Christian News from Christians Unite.

[Shammu]

Christian Filmmakers Score With Reissue of The Pistol

by Rusty Benson
June 7, 2006

(AgapePress) - - For Darrell Campbell and Rodney Stone, the legend of basketball great "Pistol" Pete Maravich is a story worth telling and retelling. And that's exactly what these two film producers have spent a good part of their careers doing.

Last year, Campbell and Stone, who co-produced the original 1991 film The Pistol ... The Birth of a Legend, purchased the worldwide rights to the movie. "Our desire was to somehow use the film to tell the rest of the story of Pistol Pete and to glorify God through it," Stone said.

The largely untold part of Maravich's life is the story of his radical conversion from a bitter, rebellious, alchoholic former pro athlete to a bold follower and witness of Jesus Christ.

The DVD "Inspirational Edition" contains bonus content that gives a moving account of Maravich's new life in Christ. In a segment originally filmed only weeks before his death and never before released to the public, Maravich gives his own Christian testimony.

In another powerful bonus feature, Dr. James Dobson, speaking to a group of young people, recounts the day in 1988 when at age 40 Maravich died in his arms after a pick-up basketball game.


Adam Guier as a young Pete Maravich

   �
The Birth of the Film
Stone moved to Van Nuys, California, in the early 1980s to serve as youth minister at a church that included over 200 people who worked in the film industry. One of those was Darrell Campbell, a young screenwriter/producer. The pair of 20-somethings became fast friends.

Along the way, a church connection opened the door for Stone to join the promotion team on the film The Mission, staring Jeremy Irons and Robert DeNiro. Eventually Stone left his youth ministry post for a job with Warner Brothers.

Meanwhile, Campbell accepted an assignment to co-write the biography of his childhood hero, Pistol Pete Maravich. Campbell quickly recognized the potential in Maravich's story not only for a book, but also for an inspirational feature film. He asked Stone, also a Pistol Pete fan, to join him and Maravich in the venture.

From the beginning it was the intent of Maravich and the producers to make a movie of hope and inspiration. That's why the movie focuses on Maravich as a 14-year-old in 1959. "That was the year Pete became aware of his dream to be the greatest basketball player and to commit himself to the work necessary to reach that goal," Campbell said. "Pete wanted audiences to know that a dream can become a reality."

Over the years The Pistol has been distributed by several film companies and seen in over 60 countries.

In 2004 Campbell and Stone, still close friends, had not worked together in 13 years. Both were living in Georgia when they decided to renew their partnership to produce a new inspirational movie. But as the pair began work on a new project, God sent the opportunity to purchase the rights to The Pistol.

"We see the new DVD as a ministry tool, like a Gospel tract" Campbell said. "If you can get it into the hands of an unbeliever and get them to watch the bonus material, you have made a powerful inroad for the Gospel."

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[Shammu]

Judge Scolds DePaul's 'PC' Actions, Lets Fired Prof's Suit Proceed

by Jim Brown
June 7, 2006

(AgapePress) - - A judge has allowed a former DePaul professor to proceed with his defamation lawsuit against the Catholic University that fired him two years ago after he engaged in a heated verbal exchange with Muslim students at a student fair on campus.

The two Palestinian students, offended by Professor Tom Klocek's Christian perspective on the Middle East, complained to the DePaul administration, which dismissed the professor. Then, according to his Klocek's attorney, the university began waging a publicity campaign against the professor, denigrating him as a racist and an Islamophobe.

Klocek sued, and DePaul's attorneys filed a motion, attempting to get the case thrown out. Last week, however, Judge Stuart Nudelman denied the university's motion to dismiss. However, the judge's decision in the pre-trial hearing was not what surprised the professor's lawyer, Andy Norman.

"The thing that was actually most shocking," Norman recalls, "to me and probably to everyone in the courtroom, including a small DePaul contingent that was there, was the judge's additional remarks, which had nothing to do with his ruling."

Nudelman "lambasted DePaul for their gross overreaction and their fear of student reaction on campus, which caused them to pillory Tom Klocek," the attorney says. Then, he notes, the judge went on to say that if such political correctness and fear of student response had existed when he was in school, he would have had a far more inferior educational experience.

Norman says he finds it ironic that DePaul University would be opposed to a professor airing his Christian views with students. However, the lawyer contends, the school is Catholic in name only, despite any claims made about its commitment to the Catholic ideals of its namesake, St. Vincent DePaul.

"The attribution of Vincentian values, which you find on their website and which they like to tout publicly, is really a fraud," Norman says. "There's no Christian values there as far as the administration goes. They are decidedly very, very liberal, and not liberal in the sense that there's a free exchange of ideas, but it's an elitist kind of liberalism that frowns upon anything that doesn't agree with them."

DePaul University is one of the ten largest private universities as well as the largest Catholic university in the United States. It is also the largest private university in the state of Illinois, and bills itself as having the foremost Islamic studies program in the nation.

