Church Seen as Main Obstacle Hindering Wholesale Acceptance of Homosexual Agenda
By Ed Vitagliano
February 21, 2006
(AgapePress) - "All churches who condemn us will be closed." That was what Michael Swift, a "gay revolutionary," declared in a February 1987 issue of the Gay Community News.
"Michael Swift" was a pseudonym, and the first line of the now-infamous homosexual rant -- which was even reprinted in the Congressional Record -- claimed that the entire piece was a "cruel fantasy" that explained "how the oppressed desperately dream of being the oppressor."
The "dream" was filled with a nightmare scenario that seemed like something out of a fascist coup d'etat: "All laws banning homosexual activity will be revoked .... [W]e shall make films about the love between heroic men .... The family unit -- spawning ground of lies, betrayals, mediocrity, hypocrisy and violence -- will be abolished .... All churches who condemn us will be closed."
As the article found its way into Christian publications, believers were horrified, and homosexual activists tried to make light of its contents, claiming that it was intended merely as a satire.
Not many Christians, however, saw the humor in Swift's sentiments, such as the following: "We shall sodomize your sons .... We shall seduce them in your schools, in your dormitories, in your gymnasiums, in your locker rooms, in your sports arenas, in your seminaries, in your youth groups, in your movie theater bathrooms, in your army bunkhouses, in your truck stops, in your all-male clubs, in your houses of Congress, wherever men are with men together."
Identifying the Opponent
Whether or not the ravings of this "gay revolutionary" were intended as satire, what is striking is the remarkable success of the plan found within the article. Who can doubt that the legal system -- especially following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Lawrence v. Texas (2003) striking down sodomy laws -- has been brought to heel by gay activists? Or that Hollywood has freely committed its tremendous resources to the fight for homosexual legitimacy? Or that the family unit will virtually cease to exist in any traditional sense should gay adoption and same-sex "marriage" become legal everywhere?
While they claim to want only equal protection under law, the real agenda of homosexual activists is simple: the complete alteration of American society to fit the homosexual view of human sexuality, marriage and family.
This is not an overexaggeration. Paula Ettelbrick is former legal director of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and now executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. Ettelbrick stated, "Being queer is more than setting up house, sleeping with a person of the same gender, and seeking state approval for doing so .... Being queer means pushing the parameters of sex, sexuality, and family, and in the process, transforming the very fabric of society .... We must keep our eyes on the goal ... of radically reordering society's views of reality."
That is a pretty comprehensive goal, and activists face a daunting task if they hope to accomplish it. They must change the views of a culture that still remains somewhat anchored in the Judeo-Christian tradition, which considers homosexuality unnatural and sinful. For Ettelbrick and her ilk to convince the American people to change their mind on this issue, the foundation of our culture must be shifted to a new way of perceiving reality that rejects the Judeo-Christian view.
However, that leaves one major institution standing in the way: the Church. Christians who still hold to the Judeo-Christian views of human sexuality, marriage and family are called by religious faithfulness to resist the homosexual movement.
That makes Christians the enemy. In 1987 Steve Warren, a spokesman for the controversial homosexual group ACT UP, wrote an article for The Advocate, a magazine for the gay community. Titled "Warning to the Homophobes," Warren spoke of "the mean-spirited nature of Judeo-Christian morality."
Even in 1987, Warren felt that the homosexual movement could not be stopped. And as activists continued to find success, he promised that "we are going to force you [Christians] to recant everything you have believed or said about sexuality."
Warren said the Bible, especially, would require a face-lift. "Finally, we will in all likelihood want to expunge a number of passages from your Scriptures and rewrite others," he said, "eliminating preferential treatment of marriage and using words that will allow for homosexual interpretations of passages."
Battle Tactics
So a homosexual utopia awaits these activists, if only they can deal with those pesky Christians. But if removing the obstacle of the Church is the strategy, what are the tactics through which this victory might be achieved?
That question was answered as far back as 1985, when in their article for Christopher Street, a gay magazine, Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen caused a sensation with their blueprint to "persuade straight America" to accept homosexuality. Their article was expanded into a book on the subject, the national number-one best seller After the Ball: How America Will Conquer Its Fear and Hatred of Gays in the '90s.
Kirk and Madsen focused the heart of their strategy on using the media as a propaganda tool in persuading the majority of Americans that gay is OK. But they also addressed the question of what to do with the hardened opposition -- that is, at least in institutional terms, those following the "religious authority" of the Church. Gay activists, the authors said, should take a two-pronged approach to neutralizing the threat of a vigorous Christian-led opposition.
First, to "confound" what Kirk and Madsen called "the homophobia of true believers," they suggested that gays "muddy the moral waters." This would be accomplished in part by "publicizing support for gays by more moderate churches" and "raising theological objections of our own about conservative interpretations of biblical teachings."
This has been done with amazing success in mainline Protestant denominations, such as in the Episcopal Church USA, United Methodist Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Presbyterian Church USA. Homosexual activists in each of these major denominations have so clouded the issues regarding the biblical view of homosexuality as to threaten each with schism and ruin.
For those churches which resist the siren call to complete moral relativism, Kirk and Madsen submitted a secondary strategy. They suggested that gays "undermine the moral authority of homophobic churches by portraying them as antiquated backwaters, badly out of step with the times ...."
It should come as no surprise, therefore, when Christians see themselves portrayed on countless television shows as self-righteous bigots or hate-filled lunatics who simply refuse to accept the fact that things have changed in America.
Nevertheless, Kirk and Madsen knew that the religious authority of Christian denominations in the U.S. would be difficult to dispel; churches would therefore continue to act as a powerful braking mechanism on any momentum for the acceptance of the homosexual agenda. Kirk and Madsen understood, for example, that simply poking fun of "bigoted Southern ministers drooling with hysterical hatred" would not be enough.
Instead, they said, "Against the mighty pull of institutional Religion one must set the mightier draw of Science and Public Opinion (the shield and sword of that accursed 'secular humanism'). Such an unholy alliance has worked well against churches before, on such topics as divorce and abortion."
Thus Christians involved in this theater of the culture war have become accustomed to defending the Judeo-Christian view on sexuality against claims that science has "proven" that homosexuality is genetic. The same is true of the claim that all major mental health and medical professional groups have declared that being gay or lesbian is as natural as being left-handed. Such "scientific" claims have no doubt been instrumental in the dramatic shifts of American public opinion on this topic.
End Game
But beyond these tactics, Kirk and Madsen said plans must also be drawn up to deal with "the entrenched enemy," which might persist in resisting even in the face of the preliminary schemes. They said: "At a later stage of the media campaign for gay rights -- long after other gay ads have become commonplace -- it will be time to get tough with remaining opponents. To be blunt, they must be vilified."
Again, astute Christians who are paying attention to what is happening in our culture can already see this occurring. On high school and college campuses, for example, believers who dare to speak up against the homosexual agenda are being ridiculed and smeared. In corporations where they work, some Christians who refuse to acquiesce to the reigning pro-gay environment are reprimanded or fired.
Nor does it require prophetic insight to understand that churches will not be immune from coercion, either. In fact, gay and lesbian activists at the 1986 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights made this demand: "Institutions that discriminate against lesbian and gay people should be denied tax-exempt status."
Is it conceivable that in the near future, churches could be threatened with the loss of their tax-exempt status if they refuse to hire a homosexual employee?
Some might scoff at such a threat, relying on the Constitutional protection of religion in the U.S. as a shield. But some homosexual activists seem to view religious liberty as an obstacle to be overcome. For example, lesbian lawyer Barbara Findlay predicted that "the legal struggle for queer rights will one day be a showdown between freedom of religion versus sexual orientation."
If sexual orientation is ever enshrined as a protected status in federal and state laws, which right will win that showdown?
For the time being, activists can simply attempt to suppress religious free speech whenever the mood hits them.
For example, when a church in Boston hosted a 2005 conference with a message that Jesus can free gays and lesbians from that lifestyle, they were harassed and terrorized by hundreds of homosexual activists and sympathizers outside -- while Boston police stood by and did nothing (See related article).
Finally, if activists ever achieve their goal of having sexual orientation included in federal hate crime statutes, many pro-family groups fear such a moment will be a beachhead on the way to criminalizing "anti-gay" speech and thought.
In his article, Warren's final warning should cause wise Christians to accurately discern the times in which we live: "We have captured the liberal establishment and the press. We have already beaten you on a number of battlefields. And we have the spirit of the age on our side. You have neither the faith nor the strength to fight us, so you might as well surrender now."
Homosexual Activists' War Against Christianity
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Monday, January 23, 2006
Hollywood -- Pushing Their Agenda and Mocking Christians
Hollywood -- Pushing Their Agenda and Mocking Christians
By Jason T. Christy
January 20, 2006
(AgapePress) - If anyone bothered to watch the Golden Globe Awards on television the other night, they may have been as shocked as I was at the winners. With the exception of a Johnny Cash movie, Walk the Line, and a Sunday evening medical drama, Grey's Anatomy, the award winners were all based upon projects and characters with anything but family values.
The pro-homosexual cowboy film, Brokeback Mountain, was the clear winner with honors for best drama, best director, best song and best screenplay. Not to be outdone, Felicity Huffman, of ABC's Desperate Housewives fame, won best actress for her portrayal of a transsexual in a film adeptly named Transamerica. Other poor examples of what Hollywood is peddling as entertainment include: Weeds, HBO's series about a stay-at-home mother who sells marijuana in her upscale California neighborhood; and George Clooney's (no surprise here) anti-American film, Syriana. After watching the awards show for a few minutes on Monday evening, it became evident that Hollywood executives were using this national exposure as a means of promoting their liberal, anti-American, pro-homosexual agenda. (See related article)
Adding insult to injury is NBC's new Friday series, The Book of Daniel. This outrageous new show features none other than Jesus and creates opportunities for the audience to laugh at him or with him -- neither of which I was comfortable with, much less entertained by. Starring Aidan Quinn as Daniel Webster, a Vicodin-addicted Episcopalian priest who struggles with his family and his church, this drama makes use of the dysfunctional family and takes it to a new low with comments by Jesus. His wife is an alcoholic. His son is gay. His daughter sells marijuana. And his Bishop is having an affair with his father!
I support my friends at the American Family Association (AFA) and their call for a boycott, and applaud them in their efforts to contact advertisers and tell them how this show repulses Christians all over the country. Strangely, the Episcopal Church supports the show, with one diocese even posting a web blog.
Isn't it time for Christians to say enough is enough? Gone are shows with values and movies with messages. They have been replaced with desperate housewives and gay cowboys, pill-popping priests and dope-selling mothers. Join me in supporting AFA to challenge Hollywood for better programming so we don't have to witness another Golden Globe awards like this year.
By Jason T. Christy
January 20, 2006
(AgapePress) - If anyone bothered to watch the Golden Globe Awards on television the other night, they may have been as shocked as I was at the winners. With the exception of a Johnny Cash movie, Walk the Line, and a Sunday evening medical drama, Grey's Anatomy, the award winners were all based upon projects and characters with anything but family values.
The pro-homosexual cowboy film, Brokeback Mountain, was the clear winner with honors for best drama, best director, best song and best screenplay. Not to be outdone, Felicity Huffman, of ABC's Desperate Housewives fame, won best actress for her portrayal of a transsexual in a film adeptly named Transamerica. Other poor examples of what Hollywood is peddling as entertainment include: Weeds, HBO's series about a stay-at-home mother who sells marijuana in her upscale California neighborhood; and George Clooney's (no surprise here) anti-American film, Syriana. After watching the awards show for a few minutes on Monday evening, it became evident that Hollywood executives were using this national exposure as a means of promoting their liberal, anti-American, pro-homosexual agenda. (See related article)
Adding insult to injury is NBC's new Friday series, The Book of Daniel. This outrageous new show features none other than Jesus and creates opportunities for the audience to laugh at him or with him -- neither of which I was comfortable with, much less entertained by. Starring Aidan Quinn as Daniel Webster, a Vicodin-addicted Episcopalian priest who struggles with his family and his church, this drama makes use of the dysfunctional family and takes it to a new low with comments by Jesus. His wife is an alcoholic. His son is gay. His daughter sells marijuana. And his Bishop is having an affair with his father!
I support my friends at the American Family Association (AFA) and their call for a boycott, and applaud them in their efforts to contact advertisers and tell them how this show repulses Christians all over the country. Strangely, the Episcopal Church supports the show, with one diocese even posting a web blog.
Isn't it time for Christians to say enough is enough? Gone are shows with values and movies with messages. They have been replaced with desperate housewives and gay cowboys, pill-popping priests and dope-selling mothers. Join me in supporting AFA to challenge Hollywood for better programming so we don't have to witness another Golden Globe awards like this year.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Stupid in America
Jan. 13, 2006 — "Stupid in America" is a nasty title for a program about public education, but some nasty things are going on in America's public schools and it's about time we face up to it.
Kids at New York's Abraham Lincoln High School told me their teachers are so dull students fall asleep in class. One student said, "You see kids all the time walking in the school smoking weed, you know. It's a normal thing here."
For the whole story visit:
ABC News: Stupid in America
Kids at New York's Abraham Lincoln High School told me their teachers are so dull students fall asleep in class. One student said, "You see kids all the time walking in the school smoking weed, you know. It's a normal thing here."
For the whole story visit:
ABC News: Stupid in America
Friday, December 09, 2005
Attorney Advises Christian Teachers Caught in Christmas Dilemma
Attorney Advises Christian Teachers Caught in Christmas Dilemma
By Allie Martin
December 8, 2005
(AgapePress) - Christian teachers in public schools that censor religious expression during Christmastime are being advised to respectfully educate their superiors on what can and cannot legally be done to celebrate Christmas on campus.
Steve Crampton
This time of year many Christian teachers are finding themselves at odds with school policies that ban use of the words "Christmas" or "Christ" in December events. Steve Crampton, an attorney with the American Family Association Center for Law & Policy (CLP), has some advice. He says while teachers certainly owe allegiance and respect to their employer, they should contact groups -- such as the CLP -- that can take quick action to correct instances of Christmas censorship.
But before taking that step, Crampton suggests teachers respectfully approach their employers to explain that the law is, as he puts it, "perfectly accommodating" on such points. "Try to educate the school officials who, oftentimes, are working off of the talking points of the ACLU and the Left," he advises, asserting those officials have "just gotten bad information."
Crampton notes that teachers are perfectly within their constitutional rights to share the Christmas story or sing Christmas carols with their students. He cites a recent legal case he feels is relevant.
"The comparison here," he says, "ought to be drawn to the very recent case out of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals with regard to the court upholding the right of the schools to force students to engage in role-playing of Muslim pilgrims and so forth."
He adds that if anything, that incident is "a far more extreme example of religion and coercion in the public schools" than merely reciting the Christmas story."
News from Agape Press: "Attorney Advises Christian Teachers Caught in Christmas Dilemma"
By Allie Martin
December 8, 2005
(AgapePress) - Christian teachers in public schools that censor religious expression during Christmastime are being advised to respectfully educate their superiors on what can and cannot legally be done to celebrate Christmas on campus.
Steve Crampton
This time of year many Christian teachers are finding themselves at odds with school policies that ban use of the words "Christmas" or "Christ" in December events. Steve Crampton, an attorney with the American Family Association Center for Law & Policy (CLP), has some advice. He says while teachers certainly owe allegiance and respect to their employer, they should contact groups -- such as the CLP -- that can take quick action to correct instances of Christmas censorship.
But before taking that step, Crampton suggests teachers respectfully approach their employers to explain that the law is, as he puts it, "perfectly accommodating" on such points. "Try to educate the school officials who, oftentimes, are working off of the talking points of the ACLU and the Left," he advises, asserting those officials have "just gotten bad information."
Crampton notes that teachers are perfectly within their constitutional rights to share the Christmas story or sing Christmas carols with their students. He cites a recent legal case he feels is relevant.
"The comparison here," he says, "ought to be drawn to the very recent case out of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals with regard to the court upholding the right of the schools to force students to engage in role-playing of Muslim pilgrims and so forth."
He adds that if anything, that incident is "a far more extreme example of religion and coercion in the public schools" than merely reciting the Christmas story."
News from Agape Press: "Attorney Advises Christian Teachers Caught in Christmas Dilemma"
CWA Urges Support for Legally Mandated Cable Choice
CWA Urges Support for Legally Mandated Cable Choice
By Bill Fancher and Jenni Parker
December 8, 2005
(AgapePress) - The pro-family group Concerned Women for America has commended the Federal Communications Commission for standing up for family values by announcing the agency's support for cable companies offering customers cable choice options instead of forcing them to purchase pre-packaged channel bundles. Now CWA is calling on Congress and a reluctant cable industry to give U.S. families "channel choice."
CWA president Beverly LaHaye notes that cable television has long been offered to the American public on a "take it or leave it" basis, since consumers have few viable competitors to turn to when fed up with their cable providers. As a result, she says, pro-family consumers have rallied around "the only option open to them -- a la carte pricing, which offers consumers choice of which channels they want to pay for."
Lanier Swann, CWA's director of government relations, says cable choice is the logical solution to the growing problem of negative influences coming into American families' lives through cable programming. A growing number of people feel consumers should be allowed to choose the television networks they want to allow into their homes and should not be forced to pay for those they find offensive or inappropriate.
The effort by a groundswell of pro-family forces to get the a la carte cable packaging or "channel choice" solution implemented is "a campaign that just aims to put the power back into the hands that matter most, and that is the American consumer, the American families who subscribe to cable," Swann says. That is why CWA, the largest women's public policy organization in the United States, is throwing its weight behind the concept.
"We think it is ridiculous that cable companies ask families to pay for channels they don't want to watch," CWA's head of government relations explains. "Cable choice would simply allow subscribers to pick and choose each and every cable channel they want coming into their home, and our polling numbers actually show about 80 percent of Americans support cable choice."
Specifically, the CWA poll found that 80 percent of U.S. consumers disagree with the way the cable tier-pricing system currently functions, and a majority (62 percent) said they would prefer to choose cable programming for themselves. Also, cable customers pay for 50 to 75 channels for basic cable packages and more than 200 channels for digital cable packages, yet these consumers watch only 12 to 15 channels regularly on average.
CWA chief counsel Jan LaRue says cable-subscriber families nationwide are "fed up with paying for somebody else's choice" and want more individualized options. "Having to block out programming you pay for is no choice -- it's a rip off." American consumers "don't pay for food we don't want to eat" or for "magazines we don't want to read," she asserts, "and we're not remotely interested in paying for programs we don't want to watch."
