Obama’s crew Paid for 300 Abortions
Posted by on July 13, 2011
The District of Columbia‘s government paid for at least 300 abortions in the two-year period when lawmakers lifted a federal ban blocking the city from funding the procedure, according to news reports.
These figures are in sharp contrast to the numbers Mayor Vincent Gray told Congress. In May, the mayor testified that the city had paid $62,000 to help 117 D.C. women receive the elective procedure.
The mayor’s office told AP the discrepancy reflects the fact that many of the bills were not submitted on time. A city spokesman also told the news outlet that the number of city-funded abortions could rise as more bills come in.
Congress has long used its control over the District’s budget to restrict the city from paying for abortions.
Since 1988, lawmakers have used legislative attachments called riders to ban tax dollars from being used to fund abortion. Prior to the Barack Obama administration, the abortion ban was only lifted once – from 1993 to 1994.
Republicans maintain that city residents who elect to receive an abortion should pay for the procedure themselves. City officials and abortion supporters argue that low-income women cannot afford to on their own.
In 2009, a Democratically-controlled Congress ended the ban on D.C. funding for abortions after President Obama was elected to office.
It took the city nearly a year to begin paying for abortions once the ban was lifted. The first funds for an abortion were dispensed in August last year. The procedures cost the city between $500 and $700 each.
In April, Republicans and Democrats approved a stopgap measure cutting $38.5 billion in federal spending and banning the District of Columbia from using government funds to pay for abortion-related services.
D.C. residents and leaders including Mayor Gray, a Catholic, later protested the ban across from the White House. Gray asserted the city should be given the final say on its own affairs.
All states and the District of Columbia are prohibited by Congress from using federal money to pay for abortions for women covered under Medicaid except in cases of rape, incest and grave risk to mother’s life. However, states are free to use their own tax dollars to pay for the procedures for women on Medicaid if they choose to do so.
Currently, 17 states use their own money to pay for abortions for women on Medicaid, though all but four do so under court order, as reported by AP.
http://www.christianpost.com/news/dc-paid-for-300-abortions-under-the-obama-administration-52077/
Greens Impose
Posted by on July 12, 2011
“The prime minister and the opposition leader are, of course, entitled to their personal views, but I do not believe they should be imposing their views on the rest of the community on this issue,” says Green Senator Sarah Hanson-Young.
Then why are you imposing your views on the rest of us, Sarah?
http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/australian-senate-overwhelmingly-rejects-same-sex-marriage-motion
Are Infinities More Scientific Than God?
Posted by on July 7, 2011
Suppose you have some marbles rolling around randomly at the bottom of a box. Now take the box and tilt it so that the marbles roll to one corner. Jiggle a bit so that they come to rest in a reasonably stable pattern and, more than likely, some of the marbles will collect into a “snowflake” configuration such as this:
This arrangement is referred to as “hexagonal closest packing;” something often seen in honeycombs or oranges stacked at a fruit stand. There’s nothing magical about this: it’s simply gravity pushing spherical objects into a stable pattern. A little order out of chaos. But that’s the deceiving part according to University of Delaware physicist Stephen Barr. In his book, “Modern Physics and Ancient Faith” (2003, University of Norte Dame Press, pp. 77-78), Barr uses this simple example to show that what looks like order out of chaos is actually order out of even greater order. This, he contends, ought to give one pause before concluding that science has unquestionably vindicated a materialistic view of the universe.
So how do the marbles show order out of greater order? The orderliness of the snowflake pattern can be measured by counting its symmetries — that is, how many ways can you rotate it and still have the identical pattern. For example, if rotated five degrees it won’t be exactly the same, but if rotated 60 degrees it will be. Rotating the pattern in sixty degree increments (60º, 120º, 180º, etc.) produces identical patterns, thus it has six symmetries. But since you can flip it and then repeat the rotations the actual total comes to 12 symmetries.
