http://secularislam.org/blog/post/SI_Blog/21/The-St-Petersburg-Declaration
(Very interesting link, the new ‘moderate Moslem’ manifesto, but didn’t they release one in Holland back in the cartoon days?)
http://secularislam.org/blog/post/SI_Blog/12/Irshad-Manji-announces-Secular-Islam-Summit-on-CNN-Headline-News
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isQu0hAAZRI (Irshad, cute but doesn’t know what she’s talking about if she thinks she can interpret Islam the way she wants to)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTG96tOpkoI (Ibrahim Hooper, a joke of a Moslem–do Arab Moslems wear prayer caps 24/7? Talk about “trying to prove yourself.” Gah!)
http://www.mindsafari.org/
From Bridget…
March 10, 2007
*******************************************************
A basic conundrum for stubborn muzbots:
The koran states that the sun goes around the earth.
But it is the earth the travels around the sun.
Ergo, the koran is not from god (unless s/he is a real tease)
*******************************************************
Thirty-three Chinese and Three Korea Pastors Released in Henan after International Pressure; One Sentenced for 10 Days Detention
March 10, 2007
MIDLAND, Texas, Mar. 7 /Christian Newswire/ — China Aid Association has learned after intensive international pressure the local police released 33 arrested house church leaders and three leaders from South Korea. One leader pastor Dong Quanyu was sentenced to 10 days administrative detention for “illegal gathering.”
Photo: Arrested Pastor Dong Quanyu
Pastor Dong is the vice-President of Chinese House Church Alliance. They were raided a house church Bible study in Wancheng District, Nanyang city, Henan province on March 6, 2007. They were taken to the police station for interrogation for almost one day.
Contact the PSB office of Nanyang City to show your concern:
Police Special Squad Director Mr. Chang Keying: +86- 13837767278 (cell phone)
Deputy PSB Director Mr. Lu (on religious affairs): +86- 13603778696(cell phone)
PSB office Tel: +86-377-63311110
Christian Newswire
MIDLAND, Texas, Feb. 26 /Christian Newswire/ — China Aid Association learned that Beijing house church activist Hua Huiqi’s 77-year- old mother, Ms. Shuang Shuying was sentenced to two years by Beijing Chongwen District People’s Court on February 26, 2007 on the charge of willfully damaging public and private property.
The Court only spent an hour hearing this case and quickly sent the verdict. Since the trial date was set on the first work day after the Chinese New Year period, her lawyer was not able to collect any evidence to defend her. She was arrested when she walked to the Chongwen district office to seek information about her son pastor Hua Huiqi who was arrested since January 26. Hua is an active house church Christian in Beijing. He has been passionately serving the ministry and assisting lots of persecuted Christians and oppressed peasants. The Beijing government has been seeking opportunities to take revenge against this family for their active support of the oppressed.
Photo: sister Shuang Shuying in the District Government office
“We are shocked by the injustice done to this elder Christian lady,” said Bob Fu who is the former coworker of Hua, “it definitely represents a new low on the so-called rule of law in China especially in the host city of 2008 Summer Olympics.”
Letter of your concern can be sent to:
Premier Wen Jiabao, PRC
PO Box 1741, The State Council, Beijing, PRC (zip code 100017)
Contact Phone: +86-10-66012399
Ms. Wu Aiying, minister of Ministry of Justice of PRC
Tel: +86-10-65205114
Fax: +86-10-64729863
Address: No. 10, Nan Da Jie, Chaoyangmen, Beijing City (Zip Code: 100020)
Christian Newswire
Ten Reasons Why The Jesus Tomb Claim is Bogus
March 10, 2007
Leading Scholars Say Discovery Channel ‘Documentary’ Makes for Good TV, Bad History and Bad Science
MEDIA ADVISORY, Feb. 26 /Christian Newswire/ — The claim of James Cameron and the Discovery Channel that a tomb contains the bones of Jesus is bogus, said leading Biblical and archeological scholars today.
“Unfortunately, this is a story full of holes, conjectures and problems,” said Dr. Ben Witherington, author of What Have They Done With Jesus? and New Testament professor at Asbury Theological Seminary. “It will make good TV and involves a bad critical reading of history. Basically, this is old news with a new interpretation. We have known about this tomb since it was discovered in 1980. There are all sorts of reasons to see this as much ado about nothing much.”
Witherington and other leading biblical scholars and archeologists say there are at least 10 reasons why the “Jesus Tomb” claim is completely bogus:
There is no DNA evidence that this is the historical Jesus of Nazareth
The statistical analysis is untrustworthy
The name “Jesus” was a popular name in the first century, appearing in 98 other tombs and on 21 other ossuaries
There is no historical evidence that Jesus was ever married or had a child
The earliest followers of Jesus never called him “Jesus, son of Joseph”
It is highly unlikely that Joseph, who died earlier in Galilee, was buried in Jerusalem, since the historical record connects him only to Nazareth or Bethlehem
The Talipot tomb and ossuaries are such that they would have belonged to a rich family, which does not match the historical record for Jesus
Fourth-century church historian Eusebius makes quite clear that the body of James, the brother of Jesus, was buried alone near the temple mount and that his tomb was visited in the early centuries, making very unlikely that the Talipot tomb was Jesus’ “family tomb”
The two Mary ossuaries do not mention anyone from Migdal, but simply has the name Mary, one of the most common of all ancient Jewish female names
By all ancient accounts, the tomb of Jesus was empty, making it highly unlikely that it was moved to another tomb, decayed for one year’s time, and then the bones put in an ossuary
“In light of all the incredible number of problems with the recent claim that Jesus’ grave has been found, the time-honored, multi-faceted evidence for the bodily resurrection of Jesus is more convincing than ever,” said Dr. Gary Habermas, an expert on the resurrection of Jesus and author of The Case for the Resurrection. “Even the early opponents of the Christian message acknowledged that Jesus’ tomb was empty. And the evidence for Jesus’ bodily resurrection appearances has never been refuted.”