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[Shammu]

Pro-Family Groups Applaud McCain's Proposed Cable Choice Bill

by Jenni Parker and Natalie Harris
June 8, 2006

(AgapePress) - - Pro-family groups are hailing a cable choice bill introduced in the U.S. legislature yesterday by Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona. Known as the CHOICE Act, the bill would allow cable consumers to choose the channels to which they want to subscribe rather than be forced to pay for channel packages predetermined by the cable companies.

A number of Christian pro-family ministries and pro-family advocacy organizations, including the Parents Television Council (PTC), Concerned Women for America (CWA), and the Focus on the Family ministry, are applauding Senator McCain for introducing the legislation. These groups believe passage of the CHOICE Act will bring consumers one step closer to having real cable choice and lower their cable costs as well.

Putting Control Over What Families Watch Where It Belongs
Although some cable industry officials argue that offering their customers cable choice will end up raising consumer costs, PTC president L. Brent Bozell agrees with the conclusion of a recent Federal Communications Commission report that cable choice could actually save the consumers money. However, he feels that something else, apart from the issue of cost, has been at stake in the cable choice debate -- that is, control.

It is time, Bozell insists, for the "forced subsidy of graphic and explicit content on basic cable" to end. And the cable industry's current "solutions," such as creating family-oriented programming tiers "do nothing to give families choice and control over the content that comes into their homes," he asserts.

The PTC is pleased that Senator McCain "has introduced legislation that will help provide families with the ability to take and pay for only the cable channels they want," Bozell says. "We support any efforts to bring cable choice to consumers, whether it is brought by the industry, Congress, or by the FCC."

Concerned Women for America is also expressing praise and support for the proposed Senate measure. Lanier Swann, the organization's director of government relations, says the CHOICE Act will at last take control away from the "goliaths of greed" who run the cable companies and put that control where it belongs -- in the hands of cable consumers.

The cable companies make no effort to meet the needs and preferences of their paying customers, Swann contends. "They seem to care only about filling their deep pockets by charging money for programs [many of their customers] don't even watch," she says.

CWA supports the CHOICE Act, Swann explains, because it "gives families another way to protect their children without overbearing government regulation." Cable choice allows parents to monitor the content their children can view by cutting out channels that carry offensive programming, she says. Meanwhile, the cable choice saves customers money by letting them pick the channels they want to purchase "a la carte," instead of paying for the 100-channel line-up cable companies currently offer.

Swann says she and CWA believe families deserve cable choice. The group is urging concerned citizens to contact their legislative representatives, she adds, to tell them they must "take this issue seriously" and must pass this family-friendly and consumer-friendly legislation "as soon as possible."

Could Cable Choice Serve as a Form of Outreach?
Dr. James Dobson, founder and chairman of the ministry Focus on the Family, has also declared his support for cable choice and is calling on the cable industry to work with Congress to craft a viable cable choice plan. He says consumers, not cable executives, should be deciding what kinds of programs their families are able to watch. And Daniel Weiss, Focus on the Family's senior analyst for media and sexuality, says many families are fed up with the indecency on cable TV.

"Parents have been told simply to change the channels or maybe to try and get those channels blocked," Weiss notes. "But the point is, they're still paying for it -- not just losing money out of their own wallet for this material they don't want to watch, but they're also then being forced to subsidize that very material they don't want."

Weiss believes allowing families to pick and choose exactly what programming they want will appeal to many consumers who currently do not have cable. In fact, the media analyst says, catering to such families could very well have the potential to revitalize the cable industry.

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[Shammu]

Publicity Making Ministry's Million-Dollar 'Bills' A-'tract'-ive

by Allie Martin
June 8, 2006

(AgapePress) - - A California-based ministry has sold more than half a million gospel tracts designed to look like a million-dollar bill after federal agents seized thousands of the tracts. The ministry where the tracts were seized is now saying it may be filing a federal lawsuit over the visit from Secret Service agents concerned about counterfeiting.

The "million-dollar" tract, published by Living Waters Ministry in Southern California, has been a successful evangelical tool for thousands of Christians and scores of ministries. But the Secret Service thought the gospel tracts being handed out by a Denton, Texas, ministry looked too much like real money, and recently seized 8,300 of the tracts. The federal agency took that step after someone in North Carolina reportedly tried to deposit one of the "bills" in a bank account. On that particular tract was the address for Great News Network.

Great News Network president Darrel Rundus takes exception to the Secret Service's premise. He points out that there is no such thing as a million-dollar bill, and something that does not exist cannot be counterfeited. And he has a theory about the supposed bank deposit. "Now all too often, Christians will make a deposit at a bank and will include a million-dollar bill [tract] -- not as a line item on their deposit, but just as a way to get the gospel tract in someone's hands," he explains to Associated Press.

