Christian News from Christians Unite.

[Shammu]

Media Monitor Calls for ABC to Apologize re: 'Embellished' Report on the Prez

by Chad Groening
April 24, 2006

(AgapePress) - - A conservative media watchdog group is calling on ABC News to publicly apologize to the White House and ABC viewers for accusing President Bush of knowingly misleading the public about weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) in Iraq.

The Media Research Center says Charles Gibson, host of the ABC News program Good Morning America, embellished a story published in the Washington Post. The newspaper story hinted that the White House intentionally lied to the public in 2003 when it insisted that some trailers discovered in Iraq were mobile laboratories used to manufacture biological weapons -- even though intelligence officials possessed powerful evidence it was not true.

MRC spokesman Tim Graham says ABC's Gibson enhanced the story to the point it sounded like an outright accusation. Graham contends ABC has "a story they want to tell" -- and that it does not matter "whether they have enough facts or not."

"Whether the story's actually new or whether the story's actually regurgitated and recycled from three years ago doesn't matter," he insists, "they have a message-of-the-day they want to put out -- and they will put it out."

The Post story is a case in point, he says. "The Washington Post has a story which basically suggested that the president should have known, if he didn't know, that these mobile bio-weapons labs they were assuming were part of Saddam Hussein's machinery were actually not bio-weapons labs," Graham explains. "Well, ABC then takes up this Washington Post story and Charlie Gibson says explicitly, 'The Post has a story today that the president knew at the time that that was not true.'"

According to the MRC spokesman, that amounted to a report that President Bush "basically ... was lying intentionally." Adds Graham: "Obviously ABC blew that one."

Graham says ABC has not issued a public or on-air apology for its mistake -- even though outgoing White House press secretary Scott McClellan told a White House briefing that one network has expressed their apologies to the White House. "ABC did no such thing," he says, noting only that "the White House reporter basically said that she wasn't getting enough information out of the White House -- no apologies, no regrets."

Graham says both the Post and ABC omitted evidence that indicates the White House based its WMD contention on the best information available at the time.

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[Shammu]

Into Recycling? Don't Toss Those Old Sunday School Lessons

by Allie Martin
April 25, 2006

(AgapePress) - - An Alabama ministry is playing a pivotal role when it comes to spreading God's written Word worldwide.

More than ten years ago, Edwin Hodges -- a retired Southern Baptist pastor -- believed God was calling him to help Christians outside of the United States who needed Christian literature. He founded Edwin L. Hodges Ministries to provide Bibles and other Christian literature to churches, seminaries, and Bible schools worldwide. Since its founding, the ministry has shipped more than six-and-a-half-million pounds of Bibles, literature, books, tapes, and study materials to help pastors and laypeople teach and disciple fellow believers.

Hodges says there is a place and a need for most any Christian material -- even what some might consider to be "outdated" materials. "People always have a question: What about this old Sunday school literature? It makes no difference," he says.

He explains himself. "Americans are a little bit on the strange side, in my opinion -- we put a date on something, the date passes, and we just automatically assume this is no good," he shares. "Now you wouldn't through away a Bible because it's old; so you shouldn't through away this because it's got an old date on it. The truth is still the truth."

And any perceived language "barrier" is a non-issue, he says. English materials can be used around the world, the ministry leader explains.

"There's not a language on Earth, apart from English, that has enough Christian books to supply a library for a Bible school," Hodges observes. And that situation, he says, has greatly affected how those schools prepare their students. "It has forced Bible schools in countries throughout the world to teach English to their students -- and then try to get somebody from America to give them some books just so they can have a library," he says.

Studies show that 80 percent of Christian believers outside of the U.S. have no Christian literature available to them. And that's where Edwin L. Hodges Ministries comes in.

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[Shammu]

Second Time Around -- Massachusetts Elementary School Shows Its Rainbow Colors

by Jim Brown
April 24, 2006

(AgapePress) - - Some parents in Massachusetts are fed up with Lexington school officials who are defending a second-grade teacher's decision to read students a book about homosexual romance and "marriage" in class.

Estabrook Elementary School teacher Heather Kramer read her students the book King & King, a story about a prince who spurns a number of eligible princesses to marry another prince. The story ends with the two men marrying and sharing a kiss. When parents Rob and Robin Wirthlin complained about what took place, the school's principal told them no parental notification was required, nor would it be given before future discussion on homosexual "marriage."

