Wednesday, February 1, 2012

The Underground -- On eve of Darwin’s birthday, states take steps to limit evolution

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On eve of Darwin’s birthday, states take steps to limit evolution

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 11:26 PM PST


On the eve of the 203rd anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birthday, lawmakers in at least four states are taking steps to hinder the teaching of evolution in public schools, while other bills would do the same without naming evolution outright.

One of the bills, New Hampshire‘s House Bill 1148, not only singles out evolution, but would require teachers to discuss its proponents’ “political and ideological viewpoints and their position on the concept of atheism.” It is scheduled for a hearing in early February.

The author of the bill, Republican state Rep. Jerry Bergevin, has linked the teaching of evolution to the 1999 Columbine High School massacre and Hitler’s atrocities and associates it with atheism.

“I want the full portrait of evolution and the people who came up with the ideas to be presented,” Bergevin told the Concord Monitor. “It’s a worldview and it’s godless. Atheism has been tried in various societies, and they’ve been pretty criminal domestically and internationally. The Soviet Union, Cuba, the Nazis, China today: They don’t respect human rights.”

In many ways, the debate over evolution mirrors strategies adopted by opponents in the battle over abortion: If it can’t be outlawed outright, critics will at least try to make it more difficult.

Several atheist organizations have called for the withdrawal of all the bills, but are keeping an especially close eye on Bergevin’s. David Silverman, president of American Atheists, has called it “ignorant, infuriating bigotry.”

Ahead of Darwin’s birthday on Feb. 12, other current anti-evolution bills include:

– In the Indiana Senate, a bill would allow school districts to “require the teaching of various theories concerning the origin of life within the school corporation.” That bill has already passed a statehouse committee and was scheduled for a vote on Jan 31.

– The “Missouri Standard Science Act” would require the equal treatment of evolution and “intelligent design,” an idea that the universe was created by an unnamed “designer.” A second bill would require teachers to encourage students “to explore scientific questions, learn about scientific evidence, develop critical thinking skills, and respond appropriately and respectfully to differences of opinion about controversial issues, including biological and chemical evolution.”

– A bill in the Oklahoma Senate would require the state’s board of education to help teachers promote “critical thinking, logical analysis, open and objective discussion of scientific theories including, but not limited to, evolution, the origin of life, global warming, and human cloning” if a local school district makes that request.

– A second bill in the New Hampshire House would require science teachers to instruct students that  “proper scientific inquir(y) results from not committing to any one theory or hypothesis, no matter how firmly it appears to be established.”

– A bill in Virginia would make it illegal for state colleges to require a class that conflicts with a student’s religious views. Critics say that would enable a student to receive a biology degree, for example, without studying evolution if he or she objected to it.

– A second bill in Indiana would require the state board of education to draft rules about the teaching of ideas in science class that cannot be proven by evidence — a clear doorway for the teaching of creationism and intelligent design, critics say.

While all the bills have drawn the attention of several large atheist groups including the Center for Inquiry and the National Atheist Party, Bergevin’s bill in New Hampshire has raised the most eyebrows.

“Evolution is not just for atheists, and has been accepted as fact by many religious institutions, including the Catholic Church,” Silverman said. “It is clearly an attempt to create religious discussion in science class, and to somehow make science ‘not for believers.’”

Even if the bill were to become law, some expect it to be short-lived.

“In the unlikely event it would pass, it would quickly be struck down by the courts as unconstitutional,” said Rob Boston, a senior policy analyst at the Washington-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

“It is just warmed-over creationism, which the Supreme Court has already said is unconstitutional, and the government cannot require anyone to stand up and explain where they stand on a religion or a philosophy.”

If the bills stand little chance of surviving, why do they get proposed?

Josh Rosenau, a programs and policy director at the National Center for Science Education, chalks it up to the high number of rookie legislators.

In 2010, he said, “A lot of very conservative legislators got elected who did not necessarily know we have debated these bills before and they did not pass,” he said. “You had people elected as ideologues and they are fulfilling their campaign promises.”

Indeed, Bergevin is a first-time legislator who had wide support from the Tea Party. Still, Rosenau said, Bergevin’s bill is unusual for requiring teachers to discuss a scientist’s religious views.

“Just on its face, I think a court would look askance at it,” he said. “You can’t say, ‘On behalf of the state of New Hampshire I endorse theism over atheism.’”

