31 January 2001

* FOUR YEARS OF ABORTION MOURNED - "Almost 150,000 babies have been legally put to death since the introduction of abortion on demand on 1 February 1997. The tremendous loss of these precious children is mourned by the majority of South African citizens. The most important human right of these babies has been trampled upon, their right to live." Christians for Truth has supported the call for a "National Day of Repentance" that was organised for 1 February, by many churches and organisations. "The official death sentence - abortion!". (CFT Press statement). The pro-life organisation, Doctors for Life (DFL), has remarked that these four years of legalised abortion have proved that social justice is impossible if our right to life and our personhood are contingent upon somebody else wanting us to exist. According to DFL, "Every child, a wanted child" ultimately implies "every person, a wanted person," and that implies... "a state of injustice". Furthermore DFL said that "...South Africa has slid down the slippery slope of moral relativity from abortion for specific indications, to abortion on demand up to the day before birth. Legislation that will open the door for the involuntary killing of patients by doctors (involuntary euthanasia), is being processed. A pill that will be potent enough to abort a child at 5 weeks of pregnancy is being legalised (RU 486). With the introduction of the morning after pill it will be possible to do an abortion in the privacy of your own home... Because the tablet will be available over the counter without a medical doctor's supervision, it will leave the mother with life long guilt complex and nobody else to blame."

* CHRISIAN MP QUITS OVER REMARK - (Bangalore) A minister in a southern Indian state has resigned after saying the earthquake was divine retribution for the ill-treatment of Christians. "Whatever I said yesterday has embarrassed the government. I am resigning to avoid any further controversy," said Mr T. John, civil aviation minister in the state of Karnataka. He was the only Christian minister in the state's administration. Mr John resigned after angry right-wing Hindu groups demanded he be dropped from the council of ministers. (The Mercury,1 February 2001)

* BUSH UNVEILING RELIGIOUS-BASED CHARITY PLAN - President Bush is moving to tap religious institutions for more charitable work and is confronting critics who say using public money for such programs could violate the wall between church and state. Bush also is taking on a greater role in confronting California's energy crisis. Bush on 29 January was establishing a White House office that would distribute billions of dollars to religious groups and charities over the next 10 years. The president wants to let such groups compete for taxpayer money to provide after-school programs, prison ministries and drug treatment, among other things. To build support, Bush will meet throughout the week with leaders of spiritual and charitable groups and he planned to attend the National Prayer Breakfast on 1 February. Skeptics say shifting government money to churches, synagogues and mosques so they can expand assistance programs raises church-state separation questions. Even some churches are wary of government money that might come with strings attached. Striking pre-emptively at those critics, Bush said religious groups must be part of the solution to society's ills. "A compassionate society is one which recognizes the great power of faith," Bush said. "We in government must not fear faith-based programs, we must welcome faith-based programs." (CNN.com, 29 January 2001)

* BIBLE CLASS DIVIDES A SMALL COLORADO TOWN - The Custer County School Board's decision on 14 December to offer a high school elective course titled "Bible in a Historical and Literary Context" has led to a division in the town. Proponents say the course, to be taught by the wife of a local minister, will use the Bible as a textbook to explore history, literature and geography. Opponents say the course is being used to introduce Christian teachings through subterfuge. The Bible and prayer were removed from schools in 1963, and the Constitution guarantees against the establishment of religion by government. The study of religion in public schools is permitted by the Constitution as long as it is presented as a secular education program. The controversy has attracted the attention of outsiders, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Anti-Defamation League. Insiders have lit up the editorial pages of the weekly Wet Mountain Tribune with letters to editor and publisher Jim Little. Harvey Goodman, principal of the secondary school in Custer County, said "The course would be taught in an academic context - that the Bible has had a profound impact on the development of civilization". "To have an understanding of our evolution as Americans, it's important to understand our religious foundations and beliefs as well. The course is not designed to indoctrinate or proselytize or anything of that sort." He said a keen understanding of the Bible helps students understand current conflicts in the Balkans and in Israel, and would enhance their study of geography. Autumn Butts, 16, a junior, signed up last year for the course. "I'm a very strong Christian," she said. "I think if we had a class about God, about the Bible, I think it'd be really neat. It'd be cool if other kids could see it."(Denver Post Southern Colorado Bureau, 15 January 2001)

* FOCUS ON FAMILY SUES TRANSPORT COMPANY FOR `VIEWPOINT DISCRIMINATION' - A prominent traditional-values organization, Focus on the Family, has filed a lawsuit against a Pinellas County, Fla., public transportation company for refusing to allow the group to place posters in bus shelters promoting its conference on homosexuality and youth. Focus on the Family is seeking relief "on the grounds of viewpoint discrimination and violation of its First Amendment right to free speech." Officials said the suit against the Suncoast Transit Authority was filed after Focus on the Family learned that its advertising campaign promoting a "Love Won Out" conference in Tampa, Fla., last February was being squelched. Posters promoting the conference with the words: "Love Won Out: Addressing, Understanding and Preventing Homosexuality," were refused by Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority officials for placement in the transportation company's bus shelters. Focus officials said the transit authority "routinely places similar advertisements for other organizations" in its shelters, but allegedly claimed that Focus on the Family's posters "were controversial and violated the [transit authority's] policy against ads with 'political content,'" the statement said." The notion that our conference message is 'political' is ludicrous," said Tom Minnery, vice president of public policy for Focus on the Family. "Our conference dares to tell people that gays can change. While this may not be culturally popular, it is certainly the truth." (WorldNetDaily.com, 16 January 2001)