The message on the back of the tract, says Rundus, may have offended someone. "They might be of a different persuasion or different faith; they might be an atheist -- and therefore they're offended at the fact that this Christian tried to 'push' the gospel on them, so to speak," he says.

Nevertheless, a Secret Service spokesman insists someone tried to deposit one of the tracts at a bank, and says close facsimiles of currency are illegal, although no charges were filed. Rundus, however, has a problem with the fact that three federal agents entered his ministry's office and demanded the tracts.

"They didn't have a warrant [and] they didn't have a court order to seize any property," he shares. "The Constitution says no one can be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process, not to mention the fact that we're simply expressing our First Amendment free-speech right to these gospel messages."

Consequently the ministry leader says he plans to file a federal lawsuit this week. "We're not looking for any monetary compensation, but we have enlisted legal counsel to file the proper paperwork with the federal judges to get the U.S. Secret Service off our trails, so to speak," he says.

Rundus figures the publicity from the incident will spread the gospel more than the seized tracts. "What the enemy may intend for evil, God will turn to the good -- and all things work to the good for those love Him and are called according to His purpose," he says. "So we felt like this was going to be a good thing, and $415 worth of gospel tracts would be worth the millions of dollars worth of publicity."

Publicity Sparks Demand
Indeed, the ministry that printed the tracts can attest to the increased popularity of the million-dollar tract. Ray Comfort, president of Living Waters Ministry, says demand for the tracts has soared. "The Secret Service have done us a great service," said during an interview this week. "Our staff were just about lying on the carpet, they've been so busy all day."

Comfort says a new supply of million-dollar tracts will be printed, but with a few modifications. "We need to get a reprint, but we don't want to go ahead and get the same thing again in case they do a cease and desist," he explains.

"So we're producing what we're calling the 'Secret Service' version, which is a million-dollar bill which is to the requirements of the Secret Service." That means it is one-and-a-half times the size of a normal currency bill. "We've got better graphics [on this version], it's bigger and better, and we're ordering 100,000. We should have them in a week or so," says the ministry head.

As to the alleged charge of counterfeiting, Comfort is curious why his ministry's tract has been singled out. "If you type in 'million-dollar bill' on Google, you'll get something like 38 million results," he says. "So there's a lot of people out there selling million-dollar bills, from Toys 'r' Us" to Walgreens -- all sorts."

Meantime, he says he will file a lawsuit against the government over the issue. "Our lawyers are suing the Secret Service, by the way -- not for monetary gain, but just out of principle -- because it is an infringement of First Amendment rights," he explains.

Comfort is represented by the American Family Association Center for Law & Policy. More than five million of the tracts have been sold since 2002.

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[Shammu]

Minnesota School Agrees to Allow Students' Christian Song at Graduation

by Allie Martin
June 8, 2006

(AgapePress) - - A Minnesota public high school that had banned two of its students from singing a religious song at this year's graduation ceremonies reversed course and allowed the selection, but only after Florida-based Liberty Counsel intervened with the threat of legal action.

LaPorte High School students Aaron Reimer and Victoria Raddatz had been invited by a student-led committee to sing a song at commencement, and they had chosen "Treasure of Jesus," a song by Steven Curtis Chapman, as their selection. However, administrators at the school informed the two teens that they could not sing their duet because of the so-called separation of church and state.

Liberty Counsel, a pro-family litigation, education, and policy organization, contacted LaPorte High School and threatened to sue if the school did not allow the students' musical selection to be sung at graduation. The legal group also offered school officials free legal assistance should the district be sued over allowing the Christian song to be performed.

Attorney Mat Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, says young Reimer and Raddatz are to be commended. "It's important to stand up for your rights," he observes, "and in this case these students had a choice: either buckle because of the controversy and not sing the song, or stand up. And stand up they did."

[Photo compliments of Liberty Counsel]
Mat Staver   
The good news, Staver adds, is that the two young people were able to sing their Christian song and freely express their faith in Christ at the graduation exercises. "We were able to stand with them, and the event went off as planned," he says.

Songs with religious themes may lawfully be sung at graduation ceremonies, the pro-family attorney points out, so long as the students have selected the songs without input from faculty or staff. Under these conditions, he says, Christian songs and other expressions of religious faith do not violate the Constitution of the United States.

However, Staver notes, many educators and school officials are unaware of what the law says regarding religious expressions at graduations and many are wary of legal attacks from secularists. For that reason, he says, "We have to be eternally vigilant. We have to educate and litigate where necessary to make sure that the gospel and religious messages are not censored from the public square."

The Liberty Counsel spokesman emphasizes that while school officials are sometimes intimidated into believing they must bar students from expressing their religious faith in speech or song at public school graduations to keep from violating the law, in fact, the opposite is true. If school districts are to stay on the right side of the law, he says students' lawful and constitutionally protected religious expressions must be permitted.