Swann says although the cable television industry has been fighting the idea of channel choice for years, the momentum in favor of the consumer-friendly option is growing. Still, she says it will take pressure from the public to get Congress to act on the issue.
A bill that would mandate cable choice is even now being held up in the U.S. Senate, and CWA reports that the prospects are not good for any action on the legislation within the next few months.
News from Agape Press: "CWA Urges Support for Legally Mandated Cable Choice"
By Bill Fancher and Jenni Parker
December 8, 2005
(AgapePress) - The pro-family group Concerned Women for America has commended the Federal Communications Commission for standing up for family values by announcing the agency's support for cable companies offering customers cable choice options instead of forcing them to purchase pre-packaged channel bundles. Now CWA is calling on Congress and a reluctant cable industry to give U.S. families "channel choice."
CWA president Beverly LaHaye notes that cable television has long been offered to the American public on a "take it or leave it" basis, since consumers have few viable competitors to turn to when fed up with their cable providers. As a result, she says, pro-family consumers have rallied around "the only option open to them -- a la carte pricing, which offers consumers choice of which channels they want to pay for."
Lanier Swann, CWA's director of government relations, says cable choice is the logical solution to the growing problem of negative influences coming into American families' lives through cable programming. A growing number of people feel consumers should be allowed to choose the television networks they want to allow into their homes and should not be forced to pay for those they find offensive or inappropriate.
The effort by a groundswell of pro-family forces to get the a la carte cable packaging or "channel choice" solution implemented is "a campaign that just aims to put the power back into the hands that matter most, and that is the American consumer, the American families who subscribe to cable," Swann says. That is why CWA, the largest women's public policy organization in the United States, is throwing its weight behind the concept.
"We think it is ridiculous that cable companies ask families to pay for channels they don't want to watch," CWA's head of government relations explains. "Cable choice would simply allow subscribers to pick and choose each and every cable channel they want coming into their home, and our polling numbers actually show about 80 percent of Americans support cable choice."
Specifically, the CWA poll found that 80 percent of U.S. consumers disagree with the way the cable tier-pricing system currently functions, and a majority (62 percent) said they would prefer to choose cable programming for themselves. Also, cable customers pay for 50 to 75 channels for basic cable packages and more than 200 channels for digital cable packages, yet these consumers watch only 12 to 15 channels regularly on average.
CWA chief counsel Jan LaRue says cable-subscriber families nationwide are "fed up with paying for somebody else's choice" and want more individualized options. "Having to block out programming you pay for is no choice -- it's a rip off." American consumers "don't pay for food we don't want to eat" or for "magazines we don't want to read," she asserts, "and we're not remotely interested in paying for programs we don't want to watch."
Swann says although the cable television industry has been fighting the idea of channel choice for years, the momentum in favor of the consumer-friendly option is growing. Still, she says it will take pressure from the public to get Congress to act on the issue.
A bill that would mandate cable choice is even now being held up in the U.S. Senate, and CWA reports that the prospects are not good for any action on the legislation within the next few months.
News from Agape Press: "CWA Urges Support for Legally Mandated Cable Choice"
School Okays 'Christmas Witch,' Menorahs; Rewrites 'Silent Night'
Secularized Lyrics 'Mock' Christian Christmas Carols
By Jim Brown
December 8, 2005
(AgapePress) - The "war against Christmas" rages on. A Wisconsin elementary school has changed the song "Silent Night" to "Cold in the Night," and secularized the lyrics.
Ridgeway Elementary School in Dodgeville may be taking a cue from the White House, which as been sending out greeting cards in the last few weeks, wishing recipients a happy "Holiday Season" rather than "Merry Christmas." The school's "Winter Program" features a secularized version of the traditional Christmas carol "Silent Night" with the following lyrics:
Cold in the night, no one in sight;
Winter winds whirl and bite.
How I wish I were happy and warm,
Safe with my family out of the storm.
A concerned parent whose child attends Ridgeway Elementary contacted the Florida-based Liberty Counsel, which has contacted the school. The legal group's president and general counsel, Mat Staver, explains that as part of its program, the school has also included decorations from other holiday themes.
Mat Staver
"At the same time the school has changed the religious songs to secular," Staver says, "their so-called 'Winter Program' has included decorating classrooms with Santa Claus, Kwanzaa, menorahs, and even Labafana -- a term I'd not even heard of until this year." Labafana, he says, is "apparently a Christmas witch."
The attorney says Ridgeway is now a target of Liberty Counsel's "Friend or Foe" campaign. "As a result of this absurdness, Liberty Counsel has issued a demand letter on behalf of a parent whose child attends this elementary school, and who will be participating in this program if the school does not back down." That demand letter, he says, asks for an immediate change in the program -- or Liberty Counsel will file suit.
The basic premise of the "Friend or Foe" campaign is to educate the public that it is legal to celebrate Christmas in schools, public buildings, and private businesses -- including use of the word "Christmas," singing of religious Christmas carols, and displaying of Nativity scenes. According to Staver, there indeed is a war on Christmas.
"Our opponents in this Christmas campaign are not debating us anymore on the law," he admits. "They agree with us that the law allows Christmas. They are trying to say that, in fact, there's no problem going on in America."
But that is definitely not the case, Staver continues. "For those who deny that there is a war on Christmas, this Wisconsin school district -- where they changed the lyrics of 'Silent Night' to 'Cold in the Night' -- is essentially Exhibit A."
The Liberty Counsel president says the law is clear that Christmas is constitutional. But he notes that "when a public school intentionally mocks Christian Christmas songs by secularizing their content, they cross the line from a neutral position -- which the Constitution requires -- to a hostile position, which the Constitution forbids."
Staver says Ridgeway Elementary ought to realize that Christmas is a national holiday celebrated by 96 percent of Americans.
News from Agape Press
By Jim Brown
December 8, 2005
(AgapePress) - The "war against Christmas" rages on. A Wisconsin elementary school has changed the song "Silent Night" to "Cold in the Night," and secularized the lyrics.
Ridgeway Elementary School in Dodgeville may be taking a cue from the White House, which as been sending out greeting cards in the last few weeks, wishing recipients a happy "Holiday Season" rather than "Merry Christmas." The school's "Winter Program" features a secularized version of the traditional Christmas carol "Silent Night" with the following lyrics:
Cold in the night, no one in sight;
Winter winds whirl and bite.
How I wish I were happy and warm,
Safe with my family out of the storm.
A concerned parent whose child attends Ridgeway Elementary contacted the Florida-based Liberty Counsel, which has contacted the school. The legal group's president and general counsel, Mat Staver, explains that as part of its program, the school has also included decorations from other holiday themes.
Mat Staver
"At the same time the school has changed the religious songs to secular," Staver says, "their so-called 'Winter Program' has included decorating classrooms with Santa Claus, Kwanzaa, menorahs, and even Labafana -- a term I'd not even heard of until this year." Labafana, he says, is "apparently a Christmas witch."
The attorney says Ridgeway is now a target of Liberty Counsel's "Friend or Foe" campaign. "As a result of this absurdness, Liberty Counsel has issued a demand letter on behalf of a parent whose child attends this elementary school, and who will be participating in this program if the school does not back down." That demand letter, he says, asks for an immediate change in the program -- or Liberty Counsel will file suit.
The basic premise of the "Friend or Foe" campaign is to educate the public that it is legal to celebrate Christmas in schools, public buildings, and private businesses -- including use of the word "Christmas," singing of religious Christmas carols, and displaying of Nativity scenes. According to Staver, there indeed is a war on Christmas.
"Our opponents in this Christmas campaign are not debating us anymore on the law," he admits. "They agree with us that the law allows Christmas. They are trying to say that, in fact, there's no problem going on in America."
But that is definitely not the case, Staver continues. "For those who deny that there is a war on Christmas, this Wisconsin school district -- where they changed the lyrics of 'Silent Night' to 'Cold in the Night' -- is essentially Exhibit A."
The Liberty Counsel president says the law is clear that Christmas is constitutional. But he notes that "when a public school intentionally mocks Christian Christmas songs by secularizing their content, they cross the line from a neutral position -- which the Constitution requires -- to a hostile position, which the Constitution forbids."
Staver says Ridgeway Elementary ought to realize that Christmas is a national holiday celebrated by 96 percent of Americans.
News from Agape Press
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Anti-Christian Hostility Driving 'War on Christmas'
By Jim Brown
December 7, 2005
(AgapePress) - A Christian attorney says recent acts of censorship indicate Christmas is under attack in public schools across the United States.
One Ohio high school principal, for example, recently renamed the school's Christmas tree and concert a "holiday tree" and a "holiday concert." Similarly, a Missouri school superintendent informed fine arts teachers in his district that an upcoming winter assembly may not include "direct references to Christmas or the birth of Jesus," and a Wisconsin school district has banned all Christian Christmas songs.
Such phenomena are occurring not only in primary and secondary public schools, but also at the college level. Controversy recently erupted at Auburn University in Texas when the student government association re-dubbed its Christmas tree a "holiday tree."
Steve Crampton
Steve Crampton, chief counsel with the American Family Association Center for Law & Policy, takes issue with those who argue there is no "war against Christmas" going on. "They are flat wrong," he says, "and to miss what is happening in our public schools and in the public square -- even in our so-called places of public accommodation, such as the department stores during the Christmas season -- is to be completely blind to the culture war that's raging around us."
The hostility against Christianity that Crampton asserts has "been under the surface for years" has finally boiled over, he contends, and secularists are making no bones about their attempts to blot out all religious meaning associated with the holiday. He feels such acts of censorship indicate that public school officials have run amok with hypocrisy.
"When a public entity such as these high schools takes the extreme position that we can't even use the name 'Christmas,' let alone 'Jesus Christ,' how else can you describe it other than censorship?" the pro-family attorney asks. He says these public education officials' attempt to strip every vestige of Christian faith from the holiday represents "a running away, not only from our own history and tradition but from the very principles of tolerance that they are espousing on the other side of their mouth."
Crampton says the rising incidence of Christmas censorship is an indication that the culture war continues to rage (See related commentary). He suggests that anyone who denies this fact is either blind to an ever-mounting body of evidence or has been lulled into a false sense of complacency.
News from Agape Press
December 7, 2005
(AgapePress) - A Christian attorney says recent acts of censorship indicate Christmas is under attack in public schools across the United States.
One Ohio high school principal, for example, recently renamed the school's Christmas tree and concert a "holiday tree" and a "holiday concert." Similarly, a Missouri school superintendent informed fine arts teachers in his district that an upcoming winter assembly may not include "direct references to Christmas or the birth of Jesus," and a Wisconsin school district has banned all Christian Christmas songs.
Such phenomena are occurring not only in primary and secondary public schools, but also at the college level. Controversy recently erupted at Auburn University in Texas when the student government association re-dubbed its Christmas tree a "holiday tree."
Steve Crampton
Steve Crampton, chief counsel with the American Family Association Center for Law & Policy, takes issue with those who argue there is no "war against Christmas" going on. "They are flat wrong," he says, "and to miss what is happening in our public schools and in the public square -- even in our so-called places of public accommodation, such as the department stores during the Christmas season -- is to be completely blind to the culture war that's raging around us."
The hostility against Christianity that Crampton asserts has "been under the surface for years" has finally boiled over, he contends, and secularists are making no bones about their attempts to blot out all religious meaning associated with the holiday. He feels such acts of censorship indicate that public school officials have run amok with hypocrisy.
"When a public entity such as these high schools takes the extreme position that we can't even use the name 'Christmas,' let alone 'Jesus Christ,' how else can you describe it other than censorship?" the pro-family attorney asks. He says these public education officials' attempt to strip every vestige of Christian faith from the holiday represents "a running away, not only from our own history and tradition but from the very principles of tolerance that they are espousing on the other side of their mouth."
Crampton says the rising incidence of Christmas censorship is an indication that the culture war continues to rage (See related commentary). He suggests that anyone who denies this fact is either blind to an ever-mounting body of evidence or has been lulled into a false sense of complacency.
News from Agape Press
Religious Freedom for Christians in France Up in the Air, Says Observer
Religious Freedom for Christians in France Up in the Air, Says Observer
By Chad Groening
December 7, 2005
(AgapePress) - A Messianic Jewish leader believes the political winds in France could go either way when it comes to religious freedom for Christians. The Jewish evangelist thinks the tide has changed somewhat.
Stephen Pacht spent 14 years in France serving as station chief for Jew for Jesus in Paris until his transfer to London this summer. The Messianic Jewish believer says many Christians in France believe their religious freedom of speech is being curtailed by the government. "That remains to be seen," he says -- but notes hopefully that some in the government are sympathetic to Christians.
"I think the tide has changed somewhat," he offers. "You can see the tensions within the French political system. You've got the more conservative part, which is in power at the moment" -- particularly from the French Minister of the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy, who Pacht says is "sympathetic to Christians."
But Pacht says then there are those who are against Christians: "[Y]ou have the traditional, more socialist-leaning politicians who are opposed to Christians," he shares. "So we see that tension within French politics -- and Christians don't know which way the wind is going to blow."
Pacht says Christians both within and outside of France need to pray that God will continue to open doors so that the gospel is preached "with confidence and assurance.
News from Agape Press
By Chad Groening
December 7, 2005
(AgapePress) - A Messianic Jewish leader believes the political winds in France could go either way when it comes to religious freedom for Christians. The Jewish evangelist thinks the tide has changed somewhat.
Stephen Pacht spent 14 years in France serving as station chief for Jew for Jesus in Paris until his transfer to London this summer. The Messianic Jewish believer says many Christians in France believe their religious freedom of speech is being curtailed by the government. "That remains to be seen," he says -- but notes hopefully that some in the government are sympathetic to Christians.
"I think the tide has changed somewhat," he offers. "You can see the tensions within the French political system. You've got the more conservative part, which is in power at the moment" -- particularly from the French Minister of the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy, who Pacht says is "sympathetic to Christians."
But Pacht says then there are those who are against Christians: "[Y]ou have the traditional, more socialist-leaning politicians who are opposed to Christians," he shares. "So we see that tension within French politics -- and Christians don't know which way the wind is going to blow."
Pacht says Christians both within and outside of France need to pray that God will continue to open doors so that the gospel is preached "with confidence and assurance.
News from Agape Press
Pro-Family Pressure Prompts Retailers to Reconsider PC 'Holiday' Policies
AFA Founder Says Consumers Are Convincing Corporate Grinches to Give Back 'Christmas'
By Allie Martin
December 7, 2005
(AgapePress) - Target department stores appear to be backing off a ban on using "Merry Christmas" in their advertising campaigns. According to the New York Times, a Target spokesperson said the retail chain did not intend to ban the use of the traditional greeting and might use it in ads later this year.
Last week, the American Family Association called for a boycott of Target after company representatives failed to respond to repeated inquiries about the absence of the phrase "Merry Christmas" in any of the national chain's seasonal promotions. AFA founder Donald Wildmon believes this indicates that store officials heard from lots of Christian consumers, who let Target know they were not pleased.
Wildmon says Target's corporate officials heard the message loud and clear and moved quickly to adjust its "holiday" marketing approach. "I figured that they don't want their bottom line to be hurt," the pro-family leader says. "They're doing this in order to keep from losing money."
That, after all, is the name of the game with a corporation, Wildmon points out. "They're in business to make money, and if they offend enough people they're going to lose sales," he says. "So I think they're beginning to turn this ship around. I certainly hope they are."
An AFA survey of typical television advertising during a night of December prime-time programming on the four major networks showed that 91 percent of the TV ads avoided using the word "Christmas." Instead, the study found that the "holiday" theme was used in 105 commercials, while Christmas was the theme in only 11 spots. According to AFA analysts, this follows the pattern of Christmas season print advertising, where the term "holiday" is used 25 times more often than the word "Christmas."
Wildmon believes the voices of traditional, pro-family consumers are already having an impact on retailers this Christmas. Sears has recently made a point of adding "Merry Christmas" signs in its stores. And Lowe's, which lately began using the terms "Holiday Season" and "holiday trees" in its promotions, expressed regret to anyone who may have been offended and assured the public that it is reviewing its policy changes.
Lowe's stated that "feedback we have received from customers" drove its decision to review its recent advertising policy changes and to reconsider how best to describe products sold for holiday celebrations to a diverse public. The company's corporate officials also promised that this year's "holiday trees" would, in next year's advertising campaigns, be properly referred to as "Christmas trees."
By Allie Martin
December 7, 2005
(AgapePress) - Target department stores appear to be backing off a ban on using "Merry Christmas" in their advertising campaigns. According to the New York Times, a Target spokesperson said the retail chain did not intend to ban the use of the traditional greeting and might use it in ads later this year.
Last week, the American Family Association called for a boycott of Target after company representatives failed to respond to repeated inquiries about the absence of the phrase "Merry Christmas" in any of the national chain's seasonal promotions. AFA founder Donald Wildmon believes this indicates that store officials heard from lots of Christian consumers, who let Target know they were not pleased.
Wildmon says Target's corporate officials heard the message loud and clear and moved quickly to adjust its "holiday" marketing approach. "I figured that they don't want their bottom line to be hurt," the pro-family leader says. "They're doing this in order to keep from losing money."
That, after all, is the name of the game with a corporation, Wildmon points out. "They're in business to make money, and if they offend enough people they're going to lose sales," he says. "So I think they're beginning to turn this ship around. I certainly hope they are."
An AFA survey of typical television advertising during a night of December prime-time programming on the four major networks showed that 91 percent of the TV ads avoided using the word "Christmas." Instead, the study found that the "holiday" theme was used in 105 commercials, while Christmas was the theme in only 11 spots. According to AFA analysts, this follows the pattern of Christmas season print advertising, where the term "holiday" is used 25 times more often than the word "Christmas."
Wildmon believes the voices of traditional, pro-family consumers are already having an impact on retailers this Christmas. Sears has recently made a point of adding "Merry Christmas" signs in its stores. And Lowe's, which lately began using the terms "Holiday Season" and "holiday trees" in its promotions, expressed regret to anyone who may have been offended and assured the public that it is reviewing its policy changes.
Lowe's stated that "feedback we have received from customers" drove its decision to review its recent advertising policy changes and to reconsider how best to describe products sold for holiday celebrations to a diverse public. The company's corporate officials also promised that this year's "holiday trees" would, in next year's advertising campaigns, be properly referred to as "Christmas trees."
Study Links Teen Depression with Sexual Experimentation, Drug Use
By Jim Brown
December 5, 2005
(AgapePress) - A prominent mental health counselor says depression may be the new sexually transmitted disease. He points to a new study that finds sexual experimentation and drug use often precede adolescent depression.
