Religion Today Summaries – February 5, 2007
Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.
In today's edition:
- Religious Freedom Advocates: Exploit China's Desire for Successful Olympics
- United Bible Societies: Millions of Christians without Bible in Their Mother Tongue
- Faith-based Charities Settle Lawsuit with Florida
- Pastors Can Motivate Church Members to Evangelize, LifeWay Research Says
Religious Freedom Advocates: Exploit China's Desire for Successful Olympics
As the 2008 Olympics approach, human rights and religious freedom advocates are urging the U.S. government to "exploit the need" China has to host a successful event and step up the pressure on Beijing to improve its record. "A smooth and successful Olympics is paramount to China," Sharon Hom of Human Rights in China told a statutory panel on Capitol Hill Wednesday. Yet despite the fact that the games are only 18 months away, she said the communist regime's repression has been getting worse. Hom joined representatives of four major religions and others in testifying before the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, which advises the executive and legislative branches on efforts to counter religious persecution around the world. Since Beijing in 2001 won the hosting rights to the 2008 summer games, human rights groups have called on the international community to exert pressure on the government to improve its record. Some groups, such as Reporters without Borders, advocate boycotting the Olympics, while others hope to use the event to pressure Beijing into reforming. Critics point to the Olympic Charter, which states, "Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles." Under pressure from the International Olympic Committee (OIC), China promised during its host city bid that if the event came to Beijing, the nation would reform its human rights policies.
United Bible Societies: Millions of Christians without Bible in Their Mother Tongue
The efforts to make the Bible available in every mother tongue are making progress, reports Assist News, but the mission is still far from accomplished. According to the United Bible Societies (UBS) in Reading, England, the number of languages into which at least one complete book of the Bible has been translated reached 2,426 at the end of 2006. The total number of languages is estimated to be around 6.500. Approximately 95 per cent of the world’s population theoretically have access to Scripture in a language they can understand, although not necessarily their first language. The remaining five per cent add up to 300 million people. Completed translations in 23 new languages and dialects were registered in 2006, while over a ten-year-period the number has risen by some 260. Along with three new Bibles, the 2006 Scripture Language Report lists 31 new New Testaments, of which five are the first recorded Scripture publications in those languages. Additional Scripture Portions were registered for 34 languages, which do not yet have either an Old or New Testament, and for 21 languages, which have the New Testament but not the Old. In 26 other languages in which translation and publication have already taken place, new or revised versions of Portions, Testaments or Bibles are now available.
Faith-based Charities Settle Lawsuit with Florida
Florida officials have reached agreement with the Association of Faith-Based Organizations, amending the rules governing Florida State Employees’ Charitable Campaign to protect the constitutional rights of faith-based charities. Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund and Christian Legal Society filed suit last April alleging that the rules governing the campaign wrongfully excluded faith-based charities. “Civil servants should not be prevented from donating their own money to faith-based charities if they choose to do so,” said Casey Mattox, litigation counsel for CLS’s Center for Law & Religious Freedom. Florida’s State Employees’ Charitable Campaign is a state-operated program in which state employees voluntarily contribute payroll deductions to participating charitable organizations. However, rules governing the program prohibited any organization engaging in any activity that is “primarily religious” in nature from participating. Under the agreement, Florida officials have adopted new regulations to ensure religious charities, like AFBO’s members, will not be excluded because of their religious viewpoints or activities. Faith-based charities will also retain their constitutional and statutory rights to select staff members who agree with the religious beliefs of the respective organizations. “The settlement we’ve achieved will protect the constitutional rights of faith-based organizations and state employees who choose to contribute to their work,” Mattox explained. “We applaud the state for working with us to protect these rights.”
Pastors Can Motivate Church Members to Evangelize, LifeWay Research Says
AgapePress reports a new study by the research arm of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) finds churches that excel in evangelism have pastors who emphasize soul winning. LifeWay Research interviewed staff from several SBC churches and found that the senior pastor's involvement was the most important determiner of a church's success at evangelistic outreach. In its study, LifeWay Research wanted to focus on churches that met the following criteria: churches that had baptized at least 26 people each year for 10 consecutive years; had overall worship attendance growth during the same 10 years; and had a membership to baptism ratio of no more than 20-to-1. Out of more than 43,000 churches in the denomination, only 22 Southern Baptist congregations met those criteria. In interviews conducted with staff members from 19 of those churches, LifeWay's researchers found the involvement of a senior pastor to be the most critical factor when it came to soul winning. "In every case," LifeWay Research director Brad Waggoner says, the study showed that senior pastors "set the tone for the whole church," leading not only in terms of preaching and encouraging people but also by example.
Originally published February 05, 2007.