The underlying reason for these 12 symmetries is the spherical shape of the marbles. If you started with other shapes, say seven forks or mini Jack Daniels bottles or whatever, they would not have fallen into the snowflake pattern to begin with and thus the symmetries (if any) would be different. So these 12 symmetries arise because of the particular properties of spheres being acted upon by gravity. So how many symmetries do spheres have? Since you can rotate a sphere by any amount and it will still be the same, it has an infinite number of symmetries. Thus, the order seen at the “higher” snowflake level (12 symmetries) is only a miniscule fraction of the unseen order at the “deeper,” spherical level (infinite symmetry).
The marble example has a more natural analogue in crystal formation. When the pressure and temperature are right, crystals form in substances such as diamond, calcite or mica. The crystals arrange themselves into a lattice pattern. A diamond lattice, for example, is called a “hex-octahedral group,” and it contains 48 symmetries. However, the order of the diamond lattice is but a small fraction of the order found in the carbon atoms composing the lattice. As with the marbles, there is a “spherical” sameness about the carbon atoms that lead to a nearly infinite number of symmetries at the atomic level. Thus, once again, the order that we observe at the higher crystal level is but a minute fraction of what exists at the deeper atomic level.
This idea that the deeper we go in the physical universe the more order we find is repeated over and over again, according to Barr, in such things as naturally occurring geometric patterns (e.g. a nautilus shell), planetary motions and the properties of elementary particles (protons, neutrons, etc.). In every case the observable order is only a tiny surface manifestation of an even greater order at a deeper, more obscure level. Order does not arise from chaos, nor does it arise from nothing. It arises from an even richer order “below.”
So from where does the deepest order originate? From a naturalistic standpoint, we don’t know because we have yet to uncover nature’s deepest laws. However, even if we reveal these laws, the question of why they give rise to such profound order will still remain a puzzle. The pervasive order of our universe appears to go beyond necessity into the gratuitous. “Life could have evolved just as it did even if there had been occasional lapses in the orderliness of nature,” claims Barr (p. 108). Life has already managed to survive numerous cosmic, climatic and ecological challenges; occasional small-scale violations of the law of conservation or angular momentum would unlikely have proved prohibitive.
To avoid an immaterial Creator as the ultimate explanation for the universe’s deep order, the materialist, argues Barr, must either accept the laws of physics as “brute facts” (i.e. they just areand we don’t ask why they are) or he (she) must appeal to chance (usually in the form of multiple universes with variable laws of physics). If ours is but one of an infinity of universes (or possibly “domains” within a multiverse) then simply by chance a universe will arise with physical laws such as ours. While this is certainly possible, a critical point Barr emphasizes is that proposing an infinity of unobservable entities is no more scientifically defensible than proposing a single unobservable one (God). Indeed, sustaining a purely materialistic view of the universe, Barr asserts, requires repeatedly pleading for a multiplicity of envisioned infinities — of universes, planets, durations, realities, observers, etc. — a habit that severely undercuts the materialist position.
“…the materialist, in order to avoid drawing unpalatable conclusions from scientific discoveries, has to postulate unobservable infinities of things. How ironic that, having renounced belief in God because God is not material or observable … the atheist may be driven to postulate not one but an infinitude of unobservables in the material world itself!” (p. 75).
Ultimate questions, such as the ones Barr poses, stand outside of scientific certainty and even if they undermine materialism, they do not immediately or necessarily validate the Christian God or any God for that matter. But I don’t take Barr’s arguments as religious evangelism. Rather, I take them as scientific evangelism. The spirit of inquiry animates science. That spirit is equally violated whether we stop asking questions out of fear that God might be the answer or we stop out of fear that God might not be the answer. Just keep asking questions and follow honestly where the argument leads.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matt-j-rossano/are-infinities-any-more-s_b_887779.html
Posted by on July 7, 2011
Women who lost their virginity as teenagers are ‘more likely to divorce’, says new study
Women who lost their virginity as young teenagers are more likely to divorce – especially if it was unwanted, according to new research.
