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| | | | Bibles Banned at 2008 Beijing Olympics
Organizers for the 2008 Olympics in China have released their list of items banned from the Olympic village where the athletes will stay.
Among the "prohibited objects" -- Bibles.
The Catholic News Agency reports that the committee behind the Beijing games cited "security reasons" for the ban.
Athletes are also prohibited from bearing any kind of religious symbol at Olympic facilities.
The ban seems to undermine comments released by the country's top religious affairs official. Last month, Ye Xiaowen acknowledged that he expected large numbers of religious faithful among the athletes, coaches and tourists to be swarming into the officially atheist nation during the Olympics.
Xiaowen, director-general of the State Administration for Religious Affairs, said on Oct. 17 that China plans to offer religious services for foreigners. He recognized that religion will play a positive role "in promoting economic and social development" in the future, Reuters reported.
"We are learning from practices in past Games to make sure that their demands for religious worship are met," Ye said on the sidelines of the ruling Communist Party's 17th Congress.
"Here I can promise that religious services we offer will not be lower than the level of any previous Games," Ye said. He did not say if proselytizing would be allowed.
The number of Chinese believers in Buddhism, Taosim and Christianity have been on the rise in recent years, Ye added.
Striking a Balance or Banning Religion?
But striking the balance between providing religious services for the faithful and banning personal religious materials outright may prove more difficult than safeguarding against possible security threats.
The Olympic charter says "no kind of political propaganda, religious or racial hatred is allowed in the Olympic areas."
The Spanish daily La Razon called the standard one of many "signs of censure and intolerance" towards religious objects, particularly those used by Christians in China.
There are some 10 million Catholics in China, divided between an "underground" church loyal to the Vatican and the state-approved church that respects the Pope as a spiritual figurehead but rejects effective papal control.
Currently in China, five bishops and 15 priests are in prison for opposing the state-approved church.
Other items banned from the Olympic village include video cameras and cups.
princess
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"The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all. |
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| | | | China Dispels Olympic Bible Ban 'Rumors'
China said Thursday that Bibles are not banned from the Olympic Games amid recent furor over reports that Beijing would not allow foreign athletes from carrying Bibles during the upcoming Games.
The officially atheist government also reiterated past promises, saying it will guarantee religious freedom during the Summer Olympics in Beijing next year.
“The Chinese government has made no such stipulations,” reported foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao, in response to the alleged Bible ban.
"China's law will guarantee religious freedom during the Olympics. What will not be allowed is bringing in Bibles for distribution or propaganda," he said, according to Agence France-Presse.
Athletes, journalists, and tourists will be allowed to bring worship items, including the Bible, for personal use, said the official.
The report that China was banning Bibles at the Games was published by the Catholic News Agency, which cited the Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport and Spanish daily La Razon.
News quickly spread including in the U.S. Capitol, prompting Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to reprimand the Chinese ambassador to the United States on Wednesday, according to The Herald.
“This would be contrary to the Olympic spirit,” Graham said to reporters after the meeting. “It would be a totalitarian move that would create problems between China and the United States far beyond what we have today.”
Rep. Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan also made a speech about the Bible ban on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday. He introduced a resolution condemning the attack on Christianity and called on Beijing to allow the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom or another international human rights group to have unrestricted access to events to ensure the protection of religious people.
However, China dismissed the Bible ban as “sheer rumor” and said its religious affairs authorities and the Beijing Olympic organizing committee “have not” and “could not” issue a ban on Bibles in the Olympic village, Liu said according to Xinhua news agency.
Currently, Bibles in China are printed solely under government supervision and can only be sold only at approved churches. Many Chinese Christians, however, choose to worship in unregistered house churches because they argue Jesus Christ is the head of the church and not the Chinese government. Registered churches are for the most part controlled by the government.
Notably, the official 2008 Games website advises visitors to not bring more than one Bible.
princess
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"The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all. |
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| | | | House Passes Gay Employment Bill
The House approved on Wednesday a bill that requires all employers, including Christian organizations, to not make hiring or firing decisions based on “sexual orientation.”
