Christian Persecution Around the World

[Soldier4Christ]

UW-Madison sued over allocation of student fees to religious club

Officials at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are being accused of breaking an agreement and treating members of a religious club as second-class citizens.

Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) Center for Academic Freedom have filed a motion for preliminary injunction against the university on behalf of Roman Catholic Foundation (RCF). University officials are accused of violating the terms of a seven-month-old settlement that was designed to give the student religious club the same rights as other campus groups.

Earlier this year, a federal court ordered the university to stop enforcing its non-discrimination policy against the student organization. The school agreed to stop discriminating against RCF when allocating student activity fees. However, as ADF litigation staff counsel David Hacker says, the university has not honored that agreement.

"We've asked the court to order the university to reimburse the Roman Catholic Foundation for its student fee budget," says the attorney. "This was a budget that was approved a year ago and went through all the proper channels -- and all student organizations at Wisconsin-Madison are able to request student fees to fund their expression." According to Hacker, RCF followed that procedure -- but the university has decided it does not want to pay the fees.

Hacker says the university cannot pull student activity fees from the RCF just because it does not like its message. "The university needs to treat Christian students and their student organizations the same as all other students on campus," he argues. "We're not asking for special treatment, just the same treatment."

The court is being asked to make the university distribute the student fees on an equal basis.

[Soldier4Christ]

Teacher rants against South, church and Rush Limbaugh
'When you put on your Jesus glasses, you can't see the truth'


The classroom rantings of a teacher in a California school district who targeted the South, church, Republicans, Christians, conservatives and Rush Limbaugh have triggered a First Amendment lawsuit, according to Advocates for Faith and Freedom, an advocacy law firm.

The teacher, James Corbett of the Capistrano Unified School District, "spends an extended period of time at the beginning of each class discussing topics that are not only irrelevant to history but also inflammatory and often altogether inappropriate for high school students," the firm's announcement said.

"Corbett causes students who hold religious beliefs to feel like second-class citizens because of their protected religious expression, beliefs and conduct.

"He has gone as far as stating, 'When you put on your Jesus glasses, you can't see the truth,'" the law firm said.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Chad Farnan, a 16-year-old sophomore honors student at the school who is taking Corbett's Advanced Placement European History class.

"Corbett has made derogatory remarks about Christian viewpoints regarding homosexuality, Viagra, birth control and sexual activities of teenagers. As a result of Dr. Corbett's hostility toward Christianity, Mr. Farnan has filed this federal lawsuit for a violation of his First Amendment rights," the law firm said.

Among the statements made by the teacher:

    What part of the country has the highest murder rate? The South. What part of the country has the highest rape rate? The South. What part of the country has the highest … church attendance? The South. Oh, wait a minute. You mean there is not a correlation between these things …

    You know, you go down to Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, all these states that are as red as they could possibly be, as right-wing Republican as you could possibly be. When you first present these people with the economic policies of the Democratic party, they are all Democrats. Virtually all the social programs, they like. They lead the Democratic party on social issues. That's it. Social issues, can you imagine what they're saying on Rush Limbaugh now? About, 'Middle school people in New England giving people birth control pills. My God. What next?' I love Rush Limbaugh. A fat, pain in the a—liar. And, boy, is he a liar. Unbelievable."

Corbett could not be reached for comment, and Principal Tom Ressler declined to comment, according to the Orange County Register. A spokeswoman at the district, Beverly de Nicola, told the newspaper the district would "need a little bit of time to look into it and determine our course of action."

But Robert Tyler, the general counsel for the Advocates, said the teacher's "blatant disregard for relevant topics of what can and should be discussed in a high school history class goes beyond moral reasoning."

"Students come to class to learn, not to be forced to listen to the personal, demoralizing rantings of their teacher," he said.

Jennifer Monk, legal counsel for the Advocates, said students' constitutional rights are "compromised" each day they attend such a class.

"Corbett's statements in the classroom – and the district's continued employment of Dr. Corbett – convey a governmental message that students holding religious beliefs are outsiders and not full members of the community. This hostility towards religion is a violation of the Establishment Clause," she said.

Monk told WND school district officials had conceded the teacher's instruction was "provocative."

"It's not just provocative. It's hostile to Christians," she said. And since the same teacher had been cited in an earlier lawsuit, in the 1990s over issues dealing with religion, the school district already should have dealt with the situation, she said.

The lawsuit in federal court in Santa Ana cites statements by the teacher including: "Conservatives don't want women to avoid pregnancies – that's interfering with God's work."

Farnan said he was shocked by the statements. "I've lost respect for him. I'm offended," he said.

The filing seeks unspecified damages and attorneys' fees for the rantings taped by Farnan in his effort to supplement his class notes.

The issue has merit, a constitutional scholar told the newspaper. John Eastman, dean of the school of law at Chapman University, suggested, "Lawsuits like this are important to remind public teachers that the classroom is not their personal soapbox."

