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• BRITISH PRIME MINISTER MUST ALLOW THE CHURCH TO MAINTAIN A CENTRAL ROLE IN PUBLIC LIFE
• KIM JONG UN’S SWISS SCHOOL DAYS REVEALED
• BRUTAL WARLORD REPENTS AND TURNS INTO A MODERN DAY PAUL
• COUNTDOWN FOR 865 FILM TRANSLATIONS
• 2012 A YEAR OF PRAYER FOR SOUTH AFRICA
• SOUTH KOREA URGED TO HELP AVERT A FOOD CRISIS IN NORTH KOREA

BRITISH PRIME MINISTER MUST ALLOW THE CHURCH TO MAINTAIN A CENTRAL ROLE IN PUBLIC LIFE

This article is a summary of a statement released to the British press by Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali,   President of the Oxford Centre for Training, Research, Advocacy and Dialogue, Bishop Nazir-Ali was the 106th Bishop of Rochester for 15 years, until 2009.

By any standards, the British Prime Minister faces a very tough year: the economic crisis will continue and ordinary people will increasingly feel the weight of it.   Whilst educational reforms will bring much needed change, they will be resisted by vested interests.   Marriage and family life are crying out for much-needed support, but will it be provided?   Moral renewal in the business world is urgent.   A sense of vocation, responsibility and trust should be restored but, again, there will be those who have prospered with a  ¢â‚¬Ëœgreed is good ¢â‚¬â„¢ philosophy and who do not wish to see any change.

Both domestically and internationally the government faces the challenge of affirming both democracy and the rule of law, whilst respecting freedom of expression and conscience.   In his recent speech on the place of Christianity and the Bible in Britain ¢â‚¬â„¢s national life, the Prime Minister noted the crucial role of the Bible in the development of English as a language and in areas such as art and literature. He also pointed out the continuing significance of the moral values which have made Britain what it is today. This is very welcome but the question remains whether and how this is to bear on policy-making and legislation in the months to come?

He showed also how the political development of the nation is inextricably bound up with Christian ideas and values.   According to him, constitutional monarchy, adult franchise, the rule of law and the equality of all before the law, have clear biblical foundations. He challenged the Church, to provide moral and spiritual leadership for the nation. Such a challenge is long overdue. In raising these issues, David Cameron has gone further than most political leaders in recent years.   The proof of the pudding is, however, in the eating and there are a number of challenges which will confront the PM in seeking to give effect in legislation to some of the issues in his speech.

One issue is that of religious literacy in the Civil Service, Parliament and local authorities.   What Cameron has said about the ways in which Christian ideas are embedded in our constitutional arrangements is simply not understood any more in the corridors of power.   A disconnected view of history and the fog of multiculturalism have all but erased such memory from official consciousness.   A concerted programme is needed if this literacy is to be recovered and used.   This has to begin by re-establishing the place of the Bible and Christianity in the schools.   Nor is this only about school assembly and Religious Education (important as they are) but also with the teaching of history.

The  place of Christianity in this is absolutely central. The influence of Christianity upon Britain must be taken into account.   As Cameron has pointed out, values-related education on citizenship, for instance, cannot ignore the fact that many of the values we hold dear, such as responsibility, honesty, trust, compassion, humility and self-sacrifice have demonstrably biblical roots. The proper relationship of Religion to Science is also vitally important and young people should be enabled to appreciate both the experimental methods of Science and the ultimate values of significance, freedom and destiny which Religion has to offer. Such a conversation must take place in the classroom.

The Prime Minister reminded us that inalienable human dignity is founded on the biblical idea that we are made in the image of God. It was for reasons such as these, that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act recognised the special nature of the human embryo and established an Authority to regulate any scientific or therapeutic work which involved a human embryo.   In a fast-changing world, we need an appropriate body that can consider the moral and social implications of developments in bioethics, as a whole, and advise the government accordingly. The government does not have to accept such advice but not to have it seems foolhardy.

The Judaeo-Christian tradition will have to play a significant part in any such reflections on bioethical issues.   President Bush ¢â‚¬â„¢s Commission on Bioethics provides one model of how this can be done in an inclusive and non-coercive way, but there are other models available also.  Again, as Cameron reminded us, the value of equality comes from the biblical teaching (now confirmed by science) of the common origin of all human beings whatever their race, colour or ethnicity.   It is important to point out that this has to do with the equality of persons and not necessarily with the equal value of all behaviour or relationships.

The equality of all before the law is an important development from Judaeo-Christian influence on the law but so is respect for conscience, especially as it is formed by a moral and spiritual tradition such as Christianity.   I would hope that legislation initiated by this government will, more and more, respect the consciences of believers.   Legislation in the United States, arising from the First Amendment to the Constitution, provides for the ‘reasonable accommodation’ of religious belief at the work place, if such accommodation does not unduly burden other employees or affect the viability of the employer’s business.

