Category: In The News!
Articles analyzing current events.
Net Gets Blamed for High UK Divorce Rate
Websites that reunite old flames are being highlighted by counselling firms in the UK as a factor in the rise of divorce rates in England and Wales.
The number of divorces in England and Wales continued to rise in 2003 to reach a total of 153,490, marking the third consecutive year of rising divorce rates according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS). For the first time, the internet, and more specifically dating sites and sites that reunite old friends, are being mooted as factors behind the increase in marriage breakdowns.
“There are of course a number of reasons behind the rise in divorce rates,” said Christine Northam, a spokesperson with Relate, a counselling firm, “but chat rooms and sites which reunite friends make it easier for unhappy husbands or wives to meet other people and possibly go on to have an affair.”
Relate, which counsels couples facing divorce or separation, has noted that one in ten of the cases it deals with are indicating that the internet has played a role in the situation. “We have noticed in cases where a partner is having an affair, one out of ten couples have said that the affair began online, either on a chat site or reuniting site,” Northam explained to ElectricNews.Net.
ElectricNews.net
Wednesday, September 01 2004 by Deirdre McArdle
Analysis:
This news item indicates another possible danger which accompanies internet access. However, the danger is less in the internet access itself, and more in the desire of the one who involves him or herself in the situation.
New Bible – Trendy or Heretical?
“AFTER JESUS Christ was baptised by John the Baptist, he saw “the Spirit descending upon him like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased’.” (Mark 1:10-11, Revised Standard Version).
Compare that with this new translation: “A pigeon flew down and perched on him. Jesus took this as a sign that God’s Spirit was with him. A voice from overhead was heard saying, ‘That’s my boy’!” There are many such chatty or doctrinally denuded passages in Good as New: A Radical Retelling of the Scriptures, an exceedingly loose New Testament paraphrase by Britain’s John Henson, a fundamentalist-hating Baptist.
Should we call it the Boy Bible, or the Pigeon Bible? Good as New is the wildest, wackiest and possibly worst of those trendy attempts to update Holy Writ. Billed as “women, gay and sinner-friendly,” it has stirred up a minor ruckus in Canada and Britain, but less chatter in the United States. ‘…’
“…Call it arrogance or deception, but Henson freely changes what the Bible itself says. The Apostle Paul taught that “each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband” and that if unmarried singles or widows “cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion” (1 Corinthians 7:2,9).
Henson’s version: “My advice is for everyone to have a regular partner. … If you know you have strong needs, get yourself a partner. Better than being frustrated!” Likewise, Henson has Jesus re-writing the Ten Commandments: “Don’t take away someone else’s partner” (Matthew 5:27). In 2004, this clearly implies approval for unwed heterosexual and homosexual couples, possibly including temporary live-ins. Henson simply chops out things he doesn’t like.”
Richard N. Ostling, AP Religion Writer
Analysis:
This Bible paraphrase will no doubt be embraced by radical feminists, homosexuals and liberal theologians, and has actually been endorsed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the leader of the Anglican Church.
John the Baptist’s Cave Claimed Found
Aug. 17, 2004 – A quarter of a million pottery shards from small jugs, an underground pool, a foot-washing stone and wall carvings unearthed in a large cave west of Jerusalem could be the first archaeological evidence for the existence of St. John the Baptist, according to a forthcoming book.
“The Cave of John the Baptist,” by British archaeologist Shimon Gibson, “presents the first evidence that can be directly linked to the Gospels and to a major figure in the birth of Christianity,” reads the book’s synopsis.
News Brief by Rossella Lorenzi
Discovery News
Note: Picture is of the entrance to what some believe is the cave of Jon the Baptist
Analysis:
As always, such discoveries by archaeologists cause great sensation, and excite our imaginations. You may remember the ossuary recently discovered, which contains a reference to Jesus on its side. Though excitement was initially great, and some still claim it is direct archeological proof of Jesus’ existence, most now believe that the inscription was added later, and is not genuine.
One Third of Web Users Seek Religious Information
More than a third of all Americans who are connected to the Internet have used it to access religious and spiritual information, a recent Pew Research Center study shows. Moreover, there has been a significant increase in the daily use of the Internet to access religious information. What researchers call “religion surfers” almost doubled to 35 million from 18 million between March 2000 and November 2002. The growth appears to be only “slightly linked” to the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. The most recent research found that not only has interest in religion held since 9/11, but it increased 25 percent during the subsequent 15 months. The poll found Internet users between the ages of 18 and 29 to be the least interested in searching out religious material (24%), while those ages 30-49 (33%) were the most interested.
Religion Today/ Agape Press
via MissionNet
Analysis:
The internet if often in the news because of its abuses. Pornography is rampant, stealing is common, and the private nature of obtaining the information and material allows such sinful activities to go, for the most part, undetected.
Continue reading “One Third of Web Users Seek Religious Information”
India Marvels at ‘Miracle Chapati’
Hundreds of Christian pilgrims and other curious onlookers have been making their way to a church in Bangalore in India to see a chapati which has the image of Christ burnt into it.