The newspaper also reported another parent, Lynley Rosa, pulled her son out of Corbett's class this year because of the anti-Christian tone.

"The mockery of religion was a main focus in the classroom, and felt like he wasn't learning what he should be curriculum-wise, so I pulled him out," she told the paper.

The newspaper said Corbett has a history of anti-Christian behavior. It cited the 1993 legal action in which he was named as a defendant in a case that focused on the mandatory teaching of evolutionary theory.

"I am an atheist. I agree that such comments have no place in the classroom," wrote "canyongal" on the paper's forum. "The government, and those working in a government capacity, are supposed to be completely neutral on the topic of religion (AND on the topic of non-religion)."

Added "midion1," "I think it's hilarious that people think preaching in school is completely unacceptable but preaching hatred towrds (sic) another group is accepted. I am not surprised at all, for some reason people think that a religion that focuses on loving everyone is the reason for all the hate in the world. This teacher doesnt (sic) have faith, yet for some reason hate [c]onsumes him."

And "curlygurl100" wrote that her son also is in the class.

"What i have heard is extremely offensive to anyone including the athiests (sic) who have heard it as well. There have been multiple complaints about the teacher and nothing was done. One of the parents e-mailed the teacher asking him to stop and he put the e-mail up on the projector and answered the e-mail in front of the class and her son while mocking her."

Among other statements by the teacher cited by the lawsuit:

    The Boy Scouts can't have it both ways. If they want to be an exclusive, Christian organization or an exclusive, God-fearing organization, then they can't receive any more support from the state, and shouldn't."

    In the industrialized world the people least likely to go to church are the Swedes. The people in the industrialized world most likely to go to church are the Americans. America has the highest crime rate of all industrialized nations, and Sweden has the lowest. The next time somebody tells you religion is connected with morality, you might want to ask them about that.

    Well, we know abstinence doesn't work. And we know one other thing, and that is, once people become sexually active, they often don't stop for, like, 40 or 50 years. I mean, generally, when you start you don't, like, have a conversion and try to become re-virginized, you know. It's not going to happen.

[Soldier4Christ]

The anti-Christian laws that are being passed and the anti-Christian rhetoric in the media is emboldening individuals like this to come out more and more stronger with their garbage all of the time. This person can't even get his facts straight nor the reasons for the crime rates being so high in certain areas. His main agenda is to bash Christians, to attempt to indoctrinate not to teach what he was hired to teach.

The school is just as much to blame when they already knew this persons prior actions in this area. But then what else can you expect when this sort of thing is sanctioned by the government.

[Soldier4Christ]

Christian businessman on trial for 'Jesus' sign
Accused of putting non-permitted religious messages on side of semi-trailer

Act 2 of the ACTS II drama will be a trial.

On Thursday ACTS II Construction owner Dan Burritt pleaded not guilty to violating town of Gouverneur sign laws. The case will now go to trial, although no date has been set.

The company is named after a Bible passage.  Burritt is accused of putting non-permitted religious messages on the side of a semi-trailer along State Route 11.

He's being defended by the Alliance Defense Fund which takes special interest in cases involving religious freedom.

The town claims that Burritt's signs amount to billboards. Burritt and the ADF say there are numerous commercial signs that haven't drawn similar enforcement action from the town.

Also, the ADF says, the Supreme Court has ruled that religious messages posted on private property get even more constitutional protection than commercial messages do.

[Soldier4Christ]

Church fined for using own building for Bible study
Pastor: 'There's already so much hate in this world and we need to keep loving'

A home beside Bethany Lutheran Church once welcoming camaraderie, the sharing of religious faith and discussion of scriptures is now silent.

The city of Salisbury issued a $1,000 zoning fine to Bethany Lutheran Church last week for using their $135,000 house for Bible study and other organized gatherings.
   
The Rev. Kevin Wackett received a letter from the city on Dec. 3 with two citations issued Nov. 17 and 24 for unauthorized use of a facility. After purchasing the home in 2002, Wackett said the church applied for a special exemption to use the home for religious purposes and was granted approval by the city, Wicomico County and the state of Maryland.

However, Bill Holland, director of the Department of Building, Permits and Inspections claims the church didn't complete the approval process, which would have included public meetings to discuss the congregation's use of the property.

"The church never received approval from the Board of Zoning Appeals to use the home for anything more than a single-family dwelling," Holland said.

About eight months prior to the fine, the church also received two complaints from Holland's department while the Beacon of Light congregation was using Bethany Lutheran's church facilities.

"They needed space and we told them to use our sanctuary and the house for Bible study," Wackett said.

The complaints issued were regarding "parking on Monticello Avenue and people carrying food into the house," he said.

"We solved that problem by having them park in the church parking lot," Wackett said.

Holland said the department has received numerous complaints from residents in the last couple of months.

