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Today's Top Five

1. U.S. and British troops free three Christian Peacemaker Teams hostages
Canadians James Loney and Harmeet Singh Sooden and Briton Norman Kember, three of the four members of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) taken hostage in Iraq November 26 were found today by American and British troops. American Tom Fox, the fourth CPT worker taken hostage by the Swords of Righteousness Brigades, was found dead March 10. "Our gladness today is made bittersweet by the fact that Tom is not alive to join in the celebration," CPT said in a written statement.

The statement's consistent description of the CPT workers as "released" rather than "freed" is causing some critics to call the group ungrateful and theologically problematic. But there is some wiggle room in what to call the moment of freedom. After all, as Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper told the press, "There were no kidnappers in the areas" when the troops launched their operation. But Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch says that's probably because the kidnappers knew they were coming: a member of the "kidnapping cell" had been captured and interrogated Wednesday night.

In the next few days, expect a lot of questions and opinions about how CPT members—especially the former hostages—feel about being freed by a western military operation.

2. U.S. appeals court says belief, not knowledge of doctrine, key to religious asylum cases
When Indonesian Yose Rizal applied for religious asylum in the U.S., explaining that he had been beaten, fired, and threatened with death because of his Christian faith, and that his church had been burned by local Muslims, U.S. immigration lawyers asked him where Jesus had been crucified. "Bethlehem," Rizal answered.

What disciples wrote the New Testament, they asked. He did not remember.

"Do you know who denied knowing Jesus after the crucifixion?" the lawyer pressed.

"Like whenever it comes to the details of the Bible stories, I cannot really recall everything in detail because basically what I learned was what's good and what's evil," Rizal answered.

"Sir, are you trying to tell me you don't know the answer to the question I asked you?" the lawyer said.

"I swear, I just learned about this story from the Bible but I don't really remember everything in detail because what I really remember was the teaching of what's good and what's evil, like you may not kill, you may not hurt people, and I just enjoy going to church to listen to the preachers."

"Give him something a little easier," the immigration judge told the government lawyer.

The lawyer went to the Old Testament: "Who was Moses?"

"Moses was born by Miriam," Rizal said, incorrectly identifying Moses' older sister.

"And who prepared the Ten Commandments?"

"Jesus."

"You got that backwards," the lawyer said.

Rizal protested, describing his baptism. "[T]hey have some kind of wording, some kind of words before then, whether we really have the intention of being a Christian, whether we were ready or not and then after that, the preacher spread some holy water and then prayed, we prayed together."

"Do you have any other questions?" the judge finally said. "Because I think I've heard enough."

The government lawyer said that, yes, he had more questions, because Rizal "hasn't testified at all today regarding any of the [events] of persecution."

"Well, if I don't find he's a Christian, I don't even think it's necessary," the judge replied. Indeed in his decision denying Rizal asylum, the immigration judge ruled that the Indonesian "provided no evidence to corroborate his purported identity as a Christian. … [He] also failed to persuade the Court of the genuineness of his professed Christian faith based on his inability to demonstrate basic knowledge of Christianity. For example, he identified Jesus as the preparer of the Ten Commandments and he identified Moses as the son of Mary."

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March (Web-only) 2006, Vol. 50