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*Nejnovější zprávy v originální anglické verzi jsou vždy zde (klikněte).

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The number of Liberian refugees seeking shelter at Radio Station ELWA's facilities in Monrovia reached 2,100 on the weekend as fighting among rebels and government forces continues to intensify in the capital. SIM Liberia Business Manager Joe Wankollie said an additional 500 to 600 displaced persons arrived at the ELWA campus on the weekend. "In addition, there is starting to be a serious food shortage in the area," he said in a telephone conversation with SIM Liberia Associate Director Rick Sacra this morning. "A 50 kg bag of rice that had been selling for US$20 was selling for US$35 a bag -- but now can hardly be found."

Sacra described fighting this weekend as the "heaviest yet" as LURD rebels continued attacking key bridges from the port area into other parts of the city. "The fighting seems to be a standoff," he said. "Neither side is strong enough to convincingly defeat the other. Today is the 11th day in the present siege on the city, and supplies such as food and medicine are all running short. There is no functioning port in Monrovia now, so no way to get in bulk shipments."

There were also reports on the weekend of fighting between the government and the MODEL rebel group in Buchanan, Liberia's second-largest city, 20 miles southeast of Monrovia. Many civilians had fled to Buchanan during the last seven weeks of fighting. Sacra urges people to pray that believers will stand firm amid the turmoil, for successful peace talks in Ghana, for safety of civilians and for the arrival of peacekeeping troops, primarily Nigerians.

ELWA continues Christian broadcasting a message of hope -- music, Bible teaching and testimonial programs such as "Unshackled" -- on a reduced schedule of about three hours each morning and evening. "The ELWA hospital also remains open and is treating many sick people, coming especially from the nearby soccer stadium where thousands of displaced people are taking shelter," Sacra said.

HCJB World Radio works in partnership with ELWA, a ministry founded by SIM in Monrovia in 1954, to air the gospel across the country and West Africa. The radio station was destroyed twice by civil war, first in 1990 and again in 1996. ELWA went back on the air in 1997 with a small FM transmitter. Then in 2000 HCJB World Radio provided a low-power shortwave transmitter, again enabling the station to cover the region. ELWA broadcasts the gospel in 10 languages and plans to add more as resources become available.

In recent developments, a Nigeria army spokesman said the first peace troops could deploy as soon as Tuesday for a force seen as crucial to ending two months of fighting for the capital. In Accra, Ghana, however, another day in what have been weeks of off-and-on talks on the peace mission brought no immediate announcement of any firm deployment date. The U.S. has said that West African nations and the U.N. must take the lead in any multinational rescue mission for Liberia. Officials of debt-strapped Nigeria, however, have asked the U.S. for greater assistance.

Meanwhile, shelling and other fighting accompanying rebel assaults on the capital have killed hundreds of civilians since June. One rocket, fired by troops loyal to Liberian President Charles Taylor troops from a high building this morning, fell short and plowed into the bedroom of a home on the government-controlled side of the capital, injuring eight civilians, aid workers said.

Under international pressure to intervene, President George W. Bush has ordered U.S. ships to take up positions off the coast of Liberia to offer still-unspecified support for a West African-led force. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz on Sunday repeated U.S. insistence that any American role in the peace force would depend on the West Africans deploying first, and on the departure of Taylor who says he will leave only when peacekeepers arrive. Since June, Taylor has held out promises to step down, only to later renege. (HCJB World Radio/SIM/AP)

Presbyterian Court Won't Force Churches to Pay Denomination Dues The highest court in the Presbyterian Church (USA) has ruled that local churches cannot be forced to give money to the denomination, but cautioned that withholding funds in protest is a "serious breach of trust and love." A number of conservative groups, upset with a perceived leftward drift of the denomination, have advocated withholding money in protest. The 2.5 million-member church funds most of its programs with "per capita" funds, or dues, sent by local churches. That money is funneled into 189 regional districts called presbyteries which then send the money to church headquarters. The court ruled that payments are voluntary, but said church members are "bound together . . . through our union to God Almighty in Jesus through the Holy Spirit. We have a high moral obligation based on the grace and call of God to participate fully in the covenant community." (Religion Today)

