McCain's War Words: Obama's Relations with Wright Beyond Belief
http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/wright_mccain_obama/2008/04/27/91420.html
Sen. John McCain came out swinging against the Rev. Jeremiah Wright on Sunday and suggested Sen. Barack Obama's relationship with the controversial minister was "beyond belief."
Campaigning in Coral Gables, Fla., McCain reiterated that he still wants the North Carolina Republican Party to stop running an ad that shows Wright screaming "God damn America." The ad links the pastor with Obama.
But McCain said he was deeply disturbed by new comments Wright has made.
"I saw yesterday some additional comments that have been revealed by Pastor Wright, one of them comparing the United States Marine Corps with Roman Legionnaires who were responsible for the death of our savior. I mean being involved in that, it's beyond belief. And then of course saying that al-Qaida and the American flag were the same flags," McCain told reporters.
McCain pointed out that Obama told Fox News Sunday that he thought criticism of his involvement with Wright was fair.
"But Senator Obama himself says it’s a legitimate political issue, so I would imagine that many other people would share that view and it will be in the arena,” McCain said.
He then took a swipe at Obama's claim that Americans are "bitter" and "clinging" to their faiths and guns.
"I can understand why Americans, when viewing these kinds of comments, are angry and upset," McCain said, adding, "Just like they view Senator Obama’s statements about why people turn to their faith and their values. He believes that it’s out of economic concerns. We all know it’s out of a fundamental belief, a fundamental faith in this country and its values and its principles."
The Obama campaign reacted quickly to McCain's broadside.
"With each passing day, John McCain acts more and more like someone who's spent 26 years learning the divisive, distracting tactics of Washington," an Obama campaign statement read. "That's not the change that the American people are looking for."
Who Makes Up the Middle Class Vote?
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/359631.aspx
In the race for the White House, we continually hear the candidates courting the middle class. It's a block of voters that could decide who becomes our next President. But who exactly is the middle class? That depends on who you ask -- and the answers could influence your vote.
Middle Class 'Qualifications'
The presidential hopefuls fill up campaign speeches with proposals that would help the middle class. This is not surprising, when you consider most Americans believe the candidates are talking to them.
However, is there an "official" middle class income range? Responses from random people ranged from $25,000 to as high as $300,000 a year. The U.S. Census Bureau doesn't even have a definition for the middle class.
Then there's geography to consider. Where you live in the U.S. has a profound effect on what income class you are a part of. For example, the middle class in Washington, D.C. is vastly different from the middle class in the middle of the country.
The Census Bureau reports the median household income in the United States is a little more than $48,000. In Washington, D.C., it's just shy of $48,000. However, in nearby New Jersey, the median income is nearly $67,000. Out west, in California, it's a little more than $54,000. Jump to the heartland, in Oklahoma, and it drops to around $39,000. Head south to Mississippi, and the median income drops again -- to a little more than $34,000 a year.
It's a Values Thing
John Haines owns and operates a restaurant in Virginia. His wife is the co-owner and operator of another restaurant in the area.
In spite of their dual income, he still believes they are middle class. He also believes that when the presidential candidates refer to the middle class, they are talking about him. However, to Haines, the middle class is not a specific income range, but a lifestyle.
Scott Hodge, the president of Tax Foundation, a Washington-based nonpartisan educational organization, agrees.
"The middle class is really a value system," Hodge said. "It's not a point on the income scale, despite what you hear from politicians. Middle class is a value system of intact, working families raising the next generation of Americans, our children."
Hodge believes today's middle class is much different from the one 50 years ago.
"One that relies on two incomes, not just one," he said about the current middle class. "So as a result, we find the majority of families with children earning well over $70,000 a year. In many urban areas, a $100,000 a year is on the low end of what's needed to have a middle class lifestyle."
Why Candidates Love the Middle Class Voter
A broad, yet fair definition of the middle class income range is $25,000 to $100,000 a year. Hodge says 80 to 90 percent of Americans consider themselves middle class, and that makes them a ripe harvest for eager candidates.
"That's why politicians are essentially pandering to everyone's feeling that they are somehow in the middle class, even though at the end of the day, some of those policies will only benefit a very small minority of Americans, at the exclusion of others," Hodge said.
So whether they're talking tax cuts, health care or education, who exactly is going to reap the benefits from these presidential proposals? In other words, who do the candidates think is the middle class, and how do they believe that class is defined in terms of income?
The Candidates Weigh In
Sen. Barack Obama's campaign responded directly to those questions posed by CBN News, saying Obama's middle class tax cut phases out for families around $150,000.
Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign did not respond, but Hodge believes her proposals give some insight into her thinking.
"As we look at Hillary Clinton's proposals, she's tending to look at people earning under $200,000 a year, maybe $250,000 a year," Hodge said.
As for Sen. John McCain? His campaign also did not respond, but Hodge says to look at his record.
"If you look at... his support of extending the Bush tax cuts, he seems to have a much broader view of what the middle class is, taking into account cost of living and standards of living across America," Hodge said.
Brooks Jackson of Factcheck.org, which aims to hold politicians accountable, says the bottom line is to pay attention.
"Any voter is well advised to look very closely at what politicians are actually proposing to figure out whether their so-called middle class proposals are going to benefit them or not," Jackson said.
Few States Let Troops Vote by E-mail
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/365030.aspx
WASHINGTON - U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan can speak to their families by Web camera and fight insurgents using sophisticated electronic warfare. Yet when it comes to voting, most troops are stuck in the past.
Communities in 13 states will send overseas troops presidential election ballots by e-mail this year, and districts in at least seven states will also let them return completed ballots over the Internet, according to data compiled by The Associated Press and the Overseas Vote Foundation.
That still leaves tens of thousands of service members in far-flung military bases struggling to meet voting deadlines and relying largely on regular mail to get ballots and cast votes - often at the last minute because of delays in ballot preparations in some states.
Adding an electronic boost to the process would ease those problems, but it raises security and privacy concerns.
Pentagon officials have been urging more states to move into the electronic age before November, a move that could help reverse recent trends in which thousands of military members asked for ballots but either didn't vote or had their ballots rejected for flaws.
The push comes more than seven years after problems with overseas military voting set off an uproar in President Bush's narrow 2000 victory.
This year, when war is a key campaign issue, the election results in any state - particularly one with heavy military voting - could turn on the votes of thousands of troops on the front lines.
"The personnel that fight our wars, the people who are most affected by the decisions on the use of the military, are being systematically denied the right to vote," said Bob Carey, a board member of the Overseas Vote Foundation, a voting rights group.
Carey, a Navy reservist who has served in Iraq, noted that ballots are often not prepared and ready to be mailed until 30 to 45 days before an election. And since it can take more than two weeks for troops to get ballots by regular mail, they sometimes get them too late to meet voting deadlines.
Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita, who is president of the National Association of Secretaries of State, said the use of e-mail is a controversial subject among his members. Yet, he said his state has had no problems using e-mail to both deliver and receive ballots from overseas voters.
