To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Religion Today News Summary
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2000 09:13:15 -0500

          C U R R E N T N E W S S U M M A R Y
              by the Editors of ReligionToday

February 22, 2000

U.S. Hindus, Muslims, and Jews are training to resist Christian
evangelism. National religious leaders are asking local
congregations to teach members about the "threat" of Christian
evangelists, Knight-Ridder News Service said. They have expressed
concern since the Southern Baptist Convention (see link #1 below)
has become more assertive, publishing prayer guides to help
Christians evangelize people of other faiths.
...The SBC initiatives may be "a blessing in disguise," Texas
Hindu leader Phillip Ramsaroop said. They made Hindus realize
that "we need to educate ourselves so we can educate others," he
said.
...About 60 Hindu teen-agers and young adults in Houston attended
a class comparing the SBC prayer guides to Hindu teaching.
Leaders took the young people through a "page-by-page refutation"
of the SBC pamphlet, the World Hindu Council said. Muslim leaders
are discussing the need for similar programs, Knight-Ridder said.
...A 12-year-old Jewish boy talked to more than 100 Jewish youths
about his experience at a Dallas church. The boy said he signed a
card attesting that he had professed faith in Jesus Christ after
attending two youth events at First Baptist Church of Allen,
Knight Ridder said. He then canceled his upcoming bar mitzvah and
told his mother she should become a Christian to avoid going to
hell.
...The mother said she called the church and complained to the
youth pastor, Knight Ridder said. "He said (that) what he did was
convey God's message to him. He said, 'I'm just doing my job.' So
I told him that from now on, 'I'm going to be doing my job.' "
She led the boy to re-focus on Judaism and prepared teaching
materials to help other students and parents deal with similar
evangelistic outreaches. "I have to stand up and protect the
children here," she said.

An Oregon church is forbidden to hold weddings or funerals. The
Portland City Council granted a Presbyterian congregation a
permit to build a church and school on a 10-acre site, but said
that in order to keep traffic down it could not hold weddings or
funerals, The Associated Press said. The congregation meets in a
building that holds 125 people but needs a 400-seat facility to
handle its growing congregation, pastor Larry Jung said.
..."We're definitely not in the Bible Belt," Jung said, noting
that Oregon is one of the least-churched states. He will appeal
the decision to the state's Land Use Board of Appeals. It also
will hear the appeal of a Methodist church (see link #2 below)
that was ordered this month to limit the size of its services and
cut back on programs to feed the hungry because of purported
traffic concerns.

A debate over a banner is a sign of the times at an east Texas
school. Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches was
embroiled in a debate over an application by Wiccan students to
form a campus pagan society, the Houston Chronicle said. The
student government approved the group after intense debate,
President Sean Bradley said. "It was hot, very hot, last fall."
...The controversy re-emerged when the group used satanic symbols
to announce its meetings. One announcement, drawn in chalk on a
sidewalk, featured a pentagram with a tree growing out of it
under the gaze of the eye of Ra, an ancient Egyptian sun god, the
Chronicle said.
...A Christian fraternity raised a banner two weeks later
announcing, "This campus belongs to God." Chi Alpha Christian
Fellowship, associated with the Assemblies of God (see link #3
below), posted fliers on campus and bought two full-page ads in
the school newspaper featuring the same message. Any
school-approved groups, including the pagans, are allowed to post
banners across Vista Drive, the main entrance to the
administration building, for 14 days at a time, the school said.
...The banner is not a response to the pagan announcements,
Christians said. "This isn't a slam against [the pagans]," AG
campus minister Gary Paschal said. "This is a coincidence."
Campus Christians had planned to emphasize Christian awareness on
campus for some time, he said.

A ministry is facing discrimination in Tampa, Fla. Sponsors of
the Love Won Out conference, which protects young people from
homosexuality, say media in the city are censoring their ads,
Associated Baptist Press said. Radio stations have pulled
advertisements promoting the conference and other media have
refused to run the ads, John Paulk of Focus on the Family (see
link #4 below) said.
..."What we're experiencing is pure censorship," Paulk said.
Focus plans to hold the conference Feb. 26 at Bell Shoals Baptist
Church in Brandon. The ministry, which teaches public school
administrators, teachers, and parents how to protect children
from what it calls "the homosexual agenda," has held conferences
in Ohio, Tennessee, Illinois, and California.
...A Tampa Baptist church was vandalized because of the
conference, news reports said. Someone wrote the message "Tired
of being Baptist?" in pink spray paint on Seminole Heights
Baptist Church Feb. 13. The message is a takeoff on an ad for the
conference that appeared in the Tampa Tribune that reads, "Tired
of Being Gay?"

