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Today’s News Headlines:

MILITANT BUDDHISTS ACCUSED OF BURNING CHURCH, HOME IN SRI LANKA 2 MORE CATHOLIC PRIESTS MURDERED IN COLOMBIA AS STRIFE CONTINUES GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS JOIN CLERGY TO PRAY AFTER SNIPER ATTACKS REVIVAL SWEEPS ACROSS CUBA AS HOUSE CHURCHES MULTIPLY ANCIENT INSCRIPTION MAY BE EARLIEST ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF JESUS MISSIONARY OPHTHALMOLOGIST HELPS RESTORE PHYSICAL, SPIRITUAL SIGHT

Today’s News Stories:

MILITANT BUDDHISTS ACCUSED OF BURNING CHURCH, HOME IN SRI LANKA Militant Buddhists in Sri Lanka are suspected of setting fire to a church in Sri Lanka as well as the home of a believer who lived nearby. The Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka reported that an Assemblies of God worship center and a believer’s home in the town of Weerawilla in southern Sri Lanka were both destroyed on Saturday, Oct. 13. A group of men reportedly set fire to the buildings. Earlier the same week a pastor and his family were attacked in their car. Pastor Stephen Yogarajah, along with his wife and 11-year-old son, all sustained injuries, and their car has badly damaged when they were assaulted by a group of 10 to 15 men in Kodolkela. Believers in Sri Lanka often face harassment from militant Buddhist groups. (Voice of the Martyrs)

2 MORE CATHOLIC PRIESTS MURDERED IN COLOMBIA AS STRIFE CONTINUES In unrelated attacks within hours of each other, two Catholic priests were murdered in Colombia Friday, Oct. 18. In the early morning as 31-year-old Jos © Luis C ¡rdenas Hern ¡ndez was about to leave his home to jog, he answered a knock on the door and found five men in civilian clothes armed with long-range weapons. They spoke for 10 minutes before C ¡rdenas was shot five times in the head. He was the parish priest for Chal ¡n, 400 miles northwest of Bogot ¡. Authorities believe his murder was the work of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), although a spokesman for the group denies the allegation. Later that same afternoon, Gabriel Arias Posada, 66, vicar of the diocese of Armenia, was traveling to help secure the release of a kidnapped official when he and his driver were shot and killed in the town of Anserma. Reports of priests being killed have become commonplace in Colombia as the strife between the government and rebel groups continues. Armed groups in Colombia have killed 47 priests and two bishops in the past 18 years. In the past decade the internal conflict has claimed more than 40,000 lives. (Voice of the Martyrs)

* Together with local partners, HCJB World Radio broadcasts the gospel on FM stations in four Colombian cities. The ministry also airs Spanish programs across the country and all of Latin America via shortwave.

GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS JOIN CLERGY TO PRAY AFTER SNIPER ATTACKS Elected officials from Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia joined clergy from diverse religious groups and community leaders at Faith United Methodist Church in Rockville, Md., the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 22, to pray in response to the string of murders by the so-called “Beltway Sniper.” Attendees voiced united support for law enforcement efforts to find and arrest the sniper who has claimed at least 10 lives in the past three weeks. Religious leaders also expressed support for the families of victims, offering counseling assistance to the general community and calling for people in the region and the nation to join in prayer for healing from the random shootings. Two men suspected of committing the attacks were arrested at a highway rest stop in rural Maryland about 50 miles northwest of Washington, D.C., early this morning. Police arrested the two men who were sleeping in a car at a the rest stop. Government sources identified one of the men as former U.S. soldier John Allen Muhammad, a Gulf War veteran, and his 17-year-old stepson, John Lee Malvo. A spokesman for Maryland’s Montgomery county said it’s premature to tie the pair definitively to the sniper killings. “People are jumping ahead. Give us time to do our job,” he said, adding that the two were being questioned in Rockville, Md., where the sniper task force has its headquarters. The arrests occurred hours after authorities descended on a home in Tacoma, Wash., believed to hold clues important to the investigation. Then they issued a nationwide alert for the car, spotted by a motorist and an attendant at the rest stop. (Religion Today/Reuters/AP)

REVIVAL SWEEPS ACROSS CUBA AS HOUSE CHURCHES MULTIPLY “Cuba is being visited by a tremendous revival in which thousands of lives are being saved,” wrote an unnamed Cuban missionary in a recent report. “In the midst of all kinds of economic difficulties, the Holy Spirit has been moving mightily within Cuba. Hundreds of preaching points known as ‘home churches’ and prayer cells are springing up,” he said. “It’s easy to find places of worship in which the pastors in charge are young men who have been saved for only one year and are now serving full time, leading groups of up to 100 people.” In an unprecedented move, the Cuban government is also allowing preaching within prisons, and many inmates are turning to Christ. “Everywhere there is a hunger for the Word of God,” the missionary said. “Bibles, New Testaments and tracts are being spread by the thousands throughout our nation — a nation that turns its eyes towards God with each passing day.” Thousands of young people are preparing for service through local Bible seminaries and correspondence courses. The revival is occurring despite Cuba’s poverty. Many of the Christian workers lack bicycles, lanterns, shoes, clothing or funds to purchase food. (Christian Aid Mission)

* HCJB World Radio continues to air Spanish programs to Cuba via shortwave from South America. Hundreds of listeners have enrolled in the ministry’s Christian Academy of the Air, a correspondence program incorporating Spanish broadcasts. In addition, many pastors’ workshops sponsored by Apoyo, a joint training ministry with Leadership Resources International, have been held in Cuba since the mid-1990s.

ANCIENT INSCRIPTION MAY BE EARLIEST ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF JESUS A limestone bone box dating to approximately A.D. 63 is being heralded as the “only New Testament-era mention of the central figure of Christianity,” reported the Biblical Archaeology Review. “It is the first-ever archaeological discovery to corroborate biblical references to Jesus,” the journal states. It apparently once contained the bones of James, the brother of Jesus. An inscription on the box reads, “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.” The family relationships contained on the new find helped experts ascertain that the inscription very likely refers to the biblical James, brother of Jesus (Matthew 13:55-56; Galatians 1:18-19). Although all three names were common in ancient times, the statistical probability of their appearing in that combination is “extremely slim.” In addition, the mention of a brother is unusual, indicating that this Jesus must have been a well-known figure. “The James ossuary may be the most important find in the history of New Testament archaeology,” said Hershel Shanks, editor of Biblical Archaeology Review. “It has implications not just for scholarship, but for the world’s understanding of the Bible.” (Religion Today)

MISSIONARY OPHTHALMOLOGIST HELPS RESTORE PHYSICAL, SPIRITUAL SIGHT Growing up on the mission field is the reason an American ophthalmologist is heading to Africa to help give sight to the blind. Dr. Devin Harrison of Christian Blind Mission International says the need is great. “In Africa there’s probably only one ophthalmologist per 1 million population. Where I am in Seattle it’s probably one ophthalmologist per 15,000. So there are many people in Africa who don’t have access to care at all.” Harrison says that helping patients with their physical sight can open up doors for evangelism. “I can provide good-quality care to people, especially in areas such as Muslim areas, that are not normally open to the gospel. When you treat their physical needs, patients may be more accepting to learn more about Christianity.” (Mission Network News)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * James A. Ferrier HCJB World Radio Web: http://www.hcjb.org http://www.beyondthecall.org * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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