* WILL THE BIBLE BE NEXT? - Christians for Truth Press Statement, 1 February 2002: "The Film and Publications Board has given the "The Pink Agenda - Sexual Revolution and the Ruin of the Family" an R18 rating. This is appalling and is evidence of the book's thesis that there is a Pink Agenda and anything contrary must be banned! "The Pink Agenda - Sexual Revolution and the Ruin of the Family" is an academic study (quoting huge amounts of widely accepted studies). The suggestion that it is "hate-speech" is from the homosexual lobby and certainly not to be found in this family-friendly book. This widely researched book advocates Christian love towards homosexuals and is explicitly against violence. The Film and Publications Board is starting a dangerous trend. Will the Bible be next on their agenda? For more information contact K. Olsen at 032 4815512"

* ACA TO APPEAL AGAINST R18 RESTRICTION - The Pink Agenda co-author Christine Mc Cafferty and Christian Liberty Books manager Charl van Wyk said on 31 January that Christian Liberty Books would definitely appeal against a decision by the Film and Publications Board (FPB) to slap a restriction of R18 on The Pink Agenda: Sexual Revolution in South Africa and the Ruin of the Family. According to the FPB, the book shall not be distributed to persons under 18 years of age. Christian Liberty Books has 30 days from Friday (1 February) to lodge an appeal. Copies of The Pink Agenda can be ordered from Christian Liberty Books at (021) 689 7478. The Film and Publications Board can be contacted at makaulan@FPB.WCAPE.GOV.ZA or fax 021 4656511 (Africa Christian Action, 31 January)

* SCIENTIFIC FACTS PREVAIL IN SA DAGGA CASE - An appeal by a Rastafarian to be allowed to smoke dagga as part of his religion was dismissed in the Constitutional Court on 25 January 2002. Judge president Arthur Chaskalson, who read out the judgment, said the majority of judges in the court were not in favour of allowing candidate attorney Gareth Prince to use the drug. This follows Prince being refused admission to the Law Society of the Cape of Good Hope because he had two previous convictions for dagga possession and had said that he would continue using the drug as it was part of his religion. Chaskalson said most of the judges felt that if the use of dagga were legalised under certain restrictions to Rastafarians it would make law enforcement difficult. (News24, 25 January 2002)
Doctors for Life (DFL) who had testified on behalf of the state in the case, said in a press statement on 25 January that they saw the decision as responsible, sound and based on the latest scientific evidence about the effects of Cannabis on the individual and society as a whole. Such a decision should not be based on public opinion or political correctness but on scientific facts.

* 1 FEBRUARY - 5 YEARS OF ABORTION IN SA – CFT Press Statement: "On 1 February 2002 it will be 5 years of legalised abortion-on-demand. While we mourn the tragic deaths of over 200,000 South African babies we salute the brave doctors and nurses who have refused to submit to inhuman laws. Many members of the medical fraternity have resolutely withstood Government pressure to participate in the killing of unborn babies. It comes as no surprise that the Government should not be willing to provide Nevirapine to HIV-positive pregnant women in order to protect their babies from infection. If there is no protection for babies inside the womb it is quite consistent to continue with anti-life policies even after birth. ..."
On 1 February and Sunday, 3 February, Christians from many different organisations and churches are observed the five years of the legalisation of abortion on demand. In Cape Town about 80 people held a funeral procession from the Grand Parade to Parliament, mourning for the aborted children. At Parliament, the little coffins, flowers and crosses were arranged outside the main gate, and a crowd of about 150 earnestly prayed for forgiveness for allowing abortion and for God's power to overcome this evil. In Bloemfontein, a small group, including pastors, gathered outside the
Marie Stopes clinic in Elizabeth Street, holding posters and handing out tracts. 102 crosses representing the babies who lost their lives through abortion at the local hospital last year was to be planted in Upington on 2 February. (Africa Christian Action)

* INTRODUCTION OF CURRICULUM 2005 DELAYED - The widespread concern in Christian circles about the new National Curriculum 2005 has delayed its introduction. According to an article in Signposts No.1 2002, it was to have been implemented in all schools, state, private and Christian, even to home-schooled children, at the beginning of 2002. The discontent revolved principally around the emphasis on multi-faith religion, on sex education for young children and the fear that children were to be indoctrinated with a particular ideological viewpoint. 10 000 petitions were sent to the Minister of Education, Prof Kader Asmal, ahead of a public hearing on the proposed curriculum. More than 50 Christian groups insisted that religion and sex education are parental responsibilities. They objected to the state trying to impose its views on these subjects on their children. They demanded that Prof Asmal amend the relevant sections of the curriculum. To underline their concern, between 1 500 and 2 000 Christians from a wide diversity of church denominations and school systems marched to Parliament in Cape Town at the start of the hearings on November 13, 2001. (Signposts)