Silencing student-initiated musical performances or other free speech at graduations on the basis of its religious content is not only insensitive, Staver asserts, but it's also unconstitutional. When students elect a classmate to deliver a message or perform a selection of that individual's choice, school officials may not censor the student's religious viewpoint.

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[Shammu]

Police Sergeant Accused of Bullying, Abusing Authority Against Ministry Volunteers

by Allie Martin and Jody Brown
June 8, 2006

(AgapePress) - - A Florida-based ministry says it plans to file a grievance with a local police department after officers interfered with a petition drive to protect traditional marriage.

Last weekend representatives of the Florida Family Policy Council were collecting petitions for the Florida4Marriage campaign at a Promise Keepers event in Broward County. Witnesses say several members of the City of Sunrise Police Department showed up and ordered a halt to the petition drive, then removed the petitions from public view. The petitions were eventually returned to the Council's exhibit table -- but only after what a group spokesman describes as "unprofessional" and "unconstitutional" behavior by a member of the police force. (See earlier story)

John Stemberger, president and general counsel of the Council, says upon his arrival at the scene, he was refused an explanation of what law or ordinance had been violated -- but was instead subjected to "ranting" from the duty officer, Sergeant Stephen Allen, who insisted on "lecturing" him and Council volunteers on Christ's teaching on homosexuality.

"I told him I did not want to discuss theology but wanted to know the legal authority he was relying upon," Stemberger notes in a letter to Lt. Robert Dorn of the Sunrise Police Department. "Sgt. Allen refused to calmly discuss the supposed law that was being violated and then proclaimed that 'he was the authority' and 'the Bible says that Christians should obey the authorities.'"

The letter goes on to explain that Allen accused Stemberger of lying about his being a constitutional attorney, and referred to him as an "ambulance chaser" when provided with Stemberger's business card.

    [Compliments of Florida Family Policy Council]
Sgt. Stephen Allen, with petitions in hand, kisses fellow officer on the cheek
According to Stemberger, Allen made no effort to hide his views on the subject of same-sex "marriage." He says "at one point the officer went and kissed another male officer, just to mock the volunteers. After they removed all petitions, he just kissed the officer. We actually have a photograph of that and some other photographs of these officers' behavior."

Stemberger describes his interaction with Sergeant Allen as "the most unprofessional ... odious interchange" he has ever had with a law enforcement officer.

"At all times during my encounter with Sgt. Allen he constantly interrupted me, refused to allow me to speak freely, consistently acted unreasonably [and] unprofessionally," writes the Council spokesman. In addition, says Stemberger, the police sergeant refused to allow him to explain why the officer's actions were unconstitutional and why Council volunteers had the legal right to distribute petitions at the event.

The 45-minute ordeal ended, says Stemberger, only after a civic center official instructed Sergeant Allen to "stand down."

In his letter to the Sunrise Police Department, Stemberger requests the department investigate the matter, and either dismiss Sergeant Allen from the local force or discipline him and others as warranted, perhaps requiring they undergo sensitivity training or other instruction on professionalism.

A spokesman with the Sunrise Police Department could not be reached for comment.

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[Shammu]

$63M in 'Profit' Not Enough for Planned Parenthood; It Wants More from Feds

by Natalie Harris and Jody Brown
June 9, 2006

(AgapePress) - - One of the leading pro-life groups in America is wondering why the nation's largest abortion-provider, Planned Parenthood, continues to beg for government funds -- even though the non-profit is just coming off one of its best years ever in terms of income and "excess revenue."

Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) is reporting that in Fiscal Year 2004-2005, it generated $882 million in income, one-third of which ($272 million) comes from American taxpayers. During the same time period, PPFA showed an "excess revenue over expenses" -- known outside not-for-profit entities as "profit" -- of $63 million, the second highest ever for the abortion-provider in one year. Yet Planned Parenthood continues to clamor for more federal funds. Jim Sedlak of American Life League (ALL) calls that "absolutely incredible."

"This is [nearly] the highest operating profit that Planned Parenthood has ever made. So they make more money in profit, which means they put it in the bank, and they get more government money," Sedlak comments. "There is something wrong with that picture." He adds that he supposes officials with the abortion agency must assume elected officials cannot read a simple annual report; otherwise PPFA would note be asking for increased government funding.

Sedlak notes that since 1987, PPFA has received a total of $3.9 billion in taxpayers' money -- and has ended the lives of more than 3.8 million babies. "It is absolutely incredible that, in these days of natural disasters and homeland security threats, our federal, state, and local governments would fund this controversial organization to the tune of nearly $4 billion," he says. "Why is our government so quick to finance such ruthless attacks on our own innocent children?"

