen concurred. "Grade five is too young to bring in other religions…" (Natal Witness, 9 November)
For more information on points of concern regarding the draft New Curriculum, see CFT website: www.cft.org.za/articles/curriculum_press_statement_cft.htm and www.cft.org.za/curriculum.htm ; www.pestalozzi.org/curriculum

*’RELIGION’ ISSUE AT CURRICULUM HEARINGS - Public hearings on the draft Revised National Curriculum Statement have begun in Cape Town (SA). The revised curriculum covers wide ranging issues in education, but the issue of religion at schools seem to dominate the hearings. The hearings are hosted by the Ministry of Education. Meanwhile, about 50 people have gathered at Church Square in Pretoria to protest against the new curriculum. The mainly Christian group says the Curriculum’s pre-scribed testing and evaluation of children through state specified outcomes is unethical and should be scrapped. (SABCNews.com, 13 November )
On the same day approximately 1500 concerned South Africans also marched to Parliament (in Cape Town) against the imposition of the Curriculum. Participants included parents, students and teachers. Rev. Meshoe (MP and President of ACDP ) addressed the crowd: "Christian parents should not allow the state to dictate the contents of the education of the children which undermines what they (the parents) teach at home..." For further information, contact Matthew Pute on 083-353-3778 or Robert Mc Cafferty at 082-762-4788 (UCA, 13 November)

* RAPE CRISIS IN SA – CFT Press Statement, 14 November: "The public of South Africa has been horrified by the revelations about children being raped. A 9-month old baby gets gang raped; a boy of 12 is charged for raping a 9-year old; a grandfather is jailed for raping his 4-year old granddaughter; the list goes on and on. And these are not just cold statistics but real human lives being ruined because of unbridled lust. Is it unreasonable to link the easy availability of pornography to the dramatic increase in child rape? Could there be the possibility that boys and men who view pornographic materials are so enflamed with lust that they find the easiest target to satisfy their cravings? And the nearest and most vulnerable are children in their own families and neighbourhoods. Is it not time that our lawmakers take a fresh look at the damage which pornography is causing among innocent children? The SAPS confirm that in the few cases where arrests have followed the rapes the common factor has usually been pornographic materials. Let us not just condemn paedophilia porn, but the average "adult" porn as well. When big people (one can't really call them adults) use any form of pornography it enflames them to want to practise what they've seen on little people, because they can't fight back and can be intimidated into silence. Christians for Truth calls for a fresh investigation into the correlation between adult porn and child rape. The results of this research should be made available to the public and pressurize the lawmakers to limit the availability of pornography.

For more information contact: Jenny Christmas 083 – 529 4373 ; Margrit Olsen (032) 481 5512

* "THE HIDDEN GIFT: WAR AND FAITH IN SUDAN" GOES GLOBAL - The documentary film, "The Hidden Gift: War and Faith in Sudan," will air on Eternal Word Television Network's Global Showcase in mid-November. The documentary, directed by David Tlapek and written by Gabriel Meyer, tells the story of the Nuba people of central Sudan, "a wise and gentle civilization caught in the middle of the country's brutal civil war". The film's guide to this hidden world of war and faith is an exiled Sudanese churchman, Bishop Macram Max Gassis, who, from his base in Nairobi, Kenya, has launched a lonely mission to bring vital supplies, and faith, to the Nuba and other forgotten peoples of Sudan. "…the proud, resilient Nuba speak not only about their struggle to survive, but about the fierce hope that sustains them, and about their age-old vision of religious tolerance that may well be Sudan's only path to lasting peace," according to a press release of Bishop Gassis Sudan Relief Fund. For screening times in USA, Canada, Europe, Pacific Rim and Africa, visit the EWTN website at www.ewtn.com, or Bishop Gassis's website at sudan@petersvoice.com. ("Prayer for the Persecuted Church", 9 November)

* ‘WITCHY’ FANTASY ENTERTAINMENT DRAWS CHILDREN TO WITCHCRAFT - Popular TV programmes like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and books like Harry Potter encourage an interest in witchcraft among children, it is claimed. Speaking to BBC News Online the Pagan Federation's Steve Paine, the high priest of a coven, said "Buffy" and "Harry Potter" were popular amongst practising witches. "They are taken as fantasy entertainment. But they do encourage people to think about different forms of spirituality", he said. According to The Pagan Federation, they deal with about 100 enquiries a month from youngsters who want to become witches. John Buckeridge, editor of monthly Christian magazine Youthwork, says that these forms of entertainment "encourage an interest in magic as harmless fun. However for some young people it could fuel a fascination that leads to dangerous dabbling with occult powers. So what starts out as spooks and spells can lead to psychological and spiritual damage." (BBC, 4 August)
Christian author, Richard Abanes, wrote "Harry Potter and the Bible: The Mebnace Behind the Magick". He told Baptist Press that the movie and the books not only teach anti-Christian lessons on the occult, but also moral relativism, ‘desensitizing children to profanity and off-color humor’.