Representatives voted 235-184 to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) or H.R. 3685, which adds “sexual orientation” to a list of federally protected classes under a 1964 act that prohibits job discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
Backed mostly by Democrats, the legislation was approved without the inclusion of an amendment that extends the same privileges to transgender people. Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) decided to withdraw the amendment at the 11th hour in hopes of garnering more support for the bill.
Republicans sought to send the bill back to committee — a move that would have killed the legislation since this session of Congress is scheduled to adjourn in five calendar days — but lacked the votes.
In passing the bill, the House approved two amendments. One amendment exempts certain religious positions that would also be exempt under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and stipulates that ENDA "does not alter the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in any way.” The second amendment removes prohibition against employers requiring an employee to be married or being eligible to be married.
The White House has made it clear that President Bush will veto the legislation even if the proposal does pass the Senate during the 2007-08 session of Congress. The administration cited constitutional concerns and called the bill “inconsistent” with the right to free exercise of religion.
A veto override would require 270 votes or two-thirds of the House.
Many gay right activist groups and Democrats were upset that the bill did not include transgender workers.
But other supporters of gay rights, such as Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), were pleased with the bill’s passage. Pelosi said on the floor that while she shared in the disappointment that transgender workers were not mentioned in the bill, she was supporting the bill’s passage now "to build momentum for it" in the near future.
Meanwhile, Republicans said the bill would violate the constitutional rights of employers, such as those from Christian organizations, who oppose homosexuality for religious reasons.
Furthermore, many had argued that it would also endanger the institution of marriage and lead to endless discrimination lawsuits over such terms as "actual or perceived" sexual orientation.
The House bill would make it a federal crime for an employer “to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to the compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employment of the individual, because of such individual’s actual or perceived sexual orientation.”
Conservative groups say the bill criminalizes religious beliefs of employers.
Following the House’s decision, Liberty Counsel, a conservative legal group based in Florida, issued an alert urging its supporters to ask President Bush to veto the bill.
princess
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"The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all. |
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| | | | Court Allows Moment of Silence Amid Lawsuit Challenge
A federal judge has allowed Illinois public schools to continue observing a moment of silence at the beginning of the day pending further review of a suit challenging the state law permitting the practice.
U.S. District Judge Robert W. Gettleman on Monday refused to issue a temporary restraining order barring school District 214 and Buffalo Grove High School from implementing a 15-second moment of silence.
Earlier this month, state lawmakers approved a mandate granting students “an opportunity for silent prayer or for silent reflection on the anticipated activities of the day.” The law states that “this period shall not be conducted as a religious exercise.”
But talk-radio host and self-described atheist Rob Sherman, who filed a suit on behalf of his 14-year-old daughter, Dawn, argues the law is a constitutional violation of the separation between church and state.
"The whole purpose of this law is to get religion into the public schools," Sherman told reporters after the hearing.
Sherman said he believes the law deprives his daughter, a student in the district at Buffalo Grove High School, of instruction time paid by taxpayers. He also contends the moment of silence mandate is an attempt to re-introduce prayers into schools.
School district representatives, in response, told the judge that they would ask students to observe the moment of silence without any mention of religion.
Legislators backing the bill have also maintained that the law does not push an agenda on schools.
“This was never about trying to require prayer in the schools," said Rep. Will Davis (D-Homewood), the bill’s chief sponsor. “This is a way for teachers and students to [start] their day off in the right way.”
While another law already gives Illinois teachers and schools the option of holding a moment of silence for students, supporters argue the mandate is necessary since not all schools and teachers choose not grant them to students.
Gettleman expressed reservations about the law and told Sherman and the state to come back to court on Nov. 14 to explore the issue further.
Although he has described himself as “the best known atheist-activist in the Midwest,” Sherman has presented himself as more than a concerned parent challenging the law.
In 1989, the talk-radio host went to court to challenge a law requiring public school students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
princess
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"The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all. |
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| | | | Teens Double Dared to Start Up Jesus Talks
WOODBRIDGE, Va. – Jesus Christ is coming soon ... in style. But are you ready?
