World News for September 12, 2007

Posted September 12, 2007 in Web Exclusive, World News

• For the past year the Internal Revenue Service has been auditing Focus on the Family and Dr. James Dobson but has found no wrongdoing. The investigation was caused by allegations from two liberal groups. Dr. Dobson said on his national radio broadcast that the real target was conservative Christians nationwide: “The purpose for this was not only to see if they could damage us and take us out, but to scare every pastor and every non-profit that’s out there.”
• Chaplains have been purging religious books and materials that have been available to prisoners in chapel libraries. The Bureau of Prisons is behind the purge, which many people are unaware of. Some prison inmates are outraged and have filed a class-action lawsuit claiming the Bureau’s actions violate their rights to the free exercise of religion as guaranteed by the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
• A new environmental research team from Tel Aviv University in Israel has found what it considers surprising evidence supporting a great Biblical flood. Said one leader of the team, “We found that indeed a flood happened. . . . From core samples, we see that a flood broke through the natural barrier separating the Mediterranean Sea and the freshwater Black Sea, bringing with it seashells that only grow in a marine environment. There was no doubt that it was a fast flood.”
• A Lutheran high school in California is the focus of a controversy over whether Christian academies may reject gay students. Parents of two expelled students are suing the school, alleging a violation of California’s “sexual orientation” anti-discrimination laws. But Timothy J. Tracey, a counsel for the Christian Legal Society, noted, “Christian schools have the right to make admissions and disciplinary decisions consistent with their Christian beliefs.” A number of lawyers agree, saying that the result of the case could affect rights of Christian schools in the future.
• Pro-family groups are decrying the new California bill passed by the state Senate that allows marriage licenses to homosexual couples. The bill seeks to replace the words “a man and a woman” with “two persons” in California’s marriage laws. Homosexual assemblyman Mark Leno proposed the legislation, and the bill will go to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s desk for approval. California would be the second state to legalize same-sex marriage, after Massachusetts, if the governor signs the bill. In the meantime, Christian activists were applauding the San Diego City Council for supporting traditional marriage by declining to approve a court brief supporting same-sex marriage. But a local Christian activist said he expected pro-gay forces to push council members in the days ahead. James Lambert, one of some 40 Christian activists, lamented that many churches do not want to take a public stand on the issue. “They’re pretty timid about defending the traditional family, which is shocking in my opinion.” A recent Pew poll shows that opposition to gay marriage among the public is rising.
• Persecution is choking church growth in northern Nigeria, and it is difficult to find places for converts from Islam to worship.
• An underground lake discovered in Sudan’s Darfur region could save the arid region, says scientists. More than 200,000 Darfuris have died, and two million have fled their homes since 2003.
• An article in a leading bioethics journal has broadened the practice of assisted suicide to include the chronically depressed.
• The British Secret Service revealed in a report that some 200 million Christians in 60 countries worldwide are at risk of suffering persecution. In many nations the governments are unwilling or unable to help them.
• The American Family Association has made available a new free video that shows how Hollywood hates Christianity by blaspheming the name of Christ often in movies and using anti-Christian and profane words.
• A Brazilian professor is claiming that various indigenous tribes’ practice of killing disabled babies should be respected as a “cultural practice.” “This is their way of life, and we should not judge them on the basis of our values,” said Dr. Erwin Frank.
• Recent polls show that one in four people in the U.S. would be less likely to support a presidential candidate who is a Mormon. In addition, 61 percent said they would be less likely to support a presidential candidate who does not believe in God; 5 percent or fewer said they would be likelier to support candidates who are Muslim or Mormon; 12 percent would be less likely to support a woman presidential candidate; and 6 percent would be less likely to support a black candidate. Further, 16 percent would be less likely to support an evangelical Christian for the highest office in the land; 11 percent would be less likely to support a Jewish contender; and 7 percent would be less likely to support a Catholic.
• Another poll revealed that Hillary Rodham Clinton and Rudy Giuliani are seen as the least religious of the major presidential candidates. Mitt Romney, a Mormon, is seen as the most religious.