The University of Iowa study shows that 31 per cent of women who had sex for the first time as teens divorced within five years, and 47 per cent within 10 years.
Among women who delayed sex until adulthood, 15 per cent divorced at five years, compared to 27 per cent at 10 years.
Making a choice: The study showed if a young woman wanted to lose her virginity as a teenager, there was no direct link to a marital split later in life
The findings were published in the April issue of the Journal of Marriage and Family.
Author Anthony Paik, associate professor of sociology in the university’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, examined the responses of 3,793 married and divorced women to the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth.
The study showed, however, that if a young woman made the choice to lose her virginity as a teenager, there was no direct link to a marital split later in life.
If the sexual act took place before the age of 16 women were shown more likely to divorce, even if it was wanted.
Headed for divorce? Sex itself may not increase the probability of divorce but having a higher number of sexual partners or out-of-wedlock birth may
Thirty-one percent of women who lost their virginity during adolescence had premarital sex with multiple partners, compared to 24 per cent of those who waited.
Twenty-nine percent experienced premarital conceptions, versus 15 percent who waited.
One in four women who had sex as a teen had a baby before they were married, compared to only one in ten who waited until adulthood.
Only one per cent of women surveyed said they chose to have sex at age 13 or younger, compared to five per cent at age 14 or 15, and 10 per cent at age 16 or 17.
Forty two per cent reported that their first sexual intercourse before age 18 that was not completely wanted.
Fifty eight per cent of the group waited until age 18 or older to have sex. Of those, 22 per cent said it was unwanted, compared to 21 per cent who said it was wanted.
Researchers concluded sex itself may not increase the probability of divorce, while factors such as a higher number of sexual partners, pregnancy, or out-of-wedlock birth increased the risk for some.
Despite early research indicating sexual encounters most affected marriage outcomes, Mr Palik warned several possible explanations could not be ruled out.
He explained: ‘The results are consistent with the argument that there are down sides to adolescent sexuality, including the increased likelihood of divorce.
‘But there’s also support for the “more sex positive” view, because if a teen delays sex to late adolescence and it is wanted, that choice in itself doesn’t necessarily lead to increased risk of divorce.’
He continued, ‘One possibility is a selection explanation, that the women who had sex as adolescents were predisposed to divorce. The attitudes that made them feel OK about having sex as teens may have also influenced the outcome of their marriage.
‘The other possibility is a causal explanation – that the early sexual experience led to the development of behaviours or beliefs that promote divorce,’ adding, ‘If the sex was not completely wanted or occurred in a traumatic context, it’s easy to imagine how that could have a negative impact on how women might feel about relationships, or on relationship skills.’
Saving sex for marriage leads to greater stability, communication
Couples who reserve sex for marriage enjoy greater stability and communication in their relationships, say researchers at Brigham Young University.
A new study from the Mormon college found that those couples who waited until marriage rated their relationship stability 22 percent higher than those who started having sex in the early part of their relationship. The relationship satisfaction was 20 percent higher for those who waited, the sexual quality of the relationship was 5 percent better, and communication was 12 percent better.
The study, published in the American Psychological Association’s Journal of Family Psychology, involved 2,035 married individuals who participated in a popular online marital assessment called “RELATE.” From the assessment’s database, researchers selected a sample designed to match the demographics of the married American population. The extensive questionnaire included the question “When did you become sexual in this relationship?”
Couples that became sexually involved later in their relationship – but prior to marriage – reported benefits that were about half as strong as those who waited for marriage.
“Most research on the topic is focused on individuals’ experiences and not the timing within a relationship,” said lead study author Dean Busby, a professor at Brigham Young University’s School of Family Life.
The study was co-authored by BYU professors Jason Carroll and Brian Willoughby.