"I assume they're coming from the surrounding area, but a lot of the complaints are anonymous," he said.

Holland said he placed calls to the church warning them of upcoming citations and gave them 30 days to cease activities.

"They have to pay the fine, go to court or get the special exemption," he said.

The church has stopped using the facility and has contacted an attorney. An appeal is possible under a federal law protecting churches from zoning ordinances.

"All of the sudden, we get this -- we feel kind of stabbed in the back," Wackett said. "But there's already so much hate in this world and we need to keep loving. It really won't do anyone any good to fight."

[Soldier4Christ]

Activist 'banned for life' from criticizing homosexuality
Offending pamphlets quoted ad: 'Man seeking boys … age not so relevant'

A lifetime ban on public criticism of homosexuality was upheld against a Catholic activist in Canada by his province's superior court.

Bill Whatcott was fined 17,500 Canadian dollars by the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission in a complaint by four homosexuals who charged he "injured" their "feelings" and "self respect" in pamphlets denouncing the "gay lifestyle" as immoral and dangerous, Lifesite News reported.

Saskatchewan's Court of Queens Bench, which hears criminal and civil cases, upheld a 2006 decision Tuesday by the provincial Human Rights Commission.

"This fine is for telling the truth [that] homosexual sodomites can change their behavior and be set free from their sin and depravity through the forgiveness of sins and shed blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ," Whatcott said.

A licensed practical nurse, Whatcott regularly campaigns against the political movement that is rapidly advancing homosexual rights in the Canadian legal system, LifeSiteNews said.

"Shame on the Saskatchewan Court of Queens Bench for pandering to homosexual activism and ignoring the truth," he said.

The provincial Human Rights Commission noted Whatcott was "ordered to discontinue distributing any materials that promote hatred against people because of their sexual orientation."

The tribunal held that "preventing the distribution of such materials was a reasonable limit on Whatcott's right to freedom of religion and expression as guaranteed by Section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms."

Whatcott says his pamphlets used "verbatim" a text from a classified personal advertisement in a local homosexual publication that said, "Man seeking boys … age not so relevant."

LifeSiteNews noted Ottawa Citizen columnist David Warren criticized the tribunals as "kangaroo courts" and "star chambers" with "quasi-legal powers that should be offensive to the citizens of any free country ... in which the defendant's right to due process is withdrawn."

A petition to Prime Minister Stephen Harper is being circulated calling for abolishment, or at least curtailment, of the powers of the commissions.

Last month, a Canadian political party leader's posting of a WND article on homosexuality brought him before the country's Human Rights Commission to face accusations he was motivated by "hate and defamation."

Ron Gray of the Christian Heritage Party said he was told directly by an employee of the Human Rights Commission that the Canadian Human Rights Act, under which he is being accused, is "about censorship." Two of the three complaints filed by Edmonton man Rob Wells relate to the posting of an April 2002 WND story titled "Report: Pedophilia more common among 'gays.'"

The third complaint against Gray is for several commentaries he wrote and distributed to party members. One, titled "Sitcom prophet," compared the current climate of debate about homosexuality in Canada to the "Cone of Silence" in the 1960s-era television comedy "Get Smart."

[Soldier4Christ]

Church shootings
on rise in U.S. 
'Leaders must be prepared
to defend congregations'

Church shootings, in the headlines because of the attacks by Matthew Murray, 24, of Englewood, Colo., on two Christian groups last weekend, are on the rise across the United States, even though they're not yet at epidemic proportions.

Murray killed two people at a Youth With A Mission missionary training center in Arvada, Colo., early last Sunday morning, then apparently posted some rantings on the Internet, and drove to the New Life Church in Colorado Springs where he killed two teen girls. He also wounded half a dozen others before he was confronted by a church member volunteering as a security guard, and was shot.

A tabulation of church shootings, or those closely related to a church setting, was done by Gary Cass, chairman of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission, and include 10 such attacks over the last four years, including Murray's two attacks.

"The tragic events in Colorado this past weekend underscore the fact that anti-Christian hostility is reaching a new, more violent level," Cass told WND. "Churches used to be sanctuaries that were regarded as sacred, now all church leaders must be prepared to effectively defend themselves and use deadly force if necessary to protect their congregations from violent acts."

He said a brief search found the following shootings, before last weekend's attacks:

    * August 12, 2007: A lone gunman, Eiken Elam Saimon, opened fire in a Missouri Micronesian church, killing a pastor and two other churchgoers.

    * May 20, 2007: A standoff between police and a suspect in the shootings of three people in a Moscow, Idaho, Presbyterian Church ended with three dead, including one police officer.

    * Although not at a church building, the Oct. 2, 2006, attack in Lancaster County, Pa., by a gunman who killed five girls and then himself at an Amish school targeted a religious site.

    * May 21, 2006: Louisiana. Four were killed by a man at Jesus Christ Church.