If such a doctrine had been in place in Britain we would not have seen the absurd dismissals of Christians and others because they could not undertake certain tasks on account of their faith.   Britain has had a long history of respect for conscience.   The idea of reasonable accommodation could provide further grounds for respecting conscience in matters that are controversial.   In a meeting with the British   Attorney General, I was able to discuss  ¢â‚¬Ëœreasonable accommodation ¢â‚¬â„¢ with him and look forward to the idea being reflected in government policy. The Prime Minister is aware of the vast scale of social service work which churches and their agencies undertake.

He is right in expecting their help with the renewal of society through his vision of active citizens, involved in their community and working for the common good. However the integrity of Churches and Christian agencies must also be respected.   They cannot simply be surrogate service-providers for the government. Their motivation springs from their beliefs and the authorities will have to respect these, if there is to be genuine collaboration.   Let us pray that the Prime Minister’s recognition of the importance of the Bible and of Christianity in public life will provide a springboard for such cooperation and understanding.

Source:   Press statement by Anglican Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali

KIM JONG UN’S SWISS SCHOOL DAYS REVEALED

He is poised to become the next leader of North Korea. But a probe into the school days of Kim Jong Un – youngest son of dictator Kim Jong Il – proves he is little more than an academic failure who squandered his education playing computer games and basketball. The baby-faced 28-year-old first stepped out of his father’s shadow in September last year to appear in public in the capital Pyongyang as thousands of   troops marched by to mark the 65th anniversary of the ruling Workers Party. Kim Jong Un looked the part, dressed up in the uniform of a four-star general, and trained in the operation of the torture camps and punishment gulags which fill his blighted land.

But the world will have to see whether his exposure to the west and its values during his school days in Switzerland have instilled in him the democratic values that might bring his decrepit and starving country back into the international fold after years of isolation. But the signs are not good. Despite having thousands of pounds lavished on his education at a top private school in Switzerland, he left without virtually any credentials. When he was just 15 his father took him out of the costly International School of Berne, where fees now cost around  £16,000 a year and moved him to a nearby state school to save money but he was quickly put in the lower tier in class.

Wearing Nike trainers, a Chicago Bulls sweatshirt and jeans, he joined Class 6A of his new school. There Kim Jong Un took the empty seat next to a Portuguese diplomat’s son Joao and the pair became friends. Joao, who now works as a chef, said: ‘We weren’t the dumbest kids in class but neither were we the cleverest. We were always in the second tier. ‘Un tried hard but he was not very good at German and became flustered when asked to give the answers. The teachers would see him struggling and move on. They left him in peace. ‘He left without getting any exam results at all. He was much more interested in football and basketball than lessons.’

Kim Jong Un – who was once caught with a bondage pornographic magazine in his school bag – proved to be a good basketball player. He did shine at maths but nothing else, and schoolmates remember that he needed a lot of extra tuition. One boy who was with him at the International School said:  ¢â‚¬Å“His English was bad at first. He had a strong accent and he was given extra lessons. ‘He also learned German and was just OK in the basics of both. His English got better but not his German. ¢â‚¬  I suppose in hindsight we could have nicknamed him Dim Jong-un. One day he just disappeared. Apparently his father got fed up paying for an education that he thought was going nowhere.

But there may have been another reason – his son’s love affair with American culture. The North Korean Embassy in Berne sent back reports on his son’s friendships and influences to his father and intelligence chiefs back in North Korea. Joao said: ‘We spent nearly every afternoon with each other. He often invited me back to eat. He had a private chef who cooked whatever he wanted. ‘Much of it wasn’t to my taste. lots of chicken in strange sweet-and-sour sauces. He didn’t live at the embassy but in a flat in a nice sedate residential area near the school which had two pizza cafes, a bank and a Co-Op supermarket nearby.

He added: ‘He was surrounded by the best gadgets   – TVs, video recorder, a Sony PlayStation. He had a cook, a driver, a private teacher. ‘But, curiously, I never saw his room. We were mostly in the communal living room. We watched a lot of kung-fu films – especially Jackie Chan movies. He loved them. After school we met at the basketball court and threw a few baskets, with both of us pretending to be Michael Jordan. We were all envious of his genuine NBA basketball. We spoke about girls and about our grand plans. At weekends there were parties and a lot of under-age drinking. But I never once saw a drop of alcohol pass his lips and he wasn’t interested in girls.

