* ANOTHER WESTERN COUNTRY BANS
PROSTITUTION - Norway is the latest European country to outlaw the buying of sex.
This follows similar laws that have been passed in other Scandinavian countries namely,
Sweden and Finland.
The Norwegian authorities say they want to stamp out sex tourism and street
prostitution. "Buying sex is unacceptable because it favors human trafficking and
forced prostitution," the Deputy Justice Minister was quoted as saying.
Citizens of Norway who are caught buying sex at home or even in other countries, will
face hefty fines and could go to jail for up to six months.
The tough new measures go further than similar ones introduced by other Scandinavian
countries. Norwegian police have been authorized to even use wire-tapping devices to
gather evidence.
The government launched a publicity campaign before the law came into force.
Prostitutes have been offered access to free education and health treatment for those with
alcohol or drug problems.
Doctors for Life International, applauds the Norwegian Government for acknowledging
that prostitution is a front for human trafficking and for passing these new laws to
protect their citizens.
We call on all South Africans to take note of the international trend regarding laws on
prostitution. Let's learn from those who have learnt from experience. Prostitution
promotes human trafficking, child abuse and organized crime and must remain a crime.
Doctors for Life International, represents more than 1500 medical doctors and is involved
in helping people exit prostitution through a fulltime centre in the Point area, Durban.
DFL has commented extensively on these issues and has also made submissions to the
Constitutional Court and the Law Reform Commission. For more information visit www.dfl.org.za (Doctors for Life, Press Release, 6
January 2009) (to index)
* SCULPTURE OF CHRIST OFFENSIVE IN ENGLAND REMOVED THE SCULPTURE
OF CHRIST ON THE CRUCIFIX - A large sculpture of Christ on the cross has been
removed from outside a church in West Sussex after its vicar said it was "scaring
young children".
The Reverend Ewen Souter said the 10ft crucifix was "a horrifying depiction of
pain and suffering" which was also "putting people off".
The sculpture, located at the side of St John's Church in Broadbridge Heath, has now
been given to Horsham Museum. It will be replaced with a new stainless steel cross.
In a survey carried out by the church, every comment about the sculpture was negative.
'Sense of hope'
Mr Souter said: "Children have commented on how scary they find it and how
off-putting they find it as a symbol outside the church.
"As a key exterior symbol for us it was putting people off rather than having a sense
of hope and life and the power of the resurrection."
He said rather than undermining the work of the cross, the church wanted to portray
"an accurate biblical picture of the crucifixion as a moment of hopefulness for the
world, and not one of despair".
The sculpture was designed in the 1960s by former Royal Society of British Sculptors
president, Edward Bainbridge Copnall, and made out of coal dust and resin. It was removed
from the church just before Christmas and will be mounted on a large wall in the grounds
of Horsham Museum.
Jeremy Knight, curator, said the powerful image portrayed by the figure was that of
Christ in pain.
"That today isn't an image which a lot of churches want to follow. They'd much rather
see an empty cross where Christ has risen," he said. (BBC News, 7 January 2009) (to index)
* NEW STUDY FUTHER DISPROVES FREAKONOMICS ABORTION-CRIME REDUCTION
THEORY - A new study offer more reasons for doubting the Freakonomics theory put
forward by University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt that claims legalizing abortion
reduced crime.
The study shows a large rise in homicides by black teens in recent years even though
black women have the highest abortion rate. Respected criminologist James Alan Fox of
Northeastern University has released a new study showing homicides by blacks between the
ages of 14 and 17 have jumped 34 percent from 2000 through 2007. The number of crimes for
white people in the same age range did not increase.
In the book Freakonomics, Levitt claimed legalizing abortion led to a major drop in
murder and other violent crimes in the 1980s and 1990s. He theorized that the babies who
were victimized by abortion would have been more likely to commit crimes. But Fox's study
shows violent crime in the black community has gone up in the last decade -- not down.
"Yes, it's not nearly as bad as it was in 1990, but it is worse than it was in
2000," he told the Chicago Sun-Times. Yet, if Levitt's hypothesis is true, crime
should have gone down significantly in the black community because of a higher abortion
rate.
(Life News, 31 December 2008) (to index)
(Ed: This is fully consistent with the founder of legal abortion in the USA. Margaret
Sanger founded Planned Parenthood with the aim to reduce the numbers of "coloured
peoples" which would get rid of many other problems of society.)
* MOST US CHRISTIANS DEFINE OWN THEOLOGY - American
individualism has made its imprint on Christianity. A sizable majority of the country's
faithful no longer hew closely to orthodox teachings, and look more to themselves than to
churches or denominations to define their religious convictions, according to two recent
surveys. More than half of all Christians also believe that some non-Christians can get
into heaven.
"Growing numbers of people now serve as their own theologian-in-residence,"
said George Barna, president of Barna Group, on releasing findings of one of the polls on
Jan. 12.
In the Barna survey, 71 percent of American adults say they are more likely to develop
their own set of religious beliefs than to accept a defined set of teachings from a
particular church. Even among born-again Christians, 61 percent pick and choose from the
beliefs of different denominations. For people under the age of 25, the number rises to 82
percent.
Many "cafeteria Christians" go beyond the teachings of Christian
denominations to embrace parts of other world religions.
Half of Americans also believe that Christianity is now just one of many faith options
people can choose from (44 percent disagree with that perception). Residents of the
Northeast and West were more likely than those in the South and Midwest to say
Christianity has lost its status as the favored American religion.
Christians expressed a variety of unorthodox beliefs in the poll. Nearly half of those
interviewed do not believe in the existence of Satan, one-third believe Jesus sinned while
on earth, and two-fifths say they don't have a responsibility to share their faith with
others.
The most striking divergence from orthodoxy, however, was first revealed in the 2007 US
Religious Landscape Survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. That
comprehensive survey of 35,000 Americans found a majority of Christians saying that people
of other religions can find salvation and eternal life.
(The Christian Science Monitor, January 14, 2009) (to index)
* WILL HOMESCHOOLING PARENTS END UP BEHING BARS? - A
German appeals court tossed out three-month jail terms issued to a mother and father who
homeschool their children, but the ruling also ordered new trials that could leave the
parents with similar penalties, according to the Home School Legal Defense Association.
The 90-day sentences came about when Hesse State Prosecutor Herwig Muller appealed a
lower court's determination of fines for the family. The ruling had imposed fines of about
900 euros, or $1,200, for not sending their children to school
Muller, however, told the parents they shouldn't worry about any fines, since he would
"send them to jail," the HSLDA reported. Word reached the family, however, on
Christmas Eve of the appeals court decision rejecting the prison sentences.
