Bush Calls for an End to Israeli Occupation of Arab Land
http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/Bush_Calls_for_an_End_to_/2008/01/10/63300.html
President George W. Bush called on Thursday for the end of the "occupation" of Arab land by the IDF.
Summing up meetings with both sides on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Bush said a peace accord would require "painful political concessions by both sides."
He offered no specifics to resolve the fact of disputed Jerusalem, but urged both sides to work toward a solution in what he said could be the most difficult issue to settle in a long list of difficult issues.
"I know Jerusalem is a tough issue," Bush said. "Both sides have deeply felt political and religious concerns."
"It is vital that each side understands that satisfying the other's fundamental objectives is key to a successful agreement," the president said. "Security for Israel and viability for the Palestinian state are in the mutual interests of both parties."
Bush said that disputed territory must be mutually negotiated, but said "any agreement will require adjustments" to the borders drawn for Israel under a 1949 armistice. He was referring to settlements Israel wants to keep when an independent Palestinian state is formed.
At the same time, Bush reiterated that any viable Palestinian state must be "contiguous," saying Palestinians deserve better than a "Swiss cheese" state.
"The point of departure for permanent status negotiations to realize this vision seems clear," he said. "There should be an end to the occupation that began in 1967. The agreement must establish a Palestine as a homeland for the Palestinian people just as Israel is a homeland for the Jewish people."
Meanwhile, Bush's national security adviser Stephen Hadley said the president would return to the Middle East "at least once and maybe more" over the next year. He wouldn't elaborate on possible destinations.
Bush also referred to an unexpected glimpse he got Thursday of the daily frustrations faced by Palestinians trying to move around the West Bank.
Due to heavy fog, Bush was driven from Jerusalem to Ramallah instead of taking a helicopter. That meant he passed through a security checkpoint, and drove within sight of the Israeli security fence that Palestinians call an unacceptable wall.
"My whole motorcade of a mere 45 cars was able to make it through without being stopped," Bush later noted, "I'm not so sure that's what happens to the average person."
"I can understand why Palestinians would be frustrated driving through checkpoints," Bush said, immediately adding that he understands the Israeli position on why they are needed as a barrier to terrorists.
"They create a sense of security for Israel, they create massive frustration for the Palestinians," Bush said.
Netanyahu to Bush: Jerusalem is Israel's for eternity
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2303
He might not be a professing believer, but Israel's official opposition leader and former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu certainly sounded like one when he met with visiting US President George W. Bush in Jerusalem Thursday morning.
"Jerusalem belongs to the Jewish people and will remain under Israeli sovereignty for eternity" declared the Likud Party Chairman and leading contender to be Israel's next prime minister.
Bible-believing Christians and Jews hold that Jerusalem - first the earthly one and then the heavenly one - will be eternally under Jewish sovereignty, with the Messiah, Son of David and Lion of the Tribe of Judah ultimately ruling the world from the Israeli capital.
Netanyahu, who was initially not going to be accorded the courtesy of a one-on-one with the American, had reportedly requested a brief audience with him in the King David Hotel.
Bush confirmed this when he shook hands with "Bibi" - as Netanyahu is popularly known - at the Ben Gurion Airport reception line upon his arrival Wednesday.
"Are we on for tomorrow morning? We'll get some coffee," the president said. Their coffee break went 45 minutes over the allotted time.
During their meeting Netanyahu presented Bush with an ancient coin inscribed in Hebrew and was struck in the first century AD/CE. The coin had been discovered in Jerusalem, proving the Jewish people's millennia-old ties with the city.
The Islamic/Arab world now wants to take Jerusalem away from the Jews, turning parts containing Israel's holiest sites into the capital of "Palestine" - the state "alongside" Israel Bush is here to help create. Jerusalem is not mentioned once in the Quran - the Islamic "bible."
While Bush claims to be a practising Christian, Netanyahu shows no outward signs of being religious. The Israeli is known, however, to respect people of faith, and has often acknowledged the contributions made by Christian Zionists towards the re-establishment of and support for the Jewish state.
Bush: Palestine will emerge before I leave office
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2302
US President George W. Bush said Thursday he believes Israel and the Palestinian Arabs will sign a peace treaty enabling the creation of "Palestine" on the historical land of Israel by the end of his term in the White House, a year from now.
The American was speaking at a press conference in the Palestinian-controlled town of Ramallah, north of Jerusalem, after meeting with PLO/PA chief Mahmoud Abbas.
Bush is half-way through a three-day stop in Israel - on an eight day tour of the MiddleEast - the main purpose of which is to "nudge" Israel and the Palestinian Arabs into resuming negotiations he hopes will culminate in the creation of a new Arab state on the Jews' ancestral and biblical land.
Peppering his speech with the phrase "I believe," Bush said he was convinced that it was possible that "Palestine will emerge" before he leaves office.
His conviction was based on his belief in "the universality of freedom."
"I believe deep in the soul of every man, woman and child on this earth is the desire to live in a free society," he said.
His belief contrasts starkly with that of the Palestinian Arab in the street, the majority of whom are Muslim, and who have for years supported leaders pursuing a path of violence and intransigence.
Another thing Bush said he "believe[s]" is that the "Palestinian security forces are improving."
His "message to the Israelis is that they ought to help, not hinder, the modernization of the Palestinian security forces."
For Israelis, who in the past few weeks have seen three Jews murdered in two terrorist attacks perpetrated by members of the self same PA "security services" Bush demands Israel cooperate with, this must have been a particularly galling thing to hear.
Earlier, in his welcoming comments, Abbas told Bush the Palestinian Arabs "know that you are the first president guaranteeing our right to live in an independent state which will live in peace alongside its neighbors.
"Your visit is historic and gives our people real hope, continued the "terrorist in a tie" who has fought in the vanguard of the PLO since its earliest days.
Another PA official identified only as "a senior Palestinian source" told the Israeli website YNetnews his people expected Bush to actively pressure Israel into stopping Jews from settling in Samaria and Judea - Israel's biblical heartland.
"We will make it clear to him that continued settlement activity and the continued construction of the fence will undermine the chances of reaching such agreement," he said even as he brushed aside the "Palestinian" obligation under the road map - ending terrorism against the Jews.
The PA does not have an answer to the ongoing rocket fire from Gaza against Jewish communities in the Negev, he insisted.
"We expect that this will not become a major issue, because our situation on this issue and our limitations are clear," the source said.
"On the other hand," he glibly continued, "we expect the American president to assist us in creating a mechanism for implementing the understandings reached in Annapolis and the understandings to be reached in talks on a final-status agreement."
Should the US fail to deliver, he warned "the Palestinian leadership will have to reconsider its moves in the domestic Palestinian arena, including the renewal of dialogue with Hamas."
A British television reporter opined that "Bush must be tearing his hair out about Hamas," the Islamist group that seized control in the Gaza Strip from Abbas' Fatah faction last year and whose actions and positions more than anything else are frustrating his efforts on the Israeli-"Palestinian" track.
According to the leftist Israeli daily Ha'aretz, some of the people who met the US president Wednesday said he appeared impatient and eager for achievements.
