RELIGION TODAY

[nChrist]

'Debaptism' Takes Root with American Atheists
Jeffrey MacDonald


July 22, 2009

(RNS) -- Up until last summer, Jennifer Gray of Columbus, Ohio, considered herself "a weak Christian" whose baptism at age 11 in a Kentucky church came to mean less and less to her as she gradually lost faith in God.

Then the 32-year-old medical transcriptionist took a decisive step, one that previously hadn't been available. She got "de-baptized."

In a type of mock ceremony that's now been performed in at least four states, a robed "priest" used a hairdryer marked "reason" in an apparent bid to blow away the waters of baptism once and for all.

Several dozen participants then fed on a "de-sacrament" (crackers with peanut butter) and received certificates assuring they had "freely renounced a previous mistake, and accepted Reason over Superstition."

For Gray, the lighthearted spirit of last summer's Atheist Coming Out Party and De-Baptism Bash in suburban Westerville, Ohio, served a higher purpose than merely spoofing a Christian rite.

"It was very therapeutic," Gray said in an interview. "It was a chance to laugh at the silly things I used to believe as a child. It helped me admit that it was OK to think the way I think and to not have any religious beliefs."

Within the past year, "de-baptism" ceremonies have attracted as many as 250 participants at atheist conventions in Ohio, Texas, Florida and Georgia. More have taken place on college campuses in recent years, according to Hemant Mehta, chair of the board of directors for the Secular Student Alliance, a group that promotes atheism among high school and college students.

"If we're having a winter solstice or summer solstice get-together or some other event, we might say: `Who wants to get de-baptized?"' said Greg McDowell, the Florida state director for American Atheists, an advocacy and networking group. "It's a bit of satire. People will play the fool by waving their arms in the air and saying, `I got de-baptized!' But the paperwork is still legit."

Some of the so-called "de-baptized" have used their certificates to petition churches to remove their names from baptismal rolls. One argument: they were baptized without their consent as children and should now be declared de-baptized.

Some churches, however, aren't budging on what they regard as an irreversible sacrament.

Atheist Gary Mueller recently mailed his de-baptism certificate to St. Bonaventure Catholic Church in Concord, Calif., and asked to be dropped from its baptismal record. The church told him, in effect, that he was all wet.

"While we do not remove a name/person from a Baptism register, we can note alongside your name that `you have left the Roman Catholic Church,"' the Rev. Richard Mangini replied in an e-mail. "I hope that God surprises you one day and lets you know that He is quite well."

In Christian theology, baptism can't be undone. If a Southern Baptist renounces his or her baptism, then that person is usually presumed to have never received an authentic baptism in the first place, according to Nathan Finn, assistant professor of Baptist studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C.

For mainline Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox Christians, baptism is commonly understood as a sign or means of grace and a covenant that God maintains even when humans turn away, said Laurence Stookey, professor emeritus of preaching and worship at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington. He said "de-baptizers" misunderstand baptism when they caricature it as an attempt at magic.

Baptism "is a kind of adoption where you become a child of God, of the church and of the family," Stookey said. "You can renounce your physical parents, (the church and God), but they cannot renounce you because you are their child. Anybody who makes fun of baptism probably hasn't gone into it in enough depth to know that."

De-baptism efforts have been growing internationally in recent years. More than 100,000 Britons downloaded de-baptism certificates from the National Secular Society (NSS) between 2005 and 2009, according to NSS campaigner Stephen Evans. Upwards of 1,000 Italians requested de-baptism certificates prior to Italy's "De-Baptism Day" last October, according to Italy's Union of Rationalist Atheists and Agnostics.

Not all American non-believers have warmed to de-baptism rituals.

Secularist Phil Zuckerman, a Pitzer College sociologist who studies apostates, said he would never take part in such an event because it "feels intrinsically negative" and "immature."

Even so, he said, de-baptisms may serve a cathartic function for some participants, as well as a political one.

"For a long time, non-religious people in the Bible Belt just kept quiet, but they aren't keeping quiet anymore," Zuckerman said. "I think that's largely a reaction to George W. Bush's presidency. (Atheists) were saying, `The government is being taken over by very religious people. We need to stand up and say: We're here. We're secular. Deal with it."'

[nChrist]

Turkish ?Deep State? Suspected of Silencing Witnesses
Damaris Kremida


July 23, 2009

MALATYA, Turkey (Compass Direct News) -- Under the pretext of recovering from medical treatment he received earlier this month, a key suspect in the murders of three Christians in southeast Turkey dodged court for the second time, further stalling the legal process, prosecuting attorneys said.

Journalist Varol Bulent Aral, one of the suspected "middlemen" who allegedly incited five young men to brutally murder Turkish Christians Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel and German Christian Tilmann Geske at the Zirve Publishing Co. in Malatya two years ago, again failed to show at a hearing on Friday (July 17).

The three Christians were bound and tortured before they were murdered on April 18, 2007 at the Christian publishing house, where they worked. Suspects Salih Guler, Cuma Ozdemir, Hamit Ceker, Abuzer Yildirim and alleged ring-leader Emre Gunaydin were caught trying to escape from the scene of the crime.

Aral was admitted for mental health treatment a few days after the last hearing in June and was released from the Adiyaman penitentiary hospital on July 8. The gendarmerie, however, failed to produce him in court on Friday (July 17) claiming that he was recovering from treatment.

Prosecuting attorneys pointed out that the reason the gendarmerie did not bring him to the June hearing from the penitentiary in Adana, nearly 300 kilometers (186 miles) from Malatya, was due to lack of funds -- yet the gendarmerie seemed to have no trouble finding funds to take him for treatment in Adiyaman, which is the same distance from Adana as is Malatya.

"Last time [in June] they said they couldn't bring him because of insufficient funds," said prosecuting lawyer Erdal Dogan. "This is unacceptable... now in the same way they make excuses, saying they took him to the hospital. It seems they are mocking us, especially since previous health reports said that he was in good health."

Prosecuting attorneys also pointed out that it was suspicious that Aral was admitted to the hospital only days after a court order that he appear at the July 17 hearing.

"It seems to us that they are trying to silence him by making him evade court," said prosecuting attorney Dogan of the "deep state" officials that he and his colleagues believe masterminded the murders of the three Christians. "I truly hope that is not the case."

