Injustice in our human world
Ever heard of refugee problems, and ethnic wars, and corruption?
Head of U.N. refugee agency asks help in rooting out
corruption
By NAOMI KOPPEL, Associated Press GENEVA (February 27, 2001
5:57 p.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) - Organized crime threatens to
infiltrate the United Nations' efforts to aid the world's refugees, the U.N.
refugee chief warned Tuesday.
Ever heard of Christians fleeing their native countries? Afgan? Arabia? Indonesia?
Soldiers kill Palestinian youth leading mob onto
airfield
Iraq-Syria pipeline said reactivated in violation of sanctions
By Arieh O'Sullivan JERUSALEM (February 27) - Soldiers shot dead a
Palestinian teenager leading a group of about 100 demonstrators who tried to
scale the fence at the Atarot airfield in northern Jerusalem yesterday, the
IDF said.
By David
Rudge HAIFA (February 27) - Iraq is allegedly earning hundreds of millions of
dollars by smuggling oil onto the international market with Syria's
assistance, in breach of UN sanctions and the international embargo on Iraqi
oil sales.
People dared to break the law, peace law, safety, trust.
Terrorism at large!
Jerusalem property battle pits monks vs monks
By Haim
Shapiro JERUSALEM (February 27) - The fact that the monks of St. John in the
Desert expect the police to come tomorrow to evict them from the monastery is
in itself unusual, but even more unusual is the fact that those who are
forcing them out of the monastery are the monks of another Catholic order, the
Franciscans.
Factions against factions. Hermits against hermits.
China claims 2-year sweep closed nearly 3,000 illegal
mines
The Associated Press BEIJING (February 25, 2001 7:58 a.m. EST
http://www.nandotimes.com) - Authorities in southern China closed 2,945 coal
mines over the past two years for allegedly ignoring safety regulations and
fouling the environment, the government's Xinhua News Agency said Sunday.
Many do not voluntarily observe safety regulations for the World(their fellow mankind and nature). Rules are not followed for the good of human commonwealth.
Education failed to improve characters.
Not all are born upright.
Jewish settlers call for Arafat's expulsion or
assassination
JERUSALEM (February 26, 2001 7:53 a.m. EST) - Prominent
Jewish settlers asked their government Monday either to expel or assassinate
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat as payback for a growing number of attacks on
Israelis.
No mercy or tolerance left between relatives and neighbouring countries.
Agence France-Presse
SARAJEVO (February 22, 2001 3:10
p.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) - A group of Bosnian Muslim women called
the sentences handed down Thursday by a U.N. war crimes tribunal to three
Bosnian Serb men for the rape of dozens of Muslim women "unjust and
humiliating."
You seek justice through legal means.
Justice is not
there.
As noble as the cause Judge Roy Moore has undertaken, the reality is, this
battle was lost over the past several decades. While this has become a
great national story and many in the Christian community have gotten
involved in it, the fact is, it is now against the law to do what Judge Roy
Moore did and the monument will end up being removed. Even if it was
allowed to stay, it would NOT change the fact that there is case law on the
books that makes it illegal for such displays in public buildings. - Bill Keller
Justice is not felt by the very injured parties.
Thousands flee ethnic massacre in Indonesia; at least 270
slain
By DANIEL COONEY, Associated Press
SAMPIT, Indonesia (February
25, 2001 9:59 a.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) - Butchered bodies littered
roadsides on the island of Borneo this weekend as thousands of residents
boarded ships to escape ethnic violence.
International law does not protect the innocent against invasion and murder, and ethnic violence.
No common brotherhood of MAN.
Israel should ease economic pressure on Palestinians,
Powell says
By BARRY SCHWEID, Associated Press RAMALLAH, West Bank
(February 25, 2001 7:19 a.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) - Secretary of
State Colin Powell on Sunday backed Palestinian demands that Israel ease its
economic curbs on the West Bank in Gaza.
Not by law, but by comment (personal opinion).
Whose word is truth? Whose is justice?
Five more dead in Yemeni political violence
By AHMED
AL-HAJ, Associated Press SAN`A, Yemen (February 24, 2001 9:22 p.m. EST
http://www.nandotimes.com) - Violence that broke out after municipal elections
in Yemen this week claimed another five lives Saturday, security officials
said, bringing the death toll to 23.