Many mental health counselors assume students will medicate their depression with sex and drug use. However, a recently published study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine finds that depression is actually a risk factor for sexual experimentation on the part of girls, and heavy drug use on the part of boys. The study, led by Dr. Denise Hallfors, followed more than 13,000 middle and high school students for two years in a row.
Dr. Warren Throckmorton, a psychology professor at Grove City College in Pennsylvania, says discussions of risks associated with teen sexuality need to include more than just STDs and pregnancy.
"Students who are depressed may owe their depression to their risky behavior," he observes, "which again is just one more reason why students should be warned about their behavior, that it does have consequences."
Throckmorton also contends that the findings expose some of the adverse effects of condom-based sex education in public schools, and should prompt parents and educators to discourage teen sexual relationships.
"Teenagers simply don't have the financial [or] the emotional resources to handle those kinds of relationships," the educator says. "And yet there are many people who are in the Planned Parenthood camp ... and [agree with] Advocates for Youth and groups like that who essentially say that sex if fine as long as it's physically safe. Well, this study should wake everybody up that it isn't safe."
While he acknowledges that more research is needed to isolate the causes and cures for the link between experimentation and depression, Throckmorton says "there is no reason for policy makers to wait to encourage abstinence." He says every health-care professional, school counselor, teacher, and parent should be doing that.
"Whatever we think about the morality of sexual behavior, can't we agree that teens should be given a clear and consistent message that it is best to wait to engage in sex until they are ready to accept the financial, relationship, and emotional consequences of making that choice?" he wonders. For nearly all teens, he adds, that would be adulthood.
News from Agape Press
December 5, 2005
(AgapePress) - A prominent mental health counselor says depression may be the new sexually transmitted disease. He points to a new study that finds sexual experimentation and drug use often precede adolescent depression.
Many mental health counselors assume students will medicate their depression with sex and drug use. However, a recently published study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine finds that depression is actually a risk factor for sexual experimentation on the part of girls, and heavy drug use on the part of boys. The study, led by Dr. Denise Hallfors, followed more than 13,000 middle and high school students for two years in a row.
Dr. Warren Throckmorton, a psychology professor at Grove City College in Pennsylvania, says discussions of risks associated with teen sexuality need to include more than just STDs and pregnancy.
"Students who are depressed may owe their depression to their risky behavior," he observes, "which again is just one more reason why students should be warned about their behavior, that it does have consequences."
Throckmorton also contends that the findings expose some of the adverse effects of condom-based sex education in public schools, and should prompt parents and educators to discourage teen sexual relationships.
"Teenagers simply don't have the financial [or] the emotional resources to handle those kinds of relationships," the educator says. "And yet there are many people who are in the Planned Parenthood camp ... and [agree with] Advocates for Youth and groups like that who essentially say that sex if fine as long as it's physically safe. Well, this study should wake everybody up that it isn't safe."
While he acknowledges that more research is needed to isolate the causes and cures for the link between experimentation and depression, Throckmorton says "there is no reason for policy makers to wait to encourage abstinence." He says every health-care professional, school counselor, teacher, and parent should be doing that.
"Whatever we think about the morality of sexual behavior, can't we agree that teens should be given a clear and consistent message that it is best to wait to engage in sex until they are ready to accept the financial, relationship, and emotional consequences of making that choice?" he wonders. For nearly all teens, he adds, that would be adulthood.
News from Agape Press
ADF Battles Georgia County's 'Christmas' Ban in Schools
By Jim Brown
December 5, 2005
(AgapePress) - A Christian attorney says he's fighting the censorship of Christmas in a Georgia school district where teachers are prohibited from wearing clothing with any sort of religious connotation -- and are under instruction not to have "Christmas" parties in the classroom, but to refer them as "winter" parties.
The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) has contacted more than 9,000 school districts this year, informing them of the constitutionality of religious expression at Christmastime. The campaign is called "Merry Christmas -- It's Okay to Say It." But apparently the Jackson County (Georgia) school system never got the memo.
ADF attorney David Cortman says Jackson County officials have completely eradicated Christmas from the public school system.
"Teachers are not allowed to say 'Merry Christmas' [and] they're not allowed to wear any pins or angels or crosses or clothing that has any religious connotation or affiliation," Cortman explains. "They can't have a Christmas party -- they have to call it a 'winter party.' They can't sing religious songs. In fact ... they actually censored the word 'God' from the song."
In addition, says the attorney, teachers are prohibited from displaying a Bible in their classroom. The ADF attorney says such restrictions are "incredible," explaining that there are no legal grounds upon which they can be based.
"[T]here is no support in the law" for Jackson County's dictates, he says. "No court has ever held that it's illegal to say 'Merry Christmas' or have a Christmas party or be able to sing Christmas songs, both religious and secular," he says. Instead, Cortman believes threats and intimidation from groups like the American Civil Liberties Union have led partly to the county's ban on Christmas expression.
ADF Battles Georgia County's 'Christmas' Ban in Schools
December 5, 2005
(AgapePress) - A Christian attorney says he's fighting the censorship of Christmas in a Georgia school district where teachers are prohibited from wearing clothing with any sort of religious connotation -- and are under instruction not to have "Christmas" parties in the classroom, but to refer them as "winter" parties.
The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) has contacted more than 9,000 school districts this year, informing them of the constitutionality of religious expression at Christmastime. The campaign is called "Merry Christmas -- It's Okay to Say It." But apparently the Jackson County (Georgia) school system never got the memo.
ADF attorney David Cortman says Jackson County officials have completely eradicated Christmas from the public school system.
"Teachers are not allowed to say 'Merry Christmas' [and] they're not allowed to wear any pins or angels or crosses or clothing that has any religious connotation or affiliation," Cortman explains. "They can't have a Christmas party -- they have to call it a 'winter party.' They can't sing religious songs. In fact ... they actually censored the word 'God' from the song."
In addition, says the attorney, teachers are prohibited from displaying a Bible in their classroom. The ADF attorney says such restrictions are "incredible," explaining that there are no legal grounds upon which they can be based.
"[T]here is no support in the law" for Jackson County's dictates, he says. "No court has ever held that it's illegal to say 'Merry Christmas' or have a Christmas party or be able to sing Christmas songs, both religious and secular," he says. Instead, Cortman believes threats and intimidation from groups like the American Civil Liberties Union have led partly to the county's ban on Christmas expression.
ADF Battles Georgia County's 'Christmas' Ban in Schools
Monday, December 05, 2005
Christians Persecuted in the Holy Land
By Chris Mitchell
CWNews.com – Two thousand years after the birth of Christ, Christians are leaving the Holy Land in record numbers. Now, a new report suggests persecution against Palestinian Christian believers is getting worse.
Charred ruins are all that remain of 14 homes set a blaze in the West Bank village of Taybeh. An angry Muslim mob, from a neighboring village, attacked the Christian town last September. They said they were avenging the dishonor of a Muslim woman allegedly impregnated by her Christian employer from Taybeh.
Taybeh is the only West Bank village completely inhabited by Christians, about 2,000 of them. Originally, it was called Ephraim in the Old Testament; and in the book of John it is mentioned as a village where Jesus stayed.
David Khoury is the Mayor of Taybeh. He says the attack would not have occurred if Taybeh were a Muslim village instead of a Christian one.
Khoury said, "It’s happened many times between a Muslim and a Muslim; and what they did was, most times, just marry the girl off. Had they given us a chance, and proved this pregnancy was by the man from Taybeh, maybe we would have married him to that girl."
Palestinian officials are downplaying what happened here—depicting it as a dispute between families—the result of an out-of-wedlock romance. But some villagers insist the incident was "pure religious hatred"—that Taybeh Christians were used as scapegoats. Some of the 400 attackers were reportedly heard shouting "Allahu akbar—‘Allah is great’”—as they threw molotov cocktails at Christian houses.
We've hidden the identity of a West Bank evangelist for his protection. We'll call him Nadeem. He suggests Palestinian authorities are covering up a larger problem: a rising tide of Muslim intolerance and violence directed against the Christian minority.
‘Nadeem’ said, "It's a downplay in order to avoid a bigger issue which would be a fight on the village level, when you have villages attacking other villages. It's easier for them to downplay it, to avoid the bigger problem. Which, I don't know if there will be enough officials around to handle it, if that happens."
The attack on the village of Taybeh is one more example of the precarious position of Christians in the West Bank and throughout the Middle East."
Last February, hundreds of Druze Muslims attacked Palestinian Christians in the northern Israeli village of Mughar. Rioters damaged 125 homes and businesses after a Druze teenager spread the false rumor that Christians had posted pornographic images of Druze women on the internet.
International Human Rights attorney Justus Weiner has researched the plight of Palestinian Christians for more than eight years. His findings were recently published by the Jerusalem Center For Public Affairs.
Weiner warned, "Palestinian Christians are in very dire straights…"
He also says Palestinian Christians are now living in fear because persecution against them is increasing.
Weiner added, "I think the situation has been on a steep downhill for at least 12 years—since Israel withdrew from the Palestinian populated areas of the West Bank and Gaza. The Christians fear for their own lives, they fear for their own family, they fear for the future of their community."
The Christians are a community that many of their fellow Christians believe will be marginalized as the Palestinians move toward statehood.
As Palestinians continue to gain more land from the Israelis, many Arab Christians fear the persecution against them will only get worse. In some cases it's already starting to happen.
This Palestinian woman suggests that the marginalization of Christians has already begun. We'll call her Hannan. We've hidden her identity to protect her from retribution.
Hannan said, "It's a hurt church, it's a suffering church …there's no mercy."
Also, Hannan says, Christians are now being treated as ‘second class citizens’ in the Holy Land because Islamists dominate the Palestinian authority.
Hannan added, "Now, all the leadership and the people in authority are Muslims. And they force their laws, their teaching, their Koran, everything in the courts, in the schools, everywhere…they threaten people. People are afraid to say ‘no’."
Western leaders say elections scheduled for January prove the Palestinians are committed to establishing a democratic society. But the draft Palestinian constitution shows a government consigned to institutionalizing Islam.
While the draft constitution pledges to guarantee freedom of worship:
Islam is stated as the official religion of Palestine.
Shariah law is stated as the primary source of legislation. Under shariah law, any Muslim who leaves Islam and converts to another faith must be killed.
So it was for Ahmad El-Achwal, former owner of a falafel stand. The father of eight, he converted to Christianity and held regular Bible studies in his home.
But, he suffered repeated arrests and torture at the hands of Palestinian authority police.
Human Rights attorney Weiner met and interviewed Achwal prior to his death in January, 2004.
Weiner attested, "He showed me, at the time, the results of his—what were then—recent arrests, which included burns all over his body. Where hot pieces of sheet metal were taken from a fire and touched to his skin. And, on January 21st, 2004, someone knocked on the door- he opened the door and he was met with a hail of bullets. And he was shot dead in the entrance to his apartment."
Hannan verified, "A lot of families—they are leaving because they can't do anything about what is going on. They can't take it; they can't handle it."
Half of Hannan’s family left the West Bank she said, because of persecution against them.
Her family is not alone. Political instability, economic hardship and human rights violations have caused a mass exodus of Christians from the West Bank/Judea-Samaria and throughout the Middle East.
One recent population study shows that the Christian presence in Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority has declined from 26 percent in 1914 to 9 percent today.
The city of Bethlehem—the birthplace of Jesus—was once a Christian city.
Several decades ago it was more than 80 percent Christian, but today it is less than 15 percent Christian
While their numbers may be fewer, and persecution against them is increasing, thousands of Christians have chosen to remain in the Holy Land….and some are quietly leading Muslims to Christ…
Nadeem said,” When the person's faith is true, and they realize that their suffering doesn't go unnoticed by God, and they see that they're doing something for the cause of Christ and furthering his kingdom, then they grow with more courage and the work goes on."
In his second letter to Timothy, the Apostle Paul said that those who live a godly life in Christ will be persecuted. Nearly 2000 years later, those words are ringing true for Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land, where persecution is now a way of life.
Christians Persecuted in the Holy Land
CWNews.com – Two thousand years after the birth of Christ, Christians are leaving the Holy Land in record numbers. Now, a new report suggests persecution against Palestinian Christian believers is getting worse.
Charred ruins are all that remain of 14 homes set a blaze in the West Bank village of Taybeh. An angry Muslim mob, from a neighboring village, attacked the Christian town last September. They said they were avenging the dishonor of a Muslim woman allegedly impregnated by her Christian employer from Taybeh.
Taybeh is the only West Bank village completely inhabited by Christians, about 2,000 of them. Originally, it was called Ephraim in the Old Testament; and in the book of John it is mentioned as a village where Jesus stayed.
David Khoury is the Mayor of Taybeh. He says the attack would not have occurred if Taybeh were a Muslim village instead of a Christian one.
Khoury said, "It’s happened many times between a Muslim and a Muslim; and what they did was, most times, just marry the girl off. Had they given us a chance, and proved this pregnancy was by the man from Taybeh, maybe we would have married him to that girl."
Palestinian officials are downplaying what happened here—depicting it as a dispute between families—the result of an out-of-wedlock romance. But some villagers insist the incident was "pure religious hatred"—that Taybeh Christians were used as scapegoats. Some of the 400 attackers were reportedly heard shouting "Allahu akbar—‘Allah is great’”—as they threw molotov cocktails at Christian houses.
We've hidden the identity of a West Bank evangelist for his protection. We'll call him Nadeem. He suggests Palestinian authorities are covering up a larger problem: a rising tide of Muslim intolerance and violence directed against the Christian minority.
‘Nadeem’ said, "It's a downplay in order to avoid a bigger issue which would be a fight on the village level, when you have villages attacking other villages. It's easier for them to downplay it, to avoid the bigger problem. Which, I don't know if there will be enough officials around to handle it, if that happens."
The attack on the village of Taybeh is one more example of the precarious position of Christians in the West Bank and throughout the Middle East."
Last February, hundreds of Druze Muslims attacked Palestinian Christians in the northern Israeli village of Mughar. Rioters damaged 125 homes and businesses after a Druze teenager spread the false rumor that Christians had posted pornographic images of Druze women on the internet.
International Human Rights attorney Justus Weiner has researched the plight of Palestinian Christians for more than eight years. His findings were recently published by the Jerusalem Center For Public Affairs.
Weiner warned, "Palestinian Christians are in very dire straights…"
He also says Palestinian Christians are now living in fear because persecution against them is increasing.
Weiner added, "I think the situation has been on a steep downhill for at least 12 years—since Israel withdrew from the Palestinian populated areas of the West Bank and Gaza. The Christians fear for their own lives, they fear for their own family, they fear for the future of their community."
The Christians are a community that many of their fellow Christians believe will be marginalized as the Palestinians move toward statehood.
As Palestinians continue to gain more land from the Israelis, many Arab Christians fear the persecution against them will only get worse. In some cases it's already starting to happen.
This Palestinian woman suggests that the marginalization of Christians has already begun. We'll call her Hannan. We've hidden her identity to protect her from retribution.
Hannan said, "It's a hurt church, it's a suffering church …there's no mercy."
Also, Hannan says, Christians are now being treated as ‘second class citizens’ in the Holy Land because Islamists dominate the Palestinian authority.
Hannan added, "Now, all the leadership and the people in authority are Muslims. And they force their laws, their teaching, their Koran, everything in the courts, in the schools, everywhere…they threaten people. People are afraid to say ‘no’."
Western leaders say elections scheduled for January prove the Palestinians are committed to establishing a democratic society. But the draft Palestinian constitution shows a government consigned to institutionalizing Islam.
While the draft constitution pledges to guarantee freedom of worship:
Islam is stated as the official religion of Palestine.
Shariah law is stated as the primary source of legislation. Under shariah law, any Muslim who leaves Islam and converts to another faith must be killed.
So it was for Ahmad El-Achwal, former owner of a falafel stand. The father of eight, he converted to Christianity and held regular Bible studies in his home.
But, he suffered repeated arrests and torture at the hands of Palestinian authority police.
Human Rights attorney Weiner met and interviewed Achwal prior to his death in January, 2004.
Weiner attested, "He showed me, at the time, the results of his—what were then—recent arrests, which included burns all over his body. Where hot pieces of sheet metal were taken from a fire and touched to his skin. And, on January 21st, 2004, someone knocked on the door- he opened the door and he was met with a hail of bullets. And he was shot dead in the entrance to his apartment."
Hannan verified, "A lot of families—they are leaving because they can't do anything about what is going on. They can't take it; they can't handle it."
Half of Hannan’s family left the West Bank she said, because of persecution against them.
Her family is not alone. Political instability, economic hardship and human rights violations have caused a mass exodus of Christians from the West Bank/Judea-Samaria and throughout the Middle East.
One recent population study shows that the Christian presence in Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority has declined from 26 percent in 1914 to 9 percent today.
The city of Bethlehem—the birthplace of Jesus—was once a Christian city.
Several decades ago it was more than 80 percent Christian, but today it is less than 15 percent Christian
While their numbers may be fewer, and persecution against them is increasing, thousands of Christians have chosen to remain in the Holy Land….and some are quietly leading Muslims to Christ…
Nadeem said,” When the person's faith is true, and they realize that their suffering doesn't go unnoticed by God, and they see that they're doing something for the cause of Christ and furthering his kingdom, then they grow with more courage and the work goes on."
In his second letter to Timothy, the Apostle Paul said that those who live a godly life in Christ will be persecuted. Nearly 2000 years later, those words are ringing true for Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land, where persecution is now a way of life.
Christians Persecuted in the Holy Land
Thursday, December 01, 2005
What Are They Afraid Of?
What Are They Afraid Of?
Creation/evolution issues have been a constant subject in the news media recently, much of the reporting slanted and poorly-informed, all of it negative towards creation. Nevertheless, the events are real and warrant our attention.
A school board in Dover, Pennsylvania, a small farming community, recently voted to allow a brief mention of Intelligent Design in biology classes. ID was not to be “taught,” nor was evolution removed, and most certainly Biblical creation was not mandated, but evolutionists reacted with a fervor reserved for this one issue. In an ACLU-orchestrated move, several local parents filed a lawsuit to maintain an evolution-only perspective, inviting the testimony of well-known evolutionists. Meanwhile, evolution-supporting individuals and organizations poured money into the district, mounting a successful political campaign against the “errant” school board members, replacing them with others leaning towards evolution. ID advocates had their champions too, leading to a media frenzy quite overshadowing the minimal facts of the case and size of the school district.
