Obama grilled about his faith

On the back of a controversial survey which revealed that 1 in 5 Americans believe that Obama is actually a Muslim, a woman used an event designed to discuss the economy to grill President Barack Obama about his faith and views on abortion.

Obama was speaking in Albuquerque as part of a public outreach to explain his policies and campaign for Democrats in the November congressional elections.

However, the US president seemed happy enough to take the time to personally share about his faith, and how his public service was "an expression" of his faith.

"I came to my Christian faith later in life, and it was because the precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead," Obama said.

"Being my brothers' and sisters' keeper. Treating others as they would treat me. And I think also understanding that, you know, that Jesus Christ dying for my sins spoke to the humility that we all have to have as human beings."

Humans are "sinful" and "flawed" beings that make mistakes and "achieve salvation through the grace of God," the president added, saying that we also can "see God in other people and do our best to help them find their, you know, their own grace."

"So that's what I strive to do," Obama said. "That's what I pray to do everyday. I think my public service is part of that effort to express my Christian faith."

The woman then inquired about Obama’s regulations on early and late-term abortion, a politically charged issue in the abortion debate.

Obama responded that abortion should be "safe, legal and rare" in America, adding that families and not the government "should be the ones making the decision."

Restrictions against late-term abortion are in place now, he stated, adding that "people still argue and disagree about it. That's part of our Democratic tradition."

Agnostics and atheists know more about world religions than Protestants

According to a new survey undertaken by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, atheists and agnostics know more about the teachings, history and figures of major world religions than the average Protestant.

The Pew Forum asked 32 religious knowledge questions to respondents, and atheists and agnostics had on average 20.9 correct answers while Protestants as a whole answered 16 correctly. Jews and Mormons also scored high with 20.5 and 20.3 correct answers, respectively.

When it came to the specific religion of Christianity, however, evangelical Protestants managed to beat out atheists and agnostics. Evangelical Protestants scored 7.3 out of 12 on questions related to the Bible and Christianity, but atheists and agnostics were not far behind with an average score of 6.7. Mormons scored the highest in this section with 7.9.

These findings were released on Tuesday, and are based on a nationwide poll conducted in the United States from May 19 to June 6 among more than 3,400 Americans age 18 and older.

Some of the questions asked included identifying: Mother Teresa's religion, the dominant religion in Pakistan, the figure who inspired the Reformation, and which religion teaches that salvation comes through faith alone.

Interestingly enough, over half of Protestants (53 percent) failed to correctly identify Martin Luther as the person who inspired the Protestant Reformation. Forty-five percent of Catholics do not know that their church teaches that the bread and wine used in Communion do not merely symbolize but actually become the body and blood of Christ.

Overall, at least two-thirds of respondents are knowledgeable about Mother Teresa's religion, and Islam being the dominant religion in Pakistan. However, only 45 percent know the four Gospels are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Poverty myths that Christians should renounce

South African raised Mark Lutz is the author of the new book 'UnPoverty: Rich Lessons from the Working Poor', and recently wrote an article for CNN concerning various myths about poverty that Christians should renounce.

Lutz is the son of missionary parents and presently works as the Senior Vice President at Opportunity International, began his article by stating that poverty is not the real issue but people. This is because many Christians do not really understand the social realities of poverty, or indeed even understand properly Jesus’ teachings about the poor and oppressed.

Lutz then lists a number of different myths about poverty that Christians should actively turn away from. We have summarized some of these for you below.

Myth 1: People are poor because they are lazy or stupid.

Lutz argues that:

“Poor people work incredibly hard, under harsh conditions, frequently seven days a week. With no welfare programs and no social networks, if they don’t work, they don’t eat. That’s reality.

My work in microfinance has taken me to some 50 countries. I’ve watched men making bricks in equatorial sun from morning till night in exchange for $10; women hauling five-gallon containers on their heads and in each hand every morning to water their garden-size farm; children rifling through trash for recyclables to exchange for a meal.