These leading Biblical and archeological experts are available for media interviews:
Dr. Ben Witherington
Bible scholar, speaker, author of 30 books including What Have They Done With Jesus? and The Jesus Quest
Professor of New Testament Interpretation
Asbury Theological Seminary
Wilmore, Kentucky
859-223-6308
benw333@hotmail.com
curriculum vitae
Dr. Darrell Bock
Media spokesman / Editor-at-large for Christianity Today /Author, Breaking the Da Vinci Code and Jesus in Context
Professor of New Testament Studies
Dallas Theological Seminary
Dallas, Texas
214-824-3094 x3715
DBockDTS@aol.com
website
Dr. Craig Evans
Author, Jesus and the Ossuaries and Fabricating Jesus: How Modern Scholars Distort the Gospels
Professor of New Testament
Acadia Divinity College
Wolfville, Nova Scotia
902-585-2221
craig.evans@acadiau.ca
curriculum vitae
Dr. Gary Habermas
Shroud of Turin expert / Author of 27 books including The Case for the Resurrection
Chair, Department of Philosophy and Theology
Liberty University
Lynchburg, Virginia
434-582-2577
website
Dr. Paul Maier
Bible scholar / author of more than 15 books including The Da Vinci Code – Fact or Fiction?, More Than a Skeleton and Josephus – The Essential Works
Professor of Ancient History
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, Michigan
(269) 387-4816
maier@wmich.edu
faculty profile
Joe Zias
- Thirty years professional experience in the field of Medical/ Physical anthropology
- Over 80 articles in peer reviewed medical and scientific journals
- Science and Archaeology Group at Hebrew University. Former senior curator of Archaeology and Anthropology at the Israel Antiquities Authority for which he was responsible for the curation of the antiquities stored in the Israel Antiquities Authority, ranging from the Pre-historic periods up to the 18th Century AD. These objects, numbering over 75,000, included the Dead Sea Scrolls, pre-historic human skeletal remains as well as artifacts from the regions premier archaeological sites such as Jericho, Megiddo, and Gezer.
972-2-588-2811 Hebrew University (from United States first dial 011)
joezias@yahoo.com
website
Dr. Amos Kloner
Officially oversaw the work at the tomb in 1980 and has published detailed findings on its contents
Professor, Department of Land of Israel Studies
Bar-Ilan University
Jerusalem, Israel
klonera@mail.biu.ac.il
972-3-531-7283 (from United States first dial 011)
Christian Newswire
Another Bogus Claim Against Christianity
March 10, 2007
WASHINGTON/ Another bogus claim has been made against Christianity in a documentary entitled “The Lost Tomb of Jesus.” James Cameron has made the claim that he found the lost tomb of Jesus who was actually married to Mary Magdalene and they had a son together.
The documentary also claims that Jesus was never resurrected and so the religion of Christianity is left without a truthful leader. However, this work is completely lacking in truth and it goes against all the historical references we can find. It also goes against the use of DNA which this report says they used. This technology did not exist until recently and so how can we ever know the DNA of Jesus?
It is hard to tell where the idea first started that Christianity should always be the first group to be attacked. This lie is not unlike the one that says Christians are not to be involved in politics. It is untrue and lacks any Biblical support at all.
“One thing is for certain, the person who started this rumor has never read the Bible,” according to Don Swarthout, President of Christians Reviving America’s Values (CRAVE.)
Swarthout said, “Whoever started the rumor that Christians were not to be involved in politics was obviously not a Christian. It was someone who wanted to keep Christians out of politics.”
Swarthout continued, “A lot people say that Christians are not to be involved in politics, but I think that we should mix the principles of our Christianity with absolutely everything in our lives.”
The Bible teaches us that we are to take dominion over the earth, occupy until He returns and to be good stewards over everything He has given us…And that most certainly includes our nation.
Proverbs 29:2 says, “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.” How are we supposed to know whether or not a righteous man is ruling if we are not supposed to be interested in politics?
In Matthew 22:21 Jesus said, “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesars and to God the things that are Gods.” By saying this Jesus said it is lawful for us to pay taxes and therefore to recognize governments.
In Romans 13:1-2 says, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.” Maybe you should reread those last three sentences.
Christians have an obligation to recognize the authority of civil government, unless it conflicts with God’s law. Once again, how will we be able to determine whether civil government is in conflict with God’s law unless we are interested in politics and know something about politics?
Christians also have an obligation to sound the trumpet to warn our people about an impending national disaster just like it says in Ezekiel 3:20. To see an impending disaster coming and do nothing is wrong. How are we going to warn the people about an impending political disaster if we are not involved in politics?
Don Swarthout concluded, “I think everyone would agree with me that if we would just try to live by the Ten Commandments, the world would be a much better place. However, the Ten Commandments never told us Christians to stay out of politics so let’s get involved.”
There are thousands of causes to choose from today. So choose one and get to work, before another day gets away from you. Run for office, write a letter to your elected officials, call your elected officials, write a letter to the editor, Pray for America everyday and if you can’t do anything else mail a track in every bill you pay. Do whatever you can think of to call attention to your cause.
Christians, let’s get involved today before any other unfounded claims and attacks are made against Christianity.
