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Německý specialista na rakovinu říká, že předepisuje čtení z Bible pacientům, kteří jsou nevyléčitelně nemocní. Dr. Helmut Renner, ředitel Kliniky pro nukleární medicínu v Norimberku, je znám tím, že na předpisy píše: „Čtěte Žalm 23: Hospodin je můj pastýř, nebudu míti nedostatku.“ Renner je přesvědčen, že tento Žalm může ulevit pacientům, kteří mají strach ze smrti a může jim dát „naději“. Podle jeho názoru holistický přístup medicíny zahrnuje jak léčbu těla, tak i ducha. Podle výsledků vědeckých studií hraje modlitba důležitou část v procesu uzdravování, říká Renner. Je to důležitý motiv pro křesťana, aby zvýšil své úsilí v přímluvách, řekl doktor pro německý časopis Neues Leben (Nový život). Renner se zúčastňuje modlitebních setkání na své klinice a je si jist, že skrze modlitbu může dojít ke spontánnímu uzdravení. Ale pro něj je odpovědí na modlitbu i včasná diagnóza rakoviny, kdy je ještě lékařsky léčitelná. „Bůh pracuje i pomocí moderní medicíny,“ dodává. (Assist News Service) |
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CHRISTIANS IN INDONESIA TARGETED AFTER DEMONSTRATION TURNS DEADLY
Some 18 people are dead and more than 100 injured -- many seriously -- in
the second day of violence in Ambon in eastern Indonesia's Moluccan Islands.
In one of the worst incidents, police were escorting 18 people, including
eight children and a pregnant woman, through Ambon's harbor when they were
attacked by extremists with machetes. This is the worst outbreak of violence
since the signing of the Malino peace agreement in 2002. The U.N.
Development Program (UNDP) office and the Christian Theological University
were burned down. Silo Church, the main Protestant church in Ambon which was
nearly rebuilt following previous violence, was also set ablaze. The
Christian area in Mardika was also burned down, and Christians have fled the
Muslim area of Batu Merah as well as the Christian neighborhoods of
Batugantung and Mangga. Trouble started after a small demonstration held by
supporters of the separatist Republic of South Molucca movement on Sunday,
April 25, marking the 54th anniversary of a failed independence bid. When
police escorted the demonstrators past the Pohon Puleh area, some Muslims
from the crowd started throwing stones at them, prompting police to open
fire. Jakarta-based Elshinta radio reported that Muslim attackers then
burned down the UNDP office and houses in Christian areas. Some witnesses
spoke of snipers on rooftops shooting at people. The Moluccan conflict,
which began in 1999, has left some 10,000 people dead and more than 500,000
displaced. (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)
* HCJB World Radio worked with local Indonesian partners to establish a
local Christian station in Sumba Island. Plans are also being made to
establish stations on Roti Island and at Kupang in West Timor. Equipment was
sent from the HCJB World Radio Engineering Center in Elkhart, Ind.
PERUVIAN JUDGE DROPS CHARGES IN DOWNING OF MISSIONARY PLANE
This month marks three years since a missionary plane was accidentally shot
down over Peru. Killed were Baptist missionary Veronica Bowers and her
7-month-old daughter, Charity. Last week a civilian court judge shelved
criminal charges against the two pilots who shot the plane down. The Cessna
floatplane that the Bowers family was traveling in was shot down by Peruvian
fighter pilots after it was wrongly targeted by CIA contract employees as
carrying illegal drugs. Jim Bowers and his young son, Cory, survived the
attack along with pilot Kevin Donaldson. While criminal charges against the
two pilots were dropped, prosecutors disagreed with the judge and are
prepared to take their case to the Superior Criminal Court in Iquitos. A
joint U.S.-Peru report found that procedural errors, language problems and
an overloaded communications system all contributed to the accident. The
White House issued an apology in April 2002. Jim, who has since remarried,
remains with the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism. He and his
family are serving in Portugal. (Mission Network News)
* HCJB World Radio, together with local partners, has helped plant Christian
radio stations in seven Peruvian cities. Affiliate stations in three cities
also carry Spanish programming distributed by ALAS, the ministry's Latin
American satellite radio network. Radio programs in both Spanish and Quechua
also air across Peru via shortwave from Quito, Ecuador.