“There’s more to a relationship than sex, but we did find that those who waited longer were happier with the sexual aspect of their relationship,” Busby added. “I think it’s because they’ve learned to talk and have the skills to work with issues that come up.”
Sociologist Mark Regnerus of the University of Texas at Austin, who was not involved in the study, responded to its findings, saying that “couples who hit the honeymoon too early – that is, prioritize sex promptly at the outset of a relationship – often find their relationships underdeveloped when it comes to the qualities that make relationships stable and spouses reliable and trustworthy.” Regnerus is the author of Premarital Sex in America, a book forthcoming from Oxford University Press.
Because religious belief often plays a role for couples who choose to wait, Busby and his co-authors controlled for the influence of religious involvement in their analysis.
“Regardless of religiosity, waiting helps the relationship form better communication processes, and these help improve long-term stability and relationship satisfaction,” Busby said.
http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/saving-sex-for-marriage-leads-to-greater-stability-communication
Basic instinct: Women take just three minutes to make up their mind about Mr Right
They say you should never judge a book by its cover.
But when it comes to the opposite sex, it seems that’s exactly what women do.
It takes a woman just three minutes to make up her mind about whether she likes a man or not, a study has revealed.
The average female spends the time sizing up looks, physique and dress-sense as well as taking in scent, accent and eloquence of a potential suitor.
Women also quickly judge how he interacts with her friends and whether he is successful or ambitious.
Speed dating: A man has just three minutes to impress a woman before she makes up her mind about him based on looks and mannersIt also emerged most women believe 180 seconds is long enough to gauge whether or not he is Mr Right, or Mr Wrong.
The study also found women rarely change their mind about a man after their initial reaction – and believe they are ‘always right’ in their assumptions and judgments.
The report which was commissioned among 3,000 adults to mark the release of Instinct, a new book by Ben Kay.
Kay said: ‘I think a lot of people believe in trusting their instincts when dating. It makes it seem more magical, like it’s coming from somewhere deeper.
‘But it’s surprising how quickly women make a decision. That’s barely enough time to finish a drink together.
‘It’s interesting that so many women trust their instincts and yet still give men the opportunity to change their minds.
‘Some men might think this is leading them on but I would imagine most women just want to give every bloke a fair shot.’
Researchers found women will quickly dismiss a man who they feel is ‘too cocky’ or ‘too needy’.
He will also be rejected if he isn’t nice to people, doesn’t appear to earn enough and if he has nothing in common with the woman.
The study also found most women trust their instincts and believe they came into play when they were playing attractive traits.
But despite this 88 per cent said their instincts were right and they should have trusted them.
Both men and women said they rely on their instincts when making decisions with
84 per cent admitting their instincts take precedence over everything else with important and life changing ones.
Forty five per cent said they often acted out of character when they met someone new and acted ‘crazy’ but that they trusted their instincts that they would be alright
A Marshall Plan for Marriage – Rebuilding Our Shattered Homes
Marriage in America is in serious trouble. More Americans are cohabitating, fewer are marrying, and if they do wed it is at a much later age than previous generations. Although divorce rates have declined slightly over the past 20 years, pervasive no-fault divorce laws allow marital dissolution to continue plaguing American communities. Four out of 10 children are now born outside of marriage, increasing government dependence by leaving thousands more children without the social and economic stability of married households.
Given the profound impact of intact, married families on child well-being, efforts to encourage and strengthen marriage are urgently needed. Just as the U.S. formulated a plan to help European countries recover after World War II, national leaders should implement a new Marshall Plan – one that rebuilds American homes and restores a culture of marriage. In a new Heritage paper, Senior Research Fellow Chuck Donovan describes the state of marriage in America and outlines a number of principles national leaders can follow to better encourage and support stable families:
- Eliminate marriage penalties from federal programs. Married couples tend to be better off financially than their single or cohabitating counterparts. Policymakers should encourage such beneficial economic decisions by removing financial disincentives to marriage from tax and welfare policies.