    * Feb. 26, 2006: Michigan. Two people were killed at Zion Hope Missionary Baptist Church by a man who reportedly went to the church looking for his girlfriend. He later killed himself.

    * April 9, 2005: A 27-year-old airman died after being shot at a church in College Park, Ga., where he had once worked as a security guard.

    * March 12, 2005: A man walked into the services of the Living Church of God in Milwaukee and open fired immediately, killing seven people.

    * Oct. 5, 2003: A woman opened fire in Turner Monumental AME church in Kirkwood, east of Atlanta, killing the pastor and two others.

    * Sept. 16, 1999: Seven young people were killed when a man opened fire during a prayer service for teen-agers at the Wedgewood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.

"Self-defense is not just a right, but a Christian duty. Jesus told his followers, 'if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one,'" said Cass. "Christians are not to be a soft target for the hateful and deranged. Church leaders have a duty not to allow a crazed gunman to come and shoot up their congregation. Thank God for security officer Jeanne Assam and for New Life Church's security preparations."

As WND reported earlier, weeks before Murray armed himself with enough weaponry and ammunition to kill hundreds and staged the two attacks, he apparently boasted in an e-mail that he had discovered and practiced the teachings of controversial British occultist Aleister Crowley, called during his lifetime "the wickedest man in the world."

Murray is believed to have been the gunman who shot and killed Tiffany Johnson, 26, and Philip Crouse, 24, at the Youth With A Mission campus in Arvada, Colo., early last Sunday morning. Then, about 12 hours later, Murray died when confronted by armed security officer Jeanne Assam at New Life Church after he shot and killed sisters Stephanie Works, 18, and Rachael Works, 16, in the church parking lot. Half a dozen others were wounded in his attacks.

WND reported at the time on the disturbing rantings Murray apparently left on several websites before – and even between – the attacks, including those reported by National Terror Alert, which documented a series of postings by "nghtmrchld26," which said, "You Christians brought this on yourselves … All I want to do is kill and injure as many of you ... as I can especially Christians who are to blame for most of the problems in the world."

"It is a sad reality of our times, but Christians must take up arms to protect themselves at church," said Cass. He cited the postings by Murray, including the following:

"I'm coming for EVERYONE soon and I WILL be armed to the @#%$ teeth and I WILL shoot to kill. …," a statement also attributed to Murray's Internet postings.

"Mathew Murray was obviously a very troubled young man, but unfortunately he is not the only one," Cass said.

The pastor behind the Good Fight website, which documents reports from rock stars themselves of their encounters with the occult and satanic influences through their experiences with rock music, says he believes an e-mail he got weeks ago was from Murray, and indicated trouble.

Pastor Joe Schimmel told WND he recalled the October e-mail when he read the postings, included in WND stories, attributed to Murray. He said he thinks it's important for people to know what the attacker himself was feeling and thinking prior to his homicidal attack, especially since he's been described in the media as a homeschooled student from a religious family.

The e-mail, although it came from a man who identified himself as "Brian," most probably was from Murray, Schimmel says, because of long list of similarities. The e-mail notes the writer has "studied and practiced the teachings of Aleister Crowley/Thelema/The Golden Dawn, Qabbalah, H.P. Blavatsky/Theosophy, Manly P. Hall, Alice Bailey, and others."

Crowley, who lived during the late 1800s and first half of the 1900s, was a bisexual, drug-addicted occultist practitioner and author who almost reveled in the media description of him as "the wickedest man in the world."

During a court case in the 1930s, Crowley was described by a judge as dreadful. "I thought that everything which was vicious and bad had been produced at one time or another before me," the judge concluded. "I have learned in this case that we can always learn something more … I have never heard such dreadful, horrible, blasphemous and abominable stuff as that which has been produced by [Crowley.]"

Crowley also founded Thelema, a religious belief that was drawn from his book, "Liber Al Vel Legis," or Book of the Law, which gives only two commands: "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law" and "Love is the law, love under will."

Crowley espoused a wide range of occultist activities and practices, and one of his compatriots reportedly died from drinking the blood of a cat during one ceremonial episode, according to documents on Crowley's life. Many believe Crowley was a forerunner to Anton LeVay, who formalized his beliefs in "The Satanic Bible" and established the Church of Satan.

While Crowley dabbled in the occult, magic, trances, drugs, sex and blood rituals, Schimmel told WND the writer apparently had sold his soul to another devil: rock music.

The e-mail noted that "music is a very powerful thing," and then continued with writings that appeared to have been assembled in the form of an article titled, "My Secret Drug Addiction":

    I have a powerful addiction to a powerful drug that most people in my life don't know about. … I have found this drug to truly be a force to be reckoned with. This drug can completely alter blood pressure, heart rate, brainwave patterns and other bodily functions. … This drug will completely control a person's mind, what thought's (sic) they think and their emotions and how they feel. I found that this drug has the power to completely alter a person's religious beliefs, their morality, and their values and their entire lifestyle. … I found this drug to be a powerful driving force and easy gateway into a world of sex, other drugs, rebellion, homosexuality, alcoholism and many other dark things. … The drug … is commonly known in our culture as … Rock Music.