Read AgapePress' March 2004 story about King & King

Brian Camenker with the Article 8 Alliance in Massachusetts says Kramer and school officials violated the state's parental notification law, which he wrote. "At this meeting the teacher and the principal were rather insulting," he says. Camenker contends the school officials basically told the Wirthlins "We're not going to give you notification on this -- we're not even going to tell you after it happened, and you can't opt your child out."

The Alliance spokesman says the approach being taken by the school toward the law is ridiculous.

"The law talks about human sexuality issues," he explains. "[School officials are] saying 'Well, homosexuality isn't a human sexuality issue, it's a human rights issue.' So they're saying it doesn't apply here, 'and so we're not going to notify you.'

"It's monstrous that they can just blatantly redefine the English language like that," he says.

According to Camenker, Kramer attend a presentation last year conducted by the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) on promoting homosexuality in the classroom.

One year ago, Estabrook Elementary School was the site of an arrest of the father of a kindergarten student who had been attempting for several months to get his son opted-out from discussions portraying homosexuality as acceptable. Last April, following a meeting with the school principal, David Parker was handcuffed, spent the night in jail, and appeared before a judge the next morning. Trespassing charges were eventually dropped against Parker, but a ban preventing the six-year-old's father from school property remained in effect.

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[Shammu]

Posh Asian Healthcare Offerings Attracting Mainly the Wealthy, Says CMDA Official

by Mary Rettig
April 24, 2006

(AgapePress) - - The chairman of the ethics commission for the Christian Medical & Dental Associations says the growing popularity of "medical tourism" has its pros and cons. He believes the phenomenon, while growing, will not have a great impact on American medicine.

Some Asian countries are reporting major growth in this industry to the tune of 20 or 30 percent each year. Those countries offer first-rate medical care at Third World prices. Dr. Bob Scheidt of the CMDA says the low-cost healthcare -- combined with luxury rooms, spas, and other high-quality amenities -- are a major draw for well-to-do patients.

"Asian medical care is quite good if you're careful how you select it," Scheidt explains. "[M]ost of those doctors have either been trained in the United States or have been trained by doctors who have been to the United States -- so their care is very up-to-date."

According to the CMDA spokesman, many missionaries travel to mission hospitals where they know the surgeon to save on medical care -- but that is a very small minority, he says. The growth in medical tourism, he says, comes from well-to-do people who travel to those hospitals because they offer what many U.S. hospitals do not.

He describes the Asian facilities as "posh hospitals with vacations, spas, [and] places for spouses or relatives to enjoy themselves." Such places, which he says are "almost like a luxurious hotel for you to recover in," are going to very competitive with American hospitals.

"So we must be very much aware of it -- it is a very competitive thing in regard to the American market," he says. Still, Scheidt believes the competition will be mainly for wealthy patients. Consequently, he says, it is unlikely to have much, if any, effect on healthcare costs for the middle- and lower-class in the U.S.

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[Shammu]

Church Takes Stand for Sexual Morality, Outreach to Homosexuals

by Randall Murphree
April 25, 2006

(AgapePress) - - First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas, is taking a pro-active step to reach the homosexual community with the truth of the gospel. On Saturday, May 6, the church is hosting a one-day conference titled "More Than Words" (MTW). The conference is an event that features Tim Wilkins, founder of Cross Ministry in 1996 and creator of the MTW conference.

Wilkins himself left the homosexual lifestyle more than 20 years ago, so he is able to empathize with those who are trapped in homosexuality and feel there is no hope. Wilkins, his wife and three daughters live in North Carolina where Cross Ministry is based in Wake Forest.

"No one has ever been argued out of homosexuality," said Wilkins. The focus of MTW is on building bridges to the homosexual community, offering hope and help for those who wish to leave the lifestyle. Wilkins said MTW wants to walk (versus talk) people out of homosexuality.

He is a graduate of Southwestern Seminary in Ft Worth, Texas. He has spoken for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (Amsterdam 2000), at Saddleback Church, and at Christian and secular universities across the country. MTW conferences will be at Eagle Rock Church & Lakewood Chapel in Cleveland, Ohio, July 8-9; and at First Assembly of God in Raleigh, North Carolina, August 12. Over the past five years, Wilkins has conducted more than 30 MTW conferences.

"People do not consciously choose to be attracted to the same sex," Wilkins said. "One of life's mysteries is that we don't get to choose what we are tempted by." But Wilkins does make the distinction that acting on those attractions is a conscious choice and is sin, just as adultery is a sin.