- Encourage pro-marriage messaging in existing government programs and other resources. Repurposing existing government initiatives and grant programs to promote strong marriages and initiating media campaigns that encourage matrimony can expand public awareness of marriage’s social and economic benefits.
- # 3 Implement state-driven divorce reform that encourages reconciliation. The cost of divorce to taxpayers and communities is high. States should reform existing divorce laws to recognize and accommodate the many divorcing couples who are open to counseling and reconciliation efforts.
- Study, recognize, and reward success in marriage. Given the significant cost savings to taxpayers when marriages succeed, national leaders should find new ways to acknowledge success in marriage and recognize the power of civic leadership in publicly extolling the many benefits of marriage.
The nation’s leaders must make a concerted effort to address family dissolution and marital breakdown. As Donovan concludes, “Halting and reversing the sustained trends of nearly four decades will not happen by accident. The nation needs to forge a fresh American consensus that rescuing marriage – a Marshall Plan to rebuild shattered American homes – is a matter of the highest national priority.”
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2011/06/A-Marshall-Plan-for-Marriage-Rebuilding-Our-Shattered-Homes?query=A+Marshall+Plan+for+Marriage:+Rebuilding+Our+Shattered+Homes
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2004/03/Marriage-Still-the-Safest-Place-For-Women-and-Children
Behind mothers who abuse, an absence of marriage
Posted by on July 6, 2011
Among the most distressing news stories are those featuring mothers suspected, accused or convicted of killing their children or of standing by while their infants were fatally abused.Florida woman Casey Anthony(pictured), charged with killing her two-year-old daughter Caylee, has been brought to the attention of the world by the media circus surrounding her trial.
In New Zealand, Macsyna King, the mother of twins who are believed to have died at their hands of their father (acquitted for lack of evidence) is being touted as the country’s “most hated mother” as an inquest resumes and news of a book-length interview with Ms King sparks a 48,000 strong Facebook campaign against it’s distribution.
Despite decades of feminism and gender role revision, we are still more shocked when mothers neglect, abuse and especially kill their children. But one does not have to look far into the lives of most of these women to find that the other side of the sexual revolution — what’s politely known as the “evolution” of the family — has played a significant role.
Casey Anthony is a single mother, living with her own parents, the father of her child nowhere to be seen, although there have been rumours of incest. Macsyna King was cohabiting with her twins’ father, Chris Kahui.
The stresses of single parenthood, with or without boyfriends, are well known. And the dangers of cohabitation for children are becoming clearer all the time. A recent US federal government study of child abuse and neglect shows the dramatically increased risks for children living in a home where there is an unrelated boyfriend — and even with their own parents if they are cohabiting. Sociologist Brad Wilcox comments:
This new federal study indicates that these cases are simply the tip of the abuse iceberg in American life. According to the report, children living with their mother and her boyfriend are about 11 times more likely to be sexually, physically, or emotionally abused than children living with their married biological parents. Likewise, children living with their mother and her boyfriend are six times more likely to be physically, emotionally, or educationally neglected than children living with their married biological parents. In other words, one of the most dangerous places for a child in America to find himself in is a home that includes an unrelated male boyfriend—especially when that boyfriend is left to care for a child by himself.
But children living with their own father and mother do not fare much better if their parents are only cohabiting. The federal study of child abuse found that children living with their cohabiting parents are more than four times more likely to be sexually, physically, or emotionally abused than their peers living in a home headed by their married parents. And they are three times more likely to be physically, emotionally, or educationally neglected than children living with their married biological parents. In other words, a child is not much safer when she is living in a home with her parents if her parents’ relationship does not enjoy the legal, social, and moral status and guidance that marriage confers on relationships.
But still experts such as New Zealand’s new Children’s Commissioner are afraid to mention the M-word:
Dr Wills sees his priorities in the job as “the priorities we all have – child poverty, parenting, family violence, child abuse, the educational tail, and teenage suicide, motor vehicle accidents and pregnancy”.
