The Underground -- Joni Eareckson Tada won’t waste her breast cancer |
- Joni Eareckson Tada won’t waste her breast cancer
- United Methodist Church retains affiliation with Claremont School of Theology
- Pope creates new office to re-evangelize Europe
- Supreme Court ruling supports Hastings College of Law’s student groupspolicy
- European court’s ban of crucifixes in classrooms being challenged in Italy
- BBC to launch Sunday faith show
- Gerard Butler to don the role of “Machine Gun Preacher”
| Joni Eareckson Tada won’t waste her breast cancer Posted: 30 Jun 2010 04:40 PM PDT
Joni Eareckson Tada learned early in life not to waste her afflictions. When she was 17 she had a diving accident which left her paralyzed from the neck down, according to Baptist Press. Now this 60-year-old woman has been diagnosed with malignant breast cancer, and after surgery today she will learn what stage her breast cancer is at, the Christian Post said.  Joni Eareckson Tada But just as 43 years ago she refused to let her quadriplegia go to waste (a book, a movie and a 43 year ministry to the disabled are her fruit), so too does she refuse to waste her breast cancer, the Baptist Press says. Tada said, “I’ve often said that our afflictions come from the hand of our all-wise and sovereign God, who loves us and wants what is best for us. So, although cancer is something new, I am content to receive from God whatever He deems fit for me. “Yes, it’s alarming, but rest assured that Ken [her husband] and I are utterly convinced that God is going to use this to stretch our faith, brighten our hope and strengthen our witness to others,” the Baptist Press reported. Tada surrendered her life to God after her diving accident and what followed were decades of lending hope and inspiration to people, disabled or not, the world over, the Christian Post said. Tada’s movie, based on her autobiography “Joni,” was released by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. It told the story of her diving accident and the two years of rehabilitation that followed, the Baptist Press said. Tada has participated on the National Council on Disability and is a senior associate for the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, the Baptist Press said. She heads Joni and Friends International Disability Center in Agoura Hills, Calif., the Christian Post said. On her website Joni said, “For years I have hoped that my quadriplegia might encourage people struggling with cancer… now I have a chance to truly empathize and journey alongside, affirming that God’s grace is always sufficient for whatever the disease or disability.” Her husband of some 28 years, Ken Tada said, “The doctors have assured us that more advances have been made in the last five years in treating breast cancer than in the last 150 years. We are confident Joni is in very good hands,” PR Newswire said. The Christian Post quoted Steve Bundy, managing director of Joni and Friends who said, “God is at work, He’s doing something and He’s going to use cancer to bring that about.” Bundy added that God is “very much involved with the suffering that we encounter, and His intention is to work it out for the good of ourselves and for the good of those around us.” He cited Romans 8:28 in the Bible as reference, the Christian Post said.  |
| United Methodist Church retains affiliation with Claremont School of Theology Posted: 30 Jun 2010 04:37 PM PDT
The United Methodist Church announced recently that it would preserve its denominational affiliation with Claremont School of Theology and restore funding that it had previously embargoed, the Christian Post said. Earlier this year, the UMC issued a public warning when Claremont established the University Project which instituted clerical training for Muslims and Jews. Claremont was originally a theological school only for Christians, the Christian Post said. The UMC also suspended the normal funding that it had always set aside for Claremont, and began a review of the seminary with its new changes. At the end of the review, the UMC’s University Senate, which decides which schools are suitable for affiliation, determined that Claremont met all required criteria, the Christian Post said. Although Claremont will undertake the University Project with Jewish and Islamic schools, this is a separate endeavor from Claremont’s School of Theology. It also affords for the students integration with those of different faiths in the aim of promoting understanding, the Christian Post said. Claremont President Rev. Jerry D. Campbell said they were happy with the affirmation from the University Senate. He added, “I think that the review came about in the first place because some people were worried that we were turning a United Methodist-related seminary into something very different, but we were able to show the review committee that we have no such plans,” the Christian Post said. Some conservatives had aired concern after Claremont announced the University Project, fearing that Christianity may be compromised to accommodate the other faiths, the Christian Post said. However Claremont saw the new move as a way to provide an environment where students can learn to live in harmony despite differences, and further down the road, become better equipped to work together and be peacemakers, the Christian Post said. |
| Pope creates new office to re-evangelize Europe Posted: 30 Jun 2010 04:36 PM PDT