Political violence occur without Christian in power.
13 reportedly killed in Algerian military crackdown
The Associated Press ALGIERS, Algeria (February 24, 2001 9:13 p.m. EST
http://www.nandotimes.com) - Security forces have killed 13 Islamic militants
as part of a military crackdown on rebels committed to a nine-year insurgency,
local media said Saturday.
Military killing over political peace.
Study: Global warming worse than thought; man to blame
H. JOSEF HEBERT, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (October 25, 2000 6:43
p.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - Man-made pollutants have "contributed
substantially" to global warming and the earth is likely to get much warmer
than previously believed, a United Nations-sponsored panel of hundreds of
scientists finds.
You seek justice from international law, and justice is not there.
No body complies with international law for gain and because of ignorance, until it is too late.
Scientists recently claimed(Feb 01) that 45% of earth's ozone layer is damaged.
Do you really expect peace and absolute peace from a system that has no justice, a system that cannot promise absolute justice?
Do you expect peace from a world system that has falsly promised justice, and satisfaction?
Do you still want to blame Christians for violence? Injustice? hypocrisy? bigotry?
Your own humanist "world news" tell you that you are NO BETTER OFF with your OWN ruling, justice, power, legislation, comprehension, trial, establishment, humanism, New Age and other religion.
Mankind are left on their own, fooled and controlled by Satan, without God.
Mankind does not become "FREE" after shaking off "GOD".
There is no WIN WIN without God (Yeshua - Salvation of God/YHWH).
No matter how many laws we have against murder, how many police we have to catch the culprits, how many courts we have to prosecute and punish them and how many prisons we have to lock them up, only a conscience informed by a law greater than a human law can stop a murder before it happens (Rob Schenck, USA Today)
Twisting and stretching the Constitution, U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson overstepped his bounds on Aug. 6 by ordering Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore to remove the two-ton stone etched with God’s Ten Commandments as well as historical quotes that point to those laws as the foundation of U.S. jurisprudence.
Justice Moore will not obey this order because:
> It would grant jurisdiction to a federal court, which is acting beyond the scope of its lawful jurisdiction;
> It would violate his oath of office to the Alabama Constitution, which specifically declares the state laws to be under God;
> It would ratify an unlawful and usurpatious application of the First Amendment; and most importantly
> It would concede that the God of Scripture is not supreme over the laws of the United States.
What actual harm is Roy's Rock doing to any American? (John Derbyshire, National Review Online)
The more the protesters pray, kneel and prostrate themselves before Moore's imposing rock, the more they undercut their case for keeping it on display on public property (Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune)
We need to respect the rule of law, but whence do we get this reverence for law, for a few dusty words on paper, interpreted by always fallible and sometimes malicious, ambitious or ignorant men and women in funny costumes? (Maggie Gallagher)
"I have no problem with God anywhere else but in government buildings," Maddox
13 Hindu Extremists Convicted of Murdering Missionary Graham Staines and His Sons in 1999.
India fears violence as Dara Singh and a dozen others are found guilty of murdering missionary and sons
You Guys Are Late -
Posted by Brother Ray on November 14, 2003, 3:58 am
I saw the posy about internet ordinations in MN being under review.
Where were you guys when these were outlawed in Tennessee and North carolina last year.
Unless you pastor a physical church in these states you cannot do a wedding or baptism in these states. The church must be away from your home address. No home groups allowed.
Alabama, Texas, Florida, Mississippi and Georgia are soon to follow.
Posted by brother Charles on November 14, 2003, 1:23 pm, in reply to "You Guys Are Late"
The sad truth is most churches and denominations are actually under government control, in spite of what the first admendment says. The government wants to keep the churches from having a say regarding what politicians do, but they have no problem deciding church matters on our behalf. The IRS and other governmental agencies DOES establish what churches are valid, using the tax exempt status as a wedge to overseer most church bodies. With the exception of a few, most denominations have become incorperated bodies and forgotten Who is suppose to be the Head of the church.
If your church is looked upon by the government as a non-profit corporation, they will have a LOT to say how it is run. If you begin to condemn homosexuals, endorse certain politicians, and do other "politically in-correct" things, expect a visit from the IRS or the justice department.
D.Lim: Seems that States have refused separation from the Christian faith and religious affairs, such as baptism.