Christians Gather for Nationwide Prayer Event
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/364859.aspx
"Get ready to change America forever."
That is what thousands of Christians are saying this weekend as they prepare for a national day of prayer and repentance.
The event, called ReignDown USA, will kick off April 26 in Washington, D.C. and will broadcast live on God TV.
"There is enough power in the Church today to change the destinies of our nations, and so we encourage viewers across the world to tune in to ReignDown USA as we humble ourselves and pray together corporately," said GOD TV co-founder, Wendy Alec. "As we come into agreement, we will see breakthrough in the great nation of America."
Prayers during the four-hour rally will include intercession for the President and future presidents, and prayers for lawmakers, state officials, teachers, pastors and numerous others.
Michael W. Smith will lead worship at the event, along with a number of Christian leaders.
ReignDown USA follows last week's pope visit and will come before next week's National Day of Prayer, as part of what some are calling a "spring time of prayer in the nation's capital."
Popular ministries including Prayer Watch International, the Presidential Prayer Team, Congressional Prayer Caucus and the Awakening America Alliance are all participating in the call to prayer.
Veteran Lutheran minister Walt Kallestad and his daughter Shawn-Marie Cole are the leaders of ReignDown USA.
They say they personally received a vision from the Lord of Christians rallying together to cry out for God's mercy upon America.
"The USA is entering a time of desperation for our Lord Jesus Christ," said Walt Kallestad "We've witnessed firsthand the threat of terrorism, natural disaster, broken marriages, moral depletion, denominational division and denying Christ as the center of everything we do. The time has come to repent and put God back in the center of our lives, our relationships and our nation.
Colombia's Children Fed by Faith
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/364432.aspx
BOGOTA, Colombia - Pastor Guillermo Parra challenges the notion that Colombia is only about coffee, drug lords, and violent kidnappings.
"If you have a small vision, your God is very small. If you have a great vision, your eyes will be the eyes of God," he says.
For decades, Colombia's farm people have fled from leftist rebel groups who took their lands by force.
Many have lost everything: homes, family, parents, children. Some end up in a place like Ciudad Bolivar - the southside of Bogota.
From the Dust of the Earth
Parra was born here, in one of the poorest neighborhoods. The bare earth served as the floor to his dwelling - which he shared with his parents and five other sibliings.
"I was born in one of those poor houses, we were very poor, my family had great needs," he said.
But early in his ministry, the young pastor was challenged to believe God for greater things, to believe that God could create something incredible out of his nothing.
The reality that so many of Colombia's children were suffering weighed on his soul. God was directing him to feed them - body, mind, and spirit.
"I thought I was going crazy. Every night I started to have dreams about the kids that were hungry." he said. "I told the Lord, 'This is impossible, I do not have the money to do this.'"
Hundreds of thousands of poverty-stricken children live in south Bogota. Card board, tin shacks dot the hillsides, a stark visual of the destitution here. Most houses here have no running water, unless you count the rain water running through the dirt floors.
Faith for the Impossible
As a pastor, Parra also had very little, even for his own family. But as God challenged his faith, he in turn challenged his church - which barely mustered $200 a month total at the time.
"It was difficult because we got 400 kids who came hungry and came to study," he said. "It looked like Africa, too much need, too much hunger."
At first, the members of his congregation thought he was crazy when he told them what he wanted to do. But as he believed God, their hearts began to change. And the resources began to come in.
"We started to talk about faith, plans, and our vision, that God would bring supernatural things to us," he said.
One day, a lady who Parra had met volunteered to help build a center for these children. She had been looking for three years for a place to build a children's home.
Growing in Faith
Today, Parra oversees ten projects, or centers, that care for more than a thousand children once stuck in a cycle and mindset of poverty.
"We want those children to be men and women of a future, that they overcome, to understand that God has called them to be blessed," he said.
More than 70 volunteers now help care for these children. All volunteers, including pastors and leaders from churches he helped start in this same area, also live by faith for their provision.
"The leaders and pastors who are helping are people who have been born in this community," he said. "They thought they were nobody, but God molded them and believed in them. Now they are men and women with a great vision."
Parra encourages each of them to dream big. He now plans to build an orphanage and a hospital on a nearby piece of land his church is praying to purchase.
"We dream with power from the Holy spirit that there will be revival, that we will see entire towns worshipping God," he said.
Feeding Bogota; Changing the World
Parra no longer just pastors a small church. He pastors the entire community. While their vision is to "feed the 5,000," their hopes now extend far beyond Colombia's borders.
"Colombia, with the drugs, have been accused of being a bad place. But we, as children of God are believing that He will bring something supernatural," he said. "That there will be a powerful revival in this country and great blessings to this area."
Parra's church continues to pray for Colombia's complete freedom from drugs, addictions, and guerrilla groups. And through their faith, that is happening, one child at a time.
"When God provides for a child, and provides for a family, that family stands up thankfully and becomes a blessing to others," he said. "That's the power of the Gospel to change people and lives."
Growing threats to religious property in Kazakhstan
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/growing.threats.to.religious.property.in.kazakhstan/18410.htm
Ten years after acquiring a disused kindergarten, in the small town of Alga near the north-western city of Aktobe, a New Life Protestant congregation is about to lose its building.
A local official told Forum 18 News Service that the authorities have lodged a second legal case to have the church evicted.
"If a miracle does not happen the authorities will confiscate the building," a church member told Forum 18 from Alga on 16 April. He added that the pastor of the church, Zholaman Nurmanov, was summoned by the local police who demanded that he produce evidence concerning which organisation has sent him and what his title is. "He was ordered to do this very quickly," the church member reported.
Members of religious communities have expressed fears to Forum 18 that the
moves against the property of the New Life Church is part of a wider state
campaign to seize back property acquired by communities in good faith in the last 15 years.
Aleksandr Klyushev of the Association of Religious Organisations of Kazakhstan said he was not sure whether there was a targeted state campaign to expropriate property from religious communities, but saw a definite tightening of state control over religious organisations.
"The authorities are scrutinising all the details, including over the property of religious organisations," he told Forum 18 from the capital Astana on 25 April.
The New Life Church may not have followed all the legal procedures correctly while legalising ownership of their property, Klyushev said. But he also pointed to the Salem Protestant Church of Almaty, which is facing official questioning of its property ownership although, he insisted, everything is in order with its documents.
New Life's Pastor Nurmanov played down the police check-up to Forum 18 on 22 April saying that the police usually check up on organisations, and it was nothing serious. But he said his major concern was their building. "We are pressured by the local Akimat (Executive Authority) to give up the building," he said, "but we are not being offered a new place."
Vassili Kim, the lawyer hired by the church, pointed out that the church has invested in the renovation of the whole building and has put in a heating system.
"If calculated in today's prices the money spent improving the building would come up to 1.2 million tenges [around £5,000]," he told Forum 18 on 22 April.
