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Reporting on the Middle East, Science, and Education for September 25, 2008 - כ"ה אלול תשס"ח
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By Ray Hanania , YNet News, September 25, 2008
In the backdrop of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that dominates everyone’s attention and the news, another fight for the protection of children, families and Christian education is taking place in the Middle East.
It is being waged by an Arab-Israeli woman named Nadia Hilou who has bucked the systems in Israel and in the Palestinian community to do what some thought impossible.
A long time advocate of children and family rights, Hilou is a citizen of Israel and ran for the Israeli Knesset so she could advocate for the rights of all people in Israel, Arab and Jewish.
Instead of running on one of the Arab Israeli party lists only to see her message drown in the “us against them” fight for Palestinian rights, Hilou ran on a mainstream list with the Israeli Labor Party. This way she would make sure her message reached everyone and change would follow.
The only Arab Christian Woman in the Knesset - one of 17 women and one of only two Christians - Hilou will not stop fighting for family services and the rights of children even when everyone else has. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Christianity, Islam, Middle East Report, Monotheistic Religions, News Articles, Recent Posts on September 25, 2008 - כ"ה אלול תשס"ח at 12:12 pm
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While the latest video-game craze, “Spore,” touts the theory of evolution, taking gamers from a single-celled organism to complex civilizations, some say it also promotes God and intelligent design.
By Katherine T. Phan, Christian Post Reporter, Sep. 14, 2008
While the latest video-game craze, “Spore,” touts the theory of evolution, taking gamers from a single-celled organism to complex civilizations, some say it also promotes God and intelligent design.
The traditionally contrasted themes are both represented in the game, according to game innovator Will Wright, the creator of the wildly popular "Sims" game.
"In Spore, basically, the theme of it is the complete view of life – from its early origins through evolution. But at every level, the player is creating something," Wright told ABC News.
In an interview with USA Today, meanwhile, Wright said the world created by players is "definitely not a creationist universe," but admitted the game had "aspects of intelligent design" because it puts the gamer in the "role of an intelligent designer."
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Christianity, Evolutionary Biology, Monotheistic Religions on September 14, 2008 - י"ד אלול תשס"ח at 10:51 pm
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By Dave Sim, www.judenhass.com, May 28, 2008
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Christianity, Judaism, Monotheistic Religions on June 4, 2008 - א' סיון תשס"ח at 10:04 am
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New study proves what observant Jews have known all along – religious people are happier
Rabbi Levi Brackman, YNet News, April 4, 2008
We humans can be destructive to ourselves. Many people live unhealthy lifestyles because it gives them short-term enjoyment, ignoring the long-term suffering it causes.
The same thing applies to religion. It has now, yet again, been proven that religion and belief in God make us happier and better equipped to deal with life’s troubles. Still, there are many people who would rather indulge in irreligiosity than lead a religious and therefore happier life.
Prof. Andrew Clark of the Paris School of Economics and Dr. Orsolya Lelkes of the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research recently presented their research at the conference of the Royal Economic Society in Coventry, UK. They said that religious believers are happier overall than atheists or agnostics.
What I found most interesting, however, was the following discovery: regular church attendance and an active prayer life make people even happier than passive belief alone.
But wait a second: Isn’t organized religion the root of all evil?
Many Jews in the United States have turned away from religion for this very reason—they claim that organized religion is the cause of all wars and suffering for mankind. Some have therefore opted for a more individual spiritual life, which does not enforce upon them any social or communal norms and does not expect them to pray regularly or go to a house of worship. Others have abandoned religion all together. They see no value in community affiliation beyond its social benefits.
But now we have real evidence about the benefits of active belief and practice within an organized setting. “Religion tempers the impact of adverse life events,” say the authors of the study.
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Christianity, Health Sciences, Judaism, Mental Health, Monotheistic Religions on April 4, 2008 - כ"ח אדר ב' תשס"ח at 6:12 am
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By Daniel Williams, Bloomberg, Feb. 26, 2008
Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) — The stone walls of St. Porphyrius church in Gaza were raised in the fourth century, a reminder of Christianity’s long role in the Mediterranean city’s history.