FEBC CELEBRATES 30 YEARS OF BROADCASTING IN SOUTH KOREA

Far East Broadcasting Company recently celebrated 30 years of ministry via Radio Station HLAZ in South Korea. FEBC President Jim Bowman said political pressures forced the ministry to move into South Korea during the turbulent 1970s. The ministry had been broadcasting from Okinawa, but when the island reverted to Japan, authorities did not allow Christian organizations to have radio stations. The station was relocated to Jeju Island and "the South Korean government granted us a license for 250 kilowatts," Bowman says. The station in South Korea allows the ministry a foray into both China and North Korea -- countries traditionally hostile to the gospel. "We're looking to the day when those countries will be open and the gospel can be broadcast locally," he says. "Until then, we'll have to broadcast from offshore." (Mission Network News)

HIGH GOVERNMENT FEES DETER UZBEKS FROM VISITING TURKMEN HOLY SITES

Prohibitively high visa fees make it impossible for many Uzbek Muslims living near Turkmenistan from crossing the border to visit family graveyards and places of pilgrimage. "We can see our forebears' graves through the barbed wire, but if we want to reach them and perform religious rituals, we have to pay money to the Turkmens," said Nodyr Formanov, an imam from Manak village in western Uzbekistan's Khorezm region. Vladimir Artemyev, director of the Uzbek branch of a UNESCO project for the preservation of ancient monuments, said the "visa regime between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan" encroaches on the rights of Muslims to practice their religion. (Forum 18 News Service)

HUNGARIAN MISSION PRACTICES THREE-PRONGED APPROACH

A Hungarian church planter told Christian Aid that as his congregation prepares for a new building, the believers hope to set a "model for churches within Hungary and internationally." This plan, incorporating ministry to the body of Christ, outreach to the community, and training of young leaders, is the result of years of steadfast prayer and hard work on the part of pastor Geza Kovacs, his wife, and the staff of his ministry. Kovacs' three-pronged plan enables his church to function as a congregation, a community house and a training center. As a community house, the facility is open seven days a week for all age groups. Plans are also being made to use the facility to train Christian leaders. He hopes to have facilities for training and housing university students who are dedicated servants of Jesus and eager to achieve excellence in their own fields of study. When Kovacs first felt called to plant churches in his native land, he realized that "church planting is the key need for the revitalization of the Hungarian church." (Missions Insider)

MINISTRY AIMS TO TEACH VALUES IN OVERLOOKED U.S. COMMUNITIES

More missionaries are needed in the U.S. are needed to help reach the lost with the gospel, says Lee Iseley of American Missionary Fellowship (AMF). The ministry is establishing Bible studies, vacation Bible schools, and school-based programs to help young people turn to Christ at a young age. Iseley says targeting young people is important. "As many as 90 percent of people who come to know the Lord do so before they are 25 years of age. So the priority for us is that we reach our children and youth during their growing up years with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ." Iseley believes the U.S. needs more programs to help teach biblical values. That's why AMF is moving forward with a new program. "In the next year w hope to establish Bible studies in overlooked, under-reached communities. We're trying to recruit people who will take this on as a missions assignment, and finding these types of people is difficult these days." (Mission Network News)

© Copyright 2003 - HCJB World Radio - Colorado Springs, CO USA - btc@hcjb.org

Pakistani Authorities Hold Islamic Leader Suspected in 3 Attacks Pakistani authorities are holding an Islamic militant leader suspected of masterminding attacks on three Christian facilities last year, wounding 50 persons and leaving a dozen people dead, including two Americans. The attacks targeted Murree Christian School, a Presbyterian hospital and a church. Pakistani authorities picked up Abdul Jabbar during a July 2 raid in a remote village near the city of Sargodha, 120 miles southwest of Islamabad, an intelligence official told the Associated Press. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Jabbar played a key role in organizing the attack on Murree Christian School, 30 miles east of Islamabad, on Aug. 5, 2002. The news comes close to the one-year anniversary of the brutal attack on the school. InterServe's Joanna Smith says the school and its staff have been relocated to Thailand for security reasons. "They were concerned that there was a pattern of terrorist attacks against Christians and Westerners in the area," she says. The boarding school provides a Christian education to about 120 students. Jabbar allegedly heads a faction of the outlawed Jaish-e-Mohammed group. (Mission Network News/AP)

