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- Jim Caviezel’s career dipped after playing Jesus in The Passion of the Christ
- Christian leaders respond to Osama bin Laden’s death
- Study shows link between one’s concept of God and cheating behavior
- Appeals Court supports federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research
- ICC calls for justice for murdered Ethiopian Evangelist, pregnant wife
| Jim Caviezel’s career dipped after playing Jesus in The Passion of the Christ Posted: 02 May 2011 09:59 PM PDT
The lead actor in the megahit The Passion of the Christ said recently that his career took a dip after playing Jesus in the $400 million global box office hit. Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus Christ in The Passion of the Christ, was a rising star in Hollywood before he took on the role. He already had roles in The Count of Monte Cristo and Angel Eyes with Jennifer Lopez, the Daily Mail said. Caviezel also starred in The Thin Red Line, a true story about fighting in Guadalcanal in WWII alongside Sean Penn and Nick Nolte in 1998. In 2000 Caviezel had a role in Pay It Forward, which starred Helen Hunt, Kevin Spacey and Haley Joel Osment, CBN News said. One of his biggest hits was the thriller Frequency, where he played the son of Dennis Quaid in 2000, Daily Mail said. In 2003 he was in the film I Am David, and the following year, his film Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius was released. It was the same year that The Passion of the Christ became a blockbuster, the Orlando Sentinel said. But since then Caviezel had a downturn in his career, most surprising considering the tremendous success of the film. He told a group at First Baptist Church of Orlando that he was “rejected in my own industry,” OS reported. He still continued to receive movie offers, but the number of offers lessened rather than increased. In 2008 he acted in The Stoning of Soraya M., a disturbing film based on a true story told by a French journalist (Caviezel) about a rural Iranian woman whose husband wanted to divorce her, and did so by lying and saying that she had committed adultery, OS said. His most noteworthy role after The Passion was in the 2009 miniseries, The Prisoner, which failed to meet its potential, according to Entertainment Weekly. Caviezel said he continues to feel Hollywood’s rejection seven years after The Passion of the Christ. But his faith remains strong and he said his career is led primarily by his religion as a Roman Catholic, OS said. Of good friend Mel Gibson, who had been labeled anti-Semitic and who recently was taped uttering expletives to the mother of his youngest child, Caviezel said, “Mel Gibson, he’s a horrible sinner, isn’t he? Mel Gibson doesn’t need your judgment, he needs your prayers,” the OS reported. Caviezel told worshipers at First Baptist that he believes he was called to the acting profession. He also notes that he was 33 years old when he played Jesus and his initialsm J.C., “freaked [Mel Gibson] out a little,” according to OS. Caviezel spoke before First Baptist to promote an audio book of the Bible, Words of Promise, that he produced with an all-star cast including Richard Dreyfuss, the Daily Mail said. He referred to the audio book as “The Passion on Steroids.” He was introduced by David Uth, pastor of First Baptist, as a man who is “more passionate about God,” than anyone he had ever known before. While promoting the audio book, Caviezel also shared his life and faith, Orlando Sentinel said. Caviezel and his wife have adopted children from China with ‘special needs,’ including one who is stricken with cancer. Caviezel told the worshippers, “Maybe God, through my son’s death, is going to teach me something,” OS said. |
| Christian leaders respond to Osama bin Laden’s death Posted: 02 May 2011 09:59 PM PDT
Christian leaders have responded to the death of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by issuing statements and through Twitter. Mark Tooley, president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy said, “All persons of good will can be grateful that the U.S. military, helped by U.S. intelligence agencies, has successfully ended Osama bin Laden’s career of terror.” He continued, “Sadly, since 9-11, many church voices have insisted that Christianity mandates pacifism. Hopefully there will now be greater appreciation for the Church’s historic stance that God ordained the state to punish evildoers who attack the innocent. “The Church does not rejoice to see anyone perish. It always seeks repentance and offers God’s grace, even while recognizing the state’s duty to punish. As Christians we would have preferred to see bin Laden renounce terror. But he died, as he lived, by the sword. The Church has always understood that government has a distinct responsibility to execute justice, sometimes employing lethal force,” Christian Newswire reported. The Vatican also released a public statement which said that bin Laden must answer to God for the killing of so many and for abusing religion as an excuse to spread hate, Reuters reported. Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman told Reuters that Christians “do not rejoice” when a man is killed, but the death of Obama is a reminder of “each person’s responsibility before God and men.” Lombardi told Reuters, “Osama bin Laden, as everyone knows, had the grave responsibility of having spread division and hate among people, causing the deaths of an innumerable number of people and exploiting religion for these purposes.” Lombardi also told Reuters that he hoped that bin Laden’s death “would not be an occasion for more hate, but for peace.” Meanwhile, Muslim extremist websites have drawn up bin Laden as a martyr who fought for Allah. One post said, “We won’t cry today, but we will revenge. Men and women in America will cry,” according to CNN. Many Christians chose to respond to the news of bin Laden’s death by sending out Bible verses through Twitter. The third most popular bible verse that was re-tweeted was started by Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church, who quoted Prov. 21:15. The verse is, “When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous, but terror to evildoers.” The second most popular Bible verse re-tweeted was sent out by Rev. Run of Run DMC fame. Rev. Run tweeted Psalm 138:8 which says, “The Lord will vindicate me; your love, Lord, endures forever—do not abandon the works of your hands.” The number one most popularly re-tweeted Bible verse is Prov. 24:17. However, it is not known who started it. The verse says, “Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice.” |
| Study shows link between one’s concept of God and cheating behavior Posted: 01 May 2011 07:14 PM PDT
A new study shows a link between one’s concept of God and the strength of one’s inclination to cheat. The study, Mean Gods make Good People: Different Views of God Predict Cheating Behavior, showed that those who viewed God as compassionate and loving were more likely to cheat than those who saw God as harsh and punitive, The Los Angeles Times said. The study was conducted by Azim F. Shariff, a psychologist from the University of Oregon, and Ara Norenzayan of the University of British Columbia. It was published in the International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, UPI said. The researchers said that they conducted the study in order to contribute to a larger understanding of the role that religion plays in lending adherence to moral behavior, according to UPI. The study pointed out while ethical behavior does not vary between believers and nonbelievers in God, there is a wide difference in ethical behavior linked to how one perceives God, the Los Angeles Times said. Those who adhere to the concept of a loving and compassionate God showed a greater tendency to cheat than those who saw God as punitive, according to the Los Angeles Times. Shariff told The Register-Guard that he was not surprised by the findings of the study, which he said fell in line with a “supernatural punishment hypothesis” that societies have long recognized. Shariff told The Register-Guard, “Rulers have known for a long time that God is an incredibly effective way of keeping people in line.” He was, however, surprised at the finding that students who see God as forgiving and compassionate have a larger inclination to cheat. Shariff said, “It almost gives people license to act in an immoral way because they have a supernatural agent who will forgive them regardless of what they do. They’ll think, ‘It’s OK to do this because I won’t be judged too harshly because my God is a forgiving God,’ ” The Register-Guard reported. However, Shariff told The Register-Guard that those who believe in a harsh God may internalize fear of punishment and this can direct their behavior. “They’ve made that decision at some point already, so they don’t have to make it every single time.” Methodology The survey was administered to 100 college students. In the first part, 61 students were asked to rate God on 14 traits, for example half punitive, half loving, highly punitive and highly loving, The Register-Guard said. Immediately after, they were asked to do a math test. However, the math test was designed to be tedious, and the ability to cheat was deliberately easy so that students would be encouraged to cheat, according to The Register-Guard. In the second part of the experiment, 39 students were asked to fill the same questionnaire about their belief and concept of God. However, to further boost against “priming,” the students were made to wait several days before taking the same math test, UPI reported. The survey also corrected for ethnicity, religious affiliation and personality traits which might influence the survey results, the Los Angeles Times said. The findings of the study showed that 60 percent of the students were “low cheaters,” compared to 40 percent who were “high cheaters,” The Register-Guard said. Shariff said that most studies, including this