Similarly, debate has been raging in Kansas. There the state school board had established new state curriculum guidelines, which neither introduced creation nor removed evolution. Rather it allowed all the data to be taught, not just that supporting evolution. It permitted the exquisite design of living things to be acknowledged and studied. Once again, the same aggregate of partisans began crusading in support of evolution. Knowing the school board’s majority was behind the new guidelines evolutionists boycotted the hearings and instead took their case to a sympathetic press, who almost never correctly reported the facts.
The question arises then, if evolution is so solidly proven, what are evolutionists afraid of? Why must evolution be protected from scrutiny? Why must students be shielded from other views? Why not present all the pertinent facts and encourage the students to think critically, as a good scientist should? Would this not be a good educational technique? Would this not produce better citizens and scientists?
Evolutionists purport that there is no real science supporting intelligent design, that ID is just religion, or at least a “backdoor” to religion. But the facts are that many secular scientists, through observation and experimentation and based on the scientific evidence and data they’ve obtained, have come to the conclusion that life has been designed, not created by mere chance from nothing.
Science involves conducting research, using the scientific method in various disciplines, and reporting on the data and results. There’s no religion in the facts. ICR has recently discovered groundbreaking evidence about rock dating, carbon-14 in diamonds, excess helium within zircons, and other geologic data supporting a young earth. ICR is adamant that this science be available for scrutiny by critical thinkers—that students, specifically, are able to evaluate the evidence and formulate their own beliefs If the science points to a designer, so be it. But if the evidence suggests otherwise, which we’re sure it does not, then so be it. Let the chips fall where they may.
Perhaps evolutionists’ avoidance of these kinds of data exposes a basic insecurity in their position. ICR has long held that evolution cannot stand the test of science—it must avoid the light of open inquiry. Only by limiting the debate can evolutionists hope to maintain their monopoly on education. Yet, it serves us well to recognize that the debate involves a deeper issue than just control of academic content. If evolutionists admit that science does indeed support intelligent design, then they are admitting that there is a possibility of a Creator. Perhaps what evolutionists are truly afraid of are the implications of the presence of a higher power. Higher power means higher authority and, ultimately, higher accountability.
News / What Are They Afraid Of? - Institute for Creation Research
Creation/evolution issues have been a constant subject in the news media recently, much of the reporting slanted and poorly-informed, all of it negative towards creation. Nevertheless, the events are real and warrant our attention.
A school board in Dover, Pennsylvania, a small farming community, recently voted to allow a brief mention of Intelligent Design in biology classes. ID was not to be “taught,” nor was evolution removed, and most certainly Biblical creation was not mandated, but evolutionists reacted with a fervor reserved for this one issue. In an ACLU-orchestrated move, several local parents filed a lawsuit to maintain an evolution-only perspective, inviting the testimony of well-known evolutionists. Meanwhile, evolution-supporting individuals and organizations poured money into the district, mounting a successful political campaign against the “errant” school board members, replacing them with others leaning towards evolution. ID advocates had their champions too, leading to a media frenzy quite overshadowing the minimal facts of the case and size of the school district.
Similarly, debate has been raging in Kansas. There the state school board had established new state curriculum guidelines, which neither introduced creation nor removed evolution. Rather it allowed all the data to be taught, not just that supporting evolution. It permitted the exquisite design of living things to be acknowledged and studied. Once again, the same aggregate of partisans began crusading in support of evolution. Knowing the school board’s majority was behind the new guidelines evolutionists boycotted the hearings and instead took their case to a sympathetic press, who almost never correctly reported the facts.
The question arises then, if evolution is so solidly proven, what are evolutionists afraid of? Why must evolution be protected from scrutiny? Why must students be shielded from other views? Why not present all the pertinent facts and encourage the students to think critically, as a good scientist should? Would this not be a good educational technique? Would this not produce better citizens and scientists?
Evolutionists purport that there is no real science supporting intelligent design, that ID is just religion, or at least a “backdoor” to religion. But the facts are that many secular scientists, through observation and experimentation and based on the scientific evidence and data they’ve obtained, have come to the conclusion that life has been designed, not created by mere chance from nothing.
Science involves conducting research, using the scientific method in various disciplines, and reporting on the data and results. There’s no religion in the facts. ICR has recently discovered groundbreaking evidence about rock dating, carbon-14 in diamonds, excess helium within zircons, and other geologic data supporting a young earth. ICR is adamant that this science be available for scrutiny by critical thinkers—that students, specifically, are able to evaluate the evidence and formulate their own beliefs If the science points to a designer, so be it. But if the evidence suggests otherwise, which we’re sure it does not, then so be it. Let the chips fall where they may.
Perhaps evolutionists’ avoidance of these kinds of data exposes a basic insecurity in their position. ICR has long held that evolution cannot stand the test of science—it must avoid the light of open inquiry. Only by limiting the debate can evolutionists hope to maintain their monopoly on education. Yet, it serves us well to recognize that the debate involves a deeper issue than just control of academic content. If evolutionists admit that science does indeed support intelligent design, then they are admitting that there is a possibility of a Creator. Perhaps what evolutionists are truly afraid of are the implications of the presence of a higher power. Higher power means higher authority and, ultimately, higher accountability.
News / What Are They Afraid Of? - Institute for Creation Research
Washington Times Op-ed—Complete Control Over What is Taught
by J. Michael Smith
HSLDA President
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco recently issued a wake-up call to parents in the case of Fields v. Palmdale School District. Judge Stephen Reinhardt, writing for the court, ruled that though parents have a fundamental right to decide whether to send their child to a public school, they do not have a general right to direct how the school teaches their child.
The case before the court that led to this ruling centered on a survey that asked several public schoolchildren invasive questions about sex. The parents argued that the school should not have allowed their children to be asked these questions.
The parents, however, had given their consent by signing a form that included the following statement provided by the school district: "I understand answering questions may make my child feel uncomfortable. If this occurs, then ... the research study coordinator, will assist us in locating a therapist for further psychological help if necessary."
If the nature of the questions that were to be asked could lead a child to seek psychological help, this should have raised a red flag with the parents.
Despite the presence of a consent form, however, many people agree that public schools should not usurp the authority of parents, especially if the subject is controversial. In addition, many people believe that if you choose to send your child to public school, it's reasonable to expect the school to act as a partner rather than as a parent.
In fact, 320 members of the U.S. House of Representatives sided with the parents when they passed a resolution urging the entire 9th Circuit to rehear the case. Unfortunately, there is legal precedent to support Judge Reinhardt's opinion. These decisions slowly have eroded parents' constitutional right to control the education of their own children once they have handed over the children to the public school.
The 9th Circuit explained that the legitimate function of public school exceeds simply teaching academic courses to students. Judge Reinhardt concluded that the U.S. Supreme Court has said: "Education serves higher civic and social functions, including the rearing of children into healthy, productive and responsible adults and the cultivation of talented and qualified leaders of diverse backgrounds" Grutter v. Bolinger, 539 US 306 (2003).
Citing precedent from other courts, Judge Reinhardt ruled that parents of public school students do not have a fundamental right to object to a public school uniform policy or a community service requirement for high school students or to have their children exempted from certain reading programs the parents find objectionable or from an assembly program that includes sexually explicit topics.
These opinions show that when conflicts arise, the trend in the courts is to side with school officials rather than parents. This is not as far-fetched as it may seem. How could a school operate if every administrative detail was challenged successfully by parents? A school could not function in this type of environment.
A better way to view public schools is to see them as a benefit provided by the state. Because the state is providing a benefit, it is able to set the rules. Of course, the result is that public schools inevitably act as parents.
Judge Reinhardt was very clear, and parents across the nation should be aware that in the current legal climate, they are sacrificing almost all their parental authority when they send their children to public school.
Fortunately, there is an alternative for parents who do not want to compete with public schools or the courts for the authority to educate their own children. Hundreds of thousands of parents have decided to home-school.
When you home-school, you have control of the curriculum, and you are the final authority. The responsibility for educating and raising your children is not delegated to the state, which may act in ways you do not support. As the parents in Fields v. Palmdale discovered, they are the ones who have to live with the consequences of what their children are exposed to at school.
The moral of the story is: "There is no place like home" when it comes to education. Home-schooling is the best choice for parents who wish to remain the principal figures in the upbringing of their children.
HSLDA | Washington Times Op-ed�Complete Control Over What is Taught
HSLDA President
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco recently issued a wake-up call to parents in the case of Fields v. Palmdale School District. Judge Stephen Reinhardt, writing for the court, ruled that though parents have a fundamental right to decide whether to send their child to a public school, they do not have a general right to direct how the school teaches their child.
The case before the court that led to this ruling centered on a survey that asked several public schoolchildren invasive questions about sex. The parents argued that the school should not have allowed their children to be asked these questions.
The parents, however, had given their consent by signing a form that included the following statement provided by the school district: "I understand answering questions may make my child feel uncomfortable. If this occurs, then ... the research study coordinator, will assist us in locating a therapist for further psychological help if necessary."
If the nature of the questions that were to be asked could lead a child to seek psychological help, this should have raised a red flag with the parents.
Despite the presence of a consent form, however, many people agree that public schools should not usurp the authority of parents, especially if the subject is controversial. In addition, many people believe that if you choose to send your child to public school, it's reasonable to expect the school to act as a partner rather than as a parent.
In fact, 320 members of the U.S. House of Representatives sided with the parents when they passed a resolution urging the entire 9th Circuit to rehear the case. Unfortunately, there is legal precedent to support Judge Reinhardt's opinion. These decisions slowly have eroded parents' constitutional right to control the education of their own children once they have handed over the children to the public school.
The 9th Circuit explained that the legitimate function of public school exceeds simply teaching academic courses to students. Judge Reinhardt concluded that the U.S. Supreme Court has said: "Education serves higher civic and social functions, including the rearing of children into healthy, productive and responsible adults and the cultivation of talented and qualified leaders of diverse backgrounds" Grutter v. Bolinger, 539 US 306 (2003).
Citing precedent from other courts, Judge Reinhardt ruled that parents of public school students do not have a fundamental right to object to a public school uniform policy or a community service requirement for high school students or to have their children exempted from certain reading programs the parents find objectionable or from an assembly program that includes sexually explicit topics.
These opinions show that when conflicts arise, the trend in the courts is to side with school officials rather than parents. This is not as far-fetched as it may seem. How could a school operate if every administrative detail was challenged successfully by parents? A school could not function in this type of environment.
A better way to view public schools is to see them as a benefit provided by the state. Because the state is providing a benefit, it is able to set the rules. Of course, the result is that public schools inevitably act as parents.
Judge Reinhardt was very clear, and parents across the nation should be aware that in the current legal climate, they are sacrificing almost all their parental authority when they send their children to public school.
Fortunately, there is an alternative for parents who do not want to compete with public schools or the courts for the authority to educate their own children. Hundreds of thousands of parents have decided to home-school.
When you home-school, you have control of the curriculum, and you are the final authority. The responsibility for educating and raising your children is not delegated to the state, which may act in ways you do not support. As the parents in Fields v. Palmdale discovered, they are the ones who have to live with the consequences of what their children are exposed to at school.
The moral of the story is: "There is no place like home" when it comes to education. Home-schooling is the best choice for parents who wish to remain the principal figures in the upbringing of their children.
HSLDA | Washington Times Op-ed�Complete Control Over What is Taught
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
A Sermon With Some Real Punch
Billy Joe Daugherty preached a routine sermon on Nov. 20. Then a man socked the preacher in the face—and the gospel traveled at the speed of broadband.
Most preachers would love it if one of their sermons made national news. That’s what happened to Oklahoma pastor Billy Joe Daugherty—but he had to get punched in the face first.
When Daugherty was hit and bloodied on Nov. 20 during a Sunday morning service, the Christian kindness he showed his attacker made headlines on NBC, CNN, Fox and MSNBC. David Letterman even mentioned the unusual incident on his CBS Late Show.
A nondescript visitor named Steven Rogers delivered the unexpected blow to Daugherty’s clean-cut face at the close of the 11 a.m. service at Victory Christian Center in Tulsa, Okla. As music played during an altar call, Rogers approached Daugherty and hit him with his fist—leaving the 53-year-old pastor with blood steaming from a gash above his left eye.
Daugherty told one TV reporter: “The first time I was hit, what went through my mind was, Did he just hit me? I mean, it was bam, bam.”
A staff member and security guards subdued the assailant while Daugherty led the congregation in prayer to forgive the man.
“There was some humor in it all,” Daugherty told me in an interview on Monday, just days after two stitches had been removed from the cut below his eyebrow. “My wife kept singing. The piano player kept playing. I told the congregation, ‘It’s time to praise God.’ So we shouted and praised Him.”
After the assault, local station KTUL Channel 8 posted a news item about it on their Web site. As of early this week, the site had more than 2.6 million hits—breaking the station’s previous record of 400,000. And national TV networks began contacting Daugherty for interviews.
“What started out as a bad situation turned out to be an opportunity to share the gospel,” Daugherty says. Numerous television networks have done segments on the incident—as have Internet news giants AOL and Yahoo. The church has posted the video of the entire sermon—with the footage of the attack and subsequent apology—and many people are ordering copies.
Why did this happen? Rogers, who is 50, certainly had no obvious motive to attack Daugherty. Police records show that Rogers has a history of violent assaults.
Daugherty says God allowed the incident so more people could hear about Jesus, who suffered beatings, torture, humiliation and public execution yet still loved His enemies.
“I have been able to tell people that Jesus suffered a whole lot more than I did,” Daugherty says. “When Jesus was crucified, He said, ‘Father, forgive them.’”
Daugherty not only forgave Rogers from the pulpit but he also visited him last week at a Tulsa jail. He says Rogers has a troubled past, like many have among the underprivileged people who are part of Victory Christian Center’s weekly outreach programs.
Ironically, Daugherty has never been attacked during any of his numerous missionary trips to Haiti, Sierra Leone, Pakistan and other dangerous countries. He had just returned from a trip to Russia’s Ural Mountains when the Tulsa assault happened.
It all goes to show us that anything can happen anywhere, and that Tulsa sometimes can be as dangerous as Moscow, Beirut or Islamabad.
And, to Daugherty, it also shows that Americans are hungry to hear more about Christ’s love and forgiveness. Especially when it is not just preached in words but practiced—in spontaneous and unscripted fashion—in front of a live audience.
CHARISMA ONLINE :: Nov. 29, 2005A Sermon With Some Real Punch
Remarks Shed Light on China's Religious Persecution
Also, Evangelist Palau Regrets His Suggestion to Chinese House Churches
By Allie Martin and Fred Jackson
November 29, 2005
(AgapePress) - A spokesman with Voice of the Martyrs says it is encouraging that President George W. Bush spoke about religious freedom in China during his trip to the communist nation. At the same time, a well-known American evangelist has expressed regret for remarks he made after joining the president at a church service in Beijing.
During his recent visit to Communist China, President Bush encouraged that nation's leaders to allow more religious freedom for members of unregistered or "house" churches. Speaking outside one of only five state-sanctioned Protestant churches in the Chinese capital -- where he and the First Lady had just attended a service -- the president expressed hope that the government of China "will not fear Christians who gather to worship openly." He also stated that "a healthy society is a society that welcomes all faiths."
Critics have noted somewhat of a double standard in that Bush made his remarks in the shadow of a state-approved church while reports from groups like Voice of the Martyrs, a ministry that assists the persecuted Church worldwide, document harsh -- and sometimes fatal -- crackdowns on Chinese Christians who choose instead to worship in underground churches. But The Washington Post reports that White House aides decided Bush had to make his statements near a church permitted by the government "to avoid causing anyone trouble."
Still, Todd Nettleton with Voice of the Martyrs believes the president's remarks could have a big impact. "The Chinese government went out of their way to make sure that there would not be any kind of disturbance, any kind of protest, any kind of thing that could embarrass them while President Bush was there," Nettleton explains.
"But [the president] has made a priority to talk about and to bring up the topic of religious freedom in China -- and hopefully, at some point, that will start to have an influence and will change the way the Chinese government treats people of faith."
Christians around the world can only hope Nettleton's hopes become reality. According to the VOM spokesman, there are signs that persecution of Christians in China has actually increased in recent months. He says it is "interesting" to see how the Beijing regime prepared for Bush's visit.
"We know of one lawyer who has represented Christians in China who was asked to leave Beijing while the president was there," Nettleton notes. "And we know of another evangelist who was brought into custody while the president was there and [who] was released shortly after the president left."
In addition, a Christian leader in China was recently arrested for illegally printing and storing Bibles.
Palau's 'Faux Pas'?
At the same time the Bushes were in China, American evangelist Luis Palau also attended a worship service at an officially registered Chinese church where he shocked many people when he stated that China's much persecuted house churches should "register and receive greater freedom and blessings from the government." Groups that monitor religious persecution in China responded in almost unbelief that a Christian leader would even suggest such a thing.
One of those dismayed by Palau's remarks was Pastor Bob Fu, president of the China Aid Association. Fu says Palau seemed oblivious to the widespread religious persecution in China and obviously has no understanding about the cost of registering a church with the government.
"The government-sanctioned churches are not allowed to baptize students under 18 years old," Fu explains to Associated Press. "And even a preacher certified by the government is not allowed to preach outside of the four walls of the church building."
And in a press release, Fu offers this assessment: "Rev. Palau's China [comments] will be much more convincing if he is allowed to do an open evangelism in the Tian'an Men Square just like what he did at National Mall in Washington, DC, recently. ”
In a statement, Palau now concedes that it was wrong for him to make such a suggestion, and he hopes his remarks will not cause any trouble for the Chinese Christians in those house churches.
http://www.chinaaid.org/english_site/press_release_detail.php?id=84
News from Agape Press
By Allie Martin and Fred Jackson
November 29, 2005
(AgapePress) - A spokesman with Voice of the Martyrs says it is encouraging that President George W. Bush spoke about religious freedom in China during his trip to the communist nation. At the same time, a well-known American evangelist has expressed regret for remarks he made after joining the president at a church service in Beijing.
During his recent visit to Communist China, President Bush encouraged that nation's leaders to allow more religious freedom for members of unregistered or "house" churches. Speaking outside one of only five state-sanctioned Protestant churches in the Chinese capital -- where he and the First Lady had just attended a service -- the president expressed hope that the government of China "will not fear Christians who gather to worship openly." He also stated that "a healthy society is a society that welcomes all faiths."
Critics have noted somewhat of a double standard in that Bush made his remarks in the shadow of a state-approved church while reports from groups like Voice of the Martyrs, a ministry that assists the persecuted Church worldwide, document harsh -- and sometimes fatal -- crackdowns on Chinese Christians who choose instead to worship in underground churches. But The Washington Post reports that White House aides decided Bush had to make his statements near a church permitted by the government "to avoid causing anyone trouble."