At least five people died in religious violence in Kaduna,
Nigeria. Violence broke out when thousands of Christians marched
Feb. 21 to protest Muslim calls that Islamic law be implemented,
Reuters said. One northern state already has implemented sharia
law (see link #5 below), and several others are planning to do
the same.
..."There are skirmishes all over the place and bodies in the
streets," an official said. "We don't know how many are dead."
Churches, mosques, and shops have been attacked, some burned,
Reuters said. "I saw two people killed when the clash first
started and then it turned into a stampede and everyone was
running in different directions," a witness said.
...Nigeria is Africa's most populous country with 108 million
people. About 50% are Muslims, 40% Christian, and the rest
animist, news reports said. Hundreds have died (see link #6
below) in ethnic and religious clashes in the past.

-----------
RELATED LINKS:
1: http://www.sbc.net
2: http://www.religiontoday.com/Archive/NewsSummary/view.cgi?file=20000215.brf.html
3: http://www.ag.org
4: http://www.family.org/
5: http://www.religiontoday.com/Archive/NewsSummary/view.cgi?file=20000107.brf.html
6: http://www.religiontoday.com/Archive/NewsSummary/view.cgi?file=19990730.brf.html

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Arutz-7 News items (2/22/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2000 17:44:54 -0500

JERUSALEM BORDERS BILL GARNERS SUPPORT

Jerusalem continues to be a matter of great concern in the Knesset. MK
Yehoshua Matza (Likud) has proposed that the borders of Jerusalem be
anchored in law, such that any change thereof would have to be approved by
at least 80 MKs. Four coalition party whips have already expressed their
support of the bill, including the NRP, Shas, the Centrist party, and Yisrael
B'Aliyah - representing altogether 32 seats, or close to half of the coalition's
Knesset members. Matza told Arutz-7 today that his bill differs from the
Jerusalem bill sponsored by MK Geulah Cohen some 20 years ago in that
the latter "declares the city as the eternal capital of Israel, and the like, but
did not set exact borders... My law will prohibit any transfer of authorities in
the city to a foreign body, and forbids a change in borders, without the
approval of 80 MKs."

The Knesset rejected two no-confidence motions in Prime Minister Barak
last night, despite the fact that eight Shas MKs - members of the coalition -
voted in favor. The motion submitted by the Likud on the background of the
government's Jerusalem policy was defeated by a 44-28 vote. Likud leader
Ariel Sharon accused Barak of "already dividing Jerusalem," and of acting
with "deceit" in this matter towards the citizens of the country. Knesset
Members of the National Home faction - the new name of the joint National
Union/Yisrael Beiteinu factions - toured the northern Jerusalem area today,
including the neighborhoods of Ramat Shlomo, N'vei Yaakov and Pisgat
Ze'ev, which lay adjacent to areas demanded by Arafat.

IN AND AROUND THE GOLAN

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Sha'ul Mofaz had strong criticism of the
soldiers who called for a withdrawal from southern Lebanon during
interviews last week on Voice of Israel Radio. Speaking to students in
Acre, Mofaz said that the remarks were neither acceptable nor moral. "If
the IDF withdraws and Hizbullah continues to attack, will these students
then demand that we withdraw to central Israel?" he asked. Hizbullah leader
Sheikh Nasrallah in fact said that even after an Israeli withdrawal, his
organization will prefer warfare to diplomacy.

Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh said today that "no serious [Israeli]
government can afford to allow itself to give up the idea of warning stations in
the Golan, and on Mt. Hermon specifically." He was reacting to remarks by
Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk A-Shara that Syria will not agree to an Israeli
presence on the Hermon.

A German-funded research team has found that Israel will not be able to
replace the 170 million cubic meters of water it is expected to lose
annually if it hands the Golan over to Syria. "These waters are
irreplaceable, in terms of both quantity and quality," the experts say. In
addition, the report - which was submitted to Knesset Members - finds that if
Syria implements its plan to settle 500,000 people in the Golan, even the
Galilee's water sources will be harmed.