The bigger picture, Boston said, is the strategy of the bills that do not name evolution per se, like the two in Virginia and Indiana.

“They are smart enough to know that a direct attack on evolution is not likely to survive, so they instead put some kind of penalty on teaching it to make (educators) afraid,” he said.

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N.J. governor defends remarks on civil rights

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 11:00 PM PST


Even though a famous civil rights leader came to Trenton to scold him, Gov. Chris Christie unapologetically defended his recent controversial remarks on civil rights, calling one his New Jersey critics “numbnuts.”

Agitated and at times caustic, the governor went after openly gay Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, who had hammered Christie for saying that in the 1950s and 60s activists “would have been happy to have a referendum on civil rights rather than fighting and dying in the streets of the South.”

Christie was trying to compare his call for a statewide referendum on gay marriage to the civil rights struggle.

“What I said was I’m sure that civil rights advocates would have liked to have this as another option but it was not available to them,” Christie said on Monday (Jan. 30). “Yet you have numbnuts like Reed Gusciora who put out a statement comparing me to George Wallace and Lester Maddox.”

Christie praised legendary civil rights activist Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., who held his own Trenton press conference to condemn the governor’s remarks, adding that civil rights never would have won on statewide ballots in the South.

“When it came to the question of interracial marriage, (Martin Luther King) would say races don’t fall in love and get married, individuals fall in love and get married. If two men want to fall in love and get married, if two women — it’s their business. It’s not the role of the federal government or state government to intervene.”

Gusciora said if Christie didn’t like the comparison to two notoriously racist governors, “then he should change his position on marriage equality and sign the bill into law.”

(Matt Friedman and Jenna Portnoy and write for The Star-Ledger in Newark.)

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Sunday, January 29, 2012

The Underground -- Gingrich, Santorum’s racist remarks against African-Americans show spiritual defect

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Gingrich, Santorum’s racist remarks against African-Americans show spiritual defect

Posted: 29 Jan 2012 02:30 AM PST


“Black people are so lazy. They need to get off the welfare and food stamps and get jobs.”

Though that sounds like something Archie Bunker would’ve said back in the day, it’s actually the kind of stuff Gingrich people are accusing Republican presidential candidate hopefuls Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich of saying on the campaign trail.

Gingrich was criticized for repeatedly calling President Barack Obama “food stamp president” and for saying that he’d be happy to teach young black people in economically depressed areas how to have a work ethic, so that they wouldn’t have to grow up to be pimps or prostitutes.

Santorum was criticized for saying that he didn’t want “to make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money.”

Republican presidential hopefuls Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have been criticized for saying things that could be perceived as racist on the campaign trail.

Based on what they said, it’s understandable why people are accusing the two of racism and more than 40 leaders in the Catholic Church have told the two to chill out with the race baiting. Either they are trying to appeal to a racist element in their party or they are ignorant of the facts.

Either way, as seasoned politicians these guys should know better. They should know that before they open their mouths, they should do a little research instead of repeating ill-founded stereotypes.

If they did the research they would know that accordingto the U.S. Department of Agriculture, one-third of the 223 million white people in the United States receive food stamps.

If you look at the raw data alone, more white people (about 74 million) receive food stamps than the total black population (38.9 million) of the United States.

I imagine that if they had been armed with that knowledge, they probably wouldn’t have let such foolishness come out of their mouths because they would’ve alienated their voter base.

As Christians, these guys should know better as well. The heart of God is pretty clear throughout the Bible on discrimination (See James 2, Galatians 3:28, John 7:24, Romans 10:12) – it’s abhorrent to Him because all people were made in His image and He hates partiality.

The fact Gingrich and Santorum are publicly proclaiming racist stereotypes shows that they have serious spiritual deficiencies of which they need to take care. Though they claim they care about “right to life issues,” it’s obvious that they aren’t really trying to love their brothers and sisters in Christ.

I don’t know who is going to get the Republican nomination, but if either of these guys do, one of the questions I’ll be asking myself at the polls is, can I really trust a candidate who unabashedly repeats inaccurate information in an attempt to bolster himself, while never really trying to actually address or understand the needs of one group of people he seeks to govern?

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Praying for New Orleans, one block at a time

Posted: 28 Jan 2012 10:45 PM PST


Millie Campbell slipped the transmission into reverse and backed her blue Chevrolet away from her spotless brick home. “Oh God,” she said, “we thank you for the blood of Jesus.”

