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- Faith leaders meet to support bill for global religious freedom
- Israel opens the site of Jesus’ baptism to general public
- Six Christian churches attacked in Senegal
- Family heirloom Bible found among donations to Salvation Army
- New Gallup survey shows most Americans believe in the Bible
- Zondervan purchases The Beginner’s Bible
| Faith leaders meet to support bill for global religious freedom Posted: 14 Jul 2011 12:57 PM PDT
Christian leaders and heads of other faith groups gathered recently in Washington D.C. to support a bill that will enhance U.S.foreign policy in support of global religious freedom. The interfaith leaders attended a one-day conference, Stop Religious Persecution Now, at The Washington Times. Addressing the group was Suzan Johnson-Cook, the State Department’s ambassador-at-large for religious freedom. “Everyone should have the right to believe or not believe,” Cook told the participants, adding, “That is their God-given right,” according to The Washington Times. Included among the participants were Moslems, Sikhs, Hindus and other religious leaders, lawmakers, government officials, and citizen advocate groups for global religious freedom. The conference was also designed to rally support for HR 1856, and to form a faith coalition to draw the attention of Congress, media and social networks towards issues of religious persecution. The bill, authored by Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Virginia), will enhance the role of the State Department in advocating global religious freedom. Also present at the conference was Carl Moeller, president of Open Doors. In his website he said of the event, “[The conference] not only focuses on Christians who face persecution, but people of all faiths who are persecuted for their beliefs. Nearly every global faith is represented at this conference.” Moeller, in the Open Doors website described HR 1856 as “one of the most important initiatives to promote worldwide religious freedom.” First, because it reauthorizes the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, which monitors religious freedom and makes independent policy recommendations to the President, for seven more years. Second, it addresses weaknesses in the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act including ensuring that the IRF Ambassador reports directly to the Secretary of State. Moeller said in the website, “All of these changes are critical to improving the way the US government promotes international religious freedom and helps us achieve our goal of serving persecuted Christians.” Generally, it was felt that while persecution is not a major problem in the U.S., there is the issue of discrimination. “The U.S. is surely one of the freest of countries,” Ramesh Rao of the Hindu America Foundation said, “but even we have discrimination problems,” citing problems the group has encountered in seeking permission to build temples in the US, The Washington Times said. Another speaker at the conference, Hansdeep Singh of the United Sikhs, said that in airports across the country he is often patted down like a “caged animal” at airports before even going through the metal detector because of his turban. “What did I do wrong?” The Washington Times reported. “The problem is that no faith community is safe,” Tina Ramirez, Becket Fund for Religious Liberty’s director of government relations, said. “You might be the persecutor in one but the persecuted in another. So, unfortunately, religious persecution knows no bounds,” The Washington Times said. |
| Israel opens the site of Jesus’ baptism to general public Posted: 14 Jul 2011 12:56 PM PDT
For the first time, Israel has made available to tourists–on a daily basis, the site where Jesus is traditionally believed to have been baptized. The move has raised the ire of Palestine, because the site lies along the West Bank. It also upsets Jordan, which the site borders. A ceremony was held to mark the opening of Kasser al Yahoud Baptism Site, attended by Silvan Shalom, who is Israel’s minister of regional development, and delegates of Christian churches and organizations who are based in Israel. A miracle Shalom told Ynet News that the opening of the project, which cost some $3 million, is “a miracle,” adding, “After being closed and neglected for 44 years, we managed to meet this challenge with a lot of sources and despite the bureaucracy.” The Baptism Site had been closed for 44 years since it was won by Israel during the Six Day War in 1967, when Israel managed to wrest the site and the remainder of the West Bank. Since then, the site was only open to visitors on specific days of the year, usually Christian holidays, and public viewing required careful coordination with Israel’s military. Part of the effort for the opening ceremony involved removal of landmines in the