They felt that "if the diplomatic process between Israel and the Palestinians hits an impasse due to domestic political problems in Israel and the PA, Bush would not hesitate to end his involvement in the process."
The Cry of Israel's Heart
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/300641.aspx
JERUSALEM, Israel - Israelis rolled out the red carpet Wednesday to welcome visiting U.S. President George W. Bush.
Awaiting his arrival at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport were an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) honor guard, a marching band, a red carpet and a host of welcoming diplomats.
But in spite of all the pomp, more than half of the population opposes Bush's two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
America's president wants to establish a Palestinian state in Israel's biblical heartland, Judea and Samaria, by uprooting as many as a quarter of a million Israelis from their homes and communities.
All this for a people who refuse to recognize Israel's right to exist, at least not as a Jewish state.
Recognizing Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people creates a problem for the descendants of some 548,000 Arabs, who left their homes in May 1948 at the behest of the invading Arab armies of Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon and Iraq.
Bullets, they were told, don't distinguish between Jews and Arabs. Better to leave until we defeat the Jews, put an end to this Jewish state and then you can return to your homes. It shouldn't take long at all, they were told. But God had a different plan.
Fast Forward 60 Years
Against enormous odds, the modern State of Israel not only survived, it prospered. Today, Israeli companies compete favorably in the world market in diverse sectors, including agricultural, information technology, medical science, military, and security services -- just to name a few.
But the same isn't true of the Arab population.
The Arabs who left Israel in May 1948 have been consigned to squalid refugee camps in neighboring Arab countries. All these years, their Arab brethren kept them in limbo to be used as leverage against Israel.
Today, the Palestinian Authority, backed by member nations of the Arab League, wants to convince influential world leaders that Israel must receive millions of so-called refugees, thereby effectively bringing about the end of the Jewish state.
And there's an additional incentive.
Islam teaches that once land has been under Muslim rule, it is eternally claimed for Allah. The Ottoman Turks ruled Israel from 1516 to 1917, thus superseding Judaism's biblical claim to the land, so far as Islam is concerned.
Israel Welcomed Jewish 'Refugees'
When more than 860,000 Jews living in neighboring Arab countries were brutally kicked out of homes and their assets seized, there was never a question of where they should go.
Unlike the Arab countries, Israel didn't hold their fellow Jews at arm's length. The fledgling government scraped together funds to pay for their flights to Israel. Once they arrived, the government helped them begin life anew in their homeland.
Jerusalem 2008
Tuesday evening, thousands of Jews formed a human chain around Jerusalem's Old City. A seemingly endless throng of people, many of them youth, held hands, laughed and sang songs in the rain.
They stood for hours, handing out the gold ribbons that have become the symbol of the eternal, undivided capital of the Israel.
On the front page of Wednesday's edition of The Jerusalem Post, Just Peace for Israel posted the following message:
PRESIDENT BUSH
How did we lose you?
In your December 1998 visit here you told us that some of your driveways in Texas were longer than Israel's nine-mile, pre-1967 waistline.
In January 2008, you have returned to urge our retreat to that same indefensible border, one that would make our entire coastal population hostage to the guns and rockets of our sworn enemies.
After 9/11, you and your advisers embraced the added value a strong, democratic Israeli ally brought to America's valiant struggle against radical Islam.
In 2008, you ask that same ally to discard its most critical territorial assets, truncate Jerusalem, its capital, and become complicit in the creation of a sovereign jihadist entity in Judea and Samaria.
Mr. President, the Palestinian Authority, its Fatah and Tanzim gunmen and al-Aksa Martyrs' Brigades haven't the slightest intention of living "side-by-side in peace" with Israel. Their leaders - including Mahmoud Abbas - have categorically rejected the very existence of a Jewish state in their midst.
Mr. Bush, why are you pressuring a weak and extremely unpopular Olmert government to place Israel in the direst jeopardy it has ever known? Why would you render meaningless the blood America has shed in the battle against radical Islam by handing radical Islam the incomparable gift of a jihadist in the Land of Israel?
Mr. President, the Nation of Israel lives. We will not abandon our legacy!
That pretty well sums up the sentiments of many of us here who are praying that President Bush will remember God's promise to Abraham, for Israel's sake, as well as America's.
"I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Genesis 12:3)
Huckabee Aims for Evangelicals in SC
http://www.newsmax.com/politics/huckabee_evangelicals/2008/01/10/63400.html
Propelled in Iowa by evangelicals' support, Mike Huckabee is trying for a repeat victory in South Carolina, where religion is woven even more tightly into the fabric of life.
A win there in the Jan. 19 primary would keep the former Southern Baptist minister and Arkansas governor in strong contention for the Republican presidential nomination, no matter how he does in the Michigan voting that comes first.
"He is tailor-made for South Carolina voters, better so than Bush in 2000," contends former South Carolina Gov. David Beasley, a Huckabee backer. But Huckabee's hardly alone in seeking _ and gaining _ support from evangelicals.
Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson have won important endorsements. John McCain is trying to mend fences after a difficult primary experience in South Carolina in 2000.
As in Iowa, where he won the Republican caucuses, the cash-strapped Huckabee is relying on pastors to help get out the vote. And he also has the support of some in the political establishment _ Beasley is one _ giving him organizing power he lacked in other early voting states. That could make a difference to pragmatic evangelical voters, who want a candidate who could actually win the nomination.
His background has given him some advantages. He spoke in early November at a "pastors' policy briefing" similar to those staged in Iowa and New Hampshire, where local pastors can meet with national Christian Huckabee supporters.
"He's had wonderful opportunities to talk to the 'grasstops,' these pastors who preach to hundreds of people, while not spending any money," said Oran Smith, executive director of the Palmetto Family Council, an anti-abortion group that has remained neutral on the presidential race. "Being a Baptist minister and a candidate for president, no one would want to turn him away."
White evangelicals account for 53 percent of the state's likely Republican voters, according to the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.
Still, they "are not a monolithic group here and don't always vote together," cautioned Danielle Vinson, a political science professor at Furman University in Greenville. "Their leadership isn't giving them very clear signals this time, either."
South Carolina's political and religious elite have scattered endorsements across the GOP field:
_ Huckabee has the support of Republican Rep. Bob Inglis, who represents one swath of the state's northwest corner, or Upstate _ the Bible Belt of South Carolina. Some influential Southern Baptist ministers have spoken warmly of Huckabee but are avoiding endorsements.
_ Bob Jones III of the fundamentalist Bob Jones University has endorsed Romney, helping the former Massachusetts governor as some evangelicals worried about his Mormon faith. Romney also was endorsed by Sen. Jim DeMint, an Upstate politician who is influential in the Presbyterian Church in America, headquartered in neighboring Georgia.
_ Fred Thompson, who is pinning his campaign survival on a strong South Carolina finish, was endorsed by South Carolina Citizens for Life. The endorsement came when Thompson was running second to abortion rights supporter Rudy Giuliani. Holly Gatling, the anti-abortion group's executive director, said this week her group still strongly backs Thompson, though its main goal is to prevent the former New York mayor from winning.