Wilkins, whose articles and commentaries have been featured in numerous publications, was the first person ever to make a motion at the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) asking the convention to develop resources for reaching homosexuals with the gospel. Since that motion in 1997, literature has been created to evangelize homosexuals, numerous testimonies have been given at annual conventions, this area of ministry has been spotlighted at the 2003 and 2005 SBC annual meetings, an exhibit specific to reaching homosexuals has been featured at annual SBC conventions, and an SBC Task Force on Ministry to Homosexuals was created.

LifeWay Christian Resources, an arm of the SBC, has created The Way Out, a highly-identifiable name for this area of ministry. Some Southern Baptist seminaries have begun to recognize the need to specifically address this issue in training its students.

"Homosexuality crosses denominational lines and so does Cross Ministry," Wilkins said. "Denominations that invite us include United Methodists, Assemblies of God, Independent Baptists, General Baptists, Lutherans, and Southern Baptists."

Conference topics include: If a Friend Says "I'm gay"; Loving and Reaching the Gay Community; "What's a Parent to Do?"; Untwisting "Gay Theology"; "They didn't teach me this in Seminary!" and The Church: "Walking by Faith, not by Fright."

Don Schmierer, author of An Ounce of Prevention: Preventing the Homosexual Condition in Today's Youth, will also speak at the Dallas event. His book is the first ever dealing specifically with prevention. Schmierer speaks extensively around the world and has been involved in interpersonal ministry for more than 20 years.

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[Shammu]

Networks' Ad Campaign No Solution to Indecency Violations, Say Critics

by Jody Brown
April 26, 2006

(AgapePress) - - Family-friendly media watchdogs say the television industry is merely trying to dodge its responsibility to police itself and its content. And the head of the FCC says the multi-million-dollar ad campaign just announced by the industry won't be enough to satisfy his agency's mandate to patrol the airwaves for indecency.

At their annual convention on Monday, the National Association of Broadcasters heard a pitch from the former head of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) about an upcoming ad campaign designed to inform parents about V-chip technology and television program ratings. "We want to tell parents that they, and they alone, have total power to control every hour of television programming," said Jack Valenti in announcing the $330 million ad campaign.

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council has his own translation of Valenti's statement. The "avalanche" of ads, he says, is designed to persuade parents it is their sole responsibility to monitor what their children watch on TV. "In other words," says the FRC president, "the MPAA wants to continue to pump out the sewage and make you [parents] responsible for the cleanup."

"How noble. How empowering for you," Perkins says tongue-in-cheek. "And how ridiculous."

The announced ad campaign comes in the wake of a $3.6 million fine recently proposed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) against CBS for what the agency determined to be indecent programming, and the FCC's decision to uphold another half-million-dollar fine against the network for the infamous "wardrobe malfunction" debacle during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show. At the same time, the federal agency cited several TV programs -- but did not fine the originating networks -- for violating the standards for broadcasting indecent language. (See earlier article)

Since the FCC's announcement in mid-March, the four major networks -- ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox -- have sued the FCC over the indecency rulings. The networks claim the FCC "overstepped its authority" in making rulings that are "unconstitutional and inconsistent with previous FCC decisions."

Some media watchdogs claim that lawsuit is nothing more than an attempt by the networks to obtain the right to indiscriminately broadcast foul language in violation of current law. One of those who feels that way is L. Brent Bozell of the Parents Television Council (PTC) -- and he has a similar response to the ad campaign being promoted by Valenti and the MPAA. Bozell says his group's research has shown that the V-chip and the ratings system -- the core elements promoted by the ad campaign -- have failed.

"We have found that most television programs airing foul language, violence, and inappropriate sexual dialogue do not use the appropriate descriptors that would warn parents about the presence of offensive content," the PTC president notes. "Without accurate descriptors, the V-chip fails -- and thus, the ratings system is rendered meaningless."

According to Bozell, the only solution is for the industry to "clean up its act," rather than to try to make the public more aware of technology and ratings that have been proven to be ineffective. The ad campaign, he asserts, will not solve the problem.

"They're spending $300 million to defend themselves against their wretched excesses," he says. "Why don't they just stop airing their wretched excess?"

Someone else agrees with Bozell's assessment of the multi-million-dollar advertising blitz -- and that someone is Kevin Martin, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. "I'm not sure that's the complete answer," Martin said of the campaign Tuesday in Las Vegas. He noted that live sports programming, such as the Super Bowl, is among the type of programs not rated.

