Religion Today Summaries – October 10, 2005
Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world. In today's edition:
Help Earthquake Victims in South Asia
Earthquake Hits Gospel For Asia Bible College
Christians Spotlight Important Issues
Praying in Jesus’ Name in the Government
Help Earthquake Victims in South Asia
World Vision
World Vision is rushing emergency aid to the survivors of the devastating earthquake that struck South Asia Saturday morning. Your help is desperately needed now to reach children and families in time. At 8:50 AM on Saturday, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake shattered the South Asian subcontinent, killing thousands in Pakistan, India and Afghanistan. The devastation is heart-breaking. At least 40 villages have been wiped out or are seriously damaged. And the death toll, already over 30,000, is certain to climb. And now, heavy rain and hail is falling in the region, worsening the plight of the survivors. World Vision is responding by airlifting emergency supplies, including food, water, medicines, blankets and tents into the region. $500,000 must be raised in the next few days to meet the urgent needs of victims. "The situation is desperate. Several villages have been decimated," says Sigurd Hanson, World Vision director in Pakistan. "The people I've spoken to have asked World Vision for relief supplies and burial cloths, saying, "We know you. Can you help us bury our dead?" If you can, please donate now to help meet the urgent needs of Asia earthquake survivors through World Vision's SAVE Fund, the rapid response fund for the South Asia earthquake and emergencies like it around the world. (www.worldvision.org)
Earthquake Hits Gospel For Asia Bible College
Michael Ireland, Assist News Service
A major earthquake hit India's northernmost state of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, and early reports indicate that hundreds were killed. Buildings were shaken as far away as Delhi. Among the structures damaged is a Gospel for Asia Bible college which was severely damaged by the earthquake that rocked the region of far northwestern India and northern Pakistan. "So far, reports indicate that all of our missionaries in the affected areas are safe, but we do not yet know the condition of our churches or believers there. I am in India and will be gathering more information as quickly as possible," said GFA President K.P.Yohannan. "In the meantime, please pray for the survivors of this tragedy, for our missionaries and students, for the pastors and their people, and for those who will soon be ministering to the victims." The 32 students who attend were warned not to return to the building since more aftershocks and tremors are expected. Other buildings in this same area collapsed from the force of the quake, which measured 7.6 on the Richter scale, and at least 400 houses were destroyed. The most seriously affected area in India, Kashmir, is about a day’s journey from the Jammu Bible college.
Christians Spotlight Important Issues
AFA Journal/Agape Press
Fall is the time when numerous Christian issues and events claim their date on the calendar for special observances. Individual citizens and churches are urged to take the opportunity to align with others to bring attention to some deserving issues in our culture. Each group or person below has a wide variety of resources to offer or recommend, including planning kits, bulletin inserts, information sources, statistics and more: Focus on the Family sponsors Clergy Appreciation Month in October. The ministry offers many resources and creative ideas to help churches and individuals plan special ways to honor pastors and pastoral staff members. (www.family.org/pastor/cam) Priests for Life, a national Catholic group, is a voice for life in the Catholic Church. October 2 as Respect Life Sunday, but the group urges parishes and Protestant churches alike to select any Sunday in the fall to draw attention to pro-life issues. (www.priestsforlife.org) In 1991, AFA designated the last Sunday in October as the beginning of Porn Awareness Week. Morality in Media continues to promote the observance with varied resources and ideas, including the White Ribbon Campaign against pornography. This year's dates are October 30-November 6. (www.moralityinmedia.org) In 1992, Bruce Barilla, a private citizen with no big organization behind him, proposed the idea of observing America's Christian heritage each year during Thanksgiving week. Since then, many governors and mayors have proclaimed America's Christian Heritage Week in their cities and states, some during that week and others at other times. (www.achw.org)
Praying in Jesus’ Name in the Government
Jim Brown, Agape Press
South Carolina's attorney general says he will not tell local governments whether they can pray before their meetings. At least two groups are urging local boards and councils to stop using the name of Jesus Christ in prayers at public meetings in the state. The challenges follow the U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to hear an appeal filed by the town of Great Falls, which was fighting a lawsuit brought by a Wiccan priestess. The American Civil Liberties Union asked Attorney General Henry McMaster to offer cities guidance on what invocations are legal, and McMaster sided with Great Falls. However, John Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute, believes invoking a specific deity is protected under certain circumstances. "If it's a personal council member who gets up and does it on his own, it's fine,” Whitehead says. “But I think if a corporate entity such as a city council writes a prayer and they ended it, say, in Jesus' name or even Allah's name, it will probably be found unconstitutional."
Originally published October 10, 2005.