TIDBITS

The Chief Rabbinate of Tsfat has decided to call a special day of prayer, in
light of the recent casualties in Lebanon and cases of women being
murdered by their husbands. "Israel does not take sufficient advantage of
the power of prayer and fasting," said Tsfat Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu.
"Throughout our history, it has been shown that when Israel prays in times of
trouble, a solution is found... Maybe we have become to used to these
catastrophes. It is incumbent upon us to better our ways and pray for
help..."

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"...even the Baath Party, of which I have the honor of being a member,
understands that restoring Palestine in its entirety is a long-term strategic
goal, that cannot be achieved in one stage... The first stage is the stage of
restoring the occupied lands [of 1967] and of guaranteeing the national
inalienable right of the Palestinian Arab people." - Syrian Foreign Minister
Farouk A-Shara, speaking to the Arab Writers Association in Syria on
Jan. 27, 2000

Arutz Sheva News Service
   <http://www.ArutzSheva.org>
Tuesday, February 22, 2000 / Adar Aleph 16, 5760

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Feb 23, 2000 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2000 18:09:38 -0500

9:00 PM Eastern

 TLC - BATTLE SCIENCE - "Perfect War" - Iraqi troops are no
   match for high-tech Western forces in the Gulf
          War.(CC)(TVPG)

9:30

 TBN - JACK VAN IMPE PRESENTS

10:00

 TLC - BATTLE SCIENCE - "One Man Army" - A supergun used in
   1991 Iraq propels gun design into the Space
          Age.(CC)(TVPG)

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Infobeat News items
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2000 18:20:03 -0500

*** Israel gets U.S. nuke technology

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel and the United States signed agreements
Tuesday that will give Israeli scientists access to some types of
U.S. nuclear technology. The access had previously been denied
because Israel refuses to sign the 1968 Nuclear Nonproliferation
Treaty, putting it on a U.S. list of "sensitive" countries. The
treaty would have mandated international inspection of Israel's
desert reactor in Dimona, where it is believed to keep a
sophisticated nuclear arsenal. The agreements will increase
cooperation between Israeli and U.S. scientists in 25 nuclear and
non-nuclear areas. Israel maintains a policy of ambiguity about its
nuclear weapons program, saying only that it will not be the first to
introduce them in the Middle East. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2564503192-b4d

*** Palestinian students protest

HEBRON, West Bank (AP) - In a show of solidarity with striking
teachers, more than 1,000 students marched on the Palestinian
Education Ministry Tuesday. Some of the demonstrators hurled empty
bottles and stones, smashing windows. Three protesters were detained.
Elementary and high school teachers in the West Bank towns of Hebron
and Bethlehem went on strike three days ago after being told their
retirement package would be cut by 10%. The reduction affects all
18,000 public school teachers in the West Bank. The average salary of
a Palestinian teacher is $400 a month. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2564503356-857

*** China says no to G-8's Japan summit

BEIJING (AP) - After playing coy for weeks, China Tuesday rejected
invitations to join a summit of the seven industrial powers and
Russia, suggesting Chinese membership in the elite group could
ultimately undermine U.N. diplomacy. Japan, which hosts this year's
Group of Eight summit, has for weeks been sounding out China and
fellow G-8 nations on the possibility of China attending. Until
today, Beijing had reacted cautiously. China has long seen itself as
a champion of the interests of the developing world. It also prefers
to work through the United Nations, where its veto authority in the
Security Council offers some protection against an international
order Beijing sees as increasingly dominated by the United States.
See http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2564503271-5ae

*** N. Korea denounces U.S. defense system

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea Tuesday denounced the United
States for planning to build an anti-missile defense system, calling
the plan an attempt to dominate the world. President Clinton is
expected to make a decision this summer on whether to deploy a
limited national missile defense system to defend the United States
from rogue states. North Korea prompted concern in Asia and
Washington in 1998 by firing a three-stage rocket that flew over
Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean. After months of negotiations,
North Korea agreed in September to forgo missile tests as long as
talks on improving ties with Washington continued. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2564503161-f99

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