VIETNAMESE OFFICIALS PUSH TO DESTROY CHURCH DESPITE AGREEMENT

Vietnamese officials continue to call for the destruction of the Thu Thiem Church in Ho Chi Minh City despite an agreement reached July 10 that spared the facility from being torn down. In the agreement, government authorities acknowledged taking too long to consider the church's application for the new building while church leaders admitted to beginning construction on farmland before receiving a government permit. Pastor Truong Van Nganh also agreed to withdraw the letter of protest he had written. Nganh's admission to the Religious Department of Ho Chi Minh City appears to have provoked a reaction from city and district civil authorities. At a meeting on Friday, July 25, local officials insisted that Nganh pay the fine for illegally building the church and urged him to tear it down. It is now believed that the agreement was reached only to appease international observers and to deceive Nganh into making his admission so officials could ultimately order the destruction of the church. Meanwhile, church leaders continue to seek concessions and permits that would normally be available only to registered churches in the communist country. (Voice of the Martyrs)

NEW MISSIONS WEBSITE GIVES INFORMATION ON 11,000 PEOPLE GROUPS

A new website (peoplegroups.org) gives web surfers the opportunity to search more than 11,000 people groups by name, country, religion, language or status of evangelization. The information provided on each people group includes alternate names, country, primary language, religion and population. Visitors can download a list of all the world's people groups as well as well as tables and charts on the status of global evangelization. They can also add information about pockets of unreached people groups they have discovered in their own cities. Information for the site is collected through a global network of evangelical missions researchers, then gathered and analyzed by the global research department of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board (IMB). "This site is great because it allows users to help us keep our information fresh," said IMB researcher Jim Haney. "If you find people groups in your community, let us know." The site also offers answers to frequently asked questions and explains some of the frequently used missions acronyms that laymen often find confusing. (Baptist Press)

TRAINING PASTORS KEY TO REACHING AFRICA FOR CHRIST

Theological education is the key to reaching the African continent with the gospel, says Hanz Finzel of the Conservative Baptist mission agency, CBInternational (CBI). As a result, CBI supports educational ministries such as the Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology in Kenya which recently graduated 40 students. Finzel says the curriculum is "practically oriented" with many practical ministry assignments. "As a result, we're not just filling up their heads, but we're filling up their hearts." Supporting this type of national education is essential, Finzel says "I've seen a lot of times where people will come here to U.S. to attend our seminaries for training, and oftentimes they won't go back to the country they came from." (Mission Network News)

* HCJB World Radio has worked with radio partners to install radio ministries in four cities of Kenya: Nairobi, Athi River, Mombasa and Tinderet. Staff members from the HCJB World Radio Engineering Center in Elkhart, Ind., also recently visited Kisumu to survey the situation for a potential radio partner.

UCLA TO STUDY COLLEGE STUDENTS' RELIGIOUS PRACTICES

Researchers at UCLA will spend $1.9 million to survey the religious habits and attitudes of college students, an area they say has been largely ignored by campus leaders. The school's Higher Education Research Institute plans to survey 90,000 students on 150 public, private and religious campuses in the fall of 2004. "Higher education today has increasingly neglected students' 'inner' development -- the sphere of values and beliefs, emotional maturity, spirituality and self-awareness that are fundamental to their capacity to understand others," said the institute's director, Alexander Astin, who will lead the study. Researchers plan to ask how many students are "actively searching and curious about spiritual issues," how often they attend religious services and which rituals or religious behaviors are most attractive to students. Researchers also want to know what role doubt plays in students' spiritual journeys, and whether school or peer pressure "get in the way" of spiritual development. "The spiritual growth of students, in the broadest sense, receives virtually no attention in discussions about educational reform," Astin said. (Religion Today)

ARCHBISHOP CALLS FOR UNITY AMONG WORLD'S 70 MILLION ANGLICANS

The archbishop of Canterbury, faced with a deepening split between conservative Third World churches and liberal Western churches in the Anglican Communion, appealed to his archbishops to maintain unity. Archbishop Rowan Williams, the spiritual leader of the world's 70 million Anglican Christians, said in a letter sent last Wednesday that Anglican churches "need more than ever to pay attention to one another." The Episcopal Church is the U.S. branch of the Anglican Communion. Williams was responding indirectly to a statement issued in Fairfax, Va., by primates and bishops from the U.S. on the eve of the Episcopalians' General Convention. The conservatives' statement promised a "dramatic realignment" of the global church if the Episcopalians allowed an openly gay priest to serve as bishop of New Hampshire, or allow same-sex unions. Third World leaders oppose the Western church's liberal policies on homosexuality. They cut ties with a Canadian diocese after it allowed the blessing of gay unions, and forced the withdrawal of an openly gay bishop-elect in the Church of England. Williams, who holds a more liberal attitude toward homosexuality but has vowed to uphold church teaching against homosexual acts, told the primates that if they value the Communion, "we are bound by our duties and responsibilities as bishops to care for its survival and coherence." (Religion Today)