Today's generation of teenagers are hyped up at hearing of the return of Jesus. And when it comes to actually being ready for Him to show up, the young Jesus followers are told not to mess around.
"You've been given a job to accomplish and our boss will be coming back soon to check on us. Will Jesus find you doing your job or wasting company time when He returns?" Greg Stier, who leads the prominent youth organization Dare 2 Share Ministries, posed to thousands of middle and high school students at the launch of their annual national tour.
Dare 2 Share kicked off the 2007-2008 "Survive" Tour early this month with more than 3,000 teens at their first Washington, D.C.-event. The popular youth ministry hit Denver, Colo., over the weekend, gathering more than 8,000 young Christians.
Every year, Stier and the Dare 2 Share team travel across the country to challenge young people to share their faith about Jesus Christ to their friends. And it's not just a dare; it's a double dare.
"Are you ready for a double dare?" Stier asked the crowd of high-energy students who readily scream at the top of their lungs to praise Jesus.
"It's this: to share the gospel with everyone you know ... and to start with one person in the next 48 hours."
It's not easy for today's teen Christian to bring up a discussion on Jesus with their friends. In fact, Stier says it "freaks them out."
But with studies indicating that the Church is losing young people in droves, Stier wants to get Christian teens sharing Jesus to their generation and everyone else they know.
His simple approach may sound a little "old school," as Stier put it, but every year thousands of teens build up the courage to form E-teams (evangelism teams) in their local cities and every year the youth organization sees thousands of students come to Christ.
"This generation of teenagers has huge potential," said Stier, noting that young people today are tribal, smart and tech savvy. "If we can harness it, we can see, literally, worldwide transformation."
Dare 2 Share conferences equip students with the courage and the tools they need to talk about Jesus with their friends and answer some of the common questions non-believers typically have. The Survive Tour impels students to get a move on their witnessing, reminding them that Jesus could come back any time and they need to be ready, Stier explained.
The bottom line, he tells teens, is that if their friends don't know Christ, they're headed for hell.
"Our friends need Christ," Stier highlighted to students. "Are you telling your friends?"
The Survive conferences are part of a nine-city tour and heads to Columbus, Ohio, in February.
princess
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"The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all. |
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| | | | Pastor Lives on Fast Food Rooftop
A pastor in New Mexico will be living on the roof of a local restaurant to raise awareness and funds for children in need and orphans in Africa starting on Monday.
The Rev. Dr. Michael Hattabaugh will set up camp on top of a Chick-fil-A restaurant in Albuquerque, Nov. 12-18, as part of the “Get Mike Down” project to remind people that millions of children need “a roof over their heads.”
“It is hard to wrap your arms around 15 million orphans [in Africa],” said Hattabaugh, director of the National Day of Care. “That’s bigger than a lot of states in the United States. That’s like eight New Mexico’s just full of orphans. It is just hard to grasp that.
“So I thought if I lived on a roof that is how people will get their arms wrapped around the idea,” explained the founding pastor of Gathering Church in Farmington, N.M. “It is a good connection. People ask why are you doing this and I use it draw people’s attention.”
Hattabaugh’s rooftop project was inspired by a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade he saw on TV a couple of years ago where one of the band member spent an afternoon on top of the band hall roof to raise funds for the band. He thought he could apply the same idea to raise funds for orphans and live for a longer period of time on the roof.
“Some crazy guy living on a roof waving at people will hopefully get people’s attention long enough so we can convey the message,” the New Mexico pastor said. “We have so much and it would take so little to really make a huge impact on the continent of Africa if we would just do a little bit.”
For $3, a person can buy a mosquito net and save someone from malaria. It costs about $1,000-$1,500 to dig a well in a small community that could provide children at an orphanage with clean drinking water.
“It just takes so little. It is sort of like out-of-sight, out-of-mind and we just want to bring awareness,” Hattabaugh said.
“15 million orphans on one continent has never ever happened before,” he emphasized.
While on the roof, the National Day of Care director will live in a tent, use a chemical toilet, and possibly use a solar shower if weather permits. If it is too cold, Hattabaugh said he plans to use a lot of deodorant and change his clothes often instead of taking showers while on the roof. Chick-fil-A has offered to feed him.
