CLB-1-001 Bulletin: Churches Favour Palestinian Authority; plus 4 more items

From: "Clergy Mail List"

Sat, 6 Jan 2001

Clergy/Leaders' Mail-list Bulletin No. 1-001 -- Fri 05 Jan 2001 Items: 1 Churches in Jerusalem Now Favour Palestinian Sovereignty 2 Hero Credits Prayer for 379 Lives 3 Bush's Choice for Attorney General Causes Stir 4 Islamic Oppression Imprisons Christians in Pakistan 5 C S Lewis on the Object of Theology -------------------------------------------------------------------- CHURCHES IN JERUSALEM NOW FAVOUR PALESTINIAN SOVEREIGNTY The leading Christian churches in Jerusalem have shifted their position and now favor Palestinian sovereignty in the city, according to The New York Times. The past three months of violence have caused the churches to back Palestinian demands for sovereignty over Jerusalem's Old City and its Christian and Muslim holy sites, with the exception of the Jewish quarter and adjoining Western Wall plaza, which are expected to remain under Israeli control, the newspaper reported. Greek and Armenian Orthodox, Roman and Greek Catholics, Copts, Syriacs, Lutherans, and Anglicans all have called for Israeli withdrawal from territory occupied after the 1967 war. "Both peoples can then live peacefully side by side, each in their own sovereign state, without being a source of fear for the other," leaders of the major Jerusalem churches said in a joint statement. They defended recent Palestinian street protests and criticized Israel's use of military force. The Arab Christian community in Israel is small but influential. There are about 50,000 Christians in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, and another 120,000 within the boundaries of Israel, mostly in the northern Galilee region, the newspaper reported. - RT ------------------------------ HERO CREDITS PRAYER FOR 379 LIVES A hero is crediting prayer for saving the lives of 379 people aboard a plummeting airliner. Clarke Bynum was traveling on Flight 2069 from London to Nairobi for a church mission trip last week when a deranged man broke into the cockpit and started struggling with the pilot for the controls, according to The Associated Press (see link #2 below). The plane went into a steep dive, dropping from 30,000 feet to 19,000 feet. Bynum, 6 feet 7 inches and a former basketball player for Clemson University, ran into the cockpit and wrestled the man to the ground. He had been sleeping but awoke when the plane went into its violent dive. "I looked at [a friend] and said 'We're gonna die,' " he said. When he heard the banging and yelling in the cockpit he knew he had to do something. Bynum credits prayer for his bold action. "There were literally hundreds of people back home praying for us, knowing we were going on this mission trip. There was this strength that made me get up and go. It came from God." - RT ------------------------------ BUSH'S CHOICE FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL CAUSES STIR Sen. John Ashcroft, the son of a Pentecostal preacher, became a lightning rod for liberal critics after being named by President-elect George W. Bush last week as his choice to head the U.S. Justice Department. NAACP President Kweisi Mfume said it was outrageous for Bush to select "someone who has consistently opposed civil rights and affirmative action" to be responsible for enforcing the nation's laws, according to The Associated Press. Ashcroft will get a fair hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, promised Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the ranking Democrat on the committee, which will hold his confirmation hearing. "I don't believe in Democrats now seeking revenge and I will not be part of that," he said. Ashcroft's confirmation "will not be a pushover hearing, of course there'll be tough questions," he said. Ashcroft, 58, is a deeply conservative Christian. He has been a lay speaker and singer in numerous churches, does not drink, smoke, or dance, and asked for ritual anointings with oil before his two inaugurations as governor of Missouri, according to the AP. He opposes most abortions and favors the death penalty. In Washington, he and his wife joined about 20 other Christians in starting a new Assemblies of God congregation near their Capitol Hill home. - RT News from ReligionToday is Copyrighted by Crosswalk.com. Content may be reproduced provided proper credit is given to religiontoday.crosswalk.com. ------------------------------ ISLAMIC OPPRESSION IMPRISONS CHRISTIANS IN PAKISTAN Although the government has abandoned its predecessor's proposal to implement Shari'a Law and has sought to give minorities more of a voice, it has been unable or unwilling to protect religious minorities. With Islam as a core element of Pakistan's identity, hostile societal attitudes lead to serious discrimination and persecution. Although the Constitution allows proselytism, Suleman Masih, an evangelist who was walking the streets with Scripture portions, was to face court on 4 January on charges of disturbing the peace. Several Christians are this day suffering severely in harsh Pakistani prisons on flimsy charges of blasphemy (insulting Islam or Mohammed). Prison conditions themselves threaten life and are worse for non-Muslims. Pray for strength and courage for Pakistani Christians, and for a political will to ensure justice for all. [The above item is a summary of the current WEF Religious Liberty Prayer weekly bulletin. To receive the full 2-page bulletin each week, send a blank e-mail to .] ------------------------------ C S LEWIS ON THE OBJECT OF THEOLOGY What makes some theological works like sawdust to me is the way the authors can go on discussing how far certain positions are adjustable to contemporary thought, or beneficial in relation to social problems, or "have a future" before them, but never squarely ask what grounds we have for supposing them to be true accounts of any objective reality. As if we were trying to make rather than to learn. Have we no Other to reckon with? ... C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) in: Christian Quotation of the Day - http://www.gospelcom.net/cqod CQOD Compilation Copyright 2001, Robert McAnally Adams, Curator ------------------------------ End of Clergy/Leaders' Mail-list Bulletin No. 1-001 ******************************************************** ____________________________ Clergy/Leaders' Mailing List (Moderated) This mailing list is open to all Christians via Internet e-mail. Submissions welcome: (in DOS ASCII Text format please if 'attached' or 'imported') To subscribe, e-mail to: clergy-request@pastornet.net.au with SUBJECT reading SUBSCRIBE To unsubscribe, e-mail to: clergy-request@pastornet.net.au with SUBJECT reading UNSUBSCRIBE Copyright: Postings may be re-sent ONLY with all copyright notifications intact.

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