And it goes beyond abortions, according to Sedlak. He explains Planned Parenthood also uses tax dollars to downplay abstinence among America's youth. "Planned Parenthood is not only about killing babies in the womb," he says. "They have [conducted] specific attacks on our young people, and they are increasing those attacks as they put more and more money into their brand of sex education and vehemently fight against abstinence sex education."

Why? As Sedlak points out, Planned Parenthood only benefits financially from youth who are sexually active. He says the innocence of 24 million young people has been attacked through the group's contraceptive-based sex-education programs.

"Large numbers of Americans want this taxpayer funding to stop," Sedlak states in a press release. "We are confident this new financial report [from Planned Parenthood] will generate a grassroots groundswell for government to cut off the ever-increasing flow of our dollars."

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[Shammu]

Pro-Family Activist Spurs Public Outcry Against Macy's 'Gay Pride' Display

by Mary Rettig
June 8, 2006

(AgapePress) - - A nationally known department store's Boston, Massachusetts, location has removed a homosexual pride display after a barrage of complaints from concerned citizens. Brian Camenker, president of the pro-family group Mass Resistance, happened on the disturbing exhibit in the window of a downtown Macy's store.

This week is "Gay Pride Week" in Boston, Camenker notes, and while the citywide celebration engendered some outlandish sights, he was unprepared for what he saw at Macy's that day. "In the picture window right next to the door," he says, "it had a huge display promoting Gay Pride Week with two mannequins, both of them men, standing right next to each other as if they were gay and, one of them, wearing a skirt."

In fact, the mannequin's skirt was a rainbow flag, the Massachusetts pro-family activist notes. "I'd never seen anything like this before," he says, "and then [there was] all of this advertising for the 'gay pride' events."

Camenker says his organization posted pictures of the offensive display on its website and gave people phone numbers to contact the Boston store. "The outpouring was so overwhelming that the manager of Macy's had to change her store phone number," he contends. And according to the Boston Herald newspaper, he adds, the phones in the local store could not even be used for several hours.

"We also called their national offices in New York," Camenker says, "and as a result, in a little over a day they removed the mannequins from the window." However, he laments, the job is not complete, since the Boston Macy's is still displaying a calendar of "Gay Pride Week" events in its store window.

The store claims it is supporting diversity, Camenker says. So, although a battle has been won, the community activist says there is still work to be done -- and he encourages pro-family citizens to keep calling Macy's and expressing their concern.

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[Shammu]

Lesbian Batwoman's Publishers Should Be Ashamed, Pro-Family Critic Says

by Chad Groening
June 8, 2006

(AgapePress) - - Robert Knight, a pro-family activist and director of the Culture and Family Institute, is blasting a popular comic book company for deliberately exposing young children to the homosexual lifestyle.

Knight is outraged that DC Comics, the prominent U.S. comic book publisher that has brought fans such "heroic" characters as Superman, Wonder Woman, the Justice League, and Batman, has announced plans to introduce a lesbian Batwoman character next month. A company spokesman says DC wants more diversity in its comics.

However, Knight believes this move is obviously targeting the minds of children and has a mercenary motive as well. "This is a direct attempt to sell homosexuality to kids," he says, "It's also an attempt to revive the Batwoman brand by trying to do something shocking to get a little media. DC Comics ought to be ashamed of itself."

The pro-family advocate says a lesbian Batwoman character has the potential to do tremendous harm to impressionable young readers. "Most comics readers are boys, though some girls read comics, and I can't imagine this will be a good influence on girls," some of whom "might be sexually confused," or "not quiet sure who they are," he says.

Knight feels a homosexual superheroine could easily cause the minds of young girls to become perplexed. "If they have a heroine like Batwoman who's consorting with another woman, this is a very wrong message to send to them," he contends.

The Culture and Family Institute spokesman says DC has a long heritage of producing great comic books with great heroes like Superman and Batman. However, he notes, "I can recall a few years ago when a new executive took over DC Comics and said, 'We're going to be cutting edge now. We're going to use more profanity' -- in fact, they never had it before -- 'We're going to add profanity and sexual situations.' And I thought, 'Oh, great.'"

It now sounds as though DC's new policy is coming to fruition at DC, particularly with this new Batwoman "coming out of the closet," Knight says. However, he asserts, "This is an idea that ought to be shoved far, far back into the Batcave."

According to Associated Press reports, the new Batwoman character will be unveiled in July, but DC has already been bombarded by phone calls from media intrigued by the comic book character's lesbian reinvention. DC vice president and executive editor Dan Didio says the company expected its introduction of the character to attract some notice, but he says he is surprised at how much attention the news has garnered.

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[Shammu]

Author Says Israeli Withdrawal Would Play Into Hamas' Hands

by Chad Groening
June 9, 2006

(AgapePress) - - An expert on Islam says President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert continue to be misguided in thinking that the latest land giveaway plan is going to bring peace to Israel.