In addition, Reuters reports, Martin observed that his agency's research indicates that upwards of 40 percent of the TV sets in the U.S. do not have V-chips or other blocking technology. He believes that other initiatives -- such as family-tier options or "a la carte" offerings by cable companies -- would give consumers more choice. Consequently, parents would have more control over what they allow into their homes.

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[Shammu]

ADF's Lawsuit Claims High School Censored Christian Club's Viewpoint

by Jim Brown
April 26, 2006

(AgapePress) - - A suburban Philadelphia public school district is being sued for allegedly imposing an "extreme" amount of censorship on Christians students. For example, the lawsuit filed by the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) accuses the Downingtown Area School District of forcing the campus "Bible Club" to meet as the "Downingtown Prayer Club" instead.

School officials also allegedly would not approve a poster promoting a "See You at the Pole" prayer event until the student group removed a Bible verse, a cross, and all mention of God from the poster. ADF-affiliated attorney Randall Wenger says the school has what he describes as a "totalitarian" speech policy in place.

Wenger says the students at Downingtown High School East Campus could actually run into disciplinary procedures for all kinds of things they have been doing as part of their regular Prayer Club activities. "If they talk about homosexuality, they could potentially get into problems," he says. "In fact, there is part of the speech code that basically equates expressing a religious viewpoint with expressing obscenity."

Christian students should have the right to express their beliefs just like everyone else in America, the Pennsylvania pro-family activist insists. "They shouldn't be muzzled because they want to speak from a religious viewpoint," he asserts, "and they shouldn't be muzzled in their ability to express their love for God, to talk about God, to quote Bible versus, or even, of all things, to put a cross on a poster."

According to the ADF's complaint, the school district's policy of lumping religious points of view and profanity into the same category of prohibited speech is unconstitutional. Wenger goes further, calling the school's policy "outlandish" and saying, "if this weren't such a serious offense, you'd think it was a joke."

The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States "absolutely guarantees" the right of students to hold and express their viewpoints, the pro-family attorney points out, and that includes their religious viewpoints. Nevertheless, he notes, "on campuses across the nation, Christian students are facing harassment by school administrators who use their position as a bully pulpit."

The Alliance Defense Fund filed a complaint in the case of Downingtown Prayer Club v. Downingtown Area School District in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Attorneys with the ADF are seeking a preliminary injunction to defend the First Amendment rights of the Christian students.

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[Shammu]

Christian Attorneys Hopeful of Favorable PBA Ruling from SCOTUS

by AFA Journal
April 27, 2006

(AgapePress) - - The legal arm of the American Family Association says it will be filing a friend-of-the-court brief in a major case before the U.S. Supreme Court when it considers the issue of partial-birth abortion.

In late February the high court agreed to hear the case of Gonzales v. Carhart, which will deal with the constitutionality of the federal partial-birth abortion ban. The case presents the first opportunity for the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice John Roberts, to address the issue. It will also be Justice Samuel Alito's first chance to vote on such a case. Both Roberts and Alito are conservative justices recently confirmed to the high court.

"We intend to file a friend-of-the-court brief and are hopeful that the Roberts Court will uphold the right of Congress to enact legislation outlawing this hideous practice," says Stephen Crampton, chief counsel for the AFA's Center for Law & Policy (CLP). Crampton says the CLP also co-authored a brief in the last partial-birth abortion case, Stenberg v. Carhart, in which the Supreme Court struck the Nebraska statute banning the procedure, 5-4.

Brian Fahling, senior trial attorney for the CLP, says, "This [partial-birth procedure] constitutes nothing less than infanticide. We look forward to the new court's consideration of the case and fully expect a victory for the cause of the unborn."

Carhart is one of three cases in which a federal appeals court has ruled the federal ban unconstitutional. The other cases arose in California and New York. The challenges to President Bush's 2003 Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act were filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The Act was signed into law by the president on November 5, 2003, after both chambers of Congress had passed the legislation -- in the House by a 281-142 vote, and in the Senate 64-34. The first challenge was filed moments after President Bush signed the measure.

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[Shammu]

Attorney: Texas Case Will Address Court Interference in Church Matters

by Allie Martin
April 27, 2006

(AgapePress) - - The Texas Supreme Court has announced it will hear a case that could determine whether courts have the authority to interfere with matters such as church discipline.

The case known as Penley v. Westbrook dates back nearly six years to when Buddy Westbrook, pastor of Crossland Community Bible Church of Fort Worth, Texas, disassociated female church member Peggy Penley over divorce and adultery. Pastor Westbrook was sued after sending a letter to church members informing them of the situation.