Another question is the resurgent McCain, who has sought to mend relations with evangelicals after his bitter South Carolina defeat in 2000. McCain has a strong advocate in Lindsey Graham, the state's other U.S. senator.
In 2000, the Christian Coalition was credited with boosting George W. Bush by distributing material spotlighting "disturbing facts about John McCain," including his stances on stem-cell research and campaign finance overhaul. In one sign of how South Carolina's evangelical dynamics have changed, the weakened coalition is sitting out this primary altogether.
Huckabee supporters are quick to point out that many of the state's endorsements came before their candidate emerged as a conservative contender.
Among the state's 700,000 Southern Baptists, support for Huckabee is mixed, but many now view him as an electable candidate who shares their evangelical values, said Southern Baptist Convention President Frank Page, a pastor in Taylors, S.C. "Baptists are pragmatists who support those who they believe to be electable and consistent with pro-family policies," Page said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
Some evangelicals are wary of Huckabee, believing he is too liberal on issues such as poverty, health care and the environment. Page, while not endorsing anyone, dismissed those criticisms, calling Huckabee a "caring, genuine, humble person."
In the final campaign stretch in South Carolina, Huckabee backers will distribute voter guides and air radio announcements urging Christian pastors to speak out on moral issues and encourage people to vote, said Janet Folger, a Florida-based talk show host and co-chair of Huckabee's Faith and Family Values Coalition.
In Iowa, pro-Huckabee pastors reported receiving unsigned letters warning them that getting involved in the race would endanger their churches' tax-exempt status _ and Folger said she expects more of the same.
During a rally Wednesday at a hotel ballroom in Spartanburg, Huckabee found a receptive audience that included a homeschooling mother, abortion rights opponents and a woman who said she learned only recently Huckabee was a minister.
Jessie Davis, a 27-year-old mother of three from Inman, S.C., held her youngest, 8-month old Abbie, in her arms. Davis said the No. 1 thing that attracted her to Huckabee was "Christian values."
"He's going to ask God what do before he asks somebody else," Davis said after the rally. "God designed everything. He knows how it's supposed to work."
Rev. Johnny Hunter Named Operation Rescue's 'Man of the Year'
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06740.shtml
WICHITA, Kansas-- Operation Rescue announces today that it has chosen Rev. Johnny Hunter as Man of the Year for 2007.
Rev. Hunter is the President of L.E.A.R.N., Inc. (Life Education And Resource Network), the largest African-American Pro-life organization in the country. Under Rev. Hunter's leadership, the African-American community has become aware of the devastating effects of abortion on their racial group, and have activated like never before to stop abortion. African- Americans now comprise the fastest growing segment of the Pro-Life Movement.
"We do not want our people to perish because of ignorance. Ignorance and apathy has hindered the proper response to the main destroyer of our future and the child. The single biggest threat to the survival of children, especially children of color, is imposed death by induced abortion," said Rev. Hunter. "The African American community alone has lost over 12,000,000 people due to this most racist act. In the United States, over 36,000,000 human beings have been unjustly destroyed and the numbers are getting worse by the addition of over 4,000 more deaths each day."
"The revival taking place in the African-American community regarding the Sanctity of Life is an amazing and underreported story," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "This remarkable awakening is a direct response to the leadership of Rev. Johnny Hunter and L.E.A.R.N. Operation Rescue is proud to announce Rev. Hunter as our 2007 Man of the Year."
Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation. Operation Rescue recently made headlines when it bought and closed an abortion clinic in Wichita, Kansas and has become the voice of the pro-life activist movement in America. Its activities are on the cutting edge of the abortion issue, taking direct action to restore legal personhood to the pre-born and stop abortion in obedience to biblical mandates.
Kansas Legislator Apologizes, Settles Suit for Cockroach Clash
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06741.shtml
WICHITA, Kansas-- Kansas State Representative Vaughn Flora, has issued a formal apology to Operation Rescue President Troy Newman for attacking him during a gubernatorial debate at the Kansas State Fair in September, 2006.
Flora, a democrat, was earlier convicted of battery for striking Newman while he and another man were dressed in cockroach costumes to protest Gov. Kathleen Sibelius' support for abortion and her willingness to ignore filthy and dangerous conditions that had been recently documented at Kansas abortion clinics. Flora, who was at the debate wearing a Sibelius campaign t-shirt, struck Newman, tearing a mask from his face, and causing a laceration to his forehead. Flora received a 30 day suspended jail sentence and was ordered to pay fines and costs totaling of $228. Part of his sentence also included court mandated anger management classes.
However, after Flora's conviction, he told the Associated Press that he refused to apologize to Newman for the attack. Newman then sued Flora in civil court.
"I felt that the lawsuit was necessary to insure that Mr. Flora and others understood very clearly that physically attacking people with whom you do not agree is intolerable behavior for anyone, especially a State Legislator. There has to be serious consequences for that, in order to protect others."
The suit was formally settled late last month. In addition to the apology, Newman received an undisclosed amount of money. Newman was represented by attorney Bryan Brown, Executive Director of the Archangel Institute.
"In recent weeks, there has been an increase in attacks on pro-lifers across the nation. I hope this lawsuit sends a strong message that attacks on peaceful pro-lifers will not be tolerated, and that when attacks do occur, legal remedies will be aggressively pursued," said Newman.
Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation. Operation Rescue recently made headlines when it bought and closed an abortion clinic in Wichita, Kansas and has become the voice of the pro-life activist movement in America. Its activities are on the cutting edge of the abortion issue, taking direct action to restore legal personhood to the pre-born and stop abortion in obedience to biblical mandates.
Operation Rescue Formally Demands Special Prosecutor for Abortion Grand Jury
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06742.shtml
WICHITA, Kans.-- Operation Rescue has formally demanded that District Attorney Nola Foulston and disgraced Attorney General Paul Morrison recuse themselves from any involvement in the citizen called grand jury investigation of late-term abortionist George R. Tiller, which is scheduled to convene next week. Operation Rescue is demanding that a special prosecutor be appointed to oversee the grand jury that does not have financial, political, or social ties to Tiller, as specified on the petition documents.
OR President Troy Newman has sent a letter to Foulston, Morrison, and Judge Paul Buchanan, who will oversee the grand jury, stating that Foulston and Morrison have conflicts of interest regarding Tiller. Morrison recently tendered his resignation amid a sex and corruption scandal where he was accused of attempting to influence criminal cases involving Tiller and other abortionists. Foulston interfered in previous attempts to prosecute the infamous late-term abortionist, and has deferred to Morrison in legal matters related to Tiller.
Newman's letter states, "Any additional attempt to control the prosecution of Tiller will further erode public confidence in your prosecutorial conduct and ultimately serve as additional evidence of the distinct conflicts of interests."
The grand jury is being asked to investigate possible illegal late-term abortions at Tiller's abortion clinic from 2003 through 2007. Kansas law bans abortions after 22 weeks gestation unless the woman's life or health is in "permanent and irreversible" jeopardy. Tiller is accused of committing illegal abortions for trivial reasons in violation of the law.