Still, Todd Nettleton with Voice of the Martyrs believes the president's remarks could have a big impact. "The Chinese government went out of their way to make sure that there would not be any kind of disturbance, any kind of protest, any kind of thing that could embarrass them while President Bush was there," Nettleton explains.
"But [the president] has made a priority to talk about and to bring up the topic of religious freedom in China -- and hopefully, at some point, that will start to have an influence and will change the way the Chinese government treats people of faith."
Christians around the world can only hope Nettleton's hopes become reality. According to the VOM spokesman, there are signs that persecution of Christians in China has actually increased in recent months. He says it is "interesting" to see how the Beijing regime prepared for Bush's visit.
"We know of one lawyer who has represented Christians in China who was asked to leave Beijing while the president was there," Nettleton notes. "And we know of another evangelist who was brought into custody while the president was there and [who] was released shortly after the president left."
In addition, a Christian leader in China was recently arrested for illegally printing and storing Bibles.
Palau's 'Faux Pas'?
At the same time the Bushes were in China, American evangelist Luis Palau also attended a worship service at an officially registered Chinese church where he shocked many people when he stated that China's much persecuted house churches should "register and receive greater freedom and blessings from the government." Groups that monitor religious persecution in China responded in almost unbelief that a Christian leader would even suggest such a thing.
One of those dismayed by Palau's remarks was Pastor Bob Fu, president of the China Aid Association. Fu says Palau seemed oblivious to the widespread religious persecution in China and obviously has no understanding about the cost of registering a church with the government.
"The government-sanctioned churches are not allowed to baptize students under 18 years old," Fu explains to Associated Press. "And even a preacher certified by the government is not allowed to preach outside of the four walls of the church building."
And in a press release, Fu offers this assessment: "Rev. Palau's China [comments] will be much more convincing if he is allowed to do an open evangelism in the Tian'an Men Square just like what he did at National Mall in Washington, DC, recently. ”
In a statement, Palau now concedes that it was wrong for him to make such a suggestion, and he hopes his remarks will not cause any trouble for the Chinese Christians in those house churches.
http://www.chinaaid.org/english_site/press_release_detail.php?id=84
News from Agape Press
Dad Outraged Over ISU Policy Allowing Cohabiting Resident Staff
By Jim Brown and Jenni Parker
November 29, 2005
(AgapePress) - Some parents with students at Illinois State University want the school to reverse its policy permitting professional staff to engage in unmarried cohabitation in student dormitories.
One father, Greg Myers, says he was outraged to learn that the school's Student Affairs Office allowed his daughter's dorm supervisor to cohabitate with his girlfriend in ISU's Watterson Hall.
Myers' daughter, a senior at ISU, is a resident assistant in the dorm. Like her father, she objects to the staff cohabitation policy because of her Christian beliefs. The university's Housing Services office also permits staff members with same-sex romantic partners to live together in student dorms.
But while Vice President of Student Affairs Helen Mamarchev claims the school's staff cohabitation policy supports its "vision of appreciation of diversity," Myers insists the diversity argument does not apply in this case. "This is simply a lifestyle issue," he says.
"This hasn't got anything to do with whether or not a young man can get a position on campus, whether or not he can hold a job, whether or not he can do business with the university," the concerned parent continues. "It doesn't have anything to do with that. It's simply a lifestyle decision that these people make, and it's obviously not the right one."
While Myers' concerns are driven by faith and family values, many family health and social welfare researchers echo them. A growing body of research has demonstrated the increased risk of several problems for unmarried couples that choose to live together.
For instance, numerous studies indicate that domestic abuse and child abuse are more common and severe among cohabitating couples than among married couples, and that women are 62 times more likely to be assaulted by a live-in boyfriend than by a spouse. Furthermore, many studies have found cohabiting women tend to be more irritable, anxious, worried and unhappy, reporting rates of depression three times higher and suffering from 10 percent more neurotic disorders than married women.
Also, research suggests that cohabiting relationships are much less stable than marriages, and therefore present a poor environment for child-rearing. Studies have shown that only 44 percent of cohabitating couples actually marry and, of those that do, three quarters of the children in those homes will, before reaching age 16, see their parents divorce. That is opposed to a third of the children born to married couples who will see their parents break up.
Myers is asking Illinois State University to reverse its cohabitation policy, which currently permits unmarried heterosexual and homosexual staff members alike to have live-in romantic partners in student dormitories. "This is something that I think is just over the top as far as lack of character and lack of values in a policy decision," the father says, "and I just think it is detrimental to a balanced education by a university charged with the responsibility of our children."
Unmarried cohabitation was illegal in the U.S. up until 1970, and even today the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Act does not prohibit marital status discrimination. In recent years, some courts have emphasized a distinction between marital status and cohabitation and ruled that marital status does not include, or protect, co-habitation.
News from Agape Press
November 29, 2005
(AgapePress) - Some parents with students at Illinois State University want the school to reverse its policy permitting professional staff to engage in unmarried cohabitation in student dormitories.
One father, Greg Myers, says he was outraged to learn that the school's Student Affairs Office allowed his daughter's dorm supervisor to cohabitate with his girlfriend in ISU's Watterson Hall.
Myers' daughter, a senior at ISU, is a resident assistant in the dorm. Like her father, she objects to the staff cohabitation policy because of her Christian beliefs. The university's Housing Services office also permits staff members with same-sex romantic partners to live together in student dorms.
But while Vice President of Student Affairs Helen Mamarchev claims the school's staff cohabitation policy supports its "vision of appreciation of diversity," Myers insists the diversity argument does not apply in this case. "This is simply a lifestyle issue," he says.
"This hasn't got anything to do with whether or not a young man can get a position on campus, whether or not he can hold a job, whether or not he can do business with the university," the concerned parent continues. "It doesn't have anything to do with that. It's simply a lifestyle decision that these people make, and it's obviously not the right one."
While Myers' concerns are driven by faith and family values, many family health and social welfare researchers echo them. A growing body of research has demonstrated the increased risk of several problems for unmarried couples that choose to live together.
For instance, numerous studies indicate that domestic abuse and child abuse are more common and severe among cohabitating couples than among married couples, and that women are 62 times more likely to be assaulted by a live-in boyfriend than by a spouse. Furthermore, many studies have found cohabiting women tend to be more irritable, anxious, worried and unhappy, reporting rates of depression three times higher and suffering from 10 percent more neurotic disorders than married women.
Also, research suggests that cohabiting relationships are much less stable than marriages, and therefore present a poor environment for child-rearing. Studies have shown that only 44 percent of cohabitating couples actually marry and, of those that do, three quarters of the children in those homes will, before reaching age 16, see their parents divorce. That is opposed to a third of the children born to married couples who will see their parents break up.
Myers is asking Illinois State University to reverse its cohabitation policy, which currently permits unmarried heterosexual and homosexual staff members alike to have live-in romantic partners in student dormitories. "This is something that I think is just over the top as far as lack of character and lack of values in a policy decision," the father says, "and I just think it is detrimental to a balanced education by a university charged with the responsibility of our children."
Unmarried cohabitation was illegal in the U.S. up until 1970, and even today the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Act does not prohibit marital status discrimination. In recent years, some courts have emphasized a distinction between marital status and cohabitation and ruled that marital status does not include, or protect, co-habitation.
News from Agape Press
Monday, November 28, 2005
Veiled Threat
By Paul Sperry
www.frontpagemagazine.com
When a bewildered Iraqi woman named Sajida al-Rishawi confessed on Jordanian state television last week that she had been part of the team that tried to blow up the Radisson Hotel in Amman, she showed that Iraq has become a base from which al Qaeda launches attacks against its enemies and that suicide terrorism may be the one area in Mid-East culture where fundamentalist Muslim women are finally gaining equality with men.
Wearing her defused bomb belt, which failed to detonate when the three other members of her team blew themselves up along with members of a Jordanian wedding party, al-Rishawi called into question the idea that Muslim women are little more than veiled victims of a brutal misogynistic culture and that their only connection to terror is as bystanders. While no female Muslims here in the U.S. have blown up passenger jets as they have in Russia, or strapped on belts packed with TNT and ball bearings to blow up American hotels, as an older Iraqi woman has confessed to doing in Jordan, law enforcement has uncovered a disturbing number of cases in which they have helped Muslim men with terrorist plots or have planned to attack fellow Americans themselves.
Here are a few examples, some of which have never been revealed:
* Earlier this year, the FBI arrested two teenage Muslim girls in Manhattan on suspicion they planned to attack U.S. targets as suicide bombers. The 16-year-old girls wore veils and regularly attended mosques.
* Last year, a Pakistani woman who worked for years at EPA headquarters as a toxicologist was arrested after authorities learned she not only lied about being a U.S. citizen, but also ran a charitable front for al Qaeda back in Peshawar, Pakistan. A mother of four, Waheeda Tehseen lived comfortably in the same leafy neighborhood as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, according to law enforcement documents I’ve obtained. She was “very devout,” but fellow EPA scientists found her religious beliefs quaint and completely nonthreatening, and even unwittingly helped her raise money for Osama bin Laden.
* Authorities are still looking for another Pakistani woman who they believe to be a “fixer” for al-Qaida in the U.S. MIT-educated Aafia Siddiqui is said to have been involved in a plot to blow up underground gas tanks around Baltimore. The mother of three is known as a “good sister” who has memorized her Quran and is willing to help al Qaeda out when they need her. She was a hard-line Muslim activist on the MIT campus, where she wore head-to-toe traditional black gown and matching headscarf while raising money for jihadists around the world. The Bostonians she ran into outside that circle of hate, however, knew her only as a soft-spoken “philanthropist.”
* Two months ago, federal agents in Dallas accused three Muslim women of lying to the government to conceal their involvement in their husbands’ criminal support of outlawed terrorists. Fay Elashi, for one, allegedly tried to hide from investigators checks and financial records bearing the names of the terrorists.
* Last year, authorities in Baltimore spotted the wife of suspected Hamas operative Ismail Elbarasse videotaping the Chesapeake Bay Bridge from an SUV they were driving. The couple was taken into custody and their camcorder tape seized as evidence. On it, authorities found close-up shots of cables and supports “integral to the structural integrity of the bridge,” according to court documents. Six other tapes found in their car contained footage of four other bridges and other structures they believed to be targets. Authorities concluded Elbarasse’s wife was helping conduct “reconnaissance and surveillance” for a possible terrorist attack during rush hour.
* They are not the only potential targets Muslim women have been casing in the Washington area. Not long after it set up headquarters in Crystal City, Va., not far from the Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security asked the Secret Service to conduct countersurveillance of suspicious Muslim women who were videotaping the building on a regular basis.
Prolonged static surveillance using operatives who look harmless and don’t attract police scrutiny is the hallmark of al Qaeda, which does painstaking pre-attack planning. Through its websites, al Qaeda regularly encourages the faithful who are “far from the fields of jihad” to research the soft spots and weaknesses “of the American infidel crusaders” and report back locations and images of vulnerable structures – from bridges and pipelines to military installations and financial buildings – which might be suitable for attack.
According to the Quran, jihad is not something a Muslim can opt out of. It demands able-bodied believers to join the fight. Those unable – largely women and the elderly – are not exempt; they must give “aid and asylum” to those who do fight the unbelievers in the cause of Allah. Such facilitators are promised the same reward of Paradise, although not the same status as jihadists who give their pound of flesh to Allah. And those who die in his cause – the shaheeds, or martyrs – are reserved the highest place in the Paradise hierarchy.
Increasingly, however, Muslim women are taking on the role of martyr, though no one is rethinking the profile just yet. To be sure, Muslim women are a long way from fitting the profile of the suicide bomber, which is still predominantly young, Muslim and male.
But the Department of Homeland Security issued warnings to law enforcement to be on the lookout for suspicious Muslim women after Chechen terrorists used young Muslim women as suicide bombers to attack Russian targets a couple of years ago. And they are on alert again after al Qaeda, in an effort to lower its male profile and bypass security, apparently enlisted an older Muslim woman to help carry out the recent bloody attacks on American hotels in Jordan.
According to Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir, who has interviewed bin Laden, there is a ready supply of female jihadists in his country alone who would be thrilled to help al Qaeda.
“Our women are more extremist than the men,” he said in a recent magazine interview. “There are hundreds here.”
Veiled Threat
www.frontpagemagazine.com
When a bewildered Iraqi woman named Sajida al-Rishawi confessed on Jordanian state television last week that she had been part of the team that tried to blow up the Radisson Hotel in Amman, she showed that Iraq has become a base from which al Qaeda launches attacks against its enemies and that suicide terrorism may be the one area in Mid-East culture where fundamentalist Muslim women are finally gaining equality with men.
Wearing her defused bomb belt, which failed to detonate when the three other members of her team blew themselves up along with members of a Jordanian wedding party, al-Rishawi called into question the idea that Muslim women are little more than veiled victims of a brutal misogynistic culture and that their only connection to terror is as bystanders. While no female Muslims here in the U.S. have blown up passenger jets as they have in Russia, or strapped on belts packed with TNT and ball bearings to blow up American hotels, as an older Iraqi woman has confessed to doing in Jordan, law enforcement has uncovered a disturbing number of cases in which they have helped Muslim men with terrorist plots or have planned to attack fellow Americans themselves.
Here are a few examples, some of which have never been revealed:
* Earlier this year, the FBI arrested two teenage Muslim girls in Manhattan on suspicion they planned to attack U.S. targets as suicide bombers. The 16-year-old girls wore veils and regularly attended mosques.
* Last year, a Pakistani woman who worked for years at EPA headquarters as a toxicologist was arrested after authorities learned she not only lied about being a U.S. citizen, but also ran a charitable front for al Qaeda back in Peshawar, Pakistan. A mother of four, Waheeda Tehseen lived comfortably in the same leafy neighborhood as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, according to law enforcement documents I’ve obtained. She was “very devout,” but fellow EPA scientists found her religious beliefs quaint and completely nonthreatening, and even unwittingly helped her raise money for Osama bin Laden.
* Authorities are still looking for another Pakistani woman who they believe to be a “fixer” for al-Qaida in the U.S. MIT-educated Aafia Siddiqui is said to have been involved in a plot to blow up underground gas tanks around Baltimore. The mother of three is known as a “good sister” who has memorized her Quran and is willing to help al Qaeda out when they need her. She was a hard-line Muslim activist on the MIT campus, where she wore head-to-toe traditional black gown and matching headscarf while raising money for jihadists around the world. The Bostonians she ran into outside that circle of hate, however, knew her only as a soft-spoken “philanthropist.”
* Two months ago, federal agents in Dallas accused three Muslim women of lying to the government to conceal their involvement in their husbands’ criminal support of outlawed terrorists. Fay Elashi, for one, allegedly tried to hide from investigators checks and financial records bearing the names of the terrorists.
* Last year, authorities in Baltimore spotted the wife of suspected Hamas operative Ismail Elbarasse videotaping the Chesapeake Bay Bridge from an SUV they were driving. The couple was taken into custody and their camcorder tape seized as evidence. On it, authorities found close-up shots of cables and supports “integral to the structural integrity of the bridge,” according to court documents. Six other tapes found in their car contained footage of four other bridges and other structures they believed to be targets. Authorities concluded Elbarasse’s wife was helping conduct “reconnaissance and surveillance” for a possible terrorist attack during rush hour.
* They are not the only potential targets Muslim women have been casing in the Washington area. Not long after it set up headquarters in Crystal City, Va., not far from the Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security asked the Secret Service to conduct countersurveillance of suspicious Muslim women who were videotaping the building on a regular basis.
Prolonged static surveillance using operatives who look harmless and don’t attract police scrutiny is the hallmark of al Qaeda, which does painstaking pre-attack planning. Through its websites, al Qaeda regularly encourages the faithful who are “far from the fields of jihad” to research the soft spots and weaknesses “of the American infidel crusaders” and report back locations and images of vulnerable structures – from bridges and pipelines to military installations and financial buildings – which might be suitable for attack.
According to the Quran, jihad is not something a Muslim can opt out of. It demands able-bodied believers to join the fight. Those unable – largely women and the elderly – are not exempt; they must give “aid and asylum” to those who do fight the unbelievers in the cause of Allah. Such facilitators are promised the same reward of Paradise, although not the same status as jihadists who give their pound of flesh to Allah. And those who die in his cause – the shaheeds, or martyrs – are reserved the highest place in the Paradise hierarchy.
Increasingly, however, Muslim women are taking on the role of martyr, though no one is rethinking the profile just yet. To be sure, Muslim women are a long way from fitting the profile of the suicide bomber, which is still predominantly young, Muslim and male.
But the Department of Homeland Security issued warnings to law enforcement to be on the lookout for suspicious Muslim women after Chechen terrorists used young Muslim women as suicide bombers to attack Russian targets a couple of years ago. And they are on alert again after al Qaeda, in an effort to lower its male profile and bypass security, apparently enlisted an older Muslim woman to help carry out the recent bloody attacks on American hotels in Jordan.
According to Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir, who has interviewed bin Laden, there is a ready supply of female jihadists in his country alone who would be thrilled to help al Qaeda.
“Our women are more extremist than the men,” he said in a recent magazine interview. “There are hundreds here.”
Veiled Threat
U.S. 'Pandering' to Palestine With Nazi Appeasement
By Chad Groening
November 22, 2005
(AgapePress) - Esther Levens, founder and CEO of the Unity Coalition for Israel, says the recent Palestinian-Israeli "agreement" brokered by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is nothing but more appeasement of terrorists at Israel's expense.
Rice pushed the Israelis to allow the Palestinians in Gaza to have a direct border with Egypt as well as bus convoys between Gaza and the West Bank through Israeli territory. But Levens says it is unbelievable that the U.S. Secretary of State is giving credibility to a terrorist group and "that the U.S. would back off of denying Hamas the ability to run in the January election against [Mahmoud] Abbas."
The coalition spokeswoman says the Bush administration's "pandering" to the Palestinians is reminiscent of the way Adolph Hitler was appeased by the Western powers leading up to the Second World War. "Is it much different," she asks, "than what happened in World War II, when we waited and waited and then had to get hit at Pearl Harbor? It's every bit as dangerous -- this is a new Nazi movement."
The Bush administration would never concede U.S. territory to al-Qaeda, Levens asserts, yet she says the U.S. government appears perfectly willing to make Israel sacrifice its territory and security to the Palestinians. "One battle after another, they're winning," she contends, "and it's not really helpful when the president and his secretary of state just hand it over and force Israel to do that."
