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Christian Portal News
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Cyclone toll feared above 100,000
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With the death toll expected to top 100,000, Burma's military government blocked international aid workers from delivering relief supplies yesterday as bodies floated in stagnant waters left behind by Saturday's cyclone.
The Washington Times reports The United Nations said its workers based outside Burma had not
received a single visa and that Burmese officials were demanding that
official escorts accompany all foreigners.
MNN reports In 2006, the government of Myanmar passed a regulation forbidding
non-governmental organizations from providing aid to the country. In
light of the recent disaster, the government is now allowing outside
aid. GFA is one of the only organizations allowed to offer immediate
help to the people, as they already had missionaries in the country and
found favor with the government.
However, the junta government has
opened some doors to China, Indonesia, India and Malaysia so that aid can trickle in slowly.
AP reports Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on
Friday called the Myanmar junta's obstruction of international efforts
to help the country's hundreds of thousands of cyclone victims
"obscene" and said he will urge China, ASEAN and others with leverage
over the junta to apply more pressure on it.
AP reports As
the international community waits to deliver desperately needed aid to
Myanmar's cyclone survivors, it is getting a lesson in the mind-set of
the country's military rulers: reclusive, xenophobic generals who
despise the Western world.
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Practising Muslims 'will outnumber Christians by 2035'
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By 2035, there will be about 1.96 million active Muslims in Britain, compared with 1.63 million church-going Christians, according to calculations by Christian Research, a think- tank.
The London Telegraph reports
The think-tank has warned that 4,000 churches could close by 2020 if
congregations continue to shrink at current rates.
The London Times reports
The fall - from the four million people who attend church at least once a
month today - means that the Church of England, Catholicism and other
denominations will become financially unviable.
Only in the large, evangelical churches of the Baptist and independent
denominations is there resistance to the trend, but many of these churches
also show some decline.
There have been objections to the report.
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Babies From Abortions, Records Found in Second Michigan Center Dumpster
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A representative of the group, Monica Miller, told LifeNews.com her organization found the remains of six aborted babies 16 to 20 weeks gestational age.
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New York Court Recognizes Foreign Gay 'Marriages'
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The New York Court of Appeals has upheld a ruling that mandated the state to recognize all same-sex “marriages” performed outside its borders.
The Christian Post reports The new measure became law after the court declined to hear arguments
concerning the appeal of the decision by a State Supreme Court in
February that recognized full marriage benefits of two state community
college employees who legally “married” in Canada.
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Extramarital partners remain uninsurable
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The Michigan Supreme Court has ruled that governments and state universities may not legally offer health insurance to the partners of unmarried workers, including homosexuals.
One News Now reports The state's highest court ruled 5-to-2 on Wednesday that a
constitutional amendment passed by Michigan voters in 2004, defining
marriage as only the union of one man and one woman, also blocks
"domestic partner" policies from providing spousal benefits to partners
of unmarried employees -- including homosexuals -- at the University of
Michigan and other public-sector employers.
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Emerging Church author Brian McLaren
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Author Brian McLaren is among the most influential American religious thinkers of the last decade.
AP reports His break with rigid orthodoxy and embrace of new worship styles is at
the center of what is called the emerging church — a movement that has
gone viral. The emerging church reclaims ancient practices and prayers
and creates new ones, while re-examining Scripture to learn how
modern-day Christians should live.
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Joel Osteen remains silent, but Soulforce presses on with Saturday's picnic in Houston
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The son of evangelical Tammy Faye Bakker Messner will spend his first Mother's Day weekend since her death in Houston, waiting to hear from Lakewood Church Pastor Joel Osteen.
The Houston Chronicle reports Jay Bakker, a high-profile supporter of Soulforce — a group that fights
religious and political oppression of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and
transgenders — wants Osteen to join the nontraditional families at a
picnic Saturday and welcome them to church on Sunday.
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Brussels turns to gods for help with climate change
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Brussels officials have turned to religious VIPs to help spread the gospel of an environmentally friendly society and increase awareness of climate change in their parishes, as well as promoting tolerance between different confessions in Europe.
