PHILIPPINES
Tensions Affect Projects
Rising anti-American tensions in the Philippines prompted changes in several U.S.-based missions projects scheduled for last summer. About 500 American staff and student delegates bound for NewLife 2000: Manila, a multifacted evangelistic campaign sponsored by Campus Crusade for Christ, were redirected to projects in other Asian countries. Campus Crusade officials said they had monitored the situation closely and gave each delegate the option of staying, relocating, or returning home. More than 300 chose to remain in Manila.
Nearly 5,000 delegates from 100 other countries continued the three-month campaign. For the most part, the project continued on schedule, with the cancellation of only a few American-run events.
The tensions caused the cancellation of a 10-week service tour by about 40 Southern Baptist college students. Youth With A Mission also reassigned student volunteers.
At the same time, the devastating July 16 earthquake that shook areas north of Manila captured the country’s attention. The quake destroyed the Catholic-run Christian College of the Philippines, trapping 250 teachers and students and killing 30 children. Relief agencies responded with food and supplies. NewLife 2000 delegates also donated hundreds of pints of blood.
ISLAM
Fundamentalists Win Votes
Islamic fundamentalists have won ballot-box victories in several recent elections in Arab nations. Though observers disagree over the real impact of the votes, the results do highlight the growing influence of religiously motivated politics in largely secular Arab societies.
In Algeria’s first free elections in 28 years, the Islamic Salvation Front—which advocates turning the country into an Islamic republic—defeated the secular ruling party at the provincial and municipal levels. In neighboring Tunisia and Morocco, Islamic parties have been banned. In Jordan last November, the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood won 32 of 80 seats in Parliament.
Observers have noted low voter turnouts (about 60 percent in Algeria, and only 30 percent in Jordan) and lack of opposition candidates in the elections.
GHANA
Christian Programs Cancelled
The state-controlled Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) has cancelled two-thirds of the Christian programming scheduled for radio and television air time. The cancellations include children’s programs, gospel music, and advertisements for crusades and retreats.
A broadcasting official said, “We are not aiming at belittling Christianity or any religion,” and explained the action as a move toward more indigenous programs. But a group calling itself Concerned Christians charged that the cancellations were further evidence of the government’s discrimination against Christians. They cited a ban on the broadcast of Christmas carols last year and Easter songs earlier this year. They also argued that much of the banned gospel music is in fact written and performed by Ghanians.
GERMANY
Abortion Laws At Issue
Abortion has emerged as an emotional issue under debate as East and West Germany move toward reunification. West German law restricts abortions to cases of medical necessity, rape or incest, and dire social or economic hardship. Since 1972, East German law provides for free abortions on demand during the first trimester.
German leaders are divided over what to do with abortion laws when the countries unite. West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl has said his country’s constitution bars a more liberal law. Others in his government have proposed two different abortion laws for an interim period. East German leaders are likewise divided.
About 90,000 abortions are registered annually in East Germany, though according to Idea, the Information Service of the German Evangelical Alliance, as many as 200,000 are believed to take place. By contrast, West Germany (with a population four times larger) reported about 75,000 legal abortions last year.
PEOPLE AND EVENTS
Briefly Noted
Named: As president of World Vision International, Graeme Irvine, who has served as acting president since January 1989. An Australian, Irvine joined World Vision in that country in 1968.
Resigned: Dutch Reformed cleric and antiapartheid activist Allan Boesak, from church leadership, after acknowledging an extramarital affair. He is expected to step down as president of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches.
Ordained: Two women into the priesthood of the Church of Ireland, the first among Anglicans in the United Kingdom. The low-key ceremony at Saint Anne’s Anglican Cathedral in Belfast came less than one month after the church approved the ordination of women.
Established: 100 new evangelical churches in Nicaragua during the first four months of this year, according to the National Council of Evangelical Pastors. The evangelical population of Nicaragua, estimated at 7.5 percent before 1978, is now set at 20 percent.
Visited: In the United States, Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I of Constantinople, spiritual leader of more than 250 million Eastern Orthodox Christians. It was the first visit ever of an Orthodox patriarch to this country.
