Missionaries in India Concerned as Hindu Activists Break Up Prayer Meeting

Christians in India are still persecuted Earlier this week, as an Indian court convicted 13 Hindu radicals of the 1999 murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines, Weblog noted that Christians in the country were on edge, justifiably worried about backlash from militant Hindus.

But they don’t need a high-profile murder verdict to be on edge. “There are attacks practically every week, maybe not resulting in death, but still, violent attacks,” Richard Howell, general secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of India tells The Christian Science Monitor today. “They [India’s controlling BJP party] have created an atmosphere where minorities do feel insecure.”

Prakash Louis, director of the secular Indian Social Institute in New Delhi, agrees. “We are seeing a broad attempt to stifle religious minorities and their constitutional rights,” he says. “Today, they say you have no right to convert. Tomorrow, you have no right to worship in certain places.”

Need one more example? Yesterday morning, about 50 activists from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, closely associated with the BJP, went to a Christian prayer meeting in Borivali and forced the believers to leave.

“They said we paid Rs 5,000 to each person to convert to Christianity,” Pastor Prakash Boyin told the Mumbai newspaper Mid Day. “Around 100 people had already come for the prayers. They asked them to get out of the hall and locked the hall.”

“The prayers should have been held in a church and not in an area where there are no Christians,” a VHP spokesman replied.

Meanwhile, Christians are asking the Indian government to release census figures in order to prove that Christianity isn’t growing as much as Hindu activists are claiming in their effort to pass a national anti-conversion law. “The government is reluctant to release data because it runs contrary to its propaganda about conversions. If the figures are released, the government’s lie about large-scale conversions will fall apart,” All India Christian Council secretary Dolphy D’Souza told Mid Day.

Church life:

A how-to kit for the ministry | From his Lake Forest mega-church, Rick Warren offers seminars, stats and items on the Internet to help pastors boost attendance (Los Angeles Times)
Church noises pollute the environment | Every new day, preachers become more and more robust and ear-shattering in their trade (Harry Nwana, Vanguard, Nigeria)
Harlem church closing shows challenges | Embittered parishioners have responded with their Sunday vigils and weekday protests outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the seat of the archdiocese (Associated Press)
Maintaining Arabic style key to success of Gresham church | In 11 years, the Arabic Christian Church has grown from one family to 70 people (The Oregonian)
Presbyterian Church establishes Jewish congregation | Experts say it is highly unusual for a mainline Protestant denomination such as the Presbyterians to establish a Messianic congregation, and some local Jewish groups are upset, seeing it as an attempt to evangelize them (NEPA News, Pa.)
Patriarch on trial over dismissal | Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios I, spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, went on trial yesterday after a Bulgarian church foundation accused him of preventing a Bulgarian priest from conducting services (Associated Press)
In the shadow of angels | To live in St. Vibiana’s is to witness the evolution of hallowed urban space (Los Angeles Times)
Plenty of new things happening at St. Peter’s | Parish welcomes permanent pastor, just one of many changes for the 10-year-old church (Los Angeles Times)
City blocks church’s building plans | Site on Duke Street historic, board says (The Washington Post)

Missions and ministry:

‘Hell House’ finds new home on stage at Denver church | Scenes of sins and punishment will now be a sit-down show (Rocky Mountain News)
Casting out demons, by means of deliverance | A practitioner urges wider use of these controversial sessions (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Churches unite for common goal | The 20-church group will come together hoping to draw people to church by handing out fliers (News-Press, Santa Barbara, Calif.)

Christian animation:

David vs. cash flow | Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber are in a pickle (Jonathan Eig, The Wall Street Journal)
Lutherans reviving ‘Davey and Goliath’ | There’s a simple reason why “Davey and Goliath” remains part of pop culture 28 years after the last installment was produced: Simplicity. (Tim Cuprisin, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)

Film:

Passion misplay | Who killed Jesus? Time for both Jews and Christians to fess up (Steven Waldman, Slate)
Earlier: Who Killed Jesus? | After centuries of censure, Jews have been relieved of general responsibility for the death of Jesus. Now who gets the blame? (Christianity Today, Aug. 24, 2000)
The Cardinal & the Passion | Gibson’s controversial movie gets a Roman endorsement (Antonio Gaspari, National Review Online)
Cardinal praises Gibson’s ‘The Passion’ | “Anti-Semitism, like all forms of racism, distorts the truth by putting an entire race in a bad light. This film does nothing of the kind,” Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos said in Thursday’s La Stampa newspaper (Associated Press)
The Gospel of John: Let he who is without sin … | Donald Akenson’s harangue against Garth Drabinsky for his cinematic version of the Gospel of John, abetted by the demeaning caricature of Mr. Drabinsky that accompanied the article in these pages Wednesday, merits a response (Bruce Waltke, The Globe and Mail, Toronto)
This fall, the big screen spotlights religion | ‘Luther,’ which debuts Sept. 26, is one of several new films that focus on religion or question institutional authority (The Christian Science Monitor)
Chapel bedeviled by ‘Blair Witch’ | Mischief by horror film’s fans plagues Md. town, church (The Washington Post)