The EU Observer reports
Twenty high-level representatives – 19 men and one woman - from
European Christian, Jewish and Muslim congregations met in Brussels on
Monday (5 may) to discuss the sensitive issues of climate change and
reconciliation between peoples.
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Christian group appeals human rights ruling
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A provincially funded Christian group is appealing part of a tribunal ruling that found it violated the rights of a worker who had to quit after revealing she was gay.
The Toronto Star reports The contract, which all staff must sign, forbids workers from
cheating on their spouses, having pre-marital sex or homosexual
relationships, using pornography, and "endorsing" alcohol or tobacco.
The group says it will no longer require employees to sign the
agreement, but it will be appealing the remainder of the tribunal's
order.
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Christian leaders question D.C. probe of 'prosperity' televangelists
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Nearly two-dozen conservative Christian leaders have signed a letter to the Senate Finance Committee questioning an investigation into six large ministries that preach a gospel of prosperity.
AP reports The letter
argues that the 6-month-old inquiry sets a dangerous precedent. It also
suggests that the ministries were targeted for sharing "the same branch
of evangelicalism" and promoting "socially conservative public policy
positions such as support for the traditional definition of marriage."
Although the ministries under scrutiny are conservative theologically,
they are not at the forefront of the culture wars issues championed by
the leaders who are now rallying to their side.
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Christian Research church attendance figures called into question
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The Church of England has disputed statistics published by Christian Research this week which pointed to serious decline in church attendance at the same time as active Muslims continue to grow.
Christian Today [UK] reports In the latest edition of its magazine Religious Trends, Christian
Research forecast that by 2050 the number of Sunday churchgoers would
drop from just under one million to around 899,000, whilst 4,000
churches could face closure by 2020 if present rates of decline
continue. The number of active Muslims in the UK is predicted to grow
to 2,960,000, three times the number of predicted Sunday churchgoers
for the same year.
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Bulletins at Obama's Church Carry Their Own Controversy
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Articles published in the Trinity United Church of Christ bulletin in 2007 carried controversial comments written by people other than Jeremiah Wright.
CNS reports Those
comments included the claim that Israel worked with South Africa to
build an "ethnic bomb" that would kill blacks and Arabs, that the
Pentagon was training Latin Americans to be terrorists, and that the TV
networks are run by right-wing racists.
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Pastor’s daughter gang-raped in Bangladesh
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Muslim villagers in Mymensingh district eager to rid the area of the Christian work of a local pastor have gang-raped his 13-year-old daughter.
One News Now reports Das, who became the first Christian in the area in 1986 and has been
key in an increase to more than 250 Christians and the emergence of 12
churches, said the brutal attack was pre-planned and calculated to stop
further expansion of Christianity in northern Bangladesh.
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Did Jesus Support Capital Punishment?
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In the previous article, I showed that the Old Testament endorses capital punishment. Now, let’s see whether the New Testament maintains or contradicts this teaching.
Andrew Tallman on Crosswalk comments Literally from beginning to end, the Bible teaches that capital
punishment is authorized and required by God. If so, then why do so
many people claim to oppose this practice on religious grounds? We’ll
consider some of their objections in the next column.
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Evangelicals and the Pope
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What is particularly appealing to evangelicals about this pope?
Christianity Today interviews Richard Mouw (president of Fuller Theological Seminary).
"We have much in
common with Pope
Benedict, both doctrinally
and morally. He has chosen to proclaim
a Christ-centered message to the
world, and he is not afraid to confront the
prevailing mores of postmodern culture.
Furthermore, his is a scholarly voice, echoing
themes that resonate well with many of
us in the evangelical world."
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You've got to fight for your right – to pray
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Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit litigation, education and policy organization, is on a mission to ensure student prayer and religious views are protected at spring commencement ceremonies with its annual "Friend or Foe" Graduation Prayer Campaign.
WND reports Mathew D. Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel and dean of Liberty University School of Law, said the organization is providing students and school administrators with a free legal memo on graduation prayer in advance of commencement exercises to prevent suppression of prayer and religious speeches.