The church has gained many followers from the area, and it would be very difficult for the members if the church was moved away, he said. "Three years ago the Akimat offered a new place to the church, but wanted the church to buy the new building," said Kim. "But the church could not afford buying a new building then let alone now."
If the church loses its current building, it will be left with no legal address, Kim complained. Without a legal address they could lose state registration as Kazakhstan's Religion Law demands that organisations function at the legal address indicated in the registration. Once the legal address is lost organisations are required to re-register at the new address if they have one, Kim said. "The major concern now is that without a building, the church activity would be considered as unregistered, which is punishable by Law," he said.
Kazakhstan continues to punish unregistered religious activity in defiance of international human rights norms and standards. Members of the religious communities have been put under administrative arrest and fined.
Nurkhan Agniyazov, the deputy Akim (Head of Executive Authority) of Aktobe region, defended the state moves to reclaim the building from New Life church. He told Forum 18 on 17 April because the building was derelict, the Akim of the region handed it to the church in 1998. "It had earlier been a kindergarten, and the kindergarten system lost a lot of buildings because of poor management," said Agniyazov.
He reported that three years ago a court overruled the Akim's decision and made a new decision to restore the kindergarten. Asked why the church or the kindergarten was not offered a new place, he said they tried to find solutions but could not. He referred Forum 18 to Sangazy Kurmanalin, the Deputy Head of the local state Economic Department.
Kurmanalin insisted that recovering the former kindergarten was in line with a decree of President Nursultan Nazarbaev from 2000. "By that decree the President demanded regional governments to restore the old kindergarten system", he told Forum 18 on 21 April. One of the issues in front of us is the buildings that used to belong to that system, he said. "The decision to give the building away was made by the incumbent Akim back in 1998 but overruled by the court three years ago," said Kurmanalin. "The church officially does not own the building now, so they must vacate it."
Kurmanalin told Forum 18 he was not aware whether the Akimat was taking back other former kindergarten buildings from the new owners. Asked why no charges were brought against the Akim if his decision was illegal, Kurmanalin said he was not competent to answer the question. "I cannot answer your detailed questions right now, and we have brought the case to court already a second time," he said. Kurmanalin told Forum 18 to wait until after the court decides the matter.
World prays for Zimbabwe
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/world.prays.for.zimbabwe/18409.htm
Churches across the UK joined with Christians around the world on Sunday in a day of Global Prayer for Zimbabwe.
The Bishop of Lichfield, the Rt Rev Jonathan Gledhill, came out in support of the day, saying: “I invite all the churches in Lichfield Diocese to pray about the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe. We feel so helpless in the face of the mounting violence and the terrible hardships. But 'more things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of’."
The day was supported by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, who issued a joint statement last week saying: “Churches across England have been praying for Zimbabwe before, during and after the polls. Agencies and dioceses from the UK have worked ably to support partners and parishes.
"Ecumenically, and as part of a broad based coalition, we must work to build a civil society movement that both creates political will and gives voice to those who demand an end to the mayhem that grows out of injustice, poverty, exclusion and violence."
Churches in Zimbabwe are opening their doors to give refuge to people fleeing violence following the elections which were held almost a month ago.
The Zimbabwe Christian Alliance (ZCA) has held emergency meetings to coordinate its response to the growing number of people arriving in major cities to escape the violence in the rural areas inflicted on those who voted for the opposition.
Member churches of the ZCA, a Christian Aid partner, have already received people in Harare and Bulawayo; churches in other major cities have also opened their doors.
"We need to provide these people with shelter, food and blankets," said Rev Jonah Gokova of the ZCA.
"From a faith perspective these actions are really demonic. They are undermining the dignity of people created in the image of God."
Rev Gokova says pastors are also being targeted. Two pastors arrived in Harare after being warned by their parishioners to flee.
The victims of this violence are caught up in Operation Makavhoterapapi, which is Shona for ‘Where did you put your cross?’
Gangs of armed ZANU PF supporters are moving through the countryside to identify villages which support the opposition party.
"We are concerned about this situation which now resembles a state of war," said Rev Gokova. "As Christians we publicly condemn this suffering and killing of innocent people.
"The courage of these people is amazing. One man we are trying to help refused to take up a safe house we had provided him with, saying he had to get back to his family. He was not prepared to leave his family facing the same threats he had escaped. He is determined to get his family out."
Churches in neighbouring South Africa, Zambia and Botswana have offered support to the ZCA.
A statement released earlier this week by church leaders in Zimbabwe warned the country faces ‘genocide’ unless the international community intervenes.
"We warn the world that if nothing is done to help the people of Zimbabwe from their predicament, we shall soon be witnessing genocide similar to that experienced in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and other hot spots in Africa and elsewhere," leaders of all denominations said in a joint statement.
It also said there was "widespread famine" in Zimbabwe's countryside, that basic goods were unavailable or too expensive and that there were no medicines to treat people injured in the post-election violence.
Rev Gokova said: "While we are trying to find ways to comfort these people, we appeal to Christians everywhere to condemn this situation. We urge people to pray for peace in Zimbabwe."
Sentamu holds day of fasting and prayer for Zimbabwe
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/sentamu.holds.day.of.fasting.and.prayer.for.zimbabwe/18379.htm
The Archbishop of York will spend a day of fasting and prayer in York Minster on Sunday in support of the people of Zimbabwe.
Dr John Sentamu is calling on the public to join him at the cathedral for the vigil and light a candle to stand in solidarity with the suffering people of Zimbabwe.
The Archbishop’s action follows his joint statement released last week with the Archbishop of Canterbury, calling for “a civil society movement that both gives voice to those who demand an end to the mayhem that grows out of injustice, poverty, exclusion and violence”.
Dr Sentamu said: “I want as many people as possible to join me at the Minster to pray for the situation in Zimbabwe and light a candle as a public demonstration of support for the people there.
"As a Christian community we must all stand together with our brothers and sisters living under the tyranny of Mugabe and pray that they will find deliverance.”
Dr Sentamu will begin his prayer vigil at 8.00am in York Minster until the end of evensong at 4.30pm and will lead prayers on the hour every hour.
Zimbabwe churches open buildings for victims of violence, torture
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/zimbabwe.churches.open.buildings.for.victims.of.violence.torture/18374.htm
In the fourth week since Zimbabwe went to the polls a violent crack down is clearly underway, warns Christian humanitarian agency Tearfund.
As Zanu PF militias target those suspected of voting for the opposition MDC, Tearfund partner, The Churches in Bulawayo (CIB) today released a statement calling for action in response to confirmed reports of widespread torture, beatings and harassment of community members.
CIB confirmed that its member churches would be "immediately opening its doors so as to shelter the victims of harassment". They are also calling on the government to release the presidential results immediately and for increased international efforts to resolve the crisis before the situation degenerates into a "bloodbath".
Since the elections, property has been destroyed and seized. Communities have been threatened with further violence if they fail to vote for Robert Mugabe should a run off ballot take place.