Hiram Sasser is with Liberty Legal Institute, which is representing the church in the matter. He maintains that the United States Constitution protects churches and pastors when it comes to internal matters such as church discipline, and he says this case is "extremely important," in that it deals with this fundamental First Amendment issue.

According to Sasser, Pastor Westbrook followed the three-step model for conflict resolution outlined in Matthew Chapter 18 and was left with no other choice but disassociation after Penley refused to repent of her sin.

The attorney says Westlake had approached Penley about her inappropriate relationship with another man as well as her decision to terminate her marriage without any biblical basis. It was only after these efforts failed and Penley refused to repent that Crossland Community Bible Church's pastor wrote the letter to congregation members outlining the reasons for Penley's removal.

Increasingly over recent years, Sasser notes, a pattern has existed "of new lawsuits against pastors for following biblical principles and following the Bible." One of Liberty Legal Institute's goals in this case, he points out, is "to make sure that we establish clear precedent that pastors are immune from suit under the Constitution of the United States."
Now the Texas Supreme Court will hear the case, one that the Liberty Legal Institute spokesman believes could have a major impact in the future on whether courts have the authority to meddle or intervene in internal church matters, particularly with regard to church membership, governance, and other similar issues.

"This case, perhaps, could forever settle this new trend of suing pastors for engaging in church discipline and following biblical principles," Sasser contends. He says the U.S. Constitution protects the right of a church to choose its members and govern itself "in any manner it chooses according to doctrine and faith, without government interference."

Likewise, Sasser asserts, pastors have a constitutional right to inform their congregations of "the influence of sin on church members and the steps being taken to address such sin." He says the U.S. Constitution prohibits individuals from suing churches or pastors for simply following biblical mandates that require disassociation from unrepentant members.

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[Shammu]

SCOTUS Upholds Christian Student's Rights in Viewpoint Discrimination Suit

by Jim Brown
April 27, 2006

(AgapePress) - - Recently, in a major victory for a Christian student in New York who encountered viewpoint discrimination at his public school, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a unanimous ruling by the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. The court found in favor of young Antonio Peck, who was censored by his Syracuse school because an art poster he drew for his kindergarten class assignment contained an image of Jesus.

Antonio Peck, who is now in the fifth grade, drew the picture as part of an assignment to design a poster about protecting the environment. The child's work was displayed on a school cafeteria wall along with 80 other student posters during an event where parents were invited to view the students' posters. However, the Christian kindergartener's poster had been folded in half in order to cover the image of Jesus.

School officials explained to Antonio and his parents why his poster was folded, arguing that the child's poster, because it included an image of Jesus, violated the separation of church and state and would give the impression that the school was teaching religion. When the school refused to remedy the situation, to apologize, or to adopt a policy that would prevent future censorship, a suit was filed by the religious freedom defense group Liberty Counsel on the Peck family's behalf.

Attorney Mathew Staver is President and General Counsel for Liberty Counsel. He says the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to uphold the earlier federal appeals court ruling sets an important precedent.

"Whenever a student responds to a class or curricular assignment," Staver notes, "whether it's artwork, a book report, an oral report or whatever, as long as their response is consistent with the assignment, their Christian viewpoints cannot be censored." The high court's decision is "a great ruling for the rights of students and their Christian viewpoints and expression around the country," the attorney says.

By allowing the earlier court decision to stand, Staver asserts, Chief Justice Roberts' court has signaled that the Supreme Court is no longer a place that can be used by left-wing groups like the American Civil Liberties Union to undermine the religious and moral values of Christians.

The willingness of little Antonio Peck and his family to stand and fight against censorship and viewpoint discrimination has paid off, the Liberty Counsel spokesman says. "This has been a long case," the pro-family lawyer observes, "and I think he and his family are certainly to be congratulated for standing up and making a difference."

The Peck family had a choice, Staver adds, "just like all of us do. They could have allowed the censorship to continue and just walked away, but that would have created bad precedent for religious expression." But instead, he points out, the family "decided to take a stand, and stand they did."

Although fighting the school's actions has been a long, drawn out process, Staver notes, the result has been the creation of great legal precedent, not only for the Pecks' situation but for all the students and families that may face similar challenges to their religious freedom in the future.

