Religious education classes in British public schools would be broadened to include atheism, secularism and humanism under a proposal by a commission that has studied the issue for two years.

The Commission on Religious Education issued its report last month, asserting that such changes are needed in a fast-changing and pluralistic world. Under the commission’s proposal, the name of the subject would be changed from “Religious Education” to “Religion and Worldviews.” It would be a required subject.

“Young people today are growing up in a world where there is increasing awareness of the diversity of religious and non-religious worldviews, and they will need to live and work well with people with very different worldviews from themselves,” the report says. “One need only glance at a newspaper to know that it is impossible fully to understand the world without understanding worldviews – both religious and non-religious.”

It added, “This is an essential area of study if pupils are to be well prepared for life in a world where controversy over such matters is pervasive and where many people lack the knowledge to make their own informed decisions.”

The subject would teach about Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism but also “non-religious worldviews and concepts including Humanism, secularism, atheism and…

Timothy Keller has argued that historical Christian positions on controversial social issues do not fit with America’s two-party political system.

Keller, a best-selling author and founder of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, wrote in an op-ed for The New York Times on Saturday that the Christian approach to social issues could be attacked both by the left and the right.

“For example, following both the Bible and the early church, Christians should be committed to racial justice and the poor, but also to the understanding that sex is only for marriage and for nurturing family,” he wrote.

“One of those views seems liberal and the other looks oppressively conservative. The historical Christian positions on social issues do not fit into contemporary political alignments.”

Keller pointed out that this does not mean that Christians should avoid making stands on important issues, noting that in the 19^th century, churches that did not speak out against slavery were in reality supporting the practice.

Azusa Pacific University announced that they were reversing a decision that allowed non-sexual relationships between same-sex students, just one week after the new policy was announced.

In a news release, the Board of Trustees said, “Last week, reports circulated about a change to the undergraduate student standards of conduct. That action concerning romanticized relationships was never approved by the board and the original wording has been reinstated.” 

Albert Tate, a member of the Board of Trustees and pastor at Monrovia Fellowship Church, said they restored the policy because taking out the original language, which simply said that “Students may not engage in a romanticized same-sex relationship,” caused too much confusion. 

He told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune that, “When we took out the language, everyone else filled that gap with their own language and interpretations, and it was hurtful to LGBTQ students, our faculty, our constituencies outside. We reinstated that language with the intention to strategically partner with our LGBTQ students to find the best language possible to capture our heart and intent.” 

When the university announced that they were removing the ban on same-sex relationships, they also promoted initiatives which were designed to increase support for same-sex attracted students on the campus. Both the press release explaining the…

JOS, Nigeria, October 1, 2018 (Morning Star News) – Armed Fulani herdsmen accompanied by militants in Nigerian army uniforms killed 17 Christians in their homes in the heart of Jos, north-central Nigeria, on Thursday (Sept. 27), including four children, area sources said.

 

At about 7:30 p.m. in an area known as Rukuba Road, the assailants broke into one home shooting randomly and killed 14 members of one family, including 15-year-old Ishaya Kogi, 17-year-old Jonathan Kogi, Cynthia Kogi, 22, and Lucky Kogi, 25, their uncle told Morning Star News.

 

Two of Lucky Kogi’s children, 3-year-old Majesty Lucky and Blessing Lucky, 14, were also killed in the assault, he said.

“When the Fulani herdsmen came, they shot into the house randomly, breaking and forcing their way into rooms shooting defenseless women and children and anyone in sight,” the mournful Rogu Audu, who lost his mother and two of his own children in the attack, told Morning Star News.

 

The 50-year-old member of ECWA church, Blue Zinc, Rukuba Road, Jos, said his mother, Kande Audu, 75, was killed in the assault, along with two of his children – Ruth Rogu, 18, and Dorcas Rugu, 20. The two had gone to their grandparents’ house to take them dinner, he said.

 

The attack took place close to the Nigerian army military cantonment, Rukuba Barracks, in Jos. Surviving family…

Anne Graham Lotz had opened up about complications with her breast cancer that she admits are not what she “prayed for,” and talked about the hardest thing she faces in the fight.

“Yesterday I had my one-week check-up after breast cancer surgery. While there are some issues to be expected, the doctor believes that all seem to be healing nicely, for which I praise God. The surgeon then revealed, with compassion in her eyes, that she had the pathology report,” Lotz wrote on her website on Thursday.

“As she went over the numbers, it became evident that the results were not what I had prayed they would be. A trace of cancer was found in the lymph nodes which alters the follow-up treatment significantly,” Lotz added.

“So beginning October 18th I will begin eighteen weeks of chemotherapy, with additional treatments stretching out over the next twelve months. The adventurous journey through the valley of the shadow will be longer than anticipated.”

A deadly 7.5 magnitude earthquake and a tsunami with waves as high as twenty feet, struck Indonesia on Friday, leaving at least 840 people dead and thousands homeless. 

On Monday, the government made the decision to conduct a mass burial of those lost in the tragedy saying that “This must be done as soon as possible for health and religious reasons.” Local Army Commander Tiopan Aritonang said, Indonesia is a majority Muslim, and religious tradition calls for the burial of a loved one typically one day after death.

According to Fox News, Aritonang said, 545 bodies would be brought from one hospital to the grave. 

All of the victims coming from hospitals have been photographed so that families can identify their loved ones and locate where they are buried, Fox News reports. 

Willem Rampangilei, the chief of Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said the grave was dug in Palu, where the majority of the casualties have been recorded and is 33 feet by 330 feet.

At this time, the death toll is expected to continue to grow as rescuers reach areas that were previously cut off by rubble. 

Military and commercial aircraft are delivering some aid and supplies, but rescue teams are in desperate need of heavy equipment to reach possible survivors buried under rubble.

People are also suffering from a lack of resources including food and clothing. A local…

CHICAGO (RNS) — Heather Larson stood before the congregation in August at Willow Creek Community Church’s main campus in Chicago’s northwest suburbs, as the church gathered for a weeknight “family meeting.”

She recalled a similar meeting, less than a year earlier, when she had stood on the same stage to announce very different plans: Founding pastor Bill Hybels would be retiring, and Larson would take over as lead pastor. Her colleague, Steve Carter, would become the lead teaching pastor. Hybels would coach them through the transition.

“Things have really changed,” she said.

Plans for Willow Creek’s future unraveled in March when several women publicly accused Hybels of sexual harassment and misconduct. Though he denied the accusations, Hybels retired early in April after more than 40 years as pastor.

Less than 40 days later, his successors stepped down as well, along with the church’s entire elder board. All admitted they had mishandled the allegations against Hybels, initially backing their former pastor and calling the women’s claims lies.

At that family meeting in August, Larson said it was time for a fresh start.

“This is really important. Trust has been broken by leadership, and it doesn’t return quickly,” she told the congregation. “There is urgency to move us in a better direction.”

Steve Gillen, who had pastored one of the church’s smaller campuses, was named interim lead pastor. And last week, the church and the Willow Creek Association named four outside leaders to oversee an investigation into the…