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CANADIAN LAWMAKERS MOVE CLOSER TO MAKING BIBLE PORTIONS ILLEGAL
Canada has moved a step closer to making parts of the Bible illegal for
being "hate literature." The proposed law, C-250, already has passed the
House of Commons. It also adds homosexuality to the list of protected
classes in the "hate propaganda" sections of the country's criminal code.
The International Bible Society is concerned about the legislation. IBS
Canada Director Donald Brooker says the bill went to the Senate Standing
Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs this week, and the members
agreed to recommend the bill without amendment. The Canadian Senate will
begin to debate the bill for third reading -- the final stage before it
becomes law. "The government has failed to adequately define hatred or
sexual orientation in this bill which leaves it open that portions of
Scripture could be considered as hate literature," said Brooker. Although
the bill doesn't prohibit evangelism, he is concerned about the
ramifications of "deleting" certain Bible verses and watering down the
gospel. Homosexual marriage is already legal in two parts of Canada.
(Mission Network News)
4 EGYPTIAN CHRISTIANS ARRESTED FOR POSSESSING BIBLES, TAPES
Jubilee Campaign, a Christian human rights organization, has received
reports that four Christians were arrested in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, after
police found that they had Bibles and Christian music tapes in their
possession. The four Christians are Peter Nady Kamel, Ishaq Dawoud Yassa,
John Adel and Andrew Sa'id, all students at Cairo or Minya universities.
They had gone together to the beach resort town for a Christian retreat and
stayed at a hotel. They were arrested in their hotel rooms by local police
on Jan. 26. The four Christians have been charged with forming a group that
threatens the national unity, social peace and national security. They
appeared before the district prosecutor Jan. 29 and March 28. Their next
appearance is scheduled for May 8, and their detention has been extended at
least until that date. Authorities have accused them of having Bibles and
Christian tapes for the purposes of evangelizing Muslims, something they say
would "threaten national unity." The Christians deny the charges, and
Wilfred Wong, Jubilee Campaign's researcher and parliamentary officer, is
campaigning for their release (Jubilee Campaign/Religious Media Agency)
GROWING UNREST IN NEPAL COULD DISRUPT CHURCHES, MINISTRIES
In Nepal, Maoist rebels are continuing their insurrection as peace talks are
on hold. Escalating violence has sparked travel warnings from the U.S. State
Department. Interserve's Doug Von Bronkhorst says the unrest has had little
impact on the team's medical missions in rural areas. "Daily life still goes
on for people. Many people are not affected by it from day to day. Our
workers are all still there. We haven't pulled anybody out. They are doing
their jobs as much as they are able. But Nepal does have a strong Christian
church now which would not have been true in the previous generations." Von
Bronkhorst says as the unrest spreads, it could spell trouble for future
outreach. "In many ways, all we can do is pray. The Nepalese themselves have
to solve this problem. I don't think it's going to be solved by outsiders
necessarily. It's not really on the radar screen for anybody on the outside
world." (Mission Network News)
INJURED TURKISH CHRISTIAN'S TRIAL POSTPONED FOR 15 MONTHS
Last week a criminal court in northwestern Turkey postponed trial hearings
against ultra-nationalists accused of severely injuring a Protestant
Christian for distributing New Testaments and spreading "missionary
propaganda." In a cursory 15-minute hearing, the judge of the Orhangazi
Criminal Court confirmed that Yakup Cindilli had been given physical and
psychological tests by official medical examiners as ordered. However,
forensic results showed that the only way to determine whether Cindilli will
fully recover from his injuries is to wait for another 15 months and retest
him. The judge set a trial hearing for June 18, 2005. Five months ago, three
members of the Nationalist Movement Party attacked Cindilli, 32, injuring
him so severely that the Turkish convert spent two months in a coma under
intensive hospital care. Ismail Kulakcioglu, pastor of the Bursa Protestant
Church, submitted a written intervention plea to the court, stating that
other members of his church had suffered "similar attacks, threats and
insults." Defense lawyers promptly rejected the implications that Cindilli's
injuries were life threatening, and the prosecutor recommended that the
church's intervention plea be rejected. (Religion Today/Compass)
RALPH BELL CRUSADE IN WEST INDIES DRAWS RECORD CROWDS
In a West Indies nation of just 109,000, a recent National Crusade with
Ralph Bell drew a cumulative attendance of 76,000 in Kingstown, St. Vincent
& Grenadines. More than 2,600 people of all ages made personal faith
commitments to Jesus Christ during the weeklong crusade March 21-27. Some
100 churches worked together for nine months to make the event a success.
Michael Peters, research officer for the country's Ministry of Tourism and
Culture, said he was excited by the unity brought about by the crusade.
"It's a tremendous thing to have happen with so many denominations," he
said. "A lot of pastors had to come together and worked together." The event
was a cooperative effort of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and
local churches. (Assist News Service)
* Together with local partner Streams of Power, staff members from the HCJB
World Radio Engineering Center in Elkhart, Ind., helped install an FM
transmitter and antenna at a Christian station in St. Vincent & Grenadines.
NO SHORTAGE OF CHRISTIAN LOVE IN CUBA, A LAND OF ADVERSITY
For more than a decade Cuba has endured severe shortages of everything from
food and clothing to jobs and transportation. However, the evangelical
Christian church in Cuba has learned to survive, and even thrive, in the
face of adversity, sustaining a high rate of growth. Pastors report that the
Castro regime has shown more tolerance toward Christians in the past five
years. However, they caution that the changes are not necessarily permanent.
"The law has not changed. What has changed is the spirit," said a local
pastor. "What's more, it depends on the spirit of local authorities."
Restrictions on worship, evangelism and Christian education are still in
force. Official policy regarding foreign visitors has the net effect of
limiting contact between Cuban believers and Christians from overseas. And
though leaders see a "notable improvement" in the availability of Bibles,
Cubans still face a critical shortage of Scriptures. (Compass)
* HCJB World Radio continues to air Spanish programs to Cuba via shortwave
from South America. Hundreds of listeners have enrolled in the ministry's
Bible Institute of the Air, a Spanish correspondence program incorporating
radio broadcasts. In addition, numerous pastors' workshops sponsored by
Apoyo, a joint training ministry with Leadership Resources International,
have been held in Cuba since |
Zprávy HCJB 31.3.2004
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