In devising a road map for peace in the Middle East, the demands on the Palestinians were clearly defined by the U.S., the European Union, Russia, and the United Nations: recognize Israel, renounce terror, undertake to abide by past agreements, and accept the overall road map for peace. Absent an agreement from the Hamas-led Palestinian government -- which has not been forthcoming -- Olmert has indicated Israel will unilaterally withdraw from parts of the West Bank and set what he calls "defensible" boundaries, hoping the U.S., the European Union, and perhaps even Egypt and Jordan will back the move.

Bush and the Israeli leader recently discussed Olmert's strategy. Robert Spencer, a critic of Islam and observer of the Middle East situation, does not agree with Israel's plan to withdraw from the West Bank and give it to the Palestinian government. Such a plan, says the director of the group Jihad Watch, defies logic.

"It's patently absurd to think that the Palestinians are going to join into this process in good faith when they've just elected Hamas and when Hamas has been on record consistently, both before and after the election, saying that they were dedicated to the destruction of Israel," he says.

Spencer, author of the book The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam and the Crusades, points out that giving away Czechoslovakia did not stop Adolph Hitler's territorial ambitions leading up to World War II -- and giving away the West Bank, he says, will not dissuade Hamas.

"More territorial concessions are not going to bring peace," the author says emphatically. "They're not going to satisfy Hamas or the Palestinians in general, and they're only going to make it easier for the Palestinians to achieve their ultimate goal of the destruction of Israel."

Spencer says Bush and Olmert are "in denial" about what he describes as "very clear statements" coming from Palestinian leaders. He claims Hamas will view Israel's withdrawal from various territories as only a step toward that ultimate goal.

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[Shammu]

MD Calls Harvard-Children's Hospital Embryonic Research Plans 'a Shame'

by Mary Rettig and Jenni Parker
June 9, 2006

(AgapePress) - - The executive director of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA) says it is nothing short of a tragedy that Harvard is teaming up with a Boston hospital to clone human embryos.

On Tuesday, scientists at Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) and Children's Hospital Boston announced they will be working to clone human embryos to generate stem cell lines for disease treatment. The Harvard Gazette reports that after more than two years of intensive ethical and scientific review, HSCI and Children's Hospital have been cleared to begin experiments using somatic cell nuclear transfer to create disease-specific stem cell lines in the hope of developing treatments for a wide range of afflictions that are presently incurable.

Christian physician Dr. David Stevens, who heads the CMDA, says it is a shame that news of this announcement has escaped widespread media attention and has made barely a ripple in the headlines. Human lives are being extinguished, he points out; and moreover, this type of research is developing human embryos for the sole purpose of experimentation.

"There are attempts under way to clone human beings," Stevens explains, "not only using so-called leftover embryos from IVF clinics, but also to create embryos themselves that model disease states."

In other words, the CMDA spokesman says, scientists are attempting, for instance, to "clone somebody with diabetes, somebody with sickle cell disease, and then study that human being as it develops, trying to understand that process and -- of course -- killing it after so many days of development."

And once again, Stevens asserts, these scientists are trumpeting the potential cures that embryonic stem-cell research (ESCR) could provide. However, he notes, these researchers themselves admit that any sort of treatments that their embryonic stem-cell experimentation might yield are at least a decade away. Meanwhile, adult stem cells have already been used successfully in treating numerous patients, including some suffering from cardiac infarction (destruction of heart tissue), Crohn's disease (a chronic bowel infection), and thalassemia (a blood disease).

Then there is the basic issue of ethics, the Christian doctor observes. While adult stem cells can be found in bone marrow, in umbilical cord blood, and in various tissues of a growing human being, embryonic stem cells must be taken from a developing embryo at the blastocyst stage, thus destroying the embryo and ending a developing human life. Adult stem cells, on the other hand, can be extracted from umbilical cord blood or from adult tissues without harming the donor.

Also, in addition to overcoming the primary ethical problem, adult stem cells have the potential to avoid another obstacle posed by embryonic stem-cell research. Since adult stem cells can be taken from the patient's own body, they avoid the problem of the patient's possible rejection of any foreign cells used in treatment. Nevertheless, Stevens contends, proponents of embryonic stem-cell research continue pushing for funding and fewer government restrictions while ignoring a safer, more promising and ethically sound line of inquiry.

It is a shame, Stevens says. While ESCR advocates tout the importance of expanding exploration of the dubious hopes held out by embryonic stem cells in the distant future, he asserts, adult stem cells have repeatedly proven their promise in clinical settings, where their successful use in treating several diseases is already well documented.

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SBC's Crossover Event Hits North Carolina Cities' Streets This Weekend

by Allie Martin
June 9, 2006

(AgapePress) - - Southern Baptist churches throughout central North Carolina are taking the gospel to the streets through a variety of activities and events this weekend. Nearly 90 churches and more than 2,000 volunteers will take part in the evangelistic effort known as Crossover Triad.