surrounding area, although further from the site the area is viewed as a “no man’s land” still littered with landmines in what was hostile territory between Jordan and Israel until a peace treaty was signed in 1994. Shalom expressed his thanks to the Israel Defense Forces and the Defense Ministry for their help and cooperation. He said the site “has a huge touristic potential, and the option of hosting hundreds of thousands of people who will come here and extend their stay in Israel,” Ynet News reported. The number of tourists coming to Israel continues to rise. Last year some 3.45 million tourists visited Israel, 69 percent of them Christians. Some 38 percent said they came as part of a religious pilgrimage. Illegal occupation There were no representatives from Palestine or Jordan during the opening ceremonies. Palestine’s tourism minister, Khouloud Daibes, said the move by Israel is “illegal,” adding, “This is a site in the occupied territories, and whatever Israeli authorities are doing on Palestinian sites we consider illegal and part of seizures related to the occupation and Israel’s monopoly over our historic and touristic resources,” according to the AP. Jordan, on the other hand, insists that the true baptism site lies not on the portion of the Jordan River that falls under Israel’s control, but is actually 10 yards across, where the river runs along Jordan’s banks, placing both areas in competition for tourists. Area of peace “We have a request for the minister [of Israel],” Greek Orthodox Patriarch Metropolitan Isykhios said in his remarks during the opening ceremony, “that they clear the mines from the way in, and turn this into an area of peace, and not an area of occupation and mines,” the AP reported. |
| Six Christian churches attacked in Senegal Posted: 14 Jul 2011 12:56 PM PDT
Six churches were attacked recently in Dakar, Senegal, amid protests over proposed constitutional amendments by the government that would have ensured reelection of its president next year. The attacks, which were primarily aimed at Pentecostal and Baptist churches, are not believed to be motivated by religious conflicts. Godfrey Yogarajah, executive director of World Evangelical Alliance-Religious Liberty Commission, said in the WEA website that he believes the assaults were intended to take advantage of unrest in the country. “The protests had nothing to do with the churches that were attacked,” Yogarajah said on the website. “[They] were not spontaneous; they were planned and organized, taking advantage of the protests. How else do you make sense of mobs launching attacks on six churches when there was absolutely no immediate provocation?” Puzzling The attacks were described as “puzzling” in the website. Senegal, a Muslim-majority nation, has long been upheld as a standard for tolerance and harmonious coexistence among people of different faiths. Since June 22 there have been protests when the government of President Abdoulaye Wade tried to amend the constitution through a bill that would reduce the required 50 percent of votes to qualify as president to only 25 percent. The passage of the bill would have ensured the reelection of Wade, who has already been in power for 11 years, in next year’s polls. The bill also aimed to include a vice president in the presidential ticket, which would have paved the way for Wade’s son, Karim Wade, to succeed him automatically if he should resign or pass away. The changes were shelved after riots broke out led by the “23 June Movement,” a collaboration of opposition parties and civil organizations. Some 100 were left injured in the melee. Aligned with the 23 June Movement is a group of rappers called Fed Up, a youth group, that among other things, is trying to get more Senegalese to register as voters. Cyrille Toure of Fed Up told AFP, “Between what President Wade has promised, and what he has delivered, it is like night and day. Wade must declare that he will not be a candidate … The constitution and his age do not allow him to run for office.” Wade, who is 85 years old, was elected president in 2000 and reelected in 2007. Senegal’s constitution only allows a president to hold office for two terms. However, Wade’s party contends that his countdown should only begin from 2007, when an amendment was introduced that lowered the presidential term to five years. Regarded with suspicion The churches that were attacked by mobs were largely Baptist and Pentecostal, both of which are experiencing consistent growth in the country. However, some Protestant churches are regarded with suspicion of having alignments with foreign groups, unlike the Roman Catholic Church which is considered a traditional organization in Senegal. While violence against churches has occurred in the past in Senegal, it has never reached such scale, as Sufi Islam, the majority faith of the Senegalese (at 90 percent), is largely