Over 5,000 Souls Saved as Evangelist Dan Owens Proclaims the Gospel in Gitega Burundi Africa
March 10, 2007
SAN DIEGO, Mar. 5 /Christian Newswire/ — Eternity Minded Ministries with Dan Owens recently returned from Gitega, Burundi on a truly miraculous mission trip complete with humanitarian aid, five evening festivals, discipleship training, and community ministries. Eternity Minded Ministries (EMM) is a non-profit faith based organization founded and led by Dan Owens. Dan Owens reveals, “The Lord was clearly leading us to expand our ministry to Gitega.” Carl Dawson, EMM’s ministry director, shared “The enemy was working against us and tried to keep us away. We were told that Gitega is a cold city unreceptive to the Word and that we would be wasting our time.” Eternity Minded Ministries obeyed the Lord and sent in the troops with the largest EMM ministry team to date. Twenty nine volunteers supported this mission trip along with Dan Owens, Carl Dawson, and EMM’s pastoral representative in Africa. This mission was certainly not a waste of time as the Lord was truly glorified in Gitega.
Dan Owens says, “Gitega was a festival of prayer. Over 5,000 came to Christ because of prayer.” The enemy set a number of stumbling blocks to keep EMM from ministering in Gitega. For example, the team was asked to postpone the festival for three months due to raining and flooding in the area. It has also been said that the demonic activity in Gitega has been so great over the years that many evangelists have avoided the area. But our Lord is greater and He won in Gitega.
Our Lord equipped EMM with a spirit-filled team ready to go and fight for Him and a faithful prayer team at home. Local pastors were surprised on the first night when nearly 15,000 people came on the grounds. People were hanging out of trees to see Dan Owens and listen as he gave the message and laid out the plan of salvation. Pastors may have been surprised at the turnout; but at the end of the first night when nearly 2,000 people came forward – they were astonished.
Because rain was a concern, prayer warriors were vigilant in asking the Lord to hold back the rains. During the five day festival it rained in the morning, in the evening, in areas around the grounds, and it even rained at the end of the festival. Praise the Lord – it NEVER rained once during the Gospel message and not one day of ministry was lost due to rain.
During the day the ministry troops went to schools, prisons, hospitals, orphanages and military barracks to share the love of Christ and be a witness; and ground was broken on the new Christian school in Gitega that is being built with funds raised by Eternity Minded Ministries. By the end of the last festival night over 75,000 people heard the Gospel and over 5,000 people came forward to receive Jesus Christ and prayer. Thousands received spiritual as well as physical healing during the festival evenings. Dan Owens says “I was especially touched after watching a woman receive prayer for physical healing and then immediately throw down her crutches and run over to me with complete joy on her face as she walked for the first time in years. Our God is truly amazing and ALL things are possible through Him.”
The Lord was truly glorified in Gitega and He made His salvation known. Eternity Minded Ministries will continue to minister in Gitega as churches are planted and pastors are trained. Contact EMM for more information about the Christian school project and the Seed and Seeds programs that will continue to glorify the Lord in Gitega.
Eternity Minded Ministries is a non-profit 501(c)(3) evangelistic ministry founded and led by Dan Owens, evangelist, author, and speaker. EMM is devoted to proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ to a lost and hurting world, providing humanitarian aid, training disciples, and promoting renewal and spiritual growth in local churches.
Visit www.eternityminded.org for more information about Eternity Minded Ministries with Dan Owens, and sign-up to receive free weekly devotionals.
Christian Newswire
WASHINGTON Mar. 7 /Standard Newswire/ — U.S. Representative Frank Wolf’s (R-VA) controversial Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area Act is scheduled for a vote in the House Resources Committee today. It stalled last year after protests by property rights groups.
Wolf’s legislation would create a 175-mile preservation zone from central Virginia to southern Pennsylvania where land use could be curtailed. The bill would give preservationist groups substantial influence in the process, tasking them with drafting a land use “management plan.”
“Congressman Wolf has simply resurrected his failed Heritage Area initiative from last year, slapped a few cosmetic changes on it, and is now trying to push it through the new Congress,” said Peyton Knight, director of environmental and regulatory affairs for the National Center for Public Policy Research. “Like most sequels, this one is not worth the price of admission.”
The bill failed last year despite Wolf slipping a million- dollar earmark into the 2005 federal transportation bill to fund the principal lobbying group behind his bill.
Congressman Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) introduced an alternative bill to address concerns found in the Wolf bill about private property rights, federal overreach and earmarks.
Key differences between the proposals:
* The Wolf bill would earmark $10 million federal tax dollars for interest groups; the Barlett bill would not. The Wolf bill recommends that these interest groups disburse their taxpayer-subsidized windfall to “states and their political subdivisions” for the purpose of promoting the land use policies the preservation groups favor.
Richard Falknor of the Maryland Taxpayers Association notes: “The Bartlett approach would not authorize using taxpayer money to lobby local governments to restrict the property rights of ordinary Americans in the proposal’s four-state area.”
* Under the Wolf proposal, preservationist groups and the National Park Service would be directed to create a “management plan” that includes an “inventory” of property that should be targeted for preservation. The Bartlett bill includes no such inventory.
“The Wolf bill would enable special interest groups and the federal Park Service to impose a narrow, preservationist agenda on the citizens of the area,” says John Taylor, president of the Virginia Institute for Public Policy Research.
* The Bartlett bill requires that property owners be notified of any pending Heritage Area designation encompassing their land. The Wolf bill does not.
* The Wolf bill would not require that property owners be compensated for losses; the Bartlett bill would.