He has done a good job with gearing health professionals to look for signs of and risks for child abuse — in a country with high single parent and cohabiting andabuse rates — but what a pity not to raise awareness of the more basic issue: the importance of mariage.
Tenth worker at iPad factory commits suicide
Posted by on July 6, 2011
Tenth worker at iPad factory commits suicide
By Clifford Coonan in Beijing
The Foxconn factory in the southern Chinese boom town of Shenzhen is so vast that walking around its outer perimeter takes two hours. Its workers turn out components that are supplied to big Western electronics brands including Nokia, Hewlett-Packard and Dell. And it is here that most of the parts for Apple’s iPhone, and the much-awaited iPad, which goes on sale in the UK this week, are manufactured.
Yesterday, Li Hai, a 19-year-old employee of the firm, jumped from the top of the building in Shenzhen to his death. It brought the number of suspected suicides at the factory this year to 10. There have been another two attempted suicides.
All of the deaths have been of youngsters between 18 and 25 years old. Li Hai had only been working at the plant for 42 days. The incidents have prompted intense soul-searching in China, about conditions in its factories and the social cost of breakneck economic development.
Foxconn, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of electronic equipment, is huge. The chefs slaughter 6,000 pigs a day to feed the company’s nearly 400,000 workers in this giant industrial complex, spread over 1.2 square miles.
But the Taiwanese owners now face a major problem. Li Hai’s death, and those of his colleagues, have raised questions about working conditions in Chinese factories, with labour activists alleging that long hours, low pay and high pressure make for an unbearable working environment.
Chinese media have suggested that what is driving the suicides is the feeling among the workers that they are machines. Many start work at 4am, then go through the motions thousands of times over during their often long shifts. “Every shift we finish 4,000 Dell computers, all the while standing up,” one Foxconn worker told China Labour Watch for a recent report.
In July, a Foxconn worker committed suicide when the company held an inquiry into the disappearance of an iPhone prototype, for which he had had been considered responsible. The founder of Foxconn’s parent company in Taiwan, Hon Hai Precision, Terry Gou denied that his factories were sweatshops and he was confident the situation would be resolved soon.
The company, which employs over 800,000 workers around the world, is now playing soothing music along the production lines. Over 2,000 singers, dancers and gym trainers have been recruited, and the group is also hiring psychiatrists and Buddhist monks to help with stress. New fences are also being installed on every worker’s dormitory building, according to local media, which are up to three metres high and are meant to prevent suicidal workers from jumping off the roof.
But local media said the workers, many of whom are migrants and isolated from their home communities, found the fences even more depressing. “Young workers born during 1980s or 1990s are becoming the mainstream of our workforce. In this context, the Foxconn employee ‘jumping’ incidents should arouse the vigilance of the whole society. Companies, government and society should pay more attention to the spiritual crisis of young lives,” said the Xinhua news agency in an editorial.
Zhang Ming, a political science professor at the People’s University of China, said workers were reacting to feeling as if they were machines or spare parts. “To many post-Eighties or post-Nineties migrant workers, it is unbearable for them to live in a place without cultural entertainment and communications with their friends. They are psychologically weak. The Foxconn ‘jumping’ incident is a call for life.”
One worker told the Southern Weekend newspaper that he would deliberately drop something on the ground so that he could have a few seconds of rest when picking it up.
Nine mainland Chinese and Hong Kong academics have issued an open statement calling on Foxconn and the government to do more for the workers. “China’s development strategy throughout these 30 years not only accomplished an economic miracle, it deepened regional inequalities, prolonged stagnation of wages, and deprived migrant workers’ citizenship and human rights,” it said.