© Copyright 2003 - HCJB World Radio - Colorado Springs, CO USA - btc@hcjb.org

Christian radio provided a strong voice of encouragement during a 19-hour military coup attempt in the Philippines last weekend. More than 300 junior officers and enlisted men demanded the resignation of President Gloria Arroyo. Senior officers loyal to Arroyo helped her retain power. Far East Broadcasting Co. President Jim Bowman says listeners are more apt to tune in to Christian broadcasts during times of national crisis in search of news and spiritual solace. Bowman believes the coup attempt took place "to express some kind of frustration over the corruption that just kind of continues. This was stimulated over the apparent 'deal making' with the Islamic forces in the Philippines." (Mission Network News)

TAJIKISTAN COURT FINES BAPTIST MAN FOR WITNESSING ON STREETS

A member of an unregistered Baptist church in Tajikistan has been fined for "talking to passersby about God" and threatened with property confiscation if he does not pay the fine. Andrei Reimer was fined the equivalent of US$8 for conducting religious meetings in the courtyard of the communal block of apartments where he lives and witnesses on the streets. Reimer, who lives in a suburb of Khudzhand, the principal town in the northern Tajik region of Sogdi, was fined Friday, July 18, by the local Chkalovsk District Court because he refused to provide a written assurance that he would not stop preaching. Reimer is a member of the Council of Churches, an unregistered Baptist denomination that split from the All-Union Council of Baptists in 1961. The denomination has more than 3,705 congregations scattered across the former Soviet Union. The fine was levied even though the country's 1994 religion law does not prohibit either religious gatherings in private homes or street evangelization. (Forum 18 News Service)

* HCJB World Radio has been airing weekly Christian programs in the Tajik language via shortwave since 1999. More than 4 million people speak this language.

MUSLIMS KIDNAP ANOTHER CHRISTIAN EGYPTIAN GIRL IN BRUTAL CAMPAIGN

A 17-year-old Coptic Christian girl in Egypt became the latest underage kidnapping victim of radical Muslims June 30 in a growing campaign to force young non-Muslims to convert to Islam. Unidentified Muslims snatched Nermine Stephanos from in front of Alexandria's Isis Secondary School where she was attending. Her father later received a telephone call from an anonymous person that Muslims had kidnapped his daughter and were forcing her to change her religion to Islam and marry a Muslim. He immediately reported the case to the Alexandria police and sent telegrams and faxes to numerous security authorities without any success. The father is prevented from advertising this case in any Egyptian newspaper or television station. Police refuse to call this a kidnapping, labeling it an "absence case." The Canadian Coptic Association has asked Egyptian and international human rights organizations to intervene and find solutions to the escalating attacks against young Christian girls in Egypt. "Since we did not get any response from any Egyptian authorities nor any Egyptian media concerning kidnapping and forcing underage Coptic girls, we are reporting these cases in the international media," said Selim Naguib, president of the Canadian Coptic Association. (Canadian Coptic Association)

GROUP CRITICIZES PAKISTANI OFFICIALS FOR LACK OF ACTION AFTER MURDER

The All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (AMPA) reports no one has been arrested, and the government appears to be taking no interest in the case after a Catholic priest was murdered while he slept earlier this month. Six militants entered the home of 38-year-old Catholic priest George Ibrahim at 1 a.m. Saturday, July 5, and shot him to death. He lived in Renala Khurd, about 180 miles south of Islamabad. They also wounded Pervez Masih, his parish assistant. Ibrahim had been receiving death threats ever since provincial authorities returned the local school to Catholic ownership. The All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (AMPA) labeled the killing as a "heinous and brutal act of terrorism." In a July 27 press release the AMPA criticized officials for their apparent lack of action in the case and failure to publicly condemn the killing. APMA representatives held a press conference in Islamabad on Tuesday, July 29, to express their concerns regarding security for Christians and other religious minorities. (Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin)