Then the 76-year-old cranked the wheel straight, put the car into drive, and headed slowly up Frenchmen Street, one hand on the wheel, the other turned upward toward the heavens.

“Touch this block in the name of Jesus,” she continued.

Her front-seat companion, Betty Minor, 69, filled in the gaps between Campbell’s appeals. “Hallelujah … Glory, glory.”

A couple of times a week, on no particular schedule, Campbell, Minor and a half-dozen others drive slowly around assigned neighborhoods, doing just this.

Campbell covers the 7th Ward. Minor covers the 9th Ward and eastern New Orleans.

And they pray. They pray for an end to the scourge of murders sapping the city — 199 last year, and 17 or so on the streets Campbell drove last week.

Sometimes, driver and passenger join hands, bouncing slowly over the pothole-filled streets of their neighborhood.

“Cover your children, Father God,” Minor says. “In the name of Jesus.”

The car turns onto A.P Tureaud Boulevard. “Hope is not in the dollar,” Campbell says. “Hope is in you, Christ Jesus.”

The pair drive past stoop sitters, past Tony’s Historical Parakeet Restaurant and Bar, past the blighted houses and freshly rebuilt homes in neighborhoods undergoing checkerboard recoveries.

“Touch Touro Street, Lord, in the name of Jesus.”

Campbell and Minor’s group consists of six women and one man. They are from different churches, bound together by an ad hoc prayer group that meets twice a month at Campbell’s house. This is strictly their project.

They are among thousands of people off the radar, unorganized, unsponsored, praying daily for the safety of New Orleans.

Usually the people in Campbell’s group go solo. Sometimes it’s a special trip. But sometimes they pray while doing something else, like going out for groceries. The trips can be long or short. Each person prays however he or she is moved to. Campbell and her friends have been doing this for about six weeks.

Across the city, thousands of Catholics formally pray for peace in the city at each Sunday Mass, reciting a special anti-crime petition at the request of Archbishop Gregory Aymond.

Other clergy lead congregations in other ways, and run youth ministries, literacy programs, sports programs, anything to help tamp down crime.

But Campbell and her friends have decided the most powerful thing they can do is drive the city’s streets and pray, as the community does its business, unaware, around them.

“We got a problem, but we don’t know how to solve it,” Campbell insists.

“Well, we do,” she says, meaning herself, Minor and their friends. “We’re taking it to the Spirit.”

(Bruce Nolan writes for The Times-Picayune in New Orleans.)

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Court says student’s faith may have led to expulsion

Posted: 28 Jan 2012 10:24 PM PST


A counseling student who declined to advise a gay client might have been expelled from her university because of her faith, a federal appeals court ruled on Friday (Jan. 27).

Citing her evangelical Christian religion, Julea Ward disagreed with professors at Eastern Michigan University who told her she was required to support the sexual orientation of her clients. When the graduate student was assigned a client who sought counseling on a same-sex relationship, she asked to have the client referred to another counselor.

Ward was then expelled from the school.

A lower court sided with the university, but Ward appealed, saying the school had violated her First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and free exercise of religion.

On Friday, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that Ward could have a valid claim, and sent the case back to a district court for another hearing.

“A reasonable jury could conclude that Ward’s professors ejected her from the counseling program because of hostility toward her speech and faith, not due to a policy against referrals,” the appeals court ruled.

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which has helped defend Ward, hailed the ruling as a victory for religious freedom.

“No individual should be forced out of their profession solely because of her religious beliefs,” said Eric Rassbach, the Becket Fund’s national litigation director.

The Ypsilanti, Mich.-based university issued a statement noting that the court has not ruled in favor of Ward, but rather called for more legal consideration.

“This case has never been about religion or religious discrimination,” the university said. “It is not about homosexuality or sexual orientation. This case is about what is in the best interest of a person who is in need of counseling.”

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Tuesday, November 1, 2011

The Underground -- ‘Blessings from above’ mark Reformation Day in Germany

The Underground -- ‘Blessings from above’ mark Reformation Day in Germany

‘Blessings from above’ mark Reformation Day in Germany

Posted: 01 Nov 2011 05:04 PM PDT


The Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD – the German federation of Protestant churches) marked Reformation Day on 31 October with a soaring, whimsical approach to spreading Martin Luther’s message that the grace of God is available to all.