The saga may be coming to an end. Christians, a minority of 3,000 among the Gaza Strip’s 1.2 million Muslims, are increasingly menaced by Islamic fundamentalists in this besieged Palestinian territory. Christians say they are on the verge of being driven out.
“Never in Palestinian history did we feel endangered until now,” said Archimandrite Artemios, the Greek Orthodox priest who heads St. Porphyrius. “We face the question of whether we are part of this community or not.”
Insecurity intensified last June when Hamas, the Muslim-based party at war with Israel, ousted the secular Fatah party, which favors peace negotiations, from control of Gaza. Fatah continues to control the West Bank.
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Christianity, Islam, Middle East Report, Monotheistic Religions on February 27, 2008 - כ"א אדר א' תשס"ח at 8:37 am
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Father Raymond J. De Souza, National Post, February 19, 2008
JERUSALEM -Here with an item from last week’s news that you might not have heard about: Unidentified gunmen blew up the YMCA library in the Gaza Strip on Friday morning. While no one was hurt, two guards were temporarily kidnapped while the offices were looted, a vehicle stolen and all 8,000 books destroyed. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, although Fatah accused Hamas of being behind it. Hamas, for its part, strongly denied any responsibility and condemned the attack. Meanwhile, confidential sources in Gaza told the Jerusalem Post that the attack was in response to the reprinting of the Muhammad cartoons in Danish newspapers last week.
The supposed motivation for the attack, and the fact that it was not big news, illustrates the dire situation faced by many Christians living in the Palestinian territories.
There are only some 3,500 Christians, mostly Greek Orthodox, in Gaza. Over the past two years, al-Qaeda-affiliated groups have claimed responsibility for attacks against Christian figures and institutions with the stated goal of driving Christians out of Gaza.
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Christianity, Islam, Middle East Report, Monotheistic Religions, News Articles on February 20, 2008 - י"ד אדר א' תשס"ח at 7:21 am
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Press Release from www.nili-mideastpeace.org , December 27, 2007
In the Spirit of the Recent Holidays and Hopes Raised by the Annapolis Conference Religious Leaders Call For Determined U.S. Leadership for Mideast Peace in 2008
In the spirit of Hannukhah, Christmas and Eid al Adha and in light of renewed hopes generated by the Annapolis conference, religious leaders of the unprecedented National Interreligious Leadership Initiative (NILI) are calling for active, determined leadership by Secretary of State Rice and President Bush in 2008 to help Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations succeed. NILI leaders include H.E. Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, Rabbi David Saperstein, Bishop Mark Hanson, Dr. Sayyid Syeed, David Neff, and heads of twenty-five national organizations. NILI is urging public support, including Congressional support, to achieve the following results. (Full statement at: http://nili-mideastpeace.org/advocacy.html.)
Consistent with the Road Map, the United States should press urgently for reciprocal steps by Israel and the Palestinian Authority to improve conditions on the ground and restore hope that a peace agreement is possible. Steps should include a comprehensive ceasefire; the Palestinian Authority developing effective coordinated security, ending illegal arms shipments and militias; and Israel freezing expansion of settlements, releasing Palestinian prisoners, and easing movement for Palestinians. Public monitoring of these steps is essential.
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Christianity, Judaism, Middle East Report, Monotheistic Religions, Recent Posts on December 27, 2007 - י"ח טבת תשס"ח at 6:01 pm
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Christian Persecution in the Middle East.
By Nina Shea, National Review Online, December 24, 2007
In the two millennia since the child’s birth in a humble manger in Bethlehem, the good news of Christianity has spread to every continent, inspiring more followers than any other religion today. But the lands that once were the cradle of Christianity have turned distinctively inhospitable to the faith. Fiercely intolerant variants of Islam are taking hold in the region, many of them fueled with ideology and funds from Saudi and Iranian extremists.
