Christian News

30 April 2004
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Southern Africa:

• A party, prayer and a song
• Tutu prefers ‘blessing unions’
• ACA appeal dismissed by ASA
• Christian radio stations: still hundreds of licences available
• Car guard returns bag of cash

* TUTU PREFERS ‘BLESSING UNIONS’ - Vancouver, British Columbia - On his visit to Canada Archbishop Desmond Tutu spoke of equality for gays and lesbians, but stopped short of endorsing same-sex marriage. At an honorary degree ceremony held in one of Vancouver's oldest churches, the Nobel laureate told the crowd on Tuesday that God draws in all races and groups, including "gay, lesbian, so-called straight." Asked outside the church on his position on same-sex marriage, Tutu, an Anglican, said he "would prefer we didn't call it marriage. "It just causes a lot of hassles. If you say you are blessing a union, I would prefer that. You just raise unnecessary hassles." Courts in three Canadian provinces - Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia, which contain some 70% of Canada's 32 million people - have approved gay marriage. The federal government is preparing legislation to allow it across the country,which is likely to be presented next year. The issue of same-sex blessings has split the local Anglican diocese in the Vancouver area and sparked an international religious debate. (News24, 21 April 2004) (to index)

* ACA APPEAL DISMISSED BY ASA - According to a 14-page judgement issued today by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the Africa Christian Action final appeal against Marie Stopes Clinics' advertising claim that abortion is "safe and pain-free" was dismissed. Africa Christian Action is disappointed by the ruling, and believes that it reflects the prevailing political atmosphere (the abortion law, the Constitution and the pronouncements of the World Health Organisation) rather than an objective evaluation of the reality of Marie Stopes' "procedure". The Africa Christian Action appeal argued that "safe" and "pain-free" are strong, absolute concepts, and that the public predominantly interprets Marie Stopes' advertising in this way. Testimonies of doctors and two women who had had abortions at Marie Stopes Clinics were submitted. A response from the legal adviser of the HPCSA (the South African association that oversees health workers) said that the claims were unethical advertising. It is known that there was a death in Nelspruit after a Marie Stopes "safe" abortion. The "not-for-profit" Marie Stopes rakes in R15 million annually from abortion, with the clinic competing against other abortion providers and giving its staff performance bonuses.
For more information, comment, interviews or debates, please contact Jeanine McGill at 083 491 4413. Africa Christian Action
PO Box 36129, Glosderry, 7702, South Africa
Tel. (021) 689 4481, Fax (021) 685 5884
e-mail info@christianaction.org.za
website http://www.christianaction.org.za
(African Christian Action, 22 April 2004) (to index)

* CHRISTIAN RADIO STATIONS: STILL HUNDREDS OF LICENCES AVAILABLE - In its Frequency Plan, the Independent Communications Authority of SouthAfrica, ICASA, has allocated over three hundred FM channels for Community Radio stations throughout South Africa. Less than one hundred of these were licensed in the first round of four-year licences issued by ICASA. The second issue should start in 2005 / 2006, and aspiring applicants should start preparing now. Most of the licences available are in the rural areas and in secondary towns. Setting up an FM community radio station is relatively inexpensive. It is an ideal combined-churches project that can make a real impact in the community, addressing issues such as AIDS, health, job-creation and life-skills. The emphasis of community radio is on empowering previously disadvantaged groups, and a Christian organization applying for a broadcast licence must be non-profit, and must be controlled
by the wider Church, not a single denomination.
For more details on how to go about establishing a Christian community radio
station, write to the General Manager, Association of Christian
Broadcasters, CB 3083, Assagay, 3624, or email info@acb.org.za. There is
more information on the web-page www.acb.org.za.
(www.christianview.org, 3 April 2004) (to index)