Kiddies, You’ve Earned Yourselves a Time-Out
March 9, 2007
I am sorry to report that because of the irrelevant and egregious name-calling inspired by my brilliant work, I will have to hold all comments for approval. This will, in fact, slow things down to the tune of once or twice a week (I am a doctor with three thriving practices).
Consider this a time-out for now. I hope I will not have to do any grounding (removal of any comments alltogether) but I would definitely do it. We are here to learn from one another and have a civilized discussion, not beat one another to a bloody pulp.
Please always remember that you are an ambassador of your religion, and when you do something wrong, there are dozens of people waiting to pounce on you and go on about how your whole religion is invalid because you did this one sin.
Also, remember that there are so many people who call themselves Christians, Moslems, Jews, Pagans, etc.–who don’t live it, who don’t deserve to call themselves these things.
If you are a Moslem, you should not drink, smoke, be alone with a non-related male (if female), have any non-Moslem friends, have slaves, and you SHOULD be vigilant for people to convert, slaying the infidels where ye find them.
Christians, do not call yourself that unless you believe Jesus is the only way, truth and life, unless you do not have sex outside of marriage, get drunk, take drugs, use profanity, unless you refrain from anger, bitterness, malice, etc.
Of course we Christians are not perfect, but we should view these things as wrong and make an effort to keep away from them. (I thank God every day that I don’t have to kill people in order to be devout..)
Anyway, ‘Byez, Guyz’ and I hope you will behave from now on. Oh, and if I like your comment except for one mean or hateful part, then I will have to edit the comment, take out the bad part, and I might have to replace it with a pat on the back to me, so have a care.
Enough Wars, Islam Made Enough of Those!!
March 8, 2007
(It seems the first time did not post, I did not want this to go unposted, hence the re-post. Sorry for inconvenience, but it won’t hurt you to read it twice!! JAS MD)
This is to those people who are intent on calling each other ‘dumb’ (and other variants thereof) for being either Christian or Muslim. So you will know, I have NOT READ any of the comments, but some mean words caught my eye and since I own this site, I have to make sure everyone is respectful about voicing their opinion.
Muslims, don’t you know that when you patronizingly call us infidels and idiots in the name of your ‘religion,’ you just prove how hateful Islam really is?
And Christians, shouldn’t you behave in love and avoid meanness and cruelty? Moslems are the victims here. They are the victims of a perverted pervert who spun a dream that they are only happy to follow because it legitimizes their base desires of hate, violence and sex. Imagine a puppy that vomited on the floor because he just had a vaccine. Would you get mad and yell at him for the indiscretion, or would you gather him up in your arms and hug him, trying to help him (feel better in this case) from his problems? Moslems are like children who were raised by wolves. They are hungry for blood because that’s all they’ve ever known, but underneath lies a heart and intellect that can be appealed to… and prayed for. I would gladly lay down my life (an imperfect, unholy and unworthy sacrifice, I know) in order to make these people see reason. And while I might sometimes bristle at their tone, I constantly try to remind myself that I am dealing with people who are infected with rabies. Jesus is the Great Vetrinarian who can counteract all of the poison and disease with his True and Perfect Love.
I ask all of you fellow believers out there to join with me in prayer right now, both for the salvation of our Moslem bretheren, as well as our own kindness and tolerance in the face of the cancer/disease that is ISLAM.
LOVE TO EACH OF YOU,
Salib
This is to those people who are intent on calling each other ‘dumb’ (and other variants thereof) for being either Christian or Muslim. So you will know, I have NOT READ any of the comments, but some mean words caught my eye and since I own this site, I have to make sure everyone is respectful about voicing their opinion.
Muslims, don’t you know that when you patronizingly call us infidels and idiots in the name of your ‘religion,’ you just prove how hateful Islam really is?
And Christians, shouldn’t you behave in love and avoid meanness and cruelty? Moslems are the victims here. They are the victims of a perverted pervert who spun a dream that they are only happy to follow because it legitimizes their base desires of hate, violence and sex. Imagine a puppy that vomited on the floor because he just had a vaccine. Would you get mad and yell at him for the indiscretion, or would you gather him up in your arms and hug him, trying to help him (feel better in this case) from his problems? Moslems are like children who were raised by wolves. They are hungry for blood because that’s all they’ve ever known, but underneath lies a heart and intellect that can be appealed to… and prayed for. I would gladly lay down my life (an imperfect, unholy and unworthy sacrifice, I know) in order to make these people see reason. And while I might sometimes bristle at their tone, I constantly try to remind myself that I am dealing with people who are infected with rabies. Jesus is the Great Vetrinarian who can counteract all of the poison and disease with his True and Perfect Love.
I ask all of you fellow believers out there to join with me in prayer right now, both for the salvation of our Moslem bretheren, as well as our own kindness and tolerance in the face of the cancer/disease that is ISLAM.
LOVE TO EACH OF YOU,
Salib
Sara Ghorab on Mideast Connect!
March 8, 2007
Yes, my dear colleague and partner (almost as logically anti-Islam as I am, but not really) on a recent article has been interviewed for a magazine. Go Sara! Read it HERE. Congrads again SG!!!
Religious Democracy Whose Time Has Come
March 8, 2007
BELLFLOWER, Calif., Mar. 6 /Christian Newswire/ — Ambassadors For Peace will be hosting internationally-known journalist and speaker, Omran Salman, at 7 PM on March 14th in Bellflower, California. Originally from Bahrain, Omran Salman currently directs the Arab Reformist Project (AAFAQ, which is Arabic for “horizons”) and has published hundreds of articles on Middle Eastern issues in a variety of Arab publications.