Charged with high-security cases, the gendarmerie are holding Aral, but some believe the gendarmerie and its intelligence services are connected with Turkey's "deep state."

In the last year, nearly 150 people have been arrested in Turkey under suspicion of being connected to a cabal of retired generals and politicians called Ergenekon, accused of trying to overthrow Turkey's Islamic-leaning but secular government. Some key figures of the Ergenekon case are believed to be behind the Malatya slayings and the murders of Italian Catholic priest Andrea Santoro, killed in the Black Sea coastal town of Trabzon in February 2006, and Armenian Christian editor Hrant Dink, who was shot in front of the weekly Agos three months before the slaughter in Malatya.

The Malatya and Ergenekon prosecutors, however, are still researching links between the murders and have yet to try them jointly.

Aral has been arrested in conjunction with both cases. In a previous statement, he had complained that retired Gen. Veli Kucuk, who has also been arrested in connection to Ergenekon, had threatened him about testifying. Aral testified to the Ergenekon case state judges privately in May, but the content of his testimony has not been publicized.

Judges have found the phone numbers of ultranationalist lawyer Kemal Kerincsiz and Sevgi Erenerol, spokesperson for the Turkish Orthodox Church -- a Turkish nationalist denomination -- in Aral's personal phone book. Both figures are accused of playing leading roles in Ergenekon and spearheaded prosecution of Christians Hakan Tastan and Turan Topal for speaking to people about their faith.

While in prison, alleged ring-leader Gunaydin testified to the state prosecutor that Aral had contacted him and instructed him to carry out the murders. Gunaydin had also testified that Huseyin Yelki, who worked as a volunteer at the Zirve office, had planned details of the crime with him.

Yelki is still obligated to appear at every court hearing and continues to be a suspected middleman. Thus far, however, his testimony has yielded no clear indication of his role.

Burcu Polat, Gunaydin's girlfriend, also failed to appear in court on Friday, telling police that she was not ready because she is a student in Balikesir, in northwest Turkey. The prosecution noted in court that universities are not in session and requested that the court find her guilty of not fulfilling her duty to appear in court.

The court again has ordered Aral and Polat to appear in court at the next hearing on Aug. 21.

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Pakistan: Minority Rights Defender Jailed
Compass Direct News


July 24, 2009

LOS ANGELES (Compass Direct News) -- Pakistani minority rights defender Joseph Francis has been unjustly jailed by Islamists and others who oppose his work on behalf of Christians, according to the legal aid organization Francis directs.

An Islamist in Punjab Province who said he had converted to Christianity subsequently converted a young woman to Islam and married her, setting into motion a series of spurious charges when her parents brought her to Francis for counsel, according to the Lahore-based Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS). Angered when her family brought her to Francis hoping he would counsel her away from Islam, Mehboob Basharat then arranged for baseless charges to be filed against Francis, director of CLAAS, for allegedly detaining her and setting her on fire, CLAAS officials said in a statement.

Francis was jailed on July 12 after Basharat filed specious charges against him for forging documents and concealing his travel out of the country while on bail. Those charges arose out of the previous case, in which Basharat arranged for the woman he converted to Islam to charge the CLAAS director and others with forcibly detaining and assaulting her in 2006 -- even though she previously had told police she suffered no ill treatment at the CLAAS offices.

"His only crime was to help suffering parents of a young Christian girl who was taken away from her family," according to the CLAAS statement.

Francis' predicament began when Basharat went to Bishop Samuel Azariah of Raiwind diocese in 2006 and told him that he, his wife and two children had converted from Islam to Christianity. Since his conversion, he told Bishop Azariah, his Muslim family and friends had ostracized him, and he pleaded with the clergyman to employ him. Bishop Azariah gave him a job in the diocese and provided a living space for him on the church premises, according to CLAAS.

Though he never attended church services, Basharat started socializing with Christian families of the congregation and showed excessive interest in their daughters, according to CLAAS. Pastor Emmanuel Khokhar took note and gave Basharat a warning, according to CLAAS.

Basharat became close with Roma Masih, one of six daughters in a family at the congregation, and on Sept. 26, 2006 he took her to a Muslim education center called Jamia Naeemia Lahore, where she embraced Islam and took on the name Aisha; he later eloped with her, and on Nov. 26, 2006 they married under Islamic rites, according to CLAAS.

When her family found out, they went to Bishop Azariah, who referred them to CLAAS for help. Roma/Aisha's parents, Khursheed Masih and Shamim Masih, asked Francis to talk with their daughter. Basharat, meantime, returned to Raiwind (25 kilometers from Lahore) to collect his first wife and children, at one point threatening Bishop Azariah when the clergyman tried to talk to him. On Dec. 23, 2006 Basharat allowed Roma/Aisha to go to her parents' house. They immediately brought her to CLAAS offices, insisting that Francis keep her in the organization's second-floor shelter for abused women.

"They said that if she stayed away from Basharat, maybe she will change her mind and come back to her family," according to the CLAAS statement.

Roma/Aisha, some of her sisters and their mother stayed overnight at the shelter, and the convert told Francis that she was now a Muslim and did not wish to associate with "infidels." Francis told Roma/Aisha's parents that she now considered herself a Muslim and urged them not to insist on their daughter remaining with them, according to CLAAS.

Upon learning that the Masihs had taken their daughter to CLAAS offices, Basharat on Dec. 23, 2006 complained to police in Lahore that the Christian parents of his wife were detaining her. The next day, police summoned Francis. When he and Roma/Aisha arrived at the station that evening, Basharat and a crowd of 40-45 mullahs (Muslim clergy) were waiting for them.

Nevertheless, Roma/Aisha signed a statement at the police station saying that she had not been held hostage or detained against her will, that she went to CLAAS offices of her own free will and that no one misbehaved or ill-treated her there, according to CLAAS. She left with Basharat.

On Feb. 18, 2007, Basharat, Roma/Aisha and attorney Raja Nathaniel, a church-going attorney at odds with the local Christian community, held a press conference in which Basharat accused Bishop Azariah and Francis of abducting his new wife and forcing her to reconvert back to Christianity. Nathaniel, according to CLAAS, at times "has converted to Islam to marry young girls" and has several cases pending against him for illegally confiscating church property in Raiwind; CLAAS notes that in most of those cases it provides legal assistance to the church.