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[Shammu]

Groups Endorse Risk Audit as Tool to Fight Homosexual Agenda in Schools

by Jim Brown
April 27, 2006

(AgapePress) - - Several pro-family, conservative groups are backing a new method of assessing the extent of homosexual activism at work in public schools. The "Risk Audit Project" involves a comprehensive survey to measure the promotion of homosexuality in a given public school district.

The project was developed by Linda Harvey of the Ohio-based group Mission America following last year's approval of a Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) resolution urging parents to investigate whether their school is collaborating with homosexual activists.

Steve Crampton is chief counsel at the American Family Association Center for Law & Policy (AFA Law Center). He says far too many parents are simply unaware of the radical agenda homosexual activists are pushing on school campuses across the U.S. today.

"The overwhelming majority of Christian parents who even have gone out of their way to become involved and to try to determine what's going on in their local schools will be surprised at how extensive the pro-homosexual agenda is in every government school in the nation," Crampton observes.

"And I think that is reflected as well in the breadth of the pro-family groups that have come together in this project," the pro-family attorney adds. Among the many groups endorsing the "Risk Audit," he notes, are the Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America, the Illinois Family Institute, and the American Family Association.

The Risk Audit Project measures the extent to which public school districts are collaborating with homosexual activists by determining, among other things, whether schools have adopted pro-homosexual policies or curricula, and whether the school district is sponsoring pro-homosexual clubs, events, or activities. Crampton feels the risk audit is not a luxury for schools but a necessity.

"We believe that since schools are called upon and required to protect children while they're at school, by that same token they have an absolute obligation to do no harm to the children that are under their care," the AFA Law Center spokesman says. "And so this risk audit is an effort to first ascertain the extent of the activities in our schools and, second, to let the American public know what's really going on."

The AFA Center for Law & Policy has joined the other pro-family groups in endorsing the Risk Audit Project. This coalition is urging parents and other concerned citizens to look into whether homosexual indoctrination is going on in their school systems as a preliminary step in combating the problem.

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[Shammu]

Rallies, Prayer Vigils Shining Light on North Korea's Cruelty and Persecution

by Chad Groening and Mary Rettig
April 28, 2006

(AgapePress) - - The co-sponsoring organizations of North Korea Freedom Week are exposing the public to the atrocities being committed upon that nation's population by its government. At the same time they are calling on Christians worldwide to pray for their brothers and sisters in Christ there who are suffering persecution and imprisonment for their faith.

Several human-rights organizations are gathered in Washington, DC, to protest the horrific treatment of North Korean citizens by their own government. In addition, a number of prayer vigils are planned in front of Chinese consulates around the U.S. The activities are part of North Korea Freedom Week (April 22-30), which is being sponsored by Open Doors USA and the North Korea Freedom Coalition.

Jerry Dykstra, media relations coordinator for Open Doors, says North Korea continues to be one large concentration camp. "North Korea's been ranked number one on the Open Doors 'World Watch List' for the last four years," he says, explaining that the list ranks countries according to the degree of severity of persecution against Christians. "We know that between two and three million North Koreans have died over the past 10 years," he notes.

Dykstra points out that Christian activists are holding prayer vigils at the Chinese Embassy in Washington, as well as at the Chinese consulates in Houston and Los Angeles because of the communist regime's policy concerning North Korean refugees.

"Obviously, we're concerned about the role that China plays in all this," the ministry spokesman says. "The fact is that many North Koreans, including many Christians, are trying to flee into China -- to actually go to visit families or looking for freedom. The problem is they're being captured by the Chinese, put in prison camps, and then brought back into North Korea where they face certain death or a life of misery in political [prison] camps."

As part of the week-long observance focusing on North Korean repression, several escapees from that country testified before Congress to call attention to the brutality of the Pyongyang government. Emphasizing their stories, Open Doors president Carl Moeller says the goal of North Korea Freedom Week is to appeal for prayer and international pressure on the communist regime. Christians there, he says, face imprisonment, torture, and execution.

"Those that are religiously persecuted in North Korea suffer a great deal," says Moeller. "About 200,000 Christians are [currently] in labor camps." The treatment at those camps, says Open Doors' leader, is beyond imagination. "By labor camps I mean the worst kinds of human experimentation, privation, torture, and horrific conditions for everyone. It's virtually a death sentence to be even sent there."

The North Korea Freedom Coalition estimates that more than two million North Koreans have perished under the country's dictatorial regime since the mid-1990s due to starvation, torture, and execution in the large network of concentration camps.