The chapati – a loaf of unleavened bread – is one of dozens that Shella Anthony bakes in her oven in Bangalore every day. But this one she thought was different.
Burnt into it was what looked like the image of the face of Jesus Christ.
Shella Anthony took the loaf to a local church and word spread like wildfire.
Church officials say nearly 20,000 Christians have already visited the Renewal Retreat Centre to pay homage in front of the chapati, which has now been mounted in a glass case, and to offer prayers.
Father Jacob George of the Renewal Retreat Centre is convinced it is a miracle.
Mixed feelings
“We believe in miracles. Devotees are feeling blessed on witnessing it,” he said.
Pilgrims have come from Bangalore and surrounding towns and villages, and it is not just Christians who have made the odyssey.
“Christians are coming here out of devotion, the others are coming out of curiosity,” said Anil Philip.
BBC Delhi correspondent Adam Mynott says that while some believe it to be a miracle others have ridiculed the apparition as a load of eyewash.
BBC News, November 16, 2002
Analysis:
I just wanted everyone to see the type of superstition that Bobby Holmes and I will be facing in our trip to India in November.
Of course, such superstition is not uncommon in backward societies, especially those where the Catholic church has a strong presence. We are hopeful that the naïveté of these people will make them responsive to the truth of the gospel. The challenge will then be to inoculate them against the religious error that can be so persuasive to the weak.
“That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head; Christ” (Ephesians 4:14-15).
Harmful Effects of Homosexuality
Homosexual Promiscuity. Studies indicate that the average male homosexual has hundreds of sex partners in his lifetime, a lifestyle that–is difficult for even “committed” homosexuals to break free of and which is not conducive to a healthy and wholesome atmosphere for the raising of children.
A. P. Bell and M. S. Weinberg, in their classic study of male and female homosexuality, found that 43 percent of white male homosexuals had sex with five hundred or more partners, with 28 percent having 1,000 or more sex partners.(A. P. Bell and M. S. Weinberg, Homosexualities: A Study of Diversity Among Men and Women (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978), pp. 308, 309; See also A. P. Bell, M. S. Weinberg, and S. K. Hammersmith, Sexual Preference (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1981).
In their study of the sexual profiles of 2,583 older homosexuals published in Journal of Sex Research, Paul Van de Ven et al. found that “the modal range for number of sexual partners ever [of homosexuals] was 101-500.” In addition, 10.2 percent to 15.7 percent had between 501 and 1000 partners. A further 10.2 percent to 15.7 percent reported having had more than 1000 lifetime sexual partners.(Paul Van de Ven et al., “A Comparative Demographic and Sexual Profile of Older Homosexually Active Men,” Journal of Sex Research 34 (1997): 354.)
Timothy J. Dailey, Ph.D.
via Family Research Council
Analysis:
As a part of the current efforts to legalize Gay and Lesbian marriages, homosexual advocates have sought to portray such relationships as “normal.” The reason for this is obvious. If such relationships are characterized as similar to heterosexual marriages, the obvious concerns that most Americans have regarding the welfare of children and the moral fiber of our society will be assuaged.
Spanking Children
In response to a comment about a 2 year old who hits others, and runs into the street, Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, in his nationally syndicated column, disagreed with a grandmother who asserted that the child should be spanked as a means of discipline. Brazelton comes from the “Dr. Spock” school of discipline, and consistently discourages any form of corporal punishment. Here, in part, is what he wrote in response:
“Hitting and pushing are common behaviors at this age. It’s a young child’s way of reaching out to another before he has more language and social skills. Of course a child must be stopped and clearly told that this is not acceptable.
“Spanking will not teach him these skills. Instead, it’s likely to make him angry, and he may start hitting others out of anger.
“Of course spanking will get a child to stop what he’s doing – because it hurts. But pain used to stop a behavior does not teach a child. Instead, it confuses him.
“If time-outs don’t work-and they often don’t at this age-sit down with him to hold him, to keep him safe.
“You may also need to discipline with consequences: “I can’t let you go outside until you can learn to stop running in the street.”
Column appeared in the July 6, 2004 Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Analysis:
Brazelton’s assertions can be shown to be false through simple observation. Though anecdotal, our own experiences, as we were raised by our parents, show that spanking is an effective form of discipline.
Ramzee Johnson Seeks Baptism
A California man who killed another man in a gunfight is looking to repent of his evil deed and be baptized. There’s only one problem – the local jail housing him is denying his request…
“I would like to do it before I go to prison,” Ramzee Johnson told the Bakersfield Californian, saying he’s getting daily death threats from gang members associated with his victim. “I might not make it to prison.”
Johnson has been studying the Bible recently with David Garner, a minister at the Oildale Church of Christ who thinks the Lerdo Jail’s refusal to allow the baptism is denying Johnson the ability to be saved.
Muscle Bound Marvel
Doctors are studying a 5-year-old German boy whose upper arms and legs are almost twice the size of his peers to learn what happens when the body does not produce a protein that limits muscular development.