Schimmel said his organization specifically documents and warns about the occult influences in rock music and modern society, and this rang an alarm when he first received it.

Schimmel said the writings line up with what he knows about Crowley, and his influence, which sparked multiple references during the rock era of the 1960s, when some songs even included a tribute to "Mr. Crowley," he said.

He said his ministry has worked to show how Satanism can influence youth through music, and this was a factor not included in many media reports about the Colorado shootings.

But he said if the author had "practiced" Crowley's teachings, "he's opened himself up to a spiritual drug addiction."

"What he really is, is a Satanist, subscribing to the teachings of Aleister Crowley," said Schimmel, who told WND other leaders in the Crowley image have included Timothy O'Leary and Alfred Kinsey.

[Shammu]

Religious Hatred Fuels Escalating Attacks on Christians in India
By
Peter B. Beita
Christian Post Correspondent
Fri, Dec. 14 2007 09:35 AM ET

BANGALORE, India – There have been 500 reported incidents of anti-Christian violence in India in the past 23 months, claimed a Bangalore-based Christian advocacy group this week.

As the world this week prepared to mark International Human Rights Day, the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) accused influential Hindu organizations such as Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (National Volunteers' Organization) and the Bharatiya Janata (Indian People’s) Party of promoting attacks against Christian workers.

"The attacks on Christians have been largely the sinister religious hatred of the Hindutva forces, under the umbrella organization of the Sangh Parivar (Family of Associations) like the RSS and the BJP, and their affiliate bodies like Bajrang Dal (Army of Hanuman), Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) and others," GCIC stated.

The group said it has urged Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to invoke the constitutional provisions to control the BJP and its affiliates in order to restrain staff members from polluting the atmosphere with what appears to be its communal agenda.

Quoting one of the constitutional rights that grants every Indian citizen the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, GCIC questioned why "seven states in India have introduced the anti-conversion laws which ban 'forced' religious conversions."

“In the name of ‘forced’ religious conversions, many Christian workers and converts are being persecuted,” it alleged.

GCIC said this is in violation of Article 25 of the Indian Constitution which guarantees everyone the right and the freedom to preach, practice and propagate his or her religion.

The advocacy group expressed grave concern over the renewed activities of communal forces – the latest manifestation of which was the attack on two groups of individuals belonging to the order of the Missionaries of Charity.

It also made note of the series of escalating brutalities inflicted on hapless individuals, and attacks on worshippers in India.

“While the missionaries are quite willing to pardon the evil doers – from the point of view of peace in society – such disruptive forces cannot be allowed to play free," GCIC asserted.

"They have already done enough to sow seeds of discord in the name of religion and caste. This type of threat to internal freedom is worse than terrorist attacks."

According to Dr. John Dayal, president of the All India Catholic Union, statistics gathered from Jan. 1 to Nov. 16 showed that the number of atrocities against Christians this year surpassed the marks of recent years.

The victims include members of almost every church denomination in the country - Catholics, Protestants, and Evangelicals. They include priests, nuns, pastors, wives of pastors, believers, seminarians and Bible school students, and lay persons.

Violence includes attempted murder, armed assault, sexual molestation, illegal confinement and grievous injury.

Dayal noted, however, that the figures “do not include cases that have not come to the notice of the All India Christian Council, the All India Catholic Union, the GCIC, the Evangelical Fellowship of India and the Christian Legal Association.”

The list also does not include widespread incidents that were simply categorized as “violence” but which Dayal said certainly bore signs of religious intolerance, bigotry, social discrimination and ostracization.

Nor does it include violence in which Christians are victims together with others, such as the displacement of Tribals due to government action, Dayal added in a statement.

Religious Hatred Fuels Escalating Attacks on Christians in India

[Shammu]

NIGERIA: TEN KILLED, THREE CHURCHES SET ABLAZE IN BAUCHI
December 13, 2007
Upset by damage to mosque under construction, Muslim students spark unrest.

Ten persons have been killed and three churches set on fire after Muslim high school students in this northern Nigerian city began a rampage on Tuesday (December 11) that spilled into the city. Today tensions were still high in the area.

An eyewitness at the high school said the Muslim students attacked their Christian peers after unidentified people pulled out two foundation blocks of a high school mosque under construction.

Area Muslims joined the attacking students, resulting in the deaths and damages in the city, including the burning of dozens of homes belonging to Christians.

The identity of nine of the 10 people killed has been kept secret as the Bauchi state government has ordered security agents to remove the corpses and bury them in a common grave. Eyewitnesses told Compass they were buried this morning.