Three months after the press conference, under the guidance of Basharat and with the financial support of Nathaniel, Roma/Aisha filed charges at the Icchara, Lahore police station against her father, mother, three sisters, Bishop Azariah, Pastor Khokhar and Francis; she accused all of them of forcibly detaining her, mistreating her and attempting to burn her.

Incarceration

All of the accused obtained pre-arrest bail. In July 2007, Francis went to England at the invitation of the late former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, along with prominent political leaders, to attend a three-day conference in London. Summoned to a bail hearing on July 14, 2007, he came back on July 15, 2007 and appeared in court the next day, according to CLAAS.

On Dec. 24, 2008 Francis learned that Basharat had filed a new case against him, accusing him of concealing his travel abroad while on bail and forging a medical certificate. Also charged were CLAAS employee Ashar Sarfaraz and Sarfaraz's brother-in-law, Zulfiqar Wilson.

The forgery charges arose after CLAAS submitted a medical certificate indicating that Francis, who suffers from diabetes, was too ill to return quickly for the court hearing on July 14, 2007. CLAAS Program Officer Katherine Sapna said that former CLAAS staff members Aneeqa Maria Akthar and Justin Gill submitted the medical certificate, but Akthar told Compass said neither she nor Gill submitted any documents related to the certificate and never went to the court. She added that CLAAS had not even assigned her to the case.

"When someone submits any document before the court," she told Compass, "the court takes the submission by getting signatures of a person who submits the document, and certainly there are no signatures of mine."

She acknowledged that she discussed the matter with CLAAS lawyers at the time -- Akbar Munawar Durrani, Tahir Gull and Aric John -- and that she suggested that if Francis were to try return in time for the July 14 court summons, it would cause an undue hardship on him as a diabetic to appear in court after arriving in Pakistan from England early in the morning.

"It was just a suggestion, and it did not lead to [me committing] forgery," she said. "Instead, Ashar Sarfaraz heard this and he went to the doctor himself who was treating Mr. Francis, without asking or telling any of us, and got the certificate. He also submitted the certificate himself in the court, and not the lawyers."

On these charges Francis obtained pre-arrest bail on Dec. 29, 2008, and when CLAAS filed a petition in Lahore High Court for the dismissal of this case, the court set hearing for June 8, according to CLAAS.

At that hearing, Basharat's lawyer accused Francis not only of being in contempt of court by having traveled abroad while on bail but of using his influence to harass Roma/Aisha into forsaking Islam -- the young woman's remaining a Muslim notwithstanding.

Francis' counsel tried to explain to the court that Basharat and his wife were "misleading the court by purposely making it a religious issue for their own vested interest." They informed the court that his travel was not concealed but public knowledge, having been published in major newspapers, and that therefore Francis had no reason to prepare or submit any documents explaining his actions.

"But the court overlooked every argument and dismissed the petition for dismissal," according to CLAAS' statement. "On July 9, the same judge who dismissed the petition rejected Mr. Joseph Francis' bail in this case and ordered the police to arrest Mr. Francis."

This is not the first time that Pakistani courts have put their bias against Christians on display, according to CLAAS.

"Over the years, CLAAS has perused several such cases in which law was overlooked and justice was denied to victims on the basis of their religion, gender, political affiliation and social status," organization officials said in the statement.

CLAAS urged proponents of human rights to write the Pakistani president, prime minister, foreign and interior ministers, chief justice, federal minister of Law Justice and Human Rights, and Pakistani Embassies around the world.

[nChrist]

Religion Today Summaries - July 23, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * Christian Doctor Loses Position over Gay Adoption View
    * Four Evangelists Detained in India
    * Orthodox Anglican Leader: Choice is Between Life and Death
    * Messianic Jew Wins Supreme Court Battle in Israel

Christian Doctor Loses Position over Gay Adoption View

The Christian Post reports that a Christian doctor in England was booted from an adoption panel because of her refusal to support gay couples seeking to adopt. Dr. Sheila Matthews, a pediatrician, has functioned on the panel for five years. But, the Northhamptonshire County Council says she was not in compliance with England's Equity Law, which forbids discrimination against homosexuals or transsexuals in terms of access to goods and services, including adoption agencies. The controversial law can also force religious institutions and churches to hire openly homosexual candidates. Appealing the Council's decision, Matthew says she may take the case to the employment tribunal over religious discrimination.

Four Evangelists Detained in India

ASSIST News Service reports that four Christians in the capital city of Karnataka state were temporarily held on alleged charges of "forced conversion." Madan Kumar, Amar Singh and Munendra and James Wesley had traveled to a housing colony in Bangalore to visit a believer's family. On their way there, they distributed some gospel tracts and pamphlets. At around 5.30 pm, as they were praying at the believer's residence, they were attacked by some of the nearby neighbors and others from Hindu radical groups. The group was assaulted and threatened for an hour before being taken to the police station. They were then sent to the Bangalore Central Jail. India's nationalist parties have often pushed anti-conversion laws in various states, but they have been defeated so far.

Orthodox Anglican Leader: Choice is Between Life and Death

The Christian Post reports that the head of the Anglican Church in North America Wednesday accused the Episcopal Church of accepting a "re-defined Christianity." In an open letter to the Anglican communion, the Most Rev. Robert Duncan contrasted his communion to the Episcopal church. He compared the two churches to two Cities, the City of God and the City of the World. "Both cities are in crisis, but one operates from received values and behaviors, while the other attempts to re-make the world to its own revolutionary tastes," he wrote. Arguing for Anglican orthodoxy, he accused the Episcopal Church of "confusing received understandings of Scriptural truth" and "enabling a revisionist anthropology." The ACNA officially broke from the Episcopal Church last years over matters of orthodoxy.

Messianic Jew Wins Supreme Court Battle in Israel

Compass Direct News reports that after three years a Jewish believer in Christ has won a court ruling that will keep her business afloat in Israel. Pnina Conforti, 51, says she lost nearly 70 percent of her customers after the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, the country's highest religious governing body, annulled her kashrut (Jewish dietary law) certificate because of her faith. The Israeli Supreme Court on June 29, however, ruled that her belief in Jesus Christ was unrelated to her eligibility for a kashrut certificate. While bakeries and restaurants in Israel are not required to obtain the permit, the loss of one often slows the flow of customers who observe Jewish dietary laws and eventually can destroy a business. "We barely survived, but now it's all behind us," she said.

