Humanists Group wants Summary Judgment in Public School Prayer Case

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Humanists Group wants Summary Judgment in Public School Prayer Case

Christian Today report– A humanist group in Greenville County, South Carolina is seeking summary judgment in its case against the use of prayers in public schools in the county.

Seeking summary judgment will allow the case to skip trial and the humanist group expresses confidence that the evidence submitted against the defendant is sufficient to render judgment without trial.

Appignani Humanist Legal Center attorney Monica Miller told WYFF News4 that they are seeking judgment because the school district has clearly failed in the mandate to keep the church and state separate by the use of prayers in their curriculum.

“Numerous cases make clear that public schools, particularly elementary schools, must strictly maintain the separation of church and state and must not include prayer in school-sponsored events such as graduation ceremonies,” her statement said.

“Given that this school district has been including prayers in its elementary school graduation ceremonies since 1951 and has recently been holding the ceremonies in a Christian chapel of a Christian university, we ask that the court grant judgment in our favor,” Miller added.

 Appignani Humanist Legal Center, a scion of the American Humanist Associated, filed the case in September 2013 alleging that the school district’s use of prayers in their graduation ceremonies violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. It also claims violation of the rights of the families whose children are enrolled in the public schools under the district.

The centre is requesting the Court to “prevent the school district from endorsing prayer and hosting graduations in a chapel.” The humanists are seeking payment in damages for the alleged violation of the families’ rights as well as legal costs and disbursements.

Greenville County Schools spokesman Oby Lyles has issued a statement in response: “The law supports the District’s practice that students who are selected to speak based upon neutral criteria, such as academic performance, have the First Amendment right to speak from either a religious or secular perspective.

“The law also supports the District’s use of a building owned by another organisation, including a college affiliated with a religion, for legitimate reasons such as accommodating spectators without unconstitutionally endorsing religion,” Lyles told WYFF News 4.

Source: Christian Today

Rev Stephen Sizer Banned from Social Media Over Iseal 9/1 Post

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Rev Stephen Sizer Banned from Social Media Over Iseal 9/1 Post

Christian Today report– Controversial pro-Palestinian vicar Rev Stephen Sizer has been banned from writing, preaching, teaching, emailing, tweeting, posting on Facebook or commenting in any way in relation to the current situation in the Middle East.

He has also been banned from doing anything at all on any social media for six months. He will instead now concentrate on his ministry as a parish priest.

Mr Sizer’s promotion of an anti-Zionist agenda “is no longer compatible with his ministry as a parish priest,” the Church of England ruled today. If he breaches his agreement to comment on the issue again, he has undertaken to resign as Vicar of Virginia Water, Surrey.

Mr Sizer has been at odds with Jewish community leaders for several years over his support for the anti-Zionist cause, but most recently caused further offence when he posted a link on his Facebook page to an article entitled The “9-11/Israel did it”.

The article he linked to attempted to make connections between wealthy American Jews and the 9/11 attacks. Sizer asked online: “Is this anti-Semitic?.. It raises so many questions.”

His diocese immediately pledged to investigate.

Today the Bishop of Guildford, Andrew Watson, said it was his view that Mr Sizer’s “strong but increasingly undisciplined” commitment to an anti-Zionist agenda had become a “liability to his own ministry and that of the wider church.”

He said that many who more moderately support the Palestinian cause, and share his critique of a particular brand of Christian fundamentalism, themselves find Mr Sizer’s actions to be “increasingly unhelpful and counter-productive”.

Bishop Watson said: “It is therefore my decision that Stephen’s work in this area is no longer compatible with his ministry as a parish priest.

“In order for Stephen to remain in parish ministry, I have therefore asked for – and received from him – a solemn undertaking, in writing, that he is to refrain entirely from writing or speaking on any theme that relates, either directly or indirectly, to the current situation in the Middle East or to its historical backdrop.”

The bishop said Mr Sizer had promised to refrain, with no exceptions, from attendance at or participation in any conferences which promote or are linked to this agenda and from all writing, tweeting, blogging, emailing, preaching and teaching on these themes, whether formally or informally. The prohibition includes posting links to other sites and from all background work in this area which may resource others to act as spokespeople in Stephen’s stead.

Bishop Watson said: “Should Stephen be deemed by the diocese to have broken this agreement, in letter or in spirit, he has pledged to offer me his immediate resignation, which I will duly accept. He has also agreed to desist from the use of social media entirely for the next six months, after which he and I will review that prohibition.”