The series of events will target Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point -- areas known collectively as "the Triad" -- tomorrow and Sunday, the weekend before the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting in Greensboro. Marty Dupree, Crossover coordinator for North Carolina, calls this occasion "a great opportunity" with the potential to affect hundreds of thousands of lives.

"About 1.8 million people live in the Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point area," Dupree says, "and out of that 1.8 million, over 650,000 people are unchurched. So we really are trying to focus on and target those unchurched and unreached people with these different events and the different venues."

The spokesman for Crossover says this wide-scale evangelistic outreach is being sponsored by the North American Mission Board in cooperation with the Baptist state conventions and associations and local churches. "The different venues that we have," he notes, "are things like prayer walking and prayer journeys, sports evangelism, inner-city evangelism."

Other events include block parties, witnessing by college students on local campuses, and "kindness" projects, Dupree adds. The kindness events are "servanthood evangelism projects" where volunteers "meet a need or give away water bottles, that type of thing," he explains.

Crossover Triad 2006 is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, June 10-11, in the Triad metropolitan area. Organizers have been encouraging Baptists to get involved by committing to the outreach as a volunteer, a host church, or a prayer partner, and with thousands responding, the event series promises to be a major success.

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Ministry Founder Draws on Experience to Help Other Pastors' Wives

by Mary Rettig
June 9, 2006

(AgapePress) - - The wife of Dr. Tony Evans, pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Church in Dallas, Texas, says pastors' wives have special needs that often do not get addressed. That is why she has been involved in ministry to women in this important role and in developing resources to help and encourage them.

Dr. Lois Evans says she never wanted to be a pastor's wife, but the Lord had other plans for her. And, she notes, it was the many struggles she encountered early in her husband's ministry that prompted her to found a "first lady" ministry -- that is, an outreach devoted solely to pastors' wives.

It is no surprise, Evans contends, that a large majority of pastors' wives feel unqualified and discouraged. "They run into issues of having to perform in a role that is not in link or tied in to their giftedness," she says, "and so several pastors' wives feel unappreciated by church members."

In addition to dealing with that challenge, Evans continues, many ministers' wives are also experiencing loneliness and issues of "accepting who they are in a church situation." And many, she adds, are also facing the often difficult task of asserting themselves in their area of strength and "communicating that to the laity, that this is where their giftedness is."

To help pastors' wives in confronting these and other challenges, Evans has organized an annual conference event especially for these women. This year's gathering, the 7th Annual First Lady Conference, is wrapping up in Dallas.

The First Lady Conference is a way for pastors' wives to be encouraged, the ministry founder explains. It also allows them to come together with women whose experiences are similar to their own and to be trained in their duties, responsibilities, and resources as a minister's helpmate.

The idea, Evans says, is to provide these women with "a way of escape, if I could use that term, by coming alongside them with a conference that supports them, gives them resources and gives them tools." Another benefit of the conference to these women, she points out, is that it "also builds a large network for them as they walk alongside their husbands, partnering in ministry."

As a pastor's wife herself, Evans says she knows that women in her position need special support and help to be effective in their role in the body of Christ. She says her Pastors' Wives Ministry is one way she has found to draw from the lessons she learned early in her husband's ministry to help other women in a similar situation.

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Compassion International's Indonesian Projects Affected By Earthquake

by Allie Martin
June 9, 2006

(AgapePress) - - Several children who received physical and spiritual support through Compassion International, a Colorado-based international child development ministry, were killed during the recent earthquake in Indonesia.

Through Compassion International's program, poor children in many nations around the world are sponsored through donors. For each child sponsored, donors contribute $32 monthly to help fund after-school programs that take place at churches or project sites in the child's village and to provide participating children with educational materials and supplemental nutrition.

The recent earthquake in Indonesia killed more than 5,800 people and injured more than 22,000. The names of the victims were withheld while Compassion officials contacted their sponsors.

David Dahlin is with the child development organization. He says whenever children are affected by natural disasters, this has a big impact on sponsors. Whenever children of sponsors die," he notes, "it can be a somewhat traumatic thing."

Compassion's one-to-one child sponsorship program is a very real relationship, Dahlin explains. "Our sponsors get to know their children personally," he says. "They pray for them, and they write back and forth and care about their lives. So at a time like this, the loss is real -- not just over in Indonesia, but it also becomes real in the lives of people who sponsor those children and care about those children."

This kind of involvement and interaction is encouraged, the ministry spokesman points out, and he believes it works to a sponsor's advantage. "You care about what happens in the lives of these kids and their families, and that's obviously a powerful tool in prayer," he says.

"In a part of a world that usually is inaccessible to most of us," Dahlin continues, "all of a sudden you have a very intimate view of life in that part of the world and can understand it a little bit better and can certainly pray for it better."