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[Shammu]

2006 Nat'l Day of Prayer Urges America to Honor God

by Jody Brown
May 1, 2006

(AgapePress) - - Fifty-four years ago the U.S. Congress established an annual day of prayer, and in 1988 designated that day should occur on the first Thursday of May each year. Predating either of those designations was a proclamation by the Continental Congress in 1775 setting aside a day of prayer. But one critic believes the National Day of Prayer (NDP) has become a vehicle for Christian conservatives to promote what he categorizes as a "regressive" agenda.

The theme of this year's National Day of Prayer (May 4) is "America, Honor God" -- a focus based on the Old Testament scripture found in 1 Samuel 2:30: "Those who honor me, I will honor." The observance in the nation's capital will feature an address by well-known Christian author and pastor Dr. Henry Blackaby, and the song "America, Honor God" performed by Christian artist Rebecca St. James.

NDP chairman Shirley Dobson, wife of Focus on the Family's Dr. James Dobson, says it is vital that "God's people stand firmly in defense of the precepts He's laid out in His Word" -- particularly when society has rejected so many of the principle found in Scripture. For example, Mrs. Dobson has stated she would like people "to be praying about the institution of marriage, how God designed it." Believers, she says, are engaged in a "cultural battle," and only one thing will assure the success of their efforts: "consistent, fervent prayer for God's intervention."

Barry Lynn, the executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, has trouble with that. He says Congress never should have established the event, and so he and his organization have launched a pre-emptive strike on this week's National Day of Prayer. A press release from Americans United accuses "religious right leaders and politicians" of using NDP to "politicize religion and divide Americans."

"James Dobson has shamelessly exploited [NDP] to advance his divisive political agenda," says Lynn. "This merger of religion and politics is exactly what our nation's founding fathers hoped to avoid." AU's executive director also accuses the Dobsons of intentionally excluding "millions of Americans who differ with the Religious Right's narrow religious and political agenda."

Mrs. Dobson, however, strikes a more positive note, suggesting that the national observance provides individuals the opportunity to humble themselves before the Almighty and to ask God "to forgive our collective rebellion against Him." In addition, she encourages people to pray for the nation's schools, the media, and governmental leaders -- in the case of the latter, specifically asking God to grant those leaders wisdom for the challenges they face every day.

But Lynn says promoting prayer is a matter best left to houses of worship. "Most organizations that do prayer days are ones that want you to pray every day," he tells Associated Press, "and those are called churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques.

"There's no reason for the Congress to tell any of us who pray regularly anyway that we should pray longer, faster, or harder just because it's the first Thursday in May," Lynn says.

City Hall Meetings Tie-In with NDP
Despite Lynn's objections to a National Day of Prayer, millions of Americans are expected to participate at the local level. According to the American Family Association, numerous city halls across the country will be the gathering place on Thursday for those interested in praying for the moral rebirth of America.

In coordination with the NDP, AFA is sponsoring its 15th annual Meet At City Hall from 12:20-12:40 p.m. During this 20-minute time span, people are encouraged to meet at their local city halls and publicly take a stand for the values on which America was founded. The Mississippi-based pro-family group encourages the involvement of public officials and administrators, local pastors, and church choirs.

"America desperately needs a moral rebirth," says AFA founder and chairman Don Wildmon. "We need to implore God's blessings on our country and ask Him to forgive our sinfulness and restore our moral perspective."

Some Americans are not waiting until Thursday to proclaim God's Word across the nation and solicit His guidance. On Capitol Hill this week, the entire Bible is being read aloud, from "In the beginning" to the final "Amen" of the Book of Revelation. The 17th annual National Bible Reading Marathon began Sunday evening on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol and continues non-stop for 90 hours, concluding Thursday on the National Day of Prayer. This year's volunteer readers include children, clergy, and members of Congress.

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[Shammu]

Catholics Demand Answers From O.C.'s Reportedly Profligate, Pro-Homosexual Bishop

by Jim Brown
May 1, 2006

(AgapePress) - - Several Roman Catholics in Orange County, California, are criticizing their bishop for, among other things, his support for homosexual marriage and his lavish lifestyle.

Concerned Catholics of the Diocese of Orange has sent a letter to Bishop Tod Brown, asking him why he proudly backs same-sex domestic partnerships and has appointed a number of men to positions of authority in the diocese, even though they reject the church's teachings on sexual morality.