The 10th person killed was a Christian security agent with the State Security Service, identified by eyewitnesses only by his surname, Bogoro, a member of the Church of Christ in Nigeria in Yelwa.

The three churches set aflame in Bauchi after Muslim students began attacking Christian students at the Government Day Secondary School (also known as Baba Tanko Secondary School) in the Yelwa Tudu area of Bauchi are Pentecostal: Elim Church, Redeemed Christian Church of God, and the Assemblies of God Church.

In addition, area Muslims set fire to dozens of houses belonging to Christians. Among the houses burned was that of the Rev. Umaru Sule, associate pastor of the Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA ) of Yelwa Makaranta, and that of the Rev. Maina Joshua of Kagadama.

A teacher at the Government Day Secondary School-Yelwa, who pleaded that his identity remain undisclosed out of fear of Muslim attack and government penalty, said he witnessed the sparking of the rampage when Muslim students claimed that the foundation of the school mosque had been pulled down.

The teacher told Compass that the Muslim students had won approval to build a mosque at the 3,655-student school on December 2 and began building its foundation the same day.

“On December 3, which was a Monday, I was in the school and I heard the Muslim students complaining that unknown persons had pulled out two blocks from the foundation,” the teacher said. “They threatened to attack Christians in the area for this. The principal and other staff in the tried to solve the problem that day, and I thought all was over.”

The teacher said that on Tuesday (December 11) he was administering a geography test to senior students when Muslim students “trooped out from the classes and said they would not write the examination. They converged at the site of the school mosque and began chanting Allahu Akbar [God is Great].”

Muslim students began attacking Christians in their classes, he said. They reportedly had agreed not to take exams until the school administration resolved the problem of the damaged foundation of the planned mosque.

“They broke chairs and desks,” he said. “They also attacked their Christian colleagues with knives and daggers. I had to run for my dear life because the situation became uncontrollable.”

The teacher explained that this situation snowballed into a town riot, resulting in the deaths of 10 people and the three fire-damaged churches. Nigerian press reports of unidentified mosques set aflame have not been verified.

“A neighbor of mine, one Mrs. Kadiri, was shot on the leg by Muslims on Wednesday morning, the second day of the Muslim rioting,” the teacher told Compass.

Today tensions remained high in the city. Many people were still fleeing to army and police barracks or leaving Bauchi altogether.

Shattered Appeal for Calm

The Rev. Ishaya Danyaya, 57, pastor in charge of ECWA-3 in Yelwa, said when the rioting began, Islamic and Christian leaders, along with security agents, met at the house of the Muslim village head of Yelwa, Sarkin Yelwa, to discuss how to prevent riots from spreading to them.

“We met and resolved that we should not allow this incident spread to us,” he said. “We were told to nominate six members to serve in a security committee, and Muslims too were asked to do so. Four policemen were also appointed into this committee, and they were all mandated to keep watch over our area.”

Immediately thereafter, he said, Muslims in the Yelwa area began attacking Christians.

Rev. Danyaya said he saw Muslims setting fire to the house of his associate and the houses of other area Christians.

“Our church building and that of the Church of Christ in Nigeria were not burned, because we had to risk our lives to defend the two sanctuaries,” he said. “The Muslims attacked us in an effort to burn down these churches.”

According to him, policemen came to the area in four trucks to help them repel Muslims from burning down the two churches. “We have been sleeping in the church just to keep watch over it,” he added.

In front of the house of the Yelwa, the Muslim village head, Muslims cut the head of a female Christian student with a machete and injured the leg of a pastor, Rev. Danyaya said.

“It was in the presence of Sarkin Yelwa that the Assemblies of God Church here had fire set on it,” he added.

Umaru Sule, 46, associate pastor of ECWA 3 in Yelwa, said he was he was sitting in front of his house when his son raced up to tell him that Muslims were heading for their home.

“He urged me to leave, but I told him I was not leaving,” Sule said. “After a few moments of persuasion, I left with him, heading for the church. And just a few meters away from the house, I saw the Muslims setting fire on my house.”

Sule said he lost all of his possession in the fire. “Not even a Bible now do I have,” he told Compass on the church premises at Yelwa.

The Rev. Timothy Dogari, pastor of ECWA Church Kagadama, told Compass that Muslims also targeted his church since the disturbance broke out.

“We have had to mobilize ourselves to keep guard over this church building, as Muslims have tried in the past three days to burn it down,” he said. Rev. Dogari, who said he was nearly killed in the rampage, said many homes of Christians have been destroyed and many people injured.

“Even as I talk to you now,” he said today, “Christians are still being attacked and many are fleeing out of Bauchi.”

In addition, he said, his motorbike was burned. Other Christians whose properties Muslims have destroyed, he said, include the Rev. Joshua Maina, one Elder Luka, and a widow from another church close to his church.

