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Ecumenical News International says some Russian Christians have refused to accept social security numbers because the application forms and the identification cards have bar codes. The bar codes, which follow an international standard of three pairs of parallel lines, are viewed by some Russian Christians as the mark of the Beast in the book of Revelation (see Revelation 13:11-18). Some Russian Orthodox priests have refused communion to parishioners who have completed the application forms. In response, the Russian Orthodox Church has released a statement condemning superstitions regarding numbers, but has also asked the government to respect the beliefs of people. The statement said, “Many Christians, who consider that the name given to them in baptism is sacred, consider it unworthy to ask the government for a new name in the form of a number.” – Evangelical Press News Service
Two Christians jailed for a year on blasphemy charges were given 35-year prison sentences May 11 by a lower court in Pakistan’s Punjab province. Rasheed Masih, 33, and Saleem Masih, 29, brothers from the Sabu Mohaal village near Pasrur, were charged for allegedly blaspheming Islam and its prophet Mohammed. Both men have families. The alleged blasphemies reportedly took place after an ice cream vendor refused to serve the two Christians ice cream in the same bowls used by Muslims. The vendor later filed a complaint with police, claiming that the two brothers had made “bad remarks” against Islam and Mohammed. The two were charged under two separate statutes of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. The judge sentenced both men to 25 years imprisonment and a 50,000 Rs ($925 US) fine for insulting the prophet Mohammed and another 10 years and 25,000 Rs ($460) each for insulting Islam; the first charge is supposed to carry a mandatory death sentence. In addition to the testimony of the ice cream vendor, two “eyewitnesses” testified in court. Defence counsel say that the witnesses’ evidence had contradictions, and the arresting officer did not corroborate all of the witnesses’ statements. A mob outside the courthouse demanded the men receive the death sentence. In April, Pakistan’s new leader had announced changes to the way blasphemy cases are registered in order to avoid “misuse” of those laws. However, on May 16, General Pervez Musharraf retracted his new policy due to protest rallies led by Muslim clerics. – Compass Direct
The Conference of Mennonites in Alberta at a meeting May 5-6 asked the General Council of Mennonite Church Canada to help it resolve the issue of Calgary Inter-Mennonite Church. The Calgary church has taken a public stance of accepting practising homosexuals as members, a position that differs from Mennonite Church statements on homosexuality. At the CMA convention Feb. 11-13, a resolution to expel South Calgary fell short of the required 67% approval. Since then, CMA moderator Nick Dyck has resigned and a number of congregations have said they will withdraw from CMA and MC Canada if the Calgary church situation is not satisfactorily resolved. At a meeting of representatives from MC Canada, CMA and South Calgary June 3, the South Calgary Church offered to withdraw from CMA and MC Canada in order to resolve the problem. South Calgary at one point belonged to three conferences. It was expelled by the Alberta Mennonite Brethren Conference in spring 1999 and was placed under discipline by the Northwest Mennonite Conference in November 1999. – Canadian Mennonite
The Conference of Mennonites in British Columbia has proposed an interim category of membership called “provincially active only”, which would last for five years. About 13 churches have been members of the Conference of Mennonites in B.C. but have never joined the parent body, Conference of Mennonites in Canada (CMC). CMC in turn was part of a North American body, the General Conference Mennonite Church. However, the General Conference Mennonite Church has recently merged with another North American denomination, the Mennonite Church, to form Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church Canada. Under the new structure, all congregations which are members of regional conferences are expected to join Mennonite Church Canada or Mennonite Church USA. However, the 13 congregations in the Conference of Mennonites in B.C. are reluctant to do so, due to concerns over the theological direction of MC Canada. Only one regional conference of the former Mennonite Church existed in Canada – the Northwest Mennonite Conference in northern Alberta/B.C. It has asked for only “provisional membership” in MC Canada because of similar theological concerns. – CM
A recent CROP survey of 1,003 Canadian teens, commissioned by Reader’s Digest, found that 71% believe in God and 18% attend a house of worship at least once a week. Eight-six per cent say it is “very” or “somewhat” likely they will marry; 88% think their marriages will last, and 82% believe having an extra-marital affair is “always wrong”; however, only 11% (2% in Quebec) feel it is “always wrong” for a person to have premarital sex, and 67% favour a law permitting same-sex marriages (compared to 45% of American teens). The majority of Canadian teens (98%) say their parents have set a good example of right and wrong and 70% say their value system is the same as their parents, but 38% say it is “usually” or “sometimes” okay to cheat in school. Seventy-six per cent favour having a law permitting euthanasia, and 21% oppose it. – Reader’s Digest
Butler Ave. MB and Ranchwood churches in Fresno, Calif., will be holding their fourth annual basketball camp for community youth aged 5-17, every Wednesday in June and July 5, 10-14. The free event is designed to build up the community and to motivate youth in a positive way. A community carnival and barbecue will be held on July 20. Last year’s camp had over 200 youth attend, and over 400 people, including local community leaders, attended the carnival/barbecue. – Butler Ave MB Church
Ten Thousand Villages, an arm of Mennonite Central Committee which markets products from crafts people in the Third World, has been selling “fairly traded coffee” since 1995. Ten Thousand Villages obtains the coffee through two organizations which pay coffee farmers a guaranteed fair price per pound of coffee, including a guaranteed minimum when market prices are low. These coffee varieties are shade grown where the coffee plants are protected from the sun by taller trees such as banana, plantain or citrus. The canopy of trees also attracts birds (including migratory songbirds from North America), which aid in pest control, reducing the need for pesticides. In contrast, when farmers receive only the low prices paid by the conventional coffee market, many of them clear-cut their land in order to grow more coffee. This forces them to use more fertilizers and pesticides, increases soil erosion and threatens the birds. – Mennonite Central Committee