Despite their efforts, these hard-working people cannot get off their economic treadmills; they pass their generational poverty onto their children and grandchildren. Getting to know them as sisters and brothers, I can vouch that they are anything but lazy or stupid. The only reason for their life of misery and mine of relative luxury is where we were born.”

Myth 2: Poor people want handouts.

Lutz writes that in his experience, a poor person would much rather have the opportunity to work and feed their families, rather than relying upon handouts where dignity is often at stake.

Lutz says that: “In the Bible, God instructs farmers not to harvest the corner of their crops, but to leave it for the poor. God didn’t tell them to reap it and give the money to the poor, but to leave it for the poor to pick and eat. They need food, but they also need and want an opportunity to work.

Every day some 25,000 people die from starvation. Disturbing as that may be, the real tragedy is that for 90 percent of them, there is no food shortage. They just can’t afford to buy available food. The appropriate response is not relief but development, including opportunities to work.”

Myth 3: Jesus said we will always have extreme poverty.

What Jesus said in Mark 14:7 was: “The poor you will always have with you.”
Jesus recognized the fundamental truth that some in society will always have less than others but that certainly does not excuse the kind of abject, inhumane poverty that over one billion people endure. Extreme poverty should never be excused in this way.

Myth 4: Jesus was concerned primarily about spiritual poverty.

Lutz speaks of his childhood in South Africa and how often he heard the subtle message that as long as someone’s soul was saved, it did not really matter how hungry their children were.

Lutz writes that: “But when Jesus began his public ministry, he read his mission statement: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor… To set free the oppressed.” (Luke 4:18).

Though we must read on to understand the full gospel, if we seek to follow his example and teaching, we must bring good news to the poor and set free the oppressed. More than 2,000 verses in the Bible deal with the poor. Jesus had special solidarity with the poor and told us that if we love him, we will show it by caring for them.”

(You can find Lutz’s full article on CNN.com).

Anglican Archbishop endorses celibate gay bishops

In a recent interview with The Times Magazine, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, pledged his personal support for gay bishops but said they must remain celibate.

“There’s no problem about a gay person who’s a bishop. It’s about the fact that there are traditionally, historically, standards that the clergy are expected to observe,” he stated.

When questioned what was wrong with a gay bishop being in a long-term comitted relationship with one partner, the spiritual leader of Anglicans throughout the globe said that the scriptural and traditional approach “doesn’t give much ground for being positive about it.”

Williams confessed that there was not clear agreement on this complex issue, saying that the Church “doesn’t quite know what to make of it,” and agreed that debating it could cause problems for homosexuals living in countries where there is vehement opposition to homosexuality.

The Archbishop also pleaded with liberal and traditional Anglicans to stay united and not split in spite of the strong disagreements raging in the church over issues like this.

Changing the world by loving your neighbour: The story of Heartsong Church

There have been plenty of media reports lately detailing a growing ‘Islamophobia’ throughout the Western world, and in the United States in particular. Incidents have included vehement protests over the proposed build of a New York ‘mega mosque,’ arson at another mosque build in Tennessee, and most notoriously, the case of the pastor who wanted to stage a ‘Burn a Quran Day’. This is why it is refreshing to hear some positive news regarding Christian/Islamic relations in the form of an article that Sojourners president, Jim Wallis wrote for the Washington Times.

Wallis reported on some of the back story behind Pastor Terry Jones’ decision to cancel the Quran burning day, and then related a heartwarming story about a church in Cordova called Heartsong. Eighteen months ago, the pastor of Heartsong, Steven Stone, learnt that the Memphis Islamic Center had purchased land directly adjacent to his church. Instead of protesting these plans, Stone organized to put up a large sign reading: "Heartsong Church Welcomes Memphis Islamic Center to the Neighborhood."

Wallis reports how the Muslim leaders of this mosque build were totally overwhelmed by Stone’s response. They had originally hoped that at best they would just be ignored, and it had never occurred to them that they might be received with hospitality.