Music:

Exhibit celebrates history of church and gospel music | You can’t understand African-American history without understanding the role the black church and gospel music have played (Dawn Turner Trice, Chicago Tribune)
Intense singing, intense fashion | Evanescence, from Arkansas, has become one of the country’s most popular bands by mixing nu-metal guitar riffs with high, airy vocals, adding lyrics that turn love and religion into a series of pop-psychology analogies (The New York Times)
Local ministers weigh in on hymns | A new exhibit of the Top 10 Hymns of all time recently opened at Christus Gardens in Gatlinburg, Tenn., a leading non-denominational religious attraction in this East Tennessee tourist mecca (Selma Times-Journal)
Powerful ‘Superstar’ revival rocks center | “Superstar” is a super show (Los Angeles Times)

Life ethics:

The face of the partial-birth debate | Moderates and conservatives have worked for almost a decade to put a stop to this procedure. There is neither medical reason nor moral justification for further delay. (Editorial, The Washington Times)
Ban nears on partial-birth abortion | The Senate cleared a key hurdle and sent the legislation to be finalized in a conference with the House (The Washington Times)
Religion and reproduction | The most fascinating aspect of a new PBS documentary on religion and reproduction is that the traditionalists embrace science in defining human life and the progressives repudiate it (Lou Marano, UPI)
Russia tackles its high abortion rate | Worried the country’s population could plummet, officials toughen the rules (Los Angeles Times)

Education:

Religion Today: Mohler’s Seminary | R. Albert Mohler Jr’s unbending conservatism has helped Southern Baptist Theological Seminary’s enrollment reach record heights, but it also has brought criticism and suggestions of intolerance (Associated Press)
Calvin program teaches students to make worship services meaningful | The Worship Apprentice Program, now in its second year, selects 10 to 12 students each spring and in fall trains them to study, analyze, construct and lead various aspects of worship (Grand Rapids Press)
Moorpark High cancels Bible history course | New class didn’t get board approval or public review (Ventura County Star, Calif.)
New school year brings old church-state tensions | As millions of students gathered around flagpoles for prayer Wednesday in an annual religious rite on public school campuses, other evangelical activities affirming on-campus faith appear to be on the increase (Religion News Service)
Kids have religious rights, too | ‘See You at the Pole’ not in violation of federal rules (Editorial, The News-Press, Fort Myers, Fla.)

Interfaith relations:

Priest embraces Jewish roots | Born a Jew, raised a Catholic, Father Weksler-Waszkinel spreads his most unusual story and a message of sharing (Chicago Tribune)
Congregations of Jews, Christians embrace for holidays | Jewish High Holy Days, that is, which will be celebrated this year in JupiterFirst Church (The Jupiter Courier, Fla.)
Fundamental advice | A traditional Christian group says Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and New Agers may mean well, but they are spiritually incorrect (St. Petersburg Times)

Faith-based initiative:

House approves expanding tax breaks for donations | The bill would allow those who don’t itemize to take a write-off. Proposal is a lesser version of Bush’s ‘faith-based initiative’ (Los Angeles Times)
House okays faith-based initiative package | In a 408-13 vote, House members OK’d a scaled-down version of the president’s faith-based initiative package aimed at encouraging private donations to both faith-based and secular charities. The chamber left out the most contentious aspect of the president’s original plan: expanding the government’s so-called charitable-choice initiative (The Washington Times)
House passes more than $12B in tax cuts (Associated Press)

Politics and law:

Norway’s Prime Minister may face papal rebuke | Cardinal Angelo Sodano and the Pope himself are likely to raise the question of Norway’s new marriage law, which Catholics feel violates their religious freedom (Aftenposten, Oslo)
Georgian Orthodox head warns against Vatican treaty | The head of Georgia’s Orthodox Church urged the government on Thursday not to sign a treaty setting down relations with the Vatican, saying it was not ”expedient” for the ex-Soviet state (Reuters)
Deane supports Church’s right to speak on politics | Criticism of church leaders who speak out on politically controversial issues such as the treatment of indigenous people and asylum seekers was “misconceived”, the former governor-general Sir William Deane has said (The Sydney Morning Herald)
Three GOP senators back marriage amendment | Jeff Sessions, Rick Santorum, and Sam Brownback participate in Alliance for Marriage rally (The Washington Times)
Alabama’s fight for tax justice will never die | Defeat of tax increase is a call to arms because it’s a sign that democracy is devouring itself (Susan Pace Hamill, Newsday)
Evangelicals use clout to help Israel | As ‘capital of the Bible Belt,’ Atlanta plays role in growing relationship (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Security escorts out candidate | Chris Obafunwa wanted to speak on panel on Christian issues (The Advertiser, Lafayette, La.)