While the South African Development Committee (SADC) leaders have called for release of the presidential results, they consistently avoid open criticism of Mugabe, says Tearfund. And while President Thabo Mbeki has claimed that there is "no crisis" in Zimbabwe, Tearfund partner organisations are reporting something quite different.
“Talk of a run off is frightening as people are still waiting for the result of the Presidential elections," says Pastor Promise Manceda of Zimbabwe’s Christian Alliance, who explains that a simple tally of polling station votes would quickly yield the results. "Worse still in the outskirts of Bulawayo, militia are reported to be undergoing intense training. Such a heavy presence and involvement of the military is having a traumatic affect on the population."
Tearfund’s partners have reported violence in rural areas, particularly in those areas scheduled for a recount. "We have heard that a regional meeting had to be cancelled because staff members are too afraid to leave their families. Fear and confusion are spreading across the country in this vacuum of uncertainty and threat," says Karyn Beattie, Tearfund’s Disaster Response Manager for Zimbabwe. "We are very concerned for the safety of people, those just simply trying to exist – although there is nothing simple about existing in a country in collapse.”
There is increasing concern for church leaders and staff of civil society groups, who have courageously spoken out, demanding a democratic and peaceful transition. Tearfund calls on SADC, the African Union and UN to intervene and ensure that the results of the elections are not falsified and that the democratic right of the people of Zimbabwe to choose their leaders is respected.
Tearfund is sustaining a feeding programme through local churches to support some 35,000 people - orphans and vulnerable families – although the current situation is hindering logistic movements. Food, water and nearly all basic necessities have become all but unavailable to the vast majority.
To make a donation to Tearfund’s Zimbabwe Crisis Appeal call 0845 355 8355 or visit www.tearfund.org
SAT-7 reaching unprecedented numbers of Iranian youth
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/sat7.reaching.unprecedented.numbers.of.iranian.youth/18376.htm
As young people in Iran find themselves trapped between rising political instability, the harsh systems of Islamic Sharia laws that increasingly govern and control their lives, and arrests and "public security” crackdowns, a Christian satellite station is providing them with rest and winning their hearts for the Lord.
SAT-7, a Middle Eastern Christian satellite station, says it has reached unprecedented numbers of young people in the region with its 24-hour SAT-7 PARS Farsi language broadcasts.
Many viewers are testifying of the station’s broadcasts, which have become their sole source for Christian teaching and guidance in their daily lives, the staff explained.
"The young people seem to be drawn either toward a completely secular view of things or to sort of a negative and hopeless look. In between that, people are thirsty, and they are watching SAT-7 PARS. We're getting tremendous responses from people who are coming to know the Lord, who are so appreciative of the programmes that are training them,” the SAT-7 staff said, according to the Mission News Network.
Unprecedented ratings and a record number of responses from new viewers seeking to know how they can become followers of Christ have prompted the station to hire new counsellors and move into a bigger office, say staff.
David Harder, communications manager for SAT-7, said that the future outlook for the ministry was good, adding that they were already making plans to add more programming.
"[SAT-7 PARS] have plans for the future to add some live shows. People in Iran have been asking for that because they want to engage with the hosts,” he said.
Founded in 1992, SAT-7 began through the cooperation of Christians throughout the Middle East in an effort to both support their churches and communities as well as help witness the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Adm. Mullen: U.S. Preparing Strike Option Against Iran
http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/mullen_iran_strike/2008/04/26/91196.html
Making it crystal clear to Iran, Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Friday that the United States is preparing for "potential military courses of action" against it if Tehran does not stop aiding insurgents in Iraq and fails to stop building nuclear weapons.
Admitting that a third conflict in the region would be "extremely stressing" for America's military, he warned Iran that it was mistake to suggest the United States did not have the resources to strike Iranian military targets.
"I have reserve capability, in particularly our Navy and our Air Force, not just there, but available globally,'' Mullen said. "There are lots of potential military courses of action.''
Mullen made similar comments about the Pentagon's ability strike Iran last November.
"From a military standpoint, there is more than enough reserve to respond if that, in fact, is what the national leadership wanted to do, and so I don't think we're too stretched in that regard," he said then.
Mullen's comments, made during a Pentagon press conference, are aligned with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Gen. David Petraeus, both of whom have stepped up the pressure on Iran. Gates said last week that Iran is "hell-bent" in acquiring nuclear weapons.
Joint Chiefs: Iran Still Aiding Iraqi Terror
http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/iran_iraq_mullen/2008/04/26/91191.html
WASHINGTON — Iran is ratcheting up its support for militias in Iraq, providing them with newly manufactured weapons and bringing them across the border to receive training from members of Tehran's elite Republican Guard, U.S. military officials said Friday.
Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the military is preparing to roll out evidence — such as date stamps on newly found weapons caches — that shows that recently made Iranian weapons are flowing into Iraq at a steadily increasing rate.
Mullen would not detail the evidence — which is expected to be unveiled by military leaders in Iraq as early as next week. But another senior military official said it will include mortars, rockets, small arms, roadside bombs and armor-piercing explosives — known as explosively formed penetrators or EFPs — that troops have discovered in caches in recent months.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the evidence has not yet been made public, said that dates on some of the weapons were well after Tehran signaled late last year that it was scaling back aid to insurgents.
In addition, the evidence will include information gleaned from detainees who were reportedly trained by members of Iran's elite Quds Force, as well as insurgents who received instruction on how to do the actual training.
Part of the firepower the military will unveil was used to support insurgents during the recent fighting in Basra in southern Iraq, officials said.
Mullen said he has seen evidence "that some of the weapons are recently not just found, but recently manufactured."
He also warned that the U.S. has the combat power to strike Tehran if needed.
Both Mullen and Defense Secretary Robert Gates have made clear that while all military options are on the table, they prefer at this point to use other pressures on Iran.
In laying out details of Iran's continued efforts to fuel terror in Iraq, U.S. military leaders are sending signals both to Tehran and Baghdad.
For Iran, the message is: the U.S. knows what Tehran is doing and will take action if necessary. For Baghdad, the hope is that Iraqi leaders will resist the negative influence from their Shiite brethren, and continue efforts to take control of their own country and crack down on Shiite extremists.
"The solution right now still lies in using other levers of national power, including diplomatic, financial and international pressure (against Iran)," Mullen said.
Still, while Mullen acknowledged that launching a third conflict in that region would be extremely stressful for U.S. forces, he said he has reserve capabilities in the Navy and the Air Force for any needed military action.
"It would be a mistake to think that we are out of combat capability," he said.
The latest findings, said Mullen, still do not prove that the highest leadership in the Iranian government has approved the stepped-up aid to insurgents who are killing U.S. and Iraqi forces.
But he said it appears that the leaders of the Quds Force are aware of the activity. And with their strong ties to Tehran's leaders, Mullen said, it's difficult to believe that "there isn't knowledge there as well."
Still, Mullen added: "I have no smoking gun that could prove the highest (Iranian) leadership is involved in this."
Mullen's comments came as military officials confirmed Friday that a ship under contract with the U.S. Navy fired flares and warning shots at small boats — believed to be Iranian — that approached a cargo ship in the Persian Gulf.