Under a new proposal, Mennonite congregations and area conferences now composing the former General Conference Mennonite Church (GC) and former Mennonite Church (MC) will need to apply for membership in the new merged denomination, Mennonite Church USA. It had originally been proposed that all current members automatically become members of the new denomination, including dual-conference congregations that had been disciplined by MC area conferences over homosexuality but still held full GC membership. At last year’s delegate assembly, however, that proposal was rejected because it was deemed to be too soft on homosexuality. The Constituency Leaders Council, composed of about 100 representatives of all area conferences and associate groups, has given majority support for the new guidelines. However, they still need to be approved at the next denominational convention, in 2001. – The Mennonite
The US House of Representatives voted May 23 to present the Congressional Gold Medal to Pope John Paul II. The honour recognizes his contributions to peace and religious understanding. The medal is the nation’s highest civilian honour. Previous recipients include George Washington, Winston Churchill, Mother Teresa and Billy Graham. – EPNS
Coptic Christian rights groups around the world have called for a boycott of Egypt Air, the national Egyptian airline, starting July 7, in hopes of putting more pressure on the Egyptian government to end persecution of Coptic Christians. Egypt Air, established in 1932, has over 400 flights per week to 95 international and domestic locations. Victor Tadros, multimedia director of the Arabic Community Center in California, says Egypt Air offended Christian passengers by airing verses from the Koran during flights and presenting Islamic material to all its passengers, whether Muslim or Christian. He says the airline also has a policy of not hiring Christians. – EPNS
Hunger facts:
- About 24,000 people die every day from hunger or hunger-related causes, down from 35,000 10 years ago.
- 10% of children in developing countries die before age five, down from 28% 50 years ago.
- Famine and wars cause 10% of hunger deaths. The majority of hunger deaths are caused by chronic malnutrition, due to poverty.
- Besides causing death, chronic malnutrition also causes impaired vision, listlessness, stunted growth and increased susceptibility to disease.
- An estimated 800 million people in the world suffer from hunger and malnutrition, about 100 times as many as those who die from it annually.
- With simple resources such as quality seeds, appropriate tools, access to water and improved education, impoverished people can become self-sufficient.
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– World Relief Canada
At least 200 people have been killed in a new outbreak of violence between Muslims and Christians in the city of Kaduna in northern Nigeria. Rival gangs of young Muslims and Christian men roamed the city May 21, attacking members of the opposing community. Dozens of homes, churches and shops were burned; militia blocked several roads, chased drivers from vehicles, then set the vehicles on fire. Thousands fled their homes to take refuge in army and police buildings. Police arrested about 150 people suspected of violence. In February, Kaduna experienced similar violence, which left thousands dead and 80,000 homeless. Those riots began when Muslims attacked members of a Christian demonstration opposing the introduction of Islamic religious (sharia) law in the northern and middle states of Nigeria. In October 1999 the state of Zamfara announced sharia law, and many other states have followed this lead. – EPNS
Two Russian radio networks will carry 35 minutes of daily Christian programming from Trans World Radio starting June 1. The government-owned networks, Mayak and Yunost, have a potential listening audience of 156 million people in the Former Soviet Union. Radio Mayak is the second-largest national network with 477 FM and 88 AM transmitters throughout Russia. Yunost, a channel for Russian youth, has 130 FM transmitters and 25 AM stations. Since 1995, TWR’s programs aired via Radio-1, Russia’s largest privately owned radio network of over 200 FM and AM stations. However, financial problems forced the network to close May 9. – Trans World Radio, EPNS
Todd Hunter has resigned as director and board president of the Association of Vineyard Churches. Hunter, 44, took over the leadership of the movement after the 1998 death of founder John Wimber. Hunter plans to return to pastoring. – EPNS
A poll in the US Shows that 27% of Asian-Americans now say they are born again, for the first time surpassing Hispanic-Americans (23%). In 1991, only 5% of Asian-Americans said they had accepted Christ as Saviour. Today, 25% of born-again adults are from households earning $60,000 or more, up from 13% in 1991. In 1991, 28% of these were aged 18-29 said they were born again; today only 26% are. George Barna, who directed the study of 1002 adults, noted, “Baby Busters have proven to be the most gospel-resistant generation in many years. While over one-third of Baby Boomers were likely to be born again by the time they reached early adult years, only one-quarter of the Busters are following suit.” – EPNS
ASSETS (A Service for Self-Employment Training and Support) is a program of Mennonite Economic Development Associates designed to help low-to-moderate-income people be self-employed. The program provides basic business skills and a mentor to each participant. Currently, there are four programs in Pennsylvania, two in California, one in Virginia and one in Ohio. A dozen more are planned to start in the next three-to-five years. Since the launch of the first ASSETS program in 1993, 488 people have gone on to create or reinforce a total of 256 businesses, and over 300 full and part-time jobs have been created. – Mennonite Economic Development Associates
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Last modified July 16, 2000.
© 2000 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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