Tiller unsuccessfully attempted to block the grand jury in Federal Court, District Court, and at the Kansas Supreme Court. Operation Rescue filed to intervene at the Supreme Court level in the interest of insuring that the voice of the citizens who requested the grand jury be heard. All three courts ruled that the investigation must move forward.
Operation Rescue will conduct a prayer for justice outside the Sedgwick County Courthouse at 9:00 AM on January 8, 2008, when the grand jury is scheduled to convene for the first time.
Citizens who may wish to express their concerns about the appearance of corrupt influences on the grand jury investigation of Tiller may contact:
District Attorney Nola Foulston
316-660-3600
foulston@sedgwick.gov
About Operation Rescue Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation. Operation Rescue recently made headlines when it bought and closed an abortion clinic in Wichita, Kansas and has become the voice of the pro-life activist movement in America. Its activities are on the cutting edge of the abortion issue, taking direct action to restore legal personhood to the pre-born and stop abortion in obedience to biblical mandates.
Christians Killed, Churches and Homes Destroyed in Mob Violence in Orissa
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06743.shtml
Christians were killed, many injured and numerous homes and churches destroyed in a spate of attacks on Christians over Christmas in the Kandhamal district of Orissa state. The violence began on December 24 in the village of Brahmani when a mob of Hindus belonging to the Vishva Hindu Parishad militant group attacked Christians and their shops in order to protest their planned Christmas celebrations. The violence then spread throughout the area and continued in the following days.
Christians remain at risk as religious tensions persist in the region. On December 31, at least three houses were burned down in three separate attacks in the villages of Rabingia, Barpada and Daringbadi, according to the Indo-Asia News Service. The Evangelical Fellowship of India has reported further incidents as late as January 2. Local Christians believe that the violence is a direct attempt to intimidate the Christian community and stop missionary work in the state, which is one of several Indian states with strict anti-conversion laws.
According a memorandum submitted to the National Human Rights Commission on December 31, at least 90 churches have been burned and 600 houses torched or vandalized in the attacks. Thousands of Christians have been displaced and others are still missing. The total number of Christians killed is unknown. Full details of the carnage are still uncertain since authorities are often denying church groups and fact-finding teams access to the area.
Pray that God will strengthen and protect the believers in Orissa. Pray for comfort for those who have lost loved ones. Pray that believers will continue to rely on their Saviour in this time of trial. Ask God to enable Indian Christians to act as ambassadors of reconciliation who help to draw even their persecutors to faith in the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:18-21).
For more information on the persecution of Christians in India, go to www.persecution.net/country/india.htm. The January edition of The Voice of the Martyrs Newsletter features the persecution of Christians in India. To receive your copy, subscribe today at www.persecution.net/newsletter.htm.
How Much is One Life Worth?-Vitae Caring Foundation Believes Each One is Priceless
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06744.shtml
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.-- You can't set a price on the life of a baby--or its mother. To get that message to the widest possible audience the Vitae Caring Foundation has spent the last 16 years producing professional television and radio commercials designed to educate viewers and listeners about resources for pregnant women facing a crisis pregnancy.
Producing commercials--especially television commercials--and buying air time is an expensive proposition, yet Vitae isn't counting the cost, it's celebrating the results. For example, after a Vitae ad ran in New York, the city that leads the nation in abortions, the EMC Frontline Pregnancy Centers received more than 1,100 calls and over 400 visits. Best of all, the lives of 138 babies were saved in New York City. After Vitae commercials ran in Dallas, pregnancy resource centers reported a 169 percent increase in calls; in Kansas City crisis pregnancy centers fielded 181 percent more calls than usual; and in Minneapolis the month after the Vitae ads ran on TV, abortions dropped by 10.6 percent.
Yet, as we approach the 35th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, there is still so much more do. Vitae is constantly re-evaluating its message and studying new ways to frame the issue so they can reach teenagers eager to experiment with their sexuality, women who may or may not be ready to start a family, and men whose actions and opinions very often are a catalyst for a woman's decision to abort or keep her baby. To keep Vitae's message fresh and convincing requires new market research, as well as consultation with media and marketing professionals. All of that is expensive, too.
Vitae's decision in 1991 to enter the media was based upon the realization that in today's world most people get their information and develop their opinions based upon what they see and hear in the mass media. And so, to change hearts and change minds, to reach the market that needs to hear the message that women need real choices and that life is sacred, Vitae creates TV and radio spots that are positive, persuasive, and non-threatening.
The way the people at Vitae see it, in the struggle to bring America back to its traditional respect for human life, developing effective television and radio campaigns is not a flashy luxury, but an absolute necessity. After all, the goal is to save human lives, each one of which is priceless.
World Congress of Families Regrets Departure of Ellen Sauerbrey from Refugee Position
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06745.shtml
The World Congress of Families regrets the departure of Ellen R. Sauerbrey from the position of Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration, a post she's held for the past two years.
WCF International Secretary Allan C. Carlson noted: "Ellen has been a longtime friend of World Congress of Families. She addressed both World Congress of Families III in Mexico City (2004), and World Congress of Families IV, which took place in Warsaw, May 11-13, 2007."
In her Warsaw address, Sauerbrey declared: "The family is the oldest institution, the first and most enduring community of individuals working together for the common good. ... The state did not create the family; rather, families created the state."
Sauerbrey's appearance in Warsaw was not without controversy. A handful of leftist members of the European Parliament sent the Assistant Secretary a letter in April asking her not to attend the Congress, due to our defense of life and traditional family values.
This was countered by a letter from other EU parliamentarians, asking her to "disregard this foolish, even desperate missive" from those disparaging and misrepresenting the Congress.
World leaders, such as Poland's President Lech Kaczynski, honorary patron of World Congress of Families IV, recognized the importance of the Congress ( www.prezydent.pl/x.node? id=1011848&eventId=11027982).
Also at the Warsaw Congress, a letter was read from Mexico's First Lady Margarita Zavala, noting that, "It is in the family where the values of solidarity, respect, responsibility, love, forgiveness, among others, so necessary in the world today, are learned." Madame Zavala added, "For those of us who value this, we can only thank the men and women who made this Congress possible."
Past Congresses have been addressed by Madame Jehan Sadat (the widow of Anwar Sadat), Martha Sahagun Fox (then first lady of Mexico), and Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, head of the Pontifical Council for the Family.
Sauerbrey was an interim appointee of the Bush administration. While she received high marks from refugee groups - including the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, the Refugee Council USA and Refugees International - she was one of 19 Bush appointments on which the Senate did not act. Thus, her appointment expired on the last day of 2007. Still, the White House could reappoint her in 2008.
Said Carlson: "Secretary Sauerbrey has had a distinguished career in public service. She did exceptional work with refugees in Iraq, Darfur, Nepal and Myanmar. She's also been a steadfast friend of the international pro-family movement. We wish her well in whatever direction life takes her."
The World Congress of Families (WCF) is an international network of pro-family organizations, scholars, leaders and people of goodwill from more than 60 countries that seeks to restore the natural family as the fundamental social unit and the 'seedbed' of civil society. The WCF was founded in 1997 by Allan Carlson and is a project of The Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society in Rockford, Illinois (www.profam.org). To date, there have been four World Congresses of Families - Prague (1997), Geneva (1999), Mexico City (2004) and Warsaw, Poland (2007).