* CHRISTIAN AID WORKERS RESCUED FROM TALIBAN - After weeks of being held in a Kabul prison on charges of spreading the gospel, eight foreign aid workers are now safe in Pakistan. Their freedom came after U.S. Special Forces helicopters swooped into an Afghan field near the village of Ghazni and airlifted them to an air base in Islamabad. Members of the home church (in Waco) of two of the aid workers, Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer, had been praying round the clock for their safe release. Pastor Jimmy Siebert told Associated Press that his church never lost hope that the two young ladies would eventually be freed. The Taliban, who had held the aid workers since 3 August, suspended their trial as U.S. bombing intensified, and took the workers with them when they fled Kabul earlier this week. Georg Taubmann, a German aid worker who heads the group, told ASSIST News Service that the Taliban had tried to move them from Kabul to what was their stronghold in Kandahar, but that they only reached Ghazni. The Taliban "wanted to take us to Kandahar, and we knew if you end up in Kandahar you would not survive there," Taubmann said, speaking through an interpreter. According to CNN the eight aid workers were said to be in good health. They were Australians Peter Bunch and Diana Thomas, Americans Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer, and the Germans -- Taubmann, Katrin Jelinek, Margrit Stebner and Silke Durrkopf. There has been no word on the fate of 16 Afghan Muslims who worked for the aid agency and were arrested at the same time as the Westerners. According to AgapePress deep concern has been expressed about their situation by those familiar with the case. (CNN, 15 November; AgapePress)

* ‘LASKAR JIHAD ON WAR PATH’ – (Indonesia) On 1 November about 1700 Muslim `soldiers’ attacked Waimulang (a mostly Christian town) on the Moluccan island of Buru, according to a report from Open Doors. The town’s people fled into the jungle, leaving behind two who had been killed. About 350 houses and the church was set alight. In Mid-Sulawesi, Islamic groups have attacked the Christian network Tentena, to which many people from the Christian town of Poso had turned when captured at an earlier stage. Christian leaders have sent calls for help to the whole world via e-mail. Up to now the Indonesian army has not taken action. The Laskar Jihad is a militant Islamic movement in Indonesia, which, according to Open Doors, is supported by Bin Laden. They aim to turn Indonesia into a Muslim state with Sharia law. (Open Doors, 13 November)

* ‘STUDY: NO SIGNS OF TV CLEANING UP ITS ACT’ - A spokesman for the American Family Association says he is not surprised that a new study shows that sex, violence, and foul language still dominate the "Family Hour" on network television. The study by the Parents Television Council found that between August 3 and November 10, network television has broadcast 3,885 instances of sexual material, foul language, and violence during the so-called "Family Hour." The recent PTC report covering the 14-week period is a follow-up analysis to its August report entitled The Sour Family Hour: 8 to 9 Goes From Bad to Worse. Ed Vitagliano, director of research for AFA, says the study confirms what many have known for a long time. "Not only has nothing changed in Hollywood, but it is steadily getting worse," Vitagliano says. "I think probably for most Christian parents, the television networks are a lost cause. I don't see them at any time in the near future - the writers, the producers, the directors of these shows - going back to promoting traditional values." (AgapePress, 15 November)

* ENGLISH TOWNS BAN CHRISTMAS - "The English town of Luton will not celebrate Christmas this year. Instead, the town's official ceremonies will be re-branded 'Luminos,' a word taken from the wildly popular series of Harry Potter books." Both Christian and Muslim groups have accused the town on the outskirts of London of 'politically correct paranoia' in wanting to be all-inclusive. "Luton is the latest British town to come under fire for changing the name of Christmas. Glasgow's festivities have been renamed "Winter Festival". Birmingham has used the term "Winterval" and Sheffield no longer has Christmas illuminations but has changed to "city lights". (The Southern Cross, 14-20 November)

* POSSIBLE FUND RESTRICTION FOR SCHOOLS BANNING PRAYER - As the US Congress tries to pass its spending measures for the year, House and Senate negotiators are considering a measure in the education bill that would take federal funds from school districts that unlawfully restrict student prayer. According to an article in Fox News, the new provision in the education spending bill is a switch because it marks the first time federal funding for schools has been tied to prayer guidelines. The separation of church and state doctrine used by school prayer opponents was shot down by the Supreme Court Monday when it turned away a challenge to Virginia's mandatory minute of silence in schools. The minute of silence does not necessarily mean that Virginia's 1 million students will spend their time praying, but affirms that the First Amendment does allow informal prayer by students "when not engaged in school activities or instruction." Students have the right to pray individually or in groups, read the Bible or other scriptures, say grace before meals or pray before tests. School districts can impose rules on the prayers, but can't prohibit, discourage or encourage them. (FoxNews, 31 October)

* ‘BRITISH CHRISTIAN SCHOOL WANTS ROD’ - A judge at the High Court has reserved judgement in the case of a private Christian school, which believes teachers should have the right to smack unruly pupils. Corporal punishment was outlawed in British state schools in 1986 and in independent schools in 1998. But the Christian Fellowship School in Liverpool - backed by more than 40 similar schools - believes such discipline is in line with Christian doctrine and the government's ban, therefore, breaches their rights to practice their religion… Asked if there were biblical grounds for their beliefs, the schools' counsel, John Friel, drew attention to passages from the Book of Proverbs in the Old Testament. Before the hearing began, the school's head teacher, Phil Williamson, said teachers should be allowed to discipline pupils in this way, provided their parents had signed a consent form. Mr Williamson said the matter was a parental rights issue. "All parents have the right to bring up their children according to their own philosophy and religious views - the government shouldn't interfere," he said. (BBC, 2 November)