Christian News

15 Dec 2005
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Southern Africa:

• Increasing drug use in SA
• TV station grilled over porn
• Provincial MEC addresses Youth Conference
• "Ex-Christian musician minister", converts to Islam, speaks is SA

 

* INCREASING DRUG USE IN SA - The use of illegal stimulants such as crack cocaine, cat and tik is on the increase in South Africa, the Medical Research Council (MRC) said on 14 December. Some of their findings are based on data coming out of the SA Community Epidemiology Network on Drug Use (Sacendu). "In terms of the stimulants referred to, the abuse of cocaine was most common, followed by methamphetamine." Cape Town appeared to be the tik capital of South Africa, with 98% of these patients in the Western Cape coming from the city. Almost half of the patients’ average age is below 20. MRC’s Prof Charles Parry said an alarming finding was that there had been an increasing demand for the treatment of people addicted to heroin in Cape Town, Gauteng and Mpumalanga. (15 December, The Witness) (to index)

* TV STATION GRILLED OVER PORN - E.TV and a tabloid newspaper (Daily Voice) come in for a tongue-lashing from MPs on 14 December when they appeared before the National Assembly’s home affairs committee, which is probing pornography in the media. The committee was concerned about adult films and adverts flighted on television which encouraged viewers to use their cellphones to download pornagraphic pictures. MPs accused the E.Tv and the Daily Voice of abdicating their "social responsibility" by making sexually explicit material easily available to people, including children. In E.Tv’s presentation to the committee, Channel Director Bronwyn Keene-Young said the broadcaster’s content complied with all relevant legislation, regulations and the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa’s code of conduct. Deputy Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba said it was "not so much compliance with the law" but what the broadcaster was doing to protect children from pornography by limiting their access to it. (15 December, The Mercury) (to index)

* PROVINCIAL MEC ADDRESSES YOUTH CONFERENCE – Speaking at the Handel’s Messiah Performance which took place on 11 December at Kwasizabantu Mission, KZN Minister of Arts, Culture and Tourism gave Christmas greetings to the four thousand rural youth which had gathered for a week’s conference. He said that "Christmas is a specially sacred and blessed time of year. It is a season of love and goodwill toward all; a time for reunion of families and close friends; for reflection on the year past and the year that lies ahead; a time when we reflect on what we could have done better and what we intend to do better in the year ahead." MEC Narend Singh also thanked the mission, saying: "This is a mission that has truly reached out to people; not just those who live in this district but to South Africa as a whole and the world beyond our borders. What has been achieved here alongside Christian action is truly astonishing. All of it is underpinned by fund generation and financial management of a quality that makes Kwasizabantu a byword for sustainable development, as well as for faith in action. Your mission station has made an international name for itself as a shining light of Christianity, seeing to people’s spiritual welfare and at the same time meeting their material needs. I myself have always believed this is the essence of any true religion. The kernel of faith and truth needs to be accompanied by practical action to serve humankind. When that happens, I believe, we truly serve the purposes of our Creator." (www.ksb.org.za) (to index)

* "EX-CHRISTIAN MUSICIAN MINISTER", CONVERTS TO ISLAM, SPEAKS IN SA - South African Muslims have invited Christians to attend public programmes by "Sheik Yusuf Estes, Ex-Evangelist Texas – USA". In a newspaper interview with The Witness (15 December) Estes said "I was a maverick from the beginning" and had made a living working in the field of Christian music. He has been brought to South Africa by the Durban-based Islamic Propagation Centre International (whose founder, Ahmad Deedat, recently died). "We believe he (Jesus) will come again. But we don’t believe he was the son of God or that he died for our sins."
(for a Christian point-of-view on Estes see: http://www.islamreview.com/articles/cairsjesusprint.htm (to index)

International

• Anti-intelligent design prof resigns
• New Bangkok mall to offer gay shopping
• Gallup: Poll finds Americans’ belief in God remains strong
• Democrats under fire over fish parody
• Korean scientist admits cloning fabrication
• Carter agrees to change incorrect info about Adrian Rogers

 