The boy, whose mother is a professional athlete in Germany, is far stronger than other boys his age and lacks the protein, known as myostatin, doctors reported in Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine.
He appears healthy now, but researchers are concerned the child may eventually develop abnormalities in the heart, which is a muscle.
The discovery could help doctors find a chemical to increase muscle mass as a treatment for several medical problems, such as muscular dystrophy, or the muscle deterioration seen in the elderly and among people in the advanced stages of cancer…
Reuters, June 24, 2004
(Note: Picture is of the child at the age of 7 months)
Analysis:
The interesting discovery of a “superboy”, reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, has captured the imaginations of health researchers and athletes alike. Researchers believe that the mutation in the five year old may give them information which will help in the treatment of disease. Athletes hope that the finding may open the door for larger muscles and greater strength.
Some may believe that the mutation gives credence to the theory of evolution, which claims such mutations as the mechanism through which general evolution occurs. Actually, the discovery helps to show the inadequacy of such a claim.
First, you will note that the child is still human. In fact, the doctor who is in charge of the study emphasized that the boy is “just a normal kid” who just happens to be stronger than his peers. Second, no genetic material has been added, which would be necessary to account for general evolutionary theory. Scientists believe that the child obtained myostatin genes that were “turned off” from both the mother and the father. This has been documented on the mother’s side by genetic testing. Third, doctors fear that the mutation is not actually beneficial. (The vast majority of mutations are destructive, which would lead to devolution rather than evolution). Doctors fear that the child may develop heart disease in the future. No, the German “superboy” is not a product of evolutionary processes, he is just a normal, strong kid.
TV Networks Seek Ratings In Higher Power
Tue Jun 15, 8:10 AM ET
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Sitcoms are running out of laughs, cop dramas are a dime a dozen and reality shows are all starting to look alike. Now U.S. television networks are turning to a higher power in their quest for loftier ratings.
Inspired by the runaway success of religion-themed novels like the “Left Behind” series and Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ,” broadcasters are devoting more of their prime-time schedules to shows dealing with God, faith and the afterlife.
excerpted from article by Steve Gorman
Analysis:
At first glance, the notice that Hollywood is looking to air shows which deal with spiritual themes would seem to be cause for rejoicing. First glances can, however, be deceiving.
A Memorial of the Heart
Bags of jellybeans were laid with reverence around the Santa Monica mortuary. Flower bouquets were placed at the base of the president’s statue in his hometown of Dixon, Ill. Flags were hung at half-staff all across Washington. They will do so for the next 30 days, in silent tribute to the death of Ronald Reagan.
All this week, the nation will mourn his loss. Today, Mr. Reagan lies in repose at the Reagan Library. Tomorrow evening, the formal funeral procession will take the president to the Capitol, where he will lie in state. On Friday, the national day of mourning, Mr. Reagan will be honored at a state funeral at the National Cathedral after which he will be laid to final rest back in his beloved California.
The Washington Times
Editorial, June 8, 2004
Analysis:
To political opponents and supporters alike, President Reagan is considered an important figure in the history of our nation.
Jail Imposes Dress Code for Visitors
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Guards at the St. Joseph County Jail are doing double duty as fashion police, enforcing new regulations that prohibit visitors from wearing scanty attire.
The new rules are on a sign posted at the jail entrance, the South Bend Tribune reported Tuesday. See-through tops, mini skirts and short shorts are out, and underwear is required to remain invisible. Hats also are banned, since they can be used to smuggle items into the jail or may be a gang emblem.
“A lot of people have gotten away with inappropriate clothing in the past. Hopefully this will prevent it,” said Keith Rininger, director of inmate services at the jail.
Warm weather brings out more bare skin, but sometimes visitors bare even more, officials say.
“We’ve had women flash the men they come in to see,” Rininger said.
In the confines of a jail, such behavior can cause problems, he said. “I don’t know how to put it delicately, but when men are locked up for a long time and they see their girlfriend, or their wife, or someone else’s girlfriend, it can cause tension. That’s not a good thing in this kind of environment,” he said.
AP, May 19, 2004
Analysis:
It is that time of the year again when temperatures rise and clothes are shed. The above article makes note of the effect which insufficient clothing has on men.
Gay Marriage Now Legal in Massachusetts
History was made yesterday as Massachusetts becomes the first state in the nation to allow gays to legally wed.
It was a busy day for Pittsfield City Clerk Jody Phillips, who said half a dozen couples had arrived at her office by noon, five female and one male couple.
Another 5 couples arrived at the City Clerk’s office later in the day to get their marriage licenses.
None of the couples asked for a waiver to bypass the three-day waiting period so they could get married immediately.
By Larry Kratka, WUPE Radio News – May, 18 2004
This report was compiled by WUHN/WUPE Radio, Pittsfield
Analysis:
In what is being called a “landmark decision”, the liberal Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that marriage laws in the state could not discriminate against same sex couples.
