In Tyler, Texas, a local Muslim man walked into a Baptist church last Sunday, armed and wearing camouflage gear, and started ranting about "how his god had authorized him to take lives" and that it was okay for him to kill "infidels." The pastor, who is a former parole officer, got between the man and the door, asked him to calm down and offered him a prayer and cool drink. When the man was eventually captured, he left a note thanking the church for their kindness.
Meanwhile, in Germany, hundreds of Muslim refugees are turning to Christ. The Evangelical Trinity Church in Berlin has swelled from 150 to 600 members in just two years, and many are Muslims fleeing Iran and Afghanistan. Some commentators have taken a cynical view that converting to Christianity reduces the chances that the refugees will be deported, but the pastor said that only about 10 per cent of those he baptises do not return to the church afterwards.
A UK Appeal Court judge has ruled that a child molester who abused two Asian girls was rightly given a longer sentence than if his victims had been white because Asian sex crime victims suffer more. The original judge said that the victims’ Asian ethnicity had been factored in as an "aggravating feature" when passing sentence, because of the “particular shame they suffer in their communities, and because the girls' future prospects for arranged marriages might be damaged.” The appeal court agreed. However, a spokesman for the NSPCC said, “British justice should operate on a level playing field and children need to be protected irrespective of cultural differences.”
Following last week’s article comparing (and contrasting) Jeremy Corbyn with the Pope, a US conservative evangelical pastor is now comparing Bernie Sanders, the old-left challenger to Hillary Clinton whose popularity is rapidly growing, with John the Baptist. This followed a speech that Sanders gave at traditionally Republican/Christian Liberty University in which he focussed on the need for society to help the poor, immigrants, and those in prison. The pastor wrote: “I follow the teachings of Christ: to care for ‘the least of these.’ And I believe that just as John the Baptist once cried out in the desert for justice, […] Bernie Sanders now stands in front of us, wild-haired and hoarse-voiced, and he now declares justice for the poor.”
The UK Government’s Psychoactive Substances Bill is designed to end the sale of so-called “legal highs” which are hard to control under existing legislation. However, a recent study showed that frankincense commonly used in some religious services “activates channels in the brain to alleviate anxiety or depression,” and there are fears that church incense may inadvertently be banned by this Bill, partly because it is hard to define exactly what the phrase “psychoactive substance” refers to.
A church in Elberton, Georgia, USA has banned one of its members from attending services – despite the fact that she is 103 years old. Genora Biggs (and other members of the congregation) have been in dispute with the minister for the past six years because he has attempted to introduce a more “charismatic” style of worship. Biggs said, “A couple of years ago, he invited some of his denomination members to come and they came. And during the service they start falling out on the floor, rolling on the floor, and we don't do that." She added, "He is a Holy Sanctified [Pentecostal] minister and he is trying to turn my church into that, but I told him that we are Baptists and that's what we ought to stay." Despite the ban, she said, "Of course I am [going back]. That's my church where I have been all my life. I joined there when I was 11 years old and I can't leave it now. I intend to die right there from that church." She also said she felt disrespected by the pastor, whom she taught when he was a child in first grade.
On the Isle of Man, a petition has been started that calls on the island’s Lord Bishop and his Archdeacon to step down, following accusations of bullying. However, it has recently emerged that some of the 200 names on the petition may have been added fraudulently. The pastor of a charismatic fellowship on the island has said that such petitions are not the way to settle church disputes.
The country of Mozambique has declared itself free of land mines following 20 years of work, spearheaded by a charity made famous by Princess Diana. The Halo Trust has cleared 171,000 mines from 1,100 minefields in the country, and has finally cleared the last known landmine, according to the country’s foreign affairs minister.
In a recent biography of UK Prime Minister David Cameron, it is claimed that Cameron referred to opponents of gay marriage as “Neanderthals” before the 2010 General Election. However, he eventually he accepted advice to omit a commitment to gay marriage from his General Election manifesto.
In Charlotte, North Carolina, an LGBT group decided to protest outside a church which is attended by Michael Brown, a well-known commentator who is conservative on issues on marriage and sexuality. However, on learning of the group’s plans, the church sent them messages of welcome and invitations to dinner. When about 10 protesters showed up on Sunday morning, the church offered them water and snacks and invited them in; they left after a few minutes, explaining that the church was too nice and loving to deserve such a protest.
At an elementary school in Toronto, parents have mounted a 30-day protest against the government’s sex education policies. Parents in the predominantly Muslim community are keeping children out of school and instead teaching them in the local park. About half the children in the school are taking part.
The satirical TV show “South Park” has broadcast an episode which criticises those so-called liberals who want to silence those who oppose their views on LGBT issues. The show focussed on the Bruce Jenner/Caitlyn Jenner transgender debate, with a new school head teacher, PC Principal, first giving detention to a student who says that Caitlyn Jenner is not a hero, and then violently attacking the student’s father for referring to Jenner as “he.” The principal and his politically correct associates continue to be violent towards those they disagree with until eventually the student gives in and describes Jenner as “a hero and brave.”
In sports news, England began the Rugby World Cup with an unconvincing win against Fiji. England must beat at least one of Wales or Australia to progress from the group stages to the knockout stages.
And finally, a man has been convicted of attempted bank robbery, and branded one of the dumbest criminals ever, after he entered a bank branch in Rainham, Kent, held a knife to the neck of the cashier, and demanded that she give him 500 pounds … by bank transfer to his own bank account. 61 year old Paul Neaverson claimed afterwards that he needed the money to book a flight to Corfu, where he had an interview for a job as a golf coach.
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