While Christian leaders in Bauchi said the mahem had a clear religious motive, Bauchi Gov. Isa Yuguda portrayed the disturbance as an attempt by political adversaries to discredit his All Nigeria Peoples Party administration.

Taking pains to deny any religiously based violence while appealing for peaceful religious co-existence, Yuguda told the press on Tuesday (December 11) that his political enemies hired hoodlums to instigate the crisis. The governor had put off his planned pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia to attend to the crisis.

He set up a 13-member committee to investigate the immediate and contextual causes of the outbreak of violence, to be completed within 10 days.

TEN KILLED, THREE CHURCHES SET ABLAZE IN BAUCHI

[Shammu]

China Arrests 270 Underground Protestant Pastors
By
Michelle Vu
Christian Post Reporter
Thu, Dec. 13 2007 02:01 PM ET

Chinese police forces recently arrested 270 Protestant house church pastors in an eastern province, reported a Chinese Christian human rights organization.

The pastors were gathering in the district of Hedeng in Shandong province when about 50 policemen from 12 different towns raided the meeting place, blindfolded and handcuffed attendees and took them to the local police station for questioning, according to U.S.-based China Aid Association (CAA.).

CAA’s president, the Rev. Bob Fu, told The Christian Post that 70 Christian leaders remain in prison as of Thursday morning.

The massive arrest took place last Friday at around 1:30 p.m. local time when the clergymen were gathering for a Bible study, according to AsiaNews. A police squad arrived in armored trucks and arrested participants for engaging in an “illegal religious gathering,” recalled an eyewitness, who noted the raid was “violent and swift.”

Some 120 pastors had been released early on after paying 300 yuan (US $40) as an “interrogation tax,” according to AsiaNews.

“Obviously, the detention of these pastors illustrates China’s insincerity in moving toward a culture of religious tolerance,” commented Washington-based Family Research Council (FRC) President Tony Perkins in a statement Tuesday.

“While the regime tries to project itself as progressive, the reality is that China has no intention of abiding by international law or abandoning its hostility to Western religious ideals,” noted Perkins, an influential conservative Christian leader.

FRC issued a letter on Tuesday to the U.S. State Department urging Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to broker the remaining pastors’ quick release.

China allows protestant Christian groups to exist but requires them to register with the government-sanctioned Three Self-Patriotic Movement. There are about 10 million members within the state-approved Protestant church group.

According to CAA, there is a campaign to “normalize” underground Protestant churches by giving them two options: either join the Three Self-Patriotic Movement or be oppressed by government forces.

House church worshippers refuse to join the TSPM because they argue God should be the head of the church and not the government. They also believe that requiring government-approval to hold religious gatherings is a violation of their religious freedom.

China has been under greater scrutiny by the international community for its human rights conduct as it prepares to host the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Although it claims to be a country of religious tolerance, human rights groups have reported a secret campaign to crackdown on unregistered church activities before the Olympics.

Many house church pastors in Beijing have been visited and “requested” to leave the city before the Games, according to Open Doors’ contacts in China.

“These crackdowns on Chinese house church believers and others is not unexpected as the communist government of China tries to put its best foot forward to the world in preparing for the Olympics,” commented Dr. Carl Moeller, president and CEO of Open Doors USA – a Christian persecution watchdog.

In a widely publicized event, over 100 foreign missionaries were expelled from China and some even blacklisted earlier this summer. The massive expulsion was the largest of its kind since 1954 after the communist government took power in 1949.

Some U.S. human rights groups have urged a boycott of the Beijing Olympics if China does not improve its human rights record before the Games.

China has an underground Christian population estimated to be as high as 100 million, although experts are quick to point out the difficulty in obtaining the real count.

China Arrests 270 Underground Protestant Pastors

[Shammu]

Christian symbols on bricks cause controversy
By ANNA M. TINSLEY
Star-Telegram staff writer

When Melissa and Jamie Hawley bought three bricks in a fundraiser to support a Plano booster club, they specified that they wanted Christian crosses to decorate them.

They were stunned when they discovered recently that the city of Plano had ordered workers to turn over their bricks -- along with all others bearing the Christian symbol -- to make sure they were displayed cross-side down.

"Nothing says Merry Christmas like digging up a donated brick with a cross, turning it over and pushing it into the dirt," said their attorney, Hiram Sasser, director of litigation for the Plano-based Liberty Legal Institute.

Sasser questioned the right of the city to turn the bricks, saying it amounts to religious discrimination.

City officials say the issue came to their attention when some passers-by complained about the crosses engraved in some of the bricks that now make up part of the sidewalk at the city's Muehlenbeck Recreation Center.

The complaints questioned whether the bricks violate federally mandated separation of church and state, said John Gilliam, first assistant city attorney for Plano.

"We had some complaints from citizens who thought it wasn't right," Gilliam said. "We want to be doing the right thing."