Across the country, schools, student organizations and church groups organized “flashmobs” that launched “blessings from above” — paper airplanes with inspirational messages. Most flew their gliders from windows or other high vantage points simultaneously at 15:17 (3:17 pm) in recognition of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation on 31 October, 1517.

At Humboldt University in Berlin, a flock of white paper airplanes glided from a high window and landed at the feet of students in the courtyard below. Each carried a message inside — “Wishing you good travel through the new semester” — or a verse from the Bible: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

“Many students in Berlin are not very conscious of their religious heritage and I think it’s a good idea to remind them,” said Julian Titze of the Evangelical Student Community (ESC) in Berlin, who took part in the flashmob.

Reformation Day is a holiday in some German states, though not in Berlin. “It is a very important historical date, but its messages are also very important today,” said Pastor Christoph Roemhild of the EKD in an interview before the event. “Reformation Day reminds us that we are not self-made men. A lot of people don’t feel blessed. They strive for recognition to make themselves bigger. But we want to tell them God already recognizes them.”

The date is also seen as an opportunity to maintain a commitment to keeping the Reformed churches in touch with the modern world. “The work of renewal did not finish in the 16th century,” the Rev. Setri Nyomi, general secretary of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, said in a statement. “We do not simply belong to a tradition. As Reformed, we believe the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ is a movement that continues to be renewed — always reforming.”

For the EKD, activities like the Reformation Day flashmobs are a way to keep the message fresh and communicate with a younger audience. “We have to develop new ways to reach people … to surprise people that the church is different from what they would expect,” said Holger Dannenmann, a pastor for ESC, in an interview in Humboldt’s 18th century courtyard.

Dorothee Lütz, studying for a master’s degree in philosophy, hurried to class at the end of her lunch break with a crumpled paper airplane in hand. “I saw it on the ground,” she explained. “It says, ‘Jesus loves you,’ and I thought that’s nice. It’s nice to be reminded of that.”

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An interview with a machine gun preacher and a writer of stars

Posted: 01 Nov 2011 11:42 AM PDT


After screening the movie, Machine Gun Preacher the night before, I was pretty intimidated to meet Sam Childers and writer Jason Keller in person.

Childers (pronounced “Chill-dears), is a former drug-dealing criminal who now risks his life to save and take care of orphan children in Northern Uganda and Southern Sudan, Africa. Keller is listed on the movie’s official website as the “go-to writer of muscular, character-driven projects.”

I meet the two in a fancy downtown Seattle hotel – not the kind of place you’d expect to meet the machine gun wielding, Harley Davidson preacher and his macho friend. Instead of intimidation, they both great me with big smiles are hearty handshakes.

Being the last interview of the day of a month-long tour, I ask them if they are getting tired of answering the same questions over and over again.

Childers smiles and politely says that all of the interviewers ask the same questions but in different ways so the conversation stays fresh. Then I couldn’t help myself, so I ask, “What is the stupidest question you’ve been asked?” Keller speaks first.

“What’s on your I-Pod?” Childers laughs and then adds one better,

“Who is better looking, Sam Childers or Gerard Butler?” (Butler portrays Childers in the film). Childers shrugs his shoulders and looks horrified that anyone would rank him below Bulter. I like these guys.

Machine Gun Preacher (MGP) is not a “Christian” film per se, but it is filled with spiritual truth and speaks about faith in a very realistic way.

The film is filled with stories of personal salvation, prayer, worship, and water baptism. I figure that in order for a film to be so honest about the Christian faith, one must be a believer. “Are you religious yourself?” I ask Keller.

He points to Childers and says, “He says I am, but I don’t.”

“Why do you say that?” I ask.

“I believe in God and Jesus, but I don’t do any of the ritual stuff. I grew up Catholic but I don’t go to church on a regular basis.”

Childers says matter-of-factly, “The bible says that those who believe will be saved.” Whether Keller wants to admit it or not, it is obvious that this journey has made a deep impact on him.

Before typing a word of the script, Keller spent about a year researching, interviewing and even living with Childers and his family. During my interview, Keller is no less passionate than Childers is about the Angels of East Africa and Children’s Village ministries.

I ask, “Why do you think that the Marc Forester (Producer and Director of MGP) thought you’d be the best for this writing job?” Childers speaks for Keller and tells me that he is known in the business as a script doctor and would be very good piecing all the parts together.