tolerant of other faiths. The violence has been condemned by Abdoul Aziz Kebe, an Imam of a mosque in Dakar, and an Islamology professor at Cheikh anta Diop University, Assist News Service said. Appeal for investigation Yogarajah of WEA urged the government to investigate the attacks on the churches, saying on the website, “It is worrisome that no one, not even the government, has a clue who the attackers were, although the attacks raise many questions. “Does that mean a section of the Sufi Muslims have become extremist? If so, is a foreign group behind it or some insiders are promoting radical Islam? Who is their leader? What is the strength of this new grouping and what are their plans?” Yogarajah asked on the website. Yogarajah also appealed to the government to protect religious freedom and to halt any efforts to radicalize local Muslims. |
| Family heirloom Bible found among donations to Salvation Army Posted: 14 Jul 2011 12:49 PM PDT
A family heirloom may have been mistakenly placed at the bottom of a bag of donated clothes that were sent recently to a Salvation Army store in North Carolina. Liz Brown, manager of the Salvation Army Select Store in Greensboro, NC was pulling out items from a bag of donated clothes when she discovered at the bottom of the bag, a tattered Bible that is almost 100 years old, WFMY News said. In a WFMY News clip one can see that the Bible is thick and worn with a dark brown covering. Brown, however, says that what may be more important to the family is what was written on it by the owners’ own hands. The Bible was a Christmas gift to Nannie Finison in the 1920s from her eldest son. In it, she described the births of all her children, and wrote down their death dates as well, Brown told WFMY News. Sadly, a number of the Finison children died very young. One entry by Nannie describes of the death of one of her sons, who was a soldier in World War I. Nannie referred to that as “The terrible war,” Brown told WFMY News. When Nannie passed away, the Bible ended up back with her oldest son, the one who gave it to her in the first place, the WFMY News clip said. He in turn wrote notes about Nannie’s death. When the oldest son died, the Bible came into the possession of one of his own children, a third generation son, who wrote a description of his father’s passing in the Bible. Brown told WFMY News that she would like to return the Bible, which appears to be a valuable family heirloom, to the Finison family. |
| New Gallup survey shows most Americans believe in the Bible Posted: 14 Jul 2011 12:49 PM PDT
An overwhelming majority of Americans believe the Bible is either the inspired or actual word of God, a Gallup poll revealed recently. The Gallup poll which was taken from May 5 – 8 surveyed 1,018 adult respondents, aged 18 or older, from all 50 U.S. states. The poll divided respondents into three categories, namely:
Up to 79 percent of Americans either believe the Bible is inspired by God (49 percent), or believe it is the actual word of God (30 percent) and adhere to a literal interpretation of the Holy Book. Only 17 percent of respondents said they believe the Bible is a collection of fables and legends. Overall biblical view Overall, the largest percentage of Americans view the Bible as God inspired (49 percent). This is up by four percent from 1977 (45 percent). Bible literalists, at 30 percent, have retained consistent numbers in the last two decades since 1992 (at 32 percent) to the present. The lowest percentage of literalists was in 2001 (27 percent). However, today’s percentage of Bible literalists today is 10 percentage points less than in the 1980s (at 40 percent); and eight percent less than in the 1970s (at 38 percent). Biblical view and frequency of church attendance A pattern was indicated regarding churchgoing habits and biblical view. Regular, weekly churchgoers are largely either biblical literalists (54 percent) or view the Bible as God inspired (41 percent). Most of the people who go to church on a monthly or bimonthly basis tend to believe the Bible is inspired by God (66 percent). Only a few are literalists (22 percent). Non churchgoers and rare attendees mostly believe the Bible is inspired by God (46 percent), while a smaller percentage of non churchgoers believe the Bible is a collection of legends (34 percent). Only 16 percent are literalists. Biblical view and educational level There is also a link seen between level of education attained and biblical view. The percentage of literalists tends to decline as educational levels rise. Most literalists have only finished high school or less (46 percent), while some have had some college (22 percent). The percentage of literalists is almost the same among those with college degrees (15 percent) and those with postgraduate degrees (16 percent). The percentage of those who believe the Bible is God inspired is highest among