November 2002

Secretary of State Powell Takes Poke at Evangelicals: "It appears Secretary of State Colin Powell has launched a campaign to discredit those who would dare criticize the Muslim faith. ...  See Clinton's War on Hate Bans Christian Values

 

October 2002

The Bible as 'hate literature'? "A prison sentence for quoting the Bible in Canada? Holy Scriptures treated as 'hate literature'? That could happen if a proposed bill is passed by Parliament, according to opponents who believe it would criminalize public expression against homosexual behavior." Matt 24:9  

August 2002

Fundamentalism Education Project: "The growing influence of fundamentalist religious movements poses a challenge to our mainstream religious communities, civic freedoms, and our safety and well-being. This phenomenon is of concern to mainstream religious leaders and their congregations because fundamentalists create sharp divisions among communities of faith and pull believers into their fold with fear tactics and inaccurate truth claims. Religious clergy and lay people have immense interest in understanding and exposing how fundamentalists distort the inclusive messages within Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

        "....fundamentalists often portray themselves as rescuing their tradition's authentic and original 'fundamentals' from the onslaught of secular culture, but this 'ancient theology' they purport to re-claim is often fabricated and non-existent.... [It's all in the Bible - see Psalm 119:11 ]

   "Understanding and countering this phenomenon is important for all of us.... The Texas Faith Network is organizing the Fundamentalism Education Project to provide resources for clergy, lay people, activists and others about religious fundamentalism, and to energize and organize religious leaders to rightfully reclaim the compassionate and tolerant foundations within their respective religious traditions." This fits right into UNESCO's Declaration on the role of religion.

Christmas book banned from class: "Last December, Laura brought a book entitled 'The First Christmas' to school in response to a class assignment. The second graders were told to bring a book to class that represented their Christmas traditions. According to McCarthy, Laura was the only student to bring in a religious-based book and was told she could not share her book with the class." Brave children who have faced persecution

July 2002

Health care firm guilty of religious harassment: "An Indiana firm, viewed by its founder as God's home health care agency, was found guilty of harassing six employees who did not share the owner's fundamentalist views. A nine-person jury in U.S. District Court awarded about $270,000 in compensatory and punitive damages to six former employees of Preferred Home Health Care and a rejected job applicant.... Witnesses for Preferred testified they never saw any employees demoted or penalized on the basis of their faith.... Employees at Preferred were told it was a Christian company and signed an agreement to abide by its faith-based values.

      "For at least some Christian businesses, the jury's ruling could prove troubling. 'If I hired someone and they weren't Christian, I would do everything I could to lead them to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ,' said Bruce Richardson, the president of Exodus Promotions, which publishes a Christian business phonebook.... 'Who's to say that I'm not going to be next?'" See The UN Plan for Your Mental Health

April 2002

EU law 'could ban' ... the Old Testament (BBC News, 24 April, 02): "According to Lord Scott, the European Commission's proposals for an offence included 'public dissemination or distribution of tracts, pictures or other material containing expressions of racism or xenophobia'. 'So distribution of, for example, literature containing expressions of belief in race, colour, national origins etc as a factor determining aversion to individuals or groups would be a criminal offence,' Lord Scott argued." See Clinton's War on Hate Bans Christian Values. But remember, our God still reigns!

March 2002

"Red Cross apologizes - Says excluding patriotic songs from program 'was a mistake': "The national office of the American Red Cross has issued an official apology after the organization excluded a student music group in California from performing for a Sept. 11 volunteer-recognition event last Sunday because it planned to sing songs mentioning 'prayer' and 'God.'.... Red Cross spokesperson Patricia Johnson told her those songs were inappropriate for the event, since 'religious words … will offend some.'" Clinton's War on Hate Bans Christian Values

February 2002

Suit filed for cross-wearing employee: "The suit contends that Kimberly Draper, who was hired to work at the front desk of the library, was given a dress code policy that read: "No clothing depicting religious, political or potentially offensive decoration is permitted." Manion claims such a policy infringes on employees' constitutional rights. ...It is unbelievable that you can be fired from a job for wearing a cross necklace," said Manion. "That is exactly what happened in this case. The public library system violated the free speech and free exercise of religion rights of our client." Luke 6:22-23