I, Rev. David C S Lim, 林志誠 牧師, can be reached by internet 也在互聯网﹕ Preacher.html
meshiah
e-mail 電郵 
jesussaves91@hotmail.com
A Life changing show
耶穌基督的救恩將人從根本而終極的惡中救出來，藉著救主，死亡不再是終極的惡，它已被置於生命的力量之下。
完全的善是由耶穌而來。
在天上和地下只有耶穌基督的救恩是唯一使人的罪得赦及與神和好的途徑。
The forgotten Christian England in Law Court, in the lives of British and Canadian citizens: 1866 court ruling in England, in which Lord Penzance wrote: "I conceive that marriage, as understood in Christendom, may ... be defined as the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman, to the exclusion of all others."
Canada's constitutional founders and framers, in pre-1867 Charlottetown discussions, accepted the suggestion of an Atlantic Canadian premier that our nation's motto should be taken from the Bible, from the book of Psalms, chapter 72, verse 8, which says, "He shall have dominion also from sea to sea". And so it remains today on Canada's coat of arms right here in the House of Commons, and in courtrooms and classrooms across the country.
The granite foundations of this very building, the Peace Tower, have scripture verses carved into them. When our Constitution was repatriated, an important phrase was placed in its preamble, declaring Parliament as "recognizing the supremacy of God". That is in the preamble of our Constitution. Our national anthem rings forth the prayerful plea "God keep our land". At the beginning of every day right here in Parliament, Mr. Speaker, you lead us in public prayer. -Stockwell Day
Given these past and present historical realities of our nation, respected by believers and non-believers alike, let us please dispel this notion that religious expressions or reflections on the topic of marriage or on any other issue should be prohibited.
There is a book in the parliamentary library entitled Religion, the missing dimension of statecraft which is very helpful on this subject. One of several reasons that Bill C-250 is so ill advised, intolerant and dangerous is that it could be used to squash freedom of expression and freedom of speech in this regard. As a matter of fact, on the question of changing the meaning of marriage, it should be noted that the narrowly activist views of the member for Burnaby--Douglas are not even representative of the 3% of our population who claim to be homosexual. Official statements have come forth from representatives of the homosexual community who believe the definition of marriage should be left intact and not changed at all. It is important to note that this activist assault on marriage is not even unanimously supported by the homosexual community.
It brings me to the matter of people whether we are talking about people who have a religious or non-religious persuasion. People are being described as hateful or homophobic because they disagree with the homosexual lifestyle or because they want to see the marriage definition left alone. Many people have been intimidated into silence out of the fear of being stung with these labels and accusations.
On the other side of the ledger, I have seen books, articles and seminars, which decry marriage as hateful and evil, and as a dangerous institution. While I profoundly disagree with that position, I will never try to legislate into silence those who propagate such a view, and nobody should.
Let us look at the trend that is developing. It is deplorable that a schoolteacher in British Columbia has been savaged because he made public in a newspaper his views about homosexuality. School board members in Surrey have been verbally and legally attacked because they voted not to expose grade one children to homosexual literature and other examples abound. This quasi-legal bullying has taken place without the added clout of Parliament or the Supreme Court trashing the heterosexual definition of marriage.
Imagine the programs of compulsory social reprogramming that will befall proponents of heterosexuality should we erringly vote today to change the clear meaning of marriage. This forced culturalization is taking place now with those who err in the area of political correctness, and it is happening with a vengeance in other jurisdictions also. It can happen here further. Let us not encourage that by changing the definition of marriage in our Parliament today.
Further to the question of definition is the incumbent lack of definition of what may evolve months or years from now as marriage itself is redefined, given the total lack of definition of the term sexual orientation. I have asked for definitions of that term and cannot get that definition.
Critics sneer at those who suggest that an open-ended definition of marriage would soon result in legal challenges from those demanding the right to legal recognition of other types of partnerships such as multi-partner marriage, either on religious grounds or for reasons of orientation. That concern that some have raised should not be derided or dismissed. Those demands are already in fact on our doorstep. As a legislator, I have already sat and received a presentation made to me with that request, for the change in the definition of marriage to allow multi-partner marriages.