Omran Salman recently participated in a conference about Dissent and Reform in The Arab World, organized by the American Enterprise Institute. His paper was entitled, “Dissent and Reform in Bahrain: Challenging Government Control of Media.”
Mr. Salman served as a senior editor of the Iraq Democracy Paper from 2004-05, in conjunction with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. During this period he also worked as a journalist for Voice of America, where he broadcasted internationally in Arabic.
Omran was managing assistant editor for Al-Jazeera in Doha, Qatar from 2000-03. He has also worked as a journalist and columnist for two of Bahrain’s most distinguished papers: Al-Ayam and Akhbar Al-Khaleej.
Mr. Salman will be available for interviews at the conclusion of his speaking engagement that evening, which will be held at Hosanna Christian Fellowship, 16705 Bellflower Blvd., Bellflower, California 90706.
Ambassadors For Peace is a non-profit organization that was co-founded after 9/11 by an American pastor and an Arab pastor who joined forces in a bid to stop the religious hatred that is causing so much destruction around the world.
As co-founders, Ameal Haddad and Garry Ansdell authored a Religious Rights Resolution with the belief that “everybody (Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, etc.) has the right to share their faith without fear of reprisal and that anyone from any religion should be able to openly share their faith and convert if they so choose. That’s radical thinking for many and this Resolution says, ‘Let’s deal with the truth.’ The Resolution, which is like the Bill of Rights, talks about freedom of religion so that people from all faiths can talk openly without fear of reprisal,” said Garry Ansdell during an interview with Bruce Sonnenberg and Dan Wooding of ASSIST News Service.
For more information on Ambassadors for Peace, go to www.am4peace.com or contact Ameal Haddad (562) 867-1418 or Garry Ansdell (562) 925-5093.
Ninth Circuit Declares Right of Government to Censor the Terms ‘Natural Family,’ ‘Marriage’ and ‘Family Values’
March 8, 2007
TEMECULA, Calif., Mar. 7 /Christian Newswire/ — Earlier this week, San Francisco’s United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in the matter of Good News Employees Association v. Hicks that the municipal employers can completely censor the terms “natural family,” “marriage” and “family values” as hate speech. The unpublished “memorandum” by the Court can be found at www.profamilylawcenter.com/_docs/ 35.pdf.
The court concluded that municipalities have a right to literally dictate what form an employee’s speech may take, even if it is in regard to controversial public issues. Shockingly, the court concluded that the interest of Christian employees in speaking out on the issue of marriage is “vanishingly small” and that the “administrative” interests of a city are more important than speech rights. The court completely failed to address the concerns of the appellants with respect to the fact that the City of Oakland’s Gay- Straight Employees Alliance was openly allowed to attack the Bible in widespread city e-mails, to deride Christian values as antiquated, and to refer to Bible- believing Christians as hateful. When the plaintiffs attempted to refute this blatant attack on people of faith, they were threatened with immediate termination by the City of Oakland. The Ninth Circuit did not feel that the threat of immediate termination had any effect on free speech.
The Pro-Family Law Center vows to immediately take this ruling up to the United States Supreme Court on a petition for review.
Last month, attorneys Scott Lively and Richard D. Ackerman argued the case on behalf of an African- American Christian woman who was threatened with termination at her job with the City of Oakland. The City of Oakland claimed that references to the “natural family, marriage and family values” constituted hate speech which is scary to city workers. Mr. Lively argued that the terms “marriage,” “family values” and “natural family” could just have easily been used by gay activists in expressing their opinions on the issue of same-sex marriage. Mr. Ackerman argued that the Pro-Family Law Center’s clients were entitled to the exact same free speech rights as those who had openly attacked the Bible through the city’s lines of communication with full approval of high ranking officials.
The Ninth Circuit panel of judges included Judges Fletcher, Clifton, and Ikuta. Without citing a specific author for the memorandum of decision, the Court wrote, “the district court correctly held that [the City of Oakland] had a more substantial interest in maintaining the efficient operation of their office than appellants had in their speech, appellants cannot establish a viable free speech claim.”
Back in February of 2005, United States District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled the city of Oakland had a right to bar two employees from posting a Good News Employee Association flier promoting traditional family values on an office bulletin board. According to the lawsuit, gay and lesbian city workers had already been using the city’s e-mail, bulletin board, and written communications systems for promoting their views to other workers, including the plaintiffs.
In fact, the e-mail system was even used by a high- ranking official of the City of Oakland to declare that the Bible “needs updating” and other insulting comments were lobbed at the plaintiffs by city employees and officials. No action was taken against those responsible for the public attack on the Bible and Christians working for the city.
Plaintiffs, Regina Rederford and Robin Christy posted the flier in response to an e-mail to city employees announcing formation of a gay and lesbian employee association and other communications. The two Christians responded with a promotion of their own — the start of an informal group that respects “the natural family, marriage and family values.”
But supervisors Robert Bobb (now in charge of the Washington DC school district) and Joyce Hicks, (deputy director of the Oakland Community and Economic Development Agency) ordered removal of the flier, stating it contained “statements of a homophobic nature” and promoted “sexual-orientation-based harassment,” even though the flyer made absolutely no mention of homosexuality.
The July 2003 lawsuit by Rederford and Christy claimed the city’s anti-discrimination policy “promotes homosexuality” and “openly denounces Christian values.”
U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker dismissed the case in February 2005, ruling the two women did not have their First Amendment rights violated and that federal anti-discrimination protections afforded to gender, race, and religion did not apply to the women plaintiffs.