However, their warm welcome did not end there. Since the Islamic Center is still under construction, Heartsong Church allowed them to use their facilities for Ramadan prayer services this year. Furthermore, Heartsong’s community barbecues also serve halal meat to ensure their Muslim neighbours feel welcome enough to attend. The two congregations are also working on plans to jointly feed the homeless and tutor local children.

Wallis then wrote about a telephone conversation he had with Pastor Stone last week, where Stone related that he had been contacted by a group of Muslims from a small town in Kashmir, Pakistan. They had watched a CNN segment on Heartsong Church, and afterwards one of the community leaders said to those gathered: "God just spoke to us through this man." Another said: "How can we kill these people?" A third person decided to go directly to a local Christian church and clean it from top to bottom.

Wallis concludes by saying that Stone feels his actions are part and parcel of just trying to love his neighbors, as he says Jesus instructs him to do. And in response to his warm-hearted good neighbourliness, the citizens of that small town in Kashmir told him: "We are now trying to be good neighbors, too. Tell your congregation we do not hate them, we love them, and for the rest of our lives we are going to take care of that little church."

(My thanks to John van de Laar who originally alerted me to this story through his twitter source @rogersaner. Find John on www.sacredise.com).

East Jerusalem violence threatens peace efforts

Following the shooting of a local man on Wednesday, big groups of Palestinian youths ran amok in east Jerusalem in protest. This violence is threatening fragile peace efforts in the region, and comes on the back of the Palestinian president indicating that he may be willing to press on with the peace talks despite Israel resuming its West Bank settlement construction efforts.

The situation became so dire yesterday that Israeli riot police stormed the hilltop compound known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. Ironically, this site is where the previous Palestinian uprising began almost a decade ago and is historically the most explosive site in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

This violence comes after less than a month of peace talks, and at a particularly tense time as the Palestinian president had previously been threatening to pull out of the negotiations due to Israel’s announced intentions to end its 10-month slowdown of construction in the Jewish settlements of the West Bank.

The construction slowdown was announced last November as a result of forceful U.S. pressure to help draw the Palestinians into negotiations with the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who - despite having accepted the concept of a Palestinian state – is not popular among Palestinians.

The violence yesterday was perhaps an expression of the visible tension that has been built up over the last week since Netanyahu announced on Sunday that construction would begin again, reports the Washington Times.

Scientists show how the parting of the Red Sea 'could have happened'

Perhaps the most famous miracle described in the book of Exodus is that of the parting of the Red Sea as Moses led the Israelites to safety away from their Egyptian oppressors. Biblical scholars have long known that the most likely location for this miracle was not the Red Sea, but rather a nearby spot in the Nile Delta region known as the Reed Sea.

Now scientists have shown that this dramatic episode is by no means in contravention of natural physical laws, and they have depicted how it actually could have happened.

The Biblical account describes how a mighty east wind blew all night, eventually splitting the waters to leave a safe passage way through to the other side. The Israelites successfully made their escape but when the Egyptians tried to follow on their chariots, the walls of water on either side came crashing back down and drowned them.

Researchers began with a careful analysis of archaeological records, satellite measurements and maps which enabled them to accurately predict the water flow and depth of the crossing-over site 3,000 years ago.

An ocean computer model was then used to simulate the influence that an overnight wind might have on the 1.81 metre deep waters. The team of scientists discovered that an east wind of approximately 63mph blowing for 12 hours would indeed have driven the waters back, both into the nearby lake and the river channel. This would have resulted in a land bridge right through the middle of the water. The bridge would have remained in place for a period of four hours.

Immediately after the winds dropped, the waters would have poured back into place, much like a tidal bore and anyone trapped in the middle would have risked drowning, especially if they were encumbered by heavy armour and weapons.

These findings were reported yesterday in the online journal Public Library of Science ONE.

Lead researcher Carl Drews, from the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, said: "The simulations match fairly closely with the account in Exodus.

"The parting of the waters can be understood through fluid dynamics. The wind moves the water in a way that's in accordance with physical laws, creating a safe passage with water on two sides and then abruptly allowing the water to rush back in.

"People have always been fascinated by this Exodus story, wondering if it comes from historical facts. What this study shows is that the description of the waters parting indeed has a basis in physical laws."