In Canada, on this matter of rights, adults and in some cases children as young as 14 years old already have the right to cohabit in any consensual relationship they want. Same sex benefits apply in most union and corporate contracts already. Quebec has a domestic relations act. Alberta has a civil unions act. Ontario and other provinces make similar provisions already for same sex unions. This should cause even less compulsion and not more by the activists who want to change the definition of marriage. It does make one wonder, what is the real agenda driving this tiny group of activists?
While on the topic of activism, we need to address the matter of the courts. Our present system of democratic and judicial checks and balances has been widely predicated on some realities, first the reality that human beings are imperfect and at times human beings will choose to do what is wrong and in pursuit of their own freedoms they will rob others of their freedoms.
Society also recognizes that human beings, as being created by God, have certain rights which need to be protected. Along with that there is an awareness that there will always be demagogues who believe they can create utopia on earth by enforcing their particular system on society as a whole. Marxism and Fascism represent two such examples.
Not perfect but in a fairly good attempt to deal with these realities, western democracies devised a somewhat ingenious yet utilitarian way of parliamentary democracy whereby elected citizens would make the laws while the courts would rule on those who break the laws, laws given to the courts by the elected legislative assemblies.
Judges would be protected from political and mob intimidation by being given long tenures of service and citizens would be protected from out of touch law makers by having the electoral power on a regular basis to throw them out of office and elect those who would create better laws or repeal bad ones.
This somewhat precarious social equilibrium has served us fairly well up until the last couple of decades. Following a disturbing international trend, Canadian judges are increasingly upsetting the social apple cart by taking it upon themselves to read into existing legislation things which were never intended by the elected framers of that legislation.
This lack of respect for the democratic process is unfortunately resulting in a growing lack of public respect for the judicial process and that trend, if it continues to go unchecked, will move us dangerously down the road to social anarchy. Along with that, citizens will wonder why we bother with elected democracy at all if a small group of selected, unelected and protected people are making all the decisions.
It has been unsettling enough to see courts telling governments what they can or cannot do on items such as reducing taxes or providing social benefits. The trend is now at its zenith as many of us watch in awe as unelected judges take it upon themselves to order parliaments to change the legal and dictionary definition of marriage.
Just as an aside, in talking to editors of the Oxford dictionary, they have no intention whatsoever to change the age old definition of marriage. They recognize better than the courts and some politicians that the definition of marriage predates governments, religious systems and in fact the written word.
We must restore the balance to our judicial and democratic process, and today we must stand for what we know to be true about the effect on society of marriage. History is clear, as cited by Toynbee and others, that no civilization has ever survived a societal decision to cease protecting and promoting this thing we call marriage, the legal, unique definition of a union between a man and a women.
I make these comments today encouraged by the majority view of my constituents and by the phrase in our Canadian constitution imploring me to recognize the supremacy of God and the conviction deep in my heart that Canada will not be able to handle financially or socially the effects and consequences of a parliamentary or judicial decree putting an end to marriage as we know it.
May we keep these things in mind as we debate this. May God keep our land.-16 Sept03 Stockwell Day
Schedule B
Constitution Act, 1982 (79) Enacted as Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (U.K.) 1982, c. 11, which came into force on April 17, 1982
PART I
Canadian charter of rights and freedoms
Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law:
Guarantee of Rights and Freedoms
Rights and freedoms in Canada
1. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.
Fundamental Freedoms
2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:
a) freedom of conscience and religion;
b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;
c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and
d) freedom of association.
-=-=-=-=-
National Post - Canada, this September 2003 registered 70% for yes and 30% for no concerning having a national referendum for marriage. The Liberal government refused a referendum as not wanting to show what Canadians would like the law on marriage to be.
• California's state legislature 2003: the law it passed allowing a teenage boy to report his foster parents for a civil-rights violation if they refused to let him dress like a girl.
Gay marriage and any form of marriage or union that is not between one man and one woman go directly against the Word of God which represents the Law of God. Human Rights is not a Biblical principle. The Bible promotes Theocracy instead of Democracy. Hence the supremacy of God is disregarded.
Humanism and Human Rights do not uphold the supremacy of God. They are an offence to the The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The forgotten Christian USA - deleted? erased?
Judicial Tyranny In Action: Students Banned From Giving Religious Gifts
Thursday, September 25 2003 - @ 23:48:42 CDT
Summary: A federal court has ruled that a 4-year-old has no right to give pencils to his classmates with the words "Jesus loves the little children" on them.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in August that a 4-year-old boy could not hand out pencils with the words "Jesus loves the little children" on them because this amounts to "student advocacy" of a religious viewpoint.