The Navy said that on Thursday two high-speed boats approached the ship, which is contracted by the U.S. to carry military cargo, but the boats turned away after the shots were fired. No injuries were reported.
U.S. military leaders have escalated their rhetoric against Iran of late, noting that suggestions last year that Tehran may have been backing off its support for militants have turned out not to be valid. Instead, Mullen said there also is recent evidence that Iran is continuing to train insurgents for the fight in Iraq.
"I just don't see any evidence of them backing off. And Basra highlighted a lot of that," Mullen said of Iran.
He would not detail any potential U.S. military options, and he played down any impending action.
"We have to continue to increase pressure, and I have no expectations that we're going to get into a conflict with Iran in the immediate future," said Mullen. "But I am concerned over time, just in these last couple years, that tensions continue to rise. Iran does not respond and, in fact they seem to be ratcheting it up in terms of their support for terrorism."
He said Iran has made it clear it wants to be a regional power, and he believes Tehran would prefer to see a weak Iraq, so it could significantly influence what happens there.
The Persian Gulf encounter involving the Navy is one of several similar episodes in recent months. Earlier this month, the USS Typhoon fired a flare at a small Iranian boat in the Gulf after it came within about 200 yards of the boat.
In January, several Iranian boats made what the Navy called provocative moves near a U.S. ship in the Strait of Hormuz. And in December the USS Whidbey Island fired warning shots at a small Iranian boat that officials said was rapidly approaching the ship.
Iranian officials have acknowledged several of the incidents, describing them as normal encounters and saying the boats did not threaten the U.S. vessels.
Israeli General Warns on Iran
http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/Israeli_General_Warns_on_/2008/04/25/90934.html
The commander of Israel’s air force says he takes Iran’s threats against his nation very seriously and compares them to Hitler’s warnings against Jews before the Holocaust.
In an interview to air on “60 Minutes” on Sunday, Maj. Gen. Eliezer Shkedy said about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s vow to destroy Israel: “I think it is a very serious threat to the state of Israel, but more than this, to the whole world.
“They are talking about what they think about the state of Israel. They are talking about destroying and wiping us from the earth.”
Shkedy — whose family survived the Holocaust — said ignoring Ahmadinejad’s threats today reminds him of the atmosphere that enabled the Holocaust, the Houston Chronicle reported.
“In those days, people didn’t believe that Hitler was serious about what he said. I suggest not to repeat this way of thinking, and to prepare ourselves for what they are planning. We should be prepared for everything…
“We should remember. We cannot forget. We should trust only ourselves.”
Destroying Iran’s nuclear facilities would be much more difficult than taking out Saddam Hussein’s single nuclear reactor in Iraq, as the Israelis did in 1981, Zeev Raz — who commanded the attack on the Iraqi facility — told “60 Minutes.”
“I really hope it will be solved another way,” he said, but added: “There is only one thing worse than the Israeli air force having to do it — Iran having a nuclear bomb.”
Good news - Abbas doubts he'll see Palestine this year
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2429
Palestinian Authority chairman and PLO chief terrorist Mahmoud Abbas reportedly came away disappointed from a visit to the White House Thursday his hopes of seeing the Palestinian state he and his fellows have been murdering Jews for years to achieve remaining beyond his grasp; at least for now.
This will be good news for millions of Christians and Israel-supporters in nations around the world who know that the creation of Palestine is, in the Arab mind and purpose, a step on the road towards ensuring the total destruction of the State of Israel.
US President George W. Bush, the first American leader to make his declared policy the dividing of the Land of Israel into two states, has been pushing hard to secure this objective before his second term in office expires early next year.
Despite pouring an enormous amount of capital into achieving this goal, turning the screws on Israel to make more concessions to the "Palestinians" and demonstrating his readiness to get the Arabs their new state in spite of their failure to keep to their commitments, Bush - Abbas admitted to reporters as he flew from Washington to Cairo Saturday to consult with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak - had not been able to inject him with optimism.
"The gaps between us and Israel on final status issues are wide. Will we reach a deal by the end of the year? I don't know, we will see," But my option is to negotiate. I will continue to negotiate until the very end," he said, unconvincingly.
Golan Heights suddenly under new threat
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2426
The future of Israel's Golan Heights appears to be suddenly under renewed threat as reports during the Passover week that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had offered to give them to Syria in exchange for peace were quickly followed Sunday by Syrian demands for an Israeli guarantee of a complete pullout from the plateau.
According to the Qatari newspaper al-Watan, Syrian President Bashar el-Assad told Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Damascus demands a written commitment by Israel of the Jewish state's willingness to fully relinquish the Golan.
Assad said Israel's refusal thus far to make such a pledge meant that the time has still not come for peace.
Olmert, who spent some of his Passover vacation on the Heights, refused to deny Syrian claims reported on April 24 that he had messaged Assad via Erdogan that the Golan was up for grabs.
In September 2006, Israeli newspapers quoted Olmert as saying: "As long as I serve as prime minister the Golan Heights will remain in our hands because it is an integral part of the State of Israel."
Biblically part of the Land of Israel, and included in the inheritance of the Israelite half-tribe of Manasseh, the Golan Heights were part of the Ottoman province of Palestine until World War 1, and were thus included in the area designated for the creation of a Jewish homeland in the 1917 Balfour Declaration.
Unilaterally lopped off from that promised land by the British government, the Heights were subsequently given to Syria, which after its independence in 1946 enjoyed control of the territory for just 21 years - during which time they used it as a platform for murderous aggression against Israeli farmers and communities in the Upper Galilee.
Israel took over, and subsequently annexed the Golan following two wars of self-defense against the Syrians, in 1967 and 1973.
Modern Israel has now controlled, settled, farmed and developed the Heights for more than 40 years - nearly twice as long as Syria.
Israelis surprisingly surprised by Hamas ceasefire ploy
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2425
News media in Israel Sunday expressed surprise that Hamas sees a ceasefire it is purportedly prepared to enter into with Israel as merely a tactic on the part of the terrorist organization.
We want a hudna with Israel so we can prepare to unleash a new wave of terrorism, said Damascus-sheltered Hamas leader Khaled Meshal, explaining his group's willingness to stop attacks from the Gaza Strip for the next six months.
Speaking on Al-Jazeera TV, Meshal said the ceasefire "is a tactic in conducting the struggle."
"It is normal," he added, "for any resistance that operates in its people's interest ... to sometimes escalate, other times retreat a bit. The battle is to be run this way and Hamas is known for that."
Hamas is indeed known for that. Which makes the apparent outrage communicated uniformly in the headlines of the center-left The Jerusalem Post, the left Ynetnews and the far-left Ha'aretz appear a little disingenuous.
This ceasefire is all for Hamas' benefit.
Meshal's killers have been badly mauled in recent IDF counter-terrorism operations.