* EQUAL RIGHTS FOR SA GAY SOLDIERS - Same-sex partners of members of the South African National Defence Force will in future have the same benefits as the spouses of the country's soldiers, sailors and air force members. Regulations amending the definition of "marital status" and "spouse" to include partners in permanent life partnerships have been published in the Government Gazette, according to Mail & Guardian. The amendments bring the defence regulations in line with the Constitution, which outlaws unfair discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. It follows a ruling by Judge Frans Gkomo in the Pretoria High Court last year that the partner of Judge Kathy Satchwell was entitled to the same benefits as those afforded to married judges' spouses. In the defence force "marital status" now includes "...being single, divorced, widowed or in a relationship, whether with a person of the same or the opposite sex, involving a reciprocal support in a relationship". (Mail & Guardian, 11-17 January 2002)

* TRIBUTE TO SA CHRISTIAN EDUCATION PIONEER, TREVOR YOKO - On 19 January 2002 Pastor Trevor Yoko passed to glory. He had been called into full time Christian ministry in 1964 and was instrumental in planting and nurturing many new churches throughout South Africa and beyond its borders. He exercised the apostolic oversight of Faith Outreach Ministries International... In 1985, he obeyed God’s call to pioneer Christian Independent Schools in South Africa using the School of Tomorrow, Accelerated Christian Education programme. This calling led to Pastor Yoko’s appointment as Executive Director of ACE and School of Tomorrow in SA in 1989. During the past 17 years, Pastor Yoko has been instrumental in pioneering over 300 Christian Independent Schools (Grade 0 to 12), over 250 Preschools and over 1000 Home Schools throughout Africa: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Lesotho, Kenya, Zambia, Cameroon, Nigeria, Tanzania, Sierra Leone and Scandinavian Countries of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. The heritage which he leaves behind, will no doubt multiply and grow into an abundant harvest as 10 000’s of lives were impacted through his life and ministry..." (Yoko family)

* KIDS SCOFF AT AIDS WARNING - (Kimberley) An education MEC's stern message not to "turn a sex act into a suicide attempt" was met with laughter by pupils at a high school in the Northern Cape. Pupils at Vuyolwethu Secondary School in Galeshewe just laughed at Education MEC Tina Joemat-Pettersson when she told them they "might just as well have signed their own death certificates" if they had practised unsafe sex during the holidays. When the fire-brand politician challenged a pupil at the large school to behave himself she was met with wolf whistles from several pupils... At Tlhomelang Secondary School in Galeshewe she said it was pointless for the Northern Cape to boast a top matric pass rate of 84.2 percent while many successful matriculants were HIV-positive. "What purpose is served if many of you are dead in ten years' time? Don't change a sex act into a suicide attempt." The MEC visited several Northern Cape schools on 23 January, the first school day of the year, strongly urging pupils :..."If you think of the future, choose life." (News24 - Volksblad, 24 January)

* CHINA BANS BIBLE SMUGGLER - (Hong Kong) A Chinese court has sentenced a Hong Kong man to two years' jail for smuggling Bibles to a banned Christian group. A family friend of Li Guangqiang told Reuters on Monday Li and two mainland Chinese men had been convicted by the Fuqing court in southern Fujian province of "illegal business operations". Li originally faced a possible death sentence in the case, which has sparked grave concern about religious freedom in China. But Chinese prosecutors recently reduced the charge to carry a maximum penalty of five years' jail. "Mr Li was sentenced to two years in jail, the other two to three years in jail," said the family friend, who declined to be identified. He was told of the verdict by family members who had attended the three-hour trial. The three also were fined 150,000 yuan (US$18,100) each, he said. Li, 38, and mainlanders Yu Zhudi and Lin Xifu were indicted in early January for "using an evil cult to damage a law-based society" after they were caught transporting 16,000 Bibles to the "Shouters", an underground Christian group which Beijing banned in 1983. A spokesman for Bush said later the U.S. president had taken a personal interest in Li's case and called on Beijing to meet international standards on religious freedom. (Reuters)
(Beijing) - China has defended the two-year sentence handed down to Li Guangqiang, insisting freedom of religion was respected by authorities. Beijing warned it would clamp down on so-called "evil cults", a blanket term it uses to describe a series of religious or spiritual organisations, which have attracted the ire of authorities. Foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan said that freedom of religious beliefs was protected in China, but that police had ample leeway under the law to clamp down on "evil cults". (YahooNews, 29 January )