Bible:

Unearthing the Bible | Dallas exhibit traces evolution of the holy book and displays parts of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Ft. Worth Star-Telegram)
God’s word goes glossy | But not everyone agrees that having questions and answers like the ones in the “Blab” section of the Revolve magazine are helpful (Fox News)

Persecution:

Baptists being punished for independence | The less you collaborated with the old Soviet state, the more likely you will suffer repression today (Lawrence A. Uzzell, The Moscow Times)
Religious scholars flay misuse of blasphemy law | Police investigation into a campaign against a local plastic footwear business house on blasphemy charges found it to be the result of company’s refusal to bribe an alleged gang of blackmailers (Dawn, Pakistan)

Sex, marriage, and family:

Church takes its wedding message to the masses | Church of England joins business exhibitors in move to reverse fall in marriage services (The Daily Telegraph, London)
Recasting the definition of family | Policymakers are extending greater legal recognition, support to same-sex couples, single parents, unmarried heterosexuals (Associated Press)
Church group protests ‘Gay Day’ | But only about 200 of 1,000 tickets were sold to Ballpark in Arlington (Ft. Worth Star-Telegram)

Social justice:

Eastern Christians torn asunder | Challenges — new and old (Bat Yeor, National Review Online)
Keeping faith with nonviolence | Parishioners in NW Washington remember victims of street killings, seek answers (The Washington Post)
Yale bristles at critics in clergy | The president of the Board of Aldermen is charging Yale University with trying to muzzle critics and feels an effort to network Hispanics to jobs on the campus is being hurt in the process (New Haven Register, Conn.)
Many faiths meet in belief on environment | 120 leaders representing a diversity of Oregon faith communities will gather in Salem to decide their next move (The Oregonian)

Religious symbols:

Mayor says Christians won’t let cross be removed | Any move to remove the cross atop Palmerston North’s clock tower will not happen because the city is too Christian, mayor Mark Bell-Booth said (Manawatu Evening Standard, New Zealand)
Pasadena church cross finds a home | Its new owner is Father Patrick Brennan, who leads spiritual retreats from a mountainside center in Sierra Madre (Los Angeles Times)

Ten Commandments:

Suspended Ala. justice seeks court delay | Roy Moore’s lawyers asked the State Court of the Judiciary to hold off ethics proceedings until after the U.S. Supreme Court rules on Moore’s appeal of a federal ruling in which he was ordered to remove the monument (Associated Press)
Sorry, but the law of this land isn’t God’s | The Ten Commandments aren’t laws (James Gill, The Times-Picayune, New Orleans)
Christians ask state court to post Commandments | The Ten Commandments made it into the Iowa Judicial Branch Building Thursday, at least temporarily (Des Moines Register)
Commandments’ defender to speak at forum | Roy Moore will give the closing address of Coral Ridge Ministries’ Reclaiming America for Christ gathering on Oct. 25 (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
State court rejects gift of Ten Commandments | A group of Christians plans to rally today in support of the display of historic documents (Des Moines Register, Ia.)
Mickey’s rock | The American Heritage Foundation Rock is big, bulky, and heavy. (Orlando Weekly)

History:

Disciple under duress | From the world’s standpoint, Bonhoeffer gambled with his life and lost (The Oregonian)
Inside job | Below the high altar of St. Peter’s, investigators have found sheep bones, ox bones, pig bones, and the complete skeleton of a mouse. Was Peter himself ever there? (Tom Mueller, The Atlantic)

Sexual ethics:

Married gay Canadian couple barred from U.S. | A married gay couple from Canada were not allowed to enter the U.S. because the two men insisted on declaring themselves a family at Customs (The New York Times)
Canadian gay married couple denied entry to U.S. (Reuters)
Canada may alter gay marriage plans, minister says | Health Minister Anne McLellan said the fact that Prime Minister Jean Chretien was stepping down next February meant his successor would have a free hand to tackle the issue as he saw fit (Reuters)
Britain repeals gay law after long fight | Law against “promotion” of homosexuality was removed from the British statute books Thursday, after more than a decade of gay-rights protests (Associated Press)

Anglican troubles:

Episcopal Church targeted | Draft resolutions by S.C. Diocese rap national body (The Post and Courier, Charleston, S.C.)
Quincy diocese to consider leaving Episcopal Church | The three resolutions drafted by officials state that the Quincy diocese, one of the more conservative in the country and one of only three that refuse to ordain women, would become independent of the Episcopal Church, be regarded as its own branch or be combined with other like-minded churches at a future date (The Dispatch, Moline, Ill.)
Archbishop faces gay bishops debate | The Archbishop of Canterbury is set to face renewed pressure to resist the ordination of gay bishops as Church of England evangelicals gather in Blackpool (BBC)
Welsh church to debate gay clergy | The Church in Wales has said it will openly debate the issue of sexuality – an issue which has caused rifts in England (BBC)

Other stories of interest:

Preying Presbyterians? | No papers explained, at least to my satisfaction, why they felt it important to note why they used the term Presbyterian as a description for Paul Hill (Aly Colón, Poynter Institute)
Hope for preaching parrot | Solomon, who has a 2,600-word vocabulary with an evangelical Christian message, was captured and escaped again (Canadian Press)
Remembering J.D. Douglas | David Wright writes about the journalist and lecturer (The Scotsman)
Dad who mounted pledge challenge gets partial custody | Was stripped of legal custody in February 2002 (Legal Times)