* ANTI-INTELLIGENT DESIGN PROF RESIGNS - A University of Kansas professor who drew criticism for e-mails he wrote deriding Christian fundamentalists over creationism has resigned as chairman of the Department of Religious Studies. Paul Mirecki stepped aside on the recommendation of his colleagues, according to Barbara Romzek, interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
"This allows the department to focus on what's most important -- teaching, research and service -- and to minimize the distractions of the last couple of weeks," Romzek said in a statement Wednesday after receiving Mirecki's resignation.
Contacted by The Associated Press, Mirecki declined to comment about his decision, only saying he was still a member of the university faculty and planned to continue teaching.
Mirecki had planned to teach a course in the spring that examined creationism and intelligent design after the State Board of Education adopted science standards treating evolution as a flawed theory.
Originally called "Special Topics in Religion: Intelligent Design, Creationism and other Religious Mythologies," the course was canceled last week at Mirecki's request.
A recent e-mail from Mirecki to members of a student organization referred to religious conservatives as "fundies" and said a course describing intelligent design as mythology would be a "nice slap in their big fat face." Mirecki apologised for those comments. (8 December, AP) (to index)

* DEMOCRATS UNDER FIRE OVER FISH PARODY - The Seattle state Democratic Party is catching heat for posting an item on its Web site that parodies the popular Christian fish symbol commonly seen on the back of cars.
The item — a magnetic version of the fish, emblazoned with flames and the word "Hypocrite" alongside a cross — appeared last week on the Democrats' Web site. It was displayed along with other political-message magnets, bumper stickers and buttons that the party sells.
State Democratic Party Chairman Paul Berendt said he first found out about the hypocrite fish posting on Friday when someone from KIRO radio called to ask him to go on the air to give an explanation.
"The moment I became aware of it, I insisted it be taken down," Berendt said Tuesday. "I'm sorry if anyone was offended. It's embarrassing."
Berendt said the item had not been "properly vetted" and was on the Web site for less than 48 hours. He said the party didn't even have any of the magnets in stock.
"We didn't sell any of them, and we're not going to," he said.
State Rep. Doug Ericksen, R-Bellingham, put out a news release Tuesday criticizing the Democrats for posting what he described as an "anti-Christian" symbol.
"It's just amazing that they have people sitting in their office who think that way," Ericksen said. "You would never see anything on a Republican Web site demeaning Judaism or the Islamic faith." (14 December, The Seattle Times) (to index)

* KOREAN SCIENTIST ADMITS CLONING FABRICATION - The South Korean scientist who claimed a stunning series of advances in cloning and stem cell research has admitted that critical parts of one discovery were fabricated, a colleague said yesterday. The colleague, Dr. Roh Sung Il, a co-author of a paper in the journal Science last June in which the scientist, Dr. Hwang Woo Suk, claimed to have created stem cells from 11 patients, told the Korean television station MBC, "Hwang today made statements totally contrary to what we have believed is right. " Dr. Roh added, "Nine of the 11 stem-cell lines he had said he created didn't even exist." But in a press conference on 16
December in Seoul, Dr. Hwang defended his work, saying he had proof of his success. He said the patient-tailored stem cells had become badly contaminated but that five frozen stem cells were being thawed for analysis.
Barbara Rice, a spokeswoman for Science, said the journal had asked all of the co-authors of the disputed paper "to clarify these unconfirmed rumors that we are getting." Dr. Hwang, at his news conference, said he had asked Science to withdraw the article as a result of the uproar.
Over the past two years, Dr. Hwang, a veterinary medical researcher who turned 53 yesterday, became a hero in South Korea and an international celebrity.
Last year he claimed to be the first to clone a human cell, inserting an adult cell's nucleus into a human egg to make embryonic cells. This year he said he had done the same thing in 11 patients, the first step to the dream of treating people with their own regenerated tissues. And for good measure he said he had cloned a dog as well, a feat that has long frustrated other clone researchers. (16 December, New York Times) (to index)

* CARTER AGREES TO CHANGE INCORRECT INFO ABOUT ADRIAN ROGERS - Former President Jimmy Carter has agreed to correct future editions of his recently released book, "Our Endangered Values," after James A. Smith Sr., executive editor of the Florida Baptist Witness newspaper, challenged his allegation about an Oval Office exchange with Adrian Rogers.
Carter also has apologised to the Rogers family.
Smith raised the issue after reading an interview with Carter published by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Nov. 22, which began with the newspaper asking Carter about his 1979 White House meeting with Rogers.
"He said you were a secular humanist?" The Journal-Constitution reporter asked.
"Yes," Carter replied.
The former president has been using this example to make his case that there has been an increase in "fundamentalism" (Carter’s word) within the Southern Baptist Convention. Carter describes himself as a "conservative Christian." (15 December, BP) (to index)