[nChrist]

Religion Today Summaries - July 24, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * Pakistan: Christian Shot Eight Times in Money Dispute
    * Church of England Offers Combined Wedding, Baptism
    * UK Churches Start Planning Olympics Outreach
    * 10 Held after Violence at Bombed Vietnam Church

Pakistan: Christian Shot Eight Times in Money Dispute

ASSIST News Service reports that a Christian businessman was shot eight times while driving through Lahore, Pakistan after refusing to pay protection money. Suqlain Shah, a former policeman, and another man, Sudia, stopped Ayub Gill's car on July 7, as Ayub was going to buy a property in a nearby town. Ayub's brother Babar was driving and two other relatives were in the back seat. Suqlain pulled out a gun and dragged Babar out of the driver's seat, threatening to kill him. Suqlain then shot Ayub eight times in the legs. After stealing $2,500, they fled on bicycles. Ayub is now recovering in the hospital, but the doctors do not know if he will be able to walk again. Ayub's brother filed a report with the police, but police have taken no action.

Church of England Offers Combined Wedding, Baptism

The Associated Press reports that the Church of England is responding to England's changing demographics with a two-for-one sacrament: marriage coupled with baptisms for a couple's children. Forty-four percent of children in Britain are born out of welock, and the church reports that one in five couples wanting to get married in the church already has children. "Patterns of relationship and marriage within society are presenting new opportunities for the church," said Stephen Platten, the Bishop of Wakefield. Others, such as John Broadhurst, the Bishop of Fulham, say the move capitulates to current trends. "It is a pity they have not put in a funeral for grandma as well," he said.

UK Churches Start Planning Olympics Outreach

Christian Today reports that Christians in London are looking down the road to 2012, already preparing evangelism efforts for the Olympics. Lord Brian Mawhinney, Chairman of the Football League and outreach organization More Than Gold stressed that Christians "are restricted only by our imagination and willingness." More Than Gold had lead evangelistic efforts at the Olympic Games since 1996. That year in Atlanta, churches distributed more than 3 million cups of water at the games. In Sydney in 2000, churches provided more than half of the accommodation needed to house the families of competing athletes. "The role of More Than Gold is to cast a vision of authentic outreach and service that every church can engage with and see realized," said the organization's CEO Dave Willson.

10 Held after Violence at Bombed Vietnam Church

The Agence France-Presse reports that at least 10 people in prison following a violent dispute at the remains of a war-era Catholic Church. Local Christians and police give differing accounts. Police say that about 200 people tried to "illegally" build on an old church site, when "local residents" tried to dismantle and remove it from the historic site. Police then arrested "extremists" when the conflict escalated to violence. Priest Pham Dinh Phung, however, maintains that 20 people were taken into custody, and all were Catholics. He says the police tried to dismantle the building and then beat Catholics who tried to stop them. The church and the state have argued over who owns the property for years.

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Church Official and Wife Beaten, Robbed in Gaza
Michael Ireland


July 27, 2009

GAZA (ANS) -- Constantine Dabbagh, executive secretary of the Near East Council of Churches, complained on Wednesday that three masked men who broke into his house beat him and his wife before stealing money and jewelry.

The Hamas government said it had launched an investigation into the incident, which took place on Tuesday night in the western suburbs of Gaza City, according to a report in The Jerusalem Post newspaper.

The newspaper says the assault on Dabbagh and his wife is the latest in a series of attacks on members of the tiny Christian community in the Gaza Strip.

Dabbagh said that the masked men first bound his and his wife's hands behind their backs before covering their heads and faces with cloth and beating them.

He added that the assailants told him that they came to search the house for wireless communication devices.

Dabbagh said the masked men spent nearly one hour inside the house, during which time they stole money and jewelry. The assailants also stole the Christian couple's car.

Christians in the Gaza live in a kind of no-zone between two worlds, often caught in the cross-fire between Palestinians and Israelis. Neither side openly interacts with the small number of Christians in the area.

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Third Christian this Year Dies in Eritrean Military Prison
Edward Ross


July 28, 2009

LOS ANGELES (Compass Direct News) -- Another Christian imprisoned for his faith in Eritrea has died from authorities denying him medical treatment, according to a Christian support organization.

Sources told Netherlands-based Open Doors that Yemane Kahasay Andom, 43, died Thursday (July 23) at Mitire Military Confinement Center. A member of the Kale-Hiwot church in Mendefera, Andom was said to be secretly buried in the camp.

Weakened by continuous torture, Andom was suffering from a severe case of malaria, Open Doors reported in a statement today.

"He was allegedly further weakened by continuous physical torture and solitary confinement in an underground cell the two weeks prior to his death for his refusal to sign a recantation form," the organization said. "It is not clear what the contents of the recantation form were, but most Christians interpret the signing of such a form as the denouncement of their faith in Christ."

Andom is the third known Christian to die this year at the Mitire camp, located in northeastern Eritrea. Mogos Hagos Kiflom, 37, was said to have died from torture at the same center in early January. On Jan. 16, Mehari Gebreneguse Asgedom,  42, died in solitary confinement at the Mitire camp from torture and complications from diabetes, according to Open Doors.

It was not immediately known whether Andom was married or how many family members survive him. He had spent the past 18 months at the Mitire camp.

Last October Open Doors learned of the death of another Christian, Teklesenbet Gebreab Kiflom, 36, who died while imprisoned for his faith at the Wi'a Military Confinement Center. He was reported to have died after prison commanders refused to give him medical attention for malaria.

In June 2008, 37-year-old Azib Simon died from untreated malaria as well. Weakened by torture, sources told Compass, Simon contracted malaria only a week before she died.

With the death of Andom last week, the number of Christians who have died while imprisoned for their faith in Eritrea now total nine. Along with the two Christians who died in January and Kiflom and Azib last year, Nigisti Haile, 33, tied from torture on Sept. 5, 2007; Magos Solomon Semere, 30, died from torture and pneumonia at Adi-Nefase Confinement Center, outside Assab, in February 2007; Immanuel Andegergesh, 23, died in Adi-Quala Confinement Center in October  2006 from torture and dehydration; and also at the Adi-Qaula center, Kibrom Firemichel, 30, died from torture and dehydration also in October 2006.

More than 2,800 Christians remain imprisoned for their faith in Eritrea, according to Open Doors.