National Missions Coordinator Calls for Resignation of Tennessee Attorney General and State Commissioner Over Attempted Murder Cover Up
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06746.shtml
TELLICO PLAINS, Tenn.-- National Missions Coordinator George Raudenbush for Appalachian Youth Missions and thousands of citizens across the state are asking for the resignation of Tennessee State Attorney General Robert E. Cooper Jr. and Tennessee State Commissioner William O. Shults.
Numerous documents and affidavits filed with the Tennessee courts show the state judiciary to be involved in religious discrimination and the apparent cover up of an attempt to murder a Christian missionary. Evidence of misconduct is linked to the highest levels of state.
"We hope and pray that this gross misconduct is just isolated to members of the judiciary and some elected officials. At this time, we have no reason to believe that Governor Bredesen is involved," replied National Missions Coordinator George Raudenbush.
"It just seemed to start with a few individuals that have hate based issues against God then others got caught up in the deceit and lies which in turn triggered their lie based thinking, before long people just believed what ever they were told no matter how extreme or unbelievable it sounded. Documents were altered and falsified taking the focus off the truth while other public officials openly supported criminal activities of hate against Appalachian Youth Missions. You don't have to believe in God to know that evil exists."
Four county clerks, two sheriffs and a police chief, two district attorneys and judges in the 10th judicial district along with members of the Court of the Judiciary which disciplines bar members, the State Attorney General and State Commissioner William O. Shults are all named in court documents and appear to be involved in the cover up.
Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen was sent a certified letter last week informing him that letters were sent to both the State Attorney General Robert E. Cooper Jr. and State Commissioner William O. Shults asking for their resignations concerning misconduct and betrayal of public trust.
A press conference will be held on Wednesday January 9th at 12:00 pm at the McMinn County Court House in McMinn County Tennessee.
Every American Citizen is endowed with an inherent right and responsibility to hold public officials accountable. For further information visit: www.tnccc.com and www.appalachianyouthmission.org/deliveredfromdeat h.htm
Police Foil Plot to Kill Priest in Turkey
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06747.shtml
On December 29, the police detained 22-year-old Murat Tabuk after thwarting his plot to murder a Turkish Orthodox priest, Father Ramazan Arkan (30), in the coastal resort of Antalya.
According to a January 2 report from Compass Direct, the suspect told police that his plot was influenced by a Turkish television series that depicts Christians as terrorists and criminals who forcibly make converts.
The attack came two weeks after an Italian priest was stabbed in western Turkey by a youth who also claimed his actions were inspired by the same television series.
Tabuk had never met Father Arkan but phoned him twice in the days before the attack, asking him about Christianity. Arkan had invited Tabuk to meet with him at the St. Paul Centre on December 24. When Tabuk arrived, he refused to be frisked by security guards and left the premises.
Thank the Lord for keeping Father Arkan safe from harm. Pray fo r continued protection for him and other Turkish believers as they serve Christ amidst opposition. Ask God to enable Turkish Christians to entrust themselves to Him so that they can do his will without hesitation (2 Timothy 1:7-12). Pray that Murat Tabuk will come to repentance and faith in Christ.
For more information on the persecution facing Christians in Turkey, go to www.persecution.net/country/turkey.htm.
Rediscovering the Power of the Vow
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06748.shtml
DALLAS/FT. WORTH-- There was a time in America when a man was only as good as his word. In today's culture, promises, commitments, even ideologies, are subject to change as convenience and popular thinking dictate. God has called His people to be a light shining in contrast to the darkness of this world, yet even within the church marriage vows have apparently lost their staying-power. In his new book, The Vow, Ed Gungor, pastor and author of the New York Times bestseller There Is More to the Secret, challenges the American church to arise and shine in authentic community through the ancient practice of vow-making.
A vow is a promise made to God. Though the practice of vow-making was common in Biblical times and throughout church history until the Reformation, most modern Christians are totally unfamiliar with the concept. Ed first encountered vow-making while casually reading the book of Acts. "Other than getting married or becoming a priest or nun, I thought 'vowing' was some kind of antiquated, Old Testament idea that I was sure Jesus had abolished," Ed remembers. Upon further study, he began to realize that, not only is this ancient practice still relevant today, it is an invaluable means for producing authentic transformation in the life of the believer.
The act of making a vow to God is a way of showing generosity to Him, of loving Him more. Vows are evidence in the church of a desire to follow Jesus without reservation. They are choices that transcend ordinary faith--pre-decisions that symbolize the direction that will center one's entire life. And they open the door to divine adventure.
Ed is a brilliant, effortless communicator. As he shares his own adventures in vow-making, readers will be encouraged and inspired to find their own unique ways to commit their lives to God.
In the current culture dominated by spiritual skepticism and distrust, intentions mean little without the actions to demonstrate them. "Vows give us conviction about the kind of life we are to live, clarity about our role in the world and a sense of corporate mission and ministry," Ed says. "There is critical and prophetic power in them. We are not just believing differently; vows cause us to do and live differently."
Newly Identified Corporate Supporters of Planned Parenthood Named
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06749.shtml
FRONT ROYAL, Va.-- Life Decisions International (LDI) has released a revised edition of The Boycott List, which identifies corporations that are boycott targets due to their support of Planned Parenthood, the world's primary abortion-advocacy group.
"As a direct result of the commitment, action and prayers of pro-family people, at least 160 corporations have stopped funding Planned Parenthood," said LDI President Douglas R. Scott, Jr. It is estimated that the boycott has cost Planned Parenthood more than $40 million since the Corporate Funding Project (CFP) began nearly 16 years ago. "This should be a testament to those who believe it is impossible to change corporate philanthropic behavior," Scott said.
Corporations appearing on The Boycott List for the first time include BBJ Linen (home products), Carlson Companies (travel agencies, hotels [Country Inns & Suites, Park Inn, Park Plaza, Radisson, and Regent], and restaurants [T.G.I. Friday's and Pick Up Stix]), FastSigns (graphics/printing), InterContinental Hotels (Candlewood, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Indigo, InterContinental, and Staybridge), Midas (motor vehicle care), and Paul Ecke Ranch (poinsettias), among others.
Corporations continuing as boycott targets from the previously released Boycott List include AlphaGraphics, Basics Office Products, Wachovia, Nike, Time Warner (Cinemax, HBO, AOL, etc.), Bank of America, the Dallas Cowboys, CIGNA, Walt Disney, Johnson & Johnson, Lost Arrow (Patagonia, etc.), Chevron, Wells Fargo, Whole Foods Market, and Nationwide (insurance), among others.
The new Boycott List includes a significantly expanded "Dishonorable Mention" section, which identifies charitable groups that are associated with Planned Parenthood and/or its agenda. Groups named in this section include Amnesty International, the American Cancer Society, Camp Fire, Girls Inc., Girl Scouts, Human Rights Watch, Kiwanis Clubs, Doctors Without Borders, the March of Dimes, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Rotary Clubs, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, and the YWCA, among others.