The flier in question was posted Jan. 3, 2003, on an employee bulletin board where a variety of political and sexually oriented causes are promoted. Titled, “Preserve Our Workplace With Integrity,” the entire text said:
Good News Employee Associations is a forum for people of Faith to express their views on the contemporary issues of the day. With respect for the Natural Family, Marriage and Family values.
If you would like to be a part of preserving integrity in the Workplace call Regina Rederford @xxx- xxxx or Robin Christy @xxx-xxxx
The flyer was removed the same day, however, by order of Hicks and by immediate enactment of a censorship policy by Robert Bobb.
In a memo announcing a newly revised workplace anti- discrimination policy, Hicks noted recent incidents of employees “inappropriately posting materials” in violation of that policy. At the time she noted, “Specifically, flyers were placed in public view which contained statements of a homophobic nature and were determined to promote sexual orientation-based harassment.”
Attorney Richard Ackerman says, “We are going to take this case right up the steps of the United States Supreme Court. We are simply unwilling to accept that Christians can be completely silenced on the issues of the day — especially on issues such as same-sex marriage, parental rights, and free speech rights. If we fail to get U.S. Supreme Court review, however, it will be up to each individual Christian in the United States to stand up for their rights to be heard on the issues of the day. If we choose to be silent, silenced we shall be.”
“The ecumenical delegation’s acceptance of President Ahmadinejad’s soothing assurances about peace and good will was absurd.” — Mark Tooley, IRD Director of UMAction
WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 /Christian Newswire/ — A coalition of liberal religious leaders just returned on Sunday from a week long “bridge-building” trip to Iran. They met with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the hopes of averting U.S. military action against Iran’s nuclear weapons program. The Iranian president, who has denied the Holocaust and threatened to incinerate Israel, assured the trusting church officials that he is against nuclear weapons. Organizers of the trip were the Mennonite Central Committee and American Friends Service Committee. Ahmadinejad invited the religious officials to Iran after having met with many of them in New York last September. The delegation included representatives of the United Methodist Church, the Episcopal Church, and the National Council of Churches, among others.
IRD UMAction Director Mark Tooley commented:
“The ecumenical delegation’s acceptance of President Ahmadinejad’s soothing assurances about peace and good will was absurd. The Iranian dictator, who presides over a vicious Shiite theocracy, has publicly prophesied for an apocalypse that concludes with the destruction of non-believers. Presumably he did not discuss his genocidal plans with the church officials, and presumably they did not bother to ask.
“Supposedly Ahmadinejad told the 13-member delegation his government ‘Iran has no intention to acquire or use nuclear weapons’ yet his foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki has reiterated that his country would never suspend uranium enrichment. (AP)
“The ecumenical statement released included, ‘We believe it is possible for further dialogue and that there can be a new day in U.S. – Iranian relations.’ Perhaps the ecumenical delegation should have sung Kumbaya with the Iranian president. For over 30 years, officials from these church groups have never failed to meet an anti-American dictator they could not trust and even admire. If they made any impression on Ahmadinejad at all, these church officials must have only confirmed his stereotypes about naïve and gullible Americans.”
The Institute on Religion and Democracy, founded in 1981, is an ecumenical alliance of U.S. Christians working to reform their churches’ social witness, in accord with biblical and historic Christian teachings, thereby contributing to the renewal of democratic society at home and abroad.
CAA Appeals for International Intervention
MIDLAND, Texas, Mar. 1 /Christian Newswire/ — CAA learned that a severely persecuted house church leader from Xi’an, Shangxi province was denied protection by the United Nations High Commissioner Office in Thailand. Elder Lei Wensen and his family members were severely persecuted by the Chinese security for their leadership in the house church movement in China. CAA president Bob Fu received a letter for help from elder Lei Wensen on January 26, 2007. After a thorough investigation, CAA has verified elder Lei’s claim that he and his family indeed had been persecuted for their independent Christian faith as House Church leaders in China. We believe elder Lei Wensen and his family members will face harsh persecution from the Chinese government if they are forced to return to China from Thailand. We have been able to communicate with Rev. Larry Pan of Los Angeles who was the applicant Mr. Lei Wensen’s pastor in China.
In an open letter to UNHCR, Rev. Bob Fu asked the UN body to act quickly before elder Lei’s situation gets worse. “We urge you to reconsider your previous decision and grant elder Lei and family members in Thailand refugee status so that they can be protected by UNHCR before they resettle in the USA.”
China Aid Association, Inc. was established in Pennsylvania in 2002 and is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization. In addition to collecting documents and materials related to Chinese law and government policy toward religion in China, CAA also issues news releases on cases of religious persecution in China and carries out other advocacy on behalf of persecuted religious believers in China, and provides humanitarian relief and supplies, including Christian materials, to persecuted members of underground Protestant churches in China. CAA supports the broad principle of freedom of religion for all believers in China, and aspires to conduct activities which protect the civil rights of believers from all religions.
Letters of concern can be sent to:
UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES
Branch office for Thailand
Telephone: 2801716/2811671/2829161
Fax: +66 2 280 0555
Email: thaba@unhcr.ch
P.O Box: 2.121, Rajamnam
Bangkok 10200, Thailand
Chuck Norris Writes Exclusive on Slavery
March 2, 2007
In his latest exclusive column, A Petition to Free 27 Million Slaves, in WorldNetDaily TODAY, Chuck Norris talks about how we can solve this worldwide problem.
“A few years ago, National Geographic reported that there are 27 million slaves in the world today — more than any other time in human history. What can be done to free them? Be a ‘Wilberforce’ or ‘Newton’!” Norris says.