The Palestinian Arabs in Gaza, control of which was violently seized by Hamas a year ago, have suffered increasingly as a result of the sanctions brought against Gaza by influential members of the international community, and by Israel's imposition of an on-again, off-again siege in the Jewish state's effort to force an end to rocket attacks on its towns.
Their hardship is making them a little less enamored of the Hamas leadership, and could eventually even lead to the deposing or assassination of some of those leaders, according to Israeli analyst Moshe Elad.
In his column published April 25 in Ynetnews, Elad wrote that "[t]he economic siege is indeed taking its toll, the public is impatient and conveys dissatisfaction with its leaders, yet Hamas heads are the ones who need the lull more than anyone. ... in order to be spared an assassination and in order to stop seeing their loved ones dying as martyrs every day."
It has always been an integral part of "Palestinian" strategy as the Arabs fight to see Israel destroyed that, when they believe themselves in danger of losing against the Jewish infidels, they deceive Israel by promising a ceasefire - not as a precursor for seeking peace, but in order to rearm, retrain and reposition themselves for the next phase in their war.
The Olmert government, like the governments that preceded it, appears to be falling into the same old trap. Instead of directing the IDF to press its advantage and crush the enemy, Jerusalem is considering backing off - an action that will ultimately only enable Arabs to kill more Jews.
World Bank: Israel, not 'Palestinian' terror, responsible for PA's economic woes
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2427
The majority of the Palestinian Arabs can support their people's firing of rockets and other acts of terrorism against Israeli Jewish communities even as they enjoy employment opportunities and supplies of fuel and other facilities made possible by Israeli largesse and compassion.
Despite this, it is not these Arabs and their bloodthirsty ways that are responsible for their own economic hardships.
No, according to the World Bank, which Sunday released a report on the increasingly dire economic situation in areas under "Palestinian" control, including Gaza, Israel's "restrictions on Palestinian movement" are to blame.
The WB went so far as to applaud the Palestinian Authority which, it said, "has moved ahead with its economic reforms, albeit slowly."
Unless Israel likewise made an effort to remove roadblocks and other impediments to Arab movement, however, the economy in Judea and Samaria would contract, as it has in the Gaza Strip.
Since the "Palestinians" launched their Second Intifada in 2000, Israel has erected a network of checkpoints and gates in Judea and Samaria, effectively curtailing terrorism from these territories, but in the process putting a slowdown on the Palestinian Arab economy.
Like virtually every other international agency, the World Bank traditionally stands and speaks in favor of the Arab side to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Israel facing 'unprecedented' drought
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2428
The Sea of Galilee, Israel's main source of fresh water, is dropping rapidly and could reach the dreaded "black line" - below which it is impossible to pump out any more water - in just three months.
According to experts cited in The Jerusalem Post Sunday, this past well-below average winter rainfall, which followed several similarly dry years, and is being aggravated by successive heat waves already experienced this year, is threatening the country with the worst water shortage it has ever known.
Over the week-long Passover holiday the Galilee - known in Israel as Lake Kinneret - dropped by an alarming six centimeters.
Israel's only other fresh-water reservoirs - two mountain acquifers - have also been badly depleted in recent years, and can only go down to a certain level before sea-water pressing in underground from the Mediterranean makes its water brackish and unfit for human consumption.
While Israel is building desalination plants to make sea water palatable, progress on these is painfully slow when seen against the rapidly-growing water need.
North Korean Officer Defects to South Korea
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,352796,00.html#
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea says a North Korean soldier has defected to the South after crossing the heavily fortified border that divides the countries.
The defection is the first in nearly 10 years.
An official at the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday the North Korean officer approached a South Korean guard post Sunday on the western part of the frontier.
The official declined to give additional details and spoke on condition of anonymity because the case was still being investigated.
The communist North's 1.1 million-member military is the backbone of leader Kim Jong Il's totalitarian rule.
NT scholar on discovery of giant trove of Bible manuscripts
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/nt.scholar.on.discovery.of.giant.trove.of.bible.manuscripts/18204.htm
Each year, only two or three New Testament manuscripts handwritten in the original Greek format are discovered. But a U.S. expedition last year to the former communist country of Albania led to the discovery of 47 New Testament manuscripts, and at least 17 of them unknown to Western scholars.
Dr Daniel B. Wallace, the director of the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM) in Frisco, Texas, spoke to Christian Today this month about his center’s major discovery, the importance of using state-of-the-art digital photography to preserve the documents, and why hundreds-of-years old manuscripts are important to the average modern-day Christian.
The following are excerpts taken from the interview:
CT: What are these manuscripts? Are they the original ones written by the disciples or just early manuscripts?
Wallace: Well, we don’t have the original documents of the New Testament anymore. They deteriorated a long time ago. Instead what we have are copies and later copies and later copies and later copies. Until the time the printing press was invented, all of these manuscripts had to be copied by hand. There was no way to print them because there was no printing press, so all of the manuscripts of the New Testament that were done by hand take us all the way up until the 16th century.
Now we have over 5,700 of them that have been cataloged; that is a lot of Greek New Testament manuscripts. But every year normally only one or two are found, and for us to discover as many as 39 manuscripts in one place is almost unheard of.
CP: Are there any other institutes that are also preserving these early copies of Scripture with the same technology you are using? We just want to have an idea of how unique your technology is and how unique your centre is.
Wallace: I’ll put it in perspective this way. There is one institute in the world; it’s called the Institute for New Testament Textual Research, and that’s in Munster, Germany. Since 1959, they have been microfilming New Testament manuscripts, but the microfilm quality is very bad and in fact sometimes it is completely illegible, and they realize that. But at least what they have done is gotten 90 percent of all the New Testament manuscripts on microfilm and that is better than nothing.
We started the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts in 2003 in Munster and we photographed the actual manuscripts that they own to start with and they put them on their website. So they are very excited about the work that we are doing, but they have not taken one digital photograph; that is not what they have done. They are no longer doing any sort of photography of manuscripts. It is really kind of up to us and others that are doing it.
In terms of the uniqueness with other institutes, CSNTM is the only institute in the world that is dedicated to taking high-resolution digital photographs of all Greek New Testament manuscripts.
Now there are others who are dedicated to photographing this manuscript or that manuscript or are doing outsourcing. For example, Yale University might outsource the digital photography of their manuscripts to some other party, but it would be the manuscripts that they have in their library and some of them are New Testaments but most are not.
They have five New Testament manuscripts, for example. But our goal is to go to all of these sites that have the New Testament manuscripts and photograph specifically those with very high resolution digital cameras. These are top end professional grade cameras that we use that just do a magnificent job.
CT: When did your team go to Albania and when did they come back?
Wallace: They went in July 2007 and came back the first week of August 2007. There were really two teams that were there. We sent a team of four people to start with that arrived in Albania, and when they got to the national archive in Tirana they discovered that there were a lot more than 13 manuscripts that we knew existed there.
Instead, there were 47 New Testament manuscripts and at least many of these if not most of them have never been heard of before. The Western scholars were completely unaware of them.