‘He only spoke about his life in the ‘homeland’ rarely. But I knew he had a certain homesickness. On his stereo he only played North Korean songs. Western music didn’t do it for him. Most of all he listened to the North Korean national anthem, which we must have heard 1,000 times together. I only knew him in his alibi mode until one Sunday afternoon, shortly before he left for North Korea in 2000. He pulled out a photo of him alongside his father and said “I am the son of the North Korean President.” One member of staff at the school, identifying himself only as Joerg, said: ‘We had these after-school discussion groups. ¢â‚¬ 

Joerg went on  ¢â‚¬Å“I remember I was outside the school having a smoke when this armoured Mercedes with smoked glass pulled up. ‘Out stepped ‘Un Pak’. He was surrounded by security guards who scanned the street and then led him up the path. That night we talked about the responsibilities of democracy – you know, the right to vote, the right to a common voice, the importance of speaking out. He never joined in. He looked down at his shoes all the time and fidgeted, never seemed easy. He was dipping into food bought from the fanciest delicatessen in Berne. At that moment I thought of George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm where, truly, some are more equal than others.’

Source: Sunday Times

BRUTAL WARLORD REPENTS AND TURNS INTO A MODERN DAY PAUL

Joshua Blahyi, a brutal warlord who confessed to killing nearly 20,000 people during Liberia’s 14-year civil war, is now an evangelist who is serving God and seeking forgiveness from those he harmed. As a young boy Blahyi was initiated as a tribal priest, participated in monthly human sacrifices for years before later being appointed as “spiritual” advisor to the Liberian president. So saturated in darkness was he that he reportedly told the South African Star newspaper that he “met Satan regularly and talked to him.” Blahyi’s life changed 180 degrees when Jesus appeared to him as a blinding light and told him that he would die unless he repented of his sins.

Now, The Economist Film Project, in conjunction with PBS NewsHour, has produced a “chilling documentary” about Blahyi’s life. Said Blahyi in the documentary, “It’s only Christianity that can help this nation, because Christianity, it is the only faith that tells you to love your enemies, that tells you to accept and forgive the one who hurts you … only God is able to turn lives around. ¢â‚¬  He freely admitted to his crimes before Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (not knowing what the consequences would be), he “tirelessly preaches the Gospel to everyone he comes across” and, he is constantly seeking forgiveness from those his crimes affected.

Source: Christian Post

COUNTDOWN FOR 865 FILM TRANSLATIONS

What if you knew that for every $3 you gave to a ministry, one person received salvation through faith in Jesus Christ? If you skipped a $4 coffee three times, and instead gave the $12 to such a ministry, four people would come to know Christ as their Saviour. Would you be amazed to know that The JESUS Film Project has that return rate? Their ministry was listed second this year in Return On Investment Ministry ¢â‚¬â„¢s Top 10, a ranking of evangelistic organizations with eternal impact per donor dollar. Since JESUS Film Project ¢â‚¬â„¢s founding in 1979, 200 million people have come to know Christ as a direct result of their outreach showing the  ¢â‚¬Å“JESUS ¢â‚¬  film in 1,120 different languages.

It ¢â‚¬â„¢s no surprise that Pastor Rick Warren, author of “The Purpose Driven Life,” says,  ¢â‚¬Å“The  ¢â‚¬ËœJESUS ¢â‚¬â„¢ film is the most effective evangelistic tool ever invented. ¢â‚¬  Now, with 2012 coming upon us, JESUS Film Project is looking at what they do to get such a powerful tool as the  ¢â‚¬Å“JESUS ¢â‚¬  film into the hands of more unreached people. Mission 865 outlines the goal of JESUS Film Project to reach the 865 languages left in the world without a translation of the  ¢â‚¬Å“JESUS ¢â‚¬  film. Those 865 languages represent 290 million unreached people. Over the course of next year, this ministry plans on either beginning or finishing translation of the  ¢â‚¬Å“JESUS ¢â‚¬  film into 65 of those languages.

Source: Mission Network News

2012 A YEAR OF PRAYER FOR SOUTH AFRICA

The vision for 2012 is to see South Africa covered in prayer!   Our country is in huge need of prayer for our leaders, churches and people.   The scripture theme for this Year of Prayer is 2 Chronicles 7:14  ¢â‚¬“  ¢â‚¬Å“If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land ¢â‚¬ .   We are inviting believers from around the world to join us in prayer in 2012. If you are interested in joining in prayer for South Africa this year simply go to  http://www.alphasa.co.za/    for an online registration form and website calendar for the 2012 year of prayer.

Source: Alpha South Africa

SOUTH KOREA URGED TO HELP AVERT A FOOD CRISIS IN NORTH KOREA

South Korea has been urged to provide food to North Korea to help it avert a food crisis. The plea from the United Nations Food Agency came after warnings that millions of North Koreans were at risk from widespread malnutrition because of the food shortage. North Korea has relied on aid to help feed its 23 million people since natural disasters and mismanagement devastated its economy in the mid-1990s. Famine is believed to have killed 2 million people. South Korea has been a key aid donor to its poorer northern neighbour although North Korea has previously rejected offers of direct food aid in anger over the South Korean government’s hard-line policy toward the North.

Source: Christian World Mission News

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