Archive for the ‘Religious freedom’ Category
You might be aware that during the month of August, the main topic of Pastor Randy Robert’s sermons at the Loma Linda University Church was the abundant life Jesus promised to his followers. An abundant life seems to have been the main purpose for Jesus’ earthly mission, because he declared:
“The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” [John 10:10]
Sometimes we think that this abundant life Jesus promised is for the future life with him following his Second Coming in the clouds of heaven in order to take us to his eternal home in heaven; nevertheless, it seems that this abundant life is meant to begin here and now.
“I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.” [Mark 10:29-30]
How do we know that this abundant life begins here and now? Because Jesus told us that this eternal life is the result of our knowledge of Jesus Christ, and this knowledge begins the moment we believe.
“And this is the way to have eternal life–to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.” [John 17:3]
This is confirmed by the following statement made by the Lord following the healing of the invalid at the Pool of Bethesda:
“I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.” [John 5:24]
Continued below. Click on “Comments” if needed.
“Aisha, 18, was dragged from her home by the Taliban after running away from her husband. Despite her pleas that her in-laws had been abusive, that they had treated her like a slave, that she had no choice but to escape, a Taliban commander said she must be punished, lest other girls in the village try to do the same thing.
Aisha’s family members carried out the punishment: her brother-in-law held her down while her husband sliced off her ears and nose, then left her to die. She is now hidden in a secret women’s shelter, where she was taken after receiving care from U.S. forces.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2007161_2170316,00.html#ixzz0wFWdUPJP
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2007161_2170316,00.html#ixzz0wAnzLAjW
“A critic of Islam is pleased that two Muslims in Canada will spend 25 years in prison for murdering a relative in an alleged “honor killing.”
According to The Globe and Mail, 60-year-old Muhammad Parvez and his 29-year-old son Waqas Parvez recently plead guilty to second-degree murder for the December 10, 2007, slaying of 16-year-old Aqsa Parvez.
The paper said the teenager fought her parents for the right to wear Western clothing and to jettison the “hijab” (Islamic head covering) they wanted her to wear. Asqa wanted to apply for a part-time job against her father Muhammad’s wishes and she ran away from home twice, after which her father vowed he would kill her he ever ran away again.
While agreeing with the sentences imposed, Robert Spencer, director of Jihad Watch, says more needs to be done.
Robert Spencer”It’s a good thing that Aqsa Parvez’s father was convicted and will serve, along with her brother, a life sentence,” he remarks. “But it’s not enough because it is something that’s going to continue in Muslim communities in the United States and Canada until we confront the root of the problem.”
And the root of the problem, he says, is Islamic sharia law, which condones such honor killings. “This is something that the American press has gravely omitted in its coverage of such events in the United States and in Canada and elsewhere in the West,” says the Jihad Watch director. “But the unpleasant reality is that many Muslim countries — notably Syria and Jordan — actually have it on their books.” …”
More:
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=1059526
“At issue is an anti-discrimination rule at Hastings College of the Law (part of the University of California). Hastings says the rule means that the Christian Legal Society’s (CLS) on-campus chapter cannot make its leaders sign a statement of faith and abstain from “unrepentant participation in or advocacy of a sexually immoral lifestyle.” The school said student group leadership positions must be open to all studentseven to those who would seek such positions precisely in order to destroy the purpose of the group.
If CLS loses the case, in time it would mean that “religious and other groups that adhere to traditional moral views could be driven from the public square in the name of enforcing nondiscrimination,” CLS told the court.
A loss could “effectively remove evangelical organizations from state college and university campuses throughout the United States,” according to a friend-of-the-court brief filed by the National Association of Evangelicals and other evangelical groups. …”
More:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/may/1.49.html