World Scene from December 12, 1986

PARAGUAY

Mass Evangelism

Evangelist Nilson Fanini, described as the “Billy Graham of Brazil,” drew 5,000 to 6,000 people each night to an Asuncion, Paraguay, stadium during a week-long evangelistic crusade. Some 7,000 people attended the crusade’s final meeting.

The crusade’s impact was broadened through live television broadcasts of the meetings. The prime-time broadcasts reached most of Paraguay and part of Argentina.

The crusade attracted Argentines, as well as 110 pastors, seminary students, and lay people from Brazil who rode 1,500 miles in buses to do house-to-house visitation and to help with counseling. Inside Paraguay, 49 rented city buses transported people to the Asuncion stadium from churches and mission stations 35 miles away.

By the end of the week-long event, 1,120 people had made decisions to become Christians. In addition, the office of the Paraguay Baptist Convention has received requests for more information and New Testaments from 200 people who watched the crusade on television. Follow-up efforts include visiting new converts, giving out more than 1,000 Bibles, and launching 13-week Bible studies in 75 homes.

SOVIET UNION

Christian Poet Released

The first woman in the Soviet Union to receive the maximum prison sentence for anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda has been released, halfway through her seven-year prison term.

Irina Ratushinskaya, a 32-year-old poet, was released as a good-will gesture before the summit meeting in Iceland between Soviet leader Gorbachev and President Reagan. Her poetry, according to advocates in the United States, reflects a deep personal faith. Ratushinskaya faced additional punishment in prison for coming to the defense of fellow Christian prisoners.

Christian human rights groups in the United States, including the Washington, D. C.-based CREED (Christian Rescue Effort for the Emancipation of Dissidents), had publicized Ratushinskaya’s plight. She and her husband, Igor, were denied permission to emigrate to either England or the United States, but she may obtain permission to leave temporarily for medical treatment. Her health reportedly deteriorated badly in prison. Said a spokesman for CREED: “Our job as intercessors is not over.”

WORLDWIDE

Christian Communicators

A recent international meeting of Christians in the media resulted in a plan to enhance fellowship, partnership, and the sharing of information among communicators.

Held in Flevohof, Holland, the International Christian Media Conference (ICMC) attracted more than 500 participants from 75 countries. It was sponsored by the World Evangelical Fellowship (WEF) Communications Commission and Evangelische Omroep, the Dutch evangelical broadcasting organization.

The auditorium for the plenary sessions was equipped with closed-circuit television monitors, and multi-media and video presentations abounded. But participants were warned that technology alone is not the answer. Wing Tai Leung, whose Hong Kong-based Breakthrough Ministries presented 18-projector multi-media shows, said human intimacy must parallel high technology. Added Nick Page of the British Broadcasting Corporation: “If we are thinking of different media, then we ourselves as human beings are the most effective and versatile means of communication.”

Conference organizers decided that ICMC will continue as a movement, known as the International Christian Media Consortium, WEF elected to merge the work of its Communications Commission into the new organization. Conference director Bill Thatcher was named executive director of the ICMC committee.

THE VATICAN

Statement on Homosexuality

A new Vatican document on homosexuality warns Roman Catholic bishops against becoming too accepting of homosexuals by allowing them to use church buildings for meetings and services. In the past, bishops in Baltimore, Seattle, and San Francisco have permitted special services for groups of gay Catholics.

The 14-page Vatican statement acknowledges the need for church ministries to homosexuals. But it says gay activists are seeking to change church doctrine by espousing “deceitful propaganda.” The statement also criticizes gay-rights legislation, saying such initiatives seek to affirm the morality of homosexual conduct. And it reiterates the Catholic church’s teaching that homosexual activity is sinful, commenting as well on sexually inactive homosexuals.

“Although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin,” the document states, “it is a more or less strong tendency ordered towards an intrinsic moral evil, and thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder.”

The Vatican said the statement was issued to respond to groups that seek to change church teachings on homosexuality. Some church observers said the document was intended to limit dissent in the United States from official church teachings.

COMMENTARY

Barclay in Russian

The late William Barclay’s Daily Study Bible has become the first Protestant commentary to be translated into Russian.

“Our goal has been reached,” said David Russell, the British Baptist who chaired the Barclay Commentary Committee. “The translation is now complete, and 15 of the 17 volumes have been printed and are ready for distribution.” Russell said Soviet authorities have granted permission to import 1,000 each of the commentary’s first five volumes.

The Baptist World Alliance, the Mennonite Central Committee, the European Baptist Federation, and the All-Union Council of Evangelical Christians-Baptists cooperated in the seven-year translation project, which cost $350,000.

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