CHURCH LEADERS MEET WITH PRESIDENT MUGABE ON ZIMBABWE CRISIS

Three prominent Zimbabwe church leaders met with President Robert Mugabe Friday, July 25, in an attempt to reconcile the government and its main political opposition. Bishops Patrick Mutume of the Catholic Bishops Conference, Sebastian Bakare of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches and Trevor Manhanga of the Evangelical Fellowship met with Mugabe and senior members of the ruling party to discuss the church's role as a mediator in the country's political crisis. An avowed Roman Catholic, Mugabe has criticized the church for meddling in politics in the past. Zimbabwe has been paralyzed by a political stalemate since the president's disputed re-election last year. Mugabe's opposition, the Movement for Democratic Change, refused to recognize the election results of the vote which human rights groups say was heavily swayed by ruling-party militants. Mugabe has been accused of mismanaging the economy during his 23 years in power, causing unemployment rates to skyrocket and aggravating a food shortage that the U.N. Food Program estimates will leave 5.5 million of Zimbabwe's people at risk of starvation. Earlier this month, the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, which represents all of the 12 Christian denominations, issued an apology for its failure to fight hunger, poverty and political violence. (Religion Today)

IRAQI PASTOR REALIZES DREAM OF OPENING EVANGELICAL CHURCH

"People are hungry for Christ," says Iraqi pastor Ghassan Thomas, who in the past used his kindergarten as a vehicle to share the gospel. Speaking in his office with explosions and shooting often audible, he recalls how "the regime of Saddam Hussein did not allow the establishment" of new denominations. "I was involved in an indirect ministry through the kindergarten, as I did not get permission to officially operate and evangelize. However, people soon came to me and said: 'this is like a church.'" With American soldiers in town he was finally able to realize his dream and open his Evangelical Alliance Church this month. Less than two weeks later, his congregation can hardly accommodate the hundreds of people that are attending its meetings in the rented church building. The "hallelujahs" and "amens" reverberate throughout the small, but lively congregation, as Pastor Thomas explains the hope of Christ. Among those in the audience are Christians who were forced to fight in the army of Saddam Hussein. (Assist News Service)

© Copyright 2003 - HCJB World Radio - Colorado Springs, CO USA - btc@hcjb.org

Up to 50 Christian families in Chatiangacha Bangladesh's western district of Natore have been targeted for extortion. Reports in the daily Janakantha newspaper suggest that Islamic fundamentalists are behind a series of incidents during which men arrive on motorbikes and call out the family name of their victims. The family is then usually given between a week and 10 days to raise between £150 and £300 or the daughter is forced to sleep with the men. The residents of Chatiangacha have complained to Boraignam Jubodol, a right-wing Islamist group, but to no avail. Jimmy Koraiya, who lives in the village, has been visited by the men on motorbikes who have called for his high school-age daughter three times. "What kind of country is this?" he asks. "If I can't give money, I have to give them my daughter." Systematic persecution of religious minorities is on the increase nationwide. In the Bonparha Market area of Natore, for example, members of minority faiths are forced to pay huge fines to be released from false charges. Islamic fundamentalist groups have used false papers to drive thousands of Hindus and Christians off their land. In the southeastern Chittagong division, 30 Hindu families have been evicted, and one Hindu was killed. In other districts, minorities are forced to convert to Islam at knifepoint. (World Evangelical Alliance)

IRAQI CHRISTIANS RISK THEIR LIVES FOR CHRIST AS REVIVAL SPREADS

Iraqi Christians have become the target of attacks by Muslim extremists and bandits and are risking their lives to attend church services. They race through the streets to reach their destinations every Sunday as an increasing number of believers have been killed or wounded in Muslim violence against Christian shops and against Christian women who refuse to wear scarves. Despite the persecution, church leaders and missionary workers say Iraq is heading towards its biggest spiritual revival ever after decades of fear and hardship during the regime of Saddam Hussein. Amid the ongoing death and destruction, Iraqis of all religions nationwide are putting their faith in Christ. (Assist News Service)