The case began in 1998 when Daniel Walz, then four, came to school with the pencils and handed them out during an Easter party at his pre-kindergarten class. The teacher seized the pencils and reported the boy to the principal. Daniel's parents sued the school for violating their son's freedom of speech.
A U.S. District Court in Camden, N.J. ruled against the Walz family in February, 2002; the 3rd Circuit has upheld this decision.
John Whitehead with the Rutherford Institute says: "This decision is probably one of the worst I've ever read. What they're saying to schools in the 3rd Circuit is that you have total control and kids have no freedom at all."
Whereas Humanism and Occultic stories such as Harry Potter are legal in schools.
CHIRAC REBUFFS CALLS ON CHRISTIANITY REFERENCE IN EU CONSTITUTION
October 6, 2003 - JVIM
Voice of America News reports: "French President Jacques Chirac has rebuffed a call by member states of the European Union for a stronger reference to Christianity in the EU draft constitution.
President Chirac said Saturday France could not support giving greater prominence to Christianity in the constitution because that would go against the country's secular tradition.
Mr. Chirac made his comments at a news conference during a one-day conference in Rome to discuss the constitution.
Earlier in the day, at least six EU members joined Poland in favoring a stronger mention of Christianity in the draft constitution
The hatred of Jews is the root of Islamic rage. That will not change! But if we don't deal with Yasser Arafat and the PLO as the terrorists they are, human bombs soon will be stalking America's streets, too.
America received two graphic examples of this Islamic rage last week.
The most shocking and recent happened at the Islamic World Summit with
when Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, a senior statesman and
chairman of the Summit, told leaders from 57 Moslem nations:
"The Europeans killed 6 million Jews out of 12 million, but today the
Jews rule the world by proxy... 1.3 billion Muslims cannot be defeated
by a few million Jews... We are up against people who think. They
survived 2000 years of pogroms not by hitting back but by thinking...
They invented socialism, communism, human rights and democracy so that
persecuting them would appear to be wrong, so that they can enjoy equal
rights with others. With these, they have now gained control of the most
powerful countries, and they, this tiny community, have become a world
power."
The speech drew a standing ovation from the assembled leaders, who
included Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Abdullah, Afghan President Hamid
Karzai, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and Indonesian President
Megawati Sukarnoputri.
That supportive hatred is fueling the PLO to greater efforts. Arafat and his terrorist organization must be stopped!
The Bush Doctrine is not just being challenged by Arafat's PLO, it is being openly mocked to the delight of terrorists everywhere! The latest affront came in the form of a direct attack on an American convoy in the Gaza Strip. Three American security guards were killed, and a U.S. diplomat injured in last week's attack.
Where is the outrage? When Americans are murdered in America, we take action! When Americans are murdered in the Gaza Strip, we do nothing?
The last thing that corrupt and shaky Arab dictators want is peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Their regimes are sustained by military power, and they know they cannot justify having an army without an enemy. Without the Jews and Christians to blame for their poverty, illiteracy and lack of democratic freedoms, their populations would turn on them, as did those of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. The truth is that President Bush is hated much more in the Middle East than is Prime Minister Sharon.
Simply put, the H-bomb -- human bomb -- is a time-tested weapon that works for the PLO. It causes panic, reduces the will and power of resistance so as to advance political goals, no matter how unrealistic. In time, the floodgates could be opened for glassy-eyed, demon-possessed H-bombers to roam the streets of America and wait for the most opportune moment to hit the detonator.
Rather than challenge Arafat's terrorist connections, former President Bill Clinton financed a makeover of the world's most infamous terrorist when he hosted the Rabin/Arafat party at the White House in 1993 -- the same year the World Trade Center was bombed.
Arafat has continued to breed, spread and feed the bacteria with a steady diet of Islamic rage. The Palestinian territory is ground zero for the production, exportation and justification of the human bomb. Stop his H-bombers now at: http://www.conservativepetitions.com/petitions.php?id=237
Palestinian media and the schools are used to teach children the greatest honor in life is to be an H-bomb, a human sacrifice. "The Palestinian people are prepared to sacrifice the last boy, the last girl so that the Palestinian flag will be flown over the walls, churches and mosques of Jerusalem." (Sept. 7, 1995, Yasser Arafat)
Israel is the only country in the Middle East with American flags hanging from windows and flying from cars to show support for the U.S. The PLO is killing American citizens and either burning the U.S. flag or using it as a doormat.
