Christian News - 30 Dec 2005

Christian News

30 Dec 2005
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Southern Africa:

* CARDINAL COMMENTS ON GAYS AS PRIESTS - South African men with "deep-seated" homosexual tendencies, who were barred from becoming priests in the Catholic church, had no reason to take the issue to the Constitutional Court, according to Catholic leader Cardinal Wilfred Napier. "Nobody has a right to be a priest. You can't claim the right. On what basis would they take it to the constitutional court if they don't have a right?" he questioned. Napier said religious freedom gave any institution the right to set its own standards. His comments follow a recent instruction from Rome that only men with "transitory" homosexual tendencies who had overcome it three years previously could enter the priesthood. Practising homosexuals and those who supported "gay culture" were banned. (31 December, IOL) (to index)

* ZCC PRIEST JAILED FOR MURDERING WIFE - A Zion Christian Church (ZCC) priest has been jailed for 26.5 years for shooting his wife dead in a fit of jealous rage. John Manzini, 39, of Halfway near White River in Mpumalanga was sentenced in the Nelspruit circuit of Pretoria High Court on Friday. He'd pleaded not guilty to murder, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and contravening a protection order. He claimed Lillian Mhlabane, a teacher, was fine when he last saw her, and that somebody else must have killed her because he'd gone to ZCC headquarters at Moria City in Limpopo to confess after arguing with her. (12 December, News24) (to index)

* SATANIC CHURCH REOPENED - Zambia's high court on has ordered the re-opening of a controversial evangelical church, which had been banned by the government because it allegedly practised satanism, said a court official. Judge Tamula Kakusa lifted the ban on the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG), a sect originating from Brazil and which had been outlawed by the government in November. A court clerk, who didn't want to be named, said: "The church has been granted leave for a judicial review and the court further stayed the implementation of the ban.Therefore, the church has now been allowed to continue operating in Zambia." The government banned the UCKG after allegations that two people were kidnapped to be offered by the church as human sacrifices. (29 December, News24) (to index)

International

Podcasting sermons
Thief makes off with collection (USA-NJ)
Christians appeal against court ruling favouring ‘becoming Muslims’
Indonesian girl speaks about beheadings
Swedish anti-Christian jeans

* PODCASTING SERMONS - Cyber sermons are catching on with a religious audience who are on the run, torn between worship and work.
Evangelical Christian and software designer Craig Patchett, from San Diego, California, started "Godcasting" for digital disciples about a year ago when he set up The GodCast Network (TGN).
"There's a call out there to spread that information -- podcasting is one of the easiest ways to do it," he told CNN.
Podcasts are essentially talk radio for your digital audio player, available on the Web for download, and cover content from politics to comedy to children's stories.
Religion appears to be the fastest growing segment of the podcast community, and Patchett believes this is based on word of mouth.
"As Christians, we are called to take what we have -- the information we have about our religion -- and share it with others, so there's a call out there to spread that information. Podcasting is one of the easiest ways to do it," he said.
Patchett's pastor, Bob Botsford, says fears that technology may replace Sundays at church, miss the point.
"Jesus never said, 'Go unto the world and build big churches.' He just said, 'Go share the good news.' And this is just another way to do that."
Godcast listener Ian McCallum told CNN that listening to sermons on his MP3 player allowed him to stay in touch with his faith, even when he is on the road.
"I travel a lot and frequently have to leave on Sundays, and so I don't get to hear the sermon, to stay connected with the church." (29 December, CNN) (to index)

* THIEF MAKES OFF WITH COLLECTION (USA – NJ) - A bandit made off with about $8,000 in cash and cheques from the collection basket of an Edison church on Christmas Eve.
Police and church officials suspect the person robbed the donations from the Church of the Guardian Angels following a Mass attended by 900 people Saturday afternoon.
"I don't know how someone does this and lives with their own conscience," Monsignor James Moran told The Star-Ledger of Newark for Monday's newspapers.
The large, brown collection basket had been placed on the altar during the service. It was there while Moran went to the front door of the church to chat with parishioners leaving the service at about 5 p.m.
About 20 minutes later, Moran returned to the altar to find the basket, empty except for a few coins.
Church officials said the thief may have been tempted by the large holiday collection. The money was to be used to help the church pay bills.
Moran during midnight Mass on Saturday and again Sunday warned parishioners of the theft and told them to cancel their cheques.
"I told the people God will get the person," he said. (26 December, AP) (to index)

* CHRISTIANS APPEAL AGAINST COURT RULING FAVOURING `BECOMING MUSLIMS’ - A federal appeals court is being asked to reconsider its ruling that allows public schools to teach junior high students how to "become Muslims." The Thomas More Law Center, a national public-interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is asking the entire Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to rule on what can be done in public schools with regard to teaching Islam and other religions. Several parents sued California's Byron Union School District for requiring their 7th-grade children to participate in a three-week class activity in which they not only had to study important Islamic figures and wear traditional Muslim attire, but were also required to observe the "five pillars" of the Islamic faith, adopt Muslim names, recite a portion of a Muslim prayer, and even stage their own "jihad" or "holy war." The plaintiffs' attorney, the Thomas More Law Center's Ed White, believes the school district violated the parents' and children's constitutional rights to free exercise of religion. (28 December, Agape Press) (to index)

* INDONESIAN GIRL SPEAKS ABOUT BEHEADINGS - A thick scar running from the back of her neck to just under her right eye, the lone survivor of a machete attack in which three Christian girls were beheaded on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi has spoken for the first time of her terror. "All I could do was pray to Jesus for his help," said 16-year-old Noviana Malewa, who fled the October attack with a gaping head wound. "I was streaming with blood." Noviana, who now lives under police guard in the Christian town of Tentena, described how the girls were taking a short cut to school through jungle and plantations when they ran into at least five masked, black-clad men. Within seconds, three of the teenagers were beheaded -- fresh victims of violence that has turned the Indonesian island into yet another front in the conflict with terrorists.
As Noviana fled bleeding, the assailants collected her friends' heads, put them in black plastic bags and then dumped them in Christian parts of the small town of Poso, one on a porch, the other two on the street. (28 December, AP) (to index)

* SWEDISH ANTI-CHRISTIAN JEANS - Swedish New anti-Christian jeans have become hot sellers in Sweden.
They're known as Cheap Monday and have a trendy tight fit and low price. They also have a logo that features a skull with a cross turned upside down on its forehead.
The logo's designer admits he has a "great dislike" for organized religion and says the logo is an "active statement against Christianity."
The predominant Lutheran Church of Sweden is reacting with a shrug. A spokesman says he doesn't think the logo is "much to be horrified about." But some Christians believe that approach is too soft. One vicar says the logo is a "deliberate provocation" against Christians.
In some cases, buyers have ripped off the Cheap Monday labels, or even returned the jeans once they realized what the logo represents. (29 December, AP) (to index)