"This has not been some sort of 'Jesse Jackson boycott' where we make news for a few days and then go away," Scott said. "Corporate officials are learning that those who value life are among the most dedicated people on earth. We will not go away until corporate involvement with Planned Parenthood comes to an end."
"The Pro-Life Movement will succeed only to the extent that pro-life people are willing to be inconvenienced," Scott said. "The very lives of children are worth that much -- and a whole lot more."
More information about the CFP: www.fightpp.org/show.cfm?page=boycott.
Life Decisions International (LDI) is dedicated to challenging the Culture of Death, concentrating on exposing and fighting the agenda of Planned Parenthood. LDI's chief project is a boycott of corporations that fund the abortion-committing giant. To learn more about Planned Parenthood, please visit: www.fightpp.org/show.cfm?page=wrong
Media Pioneer Jeff Einstein Explores the Confluence of God, Media and Addiction in his New Book: Put God First
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06750.shtml
NEW YORK-- Born again digital media pioneer Jeff Einstein has published a new non-fiction title, "Put God First: A Pocket Guide to Quality of Life in the Great Age of Excess" - now available as a trade paperback on Amazon.com, and on Einstein's weblog, the Put God First Ministry.
"This is an important book," says NextEra Media CEO Jaffer Ali. "It shows us how a return to faith translates into a return to reason in what Einstein calls the Great Age of Excess. It shows us how to reintroduce God as a moderating force at a time when excess consumption imperils the quality of our lives and communities."
"The quality of our lives is a reflection of how and where and with whom we spend our time," says Einstein. "Yet the average American adult consumes 11.7 hours of media each day -- almost half a year for every year of our adult lives. And as a nation we spend more than a trillion dollars annually on media and media devices. The jury is in: We are irrefutably addicted to the media on a massive scale that simply dwarfs any and every other activity in our lives. Who's got time for God?" he asks. "And what happens when we put Him dead last in the hierarchy of things that matter in the 21st century?"
Einstein is a noted media industry contrarian and critic. "What sets media addiction apart from all other obsessions and addictions," he says in true form, "is the fact that the biggest media addicts are also the ones who happen to produce, distribute, buy, sell, research and teach all of the commercial media we consume. If the medium is the message," he asks, "what happens to the message when the good folks who produce, distribute, buy, sell, research and teach it are addicted to the medium?"
A seasoned speaker and lecturer, Einstein also plans a series of Put God First workshops targeting religious and community organizations as well as corporations. Put God First, he concludes, "offers a timely and compassionate response to the most pressing and compelling issue of our time: how we navigate the confluence of God, media and addiction in the Great Age of Excess."
Jaffer Ali agrees: "In my opinion," he says, "Put God First nails THE PROBLEM of the 21st century. Jeff has written a book that speaks with wisdom and compassion to the 21st-century malady of maladies."
About Jeff Einstein
A published author with nine titles to his credit, Mr. Einstein co-founded the nation's first digital advertising and marketing agency in 1984. His work has been featured in virtually every major business print venue, including two front-page articles in The Wall Street Journal, and cover stories for George, Red Herring Magazine, PC Magazine, and The New York Times Sunday Magazine, and he has appeared as a media industry expert in dozens of TV and radio interviews, including CNN's 360 with Anderson Cooper and The Today Show with Katie Couric.
Two prominent Chinese house church leaders detained
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/two.prominent.chinese.house.church.leaders.detained/16104.htm
Two prominent leaders of one of China’s largest house church networks have been detained by local police in Jiuquan City, Gansu Province in China since 20 December 2007, according to China Aid Association (CAA).
Tian Min-ge and Su Dean are both leaders of the Fangcheng parent house church. They were conducting a service with a third leader, Wang Hongliang, when local authorities raided the meeting.
The three men were taken into detention where they were held for ‘gathering in an illegal assembly under the guise of religion’.
Wang was released after serving 15 days detention. However, Tian and Su’s penalties were elevated to criminal detention on 5 January 2008. Tian has since been transferred from Jiaquan Detention Centre to the Fangcheng County Public Security Bureau in Henan Province.
Tian Min-ge, who is also known as Tian Jin and Uncle Jin, has been deeply involved in the growth and development of the Chinese house church over many years.
Aged 71 and in retirement, he has spent the last 20 years in full time ministry. He founded the management team of Daqing Church in Heilongjiang Province and was elected as a leader of the Fangcheng parent house church in his home county in 1994.
Tian is known for his tireless efforts to unite the church and address issues affecting it. In this he worked with well-known house church leader Pastor Zhang Rongliang, who is currently serving a seven and a half year term of imprisonment.
Su Dean has also been very active in the Fangcheng parent house church. This work has included training and equipping Christian workers and teaching across Sichuan Province. He previously oversaw a ministry involving over 200,000 Christians.
The two men are highly regarded and of great influence amongst the house church believers in China due to their immense dedication to the growth of the church.
Alexa Papadouris, Advocacy Director of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, said: “At the beginning of the year of the Beijing Olympics, the treatment of Tian Min-ge and Su Dean highlights the lack of religious freedoms in China.
“This incident occurred just two days after President Hu Jintao presented and reiterated a policy of religious freedom at a session of the politburo of the Communist Party focusing on religion.
“While such statements are welcomed, they must be weighed by the realities experienced on the ground by China’s religious believers. We urge China to abide by its claims and international standards and release these two devoted believers.”
Police say two more churches bombed in Iraq
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/police.say.two.more.churches.bombed.in.iraq/16094.htm
Two car bombs exploded outside two churches in the volatile northern city of Kirkuk on Wednesday, police said, the latest in a wave of attacks on Christian targets in Iraq this week.
Police said three people were wounded in the attacks on the churches in central and northern Kirkuk, a multi-ethnic oil-producing city 250 km north of Baghdad. The buildings also suffered minor damage.
The spiritual leader of Iraq's Catholics said on Tuesday that a recent wave of bomb attacks on churches in Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul was aimed at showing Iraq was not at peace rather than singling out Christians for persecution.
Iraq's Christians make up about 3 percent of the country's 27 million, mostly Muslim, population. A number of Christian clerics have been kidnapped or killed in Iraq and Christians forced to flee their homes.
In a single hour on Sunday attackers bombed two churches, a convent and a church-run orphanage in the northern city of Mosul and three churches and a convent in Baghdad, the Chaldean patriarch of Baghdad Emmanuel III Delly, said.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told the Vatican's ambassador on Tuesday that his government was doing its best to protect Iraq's Christians and that all Iraq's religious sects were equally affected by violence.
Huckabee moves beyond US religious right
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/huckabee.moves.beyond.us.religious.right/16075.htm
Republican Mike Huckabee is trying to soften the image of the religious right as he reaches out to liberal Christians and blue-collar workers for support in his US presidential campaign.
It is a delicate balancing act for the ordained Baptist minister who staunchly opposes abortion and gay marriage.
But the folksy southerner told Reuters he believed some evangelicals had widened their political concerns beyond the hot-button cultural issues that helped put George W Bush in the White House and had mellowed enough to embrace causes like poverty and the environment.