America is not giving its terrorist enemies New York, Levens says, "because they killed 3,000 people there." It would be a farce even to consider such a thing, she adds, "and yet we pressure Israel to do what we would never do."
Pro-Israel Advocate Compares U.S. 'Pandering' to Palestine With Nazi Appeasement
November 22, 2005
(AgapePress) - Esther Levens, founder and CEO of the Unity Coalition for Israel, says the recent Palestinian-Israeli "agreement" brokered by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is nothing but more appeasement of terrorists at Israel's expense.
Rice pushed the Israelis to allow the Palestinians in Gaza to have a direct border with Egypt as well as bus convoys between Gaza and the West Bank through Israeli territory. But Levens says it is unbelievable that the U.S. Secretary of State is giving credibility to a terrorist group and "that the U.S. would back off of denying Hamas the ability to run in the January election against [Mahmoud] Abbas."
The coalition spokeswoman says the Bush administration's "pandering" to the Palestinians is reminiscent of the way Adolph Hitler was appeased by the Western powers leading up to the Second World War. "Is it much different," she asks, "than what happened in World War II, when we waited and waited and then had to get hit at Pearl Harbor? It's every bit as dangerous -- this is a new Nazi movement."
The Bush administration would never concede U.S. territory to al-Qaeda, Levens asserts, yet she says the U.S. government appears perfectly willing to make Israel sacrifice its territory and security to the Palestinians. "One battle after another, they're winning," she contends, "and it's not really helpful when the president and his secretary of state just hand it over and force Israel to do that."
America is not giving its terrorist enemies New York, Levens says, "because they killed 3,000 people there." It would be a farce even to consider such a thing, she adds, "and yet we pressure Israel to do what we would never do."
Pro-Israel Advocate Compares U.S. 'Pandering' to Palestine With Nazi Appeasement
'Compromises' on Human Sexuality Undercut Biblical Standards
By Jody Brown
November 22, 2005
(AgapePress) - A coalition of denominational renewal groups is warning Christians in America that an "assault" on biblical standards regarding sexuality -- in the guise of supposed "compromises" -- is in reality subverting those standards so that church bodies and officials can disregard them whenever they wish.
For decades, it seems, several mainline Protestant denominations have wrestled with the issue of homosexuality among their clergy, their laity, and society at large -- and how to deal with it in their official denominational procedures and doctrine. Seemingly unwilling to simply declare the lifestyle as sinful, instead they have taken to adopting different strategies toward homosexuality. The Episcopal Church USA, for example, concluded in 1996 that traditional Christian teachings opposing homosexuality were not "core doctrine." Eventually ECUSA consecrated the first openly homosexual bishop, V. Gene Robinson, who now oversees the Diocese of New Hampshire.
Other examples include the United Methodist Church, which last year almost approved a resolution that would have added to the Book of Discipline a phrase "recogniz[ing] that Christians disagree" on the question of whether the practice of homosexuality is or is not compatible with Christian teaching. In a similar vein, the Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America this year turned away a proposal that would have permitted exceptions to be granted even though ELCA ministers would be expected to "abstain from homosexual sexual relationships."
And next year, the Presbyterian Church (USA) is expected to consider a resolution that would permit local churches to deem as "non-essential" the constitutional requirement of "fidelity in the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness."
While those who hold a liberal theology might consider such strategies as progressive, the Association for Church Renewal (ACR) -- a roundtable of conservative leaders from these denominations and others such as the American Baptist Churches, the United Church of Christ, the Church of the Brethren, and the United Church of Canada -- sees the moves as a "compromise" intended to win the Church's affirmation of homosexual acts. That, says the ACR, is an attempt to indirectly "subvert the [biblical] standards" and to invent "procedural devices permitting church bodies and officials to disregard the standards at will."
In an open letter to Christians in the United States, the ACR warns that this compromise evident in several Protestant denominations "would sever the church's practice from its doctrine," essentially setting a "terrible precedent" in which a church openly acknowledges a biblical command -- and then treats obedience to that command as "optional."
"If denominations start granting exemptions from church discipline in one area," states the letter, "it will be very difficult to maintain any kind of covenant of mutual accountability within the church."
According to the ACR, advocates of compromise -- or the "third way," as the ACR labels it -- claim their proposed solution would strike a balance between different interpretations of Bible passages and allow the church to "get beyond yes/no polarities" that force it to make painful choices. Such an approach, says the ACR letter, "is utter nonsense."
"The Bible is filled with unavoidable yes/no choices," the letter points out, citing Deuteronomy 30:19, Joshua 24:15, Matthew 25:33, and Revelation 3:20. "A church that systematically refuses to choose between truth and error has no place left to stand.
"To the extent that any church declines to distinguish the better from the worse biblical interpretations, it undercuts its own ability to teach clear doctrine from the scriptures," add the signers of the ACR letter.
The letter concludes with the ACR's reaffirmation that the standard of fidelity in marriage -- and abstinence in singleness -- remains "the most faithful interpretation of God's will for human sexuality" and an essential component in the Holy Spirit presenting sanctified believers as "holy and blameless" before God.
"We ask you [brothers and sisters in the Lord] to stand steadfast with us in rejecting any compromise that would shift Christ's church away from that godly endeavor," says the letter, which is signed by more than two dozen individuals from 21 different organizations.
News from Agape Press
November 22, 2005
(AgapePress) - A coalition of denominational renewal groups is warning Christians in America that an "assault" on biblical standards regarding sexuality -- in the guise of supposed "compromises" -- is in reality subverting those standards so that church bodies and officials can disregard them whenever they wish.
For decades, it seems, several mainline Protestant denominations have wrestled with the issue of homosexuality among their clergy, their laity, and society at large -- and how to deal with it in their official denominational procedures and doctrine. Seemingly unwilling to simply declare the lifestyle as sinful, instead they have taken to adopting different strategies toward homosexuality. The Episcopal Church USA, for example, concluded in 1996 that traditional Christian teachings opposing homosexuality were not "core doctrine." Eventually ECUSA consecrated the first openly homosexual bishop, V. Gene Robinson, who now oversees the Diocese of New Hampshire.
Other examples include the United Methodist Church, which last year almost approved a resolution that would have added to the Book of Discipline a phrase "recogniz[ing] that Christians disagree" on the question of whether the practice of homosexuality is or is not compatible with Christian teaching. In a similar vein, the Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America this year turned away a proposal that would have permitted exceptions to be granted even though ELCA ministers would be expected to "abstain from homosexual sexual relationships."
And next year, the Presbyterian Church (USA) is expected to consider a resolution that would permit local churches to deem as "non-essential" the constitutional requirement of "fidelity in the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness."
While those who hold a liberal theology might consider such strategies as progressive, the Association for Church Renewal (ACR) -- a roundtable of conservative leaders from these denominations and others such as the American Baptist Churches, the United Church of Christ, the Church of the Brethren, and the United Church of Canada -- sees the moves as a "compromise" intended to win the Church's affirmation of homosexual acts. That, says the ACR, is an attempt to indirectly "subvert the [biblical] standards" and to invent "procedural devices permitting church bodies and officials to disregard the standards at will."
In an open letter to Christians in the United States, the ACR warns that this compromise evident in several Protestant denominations "would sever the church's practice from its doctrine," essentially setting a "terrible precedent" in which a church openly acknowledges a biblical command -- and then treats obedience to that command as "optional."
"If denominations start granting exemptions from church discipline in one area," states the letter, "it will be very difficult to maintain any kind of covenant of mutual accountability within the church."
According to the ACR, advocates of compromise -- or the "third way," as the ACR labels it -- claim their proposed solution would strike a balance between different interpretations of Bible passages and allow the church to "get beyond yes/no polarities" that force it to make painful choices. Such an approach, says the ACR letter, "is utter nonsense."
"The Bible is filled with unavoidable yes/no choices," the letter points out, citing Deuteronomy 30:19, Joshua 24:15, Matthew 25:33, and Revelation 3:20. "A church that systematically refuses to choose between truth and error has no place left to stand.
"To the extent that any church declines to distinguish the better from the worse biblical interpretations, it undercuts its own ability to teach clear doctrine from the scriptures," add the signers of the ACR letter.
The letter concludes with the ACR's reaffirmation that the standard of fidelity in marriage -- and abstinence in singleness -- remains "the most faithful interpretation of God's will for human sexuality" and an essential component in the Holy Spirit presenting sanctified believers as "holy and blameless" before God.
"We ask you [brothers and sisters in the Lord] to stand steadfast with us in rejecting any compromise that would shift Christ's church away from that godly endeavor," says the letter, which is signed by more than two dozen individuals from 21 different organizations.
News from Agape Press
Bible denied to inmate at Guantanamo
Richard A. Serrano
Los Angeles Times
Nov. 27, 2005 12:00 AM
WASHINGTON - At the U.S. prison for suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, everyone gets a Quran, but no one gets a Bible.
Saifullah Paracha, a 58-year-old former Pakistani businessmen with reputed ties to al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, has been in U.S. custody since 2003. Like the other inmates at Guantanamo, he has a copy of the Quran. But he also wants an English translation of the King James Version of the Bible.
Paracha believes that because the Bible is one of the scriptures accepted in Islam, he is entitled to a copy to read in his small wire-mesh cell. But after his lawyer shipped him a Bible, along with two volumes of Shakespeare, prison officials confiscated the package.
Paracha's American lawyer filed suit in U.S. District Court in Washington, demanding that Paracha be given the Bible and copies of Hamlet and Julius Caesar. The government responded that certain books are kept from prisoners because they could "incite" them.
Whether Bible or Quran, prayer might seem appropriate for Paracha. The allegations against him are grave.
The government contends that through his international packaging company, Paracha conspired to ship chemical components to the United States to help set off an attack by al-Qaida terrorists. His son, Uzair Paracha, 25, is on trial in New York on charges that he tried to help an al-Qaida operative enter this country and plan the intended attack.
The son, if convicted, faces up to 75 years in prison. The father could receive a life sentence. Both men insist they are innocent.
At his status review hearing last year, Saifullah conceded that he had met bin Laden socially and that the terrorist leader gave him a Quran.
"He was a prophet," Paracha said.
The practice of religion has been a sore point for the Guantanamo detainees.
Earlier this year, tempers flared and hunger strikes were launched over allegations that copies of the Quran were desecrated at the prison by U.S. guards. One account alleged that a Quran was flushed down a toilet. The U.S. government denied the report, but it set off riots in Muslim countries.
Paracha's Washington lawyer, Gaillard Hunt, said he met with Paracha in September and learned that his client "has been in solitary confinement with very little communication with anyone for most of the last year."
"I learned that he has been requesting a Bible," he added. "From my general knowledge, I knew that the Bible (the Old and New testaments) is accepted in Islam as one of their holy texts, so I interpreted this as a religious request."
On Sept. 30, Hunt said, he purchased a Bible and mailed it, still in the publisher's shrink wrap cover, to a chaplain at the naval base. He included a cover letter explaining it was for Prisoner No. 1094, at Paracha's request. Also in the package were the two plays and an English dictionary.
When Hunt visited again in October, Paracha told him no Bible or anything else had arrived. Hunt said one of the military lawyers "explained to me that Paracha would not be allowed to have a Bible as that would violate prison policy."
A recent government lawsuit filed in response said none of the more than 500 prisoners is permitted any special treatment. And government lawyers said Paracha has not shown that the practice of his religion, Islam, has been "substantially burdened" because he does not have an accompanying copy of the Bible.
They also argued that letting Paracha have a Bible would set off a "chain reaction" among the other 170 detainees.
Bible denied to inmate at Guantanamo
Los Angeles Times
Nov. 27, 2005 12:00 AM
WASHINGTON - At the U.S. prison for suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, everyone gets a Quran, but no one gets a Bible.
Saifullah Paracha, a 58-year-old former Pakistani businessmen with reputed ties to al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, has been in U.S. custody since 2003. Like the other inmates at Guantanamo, he has a copy of the Quran. But he also wants an English translation of the King James Version of the Bible.
Paracha believes that because the Bible is one of the scriptures accepted in Islam, he is entitled to a copy to read in his small wire-mesh cell. But after his lawyer shipped him a Bible, along with two volumes of Shakespeare, prison officials confiscated the package.
Paracha's American lawyer filed suit in U.S. District Court in Washington, demanding that Paracha be given the Bible and copies of Hamlet and Julius Caesar. The government responded that certain books are kept from prisoners because they could "incite" them.
Whether Bible or Quran, prayer might seem appropriate for Paracha. The allegations against him are grave.
The government contends that through his international packaging company, Paracha conspired to ship chemical components to the United States to help set off an attack by al-Qaida terrorists. His son, Uzair Paracha, 25, is on trial in New York on charges that he tried to help an al-Qaida operative enter this country and plan the intended attack.
The son, if convicted, faces up to 75 years in prison. The father could receive a life sentence. Both men insist they are innocent.
At his status review hearing last year, Saifullah conceded that he had met bin Laden socially and that the terrorist leader gave him a Quran.
"He was a prophet," Paracha said.
The practice of religion has been a sore point for the Guantanamo detainees.
Earlier this year, tempers flared and hunger strikes were launched over allegations that copies of the Quran were desecrated at the prison by U.S. guards. One account alleged that a Quran was flushed down a toilet. The U.S. government denied the report, but it set off riots in Muslim countries.
Paracha's Washington lawyer, Gaillard Hunt, said he met with Paracha in September and learned that his client "has been in solitary confinement with very little communication with anyone for most of the last year."
"I learned that he has been requesting a Bible," he added. "From my general knowledge, I knew that the Bible (the Old and New testaments) is accepted in Islam as one of their holy texts, so I interpreted this as a religious request."
On Sept. 30, Hunt said, he purchased a Bible and mailed it, still in the publisher's shrink wrap cover, to a chaplain at the naval base. He included a cover letter explaining it was for Prisoner No. 1094, at Paracha's request. Also in the package were the two plays and an English dictionary.
When Hunt visited again in October, Paracha told him no Bible or anything else had arrived. Hunt said one of the military lawyers "explained to me that Paracha would not be allowed to have a Bible as that would violate prison policy."
A recent government lawsuit filed in response said none of the more than 500 prisoners is permitted any special treatment. And government lawyers said Paracha has not shown that the practice of his religion, Islam, has been "substantially burdened" because he does not have an accompanying copy of the Bible.
They also argued that letting Paracha have a Bible would set off a "chain reaction" among the other 170 detainees.
Bible denied to inmate at Guantanamo
Charity cash for Palestinian poor was siphoned to suicide bombers
By Eric Silver in Jerusalem
Published: 28 November 2005
Millions of pounds donated by British and other European charities to help the Palestinian poor were unwittingly diverted to fund terror and support the families of suicide bombers, Israeli prosecutors claimed yesterday.
Ahmed Salatna, 43, a Hamas activist from the West Bank town of Jenin, was remanded in custody by a military court charged with distributing €9m (£6.2m) for such purposes over the past nine years. The recipients are alleged to have included the family of a young man who blew himself up at the Sbarro pizza restaurant in Jerusalem in August 2001, killing 15 people and wounding 107. Hamas and Islamic Jihad acknowledged responsibility.
The charge sheet names two British charities, Human Appeal International and Interpal. Human Appeal is a broadly based fundraising organisation, currently helping victims of the Pakistani earthquake. Interpal describes itself as "a non-political, non-profit-making charity that focuses solely on the provision of relief and development aid to the poor and needy of Palestine". No one was available for comment at its London office yesterday. Other charities mentioned were the French CBST, the Italian ABSPT and the Al-Aqsa Foundation, which operates in Austria, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden.
Mr Salatna, who has directed an Islamic charity in Jenin since Israel released him in 1996 after serving three years for Hamas activity, was arrested in September. Micky Rosenfeld, a police spokesman, said Mr Salatna directly transferred the European funds to Hamas cells, suicide bombers and their families.
Mr Rosenfeld said: "Jenin is known as the capital of the suicide bombers. There is no doubt in police minds that Mr Salatna's arrest will be a major blow to those who rely on economic support from Hamas in order to carry out terrorist acts and to give their families financial backing."
Investigators were unable, at this stage, to link specific donations to specific attacks or other activities, the spokesman said. They were considering whether to seek the co-operation of Interpol and the British police.
In West Bank primaries for next January's Palestinian parliamentary elections, Marwan Barghouti, 46, a Tanzim militia commander serving five life sentences in an Israeli prison, won a resounding 96 per cent of Fatah votes in the Ramallah district. Other leading militants won in Jenin and Nablus.
Barghouti's success was hailed as a victory for Fatah's younger generation, which accuses the old guard that returned from exile with Yasser Arafat after the 1993 Oslo Accords of failing the Palestinian people.
Fadwa Barghouti, who visited her husband in jail last week, said: "This proves that Barghouti is a leader for his people and not a terrorist. It is a victory for democracy in Fatah. He told me if we succeed in democratising Fatah, we will succeed in democratising Palestinian society."
Yossi Beilin, architect of the Oslo breakthrough called for Israel to release him. President Moshe Katsav said there would be no early release: "Winning at the polling booth is no grounds for a pardon." he said.
Independent Online Edition > Middle East: "Charity cash for Palestinian poor was siphoned to suicide bombers"
Published: 28 November 2005
Millions of pounds donated by British and other European charities to help the Palestinian poor were unwittingly diverted to fund terror and support the families of suicide bombers, Israeli prosecutors claimed yesterday.
Ahmed Salatna, 43, a Hamas activist from the West Bank town of Jenin, was remanded in custody by a military court charged with distributing €9m (£6.2m) for such purposes over the past nine years. The recipients are alleged to have included the family of a young man who blew himself up at the Sbarro pizza restaurant in Jerusalem in August 2001, killing 15 people and wounding 107. Hamas and Islamic Jihad acknowledged responsibility.
The charge sheet names two British charities, Human Appeal International and Interpal. Human Appeal is a broadly based fundraising organisation, currently helping victims of the Pakistani earthquake. Interpal describes itself as "a non-political, non-profit-making charity that focuses solely on the provision of relief and development aid to the poor and needy of Palestine". No one was available for comment at its London office yesterday. Other charities mentioned were the French CBST, the Italian ABSPT and the Al-Aqsa Foundation, which operates in Austria, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden.
Mr Salatna, who has directed an Islamic charity in Jenin since Israel released him in 1996 after serving three years for Hamas activity, was arrested in September. Micky Rosenfeld, a police spokesman, said Mr Salatna directly transferred the European funds to Hamas cells, suicide bombers and their families.