You may not have heard of Keller before, but this won’t be the last. His next project to come to the screen is the still-untitled Snow White project that is starring Julia Roberts, Sean Bean and Lily Collins. He is also and working on another film, The Tomb, which is set to star Bruce Willis.

MGP shows the good, the bad and the ugly about Childers past life. This includes drug use, swearing, and violence. It would make most people cringe to have their lives so exposed, let alone a minister of the cloth.

I ask him if he was happy with the movie’s portrayal of him and if there was anything that he regretted being shown. He tells me that the movie tries to compact about 30 years of his life into 2 hours, so some scenes feel a little false to him.

For instance, in the film, his character decides to give up heroin and the next scene we see him in church. Childers tells me that there was about four years between his giving up heroin and when he gave his life to Jesus as his Savior. He doesn’t like the idea that the film could give some the impression that his addiction just went away overnight.

Another scene in the movie shows him, in a time of frustration, of going to a bar and drinking a lot. He tells me that that didn’t happen. He has visited bars, but he has been sober for 20 some years, so that scene was a little painful to watch. By and large though, he feels that they crew got the story right.

I mention that at times, the film’s language is quite strong and asks if he regrets that. He tells me that it isn’t anything worse you hear in the real world. “Religous people worrry about that,” he says.

His biggest concern isn’t worrying about what others think of him, but that the word can get out letting others know of the atrocities that are still happening in Africa and how they can help.

To learn more about Sam Childers and his ministries, you may enjoy reading the book, “Another Man’s War.”

Originally written in 2009, the book has been re-released with photos of the movie. You may also want to visit his website, MachineGunPreacher.org, where you can watch videos, and read stories from the orphan children themselves.

 

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This year’s White Ribbon Against Pornography focuses on harms of porn

Posted: 01 Nov 2011 11:34 AM PDT


Morality in Media kicked off its 24th annual White Ribbon Against Pornography week on Sunday.

According to Dawn Hawkins, MIM’s executive director, this year’s WRAP week campaign events will feature testimony from people such as ex-porn stars, doctors, scholars, therapists, Internet safety experts and feminist leaders.

To show their solidarity against pornography, this week thousands of people will wear white ribbons and attend WRAP events across the country.

The major focus of this year’s WRAP week is how pornography harms society.

The campaign runs until Sunday and will feature more than 20 events across the country designed to help people understand the problems that pornography can cause.

“Pornography is bringing harm to all areas of society,” said Patrick Trueman, president of MIM. “It is destroying families and is the main contributor to the exploitation of women and children. Pornography is the gateway to the sex industry and the harm must end.”

Author and radio host Teresa Tomeo said, “The evidence regarding the impact of pornography on children, women, families, and the institution of marriage continues to mount.”

“That’s why the WRAP campaign is so important. Awareness is key in our efforts to make a difference in our media-saturated culture.”

A major feature of this year’s WRAP campaign is the Be Aware: Porn Harms website. The site features online content such as videos and resources related to the WRAP campaign at www.PornHarms.com/beaware.

“We will be streaming documentaries about the links between porn and human trafficking, hosting discussions with past porn performers, providing education on understanding pornography addiction and offering steps to keep children safe,” said Hawkins.

Morality in Media is an organization that focuses on opposing pornography and indecency by educating the public about pornography. It has been the national sponsor of WRAP since 1987.

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Casting Crowns’ 5th Studio Album: Come to the Well

Posted: 31 Oct 2011 10:42 PM PDT


On October 18,  multi-award winning, contemporary Christian rock band, Casting Crowns, released their fifth studio album, Come to the Well, which has been continuously praised for having deep Biblical lyrics that will definitely speak to people’s hearts.

It is not only an album with great melodies, rhythms, and tunes you’d love to sing along with, but it also contains compelling and heavily spiritual messages that will make a big impact on your Christian life.
Casting Crowns front man, Mark Hall, explains the significance of the album title and how it relates to the story of the woman at the well in the Bible.
“Teaching through the story of the woman at the well with my teenagers and my families is where it all came from,” said Hall. “Your friends aren’t the well. They aren’t always going to do the right thing or be there for you. Your athletic scholarship can’t be the well. If your knee goes out, your well is dry. You need to draw from Jesus, pour into that. That is where it started… with the idea of Jesus being the well versus other things.”
The first single off the album, Courageous, will challenge it’s listeners in so many ways. Hall explains that the message of the song is meant to inspire people not only to be part of the audience, but to be part of the action.