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Audio Bible Ministry Reaches Amazon Tribes
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While working among this tribe, Scott and his team realized the power of teaching God's Word orally, discovering that many in the village, including the local church pastor, could not read. The lack of education and the inability to read broke Scott's heart.
Christian Newswire reports In fact, Brazil has 258 tribes, and almost as many different languages
– 235. More than 90 of these are cut off from the outside world, living
deep in the rainforest and firmly protected by the Brazilian
government. Out of these 258 tribes, only 20 have strong, indigenous
church leadership.
Despite their remoteness or restrictions, these villagers are eager for the Word of God.
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Sacrilegious Display Continues Disturbing Pattern of Hate at Rockford Abortuary
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A Rockford abortuary has made the demonic side of the abortion industry readily apparent to the public by decorating its facility with a nun in a coffin, a crucified rubber chicken, and a set of sacred images arranged in a voodoo-style altar.
Life Site News reports A video released last month records Keith Sterkeson, a friend of NIWC
clinic owner Wayne Webster, spewing profanities and threats at peaceful
pro-life protestors in front of the same Rockford abortuary.
During an especially disturbing section of the footage, Sterkeson
admits that the law lets abortionists kill children and claims to be
sexually aroused by the smell of burned fetal carcasses emanating from
the mill's chimney.
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Legal Group Defends Students' Pro-Abstinence T-Shirts
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The students – who wore shirts that proudly displayed messages such as “Virginity Rocks” and “I’m loving my Husband And I haven’t even Met Him!” – were allegedly ordered by school officials to change or turn their shirts inside out.
The Christian Post reports “In light of the fact that nearly 26 percent (1 in 4) of American girls
aged 14-19 have at least one sexually transmitted disease, I can’t
imagine why any school would object to a message that promotes
abstinence over potentially risky sexual activity,” Whitehead said in a
personal statement.
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Russian Evangelicals Wary of New President
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As Russia swears in Dmitry Medvedev as its newest president today, evangelical Christians throughout the historically anti-western nation are reacting with anxiety and uncertainty over the future of their ministries.
The Christian Post reports Paul Tokarchouk of Russian Ministries, an evangelical organization
based in Russia, said that it remains to be seen what kind of treatment
Christian groups will receive over the next few years, though it would
probably be a continuation of what Christians in the country have
already experienced.
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Pope greets Inter Milan team
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Pope Benedict XVI greeted the Inter Milan team Wednesday to mark the Italian club’s 100th anniversary.
AP reports Players and team officials, who are trying to secure a third straight Serie
A title this weekend, joined the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the
pope’s weekly audience.
Reuters reports
Moratti gave Pope Benedict an Inter jersey with 'Benedict
XVI' written in gold and also presented the pontiff with an
almanac celebrating Inter's centenary this year.
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Obama expands religious support
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It’s a campaign in which pastors cause controversy and Democrats compete for religious votes. The latest exit polls from North Carolina and Indiana’s primaries yesterday show where religiously-minded voters cast their vote.
World's Alisa Harris blogs Obama made gains among Catholics, a group he’s struggled to win and heavily lost in past primaries. According to First Read, he went from losing 70-30% in Pennsylvania and 63%-36% in Ohio, to finally narrowing it to 59%-41% in Indiana. The campaign boasts, “Barack Obama is building one of the largest grassroots campaigns of people of faith in history.” Doug Kmiec, who stirred the Catholic community with his endorsement of Obama, reiterated and explained his support:
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U.S. evangelicals call for step back from politics
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A group of U.S. evangelical leaders called on Wednesday for a pullback from party politics so that followers would not become "useful idiots" exploited for partisan gain.
Reuters reports One in four U.S. adults count themselves as evangelical
Protestants, giving them serious clout in a country where
religion and politics often mix. Conservative evangelicals have
become a key support base for the Republican Party.
But the movement has had growing pains and the statement
issued on Wednesday, called an "Evangelical Manifesto," is the
latest sign of emerging fractures as some activists seek to
broaden its agenda beyond hot-button social issues such as
opposition to abortion and gay rights.
