2 AUSTRALIAN PASTORS FOUND GUILTY OF ‘VILIFYING ISLAM’

MINISTRY BRINGS HOPE TO WESTERN SUDAN AMID CONTINUED FIGHTING

NO ROOM IN THE COWSHED FOR PENTECOSTAL CHURCH IN BELARUS

21-NATION SURVEY SHOWS THAT MAJORITY OF EUROPEANS BELIEVE IN GOD

BIBLE COURSES REACH ADDITIONAL ETHNIC GROUPS IN FORMER SOVIET UNION

DONORS INCREASINGLY SEEK CONVENIENCE OF ONLINE HOLIDAY GIVING

Today’s News Stories:

2 AUSTRALIAN PASTORS FOUND GUILTY OF ‘VILIFYING ISLAM’ Christians in Australia are pondering the implications of an explosive ruling handed down Friday, Dec. 17, by a legal tribunal which found that two Christian pastors had “vilified Islam.” Pastors Danny Nalliah and Daniel Scot were found to have breached a section of the state of Victoria’s controversial hate law which says a person must not incite “hatred against, serious contempt for or revulsion or severe ridicule of” another person or group on the basis of religious belief or activity. Immediate reactions ranged from an evangelical commentator’s view that the decision spelled the “beginning of the end of freedom of speech in Australia” to that of a liberal church denomination which said it sent a welcome message to “Christian extremist groups.” One of the pastors at the center of the dispute said he was saddened by the outcome, but he predicted it would galvanize Christians and other Australians who cared about free speech.

The complaint arose from a seminar on Islam offered by Nalliah’s evangelical Catch the Fire Ministries in Melbourne two years ago. Three Muslims attended on behalf of the Islamic Council of Victoria and subsequently submitted a complaint under the state’s Racial and Religious Tolerance Act which had come into effect just two months earlier. In his summary, Judge Michael Higgins said that throughout the seminar Scot “made fun of Muslim beliefs and conduct. It was not done in the context of a serious discussion of Muslims’ religious beliefs; it was presented in a way which is essentially hostile, demeaning and derogatory. . . .” He added that Scot “preached a literal translation of the Koran and of Muslims’ religious practices which was not mainstream but was more representative of a small group in the Gulf states.” (Religion Today/Cybercast News Service/International Christian Concern)

* HCJB World Radio-Australia began operating a shortwave station called “Voice of the Great Southland” in January 2003, reaching across the Asia/Pacific region with programs in 11 languages. Additional languages, transmitters and antennas will be added as resources become available. Studios at the office in Melbourne are used to record programs in English as well as Oromo, a language spoken in Ethiopia.

MINISTRY BRINGS HOPE TO WESTERN SUDAN AMID CONTINUED FIGHTING While fighting in western Sudan’s Darfur region has kept most humanitarian aid from reaching this imperiled part of the world, Food for the Hungry continues to bring hope and encouragement to refugees, says ministry spokesman Pete Howard. “We have medical teams in partnership with several other organizations in Darfur,” he said. “These medical teams are training local doctors, local nurses and helping in the clinics. In Darfur there are more than 2 million displaced people, so part of what Food for the Hungry is focusing on is trying to bring a little bit of hope.” Howard was struck by the lack of hope when he met a refugee named Abdele who did not smile, reflecting the hopelessness of people in the region. “Truly, our message, the message of Christ — the message of ‘Unto us a child is born,’ and ‘He will be called the Prince of Peace’ — that is the message that Abdele, and the millions of others like him, need to hear.” (Mission Network News)

NO ROOM IN THE COWSHED FOR PENTECOSTAL CHURCH IN BELARUS Authorities in Belarus have repeatedly refused to allow a 600-member Protestant charismatic congregation to use a cowshed as a church, and now the people are banned from meeting for worship under Belarus’ new religious law. New Life Church was recently refused re-registration under the law and has been denied permission since September to rent premises for worship. The church purchased the cowshed in the hope of rebuilding it for worship, but authorities threatened to demolish the building and charge the church for demolition costs. The congregation has also been visited repeatedly by police who arrived to halt the services. Now its pastor and administrator face fines for organizing “unregistered worship.” (Forum 18 News Service)

21-NATION SURVEY SHOWS THAT MAJORITY OF EUROPEANS BELIEVE IN GOD Nearly three-quarters of people in the U.K. believe in a God, yet less than a quarter attend religious services as regularly as once a week or more, indicated a recent Wall Street Journal survey. GfK Custom Research conducted interviews with more than 21,000 people from 21 countries regarding their religious attitudes. In the U.K., 69 percent of people said they associated with a particular religion compared to 75 percent in the U.S., 85 percent in Italy and 97 percent in Romania. Asked how often they attended religious services, 20 percent of those who did identify with a particular religion answered “almost never” while another 22 percent said only between one and four times a year. Overall, just 15 percent of respondents said they did not believe in God. (WorldWide Religious News/Weekly News)

BIBLE COURSES REACH ADDITIONAL ETHNIC GROUPS IN FORMER SOVIET UNION As Bible correspondence courses continue to increase in popularity in the former Soviet Union, materials have been translated into three additional languages, says Bible Mission International’s Mark Reimschisel. “We’ve seen increased move toward national language groups, specific in the Central Asian region. Just this past year, we have agreed to go ahead and start translating and start adapting those into the Ukrainian language, the Turkmen language and the Karakalpakian language.” Reimschisel says because of the demand for resources in the national languages, “We partnered with Moody Bible Institute, and they gave us permission to translate and adapt their courses into the Russian language. The result of that has been that . . . new believers who have received Bibles have received tools to find personal application in their life.” (Mission Network News)

DONORS INCREASINGLY SEEK CONVENIENCE OF ONLINE HOLIDAY GIVING As Americans contemplate their holiday and year-end giving this month, they will be connecting more than ever with their favorite charities online. While traditional offline giving to charities by individual Americans held steady last year, giving online grew by more than 60 percent, totaling approximately $2 billion. A survey taken this year of more than 10,000 Internet users by Network for Good, the largest nonprofit processor of online donations, showed that three out of four people have visited a charitable website. Half of them said they have “taken an action” as a direct result. Network for Good’s website includes detailed listings of more than 1 million U.S.-based charities and a searchable database of nearly 80,000 volunteer opportunities. (Network for Good)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * James A. Ferrier HCJB World Radio U.S. Ministries Communications Director E-mail: Phone: 1-719-590-9800 Fax: 1-719-590-9801 Web: http://www.hcjb.org http://www.beyondthecall.org * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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