* Pakistan to probe Christian killings

* Public hearings of Curriculum 2005

* SA MP moves motion against Planned Parenthood

* SA rural congregations ‘choked’ by farming crisis

* Public objection to officials with condoms

* UNICEF Halloween box donations for pro-abortion activism

* Canadian home-schoolers excel

* "Sex without marriage often ruins…health and well-being"

* November 4 – Prayer Day for Persecuted Church

* ‘COURT RULES ETV BIASED IN HOMO ADOPTIONS REPORT’ - The Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) has ruled that ETV's Debra Patta was biased and prejudiced in her presentation of a programme on the adoption of children by homosexuals. On August 23 E-TV aired a debate between the author of The Pink Agenda, Christine McCafferty of Africa Christian Action (ACA) and a Pierre de Vos, a legal professor. ACA and 11 members of the public complained to the BCCSA that Patta was biased against McCafferty. Kobus van Rooyen, Chairman of BCCSA, said about the programme, "The distinct impression created was that Mr. de Vos’s view was regarded with respect and that he was allowed ample opportunity to put his view on the matter… Ms McCafferty’s view was often played down and interrupted by the host... We accordingly hold that the Code had been transgressed." ACA requests the concerned people to email the BCCSA and E-TV at smartin@nabsa.co.za and Sonwabo.Mbananga@etv.co.za respectively and insist that E-TV report on this finding and that Christine McCafferty be given time to state the case to an unbiased interviewer. For more information contact ACA: tel. (021) 689 4480 E-mail: acaction@intekom.co.za (McCafferty’s newly published book: "The Pink Agenda: Sexual Revolution in South Africa and the Ruin of the Family" can be ordered from ACA)

* PAKISTAN TO PROBE CHRISTIAN KILLINGS - The government of Pakistan has announced a thorough investigation into the killing of 18 people at a Christian church in the eastern town of Bahawalpur. Police said dozens more were seriously injured when unidentified masked gunmen on motorcycles opened fire indiscriminately on a Christian congregation at prayer on Sunday morning, 28 October. Officials said members of a banned Islamic group were under suspicion, according to BBC. Witnesses say the gunmen shouted "Allah-u-Akbar" and "Graveyard of Christians - Pakistan and Afghanistan", before opening fire. The attack took place at Saint Dominic’s Church during a service attended by more than 100 people of a Protestant congregation who were using the church at the time. Christians make up about 1% of Pakistan's 120 million population. Earlier this month, Dr. Patrick Sookhdeo, International Director of the Barnabas Fund, said: "Never in living memory has the situation for Christian minorities in the Islamic world been so precarious."

(BBC News, 29 October; Crosswalk.com)

* PUBLIC HEARINGS OF CURRICULUM 2005 - The Minister of Education, Professor Kader Asmal, MP, has invited expressions of interest in regard to a public hearing on the revised National Curriculum Statement, to be held on 13 November 2001 at the Good Hope Chambers in Parliament. Persons or organisations wishing to make a presentation at the hearings have been requested to contact the Chief Director:Communications, at the numbers listed below before 2 November 2001. The Department of Education said in a statement that such presentations are not a substitute for written submissions, and are intended to serve as a platform for further debate. Philip Rosenthal, independent Christian journalist, has encouraged church groups, school principals, school governing bodies, politicians, pressure groups and all other interested parties to take note of this. The time for presentations and the size of delegations may be limited. Expressions of interest must be sent to: Mr John S Mojapelo, Chief Director: Communications, Department of Education. Tel (012) 312 5024. Fax (012) 326 1055. E-Mail: mojapelo.j@doe.gov.za