So they started to photograph those but realized soon enough that they wouldn’t be able to get the job done because we had budgeted two and a half weeks for the first team to go and they were all going to come home; we had already purchased a ticket for them to come home. And we figured they could take 6,000 pictures in those two and a half weeks.
Well now with 47 manuscripts to photograph it looked like there were 18,000 photographs to take and there is just no way they could get that done in two and a half weeks. We had to quickly get a second team out to replace the first team so they could finish the job.
CT: Could I ask out of curiosity, why did you only release this news now? It has been quite awhile since August.
Wallace: (Laughs) As far as manuscripts and discovery and things like this go this is a very early announcement. For example, the largest single cache of manuscripts ever discovered was in 1975 at St. Catherine Monastery in the Egyptian desert. They discovered these manuscripts in a hidden storeroom in 1975. Well the news didn’t really get out on what they had discovered for 25 years.
The other thing is we wanted to tell other people as soon as we could on what we discovered, but the fact is we weren’t exactly sure what had been discovered. So this semester I taught a course called ‘New Testament Textual Criticism’ at Dallas Theological Seminary, where I am a professor. And I had the students go through hundreds of these pages of manuscript to try to determine exactly what they were saying.
So we were trying to discover what we had discovered, in other words. So with all the assistance by the end of the semester I was getting much closer to being able to say, ‘OK, this is what we got, and I think we can make an announcement to the media about how many New Testament manuscripts we discovered and what is in them.’
We are still looking over the data. We want to get an official journal article in a scholarly journal published, but we don’t have all the data figured out yet.
CP: Could you explain to the average Christian why preserving these manuscripts with digital photography is important?
Wallace: I would be happy to. I think there are several reasons why this is important. One of them is that when we think of the Bible today we think of the Bible as the thing that is printed on Bible-thin paper and is stuck between cow-hide leather and we call that the Bible with gilded edges. But that is not how historically it has been.
Every Bible that is published in printed version is based on manuscripts. So our link to the original is only through these manuscripts. We couldn’t possibly tell what the original said without the manuscripts. Consequently, the more manuscripts we discover, the more manuscripts we photograph, the more manuscripts we analyze, the closer we will be to the original wording of the New Testament.
Again, what a lot of Christians don’t realize is that their Bibles change in some subtle ways in terms of the wording based on new manuscript discovery and based on wrestling with particular textual problems. There are whole doctoral dissertation done on one word in the Greek New Testament – whether it is authentic or not, whether it goes back to the original or not.
So for the average Christians they don’t realize all the hundreds of thousands of hours of research that have gone in to give them the Word of God. I think it is important for them to realize if we believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, then we owe it to ourselves to try to recover the exact wording of the original as much as possible.
Another reason I would give is that by preserving these manuscripts digitally we actually have a better picture of them than looking at the actual manuscripts. In other words, digital photographs, the quality we use, are always easier to read than the actual manuscripts.
We can blow these things up to 3 feet by 4 feet, it’s just unbelievable. You can zoom in with the picture well but with the manuscripts you can’t do that. Consequently, for us to examine these manuscripts on the computer it is giving us an opportunity to read them without hurting that manuscript.
We have photographed some manuscripts that we’ve told the librarians that if you open this manuscript again it will completely turn to dust. They’ve been that fragile. And we urged them to never open the manuscript again. We photographed other manuscripts where the library itself said this is the last time this thing will ever be photographed. It was microfilmed years ago and the digital photographs were the last ones to be done. So they never want to see these manuscripts photographed again because every time you handle a manuscript you hurt it a little bit. It is almost unavoidable.
So when we photograph them we wear cotton gloves, we don’t use flash photography, we take extra special care to care for the manuscripts. Then we give these monasteries DVDs of the manuscripts so when scholars come and want to study them they don’t need to look at the manuscripts but they can look at the DVDs.
CT: How did you receive permission to photograph the manuscripts in Albania? Did the situation in the country change or what factors made it possible?
Wallace: That’s a great question. I’m not sure what factors made it possible but I know that Albania was a communist country almost immediately after World War II until fairly recently. Consequently, western scholars couldn’t get in there to look at the manuscripts. When we wrote to the director of the national library, we told her what our credentials were and where we had been in the world to photograph manuscripts, and she wrote back and said, ’We’re delighted to have you come and photograph our manuscripts.’
So it was that open door that occurred because I think we already established our legitimacy and credential with others. Nobody else was able to get in because perhaps they didn’t have the same credentials. I’m not exactly sure. But frankly as far as I’m concerned, the Lord is more concerned about getting these manuscripts preserved than we are because they are the copies of the ancient scriptures. So He is the one that opens a lot of doors for us that we wouldn’t know otherwise.
CT: When you say that no one else has gotten in, does that mean no one else has even microfilmed the manuscripts?
Wallace: As far as we are aware of, only two of the manuscripts have ever been photographed at all and that was by microfilm. This was decades ago before the country became communist. So this is a huge discovery and huge opportunity for us to be able to photograph all 47 New Testament manuscripts.
CT: Why has Albania been so secretive with the number of manuscripts it possessed? You said that you only knew there were 13 but then there were 47.
Wallace: Well, there are a couple of reasons I suppose. One is that they don’t know whom they should release it to. When we were there, they told us, ‘We are just not sure how important these manuscripts are. Can you help us by telling us the value of these things? What’s in them and train us so we can better understand what we have.’
So in a large respect, since it is not a Christian nation and since they only had one person in the library who even knew a little Greek, there wasn’t much they could do to figure out what exactly they had.
So it is kind of like a person that has a very old Bible in a different language and it’s not that they are holding back information, but they don’t even know who to talk to find out what the Bible is and how old it is and what language it is and that kind of thing. I think that was the case with Albania.
When they learned that we were going to come and photograph the manuscript and that we knew Greek that really encouraged them because they thought this group might just make this news to the world available. They were very pleased with that.
CT: Could you briefly explain historically or geographically why there are so many manuscripts in Albania?
Wallace: I think the reason is because there was an old Roman road that went through Albania – this is one of the reasons – so there was a lot of travel through Albania in ancient times. And they did have monasteries that grew up during the last couple of centuries.
These monasteries were where more than likely these manuscripts were actually produced, but not all of them would be produced in Albania. You have monasteries in a number of ancient sites in both Europe and the Middle East and this is especially where manuscripts get produced. But say a new monastery is built in the 10th century, what often happens is a very important benefactor would donate to that new monastery an ancient manuscript of the Scriptures. And so we don’t know where that manuscript came from because typically there is no record of that kind of thing.
So probably some of the earlier manuscripts in Albania probably didn’t start out there but they ended up there once these ancient monasteries were opened. That’s my best guess on how they got there. Nevertheless, over the centuries there were two or three monasteries in Albania that have kept the manuscripts or produced them or a combination of both.
CT: Will Albania put the manuscripts in a museum where the public can see it, or what do they plan to do now that they know the value of them?