Earlier, the Council of Christians and Jews said: “It is perfectly possible to criticise Israeli policies without such criticism being antsemitic, and Christians and others should feel free to do so. However, such legitimate criticism must not be used as a cloak for antisemitism, nor can antisemitism itself ever be disguised as mere political comment.”

Bishop Watson said he did not believe Mr Sizer’s motives were anti-Semitic. “But I have concluded that, at the very least, he has demonstrated appallingly poor judgment in the material he has chosen to disseminate, particularly via social media, some of which is clearly anti-Semitic.

“By associating with or promoting subject matter, which is either ambiguous in its motivation, or (worse still) openly racist, he has crossed a serious line. I regard these actions as indefensible.”

The bishop said he welcomed Mr Sizer’s apology and his recognition of the deep hurt caused by his actions, as well as his acknowledgement of the gross insensitivity of their timing just prior to Holocaust Memorial Day, and his retraction of the “ridiculous suggestion” that Israel may have been complicit in the events of 9/11.

Bishop Watson concluded: “Most importantly of all, I am hugely sorry for the hurt which has been caused to members of the Jewish Community, and I hope and pray that the storms of the past two weeks will ultimately serve to deepen and strengthen our relationship, one with another.

“This is a time when I would urge all Christian people to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Jewish brothers and sisters in countering the alarming rise of anti-Semitic incidents being reported, not least here in the UK. This is also a time for people of faith, Jews, Christians, Muslims and others, to work together in that open, robust partnership that will help to promote peace and justice in our communities, our nation and the wider world.”

Jonathan Arkush, vice president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, welcomed the actions.

Mr Arkush said: “The Board referred these matters regarding Rev Sizer to the Diocese of Guildford who have acted swiftly to resolve them. The Board has expressed its full acknowledgment of the undertakings asked of Rev Sizer and their implications and we are grateful that the Church shared our deep concern that Rev Sizer had indeed crossed a line in the offensive materials he was posting and linking to online.

“The Board of Deputies now hopes that Rev Sizer’s unbecoming and inappropriate conduct has now been brought to a close. The Board together with the Diocese of Guildford and the Church of England strongly believe that good community relations are based on mutual respect and trust, which we now hope can be restored after this very unhappy episode.”

Source: Christian Today

 

ISIS Senior Militant Killed by Drone

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ISIS Senior Militant Killed by Drone

Christian Today report– A missile-firing drone killed at least six in Afghanistan on Monday including a veteran militant believed to have defected to Islamic State (IS) from the Taliban, Afghan officials said.

The senior militant, former Guantanamo Bay detainee Mullah Abdul Rauf, was killed in violence-plagued Helmand, officials in the southern province said.

Provincial police chief Nabi Jan Mullahkhel said Rauf was traveling in a car when the drone attacked. The other casualties included his brother-in-law and four Pakistanis, Mullahkhel said.

The United States operates drones over Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan.

While Helmand officials said six people had been killed, the US army said coalition forces used a “precision, guided munition” to kill eight people who were considered a threat.

“We are working to confirm the identities of those killed in the strike,” said a spokesman, Colonel Brian Tribus. He declined to say if the missile was launched by a drone.

Rauf has been influential in Afghanistan’s jihadi movement for well over a decade.

Media reports last month said he had begun recruiting for Islamic State, part of a push by the movement to gain traction beyond its stronghold in Iraq and Syria.

Afghanistan’s main intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), said in a statement Rauf was in charge of IS in southwestern Afghanistan and he was killed just after mid-day in “a successful military operation”.

Islamic State last month announced it was expanding into Khorasan, a term Islamists use to describe a region encompassing Afghanistan and Pakistan, and declared a former commander from the Pakistani wing of theTaliban “governor” of the region.

Although there is little evidence of operational ties between IS and the Taliban, a number of militants have pledged allegiance to IS, apparently drawn by its successes in the Middle East.

Helmand’s deputy governor, Mohammad Jan Rasulyar, said Rauf’s membership of IS could not be confirmed but his associates were dressed in black outfits often worn by IS members.

A US military report released by the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks in 2011 said that Rauf had tried to pass himself off as a low level Taliban worker who “delivered bread,” but that interrogators suspected he was more senior.

Also in 2011, Newsweek magazine reported that Rauf had once led an elite fighting force close to Taliban leaderMullah Omar, and that after his return to Afghanistan in 2007 he had become the Taliban’s shadow governor in Uruzgan province.

Guantanamo interrogators said Rauf had revealed detailed knowledge of Afghanistan’s opium trade.