The Eritrean government in May 2002 outlawed all religious groups except Islam and the Orthodox, Catholic and Lutheran churches. The government of President Isaias Afwerki has stepped up its campaign against churches it has outlawed, once again earning it a spot on the U.S. Department of State's latest list of worst violators of religious freedom.

Incarcerated Christians from throughout Eritrea have been transferred to the Mitire prison. In April Open Doors learned that 27 Christian prisoners held at police stations in the Eritrean capital of Asmara had been transferred to the Mitire military camp for further punishment.

They included a pastor identified only as Oqbamichel of the Kale-Hiwot Church, pastor Habtom Twelde of the Full Gospel Church, a pastor identified only as Jorjo of the Full Gospel Church, two members of the Church of the Living God identified only as Tesfagaber and Hanibal, Berhane Araia of the Full Gospel Church and Michel Aymote of the Philadelphia Church.

On April 17, according to the organization, 70 Christians were released from the Mitire military facility, including 11 women imprisoned for six months for allegedly failing to complete their required 18 months of military service. The Christians said that authorities simply told them to go home and that they had no idea why they had been released. They had been originally arrested in Asmara, Dekemhare, Keren, Massawa and Mendefera and transported to Mitire for punishment.

Eritrean officials have routinely denied that religious oppression exists in the country, saying the government is only enforcing laws against unregistered churches.

The government has denied all efforts by independent Protestant churches to register, and people caught worshipping outside the four recognized religious institutions, even in private homes, suffer arrest, torture and severe pressure to deny their faith. The Eritrean Orthodox Church and its flourishing renewal movement have also been subject to government raids.

Reliable statistics are not available, but the U.S. Department of State estimates that 50 percent of Eritrea's population is Sunni Muslim, 30 percent is Orthodox Christian, and 13 percent is Roman Catholic. Protestants and Seventh-day Adventists, along with Jehovah's Witnesses, Buddhists, Hindus, and Baha'is make up less than 5 percent of the population.

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Anglicans, Episcopals May Take 'Two Tracks,' Williams Says
Daniel Burke


July 29, 2009

(RNS) -- Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams suggested Monday (July 27) that the Episcopal Church may have to accept a secondary role in the Anglican Communion after voting to allow gay bishops and blessings for same-sex unions.

Williams, the spiritual leader of the world's 77 million Anglicans, said "very serious anxieties have already been expressed," about the pro-gay resolutions approved this month by the Episcopal Church at its General Convention in Anaheim, Calif.

While "there is no threat of being cast into outer darkness," Williams said, certain churches, including the Episcopal Church, may have to take a back seat in ecumenical and interfaith dialogue because their views on homosexuality do not represent the larger Anglican Communion.

Many of the world's Anglican churches oppose homosexuality as sinful and unbiblical.

"It helps to be clear about these possible futures," Williams said, "however much we think them less than ideal, and to speak about them not in apocalyptic terms of schism and excommunication but plainly as what they are -- two styles of being Anglican ..."

Williams said the mechanics of a two-track system "will certainly need working out," but could well include the kinds of "co-operation in mission and service" that is currently shared between sister churches in the communion.

The Episcopal Church declined on Monday to respond to Williams' statement.

As head of the Church of England, Williams serves as spiritual guide of the Anglican Communion, a worldwide fellowship of churches that includes the 2.1 million-member Episcopal Church as its U.S. branch.

While he lacks the power of a pope to enforce his will on the communion, Williams remains extraordinarily influential among Anglicans; he has proposed the two-tiered system several times in recent years as a way to make the communion's 38 provinces more mutually accountable.

Before the Episcopal convention, Williams had urged the U.S. church not to take steps that would exacerbate tensions in the Anglican Communion, which has been brought to the breaking point by the consecration of an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire in 2003.

Despite the warning, Episcopalians overwhelmingly voted to lift a de facto ban on consecrating other gay bishops and approved a broad local option for bishops who wish to allow gay and lesbian couples to receive nuptial blessings from the church.

Episcopal leaders later sought to cut off criticism with a letter to Williams that described the measures as simply "descriptive" of a church ministering to a culture with rapidly changing understandings of homosexuality.

Williams responded Monday with a nuanced, five-page reflection that gently chided Episcopalians for overturning centuries of Christian understanding of marriage and homosexuality without wider consensus from other Anglicans.

"The doctrine that 'what affects the communion of all should be decided by all' is a venerable principle," Williams said.

The archbishop also suggested that Anglicans could settle their differences with a proposed covenant, which would outline acceptable beliefs and practices, particularly on divisive issues like homosexuality. Churches that could not agree to the covenant would be given a reduced role in the communion.

"Perhaps we are faced with the possibility rather of a `two-track' model, two ways of witnessing to the Anglican heritage, one of which had decided that local autonomy had to be the prevailing value," he wrote.

The Rev. Susan Russell, president of the pro-gay Episcopal group Integrity USA, said it is clear the steps her church took in Anaheim "were contrary to what the archbishop said he hoped would happen."

But Russell said she does not expect Episcopalians to back off on consecrating gay bishops or blessing same-sex unions. In fact, she said, the Diocese of Los Angeles, where Russell is a priest, is expected to consider electing a gay or lesbian candidate as suffragan (assistant) bishop later this year.

"I expect this church to move dramatically forward in the rest of the year," Russell said, "and our deepest hope is that the rest of the communion, or at least large portions of it, continue to be at the table with us."

[nChrist]

Religion Today Summaries - July 27, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * Christian Woman Executed in North Korea, Activists Say
    * Anglicans Alter Communion Ritual Due to Flu Scare
    * Baptists Celebrate 400th Anniversary of Baptist Movement
    * 2009 Crown Awards Recognize Best Independent Christian Films

Christian Woman Executed in North Korea, Activists Say

The Associated Press reports that a North Korean Christian was publicly executed in June. South Korean activists on Friday said that the woman, 33-year-old Ri Hyon Ok, was convicted of distributing Bibles, which are illegal under the totalitarian regime. She was also accused of spying for South Korea and the United States, and her family was sent to a prison camp the day after her execution. Public executions have decreased in recent years, according to a South Korean think tank, but they are still carried out regularly. An estimated 30,000-60,000 Christians live in North Korea, but statistics and knowledge of executions can only be reported by word of mouth under the repressive state.