Wallace: Well, they actually had one of their manuscripts on display not too long ago. This is the one that everyone knew was definitely there. It is a purple codex from the 6th century. A purple codex is one where the parchment has been dyed purple and all the ink is in silver or silver and gold. And in case of the Gospel, which is what this manuscript was, all the narratives were in silver and all the words of Jesus are in gold. So it is sort of like the first red letter edition except it is the first gold letter edition.
What they did is they put that on display three or four years ago and, in many respects, Albania treats that one manuscript as their greatest national treasure. It has been classified with UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) as a world treasure and the line of people to get in to see that manuscript wrapped around several blocks. I believe it was a quarter-of-a-mile long, for people to just come in to view it for a few minutes.
So for us to come there and photograph it was an enormous privilege.
CT: How will theologians and scholars use these manuscripts you photographed? What impact will it have on the Christian community?
Wallace: Well, I think the first thing that needs to happen is we need to examine and analyze these manuscripts in detail. And what that involves is either transcribing them word for word, letter for letter, or what is called collation where we simply compare it to a standard published Greek New Testament and we list all the differences that manuscript has. It is sort of a quick and dirty way to do a transcription. But once we do that we can determine much more what the original wording of the original text was because these manuscripts are a window to that.
For example, the most important discovery we found among these manuscripts was that there were three of them that didn’t have the story of the woman caught in adultery at all. And the manuscripts we are talking about are a little bit later than 9th century and all the way to the 14th century, which is pretty late. But three of them did not have the story of the woman caught in adultery. And [while] that is rare in latter manuscripts, it is far more common in the early manuscripts. These manuscripts may well have a fairly decent pedigree that go back to earlier times.
One of the manuscripts that had it had it at the end of the Gospel and that is even rarer. There are very, very few manuscripts that have the story appended to the end of the Gospel instead of its normal place in John 8. So this kind of information helps us determine where did that story come from and gives us a little more information.
Basically the way to think about this is let’s say you are putting together a jigsaw puzzle of a thousand pieces but you’re missing about 200 pieces. It is pretty hard to figure out how to connect the dots. What we just discovered is 47 mores of those pieces.
CT: Is there anything else you want to add?
Wallace: We’re searching for other manuscripts. We have leads on over 200 more manuscripts that are not yet known in the Western world. In order to go to these places and order to do the photographic work we rely on both donations from individuals and foundations.
Or center does not have any creedal statement – even though we are obviously interested in New Testament manuscripts and I am obviously a committed Christian – but that is not part of what we are expecting to have in terms of the people and groups that we work with.
Some of these manuscripts are owned by non-Christians – like the national archive in Albania; it’s 70 percent Muslim in the country. There are still quite a few communist in the country. So we want to work with groups like this and really make these manuscripts known.
Over the next 18 months I am going to be traveling to eight or nine different sites with a team of four people. We are hoping to photograph as many as 200,000 pages of Greek New Testament manuscripts. It is a lot of work and we’d appreciate prayer and support.
On the Web: www.csntm.org
Young Christians Bring Faith to Facebook
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/364791.aspx
Jesus doesn't have a profile on Facebook, but if he did, he'd have thousands of college friends.
The social site is one of the most popular for those ages 18-24, and was originally designed to promote student networking.
But many young Christians have taken Facebook to whole new meaning, and are using it to talk about their faith.
Five months ago, Scott McGrath started a group on the site called "100,000,000 Christians Worship God." Since, the group has grown to nearly 500,000 members.
"I get emails everyday (from) people telling me about how they appreciate the group so much, and how it has been such a blessing or inspiration to them," McGrath said.
And there are countless others like him.
Winona State University student, Daniel Holum, is a part of the group "I'm Nothing Without God," which has more than 50,000 members. He thinks Facebook is the perfect place to stay connected with believers his age.
"It's just really convenient because there are so many people on Facebook, many of whom share my faith," he said.
A Different Way of Connecting
Currently, there are more than 60 million users on Facebook, and the Internet alone has become a popular medium for outreach.
Joe Suh, co-founder of MyChurch.org, says before helping start his online organization, he attended a church that was well-versed in the sites young people like.
"They used Xanga for a blogring, Flickr for their photos, Yahoo groups for the small groups, iTunes for their podcasts, Evite for the events and MySpace for their social networking," he explained.
MyChurch combines all those services into one online community for churches. The company also provides features for Facebook users to add to their profiles.
"We have a 'My Church' application on Facebook that lets churches spread their events, sermons and pictures...13,000 churches have added this application," Suh said. "We (also) have other Christian applications...like a daily Bible verse application, which is installed on over 600,000 Facebook profiles at the moment."
Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, says his congregation is comprised primarily of Christian singles in their twenties, and the Internet is a popular way of reaching them.
"We have had a number of people contact us asking questions on becoming a Christian, women who were raped seeking help (and) people who were struggling with addictions seeking help," he said. "It seems that people open up online, and in doing so, it allows us to follow up with them personally."
Driscoll exceeded the maximum number of friends allowed on Facebook (5,000) in no time. He feels that alone shows just how serious young people can be about God.
"Their accounts at places such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and... not to mention personal Web sites and blogs, are where many young people are sharing their faith openly and publicly," he said.
Shirley White, 19, says she likes the idea of people being able to view her Facebook page and know she's a Christian.
"I've noticed that college kids in particular are often labeled as a group for partying, drinking and so forth, but I'm here to say we all aren't like that," she said.
'Jesus is in My-Space. Is He in Yours?'
On MySpace, young users take on crafty faith-based names including "^Jesusfreak^" "SmiLe JeSuS LuVs YoU" and "Armor Bearer for Christ."
Though some tend to shy away from MySpace because of its rep for vulgar posts and hackers, many Christians find a way to gather there as well.
Twenty-one-year-old Devin Rhode started the group "The Christian Teens of MySpace." It has more than 97,000 members.
"I was looking for a place to interact with fellow Christian teens so I (asked) myself, 'Why not create one?'" he said. "The group has helped me majorly in my walk with God."
Popular Christian leaders and groups including Joel Osteen, Paula White, T.D. Jakes and Compassion International also have official MySpace profiles.
Start Online, But End in Person
Though Internet evangelism has become increasingly popular, many agree that it isn't a replacement to in-person interaction.
"I think it's a good way to connect, pull together and follow up with young people, but it could never replace a face-to-face conversation," said Minister Glen Guyton.
Guyton has a profile on Facebook and MySpace, but uses the sites primarily to keep in touch with those he's met as a youth pastor.
"You still have to talk to people and develop a relationship with them. Online, you lose something in translation, like touching someone and the laying on of hands," he explained.
High school student Anna Walker thinks the Internet is one of many tools that should be used in gaining followers for Christ.
"I use Facebook to profess God's love because He calls us to share in every way that we can," she said.
Gospelcom, the leader in Christian Web sites, provides information on the best ways to reach non-believers online.
The group has the most popular Christian Web site in the world with over 300 online ministries.
As with any form of ministry, they recommend individuals do research and use caution, especially when it comes to young people.
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