* SA MP MOVES MOTION AGAINST PLANNED PARENTHOOD – On 24 October, Cheryllyn Dudley, MP for the African Christian Democratic Party and Member of the Health Portfolio Committee, presented a Notice of Motion against Planned Parenthood. It moved the House to condemn the actions of Planned Parenthood in New York and the United Nations Population Fund, who are `taking advantage of people’s vulnerability after the collapse of the World Trade Towers, by respectively offering free abortions to New Yorkers and Afghan refugees’. "Planned Parenthood alone has killed more New Yorkers than Osama bin Laden has and these figures are pale in comparison with the children they have murdered in Africa, Asia and South America", says Dudley. She further called on South Africans and the people of the world to recognize "their most insidious enemy which is thriving in their midst and being protected by their own legislation, and rally to eradicate it". See complete ACDP press statement at:http://www.acdppta.org.za/Press/Defenseless23Oct01.htm

(Lifesite.net, 24 October)

* SA RURAL CONGREGATIONS ‘CHOKED’ BY FARMING CRISIS - In North West, about 25% of farmers have sold out, according to a report in Sunday Times. Those left battle to make ends meet and are faced with new taxes, soaring overheads and dwindling subsidies. An 'NG Kerk' financial spokesman, the Rev Bobby Schrerrer, said the farming crisis was a national problem that had killed many congregations. "As the congregations get smaller they struggle to get by financially. They are either letting their `dominees’ go or merging with other congregations… There must be support for the farmers or the economy of the `platteland’ will come to a standstill." Simon Mokgadi, a preacher in Marico township, says the hard times cause a migration of farm workers to small towns but, even there, many workers remain unemployed. "In the past, the farmers would help the people pay their contribution to the church. Now the people can’t get jobs," Mokgadi said. (Sunday Times, 14 October)

* PUBLIC OBJECTION TO OFFICIALS WITH CONDOMS – Christian News, 15 October, reported about South African Census officials having been given condoms "in case". Upset members of the public voiced their view to the issue in Sunday Times: E. Kwan from Johannesburg wrote: "…I, for one, won’t be opening my door to the enumerators in case they’ve misunderstood their mission. Census 2001, you’re not welcome! ‘Count me out’ is my message to you". Another writer from Johannesburg: "…You can be assured I will not be opening my door to any enumerator who might be overcome with the urge while visiting my home. Statistics SA, you have just blown your chances of having a true census". T.Suliman from Stanger : "…This gives one the impression of the SA government as having no morals and severely lacking ethics. Isn’t the practice of having multiple partners one of the chief reasons our Aids stats are so high? I feel that the millions spent on Aids campaigning have been spent in futility". (Sunday Times, 14 October)

* UNICEF HALLOWEEN BOX DONATIONS FOR PRO-ABORTION ACTIVISM - "Parents would be scandalized to know UNICEF actively promotes abortion and sexual rights to children," said Anna Halpine, president of the World Youth Alliance (WYA). "On top of that, the realization of these goals and programs are largely fueled by donations obtained from children trick-or-treating for UNICEF programs each Halloween." Halpine, a former Campaign Life Coalition leader and WYA founder, noted that although UNICEF was founded to help starving children after World War II (1946), its new direction continues to de-emphasize providing services to children in need. Instead it promotes programmes limiting parental involvement and advancing, for example, rights of 10-year old children to have confidential abortions (WYA press release in 2000). "It's appalling that UNICEF exploits children to raise funds for the destruction of children and women in the developing world," Halpine added. (Lifesite.net, 24 October)

See more Halloween info at: www.cft.org.za

* WELL-KNOWN ABORTIONIST ARRESTED ON SEXUAL ASSAULT - Dr. Brian Finkel, an abortionist and well-respected and powerful figure in Arizona, was arrested by police on 24 October, according to a report of Lifesite.net. Finkel, 51, who owns the Metro Phoenix Women's Clinic, has been indicted for 16 counts of sexual abuse and one count of sexual assault. The charges involve 9 patients, dating back to 1993 and continue through August of this year. Police found Finkel carrying a gun on his hip and another in his briefcase; he says they were to ward off pro-lifers, as reported by Lifesite. Pro-life group Life Dynamics Incorporated’s founder, Mark Crutcher, says: "Finkel is not the exception, he is the rule… Competent doctors do not end up working in abortion clinics. Finkel's attitude towards his 'patients' and thinking that he is above the law makes him your average abortion provider." According to the Arizona Republic newspaper, Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley said medical professionals do not have a legal obligation to report crimes against adult patients receiving treatment, even if the patient is unconscious. (Lifesite.net, 25 October)