* BIBLE BESTSELLER IN CHINA - The Bible is a national bestseller in China. Even though the Chinese government restricts the sale and distribution of the Bible throughout the country, 25 million copies have been sold in the last 13 years, reports Idea News Agency. Since bookstores aren't allowed to sell copies of the Bible, churches have been the main source of sales. (Maranatha, 30 January 2001)

* NO END TO CHRISTIAN-MUSLIM TENSION IN NIGERIA - Religious conflict in Nigeria has led to vicious riots. Thousands of Muslim men gathered in the state of Zamfara's capital Gusau to celebrate the first anniversary of the introduction of an Islamic legal code, or Sharia. It includes punishments such as stoning to death, amputation and flogging. For the Christian community these are nervous days. Christians were always a tiny minority, but the Anglican Bishop of Gusau, Simon Bala, says their numbers have dwindled in the past 12 months, because of the fear of Sharia. "It has affected the numerical strength of my Church in particular, because some of the members of my Church who felt insecure because of the introduction of Sharia, have left" he said. The fear stems from events elsewhere. Attempts to introduce Sharia in the neighbouring state of Kaduna - with its much larger Christian population - led to terrible bloodshed last year. At least 2000 people died in fighting between Christians and Moslems. The Governor, Ahmed Sani, has been at the forefront of the Sharia revival, but he says he has no intention of harming Christians. "They have total freedom. We don't in anyway attempt to tamper with their religious freedom. As far as we are concerned each religious group should be able to practice fully its own religion" he said. People from other faiths consider Governor Sani's interpretation of complete religious freedom for Muslims to be, in itself, an encroachment on the freedoms of other peoples. (BBC News, 31 January 2001)

* COURT ACQUITS THREE CHRISTIANS OF BLASPHEMY - A Pakistani high court acquitted three Christians of blasphemy, calling for an investigation as to whether their Muslim accuser had fabricated a false case against them two years ago. In a ruling issued on January 25 by Justices Naeem Ullah Sharwani and Khawaja Mohammad Sharif of the Lahore High Court, Hussain Masih, his son Isaac Masih and Iqbal Sahar Ghouri were cleared of the charges, which carried a potential death penalty under Pakistan's harsh blasphemy laws. During the hearing the chief prosecutor declared that "no direct or circumstantial evidence" could be produced to corroborate the complainant's claims. Observing that this meant there were "no valid grounds … against the accused," the justices ordered their case nullified. The accuser, Ahmed, had said that he had found partially burned pages of the Koran and two letters containing derogatory remarks against the prophet of Islam in his yard near a wall separating his house from that of Hussein Masih. In his statement to local police, Ahmed declared that he "suspected his Christian neighbors" of the offense. He had reportedly ordered Isaac Masih to stop playing hymns over the loudspeaker near the wall between their houses, complaining that his children were learning the words to Christian songs and prayers. Isaac's close friend, Ghouri, 23, was very active with him in prayer meetings and other religious activities held in the Masih home. (opendoorsusa.com, 26 January 2001)

* JESUS CHRIST KNOWN TO 11 PERCENT OF WORLD'S POPULATION - Today there are some 680 million Evangelical Christians, or people who started to follow Christ after a personal conversion, reports Religion Today. That is 11.1 percent of the world's population. According to missiologist Ralph Winter, only 1 percent of the world's peoples had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ in the year 1430. The rate of increase currently is about 7 percent per year. In an age of increasing individualism in religion, the anti-institutionalism, and the growing rejection of religious bigotry, loosely organized forms of Christianity are experiencing a boom. The strongest growth is currently in the following areas: house churches, in apartments, bars, cafes; underground churches, such as those known only to insiders, are forming not only in China, Indonesia, Cuba and India, but also in the "social underground" in the West; youth churches and post-modern churches, planted by youths. According to the U.S. Census Office, the world population on Dec. 31, 2000, was just under 6.12 billion - 6,118,958,932 …. and 63 percent of that - 3.8 billion - are under the age of 34. "Yesterday's youth culture is becoming mainstream, with similar values, a common language (English) and a common communication medium (the Internet) around the globe." It is reported that Christian radio stations now reach 99 percent of the total world population; and missiologists such as Patrick Johnstone estimate that between 75 and 85 percent of the world's peoples have heard the gospel at least once. Stats from DAWN News Worldwide. (crosswalk.com, 25 January 2001)

* FOSSIL WHALE FIND IN AFGHANISTAN - (Kabul) A fossil apparently from a whale has been found at a construction site in the capital of landlocked Afghanistan, an official report said on 17 January. The state-run Shariat weekly said the fossil was unearthed by labourers digging the foundations of an 18-storey building in the heart of Kabul. The paper said four fossil pieces similar to the skull and oral cavity of a whale were found some six metres underground. It is the first such discovery recorded in Afghanistan. The Culture and Information Ministry has been informed but no official study has been conducted, the report said. (The Natal Witness, 18 January 2001)