A wireless security camera will be stationed on the roof where Chick-fil-A customers below can see what Hattabugh is doing.
“We really encourage everyone reading this to get involved in some way through us or something they are already involved in or through their local church because it is really a cry of desperation and these kids really need to hear from us,” Hattabaugh urged.
The goal is to raise $200,000 of which half will go to Carrie Tingley Hospital in Albuquerque – a pediatric orthopedic rehabilitation center for children, adolescents and families. The other half will go to the National Day of Care.
The National Day of Care is an annual observance promoted in the United States one day in February with the purpose to mobilize a response to global humanitarian crisis. The initial focus is to provide assistance to the over 15 million orphans and victims of AIDS in Africa. The National Day of Care is also involved in assisting orphans, vulnerable children, and victims of AIDS in the United States and around the world, as well as disaster relief. It also sponsors “Get Mike Down.”
“It (Get Mike Down) is something everyone can get behind. It is cross-denomination, across places we might never agree, but on this we agree – that we must rise up as Christ commanded us to help widows and orphans and that is what true religion looks like.”
This is the third time Hattabaugh has done a roof project in New Mexico.
The National Day of Care will be held in Feb. 10, 2008.
On the Web: To hold a “Get Mike Down” in your community or for more information, visit http://www.getmikedown.com/
princess
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"The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all. |
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| | | | Chicago Bishop Election Avoids Widening Anglican Rift
The Episcopal Diocese of Chicago avoided deepening the rift over homosexuality within the Anglican Communion on Saturday when it elected the Rev. Jeffrey Lee as its twelfth bishop.
There were seven candidates for the position, including the Rev. Tracy Lind, the openly lesbian dean of Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland.
Had Lind been elected, she would have been the second openly homosexual Episcopal bishop after V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.
It was the 2003 consecration of Robinson that drove the worldwide Anglican Communion to the point of schism, pitting more liberal-leaning Episcopalians against traditionalists, who favor a conservative interpretation of Scripture.
The election of another openly homosexual bishop would have likely deepened the divisions within the Anglican Communion.
Lee, the new Chicago Bishop, is regarded as a moderate. In a statement given to 500 delegates before the vote, Lee said he wanted to keep conversation going with conservatives on gay clergy but at the same time supported "the full inclusion of gay and lesbian people in the church."
Earlier this year, The Episcopal Church said it would “exercise restraint” in choosing more gay bishops after intense pressure from conservative leaders in the worldwide Anglican Communion.
Lee supported the decision by The Episcopal Church, writing that he had a "deep desire to keep the conversation going forward at the international level."
"He (Lee) would be perceived as someone who is qualified for the job, but not polarizing as other candidates might have been," commented the Rev. Canon Mike Stephenson of the Diocese of Chicago, according to the Associated Press.
Lee was the rector of St. Thomas Church in Medina, Wash., and was elected on the second ballot, comfortably surpassing the required 308 clergy and lay votes with 337.
Lind came in fourth on both ballots, receiving just 16 votes of clergy and lay people in the second ballot in which Lee was elected.
In Lee’s statement, the reverend said that his church supported the inclusion of gays and lesbians, but did not exclude members who disagree with that stance.
"I make it clear that I don't expect everyone to agree with me, but as a leader I have a duty to articulate my own understanding of what God may be calling the church to do," he said.
According to AP, Lee said that he was "honored and humbled" by the appointment. His consecration ceremony is slated for Feb. 2, 2008.
Outgoing Bishop William Persell said that many of the delegates who voted where aware that voting for Lind would have sparked controversy.
He also said that “this election should not be seen as a vote against a gay or lesbian person" and that the Diocese of Chicago was as committed as ever to full inclusion of lesbians and gays.
princess
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"The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all. |
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| | | | North Korea Arrests Christians for Alleged Espionage
Christian persecution watchdog Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) recently revealed that the “foreign spies” and “native citizens working for a foreign intelligence service” who were recently arrested in North Korea are in fact Christian believers.