Mr Rosenfeld said: "Jenin is known as the capital of the suicide bombers. There is no doubt in police minds that Mr Salatna's arrest will be a major blow to those who rely on economic support from Hamas in order to carry out terrorist acts and to give their families financial backing."
Investigators were unable, at this stage, to link specific donations to specific attacks or other activities, the spokesman said. They were considering whether to seek the co-operation of Interpol and the British police.
In West Bank primaries for next January's Palestinian parliamentary elections, Marwan Barghouti, 46, a Tanzim militia commander serving five life sentences in an Israeli prison, won a resounding 96 per cent of Fatah votes in the Ramallah district. Other leading militants won in Jenin and Nablus.
Barghouti's success was hailed as a victory for Fatah's younger generation, which accuses the old guard that returned from exile with Yasser Arafat after the 1993 Oslo Accords of failing the Palestinian people.
Fadwa Barghouti, who visited her husband in jail last week, said: "This proves that Barghouti is a leader for his people and not a terrorist. It is a victory for democracy in Fatah. He told me if we succeed in democratising Fatah, we will succeed in democratising Palestinian society."
Yossi Beilin, architect of the Oslo breakthrough called for Israel to release him. President Moshe Katsav said there would be no early release: "Winning at the polling booth is no grounds for a pardon." he said.
Independent Online Edition > Middle East: "Charity cash for Palestinian poor was siphoned to suicide bombers"
Intelligent design has scientific foundation
In the opinion section of the Nov. 18 issue, the Morning Sentinel ran a cartoon by Stuart Carlson that mocks the proponents of intelligent design and betrays the cartoonist's misconceptions about the debate on evolution. In a "Wizard of Oz" setting, Dorothy says, "Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in the 21st century anymore," while the Munchkins of intelligent design hold up placards with slogans such as "Science is for suckers."
Thus, the advocates for intelligent design are portrayed as ignorant people, blind to the evidence of modern science. On the contrary, the intelligent design movement invites the most thorough examination of the most modern scientific evidence. The theory of evolution was an invention of 19th-century scientists who had no access to the vast knowledge we now have of biochemistry and the cell.
Darwin thought that the cell was a more or less simple lump of matter. He provided the basis for the demise of his own theory in this passage from "The Origin of Species": "If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ system existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down."
Twenty-first-century science has demonstrated just that in the irreducible complexity of the molecular "machines" within cells, the structure of cilia, flagella, and the intracellular transport system. I urge readers to read intelligent books on intelligent design, rather than heed bits and bytes in the media that take pot-shots at something they do not understand.
David Hoagland
Winslow
Intelligent design has scientific foundation
Thus, the advocates for intelligent design are portrayed as ignorant people, blind to the evidence of modern science. On the contrary, the intelligent design movement invites the most thorough examination of the most modern scientific evidence. The theory of evolution was an invention of 19th-century scientists who had no access to the vast knowledge we now have of biochemistry and the cell.
Darwin thought that the cell was a more or less simple lump of matter. He provided the basis for the demise of his own theory in this passage from "The Origin of Species": "If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ system existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down."
Twenty-first-century science has demonstrated just that in the irreducible complexity of the molecular "machines" within cells, the structure of cilia, flagella, and the intracellular transport system. I urge readers to read intelligent books on intelligent design, rather than heed bits and bytes in the media that take pot-shots at something they do not understand.
David Hoagland
Winslow
Intelligent design has scientific foundation
Faribault teacher holds firm on his design belief
November 26, 2005
Rodney LeVake still teaches science in Faribault, Minn. And he still wishes he'd had a chance to tell the Supreme Court why he believes that students should be taught about alternatives to evolution.
"I never believed a person should teach a creation account in a public school situation," he said. But students "have got to know about the controversies in science," and he considers intelligent design one of those issues.
"The best way is to hit it head-on," and preferably in biology class, he said last week.
LeVake sued school officials after they learned of his feelings in 1998 and transferred him to a ninth-grade physical science class that does not include evolution.
LeVake, backed by the American Center for Law and Justice, a public-interest firm founded by evangelist Pat Robertson, contended that the school district's action infringed his freedom of speech and religion. The argument failed to convince a series of courts, including the Minnesota Court of Appeals. The Minnesota and U.S. Supreme Courts declined to hear it.
LeVake, 51, said he accepts two or three invitations a year to speak about his views.
For him, the variations among living creatures cannot be fully explained by evolution, he said.
"It's real hard to make a case that things come about by thoughtless mutation over time," he said.
But intelligent design, which holds that life is so complex that it had to spring from a conscious, intelligent source, is "kind of cool," he said. It offers a way for some people to account for those variations, he said.
"And for me it's a small step to recognize who that 'intelligence' is," he said.
He said that many colleagues give him "the cold shoulder" and that he misses the deeper conversations he used to have with them. But he said, "You have to kind of forgive and forget."
He said that even during the litigation he was struggling to reconcile his scientific knowledge and his religious beliefs. He concluded that "science can support the personal faith that I have." But he added: "My job is to teach science."
He said he still enjoys teaching ninth-grade science and coaching 10th-grade football.
"But the frosting on the cake would be if I were teaching biology."
Faribault teacher holds firm on his design belief
Rodney LeVake still teaches science in Faribault, Minn. And he still wishes he'd had a chance to tell the Supreme Court why he believes that students should be taught about alternatives to evolution.
"I never believed a person should teach a creation account in a public school situation," he said. But students "have got to know about the controversies in science," and he considers intelligent design one of those issues.
"The best way is to hit it head-on," and preferably in biology class, he said last week.
LeVake sued school officials after they learned of his feelings in 1998 and transferred him to a ninth-grade physical science class that does not include evolution.
LeVake, backed by the American Center for Law and Justice, a public-interest firm founded by evangelist Pat Robertson, contended that the school district's action infringed his freedom of speech and religion. The argument failed to convince a series of courts, including the Minnesota Court of Appeals. The Minnesota and U.S. Supreme Courts declined to hear it.
LeVake, 51, said he accepts two or three invitations a year to speak about his views.
For him, the variations among living creatures cannot be fully explained by evolution, he said.
"It's real hard to make a case that things come about by thoughtless mutation over time," he said.
But intelligent design, which holds that life is so complex that it had to spring from a conscious, intelligent source, is "kind of cool," he said. It offers a way for some people to account for those variations, he said.
"And for me it's a small step to recognize who that 'intelligence' is," he said.
He said that many colleagues give him "the cold shoulder" and that he misses the deeper conversations he used to have with them. But he said, "You have to kind of forgive and forget."
He said that even during the litigation he was struggling to reconcile his scientific knowledge and his religious beliefs. He concluded that "science can support the personal faith that I have." But he added: "My job is to teach science."
He said he still enjoys teaching ninth-grade science and coaching 10th-grade football.
"But the frosting on the cake would be if I were teaching biology."
Faribault teacher holds firm on his design belief
Narnia film catering to Christian market
Last Updated Fri, 25 Nov 2005 15:40:03 EST
CBC Arts
The makers of the first film in The Chronicles of Narnia are downplaying its Christian allegory, but that hasn't stopped churches in the U.S. and U.K. from seeing it as a chance to minister to their flock.
Disney's The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, based on the book by British writer C.S. Lewis, will have its world premiere in London on Dec. 7.
Lucy gets more than she bargains for when she steps through the door of the wardrobe. (AP photo/Walt Disney Pictures)
Lewis, a Christian philosopher as well as an author, created a fantasy world that is full of religious imagery. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, with its story of a lion who sacrifices himself so a child can live, is particularly heavy on the Jesus allegory.
Messianic images are common in science fiction, director Andrew Adamson told the BBC, citing The Matrix and Star Wars.
It is "open to the audience to interpret," said Adamson, who was co-director of the Shrek films.
But church groups are assuming that the values that Lewis wove into the story will remain in the film.
In the U.K., evangelical publishers have sent out special Narnia packs to churches. Some Methodists have prepared themed sermons and one Anglican church is giving out free tickets to single parents.
In the U.S., there are plans for group trips and screenings of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.
Disney is hoping the film gets the same level of following as The Passion of The Christ allowing it to help reverse the plunge Disney has suffered this year at the box office.
Christians are recognized by Hollywood as a valuable niche market after Mel Gibson's version of the crucifixion earned $600 million worldwide.
Churches see the Narnia movie as a golden opportunity to tap into mainstream culture and popularize religion, especially among children and youth.
St Luke's, an Anglican church in the southeast English town of Maidstone, distributed free tickets to Gibson's film. Now they are to repeat the offer with Narnia.
"We are giving away 10,000 British pounds ($20,000) worth of tickets to single-parent families in and around the area," said a spokesman for the church.
U.S. churches have similar plans, though most are waiting to determine whether the Christian message stays intact in the film.
The evangelical publishing company Christian Publishing and Outreach, which distributes material to 20,000 churches, has won permission from Disney to use two images from the film in its Narnia packs.
"We have a what-to-do guide, outlines that give ministers ideas on how to deliver sermons, material for Sunday schools," said Russ Bravo, CPO's development director. The company also sells Narnia-themed DVDs, posters and invitations.
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe tells the tale of four children who step through a wardrobe into the magical world of Narnia. There they witness the evil witch Jadis, played by British actress Tilda Swinton, fighting the good lion Aslan.
"The Passion really surprised Hollywood. Everyone thought it would bomb. What they didn't realize was that there is an audience for a film with a Christian message," John Buckeridge, editor of Christianity Magazine, told Reuters.
"Disney recognizes the marketplace. In Hollywood, money talks," said Buckeridge. Christinity Magazine ran a cover story on how churches could link into Narnia's release to promote a Christian message.
CBC Arts - CBC Arts: Narnia film catering to Christian market
CBC Arts
The makers of the first film in The Chronicles of Narnia are downplaying its Christian allegory, but that hasn't stopped churches in the U.S. and U.K. from seeing it as a chance to minister to their flock.
Disney's The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, based on the book by British writer C.S. Lewis, will have its world premiere in London on Dec. 7.
Lucy gets more than she bargains for when she steps through the door of the wardrobe. (AP photo/Walt Disney Pictures)
Lewis, a Christian philosopher as well as an author, created a fantasy world that is full of religious imagery. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, with its story of a lion who sacrifices himself so a child can live, is particularly heavy on the Jesus allegory.
Messianic images are common in science fiction, director Andrew Adamson told the BBC, citing The Matrix and Star Wars.
It is "open to the audience to interpret," said Adamson, who was co-director of the Shrek films.
But church groups are assuming that the values that Lewis wove into the story will remain in the film.
In the U.K., evangelical publishers have sent out special Narnia packs to churches. Some Methodists have prepared themed sermons and one Anglican church is giving out free tickets to single parents.
In the U.S., there are plans for group trips and screenings of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.
Disney is hoping the film gets the same level of following as The Passion of The Christ allowing it to help reverse the plunge Disney has suffered this year at the box office.
Christians are recognized by Hollywood as a valuable niche market after Mel Gibson's version of the crucifixion earned $600 million worldwide.
Churches see the Narnia movie as a golden opportunity to tap into mainstream culture and popularize religion, especially among children and youth.
St Luke's, an Anglican church in the southeast English town of Maidstone, distributed free tickets to Gibson's film. Now they are to repeat the offer with Narnia.
"We are giving away 10,000 British pounds ($20,000) worth of tickets to single-parent families in and around the area," said a spokesman for the church.
U.S. churches have similar plans, though most are waiting to determine whether the Christian message stays intact in the film.
The evangelical publishing company Christian Publishing and Outreach, which distributes material to 20,000 churches, has won permission from Disney to use two images from the film in its Narnia packs.
"We have a what-to-do guide, outlines that give ministers ideas on how to deliver sermons, material for Sunday schools," said Russ Bravo, CPO's development director. The company also sells Narnia-themed DVDs, posters and invitations.
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe tells the tale of four children who step through a wardrobe into the magical world of Narnia. There they witness the evil witch Jadis, played by British actress Tilda Swinton, fighting the good lion Aslan.
"The Passion really surprised Hollywood. Everyone thought it would bomb. What they didn't realize was that there is an audience for a film with a Christian message," John Buckeridge, editor of Christianity Magazine, told Reuters.
"Disney recognizes the marketplace. In Hollywood, money talks," said Buckeridge. Christinity Magazine ran a cover story on how churches could link into Narnia's release to promote a Christian message.
CBC Arts - CBC Arts: Narnia film catering to Christian market
Friday, November 25, 2005
Remarks on "Religious Freedom" in China
Christian persecution groups responded with strong objections to controversial statements made recently by evangelist Luis Palau regarding religious freedom
in China.
Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2005 Posted: 4:04:40PM EST
Christian persecution groups responded with strong objections to controversial statements made recently by evangelist Luis Palau, who claimed that there was greater religious freedom in China and urged churches to register with the government.
"[Palau's] position discounts the suffering of our brothers and sisters in China, and assumes the good will of a government that hasn't earned that assumption," wrote Todd Nettleton, director of news service for the Voice of the Martyrs (VOM), on the VOM Persecution Blog.
During his fifth trip to China, the highly respected evangelist said at a press conference in Beijing on Nov. 19 that he wanted to "make every effort to let
people know that there is more freedom in China than people have anticipated," and that he would "personally" encourage unregistered churches to register and "receive greater freedom and blessings from the government."
"I feel that registering is a positive thing for the followers of Jesus," Palau stated. "Believers should live in the open, especially when the Chinese government offers it. Jesus said that we are the light of the world, and that we should not be kept hidden or in the dark. Therefore, believers should share their faith openly."
"If I were Chinese, I would definitely register. Not registering only lends to misinterpretations and misunderstandings," he added.
Palau's statements concerning persecution in China came as a shock and a disappointment to much of the Christian community and drew the protests of
persecution watchdogs internationally.
"Luis Palau echoes common misinformed preconceptions about registration in China when he says that the government's urging of house churches to register is similar to the way churches must register in the U.S. and in his native country, Argentina and hence, he urges unregistered congregations to register," wrote Glenn Penner, Communication Director for the Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) in Canada, in a statement to The Christian Post.
Penner noted that rather than receiving "greater freedom and blessings" from the government, Chinese churches actually lose rights when they register with the government including: the absolute right to choose who will lead services; the right to choose location and time of services; the autonomy to appoint pastors and preach about the second coming of Christ; the ability to allow children under 18 to attend Church meetings; the right to perform evangelistic works outside of designated places of worship; the freedom by clergies to choose who and where to study; and the
headship of the church.
Registered churches in China must submit to the authority of the Communist Party-controlled government, yielding power to the government to approve basic Church decisions.
"Christians are under a biblical mandate to disobey laws that call for them to disobey scriptural principles or to give to Caesar that which belongs to God," Penner exclaimed.
"The whole idea of mandatory registration is a violation of religious liberty and basic human rights. Governments are not given the mandate to grant religious freedom; this is a God-given right. Governments can only acknowledge this right."
In addition, Nettleton noted that "the Communist Party, which controls these registered churches, has as one of its bedrock principles the idea that there
is no God. With that in mind, it is easy to understand why an estimated 80 percent of China's Christians refuse to come under government control."
"They know that our first loyalty, as Christians, is to Jesus Christ, not to government leaders," Nettleton continued. "Making a comparison between registering
for tax-exempt status in the U.S. and Chinese state restrictions on religion is like comparing a gentle spring rain with Hurricane Katrina."
Both Penner and Nettleton gave mention of well-known Chinese pastors that have been arrested, beaten, or jailed for their faith as evidence that religious freedom in China is not as Palau claims.
"I wonder how Mr. Palau would explain his comment to Christians like Li Ying, who is serving a 15-year prison sentence for publishing a Christian magazine. Or to Cai Zhuohua, sentenced this month to serve three years in a labor camp for printing Bibles and other Christian literature (the government only allows one printer to print Bibles, and those are not available except to the registered churches)," Penner
questioned.
"Or to Gong Shengliang, serving a life sentence for his Christian work with the South China Church. Or to Christian businessman Tong Qimiao, who suffered severe
injuries at the hands of police when he was arrested and then denied hospital treatment and whose business was forced to close when he demanded that those
responsible for his abuse to be punished."
Nettleton, also made mention of the family of Jiang Zongxiu, who was beaten to death in police custody in June, 2004 after being arrested for giving out Bibles and Christian literature in the marketplace.
"I suspect all of them would be surprised to hear that there is now more freedom in China," Nettleton wrote.
"How does Mr. Palau respond to documents smuggled out of China this year that provide concrete evidence that the persecution policies are being directed from the
Central Government in Beijing; not only from local or provincial authorities," Penner continued. "This directly contradicts Mr. Palau's assertion that 'It
could just be local authorities acting on their own accord.'"
Though Nettleton expressed strong disapproval of Palau's statements, the VOM spokesman also expressed appreciation for the work he's done through the years
to spread the gospel.
As one of the most respected evangelists in the Spanish-speaking world today Palau has taken the message of hope to an estimated 20 million people in 70 nations through the ministry that bears his name. Palau is well known for the evangelistic festivals he has held over the years. Recent festivals included Washington, D.C.; Madrid, Spain; and Mendoza, Argentina.
"Thank you, Mr. Palau, for your years of faithful service to the King," Nettleton concluded. "Please honor our suffering brothers and sisters in China by retracting your call for all Christians in China to register with the Communist government. Coming under control of an atheistic government is not the answer to Christian persecution in China."
[Editor's Note: Anthony Chiu contributed reporting from Beijing for this article, and Kenneth Chan from San Francisco.]
in China.
Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2005 Posted: 4:04:40PM EST
Christian persecution groups responded with strong objections to controversial statements made recently by evangelist Luis Palau, who claimed that there was greater religious freedom in China and urged churches to register with the government.
"[Palau's] position discounts the suffering of our brothers and sisters in China, and assumes the good will of a government that hasn't earned that assumption," wrote Todd Nettleton, director of news service for the Voice of the Martyrs (VOM), on the VOM Persecution Blog.
During his fifth trip to China, the highly respected evangelist said at a press conference in Beijing on Nov. 19 that he wanted to "make every effort to let
people know that there is more freedom in China than people have anticipated," and that he would "personally" encourage unregistered churches to register and "receive greater freedom and blessings from the government."
"I feel that registering is a positive thing for the followers of Jesus," Palau stated. "Believers should live in the open, especially when the Chinese government offers it. Jesus said that we are the light of the world, and that we should not be kept hidden or in the dark. Therefore, believers should share their faith openly."
"If I were Chinese, I would definitely register. Not registering only lends to misinterpretations and misunderstandings," he added.
Palau's statements concerning persecution in China came as a shock and a disappointment to much of the Christian community and drew the protests of
persecution watchdogs internationally.