Us Christians aren’t meant to sit by the bleachers and just watch. God gave us an assignment, which was to share the gospel to nations, and make a difference in people’s lives through Jesus Christ. As the song says, “May the watchers become warriors, let the men of God arise.”

That alone is enough to challenge people to fulfill the purpose that God had intended for them.
Another track from the album, Jesus, Friend of Sinners, is an inspiring song that will lead people to so many realizations.

Often we like pointing fingers at other people, failing to see our own faults. We need to be reminded that Jesus was a friend of sinners and He did not turn His back on us because of our faulty doings. This song can definitely serve as our daily reminder for that.
So Far to Find You and Face Down are two moving songs that are both about knowing who God is as our Creator, and just simply enjoying His presence, instead of just running to Him when we need something. These are the types of songs that you can sing at church, without doubting that you will bring a few people to tears.
The Well has a compact and truthful message about having Jesus as our well, someone that we draw water from so that we will never thirst again.

According to Mark Hall, the main point of the song is that, “Jesus isn’t a life enhancement. Jesus is life.” Often we see Him as something that will make things better, things that we already have. Often times, we fail to realize that He is what we need, and not anything else.
Angel, is a song written about Hall’s wife. The ones who have found that special someone that God had intended for them, will be able to relate to this. It speaks about loyalty, love, and passion.
Other songs in the album, such as Spirit Wind, Just Another Birthday, Wedding Day, My Own Worst Enemy, Already There, and City on the Hill, speak about significant things such as revival, dealing with sin, importance of fatherhood, the coming of Jesus Christ, and so many more things that will lead us back not only to the Bible, but to Jesus Christ himself.
People who bought the album definitely had nothing but praises for it. For them, the songs have ministered to them in various ways that will forever be significant to them.

One fan said, “God uses Casting Crowns to spread His truth and love.” Most of them see the songs as challenging messages that will inspire you to be a better person through God.
This album isn’t only an album made for people to listen to, but also to learn from. Listening to the songs will open your eyes to so many things, even simple things in your Christian life that you have not seen before.
What makes Casting Crowns so successful, especially with this new album, is the fact that even if their songs are like praise and worship, people of different races and religions can still relate to it and appreciate it because of its secular and mainstream sound.
As a conclusion, their new album is definitely something that Christians will love. It’s diverse, it’s moving, and it’s just simply a joy and inspiration to listen to. It is most certainly an album that will help Christians grow in the Lord.

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Germany’s autobahn churches

Posted: 31 Oct 2011 10:39 PM PDT


Germans are famous for their love of fast cars. But for those needing a little respite from the country’s high-speed highways, autobahn churches offer a unique brand of peace and sanctuary for the modern traveler.

“We seek to care for our guests fully — not just for their cars but also for their body, soul and spirit,” said Anna Isabell Strohofer, whose parents opened the ecumenical Light on Our Path Church ten years ago at the family-run Strohofer service station close to Nuremberg in southern Germany. “It was the aim of our family to create a place where drivers can recover mentally.”

A family tragedy also played a role in the decision. “My mother’s brother died aged 18 in a car accident,” said Strohofer in an interview. “My family had always been very religious but this accident made our faith much stronger, and was also a reason to build the church: to remember him.”

The church now draws all kinds of travelers from bus charters to long-distance truck drivers, and even hosts ceremonies where bikers come to have their motorcycles blessed. The tradition of roadside crosses and chapels where pilgrims and other travelers pray for divine protection on the road dates back to the Middle Ages, and seems very much alive at today’s autobahn churches.

“Thank you for your protection over 5,000 accident-free kilometers home to my family,” wrote one visitor in the message book at the Protestant community and autobahn church at the village of Werbellin. “Thanks for this oasis on our path of life,” reads another.

Still, the chance to pause and reflect that these “rest stops for the soul” offer is hardly a throwback to the past, say advocates, but caters to a very modern need.

“What is new is the speed of life today,” said Guenter Lehner, of the Akademie Bruderhilfe-Pax-Familienfuersorg, a Christian insurance company that coordinates Germany’s 38 autobahn churches. “Now we need to slow down, to have a break during the journey because the cars are very fast, and life is very fast,” he said.

The first autobahn church, the Roman Catholic Mary, Protection of Travelers, opened in 1958. It was intended as a monument to be seen from the road, opening just once a week for Sunday Mass. But drivers demanded more.

