2 of 6

Had the board voted the other way, it could have been a major blow to Christian higher education and dreams of a "Protestant Notre Dame." Plus, who knows how a new president with less commitment to such a vision might have treated all those new faculty members who left senior positions at places like Wheaton, Calvin, and Westmont, to move to Waco.

This is very good news indeed.

Persecution:

• Orissa villagers beaten up for building church | Tensions are running high in a village in Orissa after a mob of 500 people attacked some villagers building a church, beat them up and forced them to bow to Hindu deities, police said (IANS)
  
  
• Also: Minister slams Jogi for conversions | Union Minister of State for Environment and Forest Dilip Singh Ju Dev assailed Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi for ''illegal'' conversions to Christianity in the state and charged him with ''acting as a foot soldier of the churches'' (Sify News, India)
  
  
• Chinese dissident in El Paso | Zhang Boli, a major figure in the 1989 Tiananmen Square uprising who is now a pastor in Maryland, testified Tuesday in front of an El Paso immigration judge on behalf of a member of his church who was captured in January while traveling through El Paso without immigration documents (El Paso Times)
  
  

Anglican woes:

• Tale of two bishops | Anglicans battle "heavy-handed" autocrats and their locksmiths (World)
  
  
• Deans resign over gay service cancellation | Two senior clergymen have resigned as area deans in protest at a decision by Manchester Cathedral to cancel a service for gay clergy (The Daily Telegraph, London)
  
  
• Also: Manchester Cathedral could face legal action | The Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement is considering taking legal action against Manchester Cathedral over the chapter's withdrawal of permission to use the cathedral for its conference service (The Church of England Newspaper)
  
  
• Church officials 'not bullied' | Anglican bishop's representative says North Vancouver parish is politically divided (Vancouver Sun)
  
  
• Priest resigns, cites gay bishop as reason | "I can no longer submit to the heretical authority in the Episcopal Church," says Steven R. Randall (The Washington Times)
  
  
• Cleric appeals to Christians | Bishop Julius Kalu of the Anglican Church of Kenya Mombasa Diocese has urged Christians not to leave the church over the US gay bishop controversy (The East African Standard, Nairobi)
  
  

Promise Keepers, post-McCartney:

• Vacancy at top puts Promise Keepers to test | To many observers, the Denver-based Christian ministry's ability to cope with the resignation of its president and founder might be the toughest in a series of tests and setbacks the group has endured since its headline-grabbing stadium rallies of the mid-1990s (The Denver Post)
  
  
• There's no reason to be afraid of the Promise Keepers | The basic approach of Promise Keepers is hard to argue with: Take the message of God home from church with you, show the love of God in your relationships with your wife and family and in the workplace (John Sonderegger, St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
  
  
• Change clouds Promise Keepers' future | The resignation of Promise Keepers founder Bill McCartney has thrown into question the future of an organization already facing waning popularity (Ft. Worth Star-Telegram)
  
  
• McCartney's resignation presents tough test to ministry (Associated Press)
  
  

Politics and law:

• White House urges high court to allow state aid for religious studies | Meanwhile, California man who wants 'under God' removed from Pledge asks Justice Antonin Scalia to stay out of case because of remarks he made at religious event (Associated Press)
  
  

next page... |  2 of 6

share this page

September (Web-only) 2003, Vol. 47