At a press conference in Pyongyang in September, security service spokesman Li Su Gil had accused the arrested persons of having “carried out the missions by means of diverse espionage equipment”.
VOM, in an announcement on Friday, said it had managed to identify the seven males and two female believers who were arrested.
“Following Jesus Christ is considered treason in North Korea, where the government mandates that worship is reserved for deceased dictator Kim Il Sung and his son, the current dictator, Kim Jong Il," VOM spokesperson Tod Nettleton noted.
According to sources, the Christians in question had started a portrait photography studio in order to support themselves and registered their business with the government authorities.
But they were not involved in espionage work and the equipment taken by the government was for their portrait photography business, asserted VOM.
“The Voice of the Martyrs is … deeply concerned for the well-being of our brothers and sisters there. We call on the North Korean Government to release these Christian believers, who were involved in legitimate business activities to support themselves and their families," said Nettleton.
“We pray that they are alive. But we know it is possible that they have finished their race on earth and gone on to their eternal reward in heaven.
"We encourage Christians everywhere to pray for our brothers and sisters in North Korea, who must constantly face the threat of arrest, torture and execution simply for living out their faith in Jesus Christ,” he added.
VOM has been engaged in aiding Christians in North Korea for decades. Among projects conducted by the persecution organization in North Korea was the release of “Scripture balloons” which are mylar balloons filled with helium and printed with scripture passages on each side.
princess
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"The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all. |
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| | | | California High Court to Hear Landmark Same-Sex 'Marriage' Cases
Final briefs were submitted to the California Supreme Court Tuesday, positioning the court to schedule a hearing over the constitutionality of same-sex “marriages.”
Under federal law, the United States government only recognizes marriage as defined as a union between a man and a woman – a traditional view of marriage that has spanned centuries. Over 61 percent of California voters approved a similar law in 2000.
The California appeals court last year upheld the state definition of marriage, rejecting the notion that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. The decision overturned a 2005 ruling by a lower court in San Francisco.
The California Supreme Court will review the 2006 ruling through six lawsuits – four of which were filed by the city of San Francisco and same-sex couples in support of same-sex “marriage.”
Two traditional values groups, the Campaign for California Families (CCF) and the Proposition 22 Legal Defense and Education Fund, have filed lawsuits in defense of the current definition of marriage.
Many conservative and religious groups such as the American Center for Law and Justice also filed friend-of-the-court briefs in support of the two groups.
Tuesday was the deadline for filing written briefs responding to amicus briefs.
Liberty Counsel, a Christian legal group representing CCF, was among those who submitted written briefs Tuesday.
In the brief, the group argues: "The definition of marriage as the union of one woman and one man has transcended law, geography, social custom and religious rights for millennia. Nothing has been presented to this court, either by the parties or by the amici, to change that reality.”
Liberty Counsel’s brief responded to a total of forty-five amicus briefs, including one from African American Pastors of California, which contends, “The analogy [of same-sex marriage] to racial discrimination is not only false, it is destructive.”
Mathew D. Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, said it is not the court’s position to alter a social institution.
“Virtually every court that has considered challenges to traditional marriage has correctly concluded that the matter of marriage should be decided by the people, not by the courts. Courts are not proselytizing engines of radical social change,” said Staver in a statement Wednesday.
“Marriage between one man and one woman is a historically shared value that transcends time,” he continued. “Untying the knot that holds together traditional marriage will unravel the family, destabilize the culture, and hurt children.”
Several major cities in the state have submitted amicus briefs asking the court to change state laws banning same-sex “marriage.” The city of Sacramento decided last week to join cities including Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Diego, Oakland, and San Jose, in backing the city of San Francisco.
Court spokeswoman Lynn Holton said a court hearing is expected to take place “within a few months,” reported CBS5.com.
The court has three months to issue a written decision following the hearing.
Currently, Massachusetts is the only state that recognizes marriage between two people of the same sex.
In 2004, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom had allowed nearly 4,000 same-sex couples to obtain marriage licenses and wed. That same year, however, the California Supreme Court ruled that Newsom had overstepped his authority and declared the licenses invalid.
princess
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"The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all. |
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