Source: Christian Today

End Times Prophecies Point to Iran as Major Threat, Christian Apologist Tells Greg Laurie

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End Times Prophecies Point to Iran as Major Threat, Christian Apologist Tells Greg Laurie

Christian post report– In an interview about the latest global developments in light of End Times prophecies, apologist Don Stewart told evangelist Greg Laurie that the Bible points to Iran as a major threat not only to Israel but also to the United States.

Iran, formerly known as Persia, is mentioned along with Rosh in Ezekiel 38 in relation to a prophecy about a coalition having a military alliance in the last days, Stewart said in a Q&A with Pastor Laurie at the Harvest church in Irvine, California, this past week.

Rosh seems to refer to the modern day Russia, Stewart explained, saying we can see that the two countries are signing military pacts, which had never happened earlier. What seemed impossible in the past “is now falling in place,” he said.

Iran’s Defense and Armed Forces Logistics Minister Brigadier General Hosein Dehqan last month met with his Russian counterpart, General Sergei Shoigu, for a mutual defense pact to prevent “foreign meddling” led by the U.S., according to The Jerusalem Post.

People in Iran are Shia and they have a prophetic view of the last days that a final Imam, the 12th one, will come, and they will know who he is by the fact that he kills Christians and Jews to make this world a Caliphate, said Stewart, who has authored several books, including Living in the Light of Eternity, his latest, and The Rapture.

“They [the Shias in Iran] think they are divinely ordained to do this,” which explains their determination to have nuclear weapons, Stewart added.

About 10 percent of the Muslims in the world are Shia. Sunnis have a different view of the last days.

“We [the U.S.] are the big Satan; Israel is a little Satan,” for them, Stewart said, after he mentioned a 90-feet high inter-continental ballistic missile Iran has made “to hit us.”

The Jerusalem Post reported last month that Iran has a missile measuring 88.5 feet in length placed on a launch pad just outside the capital city of Tehran. The missile had never before been seen in public.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham last week warned that President Obama will soon “unleash hell” on the Middle East if he carries on with his plans on striking a nuclear deal with Iran without listening to Congress and his critics.

Critics say that Obama is allowing the negotiation process to divert, from its original objective of removing that Iran’s potential to make nuclear weapons, to tolerating and only temporarily restricting Tehran’s nuke capability.

“Iran controls, or heavily influences, four Arab capitals without a nuclear weapon. They have great influence in Iraq with Shi’a militias, the Houthis in Yemen have now taken down the government. They’re Iranian-backed. You’ve got Assad in Syria who’s a puppet of Iran, and you’ve got Hezbollah,” Graham said, highlighting Iran’s increasing clout.

Asked why America is not mentioned in the Bible in the End Times prophecies, Stewart said it is indeed true that the U.S. is not shown as playing any role at all.

Ezekiel 38 and 39 say that when a coalition of eight nations comes down to invade Israel, there won’t be any nation they will be afraid of, Stewart said. “So we assume there’s no superpower in the world at all… We’re predicting the United States goes down the drain.”

Stewart said his guess as to why the U.S. will not remain a superpower is that “partly [because we’re] having a form of Godliness but denying the power thereof.”

The world looks at us as a Christian nation, but when they come here they realize we have nothing Christian about us, he said.

About his discussions on the End Times, Pastor Laurie earlier told The Christian Post, “It shows how fragile things are in our world and how quickly things can change. It’s like we are seeing foreshocks of a powerful earthquake that is ready to happen. The prophetic events are like dominoes closely stacked together. When the first domino falls, the others will fall in short order.”

Source: Christian Post

 

Singapore Pastor Kong Hee Trial Might be a Misunderstanding, Says Supporters

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Singapore Pastor Kong Hee Trial Might be a Misunderstanding, Says Supporters

Christian Today report– A megachurch pastor in Singapore is on trial for misusing church funds – but it may all be down to a misunderstanding, say supporters.

Kong Hee founded the 20,000-member City Harvest Church in 1989 with his wife Sun Ho, a musician.

He and five other church members were charged in 2012 with using church building funds to support his wife’s musical career through a multi-million dollar investment bond scheme. They argue that the scheme was legitimate and that the money was returned to the church with interest. They face up to 20 years in prison if they are convicted.

Supporters point to cultural shifts in evangelicalism which they say are not well understood in the Singapore legal system. US pastor A R Bernard, founder of the 30,000-member Christian Cultural Centre in Brooklyn, told the Washington Times after a visit to Kong Hee’s church that accepted practices in the US, such as churches and charities using their own films and “crossover artists” who perform religious and secular music for evangelism, are “strange” in Singapore.