Anglicans Alter Communion Ritual Due to Flu Scare

The Associated Press reports that fear of the H1N1 virus -- also known as swine flu -- is changing how some churches in England proceed with Communion. Two Church of England dioceses have eliminated drinking from the communal cup of wine, and will only eat the consecrated wafers. The Church allows the dioceses of Blackburn, Southwell and Nottingham only participate in half of the Communion ceremony under laws created in 1547. Churches in New Zealand, Chile, Argentina and parts of the United States have made similar changes to keep close contact at a minimum, hoping to prevent the disease's spread. "Particularly where vulnerable groups are involved, we think it's important that reasonable steps are taken to minimize the risk of church worship activity facilitating the spread of the disease," church spokesman Ben Wilson said.

Baptists Celebrate 400th Anniversary of Baptist Movement

The Christian Post reports that Baptists in the Netherlands gathered over the weekend to commemorate the 400th anniversary of today's Baptist movement. "In Amsterdam, the newly formed bakery congregation created a community whose worship and life together reflected more truly the New Testament pattern of a believers' church," wrote Baptist World Alliance President David Coffey before the event. "In July 2009, a group of Baptists representing the world family will stand outside 120 Amstel Street, Amsterdam, and remember with prayerful thanksgiving some notable events that took place 400 years ago." A multitude of Baptist denominations exist, but together they make up the largest world communion of evangelical Protestants, the Post reports. More than 110 million people worldwide are identified with the Baptist movement.

2009 Crown Awards Recognize Best Independent Christian Films

The winners of the 2009 Crown Awards were announced at July's International Christians in Visual Media (ICVM) Catalyst Conference in Denver, Colorado. Since 1973, Crown Awards have recognized excellence in production and content of films and videos created to reflect Christian values in a secular world. Winners are selected by votes cast by a panel of judges who are all members of ICVM. This year, Crown Entertainment and Sherwood Pictures both took Gold Crown Awards in four categories, and "Beyond the Sky," a film by Bill Muir and Kevin Downes, received a Gold Crown Award in three categories. The film "Fireproof won the top awards for best picture and best screenplay.

[nChrist]

Religion Today Summaries - July 28, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * Gunmen Kill Iraqi Christian outside Factory
    * Church in Somalia Growing Despite Turmoil
    * More Churches on the Real Estate Market
    * China: Uighur Christian Faces False Charges for Faith

Gunmen Kill Iraqi Christian outside Factory

AFP reports that a Christian man was shot dead outside a factory in the volatile Iraqi city of Mosul on Sunday. Ala Bashir, a 30-year-old Christian, was killed after gunmen in four cars demanded to see his brother, who manages the soft drinks factory. Police say they are not sure if Bashir was killed because of his faith. Still, the incident only cements the sense of tension in Mosul, where approximately half of the city's once-vibrant Christian population has fled since 2003. Many of these families have left Iraq for low-paying jobs in Turkey or Syria, while some have left the area for the West. Earlier this month, bomb attacks on seven churches in Baghdad and Mosul killed four Christians and injured 32 others.

Church in Somalia Growing Despite Turmoil

Mission News Network reports that Somalia's Christians have a long road ahead of them. "Anything that goes into Somalia, whether it's human aid or relief supplies or some attempt to provoke stability, just seems to get sucked up in chaos. And in today's reality, Christians are bearing the brunt of that," said Carl Moeller, president and CEO of Open Doors USA. At least eight Christians have been killed by al-Shabaab insurgents over the last month. "Most Christians in extreme persecution are not asking to be permanently removed from persecution, to become refugees in some other country; but they are actually asking for the strength and the capacity to stand strong in the midst of that persecution," he continued.

More Churches on the Real Estate Market

San Francisco Chronicle reports that churches in the Bay area are weathering the current real estate market much like private citizens. About 40 houses of worship are on the market, some up for sale by shrinking or skittish congregations. Financing such large spaces can be difficult, but most churches still find new life with a second congregation. Often, these congregations look different from the first. "A lot of the church purchasers are ethnically distinct communities looking for their own space to maintain their language, culture and religion," said Barry Willbanks, a Coldwell Banker agent in Menlo Park, specializing in church real estate. "They tend to be the more theologically conservative groups who offer something distinct from the broader culture."

China: Uighur Christian Faces False Charges for Faith

Christian Today reports that a Uighur Christian in China will soon face trial behind closed doors. Alimujiang Yimiti was initially charged with "illegal religious infiltration," but the accusations were later changed to those relating to state secrets and espionage. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a human rights group, brought Yimiti's case to a UN Working Group last year. Since then, Working Group has maintained that his imprisonment is "arbitrary" and on account of his faith. "His case symbolizes the continuing repression of Christians in China and is a sign of the wider human rights violations still taking place," said Alexa Papadouris, CSW's Advocacy Director.

[nChrist]

Religion Today Summaries - July 29, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * Nigeria: Hundreds Die in Battle with Militants
    * Buddhist-Episcopal Priest's Election Nullified
    * Barna: Blacks More Likely Hold Christian Faith
    * Christian Murdered on Busy Street in Istanbul

Nigeria: Hundreds Die in Battle with Militants

CNN reports that violence in northern Nigeria has killed more than 400 people in three days. Islamic militants battled government police and troops Sunday, leading to imposed curfews and civilian deaths in several major towns, including Maiduguri, capital of Borno state. At least 3,000 civilians have been displaced in clashes since then. The same militant group is allegedly behind attacks in Bauchi Town in February, which displaced more than 1,500 Christians and killed at least 11 people. Christian Solidarity Worldwide's Tina Lambert told Christian Today, "The weekend's events are deeply worrying, and validate consistent reports of the presence of armed militants in Nigeria who benefit from foreign assistance and funding, and whose agenda includes violence against non-Muslims, and also against the federal state itself."

Buddhist-Episcopal Priest's Election Nullified

The Christian Post reports that the Episcopal Church failed to approve a candidate for bishop who is also a practicing Buddhist. The Rev. Kevin Thew Forrester did not receive the required votes from the denomination's bishops to be consecrated as the bishop of the Diocese of Northern Michigan. "I have been extraordinarily blessed and honored to walk with my friends from the Diocese of Northern Michigan over these past months as their bishop-elect," Forrester said in a statement, according to the Episcopal News Service. In addition to his practice of Zen Buddhism, Forrester has also made significant revisions to the Anglican Communion's Book of Common Prayer. The Episcopal Church requires that new bishops receive a majority of consent from the Church's other bishops within 120 days to ratify their election.