one, show that there is no gap in terms of moral behavior between people who are religious and those who are atheist, The Register-Guard reported. Absolutism vs. relativism Paul Froese, author of America’s Four Gods-What We Say About God and What That Says About Us, said of Shariff’s study, “More wrathful images of God are related to moral absolutism, while people with benevolent, loving images of God tend to be moral relativists,” the Los Angeles Times reported. Shariff told The Register-Guard, “College students typically are less religious than the population as a whole, so it’s possible that the cheating gap between believers of a loving God and believers of an angry God is actually understated compared to what might be found in the larger society.” |
| Appeals Court supports federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research Posted: 01 May 2011 07:06 PM PDT
An appeals court ruled recently that the government can allot federal funds for grants to studies that will engage in the use of human embryonic stem cells. The two-to-one ruling was made by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. It grants permission to the government to make use of human embryonic stem cells to try to find new ways to treat a number of medical conditions, Reuters reported. The ruling also overthrows a lower court decision made by U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth which said the U.S. National Institutes of Health guidelines regarding such studies were violated because these studies involve the destruction of embryos, and puts other studies dealing only with adult stem cells at a disadvantage for funds, Reuters said. Despite Lamberth’s ruling last August, federal funding of such research continued pending appeal. The White House said that if the studies were halted, millions of dollars could be lost, according to Reuters. The appeals court decision said the U.S. law is “ambiguous” and “[does] not prohibit funding a research project in which an ESC [embryonic stem cell] will be used,” according to Reuters. Francis Collins, NIH director said in a statement, “This is a momentous day — not only for science, but for the hopes of thousands of patients and their families who are relying on NIH-funded scientists to pursue life-saving discoveries and therapies that could come from stem cell research,” Reuters reported. Sensitive subject Research that uses human embryonic stem cells has been a sensitive subject for a long time, with supporters highlighting the potential medical benefits that might be yielded, and opponents saying the procedure is another version of abortion and may involve cloning of other human embryonic stem cells, The Christian Science Monitor said. The stem cells used in such research comes from human embryos that are days old, at which stage they have the ability to produce any type of body cell. Scientists are hoping that with these embryos cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and spinal cord injuries can be addressed, Reuters reported. Advocates say the embryos that will be used for the research are the excess that are harvested through in vitro fertilization and which would have been destroyed anyway, The Christian Science Monitor says. Opponents take issue with the potential destruction of human embryos in the course of developing new cells for the purpose of research. Researchers say embryonic stem cells can be harvested from the placental cord blood as well, The Christian Science Monitor said. There are no laws that ban destruction of embryos in the case of privately-funded research. However, private funding is not plentiful, according to The Christian Science Monitor. The issue of human embryonic stem cell research has challenged U.S. leaders from the time of President Bill Clinton, along with Congress, especially regarding ethical and legal issues, The Christian Science Monitor said. President Barack Obama expanded federal funding in 2009 shortly after he took office specifying that only embryos from fertility clinics, which would have been thrown away, could be used for such research, Reuters said. Judges’ ruling The majority ruling was penned by Judge Douglas Ginsburg with Judge Thomas Griffith. The ruling stated, “[The] fact is the statute is not worded precisely enough to resolve the present definitional contest conclusively for one side or another,” The Christian Science Monitor reported. As a result, the ruling determined it is “entirely reasonable” for the NIH to interpret the law as “permitting funding for research using cell lines derived without federal funding, even as it bars funding for the derivation of additional lines,” Reuters reported. Opposing judge In her dissenting opinion, Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson said the court majority was performing “linguistic jujitsu” and was parsing the 1996 law, in this way rendering it unclear, The Christian Science Monitor said. Henderson said the intent of the statute was to disallow all research that could