So he said the city began reviewing the issue about a week ago and decided to flip the bricks until officials decide what to do.

"Some people complained? Because they're vampires and it made their skin fall off?" said Sasser, whose organization offers free legal help to people who believe that their religious freedoms are threatened. "How can you get offended by a cross?"

The Hawleys sent a letter Thursday to the city of Plano demanding that the bricks be put back correctly.

City officials said they had already decided to turn the bricks back over as soon as possible.

"Our conclusion is it would be appropriate to allow all bricks that have been sold -- with whatever symbol is on them -- be turned face up," Gilliam said.

"But on a going-forward basis, we will ensure that any bricks sold will have only the name of the donor and date of graduation."

That's not enough, Sasser said.

"It's great they're going to flip the bricks back," he said. "But if someone else comes along and buys a brick, they'll have to let them have the same kind of symbols as well.

"You can't engage in religious discrimination."

Christian symbols on bricks cause controversy

[Shammu]

Just more proof that Jesus is the Truth, the Way, and the Life.

[Soldier4Christ]

Lawsuit argues expert biologist fired for refusing to believe in evolution

The Christian Law Association will be defending a biologist who it claims was fired from a prestigious institution because he believed in creation.

Nathaniel Abraham is a well-known biologist who was hired by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution because of his expertise on Zebra fish. However, in 2004 Abraham lost his job shortly after he mentioned in a casual conversation with his supervisor that he did not believe in evolution.

In an interview with The Boston Globe, Abraham stated that his supervisor appeared "angry" after the conversation. He claims he was then given the ultimatum to believe evolution or lose his job. Abraham is now suing Woods Hole for half a million dollars for violating his civil rights.

David C. Gibbs III is general counsel for the Christian Law Association and will be defending Abraham under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. "nder the law in the United States of America -- and it's generally referred to as Title VII -- [you] are protected from discrimination based on a number of factors, religion being one of them," the attorney explains.

Gibbs says that when Abraham's case is argued in front of the judge, they will have to establish that he was indeed fired for his religious beliefs.

"And what the scientific community seems to be saying to creationists or [those who hold to] intelligent design is if you're going to hold that belief, keep it in the closet -- hide it," says Gibbs. "[They are saying] if you let someone know that you hold that belief, we will indeed, in this case, shun you, terminate you, punish you for having that religious belief."

The Christian lawyer says he is very optimistic that his client will win the lawsuit, and that a win will send a message to the scientific community that creationists cannot be pushed to the "back of the bus."

[Soldier4Christ]

Philly restaurant's 'English only' policy defended

An "English as the official language" advocate says the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations must not have much to do right now -- and that, says Jim Boulet, may explain why the Commission is harassing a restaurateur who requires his customers to order in English.



Joe Vento is the owner of Geno's Steaks, purportedly one of the most famous cheese steak restaurants in South Philadelphia. In October 2005, Vento posted two small signs alerting customers that "This is America: When Ordering Please Speak English." He claims his busy establishment has seen an increasing number of non-English-speaking customers, and that he posted the signs in order to keep the line moving. But recently Vento found himself defending that policy before the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, which filed a discrimination complaint against his establishment.

Jim Boulet, executive director of English First, says the Commission's actions are nothing less than "government-funded harassment" of a business owner who just wants his restaurant to function efficiently. He adds that he was totally shocked -- and disagrees vehemently -- with comments from a sociology professor who testified at the hearing that Vento's sign harks back to "Whites only" postings of the Jim Crow era.

Diane Gramley, president of American Family Association of Pennsylvania, also supports Vento's decision to post the "English only" sign. She accuses the city of Philadelphia of using the Fair Practices Ordinance to discriminate against the business owner, and impugns city officials of going overboard in their drive for political correctness. Gramley argues that Vento is just trying to what is best for his business, and there is "no way that that sign is hurting his business," she adds.

Recently, the city used the same ordinance to raise the yearly lease on a building used by the Boy Scouts. The yearly lease was raised by $199,999 because officials were upset over the organization's ban on homosexuals as members and leaders.

No ruling is expected on the Geno's Steaks complaint for at least two months.

[Shammu]

Pastor Beaten in India

by Staff
December 19, 2007

(christiansunite.com) - On the evening of December 5, Pastor Nandu Rathod (38) was returning from a Bible study in the Gadag district of Karnataka, India when he was stopped by 10-15 men. The men asked him if he was a Christian preacher and accused him of forcibly converting people.

They severely beat him, fracturing his ribs and legs and left him with serious internal injuries.

Believing he was dead, they left him on the side of the road. Others passing by found him and took him to a hospital where he received treatment.

Pray for a full and quick recovery for Pastor Nandu. Pray that those responsible for this attack will come to understand and accept the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ, as the Apostle Paul did (Acts 9:1-19).

Pastor Beaten in India