The peace of the world will be threatened if the most infamous terrorist organization is permitted to have a terrorist state. The success of terrorists in one part of the network emboldens others throughout the network. Feeding terror does not solve the problem. Fighting it does! And here's where: http://www.conservativepetitions.com/petitions.php?id=237
Does this latest and most direct attack on Americans by Arafat supporters indicate a change in terrorist tactics? Will those who despise America with a blind hatred now turn to the H-bomb? Is America on the brink of a new, and more murderously blatant, chapter in our war against terrorism? God forbid we disregard yet another warning.
Given the severity of last Wednesday's attack in the Gaza Strip, President Bush's first order of business should be to sign the Anti- Terrorism Act of 1987, Public Law 100-204, Section 5202. This Act calls for the PLO (and other terrorist-related organizations) to have no offices in the U.S., to receive no U.S. funds and to have no diplomatic immunity. The signing of this document would send an uncompromisingly clear signal that crimes perpetrated against U.S. citizens here and abroad do not pay!
Your continued efforts could help make this happen! It's worth a couple of minutes -- isn't it? -- to spark a loud outcry against Arafat and the PLO now before their loud explosions echo across our land! Act now at: http://www.conservativepetitions.com/petitions.php?id=237
Four days before the Gaza attack, I spent an hour and a half in Jerusalem with former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Among other things, he and I talked about his speech to the U.S. House of Representatives Government Reform Committee on Sept. 20, 2001. In that speech, he said: "September 11th was a wake-up call from hell that has opened our eyes to the horrors that await us tomorrow if we fail to act today."
Understanding what could be gained -- or lost! -- in the peace process, won't you support this petition and encourage friends and family, coworkers and acquaintances, Sunday School classmates and church members to make a stand at ConservativePetitions.com? For your convenience, a cut-n-paste email message is provided below. Or return to the petition you signed and fill out the email blanks to send the same message. Either way, the address for people to make a difference is: http://www.conservativepetitions.com/petitions.php?id=237
Mike D. Evans
President,
Jerusalem Prayer Team
P.S. The American public must realize and impress upon President Bush and Congress the truth that our nation cannot win the war on terrorism and at the same time legitimize the world's most infamous terrorist and his PLO organization. Pray for God to touch hearts and create a loud outcry that cannot be ignored at: http://www.conservativepetitions.com/petitions.php?id=237
Time and time again, Arafat's heinous tactics have frustrated chances for peace. The Palestinian people can have a genuinely peaceful life -- but only if Arafat and the PLO are uprooted, along with all terrorist organizations pledged to foil peace as long as Israel exists. The U.S. cannot allow liberals -- such as the EU, UN and Saudi Arabia -- lunatics and liars to neutralize America's war on terrorism by giving Arafat and the PLO a free pass.
Think about it: How can America expect to win the war on terrorism while legitimizing the world's most infamous terrorist and his murderous organization? Act now! Here again is where: http://www.conservativepetitions.com/petitions.php?id=237
Christianity Today,Week of November 10
Weblog: Bishop Committed No Hate Crime Saying Gays Can Change
Plus: Focus on the Family materials considered when judge ruled that a mother could not expose her daughter to anything that might be homophobic.
Compiled by Rob Moll | posted 11/11/2003
Yesterday Weblog reported that Chester police were investigating Rev. Peter Forster, Bishop of Chester, for saying homosexuals can "reorientate themselves." Today, British papers report Forster will not face hate crimes charges for saying homosexuals don't have to be homosexuals. The Cheshire police investigated a complaint about the bishop's remarks but said, "The Crown Prosecution Service has been consulted at length and Cheshire police are satisfied that no criminal offence has been committed, as current public order legislation does not provide specific offences based on sexuality."
Forster had told the Chester Chronicle "Some people who are primarily homosexual can reorientate themselves. I would encourage them to consider that as an option, but I would not set myself up as a medical specialist on the subject - that's in the area of psychiatric health. We want to help them but I don't offer it as a panacea. I am about giving honor to marriage." He also emphasized "maximum tolerance" for those who "choose not to conform to matrimony." Forster did not comment after the investigation.
