Bronx Church Wins in Court, Barna Update & Philippines news
- Bronx Church Wins in Court with Help of the Alliance Defense Fund
- People's Faith Flavor Influences How They See Themselves, Says Barna
- Militant Dies; Concern Grows for Christians in Philippines
Bronx Church Wins in Court with Help of the Alliance Defense Fund
The New York City School Board has for years denied churches rental space in public schools, but those days appear to be gone, according to the Alliance Defense Fund. A persistent church, the Bronx Household of Faith, led the way for others when it won another battle late last week to gain equal access to a New York City public school building.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit refused the school board's request to stop the church from meeting on Sunday mornings in one of its facilities. The church is represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, a national organization that trains, coordinates, and funds attorneys across the country to advocate for religious liberty, sanctity of human life and the traditional family.
The church acted on the standing orders of the trial court and began meeting in a school two Sundays ago. Even though the church won in federal district court in June, the school board asked a panel of judges with the Second Circuit to stop the church from meeting, pending an appeal. On Friday, August 23, 2002, the Second Circuit denied the school board's motion, and the church will continue meeting.
Federal District Judge Loretta Preska ruled in June that the school board violated the church's First Amendment rights by singling out worship services for exclusion from its buildings, which are open to everyone else. If the New York School Board had been able to stop the church from meeting, the Alliance Defense Fund was prepared to apply to the United States Supreme Court to vacate the order of the appeals court.
People's Faith Flavor Influences How They See Themselves, Say Barna
People's "faith flavor" - that is, their faith of choice and how deeply immersed they are in that tradition has a substantial impact on their self-perception, according to the latest Barna Update. Examining 17 self-descriptions, Barna Research Group (BRG) found significant differences in many areas, such as: Christians are more likely than other Americans to feel at ease with their life; Atheists, agnostics and people associated with non-Christian faiths are less likely to be concerned about the moral condition or the future of the nation; and Evangelicals are quite distinct from born again, non-evangelical Christians and from those who call themselves Christian but are neither evangelical nor born again
"Although there are fewer evangelicals than there are either atheists and agnostics or adults aligned with non-Christian faiths," says BRG, "these individuals have become a political lightning rod and are routinely caricatured unkindly by the media." Despite such public vilification, most evangelicals have a healthy self-image. Evangelicals are almost universally "happy" (99 percent) and were by far the segment that was most satisfied with their present life (91 percent).
"This upbeat frame of mind may be related to the fact that evangelicals are the least likely to say they are "lonely" (8 percent), "in serious debt" (9 percent) or "stressed out" (16 percent). The percentage who admit to high levels of stress is less than half the level measured among adults connected with non-Christian faiths (33 percent) or those who say they are atheistic or agnostic (42 percent). To read the full report on these findings visit the Barna website at www.barna.org.
Militant Dies; Concern Grows for Christians in the Philippines
(ASSIST News Service) -- More than two months after the kidnapped U.S. missionary worker Martin Burnham and nurse Deborah Yap died in a gunfight with rebels in the Philippines, soldiers have killed a Muslim militant, reports said Aug. 26. The dead man was identified as Faisal Marohombsar, the leader of the Pentagon Gang, a group of former Muslim separatist rebels who are regarded by Washington as terrorists. Marohombsar reportedly became something of a criminal celebrity after he was arrested in February this year, but escaped from custody in Manila on June 19. While he was apparently not directly linked to the killings of Burnham and Yap, the latest development seem part of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's self proclaimed war against guerilla's responsible for kidnappings.
On Aug. 25, President Arroyo visited the scene of the gunfight and congratulated police and soldiers, who had often suffered major set backs in their operations against rebel groups in the region. Her visit was also seen as a moral boost for U.S.-trained Filipino troops, who are reportedly pursuing another armed group led by a nephew of a commander of the Abu Sayyaf group on Jolo island.
The troops are trying to rescue four women members of a local Jehovah's Witnesses group kidnapped last week. Already two other Jehovah's Witnesses were beheaded at a time of growing concern about non-Muslim believers in the troubled region. Analysts say that the Abu Sayyaf, which Washington linked to alleged terrorist Osama Bin Laden, and the Pentagon Gang are the most notorious of 21 known kidnap groups operating in the country. Especially Christians are experiencing persecution and death threats from these and other fighters, according to churches and missionary workers. - Reporting by Stefan J. Bos
Originally published August 28, 2002.