"Luis Palau echoes common misinformed preconceptions about registration in China when he says that the government's urging of house churches to register is similar to the way churches must register in the U.S. and in his native country, Argentina and hence, he urges unregistered congregations to register," wrote Glenn Penner, Communication Director for the Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) in Canada, in a statement to The Christian Post.
Penner noted that rather than receiving "greater freedom and blessings" from the government, Chinese churches actually lose rights when they register with the government including: the absolute right to choose who will lead services; the right to choose location and time of services; the autonomy to appoint pastors and preach about the second coming of Christ; the ability to allow children under 18 to attend Church meetings; the right to perform evangelistic works outside of designated places of worship; the freedom by clergies to choose who and where to study; and the
headship of the church.
Registered churches in China must submit to the authority of the Communist Party-controlled government, yielding power to the government to approve basic Church decisions.
"Christians are under a biblical mandate to disobey laws that call for them to disobey scriptural principles or to give to Caesar that which belongs to God," Penner exclaimed.
"The whole idea of mandatory registration is a violation of religious liberty and basic human rights. Governments are not given the mandate to grant religious freedom; this is a God-given right. Governments can only acknowledge this right."
In addition, Nettleton noted that "the Communist Party, which controls these registered churches, has as one of its bedrock principles the idea that there
is no God. With that in mind, it is easy to understand why an estimated 80 percent of China's Christians refuse to come under government control."
"They know that our first loyalty, as Christians, is to Jesus Christ, not to government leaders," Nettleton continued. "Making a comparison between registering
for tax-exempt status in the U.S. and Chinese state restrictions on religion is like comparing a gentle spring rain with Hurricane Katrina."
Both Penner and Nettleton gave mention of well-known Chinese pastors that have been arrested, beaten, or jailed for their faith as evidence that religious freedom in China is not as Palau claims.
"I wonder how Mr. Palau would explain his comment to Christians like Li Ying, who is serving a 15-year prison sentence for publishing a Christian magazine. Or to Cai Zhuohua, sentenced this month to serve three years in a labor camp for printing Bibles and other Christian literature (the government only allows one printer to print Bibles, and those are not available except to the registered churches)," Penner
questioned.
"Or to Gong Shengliang, serving a life sentence for his Christian work with the South China Church. Or to Christian businessman Tong Qimiao, who suffered severe
injuries at the hands of police when he was arrested and then denied hospital treatment and whose business was forced to close when he demanded that those
responsible for his abuse to be punished."
Nettleton, also made mention of the family of Jiang Zongxiu, who was beaten to death in police custody in June, 2004 after being arrested for giving out Bibles and Christian literature in the marketplace.
"I suspect all of them would be surprised to hear that there is now more freedom in China," Nettleton wrote.
"How does Mr. Palau respond to documents smuggled out of China this year that provide concrete evidence that the persecution policies are being directed from the
Central Government in Beijing; not only from local or provincial authorities," Penner continued. "This directly contradicts Mr. Palau's assertion that 'It
could just be local authorities acting on their own accord.'"
Though Nettleton expressed strong disapproval of Palau's statements, the VOM spokesman also expressed appreciation for the work he's done through the years
to spread the gospel.
As one of the most respected evangelists in the Spanish-speaking world today Palau has taken the message of hope to an estimated 20 million people in 70 nations through the ministry that bears his name. Palau is well known for the evangelistic festivals he has held over the years. Recent festivals included Washington, D.C.; Madrid, Spain; and Mendoza, Argentina.
"Thank you, Mr. Palau, for your years of faithful service to the King," Nettleton concluded. "Please honor our suffering brothers and sisters in China by retracting your call for all Christians in China to register with the Communist government. Coming under control of an atheistic government is not the answer to Christian persecution in China."
[Editor's Note: Anthony Chiu contributed reporting from Beijing for this article, and Kenneth Chan from San Francisco.]
E! TV Using 'Girls Next Door' to Normalize Porn Industry
By James L. Lambert
November 23, 2005
(AgapePress) - Entertainment Television's show Girls Next Door is just another example of Hollywood's attempt to normalize the porn industry in today's culture, claims an internationally respected expert and justice consultant on the subject.
In an exclusive interview, Dr. Judith Reisman -- author of the soon-to-be-released book Kinsey's Attic: How One Man's Psychopathology Changed the World -- blasted the E! TV channel by saying, "the fact [that the network] states on its website that they are owned 49.9% by Disney says it all."
Continuing, Reisman asserts that "Disney now pimps the antique, surgically enhanced Hugh Hefner playboy. Hefner's 'innocent' pornography will seduce dad. Seduce dad and you will get his kids. Seduce kids and you control; you own an entire impotent male population of users and female wannabees -- forever."
Reisman, a prolific writer who is best known for her expose on sex researcher Alfred Kinsey, recalls that Hefner "actually drew the first 'sibling' incest cartoon for Playboy in 1954." She adds that the Playboy founder "personally selected the thousands of child sex abuse jokes and cartoons that were a Playboy staple."
The author is disturbed that the network is investing so much time glamorizing the 79-year-old purveyor of porn. The show, advertised as a reality show filmed exclusively from the Playboy mansion in Los Angeles, focuses on the mansion itself and the everyday lives of the three "twenty-something" live-in girlfriends of the aging publisher. In one episode, the three women are shown preparing for a nude layout in the famous magazine, all under the watchful eye of the magazine's patriarch. It is not uncommon for the Disney-owned network to fade the camera in
scenes when nudity is revealed.
Reisman is disappointed that E! Television would feature a person such as Hefner whose exploits have had such a negative influence on modern culture. "What non-consumers do not know -- and what many Playboy consumers overlook," she says, "is that Playboy has always been much more than a girlie or men's magazine. It has long been the bully pulpit for a worldview that judges men according to their tally of sexual conquests. The worldwide prototype for Playboy's male design was publisher Hugh Hefner's own allegedly outrageous sexual lifestyle."
Reisman also sees the E! TV program as promoting Playboy's endorsement of multi-partner sexual relationships. Hefner's live-in girlfriends illustrate that, she says. According to the author, "many male consumers are easily trained to believe they are being cheated if they have a love life with one woman. Sex merchants intend to displace woman-wife and love. Sex merchants intend to become the consumer's substitute lover!"
Judith Reisman: E! TV Using 'Girls Next Door' to Normalize Porn Industry
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/11/232005f.asp
November 23, 2005
(AgapePress) - Entertainment Television's show Girls Next Door is just another example of Hollywood's attempt to normalize the porn industry in today's culture, claims an internationally respected expert and justice consultant on the subject.
In an exclusive interview, Dr. Judith Reisman -- author of the soon-to-be-released book Kinsey's Attic: How One Man's Psychopathology Changed the World -- blasted the E! TV channel by saying, "the fact [that the network] states on its website that they are owned 49.9% by Disney says it all."
Continuing, Reisman asserts that "Disney now pimps the antique, surgically enhanced Hugh Hefner playboy. Hefner's 'innocent' pornography will seduce dad. Seduce dad and you will get his kids. Seduce kids and you control; you own an entire impotent male population of users and female wannabees -- forever."
Reisman, a prolific writer who is best known for her expose on sex researcher Alfred Kinsey, recalls that Hefner "actually drew the first 'sibling' incest cartoon for Playboy in 1954." She adds that the Playboy founder "personally selected the thousands of child sex abuse jokes and cartoons that were a Playboy staple."
The author is disturbed that the network is investing so much time glamorizing the 79-year-old purveyor of porn. The show, advertised as a reality show filmed exclusively from the Playboy mansion in Los Angeles, focuses on the mansion itself and the everyday lives of the three "twenty-something" live-in girlfriends of the aging publisher. In one episode, the three women are shown preparing for a nude layout in the famous magazine, all under the watchful eye of the magazine's patriarch. It is not uncommon for the Disney-owned network to fade the camera in
scenes when nudity is revealed.
Reisman is disappointed that E! Television would feature a person such as Hefner whose exploits have had such a negative influence on modern culture. "What non-consumers do not know -- and what many Playboy consumers overlook," she says, "is that Playboy has always been much more than a girlie or men's magazine. It has long been the bully pulpit for a worldview that judges men according to their tally of sexual conquests. The worldwide prototype for Playboy's male design was publisher Hugh Hefner's own allegedly outrageous sexual lifestyle."
Reisman also sees the E! TV program as promoting Playboy's endorsement of multi-partner sexual relationships. Hefner's live-in girlfriends illustrate that, she says. According to the author, "many male consumers are easily trained to believe they are being cheated if they have a love life with one woman. Sex merchants intend to displace woman-wife and love. Sex merchants intend to become the consumer's substitute lover!"
Judith Reisman: E! TV Using 'Girls Next Door' to Normalize Porn Industry
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/11/232005f.asp
Christian Activist Foresees Uphill Marriage Protection Battle in Maine
By Chad Groening
November 23, 2005
(AgapePress) - A spokesman for the Christian Civic League of Maine (CCLM) says the recent rejection of pro-family values by a majority of Maine voters indicates a spiritual void in the state. The voters there said no to a "people's veto" that would have nullified a bill passed by the legislature giving special rights to homosexuals.
Maine voters had rejected special rights for homosexuals in 1998. However, prohomosexual activists are celebrating across the state today, after citizens recently opted not to use a people's veto to repeal the bill pushed by the state's liberal governor and legislature -- a measure conferring special rights on gays and lesbians.
CCLM legislative liaison Tim Russell believes the voters in his state need to be made aware that "Pandora has been let out of the box." Concerned that this victory by the homosexual lobby will pave the way for the approval of same-sex marriage statewide, he asserts, "Clearly, we're going to have to address the officials that we elect. We're going to have to start to educate the Maine citizens."
One of the first issues to be addressed, Russell contends, is the spiritual climate in the New England state. "We have throughout this campaign spoken God's word, his truth, in love; and it's been turned around and spouted back that we are bigots," he says. "And clearly, scripture tells us that we can expect this." The anti-family opposition has been so vicious, he notes, that pro-family voters have been accused
of hate speech simply for wearing buttons supporting traditional marriage.
The CCLM spokesman concludes that, if there is to be any hope of shoring up traditional marriage against its attackers, pro-family forces are going to have to take political action. "We could never hope to pass a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a man and a woman in this state -- and it must be done through the legislature in the state of Maine -- until we change the House and the Senate here in the state -- and, actually, the governorship," he says.
Russell says Maine's voters must get mobilized to get rid of legislators who continue to support reckless agendas promoting unhealthy, anti-family lifestyles. "We've got to get men and women who subscribe to traditional family values," he asserts, "and clearly we have got to turn our attention back to scriptural values in God's word."
November 23, 2005
(AgapePress) - A spokesman for the Christian Civic League of Maine (CCLM) says the recent rejection of pro-family values by a majority of Maine voters indicates a spiritual void in the state. The voters there said no to a "people's veto" that would have nullified a bill passed by the legislature giving special rights to homosexuals.
Maine voters had rejected special rights for homosexuals in 1998. However, prohomosexual activists are celebrating across the state today, after citizens recently opted not to use a people's veto to repeal the bill pushed by the state's liberal governor and legislature -- a measure conferring special rights on gays and lesbians.
CCLM legislative liaison Tim Russell believes the voters in his state need to be made aware that "Pandora has been let out of the box." Concerned that this victory by the homosexual lobby will pave the way for the approval of same-sex marriage statewide, he asserts, "Clearly, we're going to have to address the officials that we elect. We're going to have to start to educate the Maine citizens."
One of the first issues to be addressed, Russell contends, is the spiritual climate in the New England state. "We have throughout this campaign spoken God's word, his truth, in love; and it's been turned around and spouted back that we are bigots," he says. "And clearly, scripture tells us that we can expect this." The anti-family opposition has been so vicious, he notes, that pro-family voters have been accused
of hate speech simply for wearing buttons supporting traditional marriage.
The CCLM spokesman concludes that, if there is to be any hope of shoring up traditional marriage against its attackers, pro-family forces are going to have to take political action. "We could never hope to pass a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a man and a woman in this state -- and it must be done through the legislature in the state of Maine -- until we change the House and the Senate here in the state -- and, actually, the governorship," he says.
Russell says Maine's voters must get mobilized to get rid of legislators who continue to support reckless agendas promoting unhealthy, anti-family lifestyles. "We've got to get men and women who subscribe to traditional family values," he asserts, "and clearly we have got to turn our attention back to scriptural values in God's word."
Parents mad over new math curriculum
Thursday, November 24 @ 00:00:30
They're not exactly counting on their fingers, but some parents in the Alpine School District are taking math into their own hands.
The district has implemented Investigations in Number, Data, and Space,
a math program officials say satisfies the state's requirements and
teaches students "basic number facts."
The curriculum uses a practice called "debriefing," during which students share their methods for solving math problems, and the class then discusses that method. Traditional methods for solving a problem are acceptable, but other methods are allowed, as well.
But parents say the curriculum does not teach children multiplication tables or long division and leaves students unprepared for higher education and careers. Some parents are turning to homeschool, charter schools and private schools for the math instruction they say their children need.
"Kids are going through the whole education process and not being able to do any math in their head whatsoever," said Kristine Hall of Pleasant Grove, whose children attend school in the district.
Oak Norton of American Fork, the father of four children, has gathered 810 signatures on a petition opposing Investigations math and supporting more traditional math instruction. The petition is available online at www.oaknorton.com.
He became alarmed about the math curriculum when he found out his daughter was not being taught multiplication tables in the third grade, he said.
"Everybody needs to know how to multiply."
He also was in disbelief when he saw his daughter drawing 120 circles on a piece of paper, and then crossing out 30 at a time to divide 120 by 30, he said. "Really what's happening is they're falling way behind where their peers are at who are learning the standard traditional math methods that we've learned as kids."
Of the 756 petition signers who live in the Alpine School District, 60 percent said they were considering removing their child from traditional public schools because of the math instruction, and planning to either home school their children or enroll them in charter or private schools.
Norton said he believes teachers are afraid of losing their jobs if they give traditional math instruction in their classrooms. At an October meeting, he asked the Board of Education to reassure teachers that was not the case. In November, the board released a statement saying traditional math instruction is welcome in Alpine School District classrooms, in an effort to achieve a "balanced approach."
The statement, which is posted on the district's Web site, says traditional math is being blended with Investigations. "The initial implementation of Investigations, a program grounded in promoting deeper, comprehensive student understanding of math concepts, was advocated broadly as a single math program," the statement reads.
"Subsequent to its implementation, adjustments have been made to move from using Investigations as the sole instructional program to a continuum that includes elements of a traditional system."
But Norton said that policy could create incongruity between teaching method used in different grades could leave a child confused.
Shannon Cannon of Eagle Mountain said Investigations math was the catalyst for her and her husband's decision to homeschool their five children. Her daughter, who was in the first grade, did well in math until Investigations was implemented, she said. "She just got more and more confused and just lost confidence in it."
After receiving traditional math instruction at home, her daughter is beginning to regain her enthusiasm for math, Cannon said. "She feels like she can do it again. She's not confused anymore. It took some time before she felt like it was something she was up for."
Hall said her disgust with the way her children were learning math led her to begin giving them traditional math instruction at home. Their homework under the Investigations curriculum was "stupid" and "inane," she said. "Every single day it was counting. They didn't learn really any addition."
So she began buying math books and doing her own instruction. "I had to because they weren't learning anything. They weren't learning the stuff they need to know. This math that they're doing is really wrong."
Anna Chang-Yen can be reached at 344-2549 or annac@heraldextra.com.
They're not exactly counting on their fingers, but some parents in the Alpine School District are taking math into their own hands.
The district has implemented Investigations in Number, Data, and Space,
a math program officials say satisfies the state's requirements and
teaches students "basic number facts."
The curriculum uses a practice called "debriefing," during which students share their methods for solving math problems, and the class then discusses that method. Traditional methods for solving a problem are acceptable, but other methods are allowed, as well.
But parents say the curriculum does not teach children multiplication tables or long division and leaves students unprepared for higher education and careers. Some parents are turning to homeschool, charter schools and private schools for the math instruction they say their children need.
"Kids are going through the whole education process and not being able to do any math in their head whatsoever," said Kristine Hall of Pleasant Grove, whose children attend school in the district.
Oak Norton of American Fork, the father of four children, has gathered 810 signatures on a petition opposing Investigations math and supporting more traditional math instruction. The petition is available online at www.oaknorton.com.
He became alarmed about the math curriculum when he found out his daughter was not being taught multiplication tables in the third grade, he said.
"Everybody needs to know how to multiply."
He also was in disbelief when he saw his daughter drawing 120 circles on a piece of paper, and then crossing out 30 at a time to divide 120 by 30, he said. "Really what's happening is they're falling way behind where their peers are at who are learning the standard traditional math methods that we've learned as kids."
Of the 756 petition signers who live in the Alpine School District, 60 percent said they were considering removing their child from traditional public schools because of the math instruction, and planning to either home school their children or enroll them in charter or private schools.
Norton said he believes teachers are afraid of losing their jobs if they give traditional math instruction in their classrooms. At an October meeting, he asked the Board of Education to reassure teachers that was not the case. In November, the board released a statement saying traditional math instruction is welcome in Alpine School District classrooms, in an effort to achieve a "balanced approach."
The statement, which is posted on the district's Web site, says traditional math is being blended with Investigations. "The initial implementation of Investigations, a program grounded in promoting deeper, comprehensive student understanding of math concepts, was advocated broadly as a single math program," the statement reads.
"Subsequent to its implementation, adjustments have been made to move from using Investigations as the sole instructional program to a continuum that includes elements of a traditional system."
But Norton said that policy could create incongruity between teaching method used in different grades could leave a child confused.
Shannon Cannon of Eagle Mountain said Investigations math was the catalyst for her and her husband's decision to homeschool their five children. Her daughter, who was in the first grade, did well in math until Investigations was implemented, she said. "She just got more and more confused and just lost confidence in it."
After receiving traditional math instruction at home, her daughter is beginning to regain her enthusiasm for math, Cannon said. "She feels like she can do it again. She's not confused anymore. It took some time before she felt like it was something she was up for."
Hall said her disgust with the way her children were learning math led her to begin giving them traditional math instruction at home. Their homework under the Investigations curriculum was "stupid" and "inane," she said. "Every single day it was counting. They didn't learn really any addition."
So she began buying math books and doing her own instruction. "I had to because they weren't learning anything. They weren't learning the stuff they need to know. This math that they're doing is really wrong."
Anna Chang-Yen can be reached at 344-2549 or annac@heraldextra.com.
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