From Morocco to the Persian Gulf, we are seeing the rapid erosion of Christian populations, thought to now number no more than 15 million. These are the communities that have disproportionately been the region’s modernizers, the mediators bridging east and west, its educators and academics, as the Lebanese Catholic scholar Habib Malik observes. For empirical evidence he has to look no further than his own father, a principal drafter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The loss of Middle Eastern Christianity has profound meaning for the Church. But it should not be a matter of concern to Christians only. These Christian communities, along with a handful of other non-Muslim minority groups, such as the Bahais, Mandeans, Yizidis, Jews, together with the anti-Islamist Muslims, are the front-line in the terrible worldwide struggle taking place today between Islamist totalitarianism and individual rights and freedoms. The extinction of these ancient church communities will lead to ever more extremism within the region and polarization from the non-Muslim world. This will hurt us all.
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Christianity, Islam, Monotheistic Religions, Recent Posts on December 25, 2007 - ט"ז טבת תשס"ח at 12:01 pm
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See Also: Visiting Bethlehem
See Also: Peace on Earth
By Ana and Angela Barrios, The Manila Times, December 24, 2007
“The presence of the singers, orchestra and soloists transcends the differences existing among peoples of the world, and unites us in friendship and hope in this deeply symbolic season.”
Israel and holy sites in the West Bank are experiencing a renewed surge of tourism this year—a lot them Christian pilgrims braving the terrorist threats that always hover above Bethlehem.
Some of the pilgrims are Overseas Filipino Workers from Europe and the Arab countries.
Bethlehem is where the Church of Nativity is located and the place where, Christians believe, Jesus was born, prepared for the Christmas influx. The town’s mayor, Victor Batarseh, expects the total of tourists this Christmas to reach 65,000. This is approximately four times the number that came in Christmas 2005.
On Tuesday (December 18) in Jerusalem, the Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism Shaul Tzemach, said 500,000 Christian tourists have so far in 2007 made a pilgrimage to Israel and 340,000 tourists traveled to Bethlehem. Israel proudly claims that since its creation, Israel has provided freedom of religion for Christians, as well as for Muslims, Jews and other faiths that have holy sites in the country.
For the 2007 Christmas season, the Ministry of Tourism along with the Israeli Police and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have coordinated their efforts with the Palestinian Ministry for Tourism as well as Palestinian organizations in the private sector to ensure the safe passage of Christian pilgrims from Jerusalem into Bethlehem.
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Christianity, Middle East Report, Monotheistic Religions, Recent Posts on December 24, 2007 - ט"ו טבת תשס"ח at 9:37 pm
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Bethlehem Christians to Receive IFCJ Support
Press Release, IFCJ, December 12, 2007
See Also: Visiting Bethlehem
With the Christmas holiday fast approaching, the town of Bethlehem, the historic birthplace of Jesus, is facing a continuing exodus of its Christian residents as a result of growing persecution by radical Muslims.
The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), led by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, strongly condemns the oppression of Christians in Bethlehem by Islamic extremists, which has risen sharply since Israel turned over control of the town to the Palestinian Authority in 1995. At the time of Israel’s withdrawal, Christians made up 62% of Bethlehem’s population. Today, that figure stands at approximately 15%, a historic all-time low.
The persecution of Christians by hard-line Islamists is common in Palestinian-controlled areas and indeed throughout the entire Middle East. In Gaza, where 3,000 Christians live among 1.5 million Muslims, it is particularly violent and sometimes deadly. Just recently, Rami Khader Ayyad, owner of a Christian bookstore, was murdered by extremists. Following Hamas’ violent take-over of Gaza in June 2007, numerous attacks against Christians were also reported, including the ransacking of a convent.
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Christianity, Islam, Middle East Report, Monotheistic Religions, Recent Posts on December 14, 2007 - ה' טבת תשס"ח at 12:35 am
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