AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER

* SOUTH KOREAN AID WORKERS TAKEN BY TALIBAN IN AFGHANISTAN

* ANGER AT HOMOSEXUAL BOOK TARGETED AT 5 YEAR OLDS

* RELIGIOUS TENSION IN THE WORKPLACE ON THE RISE

* DESCENDANT OF MOHAMMED CONVERTS TO CHRISTIANITY

* PARENTS, TEACHERS, SIBLINGS, LOCAL RELIGIOUS LEADERS AND JESUS ROLE MODEL FOR MOST TEENS

* SIGNIFICANT RISE IN CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA ESPECIALLY AMONGST YOUTH

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SOUTH KOREAN AID WORKERS TAKEN BY TALIBAN IN AFGHANISTAN

Twenty three South Korean Christian aid workers, mostly women, have been captured by Taliban forces in Afghanistan and are being held hostage. Their freedom has been offered in return for the release of jailed insurgents being held by the Afghan government. A Taliban spokesman has warned that some of the remaining South Korean hostages were in bad health, and were crying and worried about their future.

The militants have already shot two of their captives and threatened to kill others unless their demands are met. The body of Pastor Bae Hyung-kyu, 42 and leader of the group was found soon after the capture was reported. A second bullet riddled body of a male aged between 20 and 30 was discovered on the side of a road in recent days.

A man speaking on behalf of the Taliban said the militants had killed the second Korean hostage because the Afghan government had refused its demands to release jailed rebels.

The group was riding on a bus 12 days ago through Ghazni province on the Kabul to Kandahar highway, when they were abducted. Pastor Bae Hyung-kyu was the first to be shot dead by the militants. His remains have been repatriated to South Korea, where the families of the remaining hostages are holding vigils near Seoul for the release of their loved ones.

The BBC’s Alistair Leithead in Afghanistan says the latest killing raises the stakes, piling pressure on Afghan President Hamid Karzai to save the remaining 21 captives. But Mr Karzai has refused to swap prisoners for hostages after he was criticised for releasing five Taliban members from jail in March in exchange for an Italian reporter.

There has been an increase in kidnappings, roadside bombings and suicide attacks in recent months in Afghanistan. More than 3,500 people, mostly militants, have been killed in insurgency-related violence this year. Repeated incidents of civilian fatalities have hurt public support for the foreign military mission in Afghanistan and has prompted Karzai to plead with foreign forces to take care to avoid civilian casualties. The U.S. and NATO blame the Taliban, saying the militants often launch attacks from civilian homes.

Prayer points:

* for the safe release of the South Korean hostages * for the safety of Australian troops and personnel serving in Afghanistan * for a reduction in the level of violence in Afghanistan and the defeat of the militant Taliban forces.

Source: Intercessors Network

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ANGER AT HOMOSEXUAL BOOK TARGETED AT 5 YEAR OLDS

Two couples have filed a lawsuit against officials in a Boston (America) school district claiming their parental rights were violated when homosexuality was discussed in their children’s classrooms. US District Judge Mark Wolf who is hearing the case peppered lawyers on both sides with questions and said he understood the importance of the case to both parents and school administrators.

Tonia and David Parker sued after their five-year-old son brought home a book from kindergarten that depicted a gay family. Another Lexington couple, Joseph and Robin Wirthlin, joined the Parkers in the suit after a second-grade teacher read King and King to her class. The fairy tale tells the story of two princes falling in love. Both couples claim Lexington school officials violated their parental rights to teach their own morals to their children. John Davis, an attorney for Lexington school officials, argued in court that it would be “an administrative nightmare” for schools to try to predict when the topic of gay marriage will come up and to inform parents ahead of time. “The parents do have rights … but they don’t have the right to dictate to the public school system what their children can be exposed to in the way of ideas,” Davis said.

Robert Sinsheimer, an attorney for the parents who filed the lawsuit, called the homosexual discussions and materials “a form of propaganda” that goes against the parents’ religious beliefs. He said the parents do not want to dictate curriculum, but do want to be able to remove their young children from classrooms when homosexuality or gay marriage is being discussed.