“People started to visit it and rub their noses at the closed doors,” Father Wolfram Hoyer explained in an interview. “So the church was opened and people flocked in … They wanted simply to get out of traffic, to have a place where they could rest — psychologically, physically, religiously — and then drive on. So these are kind of spiritual filling stations.”

Now, Hoyer says, supermarket-style automatic doors allow the faithful access 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and more autobahn churches continue to open across the country.

Some, like Mary, Protection of Travelers, and St. Christophorus Himmelkron on the main route between Berlin and Munich — with a rocket-like spire and dedicated meditation room — are purpose-built. Others stood in the same spot long before the autobahn thundered past. All are clearly signposted from the highway, and the Bruderhilfe Akademie estimates they attract around one million visitors a year.

“Everyone who drives ends up in autobahn churches,” Hoyer said. “From our message book, I know that we have had several Jews, several Muslims and people who say that they are not faithful — but they are in some way; they stop and pray or meditate.”

Some believe the popularity of autobahn churches at a time when ordinary parish congregations are declining is not only the result of modern modes of transport but also a changing approach to worship.

“Increasingly, people aren’t attracted to the religious service on Sunday but they need and they enjoy the silence of churches,” said Lehner. “I think this is a very modern use of churches.”

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India Briefs: Recent Incidents of Persecution

Posted: 31 Oct 2011 10:28 PM PDT


Kerala, India, October 31 (Compass Direct News) – The government on Oct. 20 deported U.S. evangelist William Lee, blacklisted him and prohibited him from visiting India again after police arrested him on Oct. 14 for participation in a musical concert in Kaloor Stadium, Cochin and jailed him for allegedly violating terms of his visa by preaching, according to the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC). Lee participated in an in-door musical program organized by Faith Leaders Church of Lord, Tiruvalla. After three days in jail, the evangelist complained of chest pain and was admitted to a hospital. The Ernakulam magistrate’s court fined him 10,000 rupees (US$202). The GCIC condemned Lee’ arrest as selective, releasing a statement that, “The moral policing, sectarian violence and the selective arrest of Christian evangelists demonstrate very clearly a failure of secular institutions in India.”

Karnataka – On Oct. 17 in Sullia, South Kanara, Hindu extremists along the with village head exhumed the body of a Christian woman, alleging that Christians were guilty of an illegal burial. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that a pastor identified only as Moses V. conducted the funeral service of Asha Latha of Bethsaida Assembly of God Church on land he had bought as a burial ground. Just as the Christians had completed the ceremony and interned the body, the village head and about 100 extremists forced them to exhume the body and bury it elsewhere and complained to Sullia police. Officers arrived and took the pastor to the police station. As Christians buried Latha’s body on her land at Ivara Nadu, police questioned the pastor till about midnight, GCIC reported. He was released only after area leaders’ intervention, but on Oct. 18 police took him back to the station for further questioning.

Andhra Pradesh – Police on Oct. 16 detained Christians after Hindu extremists beat them and damaged a pastor’s car in Ramagudam. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that about 100 Hindu extremists from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) barged into the evening youth meeting, beat the young Christians and took them to the police station. A pastor identified only as Suresh rushed to the station, but the RSS stopped him and damaged his car. After beating the pastor, the RSS members filed a false charge of forcible conversion, according to the GCIC. Pastor Suresh also filed a police complaint against the attackers, after which the youth leaders were released without charges.
 
Karnataka – Police on Oct. 15 seized the passport of a pastor who runs an orphanage after he reported a missing orphan in Kadugodi, near Bangalore. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that Joseph Victor notified authorities that a 15-year-old girl at his Navajeevan Orphanage left the facility to attend a tailoring class. Police told him he could file a written complaint the next morning, and Pastor Victor sent his associate pastor and a clerk to the police station the next day to do so. While police made the Christians wait, the station inspector and sub-inspector went to the orphanage and demanded to know whether Pastor Victor had permission to operate the facility. After questioning, they took him to the police station. Detaining the Christians till evening, police and forced them to sign a statement that they themselves should search for the missing girl, demanded that they produce all documents for operating the orphanage and a house church and confiscated the pastor’s passport, reported the GCIC.

Andhra Pradesh – Hindu extremists from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Oct. 15 accused Christians of forceful conversion and att

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