Eleven of Compassion International's projects were affected by the recent earthquake in Indonesia, with three project sites being severely affected. Dahlin says many of the ministry's workers and volunteers are helping in the aftermath of the disaster.

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Poison In Our Libraries

by Steve Crampton
June 12, 2006

(AgapePress) - - Laurie Taylor is the mother of two school age children. She lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Like most parents, she cares about her kids' education. So, when she discovered the school library had a sexually explicit book, It's Perfectly Normal, aimed at elementary age students, she did what any concerned parent would do: she went to the administration and asked that it be removed, along with two other books with similar themes.

At first, school system leaders seemed to agree with Taylor, and placed the books in a "parent library" section with other books geared more to parents than to children. But when Taylor found dozens more books with sexually explicit content, and asked that they not be made available to students without parental approval, the school reneged. It overturned its earlier decision and voted to leave all of the books on the shelves with unrestricted access by the students. (See earlier story)

Some of the books include graphic descriptions of incest, homosexuality, gotcha21, bestiality, and child molestation. For instance, Push is the story of a young girl who is pregnant with her father's child. The local newspaper, the Northwest Arkansas Times, which opposed the effort to limit access to the book, admitted that it contained "materials that are patently offensive."

Another book is advertised as being "the most controversial young adult novel ever," and describes an adolescent boy's love affair with a teacher, and two teens who become addicted to heroin. Oh, and by the way, the book won an award as "an outstanding book for children."

Yet another book proudly displayed on the Fayetteville library shelves was once featured in Playboy magazine. Its vile and sexually explicit content is interspersed with dialogue such as this: "Just keep asking yourself: 'What would Jesus not do?'"

Once other parents learned what these books contained, many joined with Taylor in asking the school to take action. The public outcry was great. A parents' rights group was formed, "Parents Protecting the Minds of Children," with dozens of parents joining the cause. The local paper wrote that this issue generated more letters to the editor than any issue in recent history. The story of the battle of the books became the paper's story of the year for 2005.

But Fayetteville is a college town, and liberals turned out in droves to cry "censorship" and shout down Laurie Taylor's courageous efforts to protect the children.

In truth, of course, Taylor never asked that the books be banned altogether, even though that might have been appropriate under the circumstances. All Taylor and the other parents asked for was that the books be placed in a restricted access section, thereby allowing parents to exercise their God-given (and constitutionally protected) rights to oversee the moral upbringing of their children.

Arkansas, like almost every state in America, has laws protecting against the distribution of material harmful to minors. However, also like many states, the Arkansas statutes define "harmful to minors" as material that, taken as a whole, "lacks serious literary, scientific, medical, artistic, or political value for minors." Some of the books to which the Fayetteville parents object have received awards, making it more difficult to demonstrate that they lack serious literary or artistic value.

Moreover, Arkansas Attorney General Mike Beebe has said that any determination as to whether these books violate the harmful to minors law must be left "for a court or properly instructed jury."

The Fayetteville librarians, in accordance with the principles of the American Library Association, testified that they believed in "intellectual freedom" for all students. This sounds very noble on the surface, but what it means in practice is that the librarians do everything possible to obscure the reading habits of students -- who are required by law to attend school -- from any attempt by parents to learn what their children are reading. This is done by virtue of a computerized system for tracking books in circulation that automatically erases all data concerning who checked out what books immediately upon the books being returned to the library. Unless a parent actually finds her child reading an objectionable book, that parent has no way of discovering what the child has been reading.

Not Only in Arkansas
Similar battles are erupting elsewhere in the U.S. In Maine, for example, Orono High School has reaffirmed its commitment to allow the use of the sexually explicit book, Girl Interrupted, as part of the ninth-grade English curriculum.

The novel, written by Susanna Kaysen, is not fit reading for high school students, argued many parents and local residents. "It's a book about an 18-year-old who ends up in a mental asylum and has a number of conversations with mentally disturbed people -- conversations of the most graphic sort, especially sexually," said Michael Heath, head of the Christian Civic League of Maine. "The f-word [appears] 30 times on one page, and this is being given to freshmen in high school as literature. It's absolutely horrifying."

In Overland Park, Kansas, parents are organizing to protest the Blue Valley School District's inclusion in its curriculum of numerous books containing explicit material, according to WorldNetDaily. One parent, Janet Harmon, objected to a book her freshman son was reading, which contained "references to oral sex and homosexuality," she said.

The AFA Center for Law & Policy has agreed to represent Taylor and other Fayetteville parents in a federal lawsuit seeking to protect their constitutional rights to oversee the education of their children.

But it won't be easy. A federal judge in Fayettteville has recently ruled in a similar case that restricting access of library books only to students who have obtained parental permission infringes upon the First Amendment rights of the students.

This adverse ruling means that in all likelihood, in order to prevail in this matter, the case will have to be taken all the way to the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals -- and perhaps to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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