* CHRISTIANS CLAIM TORTURE BY SAUDIS - Three Ethiopian Christians detained for the past six months without charges claim they were severely beaten and tormented the last week of January under the authority of a Saudi prison official in Jeddah. "Being suspended with chains, each of us were flogged 80 times with a flexible metal cable and also severely kicked and beaten with anything that came into their hands," said a letter from the Ethiopians obtained by Washington, D.C.-based International Christian Concern. "This was witnessed by over 1,000 deportees." The Christians are among 14 foreigners who were detained last summer by Saudi Arabia. Saudi Ministry of Interior arrested the men after receiving reports in June of their participation in Christian gatherings that included Saudi converts to Christianity. Saudi law applies the death penalty to citizens who choose to abandon Islam. The three Ethiopians – Tinsaie Gizachew, Baharu Mengistu and Gebeyehu Tefera – say their treatment was in retaliation for a petition they sent to the Ethiopian Consulate in Jeddah. (WorldNetDaily, 31 January)

* "PARENTS A NATURAL HINDRANCE AGAINST DRUGS?" - Parents and people involved with young people have been given a new tool to stand up to propaganda promoting a drug culture society. Renee Besseling's book "Parents a natural hindrance against drugs", recently sent to the Dutch press, takes an in-depth look at the controversial Dutch Drugs Policy and its effects on Dutch Society. A copy was to be presented to Mr Vander Camp, Member of Parliament for the Christian Democratic Party on 30 January in The Hague. Besseling says that those promoting free access to narcotics without legal sanctions in compliance with International Agreements, are not acting in the best interests of families. On the contrary, she holds that the permissive Dutch drug policy has caused deterioration of health and has not protected the youth from drugs and its damaging consequences. For more information: reneebesseling@hotmail.com; www.eurad.net (Schreeuw om Leven, 17 January 2002)

* US HEALTH COVERAGE FOR UNBORN CHILDREN - (Washington, DC) States may classify a developing baby as an ``unborn child'' eligible for government health care, the Bush administration said on 31 January, giving low-income women access to prenatal care and bolstering the arguments of pro-life advocates. The plan will make an unborn child eligible for health care under the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Because CHIP is aimed at kids, it does not typically cover parents or pregnant women. "We applaud this Bush Administration proposal to recognize the existence of an unborn child in order to allow the baby, and the mother as well, to receive adequate pre-natal care -- a concept to which only the most extreme pro-abortion ideologues will object," Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee, said in a statement. Family Research Council President Ken Connor said: "...It would be shameful for pro-abortion advocates to oppose this policy for the sake of staking out political ground. Unborn children deserve the same health care benefits as all Americans." (Pro-Life Infonet, January 31, 2002)

* "TODAY'S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION" - GENDER NEUTRAL - Starting with its next update, a very popular modern Bible in Ameria is going to be gender neutral, the International Bible Society said on 28 January.The new version will be called "Today's New International Version," or TNIV, with a New Testament on sale in April and the full Bible expected by 2005. The original "New International Version," which has sold more than 150 million copies worldwide since 1978, will remain on the market. Examples of some changes from 1978 to 2002: "sons of God" to "children of God" in Matthew 5:9, and "a man is justified by faith" to "a person is justified by faith" in Romans 3:28. A publicity release says "the TNIV is not merely a gender-accurate edition of the NIV," because 70 percent of the changes do not relate to gender. Also, terms referring to God and Jesus Christ have not been altered. The idea of a gender-neutral has drawn fierce criticism from traditionalists. Randy Stinson, executive director of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, said "This is incredibly serious to evangelicals, how the Bible is translated," Stinson said. "We believe the Bible is the word of God, so changing these things deliberately is dangerous." (Foxnews, 28 January 2002)

* MORE FUNDS FOR ABSTINENCE EDUCATION WANTED - (Washington) - The Bush administration is asking Congress for a 33 percent increase in funding for sexual abstinence education programs, which bar discussion of birth control or condoms as effective ways to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Spending on abstinence education has been climbing over the last five years. In the budget he submits to Congress next week, the president will propose a total of $135 million for "abstinence-only" programs, an increase of $33 million over this year, according to an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The request fulfills a pledge Bush made while campaigning for president to spend as much promoting abstinence as some have calculated the government spends educating teens about contraception. Supporters of the program note that abstinence from sex is the only certain way to prevent pregnancy and disease. They say discussing the benefits of birth control indirectly endorses teen sex... (AP, 30 January)

* SANGOMAS BANNED FROM MALI 2002 FOOTBALL TEAMS - Sangomas have been banned from travelling with teams competing in Mali 2002 to avoid giving the African Nations Cup a "Third-World image". But according to the BBC, some teams have indicated they will get around the Confederation of African Football's ban by buying their "spiritual advisers" tickets for their games. Once inside the ground, they will be able to spread "juju" in essential places. Countries that have in the past employed "team advisers" include Mali, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Cameroon, Congo and Zambia. In the 1998 tournament in Burkina Faso, for example, at least half of the players had their own sangomas. (Sunday Times)