CONTINUED MUSLIM VIOLENCE UNDERMINES PEACE TALKS IN NIGERIA
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is calling for an end to the
violence in Kaduna state that has claimed more than 1,000 Christian lives
and destroyed 63 churches this year alone. For three years CAN has engaged
in government-backed peace talks in Kaduna with its Muslim counterpart,
Jamutu'ul Nasir Islam. However, after the recent spate of attacks in which
Islamic militants burned down nine churches in Makarfi, CAN leaders say the
peace process has been undermined. As a result of the ongoing violence
against Christians, CAN withdrew from the talks on Friday, April 9, saying,
"If we continue to dialogue with people when we doubt their sincerity and
commitment to the peace which we are honestly pursuing, then the
consequences will be grave, to our peril and enslavement." North and central
Nigeria is plagued with frequent outbreaks of rioting between Muslims and
Christians. More than 10,000 people have been killed in such sectarian
violence since 2000 when 12 Muslim-majority states in northern Nigeria
adopted sharia or Islamic law. (Religion Today/Barnabas Fund)
CANADIAN CHRISTIANS STILL HOPING FOR DEFEAT OF CONTROVERSIAL BILL
Canada's controversial Bill C-250 that could potentially declare parts of
the Bible as "hate literature" because it speaks against homosexuality is
back in the ring. As written, the bill would add "sexual orientation" to two
sections of the Criminal Code dealing with hate propaganda. International
Bible Society Canada's Donald Brooker says he's concerned on two levels:
there is no definition of "hate," and it could trample the rights of
Christians and their faith. "Some of the members of the Canadian Senate have
managed to hold the bill up a bit, and currently it's being put off until a
debate on Tuesday." The bill could potentially come up for a final vote on
Wednesday, April 28. Brooker says that's the worst-case scenario. However,
he adds that there's a "high likelihood that it would go forward, and I
believe that if Christians don't pray and get involved, that it will go
forward. That could limit rights on Christians to present the gospel
message, and certain texts of the Bible would not be permitted for
distribution." (Mission Network News)
UP-TO-DATE VERSION OF WELSH BIBLE MAKES DEBUT IN U.K.
An up-to-date version of the Welsh Bible recently made its debut in the U.K.
The Beibl Cymraeg Neweydd, a revision from the 1988 edition, is also being
made available in a schools edition and online at e-sword.net. The project
coordinator explained that the publication comes at an especially good time
since use of the Welsh language is experiencing a renaissance and rapid
growth. Wales is also celebrating the centenary of the 1904 revival this
year. (Word in Action)
GERMAN CANCER SPECIALIST PRESCRIBES BIBLE FOR INCURABLE PATIENTS
A German cancer specialist says he prescribes Bible readings to patients he
cannot cure. Dr. Helmut Renner, director of the Clinic for Nuclear Medicine
in Nuremberg, has been known to write on his prescription block, "Read Psalm
23: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." Renner is convinced that the
psalm can relieve patients of their fear of death and give them "room for
hope." In his view, a holistic approach to medicine includes the treatment
of body and soul. Scientific studies prove that prayer plays a significant
part in the healing process, Renner says. This is an important motive for
Christian to increase their efforts in intercession, the doctor told the
German magazine, Neues Leben (New Life). Renner takes part in prayer
meetings at his clinic, and he is certain that spontaneous healing through
prayer is possible. But for him it's also an answer to prayer if cancer is
detected at an early stage and can be treated medically. "God also works
through modern medicine," he adds. (Assist News Service) |
Zprávy HCJB 26.4.2004
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