Parents wanted
The organization Adoption in Canada has designated November as adoption month and has launched a media campaign encouraging adoption. The media campaign’s slogan is “I wanted to give my baby a mom and a dad.”
Pastor still under threat of death
Youcef Nadarkhani, a pastor in northern Iran, has been convicted of apostasy and informally told that he will be executed, according to a statement from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). After delivery of a written verdict, he will have 20 days to appeal to Iran’s Supreme Court. Nadarkhani was arrested in October 2009 after he questioned Muslim domination of religious instruction in the school attended by his children, arguing that Iran’s constitution allows parents to train children in the Christian faith. Nadarkhani’s wife, Fatemeh Passandideh, was also charged with apostasy but was released after four months. USCIRF suggested that delivery of the written verdict may have been delayed in an attempt to pressure Nadarkhani to convert to Islam.
Jews ‘no longer’ chosen?
On October 28, Catholic bishops from the Middle East concluded a two-week conference at the Vatican in Rome by issuing a statement calling on the international community to work “to put an end to the occupation” of Palestinian territories by Israel. In introducing the statement, Archbishop Cyril Salim Bustros, who leads the Greek Melkite Church in the United States, said, “There is no longer a chosen people. All men and women of all countries have become the chosen people … The concept of the promised land cannot be used as a base for the justification of the return of Jews to Israel and the displacement of Palestinians … [The] justification of Israel’s occupation of the land of Palestine cannot be based on sacred scriptures.” The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem joined Jewish groups in denouncing Bustros’s words in particular, calling them “a perilous reversion to classical Replacement theology,” which led to persecution of Jews in the past. A spokesman for the Vatican, Father Federico Lombardi, issued a statement saying Bustros’s remarks were only his opinion but endorsing the official statement of the Synod.
Autism researched
The Institute of Marriage and Family Canada (IMFC), in the October 20 issue of its electronic newsletter (eReview), presented a summary of the latest in autism research. The report was prepared by the IMFC’s Kelly Dean Schwartz.
Support for not giving support
Twenty-two percent of Canadians strongly support making it legal for a doctor or caregiver to euthanize persons who give their consent, according to an Environics survey done for Life Canada in September; 37 percent support it somewhat, with 20 percent strongly opposed and 15 percent somewhat opposed. However, support for euthanasia has dropped three percent since 2009. Support is highest in Quebec (69 percent) and lowest in Manitoba/Saskatchewan (49 percent). Nevertheless, 46 percent of Canadians are very concerned that legalizing of euthanasia would lead to a significant number of sick, disabled and elderly persons being euthanized without their consent; 32 percent are somewhat concerned, 12 percent are not very concerned and eight percent are not concerned at all. Seventy-one percent said investing in better palliative and hospice care is a greater priority than legalizing euthanasia. There is less support for allowing parents to authorize euthanasia for infants who are terminally ill or who have severe disabilities; fifteen percent strongly support it, 30 percent support it somewhat, 29 percent are strongly opposed, and 20 percent are somewhat opposed.
What does he do in his spare time?
Noted theologian N.T. Wright will deliver two public lectures at Trinity Western University in Langley, B.C. November 16-17: ‘Hope in Tomorrow’s World’ and ‘Character in Tomorrow’s World.’ He will also deliver a lecture ‘Called to be Human: Agenda for Tomorrow’s Church’ at a local church, Christian Life Assembly, on November 16. Wright is Research Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and former Anglican Bishop of Durham. His books include ‘What St. Paul Really Said’ and ‘Simply Christian.’ Besides researching and writing, Wright is involved in a number of organizations, and preaches six to eight sermons a week.
Now, if he could dance on the sea …
The Dead Sea is one of 27 sites competing to be named one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. As part of the Israel Ministry of Tourism campaign in support of the Dead Sea’s candidacy, Israeli dancer Ido Tadmor has created a dance inspired by the Dead Sea, which was recently filmed at Kalya Beach. The video will be ready for distribution in December.
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