• In Slovakia, some 500 graphic billboards went up to show the Slovak people the reality of abortion on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its legalization there. The nation’s current population is only five million, but 1.37 million unborn children have been killed through abortion in Slovakia.
• Of all types of physicians, psychiatrists are the least religious, according to a study published in Psychiatric Services magazine. Family practice doctors were the most religious. Religious physicians were found to be more likely to refer patients to clergy than a psychiatrist or psychologist.
• A school in Pennsylvania has asked a student to replace Bible reading with a book about witches. In May, a federal court sided with the school over the case and is now on appeal. Jeremy Tedesco, legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, said public school officials need to understand that Christian students cannot be treated as second-class citizens.
• The Church of England has expressed fear over a proposed law that could allow homosexuals to sue the church if they felt discriminated against by religious authorities.
• A United Methodist pastor has undergone surgery to transform her from a woman to a man.  Ann Gordon is now Drew Phoenix and is said to be still as liberal as always. The small congregation threw the pastor a renaming party, complete with birthday cake. The denomination’s Judicial Council will soon take up the case concerning whether the group should accept transgender pastors. Ann Gordon said that even as a young girl she felt sure she was meant to be a boy, playing football every afternoon and playing Joseph in a Christmas pageant. Opponents say that the concept of fluid sexuality undercuts the message in Genesis, “Male and female he created them.”
• Iran is reportedly the only country in the world that still executes children for offenses. In that country 71 are facing the death penalty.
• According to a report in U.S. News & World Report, in the past two decades the number of American female clergy has more than tripled. But in the last 50 years almost every religion that allows female clergy has plummeted in membership, and every major religious group that doesn’t has seen a rise.
• Liberal church groups aren’t the only ones losing members. Masonry has only half of the membership numbers they had 50 years ago.
• Increasing numbers of Jews are raising their children observing no religion in particular. Some Jewish scholars are saying that ethnicity, community, or culture—instead of religion—define a Jew.
• The Mormon religion might not be as high in numbers as people may think. Researchers say that official Latter-day Saints figures are greatly inflated or overstated. At fault, say studies, is the group’s policy of counting as members nearly all baptized Mormons, including those who have lapsed in membership or who cannot be located. Researchers put the worldwide membership at three million, while Mormon membership boasts 13 million.
• According to Christian News, the president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod says he cannot get along on his $164,000 salary and that because of a lack of funds, LCMS missionaries will now have to raise their own support.
• Three dozen members of a Christian church in Iraq disappeared in the course of one week, and only one has returned. The announcement came from a minister who is warning of the increase of persecution of Christians. Kidnapping, torture, and execution of believers are rising. Yet the desire for Christ is said to be overwhelming, with one small church in Baghdad having its attendance swell to 1,300 attendees.
• In Kansas a 5,000-member evangelical church known as First Family has seen some members and employees leave due to questions over financial integrity and lavish spending on homes, trips, and cars by senior pastor Jerry Johnston. The church’s failure to comply with the standards of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability has also led a leading Christian radio network to recently drop Johnston’s daily radio program.
• Family members of the six miners who perished in the Utah mining tragedy are left to cope with the fact they will never see the bodies of their loved ones. President and Mrs. George W. Bush, in a statement about the conclusion of the futile search for the miners, said, “Laura and I are deeply saddened by this tragedy and continue to pray for the families of these men.”
• Writer James Tonkowich noted 10 things we should have learned since 9-11: (1) We live in a very dangerous world; (2) The “clash of civilizations” is a fact of life; (3) We must develop a Christian worldview in order to survive; (4) Evil is real; (5) Christianity and Islam are not alike; (6) Islam is more than a religion; it is also a political ideology; (7) Christian prison evangelism is vital to homeland security; (8) There are still heroes in the world; (9) We are at war with militant Islam; (10) We are still called to love our enemies.
• DIED: D. James Kennedy, 76, who went to be with the Lord only a few days after resigning as pastor of his church, Coral Ridge Presbyterian of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Kennedy suffered a heart attack last December.