It looks as though the bishop did not commit a hate crime only because there are no laws prohibiting "inciting hatred" against the gay community. "Although it is illegal to incite racial hatred, there is at present no equivalent ban on inciting hatred against the lesbian and gay community," says the Chester Chronicle. Therefore Forster could not be charged with inciting hatred by saying gays can change, if they want to.
As proof of the absurdity of homosexuals changing their sexual orientation, the BBC is reporting on the many ways psychiatrists have tried to "treat" homosexuality in the past including brainwashing, electric shock aversion therapy, hallucinogenic drugs, and odd surgical means of boosting testosterone. But the article does admit it is not politically correct to say gays can change because it denies gay activists' claim that homosexuality is not a choice.
The BBC quotes Robert Spitzer, who says that 78 percent of gay men reported a change in homosexuality after undergoing therapy. The BBC better be careful who they quote if they want to publish anything in Colorado, where a woman may violate a court ruling if her daughter reads it …
Court raps mom on homophobic leaflets
Last week Weblog reported that a Colorado judge forbade Dr. Cheryl Clark from exposing her child to anything that might be considered homophobic. Yesterday, The Washington Times reported he specifically meant Focus on the Family and Promise Keepers materials. (PK materials use Robert Spitzer's research, you'll have to scroll down a bit to find it.) The Washington Times says, "it was those materials that prompted a Denver judge to forbid Dr. Clark from exposing her daughter to anything 'that can be considered homophobic.' "
Clark recently appealed the ruling with the help of the Liberty Counsel. The Colorado Court of Appeals has agreed to hear the case.
Weblog could not find a response on the Focus on the Family website, but Bill Maier, Focus' vice president told The Washington Times, "The purpose of Focus on the Family is to strengthen the family in America. It is a sad commentary when a judge would consider a church homophobic because they display our materials."
Focus recently had a lawsuit reinstated, in which a bus company refused to post advertisements for a Focus on the Family conference on homosexuality called, Love Won Out.
"Denver District Court Judge John W. Coughlin issued his order after Miss McLeod [Clark's former lover] testified that the religious materials at Dr. Clark's church were 'somehow improper,' according to the appeal," reports The Washington Times. "[Miss McLeod] did not think Dr. Clark's church was appropriate because it had Promise Keepers pamphlets in the foyer," the appeal states. No response on the Promise Keepers website.
Matthew Staver, president of the Liberty Counsel said, "We think this is the first case of its kind in the country that has gone that far. We believe it sets a dangerous trend to undermine the rights of parents and religious freedom." Also at issue is whether Clark's former lover, who did not adopt the child, has any right to custody.
According to the Associated Press, "University of California at Berkeley law professor Joan Hollinger, said, 'It seems way beyond the authority of a court to attempt to control the content of religious instruction, or the lack thereof.' "
Copyright c 2003 Christianity Today.
-=-=---=-=-===
Christianity Today,Week of November 10
Weblog: Police Investigating Bishop for Saying Some Gays Can Change
Plus: Why a married woman can't cheat on her husband with another woman in New Hampshire.
Compiled by Ted Olsen | posted 11/10/2003
Police criticize, investigate Church of England bishop for comments about reparative therapy Peter Forster, the Church of England's Bishop of Chester, is one of the men behind the church's report, "Some Issues In Human Sexuality: A Guide to the Debate," which received some media attention last week. (The report essentially called for "full debate" of sexuality issues in the church and said that gay, bisexual, and transgender parishioners should be treated with "understanding, support, and unconditional love," but offered no policy recommendations.)
It seemed natural, then, that the local newspaper would ask Forster, who opposes the ordination of gay bishops, about the report and about homosexuality and the church. Among his comments to the Chester Chronicle was the following: "Some people who are primarily homosexual can reorientate themselves. I would encourage them to consider that as an option, but I would not set myself up as a medical specialist on the subject-that's in the area of psychiatric health. We want to help them, but I don't offer it as a panacea. I am about giving honor to marriage."