“Change is taking place in the nation [of Singapore] that is part of a bigger picture,” he said. “We don’t pick and choose history. History happens when social, political, economic and even spiritual forces come together and effect change.”

The prosecution’s opening statement in May 2013 ridiculed the church leaders’ contention that “pop music was a tool of evangelism that would help spread God’s message”.

Among Kong Hee’s other supporters are Pentecostal pastor Mary Hudson, co-founder of the Keith and Mary Hudson Ministries in Santa Barbara, California, and mother of pop star Katy Perry, and evangelist Phil Pringle, senior pastor of C3 Church in Sydney, Australia.

Source: Christian Today

Pope Francis Calls for a More Widespread Female Presence in Church

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Pope Francis Calls for a More Widespread Female Presence in Church

Catholic Herald report– Pope Francis has called for a more widespread and incisive female presence in the Church.

In an address to members of the Pontifical Council for Culture on Saturday he said that a “more widespread and incisive female presence” in the Church “is desirable, so that we can see many women involved in pastoral responsibilities, in the accompaniment of persons, families and groups, as well as in theological reflection.”

According to Vatican Radio, the Pope said he is “convinced of the urgency of offering spaces to women in the life of the Church… taking into account the specific and changing cultural and social sensitivities.”

The members of the Pontifical Council for Culture met from February 4 to 7, for their plenary assembly. The focus of the annual plenary was ‘Women’s Cultures: Equality and Difference’.

The Pope went on to emphasise the “irreplaceable role of women in the family” and that while they should be enouraged to work, their “presence and preferential attention for the family” must also be upheld.

Women must not be left alone to carry the burden of deciding between the family and an effective presence in public life, he said.

“Rather,” he continued, “all institutions, including the ecclesial community, are called to ensure freedom of choice for women, so that they have the possibility to take on social and ecclesial responsibilities in a way that is in harmony with family life.”

The Pope also condemned the mistreatment of the female body in the form of domestic violence and human trafficking.

He said: “The female body is unfortunately, not infrequently, attacked and disfigured, even by those who should be guardians and companions in life.”

“The many forms of slavery, of commodification, of mutilation of women’s bodies, oblige us therefore to work to defeat this form of degradation, which reduces (a woman’s body) to a mere object to sell on various markets.”

Source: Catholic Herald

Prince Charles meets with Iraqi Christian Refugees During Visit to Jordan

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Prince Charles meets with Iraqi Christian Refugees During Visit to Jordan

Catholic Herald report– Prince Charles has met Iraqi Christian refugees during his trip to Jordan.

The Prince, who has met with Iraqi Christians in Britain and given public support to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), went to a gathering of Iraqi refugees at the British ambassador’s residence in Jordanian capital Amman immediately after his arrival on Sunday.

He told them: “For what it’s worth you have nothing but my entire sympathy. I cannot imagine a worse situation to be in and it won’t be of any consolation but I have been praying every day for all of you. Thank you for telling me of the nature of the difficultites you face and I wish I could find a solution now.”

The Prince, who is in a tour of the Middle East that will take in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, said: “This is what I think must be the worst of horrors when all the people you lived with, side by side and have always been friendly, suddenly totally change.”

Jordan is in mourning following the murder of its pilot, Lt Moaz al-Kasaesbeh, by ISIS terrorists, who burned him to death in a cage and posted the video on the internet.

In November Prince Charles recorded a message ACN in support of Christian refugees and in December he attended a Chaldean Mass in Acton.

Source: Catholic Herald

India: Nuns, Priests and Children Forced into Buses by Police During Church Attacks Protest

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India: Nuns, Priests and Children Forced into Buses by Police During Church Attacks Protest

Christian Today report– Police forced nuns, priests, and children into buses during a protest by Christian groups against church attacks outside the Sacred Heart cathedral in central Delhi on Thursday.

The policemen, who outnumbered the protesters, arrived on the scene and manhandled the activists into buses.  Some were allegedly attacked with batons. The protesters’ bags, shoes, and other belongings were left scattered on the road, according to NDTV.

Among the protesters was Father Dominic Emanuel, spokesperson of the Delhi Catholic Archdiocese. The furious priest expressed his disgust at how the authorities had handled the situation.

“Shame on the police. We were only trying to highlight the attacks on churches. The Prime Minister speaks on everything, why not on this?” the priest told the press.

According to NDTV, Christian groups were apparently marching through the streets in protest of the recent attacks received by the churches. The protesters were holding crosses and rosaries and holding up posters that said “Stop violence against Christians” and were chanting “We want justice.”