*CAR GUARD RETURNS BAG OF CASH - Pietermaritzburg - A car guard declined the chance to become R4 000 richer when she returned a bank bag full of money she found in a trolley outside Mndeni Meats in Victoria Road, Cramond in KwaZulu-Natal.
Gladness Mkhize, an employee of Auto Guard, which is run by Business Against Crime, was on duty on Friday when she noticed a bank bag lying in a trolley in the parking lot.
"I picked up the bag and when I looked inside, I found a bank book and an orange plastic envelope containing money, I didn't open it, I took it straight to the security guard inside," said Mkhize.
The security guard took it to Mndeni manager Brian Smout.
Smout kept the money in his office until Rina van Rooyen, a Cramond resident, came in about 20 minutes later to claim it.
"I could not believe that the money was still there, I honestly thought it would be gone, I was so relieved to find it," said Van Rooyen.
She said she had drawn the money earlier in the day to pay her employees.
"It was so ironic that I had to lose the bag in the afternoon, after carrying it with me the whole day. I never let it out of my sight from the time I left the bank," she said.
'Very grateful'
"I was in such a rush at Mndeni because I was late for an appointment. I remember picking up my handbag, but I was in such a hurry that I left the bank bag behind," said Van Rooyen.
She was very grateful to Mkhize, whose action meant her employees were paid.
"If I had not found the money, my labourers would have had to go home with no money, they would have been devastated," said Van Rooyen.
"I gave the lady R100 as a display of my gratitude, it is really not enough, but it is all I had on me; I will certainly pay her another visit because she is an honest person and it is really good to know that there are still such people around," said Van Rooyen.
Mkhize said she was not even tempted to steal the money.
"I am just happy that the found money found its way back to its owner," she said.
(News24, 4 May 2004) (to index)

International

       ‘Bible as hate speech’ signed into law
          World should thank Sharon – Bush
          Resolute & Real
          Darwin-Free fun for creationists

*’BIBLE AS HATE SPEECH’ SIGNED INTO LAW - Canada's governor general, the representative of Queen Elizabeth II, signed into law yesterday a controversial measure opposed by religious believers and free-speech advocates who say it will criminalize public expression against homosexual behavior.
The bill, passed 59-11 by the Senate on Wednesday, adds sexual orientation as a protected category in Canada's genocide and hate-crimes legislation, which carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.
The House of Commons passed the bill in September, 141-110.
As WorldNetDaily reported, opponents have feared if it becomes law, the Bible will be deemed "hate literature" under the criminal code in certain instances, as evidenced by the case of a Saskatchewan man fined by a provincial human-rights tribunal for taking out a newspaper ad with Scripture references to verses about homosexuality.
The bill's sponsor, openly homosexual MP Svend Robinson, has insisted it protects religious expression, but opponents, such as the Canada Family Action Coalition, note recent court cases in which judges have favored homosexual rights when they clash with the rights of religious believers. (WorldNetDaily, 30 April 2004) (to index)

*WORLD SHOULD THANK SHARON – BUSH The US president has defended Israel's plan to leave Gaza and parts of the West Bank, which he backed last week.
"[Israeli Prime Minister] Ariel Sharon said 'We are pulling out'," George W Bush said in Washington.
"The whole world should have said, 'Thank you, Ariel; now we have a chance to begin the construction of a peaceful Palestinian state'," he said.
Mr Bush sparked anger in the Arab world by saying Israel could keep some land it seized in the 1967 war.
Decrying the refusal of the most governments to follow his lead, the US president said: "Yes, there was a kind of silence, wasn't there? Because the responsibility is hard."
Mr Bush also criticised the Palestinian leadership, saying it had "failed the people, year after year after year".
"Now is the time... to build a Palestinian state that's committed to the principles of individual rights, and rule of law, and fairness, and justice," he said.
The Bush-Sharon declaration inflamed the Arab world as it signalled the apparent abandonment by the White House of some long-held principles in the peace process - in particular that land cannot be acquired by war.
This week, King Abdullah II abruptly postponed a scheduled meeting with Mr Bush at the White House as a sign of Jordanian concern about the new US stance.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak warned that the Arabs hate the US more than ever following its invasion of Iraq and Israel's assassination of two leaders of the militant Palestinian group Hamas.
Mr Bush's latest remarks came in a conference of newspaper editors in Washington.
Apparently referring to Arab leaders, Mr Bush said: "It's hard to be responsible for promoting freedom and peace when you're used to something else.
"If you don't have the aspirations of the people firmly embedded in your soul, it's hard to take a gamble for peace." (BBCNews, 22 April 2004) (to index)