* 'IN GOD WE TRUST' IN NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOLS - A North Carolina woman who helped get "In God We Trust" posters placed in schools says Christians should stand up and not allow anti-Christian groups to remove all references to God in the name of "tolerance." Elaine Garrett of Gastonia, North Carolina, along with other residents, helped raise $1,400 to have 77 framed posters displaying the national motto "In God We Trust" placed in schools. Garrett, like many other Christians, says she is frustrated that groups like the American Civil Liberties Union are attempting to remove God from schools. Garrett, who had to get help from the American Family Association's Center for Law & Policy to convince the school district to allow the posters, says she is tired of hearing people use the word "tolerance" while making Christians afraid to speak up for God. "This isn't right. We should be free to be able to talk about the God that this nation is supposed to represent - and we're so 'tolerant' [that] that word has become 'acceptance'," she says. (AgapePress, 29 October)

* CANADIAN HOME-SCHOOLERS EXCEL - A new Canadian report reveals that children who are educated at home have better social skills and achieve higher grades on standardized tests than students in private or public schools, according to a news brief of AgapePress. The National Post reports contrary to the popular belief that children educated at home are disadvantaged because of a lack of peers, the study by the Fraser Institute shows they are happier, better adjusted, and more sociable than those at institutional schools. The report says the average child educated at home participates in a range of activities with other children outside the family and 98% are involved in two or more extracurricular activities such as field trips and music lessons per week. Home-schooled children also regularly outperform other students on standardized tests. The report shows children taught at home in Canada score, on average, at the 80th percentile in reading, at the 76th percentile in languages, and at the 79th percentile in mathematics. Private and public students perform, on average, in the 50th percentile on mandatory tests in the same subjects. (AgapePress, 29 October 2001)

* "SEX WITHOUT MARRIAGE OFTEN RUINS HEALTH AND WELL-BEING" – In his article with the above topic, Dr. John R. Diggs JR., M.D. investigates the influence that sexual `libertinism’ has on health and other seemingly unrelated aspects of life. (Dr. Diggs is a medical consultant to the Family Research Council, a member of the Abstinence Clearinghouse medical advisory board and a spokesman for the Consortium of State Physician Resource Councils.) "More than most diseases, STDs are primarily a consequence of behavior. Unlike heart disease, diabetes and cancers, where a behavioral component is recognized, behavior is the controlling factor for STD acquisition. Some blame poverty and access to medical care. Each plays a role, but behavior trumps them all. … Public health efforts to abate the epidemic have been ineffective... Rather than promoting behavior change, the trend has been to first call on technology. Crude latex coverings are the best technology come up with so far…. The abject failure of this methodology demands that it be kicked to the curb. At least three items bear witness to this failure:… (Therefore) the best preventive-medicine approach is primary prevention - avoid the risky activity altogether." (To read the whole article: www.omaha.com under Opinion; Columns)

* NOVEMBER 4 – PRAYER DAY FOR PERSECUTED CHURCH – The mission of "Shatter the Silence" is to awaken followers of Christ to the plight of persecuted Christians, calling the Church to compassionate prayer and action. On November 4, 2001, Christians will join together to be a voice for the voiceless on the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. In a news brief ‘Shatter the Silence’ says: "Our persecuted family has experienced deep encouragement and strength from our united cry. The Church is growing at an amazing rate despite persecution. While the world has felt the impact of our prayers, the urgent need for prayer continues. As the gospel is spreading, more Christians are being persecuted for their faith than at any other point in history. The suffering Church pleads with us to be their voice". (Shatter The Silence Vol.5, September)

More information on the International Day of Prayer: www.persecution.com