Various Christian groups took part and were heading towards the Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s home when the police stopped them. The commotion caused traffic jams in one of the capital’s busiest commercial areas.

“We are detaining people. No one has the right to protest on the road. They can’t just march to the home minister’s residence. We have to protect the residence of VIPs,” said senior police officer Mukesh Kumar Meena.

There were reportedly 350 people who were initially detained and 200 were arrested, according to reports of the Wall Street Journal.

However, a delegation of Christian leaders managed to meet with the minister to address the attacks on churches in Delhi. There have been five incidents reported in December and recent vandalism on churches in Vasant Kuni and Vikaspuri.  The Christian groups think the authorities are downplaying the incidents.

According to the Christian Post, the minister said that an investigation would be launched but denied any accusation that the government discriminates against religious minorities.

Source: Christian Today

Canadian Pastor Arrested For Sexual Assualt And Fraud

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Canadian Pastor Arrested For Sexual Assualt And Fraud

Christian post report- A Canadian pastor accused of sexually assaulting one of his congregants and defrauding her has been arrested and charged.

Bishop Wayne M. Jones, 53, of United Spiritual Baptist Church in Scarborough, Ontario, was recently taken into police custody and charged with sexual assault and three counts of theft fraud over $5,000 after a woman accused him of wrongdoing during an exorcism.

The married pastor allegedly offered “spiritual guidance” sessions at his church and attacked the woman during one.

Jones reportedly performed exorcisms on the woman in an attempt to save her soul between May 2011 and May 2013. He allegedly sexually assaulted her in addition to stealing her money and property during the sessions.

“Weird things go on over there,” Sue Lamonday, who lives across the street from the church, told the Toronto Star. “It didn’t make sense people would be there at 2 a.m. until 4, 5, 6 a.m. I walked by last summer and heard [a man] screaming, ‘God is going to save you from the fires of hell if you hand over your help any way you can.'”

Authorities suspect Jones may have preyed on more victims and they are urging any others to speak out.

“We are encouraging anyone who has additional information to come forward to police,” said Toronto Police spokesman Meaghan Gray.

The news comes as another pastor in Texas was arrested on Thursday on a warrant charging sexual assault of a child and indecency with a child.

Evan William Jackson, 32, a youth pastor at Coryell Community Church in Gatesville was held at Coryell County Jail on Friday in lieu of bond totaling $45,000, reported KCEN-TV.com.

He’s charged with two counts of sexual assault of a child and one count of indecency with a child but claims the charges date back eight- to-10 years ago.

The married father of two claims his victim was a teenager at the time of the incident and that it does not involve anyone from his church.

The Christian Post contacted both Bishop Wayne M. Jones and pastor Wil Jackson but they did not respond by press time.

Source: Christian Post

Western Intervention in Iraq ‘calamitous’, Bishop told

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Western Intervention in Iraq ‘calamitous’, Bishop told

Christian Today report– Western intervention in Iraq has been catastrophic for the region’s ancient civilisation, the Rt Rev Geoffrey Rowell was told on a visit to the region on behalf of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Rowell visited Erbil and Iraqi Kurdistan in December with Rev Dr William Taylor, Chair of the Anglican and Eastern Churches Association, following an earlier meeting at Lambeth Palace with leaders of Middle Eastern Churches.

In his report he spoke of an encounter with a monk at a Chaldean monastery, Fr Gabriel, who said: “You have turned the Tigris and Euphrates into rivers of blood.”

Rowell and Taylor were hosted by Archbishop Bashar Warda, the Chaldean Archbishop of Erbil, and met senior Church leaders and representatives of the UK’s Department for International Development during their tour of refugee and educational projects.

Rowell said that education was a priority both for the ‘settled’ Christian community of Erbil, and for the displaced.

Additionally, he said: “We saw clearly on our visit to Erbil that there is a continuing urgent need for resources, for housing, clothing, heating, washing facilities and food. The winter is making everything much harder.

“We also saw – and were frequently told – that hope needs to be maintained: what those who have fled want is a return to their villages, and ISIS expelled from the Nineveh Plain, and, if possible Mosul.”

He added that more aid would be needed to help people re-settle and to become reconciled with Muslim neighbours, some of whom were seen as having betrayed Christians.

He warned: “The Iraqi Army and the Kurdish Peshmerga forces do not engender sufficient trust to be seen as safeguarding Christian returnees – some kind of international guarantor would also be needed.”

Source: Christian Today

 

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