Barna: Blacks More Likely Hold Christian Faith

Baptist Press reports that African Americans are more likely to exhibit evidence of being Christian when compared to the general population. A new study by The Barna Group found that faith continues to be important in the lives of African Americans, an ethnic group that comprises about 15 percent of the national population. Based on telephone interviews with more than 1,200 adults who described themselves as African American, Barna found that 66 percent of them agreed with the statement that "the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches," compared to 46 percent of whites and 49 percent of the general population. Eighty-six percent of blacks, 70 percent of whites and 72 percent of the general population agreed that their religious faith is very important in their lives.

Christian Murdered on Busy Street in Istanbul

Compass Direct News reports that a German businessman died last week after a Turk with a history of mental problems stabbed him for being a Christian. Witnesses saw Ibrahim Akyol, 26, stab Gregor Kerkeling in the chest on July 20 after following him out of St. Anthony Catholic Church in Istanbul's central district of Beyoglu. Akyol, a Muslim who reportedly had been visiting area churches scouting around for a Christian victim, followed Kerkeling out of the church building and asked him for a Turkish lira. When Kerkeling refused, Akyol repeatedly stabbed him in the heart and chest area before passersby intervened. Akyol reportedly confessed that in the morning he woke up and decided that on that day he would kill a Christian. "I wanted to kill a Christian that day and was visiting churches for this reason," he told prosecutors.

[nChrist]

Religion Today Summaries - July 30, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * Nigerian Bishop: Christians Not Targeted in Attacks
    * Fiji Bans Massive Methodist Hymn-Sing
    * Christians Angered after Bible Defaced in British Gallery
    * Adoption Council Reinstates Christian Pediatrician

Nigerian Bishop: Christians Not Targeted in Attacks

The Christian Post reports that no Christians or churches were harmed in the latest cycle of violence in Nigeria. "As things stand, there is no report of Christians being killed or churches being attacked, but religious leaders have called on the government to protect law-abiding citizens and religious structures," said Catholic Bishop Emmanuel Badejo. Badejo said he and other Nigerian bishops have been assured the violence has been contained. A statement from persecution watchdog Open Doors USA, however, indicated otherwise. The group reports that at least six churches have been destroyed in the violence that spread across four northern states. Nigerian officials have confirmed only 55 deaths, but other news organizations reported numbers as high as 400 after incidents in Bauchi, Yobe, Kano and Borno states.

Fiji Bans Massive Methodist Hymn-Sing

Religion News Service reports that Fiji's military government has banned a massive annual hymn-singing contest and church conference.  Fearing that the crowd of some 10,000 singing Methodists could destabilize the strife-torn nation, interim Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama canceled the event. A Fiji court on July 23 silenced two top Methodist Church ministers and tribal chief Ro Teimumu Kepa. They were charged with defying the Public Emergency Regulation over the church's planned conference in August. The men were released after two days in custody, but were forced to surrender travel documents and ordered not to meet or be seen in public. This is believed to be the first time a Fijian government has clashed so openly with the Methodist church; about one third of Fiji's almost 1 million people are Methodists.

Christians Angered after Bible Defaced in British Gallery

The Agence France-Press reports that a display Bible encouraging viewers to add their thoughts wasn't treated as expected. As part of the "Made In God's Image" art show at Glasgow's Gallery of Modern Art, visitors took the invitation to write their stories as a chance to air grievances and vent disbelief. Jane Clarke, a minister at the Metropolitan Community Church, said, "I had hoped that people would show respect for the Bible, for Christianity and indeed for the Gallery of Modern Art... As a young Christian I was encouraged by my church to write my own insights in the margins of the Bible I used for my daily devotions -- this was an extension of that idea." Instead, comments included, "I am Bi, Female and Proud. I want no god who is disappointed in this." and "This is all sexist pish, so disregard it all."

Adoption Council Reinstates Christian Pediatrician

Christian Today reports that a Christian doctor who was fired from an adoption board for religious reasons has been reinstated. Dr. Sheila Matthews was dismissed because she said she could not recommend adoptions by same-sex couples, although she offered to abstain during such adoptions. "As a professional I have done a lot of reading around the subject and am satisfied that there are research findings which support my position that a same sex partnership is not the best family setting to bring up children," she said. "As a Christian and a pediatrician I believe that children do best with a mother and father in a committed, long term relationship." She was reinstated by the Northamptonshire County Council after public outcry and potential legal action.

[nChrist]

$25 Million Later, Katrina Groups Say They're Half Finished
Bruce Nolan


July 31, 2009

NEW ORLEANS (RNS) -- Leaders of a consortium of Katrina relief groups say they are approaching a milestone in recovery efforts, having distributed $25 million in money, muscle and construction material to about 1,000 families around New Orleans in the four years since Hurricane Katrina.

Even so, they estimate the region's recovery is only at the halfway point, at best.

And as the big private donations that marked 2006 and 2007 taper off, the consortium of mostly church-related agencies is positioning itself to continue its work with upcoming state and federal grants.

To be sure, $25 million is a small fraction of the total outpouring of private aid that flowed, and still flows, into the region since Katrina roared ashore in August 2005.

An accurate calculation of the total private relief figure is largely unknowable, some relief managers say.

But $25 million is the value of volunteer aid, materials and donations the partnership believes it has supplied to about 1,000 families, said Tom Costanza, its board chairman.

The consortium is called the Greater New Orleans Disaster Recovery Partnership, or GNODRP. In speech, members refer to it by its inelegant acronym: "No-drip." Like much else after Katrina, the agency is unprecedented, Costanza said.

After most natural disasters, private, nonprofit relief organizations create county-based roundtables to coordinate their work and share resources. But the devastation from Katrina was so vast that Catholic, Mennonite, Salvation Army and other faith-based relief groups linked up with big secular partners such as the Red Cross to form a kind of super-roundtable.

Typically, participating disaster agencies such as the United Methodist Committee on Relief or Lutheran Disaster Response helped families from their own resources wherever possible.