Huckabee, who won the first presidential nominating contest in Iowa with the support of evangelicals and placed third in New Hampshire on Tuesday, wants to help bridge that divide.
"Unquestionably there is a maturing that is going on within the evangelical movement. It doesn't mean that evangelicals are any less concerned about traditional families and the sanctity of life," the former Arkansas governor said.
"It just means that they also realise that we have real responsibility in areas like disease and hunger and poverty and that these are issues that people of faith have to address," he said in an interview aboard his campaign bus.
The same issues resonated with socially conservative Catholics, he said.
For three decades evangelicals have been at the forefront of the religious right, a movement that seeks to redraw US public policy along biblical lines and get motivated voters to the polls for like-minded Republican politicians.
That movement was epitomised in the 1990s by well-organied machines like the Christian Coalition of America, which once spurred people to vote but is now a shell of its former self after the departure of executive director Ralph Reed in 1997.
NEW RELIGIOUS RIGHT
The new religious right is epitomised by people like influential Florida pastor Joel Hunter, who was anointed to lead the Christian Coalition but never assumed the position when it balked at his attempts to embrace issues like poverty and global warming.
Hunter - who is also strongly opposed to abortion rights - has come out in support of Huckabee.
"Joel Hunter ... is one of my key backers. He and his wife are strong with me," Huckabee said.
Analysts say Huckabee's agenda breaks with the traditional religious right and could produce strains in the Republican Party.
"Huckabee and Hunter represent political developments within the evangelical community that are apart from the organised religious right and may become a challenge to those organisations," said John Green, a professor of politics at the University of Akron in Ohio and a leading expert on the subject.
"Your old religious right found a certain comfort level within the party by accepting the economic interests of the business community - and the business community accepted the legitimacy of the social issue agenda. Folks like Hunter and Huckabee may well upset this accommodation," he said.
Huckabee has stressed his support for the "little guy" and polling in Iowa showed him with solid support among blue-collar Republicans.
His call to replace income tax with a consumption tax is widely seen as regressive and is viewed with skepticism by most economists. Huckabee himself says it would be politically difficult to pull off.
"I would always work for lower taxes particularly on small businesses and families," he said.
Huckabee's mixing of economic populism with a conservative social agenda has struck a chord with the foot soldiers of the old religious right.
"Home-schoolers, televangelists, and pro-life advocates can fit very comfortably within this populism because it stresses conservative moral values and it also recognises their class and community interests," Green said.
Russia: Kremlin accused of Christmas 'blasphemy'
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/russia.kremlin.accused.of.christmas.blasphemy/16073.htm
Russia's opposition Communists on Tuesday accused state television of turning a church service to mark Orthodox Christmas into a campaign advertisement for the man the Kremlin is backing to be the next president.
State-run channels repeatedly swung their cameras on to Dmitry Medvedev, favoured by President Vladimir Putin to succeed him in a March 2 election, when he attended an Orthodox Christmas Eve service in Moscow, they said.
"State television committed blasphemy by turning the transmission of the Christmas liturgy from the Church of Christ the Saviour into a show called 'the Birth of the successor'," senior Communist lawmaker Valery Rashkin said in a statement.
Cameras broadcasting the Jan. 6 service for the Channel One and Rossiya channels -- main source of news for most Russians -- focused on 42-year-old Medvedev instead of the altar, he said.
"All the thoughts of believers, and of any cultured person, at this moment are focused on one thing: the Saviour coming into the world. A church is not the place where the authorities and state television should organise reality shows," said Rashkin.
The service was led by Patriach Alexiy II. No one was available to comment on the broadcasts at either of the two television stations.
During last year's televised Easter service, Putin and senior Kremlin figures were shown on the altar when the Patriarch praised them for restoring Russia's stability.
Putin is required by the constitution to step down when his second term ends this year year. Opinion polls show Medvedev is overwhelming favourite to win the election because of endorsement from the popular Putin.
The opposition accuses the Kremlin of using its control of the biggest television stations to ensure positive coverage for Medvedev while giving his challengers only limited access to the airwaves.
After decades of state atheism under Communist rule, the Russian Orthodox Church is experiencing a revival. Politicians are frequently seen attending church services and the Communists -- now in opposition -- no longer espouse atheism publicly as they did during the Soviet era.
Many Orthodox churches celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7, not Dec. 25 as elswhere in the Christian world, because they operate on the older Julian calendar.
The Horrors of Female Circumcision
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/300544.aspx
KENYA - It is a procedure that millions of girls around the world are forced to have. It causes extreme pain and can lead to severe complications such as infertility.
A Day She Will Never Forget
"They told us that they were taking us to have our hair done. They told us to sit, and then they held us down by force," six-year-old Asmah Mohammed said.
It is a horrific day Asmah will never forget.
She said, "They forced us to lie down on the ground and they cut us."
She's just experienced the horrors of female genital mutilation, also known as FMG.
Asmah's mother Bedria recalls the terror as if it were her own, "You get shocked. Your child is like your own body isn't it? When the razor cuts it's traumatizing. But what can you do?"
In many parts of the world, not much can be done. Isneeno Ibrahim Nadeh has performed 255 such mutilations in varying degrees.
"It's impossible for me to circumcise a girl alone," she said. "The women in the family will come and hold the girl down very tightly."
Nadeh explained how she would cut the girls: "We used the same knife on all the girls. We used to heat it up in the fire."
No anesthesia is used. They have no stitches to speak of, so instead they rely on Africa's most famous tree - the Acacia tree.
The Acacia tree is popular because it has these huge thorns. And today these thorns are used in the operation."
In the Name of Religion
To many in the West, the old world practice seems barbaric. But to those who practice it, the circumcision is part of strongly held beliefs.
Women's rights advocate Ayaan Hirsi Ali also points to the Muslim obsession with virginity.
"There is no Hadith or sayings of the Prophet with one hundred percent certainty that he condoned or urged girls to be genitally mutilated," Hirsi said. "But if you look at the list of countries where female genital mutilation is practiced and especially where it happens to more than 90 percent of the females, you'll see that they're all Muslims. That's very interesting."
Many of these women say they feel trapped and believe that if they want their daughters to marry, the girls must go through the procedure.
"Some people are doing this because their forefathers were doing this. There are some people who are doing this because it is a cultural background for them," one reproductive health worker said.
In one Somali refugee camp, more than 90 percent of the women have had the procedure.
As the girls grow in to womanhood, they develop many physical complications.
"The menstruation period, the blood will not come out. It will go back. And that will cause a severe infection," Khatro explained.
Ali and her sister were put through this pain at the hands of their grandmother.
"Urinating is painful, menstruating is painful, sex is painful, giving birth is painful, so you end up leading a life of pain," she said.
Camp doctors say the women also undergo severe psychological problems, as well. Feelings of fear haunt them all their lives.
Twenty-year-old Khatro still remembers the painful experience as though it happened yesterday.
"When the women came to our home and my mother said 'This woman will circumcise you' I was feeling so frightened," Khatro recalled.