Pope Benedict XVI announced recently that a new office will be opened to re-evangelize parts of the world, including Europe, where Christianity is being overtaken by secularization, the Associated Press reported. Benedict announced the opening of the new office on the feasts of Saints Peter and Paul, which is a feast day that by tradition is celebrated together with the Orthodox church, the AP said. Although there is no confirmed head of the new office, media in Italy have said it may be Monsignor Rino Fisichella. Conservatives criticized Fisichella last year when he pleaded mercy in defense of Brazilian doctors who performed an abortion on a 9-year-old. The child was raped by her stepfather and pregnant with twins, the AP said. The Catholic church, even as it has created the new office, is in the midst of a number of controversies. One involves Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, former head of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (tasked to work in areas where the Catholic church is relatively unknown), regarding corruption in relation to some of his business transactions, the AP said. Another controversy involves the founder of the Legionaries of Christ, who was found to have committed abuse with some seminarians, and was discovered to be the father of at least three children, the AP said. |
| Supreme Court ruling supports Hastings College of Law’s student groupspolicy Posted: 30 Jun 2010 04:36 PM PDT
The Supreme Court issued a ruling recently that allows San Francisco’s Hastings College of Law to force student groups to permit membership even to those who disagree with the group’s vision and mission, the Alliance Defense Fund Media said. Leo Martinez, Hastings’ dean and acting chancellor said the school policy, which the Supreme Court backed in its ruling, is equitable and fair, FindLaw said.  UC Hastings COllege of the Law Web site Martinez told PBS last April that the policy means that a Jewish league would have to admit Muslims, and a black group would have to admit white supremacists, Religion & Ethics Newsweekly said. By the same reasoning, Democrats would have to allow the election of Republicans, and an atheist could lead a Bible study group, the ADF Media said. The SC upheld the school policy in a 5-4 ruling. However, they did not address discrimination policies in general, and particularly, whether the school was targeting the Christian Legal Society only instead of applying the rule fairly to all school organizations, ADF Media said. The SC said in its ruling that public universities have the option to supersede a religious student group’s freedom to choose its own leadership. However, they must apply the option equally to all student groups, ADF Media said. Kim Colby, senior counsel of the CLS Center for Law & Religious Freedom expressed disappointment with the SC ruling and said, “All college students, including religious students, should have the right to form groups around shared beliefs without being banished from campus,” ADF Media said. The Supreme Court noted in its ruling that the lower courts failed to address the CLS issue of whether Hastings was enforcing the policy only on the CLS, and in this way, exhibiting bias. The SC therefore left a window open by which the CLS may, if they wish, further pursue the issue, Speak Up said. Lead counsel Michael McConnell said, “The record will show that Hastings law school applied its policy in a discriminatory way–excluding CLS from campus but not other groups who limit leadership and voting membership in a similar way. The Supreme Court did not rule that public universities can apply different rules to religious groups than they apply to political, cultural, or other student groups,” ADF Media said. The case arose when Martinez denied funding and refused to give official recognition to the CLS, the Religion & Ethics Newsweekly said. The CLS, an organization of Christian lawyers with chapters nationwide, seeks to practice law guided by their faith. They hold weekly Bible studies with prayer and worship, Religion & Ethics Newsweekly said. While the CLS Hastings chapter permits all students to come to its meetings, one must sign a CLS statement of faith before gaining membership and the right to vote and be a leader in the organization. Martinez felt the requirement of a statement of faith was discriminatory, Religion & Ethics Newsweekly said. |
| European court’s ban of crucifixes in classrooms being challenged in Italy Posted: 30 Jun 2010 04:33 PM PDT
Italy appealed recently a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that bans crucifixes in the classrooms of all state schools, the Telegraph said. The Italian government’s appeal will be raised before the Grand Chamber in Strasbourg. A decision is expected within three months and if Italy loses, crosses will be banned from all state schools in the European Union, the Telegraph said.  Credit: bjearwicke/sxc.hu The case was initiated originally by Soile Lautsi, an Italian citizen. Lautsi was upset because her children went to a school in a small town near Venice where the cross was displayed in all of the classrooms, the Telegraph said. When education authorities refused to take the crosses down, she filed a case in the Italian courts for several years. Finally, she brought her case to Strasbourg, the Telegraph said. Last year the court ruled in her favor, causing an outcry in Italy where 90 percent of its people are Christian. The ruling was viewed to be invasive of the nation’s culture, religion and history, the BBC said. The Vatican said the European court had no right to intervene, and added that the court seeks to ignore the part that Christianity played in the making of Europe’s identity, the BBC said. Education Minister Mariastella Gelmini decried the ruling and cited the cross as a symbol of the country’s tradition, the BBC said. Gelmini added, “…If we erase symbols we erase a part of ourselves,” the Telegraph said. Crucifixes have been displayed in all classrooms in Italy since the 1920s, the Telegraph said. |
| BBC to launch Sunday faith show Posted: 30 Jun 2010 04:27 PM PDT
A new religion and ethics program, Sunday Morning Live, is slated to air on July 11 on BBC One, the Guardian said.