Norris has starred in more than 20 films and the long-running TV series, “Walker, Texas Ranger.” He has written for WorldNetDaily on a number of hot-button topics, including: abortion, his old friend — and opponent — Bruce Lee, Bob Dylan’s true hero, the biggest threat to America, and Pearl Harbor. Norris writes a weekly column exclusive to WorldNetDaily.
While the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the UK will soon be celebrated around the world, slavery has mushroomed, as there are now over 27 million people in bondage worldwide.
See: http://WorldNetDaily.com
WorldNetDaily is an independent news company. Founded by Joseph and Elizabeth Farah in May 1997, it is now a leading Internet news site in both traffic and influence and has launched popular columns by Bill O’Reilly, David Limbaugh and others into national syndication.
New Resources for 200th anniversary of Abolition of U.K. and U.S. Slave Trade
NEW YORK, Feb. 26 /Standard Newswire/ — The Wilberforce Project — a partner with Bristol Bay Productions whose motion picture Amazing Grace starring Ioan Gruffud as William Wilberforce and Albert Finney as John Newton was released on Friday (February 23)– is developing a new documentary for television, THE BETTER HOUR and other creative resources to satisfy new interest in this hero of history, William Wilberforce, and the abolition of the Transatlantic slave trade in 1807, whose 200th anniversary is this year.
The TWC Films television documentary, The Better Hour: William Wilberforce, A Man of Character Who Changed The World ( www.thebetterhour.com) co- sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation and The Wilberforce Project is targeted for Fall 2007 broadcast in the U.S. and U.K. The film will focus on the character and legacy of British Parliamentarian William Wilberforce. (DVD available next November.)
A book for faith communities entitled Creating The Better Hour with its built-in study guide provides information on the life and legacy of William Wilberforce in concert with the lessons they provide for working for social change today. The book contains reflections and conversations to support each of its twenty-two chapters as well as a recipe for Better- Hour gatherings. (Available in September.)
A study book for schools entitled The British Abolitionists and Their Influence provides an overview of the British abolition movement and how it affected other movements, especially those in the United States. The book contains excerpts from original documents never before located in one resource. (Available in September).
Available now: An audio CD entitled Engaging The Culture–Changing The World: Lessons from William Wilberforce is a series of four 27 minute talks on the following topics: (a) the change from the self-indulgent world of the late eighteenth century to the seeds of Victorian England, (b) the ten ways that Wilberforce achieved change with issue campaigning, (c) Wilberforce’s spiritual discipline, (d) and how to be a contemporary Wilberforce. Available now under Resources at www.thebetterhour.com.
William Wilberforce, as a Member of Parliament, was directly responsible not only for the legislation abolishing the British Slave Trade two centuries ago, but he also influenced similar legislation in the U.S. In the view of many, Wilberforce was the father of the modern human rights movement, of the women’s suffrage movement, of universal education for the poor, of the first child labor laws, of prison reform, of a more humane penal code, as well as a founder or participant in sixty-nine philanthropic societies in late eighteenth and early nineteenth century England.
“William Wilberforce’s political career merits attention and imitation,” said Chuck Stetson, chairman of the Wilberforce Project. “Although Wilberforce’s name may be virtually unknown today, in 1858, Abraham Lincoln acknowledged that his was a name known by ‘every school boy in America.’”
The abolitionist and civil rights hero, Frederick Douglass saluted the energy of Wilberforce as the factor “that finally thawed the British heart into sympathy for the slave, and moved the strong arm of government in mercy to put an end to this bondage. Let no American, especially no colored American, withhold generous recognition of this stupendous achievement—a triumph of right over wrong, of good over evil, and a victory for the whole human race.”
“In 1833 when Wilberforce died, the free Blacks in America were urged by their leaders to wear black armbands for thirty days as a sign of mourning,” added Stetson. “In 1856, America’s first historically black university located near Dayton, Ohio was named Wilberforce University.”
The theatrical movie and these new creative resources bring the lessons and legacy of William Wilberforce into sharp focus, and they show how strong motivation and community action can bring about “a better hour” for all human kind.
Wilberforce Central is a private, non-profit alliance established to mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the British and the U.S. slave trade (1807- 2007) with an examination of the legacy of William Wilberforce and the Clapham Group, and how we can learn from them lessons which relate to modern issues and the making of “The Better Hour” in our world today.
“Today Islam is responsible for almost all of the human sufferings from war, persecution, and poverty, particularly in the country of Sudan.” — Former Sultan Ali El-Shariff
MEDIA ADVISORY, Feb. 26 /Christian Newswire/ — Former Sultan Ali El-Shariff and Pastor George Saieg, founder of Arabic Christian Perspective, will be available for interviews on Saturday March 3rd, 10:00am - 12:00pm at a to-be- announced location, call 866-533-6659 for details.
Former Sultan Ali El-Shariff comments on Islam and Sudan:
“Today Islam is responsible for almost all of the human sufferings from war, persecution, and poverty, particularly in the country of Sudan.
“Since the 1983 start of the civil war in the southern Sudan more than 4 million people have been displaced, and an estimated over 2 million have been killed because Islam has declared the Holy War (Jihad) (Qur’an 9:5) against the non-Muslim black indigenous people. Islam is responsible for more than 100,000 children either killed or sold as slaves in Muslim homes. Islam is responsible for raping and kidnapping more than 50,000 women during the war (Qur’an 4:3). Islam is responsible for cutting hands and feet of hundreds of innocent people because Islamic laws were applied; bringing shame and infirmity to many families for the rest of their lives. Islam is responsible of abusing millions of women every day through beating, atrocious treatment and emotional deprivation because of the Islamic teaching (Qur’an 4:34).