FIRST CHILDREN'S BIBLE FOR IRAQ'S KURDS TO BE DISTRIBUTED

The United Bible Society and the International Bible Society will distribute the first-ever children's Bible in the Kurdish language in northern Iraq despite concern about Muslim extremism in the region. Although funds are not totally in place, both organizations expect 20,000 copies of the book, 365 Stories from the Bible, to be delivered later this year, said United Bible Society official Nova Hagopian, an Iraqi believer. "This distribution would have been impossible in the past," he said. "Under Saddam Hussein's regime there were a lot of checkpoints between Kurdish controlled areas (in northern Iraq) and the rest of the country." Concern about Muslim extremism in the region remains, but with borders disappearing, new chances have emerged to spread the gospel. "We have also seen that many Kurdish Muslims are asking questions and accepting Christ as their Savior. That number is expected to increase now that the war is over, so there is a big need for a children's Bible," Hagopian said. Since 1985 his organization imported an estimated 1.5 million Bibles in Iraq and more than 5 million New Testaments as well as other Christian publications. "We now hope to import many more books," he said. (Assist News Service)

MINISTRY RECEIVES ACCREDITATION TO CONDUCT ADOPTIONS IN RUSSIA

A ministry called Buckner Orphan Care International has received accreditation to conduct international adoptions in Russia, says spokesperson Debbie Wynne. "It was a long three-year wait [to complete the paperwork]," she says. "There are more than 700,000 orphans in Russia. Unfortunately, the country's system is not one that is adoption-minded, so those children who cannot be returned to their birth families end up growing up in the orphanage. A lot of these children -- especially the girls -- will go into prostitution, and both girls and boys go into drug use." Adoption gives these children hope, Wynne says. "We've been working in Russia since 1995. We do a great deal of mission work as well as humanitarian aid efforts there. It's a blessing that we can continue our ministry through adoptions." Wynne is seeking Christian families willing to adopt these needy children. (Mission Network News)

* HCJB World Radio reaches across Russia with a variety of radio ministries. The mission has been sending gospel broadcasts across the country via shortwave since 1941, first from Quito, Ecuador, and now from the U.K. In the early 1990s the ministry began "planting" local radio ministries in Russia and now works with partners in more than a dozen cities. In 2000 HCJB World Radio helped launch the first Christian Russian radio satellite network (operated by Christian Radio for Russia), reaching across Euro-Asia. Downlinks have been installed with more than 26 partners in Russia alone.

BIBLE LEAGUE APPOINTS AUSTRALIAN AS MINISTRY'S 4TH PRESIDENT

Bob Cole of Sydney, Australia, has been appointed as president of the Bible League (TBL). He is just the fourth president to lead the ministry in its 65-year history. Cole, a gifted leader and mission supporter, most recently served as TBL's national director in Australia, a position he has held since 1997. In that capacity, he traveled widely in the region, speaking and rallying churches regarding the critical need for Scriptures and Bible training. Cole recognizes the urgency to share that vision on a broader scale. "As much as ever, a hurting world is crying for answers they haven't found anywhere," he says. "I'm excited that the Bible League is positioned to provide the answer, God's Word." Cole's ministry career began in October 1980 after making a Bible delivery trip to China. He later joined Open Doors with Brother Andrew in Sydney. In 1994 Cole accepted a full-time position with TBL in Australia. "God has provided creativity and resources to His people," he says. "I believe the great challenge we face is to seek God's heart, follow His leading and say, 'We can make a difference together.'" (The Bible League)

NEW POLL MAY SIGNAL EMERGING REBUFF OF HOMOSEXUALITY IN U.S.

Just one month after an historic Supreme Court ruling on sodomy, Americans' acceptance of homosexuality has plummeted, a new poll shows. The USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll released July 28 shows that nearly half (49 percent) of Americans do not consider homosexuality an "acceptable alternative lifestyle" and that 57 percent are opposed to homosexual civil unions. The poll of 1,006 adults reverses poll numbers released in May as well as trends from recent years. It also goes against cultural trends showing an ever-increasing promotion of homosexuality in the media and in education circles. Peter LaBarbera, senior policy analyst with the Culture and Family Institute in Washington, said the poll may indicate that "people are getting sick and tired of the media and Hollywood shoving homosexuality in their face at every turn." The reverse of poll numbers follows the U.S. Supreme Court's June ruling that overturned state anti-sodomy laws. LaBarbera said the Canadian government's decision to legalize same-sex marriage also might have influenced the poll. In a poll taken in May, 59 percent of Americans said that homosexual relations between consenting adults should be legal. The latest Gallup poll showed 48 percent favor legalization. (Baptist Press)

© Copyright 2003 - HCJB World Radio - Colorado Springs, CO USA - btc@hcjb.org