Hou, a 19-year-old Hunan worker, was found hanging in the toilet of her dormitory room. Ma Xiangqian, 19, from Henan, jumped on January 23, and Foxconn was forced to refute local reports that he had been assigned to cleaning toilets after damaging equipment by accident. A shift typically lasts between 10 and 12 hours and staff complain that overseers enforce military-style discipline.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/tenth-worker-at-ipad-factory-commits-suicide-1982897.html
The New Atheists are Not Intellectually “Bright”
Posted by on July 4, 2011
Swedish Preschool Goes Genderless
Posted by on July 4, 2011
Christians issue rulebook for spreading their faith
Posted by on July 4, 2011
* Aimed at reducing hostility from Muslims, others
* Conduct code backed by Vatican, Protestants, Evangelicals
* Rejects material inducements to change faith
(Updates, recasts with quotes from news conference)
By Robert Evans
GENEVA, June 28 (Reuters) – A coalition representing most Christian churches around the world launched a rule book on Tuesday for spreading their faith that aims to reduce tensions among themselves and with followers of other faiths.
The pioneering code of conduct, under negotiation for five years, was unveiled by the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Vatican and the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), which together claim to represent over 90 percent of Christianity.
It reaffirms their right to seek converts but also urges them to abandon “inappropriate methods of exercising mission by resorting to deception and coercive means”, saying that such behaviour “betrays the Gospel and may cause suffering to others”.
Christian missionaries have long been accused of offering money, food, or other goods to win converts in poor countries, either from other faiths or from rival churches.
Tensions have also risen in recent decades as evangelical Protestants have stepped up efforts to convert Muslims, which is a capital offence in some Islamic countries. This also prompts retaliation against local Christians who do not seek converts.
“The situation is requiring Christian communities to consider, in a new way, how best to proclaim the Christian faith,” said Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the Vatican’s department for interfaith dialogue.
WEA Secretary General Geoff Tunnicliffe said the code, entitled “Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World,” would be “a great resource” for Christians lobbying against anti-conversion laws passed in countries such as India.
RETALIATION AGAINST CHRISTIANS
In recent years, there have been increasing attacks on local Christian churches seen as the focus for conversion activity — in Pakistan, Egypt, India, Indonesia and other countries — in which many Christian believers have died.
The new code — initially promoted by the Geneva-based WCC, which unites a wide range of Protestant and Orthodox churches — says conversion “is the work of the Holy Spirit”.
Christians should “conduct themselves with integrity, charity, compassion and humility, and overcome all arrogance, condescension and disparagement” with regard to other religions.
The code said religious freedom and the “right to publicly profess, practise, propagate and change one’s religion” are based in human dignity and called on governments “to ensure that freedom of religion is properly and comprehensively respected”.
“In many countries, religious institutions and persons are inhibited from exercising their mission,” it said.
“Where any religion is instrumentalised for political ends, or where religious persecution occurs, Christians are called to engage in a prophetic witness denouncing such actions,” the code added, suggesting behaviour that could clash with local customs.
In some Islamic countries, a Muslim converting to another faith can face the death penalty, and Christians who proclaim their religion are often accused of blasphemy, which can also be a capital offence.
The code stressed that changing religion was “a decisive step that must be accompanied by sufficient time for adequate reflection and preparation”.
WCC Secretary General Olaf Fyske Tveit said the code could also be useful for followers of Islam, the other major world religion that actively seeks converts, but did not elaborate.
The spread of Islam in recent decades, fuelled in part by petrodollars, has also created tensions with local Christians and followers of native religions, especially in Africa (Additional reporting by Tom Heneghan, editing by Stephanie Nebehay and David Stamp) ((Robert.j.evans@thomsonreuters.com; tel.: +41 22 733 38 31)
http://af.reuters.com/article/sierraLeoneNews/idAFLDE75R1L320110628?sp=true
Reasons for Arguing
Posted by on June 29, 2011
Secularists argue so they can feel superior, but Christians argue for Truth.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/15/arts/people-argue-just-to-win-scholars-assert.html?_r=1
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