either result upon, or is dependent on destroying a human embryo. She wrote, “The majority opinion has taken a straightforward case of statutory construction and produced a result that would make Rube Goldberg tip his hat,” The Christian Science Monitor reported. The statute, called the Dickey-Wicker Amendment, forbids NIH to fund: “(1) the creation of a human embryo or embryos for research purposes; or (2) research in which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death greater than that allowed for research on fetuses in utero,” The Christian Science Monitor reported. Researchers Dr. James Sherley (biological engineer, Boston Biomedical Research Institute), and Theresa Deisher (AVM Biotechnology, Washington), who filed the case, may appeal the decision and seek a full appeals court hearing, Reuters reported. Other comments Fr. Thomas Berg, a Catholic bioethicist and director of Westchester Institute for Ethics & the Human Person, said funding embryonic stem cell research is “complicity in the destruction of individual, embryonic human persons,” according to Catholic News Agency. Berg said, “You were once an embryo. That’s a simple matter of scientific and biological facts. The human embryo is already a human being. It is already a human person at an early stage of development. The arbitrary isolation of that embryonic stage has no logical footing to stand on,” Catholic News Agency reported. |
| ICC calls for justice for murdered Ethiopian Evangelist, pregnant wife Posted: 01 May 2011 07:00 PM PDT
A Christian human rights group is seeking justice on behalf of an Ethiopian Christian evangelist who was beaten to death and his pregnant wife who was injured and left unconscious by a group of Muslim attackers. International Christian Concern asked government officials in Ethiopia to arrest and prosecute the murderers of Abraham Abera. The group of men also beat and injured Abera’s pregnant wife, Birtukan, whom they left unconscious on the road, OneNewsNow said. Birtukan, who was hospitalized, said when she regained consciousness that she knew two of the assailants, OneNewsNow said. The incident occurred in south-central Worabe, an Ethiopian village with a 97 percent Muslim-majority population, according to Worthy News. Jonathan Racho, ICC regional manager of Africa, said it is possible that the attackers will not face prosecution. He told OneNewsNow, “Most of the local officials in the area are Muslims, and we are afraid that they may not bring any charges against the attackers.” Racho also expressed concern about growing radicalization of Muslims in the area. “Most of the time, the moderate Muslims in Ethiopia are more violent, and they entice them to kill Christians [and] destroy churches. In Ethiopia, we have seen the recent radicalization of the Muslims,” OneNewsNow reported. Lured from home The incident occurred when a group of Muslims lured Abera and his wife Birtukan away from Kale Hiwot Church, which is both the ministry and home of the Christians. Abera was told that a friend of theirs was ill and needed help badly, Worthy News said. Once Abera and Birtukan were out of range of the church, the men began to beat the male evangelist to death with rods. They told the couple that the Christian population is growing in the area, and because of this, believers will be destroyed, OneNewsNow said. When Birtukan tried to intervene they attacked her and inflicted her with an acute head injury which rendered her unconscious on the street. She was left alone on the road, Worthy News reported. Others found Birtukan and brought her to a hospital in Butajira, a nearby town. When she regained consciousness she recalled the details of the attack and said she could identify two of the assailants, OneNewsNow reported. Birtukan recalled being told by the attackers, “You [Christians] are growing in number in our area. You are spreading your message [the gospel]. We will destroy you,” according to Worthy News. Birtukan also sustained injuries to her midsection. However, she was told by hospital medics that her baby will survive, according to Worthy News. A Christian leader (unidentified) told Worthy News, “Christians in Worabe and its surrounding areas are persecuted at the hands of Muslim radicals, and the local government officials, who are Muslims, don’t protect Christians. We urge the higher government authorities [state and federal officials] to intervene and protect us.” Racho of the ICC told Worthy News, “The brutal killing of Evangelist Abraham and the beating of his wife, Birtukan, is deeply troubling. We urge the federal government authorities to investigate this latest attack as well as reports of persecution against Christians in the Silte zone, [where Worabe is located].” Racho also is asking Christians around the world to contact the Ethiopian embassy within their vicinity and to urge officials to prosecute the assailants and render justice for Abera and Birtukan, according to OneNewsNow. |
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