“It is a shame for any African American to embrace Islam which makes them a participant in these disgraceful acts. It is a shame to embrace Islam to enforce the practice of slavery, abuse of women and children and to humiliate human kind through persecution, poverty and destruction. Unfortunately, Islam always has two faces. The Islamic missionaries always present the peaceful, respectful and the nice face of Islam. The fact is, there is a real violent face of Islam that Muslims in North America try to hide. It is a shame for anyone who embraces Islam without thinking, asking questions or reading about the true face of Islam. Islam is responsible today for the destruction of lives and cultures. Sudan is a vivid example. Why would you want to be a Muslim and participate in their wicked ways?”
The Former Sultan Ali El-Shariff and Pastor George Saieg founder of Arabic Christian Perspective will be available for interview on Saturday March 3rd at 10:00 am - 12:00 pm at a to-be-announced location, call (866) 533-6659 for details.
History Haunts Imperial Adventures in the Middle East
March 2, 2007
By Robert Fisk
The Independent, February 27, 2007
Out of the frying pan, into the historical fire. If only
our leaders read history. In 1915, the British swept up
from Basra, believing that the Iraqis would reward them
with flowers and love, only to find themselves surrounded
at Kut Al-Amara, cut down by Turkish shellfire and cholera.
Now we are reinforcing NATO in that tomb of the British
Army, Afghanistan.
Hands up any soldiers who know that another of Britain’s
great military defeats took place in the very sands in
which your colleagues are now fighting the Taleban. Yes,
the Battle of Maiwand - on July 27, 1880 - destroyed an
entire British brigade, overrun by thousands of armed
Afghan tribesmen, some of whom the official enquiry into
the disaster would later describe as “Talibs.” The Brits
had been trying to secure Helmand province.
Sound familiar? Several times already in Helmand, the
British have almost been overwhelmed.
This has not been officially admitted, but the Ministry
of Defense did make a devious allusion to this last year
- it was missed by all the defense correspondents - when
it announced that British troops in Helmand had been
involved in the heaviest combat fighting “since the Korean
War.” The Afghans talk of one British unit which last year
had to call in air strikes, destroying almost the entire
village in which they were holding out. Otherwise, they
would have been overrun.
Gen. Burrows had no close air support on 27 July, 1880,
when he found himself confronting up to 15,000 Afghan
fighters at Maiwand, but he had large numbers of Egyptian
troops with him and a British force in the city of
Kandahar. Already, the British had cruelly suppressed a
dissident Afghan Army - again, sound familiar? - after
the British residency had been sacked and its occupants
murdered. Britain’s reaction at the time was somewhat
different from that followed today.
Britain’s army was run from imperial India where Lord
Lytton, the viceroy, urged his man in Kabul - Gen.
Roberts, later Lord Roberts of Kandahar - to crush the
uprising with the utmost brutality. “Every Afghan brought
to death, I shall regard as one scoundrel the less in a
nest of scoundrelism.”
Roberts embarked on a reign of terror in Kabul, hanging
almost a hundred Afghans.
The commander of the rebellious Afghans was Ayub Khan,
whose brother was forced to abdicate as king after the
Kabul uprising. When Ayub Khan re-emerged from the deserts
of the west - he marched down from that old warlord
territory of Herat toward Kandahar - the luckless Burrows
was sent to confront him. Almost a thousand British and
Indian troops were to be slaughtered in the coming hours
as Ayub Khan’s army fired shells from at least 30 artillery
pieces and then charged at them across the fields and dried-
up river at Maiwand.
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The official British inquiry - it was covered in red cloth
and ran to 734 pages - contains many photographs of the
landscape over which the battle was fought. The hills and
distant mountains, of course, are identical to those that
are now videotaped by “embedded” reporters in the British
Army.
Outgunned and outmaneuvered, the British found themselves
facing a ruthless enemy. Col. Mainwaring of the 30th Bombay
Infantry wrote a chilling report for the authorities in
Delhi. “The whole of the ground… was covered with swarms
of ‘ghazis’ and banner-men. The ‘ghazis’ were actually in
the ranks of the Grenadiers, pulling the men out and hack-
ing them down with their swords.”
The wreckage of the British Army retreated all the way to
Kandahar where they were besieged, until rescued by Gen.
Roberts himself, whose famous march of 10,000 troops from
Kandahar - a distance of 300 miles covered in just 20 days
- is now military legend.
History, it seems, haunts all our adventures in the Middle
East. Who would have believed that after the British
reached Baghdad in a 1917 invasion, they would face an
insurgency which, in speed and ruthlessness, was an almost
exact predecessor to the rebellion which the British and
Americans would confront from 2003? Lloyd George, then
prime minister, stood up in the House of Commons to insist
that the British occupation force had to stay in Iraq.
Otherwise, he warned, the country would be plunged into
civil war.
Sound familiar? One of the greatest defeats of British
forces anywhere in the world had occurred more than four
decades before Maiwand, on the Kabul Gorge in 1842, when
an entire British Army was wiped out by Afghan fighters
in the snow.
The sole survivor, the famous Dr. Brydon, managed to out-
horse two armed Afghans and ride into the British compound
in Jalalabad.
So now the British are to reinforce Afghanistan yet again.
Flying by Chinook to Kandahar will not take as long as
Roberts’s 20 days.
British soldiers are unlikely even to enter Kandahar’s
central square. But if they do, they might care to look
at the few ancient cannon on the main roundabout: all
that is left of Roberts’s artillery.