It's a practice that's affected an estimated 130 million girls world wide. And about 2 million are forced to have it done every year. Most of them live in a large swath of Africa.
The Growing Tide of Change
As families immigrate to other countries such as the United States and Great Britain, they bring the tradition with them.
But back home, there is a growing tide of change. Nadeh no longer performs circumcisions and is fighting for the girl's rights.
"When I remember what I used to do to young girls, I feel so sad, so sorry about it. Now I have come to know that FGM is very bad for girls," she said.
Some young women, like Khatro, say they will begin refusing to have their daughters circumcised. And a small minority of Islamic leaders is speaking out.
One Muslim sheik says he could not stay silent while little girls died.
"We lose a lot of people here in the camps, a lot of girls," he said.
Going against the wishes of his extended family, he has not allowed his three daughters to be circumcised.
It's not a popular decision with other Muslim leaders.
"We have trouble," the sheik said. "We have some people that want FGM to continue. We even have some sheiks will say it is cultural. We have to let them do this."
His daughters have been forced to stop going to school. They have been beaten, called prostitutes, and worse-
"I've even been called a Christian," one girl said.
The girls say at times they have begged their father to let them to undergo the circumcision so the persecution would stop.
But their father says it's more important to stop the cycle of long term abuse of girls and in so doing, begin to change thousands of years of tradition in the hopes that his daughters will have a better life.
New 'Safer Sex' Ad Touches a Nerve
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/301424.aspx
A new commercial for Planned Parenthood has some advocacy groups up-in-arms.
The ad is supposed to "focus on the importance of practicing pregnancy prevention and safer sex.'
But the problem is the words "pregnancy" or "safe sex" are never spoken.
Some complain that it's misleading and sexually explicit.
Distributing Bibles Ruled 'Unconstitutional'
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/301049.aspx
A federal judge ruled that distributing Bibles in a rural school district in Annapolis, Mo., is "unconstitutional."
It was announced Wednesday that an appeal against the injunction banning Bible distribution will be appealed on behalf of South Iron School District in southeastern Missouri.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit for four sets of parents two years ago, and the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the decision last August to keep Bibles from being handed out.
The school district had changed its policy, permitting Gideons and others to give away Bibles before or after school or during lunch - not in classrooms. But U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry delivered the decision on Tuesday that both practices were in violation of the law.
She then granted a permanent injunction against any Bible distributors.
Perry held that both practices constitute "the promotion of Christianity by distributing Bibles to elementary school students."
She wrote, "The policy has the principle or primary effect of advancing religion by conveying a message of endorsement to elementary school children."
The decision was not accepted by the opposing side.
"I think the current policy creates an open forum that allows secular as well as religious persons or groups to access the forum to distribute information," said Matthew Staver, president of Liberty Counsel, a Christian law group representing the district. "The court has clearly misread the First Amendment and the cases regarding free speech."
The ACLU has filed numerous lawsuits in recent years to stop Gideons International from reaching children in public schools. Gideons International is a Nashville-based Bible publisher distributing the Gospel in more than 80 languages and 180 nations.
Gen Y: Choosing 'Spirituality' over Christ
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/301276.aspx
New research shows today's youth are straying from traditional Christianity - even as their interest in spirituality grows.
The recently released book Unchristian shows how a new generation is rejecting Christianity based on negative perceptions of the Church.
Generation Next
If you're 18 to 25, you're part of Generation Next (also called Generation Y).
New research by the Pew Research Center shows about two-thirds of this group identify themselves as either Protestant or Catholic. But 20 percent of Generation Next says they have no religious affiliation. That's almost doubled since the late 1980s.
They are also the least likely to go to church.
What They Really Think about Christianity
Well-known Barna researcher David Kinnaman and young Christian leader Gabe Lyons, co-authors of Unchristian, write about what those aged 16 to 29 think about the Church.
They found Christians are more famous for what they oppose than for what they stand for. In brief, these young people consider Christians to be: anti-homosexual, too political, hypocritical, insincere, and out-of-touch.
Kinnaman and Lyons argue that in response, the Church's goal should not be to become more popular, but "to lead lives that reflect the message of Jesus, which over time naturally creates a more positive perception."
A Challenge to Figure out Their Faith
It's a tough challenge for the Church.
One answer for the future may lie in focusing on today's teens. That's because their faith is often shallow at best, says youth expert Christian Smith.
"The vast majority of teens are benignly positive about religion," Smith said. "They think it's a nice thing, they think it's good."
Smith believes adults aren't challenging youth to figure out their faith. In a recent study, he found most teens unable to articulate their beliefs.
"They didn't have a theological language to draw on. They didn't even have canned answers. We would ask 'Who's Jesus?' They wouldn't know. They couldn't even say 'son of God.'" Smith said.
The good news is that a recent UCLA study shows college students are growing more interested in spirituality as a life goal.
Fifty percent said "integrating spirituality into my life" is an important life goal, compared to 42 percent in 2004.
It would appear that students are seeking God - but not through the Church.
Still, that interest may provide the gateway for the Church as it seeks to transform a complicated generation into committed followers of Christ.
Huckabee Rocks New Hampshire
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/299489.aspx
ROCHESTER, NH -- It's probably the last place you'd expect to see an ordained Baptist minister - rocking on stage with a band by the name of Mama Kicks.
But there he was, playing bass guitar, the serious look of a musician on his face, keeping counterpoint time as all good bass players do.
Watch video of Hucakbee playing with Mama Kicks by clicking on the play button above.
Mike Huckabee, fresh from taping his David Letterman appearance in New York City, headed straight to the gig to give a stump speech to a crowd of about 1,000 people at the American Legion Post 7 in Rochester, NH.
He took a minute to jam out a tune with Mama Kicks band members Lisa Guyer, Gardner Berry and David Stefanelli, playing Sweet Home Alabama.
And while the band played Huckabee volunteers dished up bowls of "Huck-a-Chuck" chili -- named after the new partnership Chuck Norris has formed with Huckabee.
The event was one of Huckabee's last before New Hampshirites vote in the primary Tuesday.
Recent polls indicate Huckabee is in third place in the Granite State behind Sen. John McCain and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. It's a position that has surprised many pundits. His win in Iowa threw analysts for a loop too. Record numbers turned out to caucus, catapulting him to the front of the pack.
"People are ready to see this country get back on track, come together," he told the crowd. "A lot of times record turnouts mean they're ready to turnout the people who" are in office.
But supporters are not surprised.
"This is the first time I'm going to vote. I've never liked a candidate enough to vote before." said Jason Neasby. "But I have a five-month-old at home, and I just became a Christian, and I've got to take responsibility."
Brenda Janssen flew all the way from Orlando to New Hampshire to canvass for Huckabee. Janssen is head of the largest Huckabee Meet Up Club in the United States.
"He is so authentic, honest and believable. I am 100 percent for him. We need a man of faith in the White House," she said. "We're going to go to the polls tomorrow and stand outside holding signs," Janssen said.
Huckabee wasn't the only hopeful making the rounds Monday. All of the presidential contenders rushed from city to town, hamlet to village asking for votes.
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