The comment made national news, and now the local police are investigating the comment as a breach of public order. (Manchester Online reports that the complaint suggested that Forster's comments were a hate crime.) Police chief Peter Fahy already seems to have made up his mind, and tells the BBC that Bishop Forster crossed the line. "I think in a civilized society that is totally unacceptable," he said. "Cheshire Police, day in, day out, deals with offences against members of minority communities which are generated by hate and prejudice. I think all public leaders need to make sure that comments they make are balanced by that need for all of us to be giving clear leadership on this issue and to make sure that vulnerable groups are protected and that people have an awareness of the needs and the backgrounds of all these various groups."
The bishop's office has refused to comment on the situation. Smart move: Forster would probably face another investigation no matter what he said.
New Hampshire Supreme Court: Lesbian sex can't count as adultery In another shocking development regarding homosexuality and the law, the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled 3-2 that a married woman having sex with another woman cannot count as adultery, since Webster's Dictionary and an 1878 case both define "intercourse" as a necessary part of adultery.
The two dissenting judges disagreed, saying that lesbian sex is still adulterous since "because it occurs outside of marriage and involves intimate sexual activity, not because it involves only one particular sex act."
Did you miss our second helping?
Regular Weblog readers, please note: We posted twice on Friday, with one Weblog in the morning and another in the afternoon. The latter included links to more than 200 stories, so you won't want to miss it.
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The son of a Canadian photojournalist, beaten to death in an Iranian prison, says he's ashamed the federal government hasn't taken a tougher stand in the affair.
Jul. 26, 2004. 06:06 AM - Toronto Star
JERUSALEM - In the end, it was its own metaphor: a less-than- seamless human chain stretching in patchwork across Israel, led by the true believers among the less-than-seamless ranks of the citizenry itself. Mitch Potter and Cindy Offenbacher report.
Jul. 26, 2004. 06:14 AM - Toronto Star
Immigration Minister Judy Sgro wants Canadian churches to abandon the time-honoured practice of providing sanctuary to people under the threat of deportation.
Jul. 26, 2004. 06:16 AM - Toronto Star
Report Details Hostility to Religious Expression in America
Jody Brown
Agape Press
Thanks to the efforts of a Texas-based legal group, the nine members of one Senate subcommittee now have in their hands a document that outlines literally hundreds of examples of violations of individuals' religious freedoms – in the United States, Oct 2004.
Concrete Examples
Following are some samples of hostility to religious expression, as provided in the Liberty Legal Institute report:
A 12-year-old elementary school student was reprimanded by a public school in St. Louis, Missouri, for quietly saying a prayer before lunch in the school cafeteria, according to a federal lawsuit.
Public high school students in Massachusetts started a Bible club and tried to hand out candy canes with a biblical passage attached. The school suspended the students for distributing the candy canes.
A public school sixth grader in Boulder, Colorado, tried to complete her book report assignment by presenting the Bible, but was forbidden from doing so by her teacher. She was also forbidden from bringing the Bible to school.
A Texas school district refused to hire a public school teacher for the position of assistant principal, because her children attended a private Christian school, in violation of the district's policy that the children of all principals and administrators attend public school.
A Vietnam veteran and member of an honor guard at a New Jersey veterans' cemetery was fired for saying "God bless you and this family" to the family of a deceased veteran, even though the family had consented to the blessing beforehand.
Acts 17:11
These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
"He who covers his sins will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find mercy." Proverbs 28:13.
Courts don't have authority to adjudicate ecclesiastical matters, says New York State Supreme Court Justice. - Aug 2004
State Supreme Court Justice Ira Gammerman on August 6 dismissed a suit brought by lay activists that said the church's charter, or constitution, had been improperly adopted in a violation of state corporate law.
"The First Amendment to the United States Constitution precludes courts from intervening in ecclesiastical matters, such as church governance, to resolve disputes involving religious organizations," Gammerman ruled.
News for Earthworship
Churches bombed in Baghdad
The beginning of Ramadan, Islam's holiest month, has been marked by a wave of violence in Baghdad. -17-10-04
In Egypt:
In order for the girls to write their final exams and apply for university, they have to have an identity card. Once identified as Muslim on their identity cards, the Egyptian authorities have historically refused citizens to change that designation. Religious designation is important for several reasons, including forbidding those designated as Muslims from marrying Christians and restricting them from entering churches. VOM/PPA10-11-04
These articles are not intended to provide medical, political, secular, or other professional advice.