Lately, Bishop Brown has come under fire for shutting down a Catholic school in order to pay a settlement he has reached with victims of priest sex abuse. Some critics have also accused him of using diocesan money to live a life of excess. For example, the Bishop of the Diocese of Orange County reportedly has his own personal chef from a five-star restaurant, as well as his own sushi chef.

Michael Tripoli, one of those individuals who signed the letter to Brown, says the bishop is unfortunately accountable to no one in the church except the Pope. Brown can "spend money as he wills," Tripoli says. "He can take first-class plane trips to Hawaii and Rome, and he can buy million-dollar homes and all of these things, because he has absolute control over what goes on in the diocese."

Meanwhile, Tripoli notes, the lay people in the diocese have virtually no recourse, even if they feel Brown is spending diocese money irresponsibly and ignoring church teachings. "They have nothing that they can say or do in response to that," the concerned Catholic says, "but the power that they do have is to expose things."

And among those things that Brown's critics feel need to be exposed is the fact that he once allowed the diocese's former Director of Liturgy and Evangelization, Rod Stephens, to live with his boyfriend and business partner, Howard Sellers. There are also allegations that the two men were allowed to line their pockets through suspicious business practices involving church property.

"Bishop Brown was aware of all these things," Tripoli asserts. He says the diocese official knew "that these men had a relationship of a questionable nature, and he was aware that they were making a good deal of money -- hard-earned money that Catholics were putting into their collection plates -- renovating or some call it 'wreck-ovating' Catholic churches."

The Concerned Catholics of the Diocese of Orange member says he finds it "deeply disturbing" that Brown did nothing about all this and in fact "countenanced it." And there is no question as to whether the diocese leader knew about the two men's homosexuality, Tripoli asserts, because "Father Rod very proudly told his relatives that Bishop Brown was aware of his lifestyle, as was Cardinal Mahoney."

Also, less than two years ago Bishop Brown raised the ire of conservative Catholics by refusing to intervene when a Catholic school in Costa Mesa allowed a homosexual couple to enroll their son at the school. Tripoli and the other signatories of the open letter to Brown are demanding answers from the bishop about why he persists in rejecting church teachings on sexual morality and apparently supporting homosexual behavior.

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[Shammu]

Strategy for Exiting Public Schools Described as 'Call to Holiness'

by Jim Brown
May 1, 2006

(AgapePress) - - One of the authors of a proposed resolution urging the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) to come up with a plan to pull its children from public schools says the resolution is a "call to holiness" and a "call to obey God's Word."

A proposed resolution submitted for consideration at the denomination's annual meeting in June calls on the SBC to develop "an exit strategy from the public schools that would give particular attention to the needs of orphans, single parents, and the disadvantaged." The resolution is co-sponsored by Dr. Bruce Shortt, an attorney and author of the book The Harsh Truth About Public Schools, and Roger Moran, a member of the SBC executive committee.

Moran, a leader in the Missouri Baptist Convention, says he and Shortt want to stress the point that "biblical truth matters -- and it matters supremely."

"Somehow when we get to the issue of public education, truth doesn't seem to matter as much anymore," Moran offers. Members of the traditionally conservative denomination, he says, seem to be "okay" with the fact that their children are being taught such things as Darwinian evolution and that homosexuality is perhaps "an acceptable kind of thing," and that school officials can transport children to abortion clinics without the knowledge of the parents.

Yet "all of these things [constitute] just generally a worldview that is the antithesis of biblical Christianity," the SBC committee member notes.

In a recent interview with Associated Press, Dr. Shortt commented on the oft-heard argument that Christians should view their children as missionaries to the public schools. Shortt disagrees with that stance. Schools, he says, are "aggressively developing bad character" -- and that is having a detrimental effect on Christian students.

"

• ur children are not evangelizing in the schools," he told AP. "The schools are evangelizing them out of Christianity."

The Shortt-Moran resolution asserts that recent federal court rulings have favored public schools "indoctrinating children with dogmatic Darwinism" and have limited parents' rights regarding what their children are taught, including what schools teach them on matters of sexuality. Moran says Southern Baptists need to be training up children in the ways of the Lord, not the ways of the world.

"I think [this tells us] we have lost, in large degree, our biblical understanding of the seriousness of sin," Moran says. "And because of that [I think] we have lost, in significant degree, our passionate pursuit of holiness and purity and obedience and faithfulness -- those things that matter supremely to God."

Fifty-six pastors and leaders from the Southern Baptist Convention and the theologically liberal Cooperative Baptist Fellowship recently signed a letter urging Southern Baptists "to speak positively about public education."

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