But they also brought money and the promise of construction material and volunteers to the roundtable as well, prepared to donate them to other agencies with needy clients, said Costanza, a Catholic relief worker with the Archdiocese of New Orleans' Office of Justice and Peace.

The $25 million in aid the partnership has distributed out of a common coffer does not include tens of millions of dollars worth of aid its 80 or more member agencies have distributed solely out of their own relief operations since 2005.

Even so, on the basis of what it knows about the landscape, the partnership estimates that four years out, Katrina rebuilding is still only barely at the halfway mark -- if that, said Paul Timmons, the partnership's executive director.

[nChrist]

Episcopals Reject Bishop Who Practices Buddhism
Daniel Burke


July 30, 2009

An Episcopal priest who has practiced Zen meditation and espoused unconventional ideas about Christianity has lost his bid to become a bishop in Michigan, the church announced Monday (July 27).

The Rev. Kevin Thew Forrester, who was elected in February to lead the sparsely populated Diocese of Northern Michigan, failed to gain "consent," or ratification, from a majority of elected standing committees in the Episcopal Church's 110 dioceses, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori announced.

A majority of Episcopal bishops also rejected the election, according to Neva Rae Fox, a church spokeswoman, who declined to release exact tallies.

Under church rules, a bishops' election is not valid unless ratified by a majority of standing committees and bishops.

The controversy surrounding Thew Forrester's election, stoked in large part by conservative bloggers, blended age-old concerns about fidelity to key Christian tenets with 21st-century online activism. At times, it seemed to mirror a secular political campaign, with the candidate's public talks and personal history parsed by supporters and detractors alike.

Ultimately, both liberal and conservative Episcopalians judged Thew Forrester's singular spirituality insufficiently orthodox -- even in a church known for tolerating progressive theology and open-mindedness.

A number expressed concern about the Michigan priest's decade-long practice of Zen meditation, changes he made to baptism rites, and ideas he espoused about salvation, including the existence of multiple paths to God. Others objected to the election process in Northern Michigan because Thew Forrester was the only candidate on the ballot.

Bishops are rarely rejected once they are elected by their diocese.

In 2007, Bishop Mark Lawrence of South Carolina lost his first bid after concerns were raised that he would lead the diocese to secede from the denomination, but a year later he was re-elected and gained consent from the wider church.

Episcopal Church archivists say the last candidate rejected on strictly doctrinal grounds was James DeKoven, in 1875; he put candles on the altar and practiced other "high church" rituals, which were controversial at the time.

The rejection of Thew Forrester comes just a day after Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the spiritual head of the Anglican Communion, criticized the Episcopal Church for departing from church tradition by lifting a de facto ban on gay bishops and allowing blessings for same-sex unions. The Episcopal Church is the U.S. branch of the Anglican Communion.

"This could be taken as a strong shout from two different places about the importance of doing theological work on our foundations," said the Rev. Kendall Harmon, canon theologian for the Diocese of South Carolina, which voted against Thew Forrester.

Thew Forrester, rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Marquette, Mich., said in a statement that "I have been extraordinarily blessed and honored to walk with my friends from the Diocese of Northern Michigan over these past months as their bishop-elect."

"As we live and move and have our being in Christ, there is truly a Holy Wisdom in all that is unfolding, and as St. John of the Cross affirms, a face in `all that happens,'" Thew Forrester said.

The seven-member standing committee of the diocese of Northern Michigan said in a statement that it is "disappointed and saddened by the outcome of the consent process."

The committee members also said they hope the church will reflect on "how new communication technologies affect the consent process."

[nChrist]

Religion Today Summaries - July 31, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * Five More Convicted for Orissa Anti-Christian Violence
    * Six Churches Destroyed in Nigeria Islamic Violence
    * Financial Advice from the Bible a Growing Trend
    * Vietnam: Priest Thrown from Hospital Window Amid Protests

Five More Convicted for Orissa Anti-Christian Violence

Christian Today reports that five more men have been convicted in connection with attacks on Orissa Christians last year. The men were all sentenced to a six years in prison, while several others were acquitted for lack of evidence. This is only the second round of convictions handed down for the incidents. About 10,000 people have been named in 827 cases following the violence that burned 4,500 Christian homes and destroyed 180 churches. At least 60 Christians were killed in mob violence after Hindu extremists blamed them for the murder of their leader in August 2008, even though Maoists claimed responsibility. Some Christians have been compensated for their lost homes and property, but many have seen little if any restitution as they try to return home.

Six Churches Destroyed in Nigeria Islamic Violence

Christian Post reports that Islamic militants in Nigeria have targeted at least six churches in two states over the last few days. One Baptist church in Potiskum, Yobe state was burned and destroyed, while another five churches in Maiduguri, Borno state suffered the same fate. The militant group Boko Haram destroyed 14 churches in similar attacks in February. "We were unable to sleep throughout the night as there was an exchange of fire between the group and the security operatives a stone throw from our residence," said one Christian in Yobe, according to Open Doors. "They burnt one of our churches (the Baptist Church). Our lives are at risk. The group claimed not to be fighting Christians, but... we are not secured at all."

Financial Advice from the Bible a Growing Trend

The Chicago Tribune reports that financial advice straight from the Bible is gaining in popularity. As more try to get a handle on their personal finances, it's only nature for them to look at the "best-selling personal finance book of all time," said Matt Bell, author of "Money Strategies for Tough Times." Programs such as those by Dave Ramsey, Crown Financial Ministries and Good $ense base their instruction on the more than 2,000 verses in the Bible that concern money and property. Bell notes the Biblical order often focuses on giving as well as spending and saving, an idea that "flips the cultural teaching on its head." Dave Ramsey's radio programs always end with a spiritual reminder: "There's ultimately only one way to financial peace and that's to walk daily with the prince of peace, Christ Jesus."

Vietnam: Priest Thrown from Hospital Window amid Protests

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reports that Catholics have carried out mass demonstrations in Vietnam this week. The demonstrations follow a violent police clampdown on a protest over a disputed site. Among the casualties was a priest, now in a coma, who was beaten and thrown from the second floor of a hospital by gangs allegedly acting on police instructions. "We are gravely concerned about the reports of violence and growing anti-Catholic sentiment in Vietnam," said CSW's advocacy director Tina Lambert. "We continue to fully support the Catholic Church's claim to church property and ask the Vietnamese government to allow the church access to rebuild Tam Toa."