June 2001

An iceberg is out there of religious intolerance : "In certain areas of the Pacific Northwest, churches cannot construct new buildings or even expand their facilities. An Orange County, Fla., ordinance does not allow for a religious gathering of any kind in a residential area. Thus a small prayer meeting cannot be held in a private living room. Recently, a Vermont couple was denied their request for vanity license plates. The reason, their choice of ROMANS5 and ROMANS8 might be offensive to others.... If the seeds of persecution are being sown in the humus of present intolerance, why do so few seem concerned? There are no easy answers, but at least three possibilities exist: Acceptance, Preoccupation and Complacency."   Matt 24:9.   See also The Travesty of Tolerance

 

Religious Coalition Warns of Free Speech Threat: "A coalition of Orthodox Jews and Christians warns that freedom of speech and belief is being destroyed in the name of tolerance.' There is an old Stalinist tactic of adopting terminology for political purposes,' said Lapin. 'And tolerance has been turned into the ultimate virtue.'" John 15:20 See  The UN Plan for Your Mental Health

Home prayer breaks county Ordinance  "What's ironic, the same people could meet and watch Monday Night Football and that's ok," said attorney John Stemberger. "...if  this Rabbi and his family can't meet at his house in the privacy of his own home to worship and speak freely then none of our rights are safe and this has much wider implications than this fellowship here."

May 2001

Judges rule against home-schoolers: "The North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled in a split decision that the parents of a 2-year-old "streaker" should have complied with a social worker's demands to enter the home and privately interview all their children." In light of today's unjustified removal of children from homes by social workers across the country, this ruling is frightening. Once taken by the state, children are kept in foster homes for months and years while parents have little power to reunite their family. See License to Seize our Children and Psalm 32:7

White House: No-pray zone. "Secret Service boots out students who asked God to bless president."

Report details global religious persecution. Matt 24:9 

April 2001

Poster With Picture of Jesus Lands Kindergartner in Court: A kindergartener "was assigned to draw a poster relating to his class' study of environmental issues. He drew people picking up litter, children holding hands around the globe and a picture of a white-robed man kneeling in one corner." The teacher censored it. "He didn't follow the teacher's instructions despite given two opportunities to do so," said the school's lawyer. "It's unfortunate, but the school has particular curriculum standards it must enforce." Interesting that the new "curriculum standards" bans drawings of Jesus. Luke 6-22-23

March 2001

Eight-year-old should have "checked her religion at the door"

Hostility Toward Religion: Can the Lions Be Far Behind? "In San Francisco, the government officially pronounced the Truth in Love campaign, which shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with homosexuals, [to be] hateful rhetoric." See  Clinton's War on Hate Bans Christian Values  ["...you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake." Matt 24:9

School rejected girl's religious valentines: "A school that allowed students to exchange valentines featuring Britney Spears and boy band 'N Sync violated a second-grader's constitutional rights by rejecting her homemade cards celebrating Jesus."

Febuary 2001

Euro-court outlaws criticism of EU. (I'm having difficulty accessing this site today, perhaps because of increased traffic). The author writes, "The European Court of Justice ruled yesterday that the European Union can lawfully suppress political criticism of its institutions and of leading figures, sweeping aside English Common Law and 50 years of European precedents on civil liberties. (See the rest of this important summary)

Texas seminary ordered to pay damages. Court rules theology school violated state law in issuing degrees

Watch or Go to Jail: Students locked up after refusing to watch Channel One. Link has been fixed.

Founder of French Seminary Speaks Out On Pending Legislation to Outlaw Evangelical Christian Work: "...someone came on our Bible college campus and put a rag down one of the student's gas tanks and lit it on fire. Four cars blew up.  ...some of the students have not been able to get bank accounts. We wanted to build a church on our own property, our Bible college property, and the government refused us..."   [John 15:18-21 explains why.]

Febuary 2001

U.N. Feminist Policies Undermine Traditional Families. To understand the international feminist movement's hatred for Christianity and Biblical values, read chapter 9 in  Twist of Faith.Christian Aid Responds to Horror in the Moluccas

January 2001

French Legislation Threatens Religious Freedom

Some 165,000 Christians Will Die for Their Faith This Year

December 2000

"We see this persecution as natural," the source inside Laos told Baptist Press. "We're not praying that the government will change. We're just praying that they (Christians) would have moments during this persecution when they can have fellowship with other believers, maybe in jail. Pray for God to give them an extra measure of His grace during this time."