Sunday Morning Live is expected to more closely resemble the former magazine program, The Heaven and Earth Show, which had a down-home feel to it, as opposed to its successor, The Big Questions, which had an adversarial approach, the Guardian said. The new program is timely, as there have been complaints raised by some quarters that religious television shows were declining, the Guardian said. A study from The Christian Institute noted that religious programs are trending towards completely disappearing, World Net Daily said. Two television stations, namely Channel Five and ITV, said there is no commercial viability in faith programs, World Net Daily said. The Christian Institute stressed however that two other television stations, the BBC and Channel 4, should as public service broadcasters feature faith programs; and BBC One and BBC Two are under a requirement to devote two hours weekly to religious programs, the World Net Daily said. Last year Aaqil Ahmed, a Muslim with a seeming bias towards his faith became head of BBC’s religious programming. Also, a British Humanist Association member joined its religious board, and the program “Songs of Praise” was produced by a Sikh, World Net Daily said. The Church of England earlier this year passed a motion to express concern about religious broadcasting and urged mainstream broadcasters to produce quality faith content, particularly of festivals and acts of worship, the Guardian said. A radio presenter also asked BBC News to hire a religion editor to improve faith coverage and provide a faith perspective when covering news in general, the Guardian said. Channel Four will introduce a 90-second slot after the news to dwell on spiritual issues whether Christian, atheist, secular or other religions. Two documentaries are also slated about Pope Benedict XVI which will be aired when Benedict visits the UK in September, the Guardian said. |
| Gerard Butler to don the role of “Machine Gun Preacher” Posted: 30 Jun 2010 01:08 PM PDT
 Sam Childers arriving to the Book Signing Event of his book “Another Man’s War,” Beverly Hills, CA on May 5, 2009 - Photo by Glenn Francis of www.PacificProDigital.com Source: Wikimedia Commons Hollywood action superstar Gerard Butler, whose recent high-octane roles include King Leonidas in “300” (2006) and Clyde Shelton in “Law Abiding Citizen” (2009), will soon be playing the role of real-life AK-47-toting Pastor Sam Childers in 2012’s “Machine Gun Preacher,” according to the Internet Movie Database. A former bike gang member and drug dealer, Childers underwent a massive spiritual transformation in 1992, during a revival at an Assembly of God church and his pastor prophesied that Sam would one day travel to Africa. Six years later, near the close of 1998, Childers boarded a plane for the Sudan. It would be the first of several trips he would make to the war-torn region where the Ugandan sectarian militant group known as the Lord’s Resistance Army, led by Joseph Koney, had abducted and tortured an estimated 30,000 children and displaced 1.6 million people since the start of the rebellion in 1986. The LRA claims they act under the principles and morals found in the Christian Bible and the Ten Commandments. Childers made it his life’s mission to defend and protect the innocent children of the Sudan region by any means necessary. For the past 12 years, the so-called “unconventional American pastor” has lived and operated in Southern Sudan and Northern Uganda. His Angels of East African Children’s village has become a safe haven for rescued children. “Machine Gun Preacher” is currently in its preproduction phase and will begin shooting in Pennsylvania in early July, according to Variety Magazine. Under the directorship of Golden Globe nominee Marc Foster, whose 2008 “Quantum of Solace” follow-up to the 2006 James Bond remake “Casino Royale” cemented him as a Hollywood action-film giant, “Machine Gun Preacher” will co-star Michelle Monoghan of “Mission Impossible 3” (2006) and “Eagle Eye” (2008) fame as Childers’ wife Lyn. The Christian Post recently interviewed Childers about his use of heavy firearms. “I don’t condone violence at all,” he responded. “I don’t believe in violence but at the same time I don’t believe that children should be raped, murdered or cut up.”  Gerard Butler at the 2010 Golden Globe Awards. Photo © gerardjamesbutler.co.uk Fan Site. He also added, “I look at it as self-defense and I look at it as I’m helping God’s children. I’m not a person out to murder. It’s not that I like hurting anybody. But at the same time these people [the LRA] need to be stopped.” Childers’ book Another Man’s War: the True Story of One Man’s Battle to Save Children in the Sudan and his official web site http://machinegunpreacher.org/ recall “the gruesome scenes after LRA raids that included the smelling of burning flesh and saving a woman drenched in her own blood from a breast that was half cut off by a machete,” according to The Christian Post. Childers also recounted the LRA’s forcing of their victim’s to engage in cannibalism and children to murder their own mothers. The biopic film’s release dates have undergone several changes and reschedulings since entering preproduction and is now slated for release sometime in 2012 with Lionsgate Entertainment and in association with 1984 Films. You can find out more about Childers and his Angels of East Africa organization at his website www.machinegunpreacher.org. |
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