Not The BBC News: 23 October 2014

In Puerto Rico, which is a Commonwealth of the USA and therefore uses much of American law, a judge has rejected an legal attempt to declare a ban on same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional. The decision is making waves throughout the USA because of his reasoning. The first of his two arguments was that a 1972 case in Minnesota had rejected the idea of a constitutional right to same sex marriage, and that under the system of legal precedents, that decision can only be overturned by the Supreme Court. His second argument was that redefining marriage without strict limits opens the floodgates to all kinds of ‘marriages’; he said, “Are laws barring polygamy or, say, the marriage of fathers and daughters now of doubtful validity? … Those seeking sweeping change must articulate the principles that they claim will limit this newly fashioned right.”

Northern Ireland is to become the first place in the UK to make all payments for sex illegal. The measure is included in the Human Trafficking and Exploitation Bill which has just passed its key vote after Sinn Fein decided to add its support. This approach to justice, which targets consumers of prostitution rather than sex workers, has previously been used in Sweden.

The Scottish government has been given a petition that proposes to legalise adultery. Adultery is currently illegal in the sense that it is a legally valid reason for divorce, although it is little used these days. The petition aims to remove the definition from law completely because it can only legally occur between a man and a woman, and is therefore seen as discriminating against gay couples.

Six months ago, 50 year old Steve Hill, the evangelist best known for triggering the long-running revival at Brownsville, Florida died of skin cancer. Now his adopted son Ryan has passed away at the age of 27; the cause of death is not yet known. Ryan was born in Argentina, seven weeks premature, and was adopted by Steve Hill and his wife who felt a baby deserved to have loving parents even if he only had a few days to live. But he recovered, moved back to the USA with them, and grew to become a media specialist; he did a lot of filming of his father’s ministry and for his father’s ministry website.

Sister Cristina, the singing nun who won the Italian version of “The Voice,” has released her first single following the competition – and it’s a cover of Madonna’s “Like A Virgin.” She said that the lyrics can be “a description of love’s ability to renew a person and rescue them from their past,” and she described herself as “a religious sister … who wants to tell everyone the joy of having found Jesus through the gifts He gave me.” She added, “I would like everyone to discover how much He loves us and how creative He is with each of us.”

Yet another Christian film this year is “God the Father” – I have mentioned it previously, but it will open shortly (October 31 in the USA). It’s a true life story about a former Mafia boss (he was one step below Godfather) who became a Christian while in solitary confinement in jail, and now preaches and tells the behind-the-scenes story of a life of crime. The film is a mixture of actual news footage, acting, music, dance and animation.

Also in film news, it has been reported that Shia LaBoeuf became a Christian while playing a Bible-believing solider in the recently released film, “Fury”. LaBoeuf’s actual words were, “I found God during Fury. I became a Christian man, and not in a f___ing bulls__t way – in a very real way. I could have just said the prayers that were on the page, but … it’s a full-blown exchange of heart, a surrender of control.” He commented that talking with Brad Pitt, who grew up in a conservative Christian home but rejected Christianity, and with the Christian director of ‘Fury’, helped crystallise his thinking. Hollywood insiders are waiting to see if there is noticeable change in the previously badly-behaved actor.

In technology news, a paralysed Polish man has been able to walk and even drive again after cells from his nose, which are similar to stem cells, were transplanted to his spine. He is believed to be the first person in the world to recover from complete severing of the spinal nerves.

And finally, a farmer in Merstham, Surrey noticed his sheep munching on something that had been tossed over the fence. He went to investigate in case they were black plastic bags but instead found the sheep chewing on ₤4,000 of herbal cannabis. “They weren’t quite on their backs with their legs in the air, but they probably had the munchies,” said the farmer. “I haven’t noticed any other side-effects, but I’ll tell you about the meat next week.” Police want to catch the “irresponsible” crooks who dumped the plants, but unfortunately the sheep have eaten much of the evidence.