*RESOLUTE & REAL Two images stand out from the President George W. Bush's news conference on April 13: He was resolute and he was real.
RESOLUTE: In the hour-long session that included a 17-minute-long opening statement and questions from 15 different reporters, the president stayed remarkably on message. He was in every sense the commander-in-chief. He asserted that "now is the time and Iraq is the place" and reiterated over and over again that the United States would not waver in its resolve and that "failure is unthinkable."
The president made it clear that America has an "historic opportunity to change the world" and to "bring freedom" because "freedom is the deepest need of the human soul." "Freedom," claimed Bush "is the Almighty's gift to the world." In an emotional declaration, Bush said, "I believe strongly in the power of freedom." Further, he said, "America will stay the course in Iraq and complete the job; what we are doing is noble service in the cause of peace."
Finally, Bush fervently stated, "When I say something, I mean it. That's important for the peace of the world." This statement, too, seemed to be an oblique reference to his opponent for re-election, Senator John Kerry, who has famously flip-flopped on issues.
REAL: President Bush assured the loved ones of those who paid the ultimate price that American forces "will finish the work of the fallen." While he expressed "anguish" over those "fine American heroes" whose sacrifice assured freedom for us all, he promised that we would "never allow our youngsters to die in vain." He did not apologize for 9/11, but he did say that he is "sick when I think about the death that took place that day." He made it clear, however, that "the person responsible was Osama bin Laden." Actions after 9/11 were necessary, according to Bush, because "after 9/11, the world changed for me, for everyone, for the whole country."
The president laid out his plan meticulously and, equally important, stated his moral case persuasively and repeatedly. He expressed confidence that the America people "understand the stakes" and declared that he would not let concern about the outcome of the Fall election deter him for his cause: "I don't plan on losing my job. I plan on telling the American people that I've got a plan to win the war on terror and I believe they'll stay with me." The president's demeanor and determination was reassuring. His manner clearly indicated that he is a leader. His remarks did not seem canned; nor did he seem to be a phony spinning out what the public wanted to hear. He came across as strong, resolute and real. He was emphatic and clear. "I will stay the course" — regardless of polls or public opposition.
The president spoke eloquently about freedom and movingly about those who fell on the battlefields. The intensity of his commitment was evident; equally apparent was his "anguish" over the human cost of the war.(National Review Online, 14 April 2004) (to index)

*DARWIN FREE FUN FOR CREATIONIST - Ensacola, Fla., April 29 — Robert and Schön Passmore took their children to Disney World last fall and left bitterly disappointed. As Christians who reject evolutionary theory, the family scoffed at the park's dinosaur attractions, which date the apatosaurus, brachiosaurus and the like to prehistoric times.
So this week, the Passmores sought out a lower-profile Florida attraction: Dinosaur Adventure Land, a creationist theme park and museum here that beckons children to "find out the truth about dinosaurs" with games that roll science and religion into one big funfest with the message that Genesis, not science, tells the real story of the creation. (Ed. Note their equating of evolution with science, and Creation with religious belief).
Kent Hovind, the minister who opened the park in 2001, said his aim was to spread the message of creationism through a fixture of mainstream America — the theme park — instead of pleading its case at academic conferences and in courtrooms.
The theme park is just the latest approach to promoting creationism outside the usual school curriculum route, which Mr. Hovind and others see as important, but too limited and not sufficiently appealing to modern young families. Creationist groups are also promoting creationist vacations, including dinosaur digs in South Dakota, fossil-collecting trips in Australia and New Zealand, and tours of the Grand Canyon ("raft the canyon and learn how Noah's flood contributed to the formation").
A Kentucky creationist group called ‘Answers in Genesis’ says it is building a 100,000-square-foot complex outside Cincinnati with a museum, classrooms, a planetarium and a special-effects theater where moviegoers can experience the flood and other events described in Genesis.
Ken Ham, the group's chief executive, said marketing surveys suggested that the complex would draw not just home-schooling families and other creationists, but mainstream church groups and curiosity seekers. Mr. Ham said a former Universal Studios art director was designing exhibits for the complex, including dioramas of Adam and Eve and a model of Noah's Ark. The complex will open in 2006 at the earliest, Mr. Ham said. (New York Times, 1 May 2004) (to index)