Source: Intercessors Network

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RELIGIOUS TENSION IN THE WORKPLACE ON THE RISE

A Muslim immigrant working on contract for Microsoft filed a complaint against the company saying he was interrogated about his Muslim-inspired, anti-war Web site, then abruptly fired. Two former Kentridge High School students, whose Bible club was denied a charter at the school in part because it required members to swear allegiance to Jesus Christ, are awaiting a federal-court decision in their lawsuit. And 14 months ago, the Red Robin restaurant chain settled with a server it had fired from its Bellevue restaurant for refusing to cover up wrist tattoos he said are part of his ancient Egyptian Kemetic faith.

Across the country, complaints alleging religious discrimination are up dramatically, with confrontations arising over how people publicly observe their faith, when and where they pray, how they dress, what hours they work – and generally what they believe.

Between 2002 and 2006, the number of religious-discrimination complaints filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) nationally rose more than 30 percent from the previous five years. Among the factors fuelling the tensions are fallout from the war on terror, the growing convergence of politics and religion and an increasingly diverse population.

Religious disputes can arise over anything from working on the Sabbath to the use of a company lunch room for prayer meetings. The Rev. Joe Fuiten, pastor of Cedar Park Assembly of God, said concerns have arisen within his church, coming from a teacher who couldn’t keep a Bible on her desk and a child told by a teacher that he was not allowed to say “Merry Christmas.” “Separation of church and state has suddenly become separation of church and public life,” Fuiten said.

Labor lawyers and human-resource experts say employers should establish clear policies and an atmosphere that does not tolerate harassment. And they are required to accommodate, within reasonable limits, the “bona fide” religious beliefs and practices of employees. “I tell employers to go the furthest step that a reasonable person would ask you to go and then go one step further – and you’ll win,” said Liebman, the employment attorney in Portland. Determining what’s bona fide can get tricky.

Source: The Seattle Times

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DESCENDANT OF MOHAMMED CONVERTS TO CHRISTIANITY

A Turk who claims to be a descendant of Islam’s prophet Muhammad has converted to Christianity while living in Germany. But Sedar Dedeoglu, of Luedenscheid, now faces a threat to his life if he’s forced to return to Turkey and is seeking help from German authorities.

Dedeoglu descends from Muhammad’s daughter Fatima and her husband Ali. In Dedeoglu’s hometown, Elazig, in eastern Turkey they used to be revered as a holy family.

Dedeoglu, who is involved in Christian outreach programs among Muslims, has been receiving death threats from Muslims unwilling to accept his conversion. His relatives also regard his “apostasy” as shameful. “We should rejoice that such a person has become a Christian, and we should avoid any actions which could put his life in additional danger,” his Christian attorney told an evangelical news agency.

Source: Assist News

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PARENTS, TEACHERS, SIBLINGS, LOCAL RELIGIOUS LEADERS AND JESUS ROLE MODEL FOR MOST TEENS

Dispelling the conventional wisdom that celebrities, athletes and entertainers are the primary role models teenagers look to most, a survey conducted by the American Bible Society revealed that 67.7% of 12 – 18-year-olds believe parents are the most important role models in today’s society. When choosing role models, the teens surveyed said the most important qualities they look for include Biblical principals such as honesty, integrity, loyalty and truthfulness. The statistics further showed that: 40.6% consider their teachers and coaches as important role models followed by siblings (40.4%), religious leaders (18.7%), athletes (18.3%), and celebrities (16.5%)

84.8% of teens selected Jesus as the embodiment of a Biblical role model.

Source: American Bible Society

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SIGNIFICANT RISE IN CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA ESPECIALLY AMONGST YOUTH

The number of religious believers in China could be three times higher than official estimates. According to a poll conducted by Shanghai university professors, 31.4% of people above the age of 16 considered themselves to be “religious.” The official China Daily called their work the “country’s first major survey on religious beliefs”.

The report states the survey found “a significant rise in Christianity – accounting for 12% of all believers, or 40 million, compared with the official figure of 16 million in 2005.”

Professor Liu Zhongyu, who helped carry out the survey, is quoted as saying the average age of religious believers had fallen, with two-thirds of those in the poll who considered themselves religious aged between 16 and 39. “This is markedly different from the previous decade, when most religious believers were in their 40s or older,” he said in the Oriental Outlook magazine, which published the survey.

Source: BBC

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