Additional commentaries are here, here (Baptist Press), here, and here.
The manifest is here.
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McCain pledges to champion religious freedoms
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Republican John McCain said on Wednesday religious freedom was suffering in China, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere and pledged to champion the right to worship if elected president in a speech aimed at mending fences with conservatives long suspicious of him.
Reuters reports In Rochester, Michigan, the Arizona senator used a
wide-ranging speech on human dignity to promise support for
religious freedom in countries that imprison or persecute
"tens-of-thousands of people whose only crime is to worship God
in their own way."
AFP reports According to McCain, no society "that denies religious freedom can ever
rightly claim to be good in some other way. And no person can ever be
true to any faith that believes in the dignity of all human life if
they do not act out of concern for those whose dignity is assailed
because of their faith."
In the speech, McCain also excoriated human trafficking -- "slavery by another name" -- which he said exists "in places like Thailand, Kuwait and Venezuela" as well as the United States.
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Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama's pastor, 'stole my wife'
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Barack Obama’s controversial spiritual mentor, the Rev Jeremiah Wright, has been accused of stealing the wife of a parishioner who went to him for marriage counselling.
The London Telegraph reports
Delmer Reed has told friends he believed it was no coincidence that his former
wife, Ramah, divorced him and married Mr Wright shortly after the Chicago
pastor gave him advice on their troubled marriage in the early 1980s.
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'Gay' indoctrination starts in Minneapolis
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A special interest program assembled by the Human Rights Campaign to promote homosexuality has been launched in the 91-school Minneapolis district, even as opponents are urging school officials to keep sexuality out of the social culture.
WND reports "The government should promote and encourage strong families," said Austin R. Nimocks, a senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund.
"When school officials have to choose between protecting children in
those families or furthering the homosexual agenda, the choice is
obvious: protecting our children comes first."
The issue is the "Welcoming Schools" program assembled by the HRC, which advocates for and promotes homosexuality.
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Vote Against Embryonic Cloning Seen as Sign of Shifting Debate
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In what could signal a further shift in the global stem cell debate, lawmakers in an Australia state have rejected legislation allow the cloning of human embryos for research purposes.
WND reports This
week's vote in the Western Australia capital, Perth, is believed to be
one of the first times the embryonic cloning issue has been considered
by a legislature anywhere in the world since reports of a major
research breakthrough last November prompted new questions about the
need to use embryos at all.
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California Awards $271 Million for Stem Cell Research
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California has awarded $271 million in grants to build 12 new stem cell research centers in the state, even as one of the political rationales for the building program might soon disappear.
The NY Times reports One reason the buildings are needed is that the Bush administration now
prohibits federal financing of research using any human embryonic stem
cells derived after August 2001, because creating such cells entails
the destruction of human embryos. That has meant that work involving
newer stem cell lines cannot share even a microscope with a project
that is federally financed.
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Plan for 'domestic partner' benefits halted
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Taxpayer complaints and a rally in favor of traditional marriage may have had a role in Miami-Dade County commissioners tabling a plan to provide benefits for domestic partners of county employees.
One News Now reports Members of Miami-Dade County's Christian Family Coalition (CFC)
are happy with the news they received from County Commission officials
at their board meeting Tuesday. Coalition members held a rally for
traditional marriage outside the building prior to the meeting, in
protest of commissioners' possible adoption of a proposed domestic
partnership policy providing healthcare and other benefit coverage for
live-in partners of county employees.
AP reports Local governments and state universities in
Michigan can't offer health insurance to the partners of gay workers,
the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
The court ruled 5-2 that Michigan's 2004 ban
against gay marriage also blocks domestic-partner policies affecting
gay employees at the University of Michigan and other public-sector
employers.
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Pharmacists' rights of conscience protected – for now
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Pharmacists who have moral objections to dispensing chemicals that cause abortions have won the latest battle in their war with the abortion industry, which is trying to force them to dispense drugs such as RU-486 in violation of their conscience.
WND reports The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that pharmacists in
Washington state will be protected during an appeal by state officials
who earlier imposed a requirement for them to dispense abortifacients.
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