those with college degrees (64 percent); and almost equal among those with postgraduate degrees (55 percent) and those with only some college (56 percent). The percentage of those who believe the Bible is a collection of fables is highest among those with postgraduate degrees (25 percent). The numbers are the same for those with college degrees and those with only some college (19 percent). Biblical view and church denomination Among Protestants and Christian denominations the numbers seem to be closely split between literalists (41 percent) and those who say the Bible is God inspired (46 percent). Most Catholics believe the Bible is inspired by God (65 percent), followed by Catholic literalists (21 percent) and those who see it as a collection of legends (9 percent). Most people with no religion believe the Bible is a book of legends (63 percent), followed by those who see it as God inspired (30 percent). Only five percent are literalists. Biblical view and political affiliation All three political parties largely believe the Bible is inspired by God, with Republicans leading (at 51 percent), followed by Independents (50 percent) and Democrats (46 percent). The second most prevalent biblical view group for all three parties is Bible literalists led by Republicans (42 percent), followed by Democrats (27 percent) and Independents (23 percent). More Democrats (25 percent) view the Bible as a collection of legends compared to Independents (21 percent) and Republicans (six percent). Biblical view and ideology Conservatives tend to be equally split among literalists (46 percent) and those who believe the Bible is inspired by God (45 percent). Most moderates (55 percent) and liberals (48 percent) consider the Bible to be God inspired. More liberals adhere to the belief that the Bible is a collection of legends (31 percent) compared to the percentage of liberal literalists (14 percent). Among moderates, there are more literalists (23 percent) than those who view the Bible as a collection of fables (20 percent). Significance Overall, most Americans still believe that the Bible is the actual word of God, whether they adhere to a literal interpretation of the Bible or view it to be inspired by God. This is consistent with the general view that America is largely a Christian nation and that most Americans believe in God. |
| Zondervan purchases The Beginner’s Bible Posted: 14 Jul 2011 12:49 PM PDT
Zondervan, the world’s leading publisher of the Bible and other Christian books, purchased recently through its Zonderkidz division, The Beginner’s Bible. The Beginner’s Bible, originally published by Mission City Press, has been among the top 10 bestsellers of Christian children’s books for the last 20 years. It has stood out for its unique artwork and simple storybook-telling style, and is today considered a classic. The Beginner’s Bible is geared to children age six and younger. It presents Bible stories in a way that is both entertaining and educational, and is widely considered to be a pioneer in this category. Robust product line Zondervan has had since 1997 a distribution agreement with Mission City Press. In 2004 Zondervan became the exclusive publisher of the book through Zonderkidz. Zonderkidz has since then fully revised and updated the text and illustrations of The Beginner’s Bible. It also added a robust product line including various Bible storybooks, devotionals, children’s books, Bible covers, audio products, I Can Read Bible stories and others. To date, all editions of The Beginner’s Bible (now available worldwide in over 20 languages) have cumulatively sold six million copies. The entire product line (including storybooks, audio products, et. al.) has sold over 18 million units. “Zondervan has enjoyed a great partnership with Mission City Press as both organizations have long shared a common vision to bring God’s Word to life to the youngest generation,” Scott Macdonald, President and CEO of Zondervan, said. “We are honored that Mission City Press trusts us to carry forward this wonderful brand, and we intend to continue to enhance and develop it to impact more young hearts for Christ,” Macdonald said. Tim Lyles, President of Mission City Press said, “There are times when a highly successful past turns out to be just the warm-up for an even more astounding future. We feel that way about The Beginner’s Bible.” Lyles added, “[The Beginner’s Bible’s] amazing legacy as a No. 1 bestseller for over 20 years was preparation for the best that is yet to come. There is no better company than Zondervan, our longtime publishing partner, to take [this] brand to new heights.” Zonderkidz has produced over 55 products for The Beginner’s Bible brand, including an interactive website with games and teaching resources. Zondervan is also planning new products for the brand including:
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