Francis Collins and Christopher Hitchens: A surprising relationship that is built upon mutual respect

Christopher Hitchens is the renowned intellectual and atheist whose book ‘God is Not Great’ ruffled more than a few religious feathers. His recent battle with esophageal cancer has been widely publicized, not least because his tragically forced confrontation with his own mortality has created considerable interest among both his supporters and opponents. Some Christian groups recently organized a ‘Pray for Christopher Hitchens Day’ and the equally famous geneticist Francis Collins, who is a practicing Christian and yet firm friend of Hitchens, wrote in the Washington Times just why he supported this day.

Collins, who is a theistic evolutionist, and probably most famous for being the first person to map the human genetic code, said that while many Christians prayed for Hitchens to beat his cancer and ‘get right’ with God, that he instead was intent of praying for wisdom for both him and his friend, whom he had met a few years previously for an “intellectual joust.”

“My prayer is not so much for a supernatural intervention – as a physician I have not seen evidence for such medical miracles in my own experience,” wrote Collins.

“Instead I pray for myself and for Christopher along the lines of James 1:5,” added the world renowned geneticist, quoting the Bible verse which reads, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him."

Collins also said he reached out to Hitchens and his wife when he heard news of Hitchens’ illness, and has met with them several times since.

“As the Director of the National Institutes of Health, I am in a position to be aware of new developments in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer,” wrote Collins.

“Advances are occurring with great rapidity as technologies arising from the success of the Human Genome Project are making it possible to get a comprehensive understanding of what drives malignancy,” added Collins. ”The ability to match cancer drugs to the characteristics of an individual tumor is growing rapidly.”

However, Collins also noted that Hitchens’ cancer had already spread to his regional lymph nodes, which meant his situation was “very serious” and has a “poor prognosis.”

Many have been surprised by the friendship between the two men because Hitchens is such an aggresively militant atheist whose dim views of religion are well recorded. Collins, however, paid tribute to Hitchens “sharp intellect” and said that Hitchens had challenged his own defense of the rationality of faith to be more consistent and compelling.

"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another," he said, citing Proverbs 27:17.

While many see Hitchens as nothing more than a spotlight-seeking troublemaker whose confrontational style has offended people across the faith spectrum, Collins made mention of Hitchens’ “warm humanity.”

“And his willingness to be utterly open and transparent about his cancer diagnosis provides a breathtaking window into his personal integrity,” he added.

Hitchens himself has previous paid equally warm tribute to his Christian friend.
Writing for Vanity Fair, Hitchens said that the believed Collins was “one of the greatest living Americans,” a “great humanitarian” and “the best of the faithful” who have approached him since news spread of his cancer diagnosis.

“And let me put it this way: he hasn’t suggested prayer, and I in turn haven’t teased him about The Screwtape Letters,” the English-born author added, referring to the Christian apologetics novel by C. S. Lewis.

As for other Christians who were planning to pray for him on Monday, Hitchens told The Associated Press how he would respond to each.

"'To hell with you' is the response to the ones who pray for me to go to hell," Hitchens said.

"'Thanks but no thanks' is the reply to those who want me to convert and recognize a divinity or deity," he added.

As for the third group - people who are asking God for his healing - Hitchens was more careful with his words and ultimately said he thinks of it as a “nice gesture” that is “fine by me.”

“And it may well make them feel better, which is a good thing in itself," added Hitchens, reiterating what he’s said in previous interviews.

(Image is of Christopher Hitchens before he was struck by cancer).

South Sudan is not even third world says mission group leader

Bill Deans, the president of Mustard Seed International, a missions group working in South Sudan, has said that the standard of life in the area is so far behind contemporary society that it can only dream of reaching actual third world status.

Deans said that continual war over the last three generations has reduced society in South Sudan to below bare minimum.

“There is a great number of orphans, the infrastructure in the South is non-existent, there are no pave roads, thus the ability for the South to sustain itself is not there,” he added.

Deans also stressed that both educational and medical infrastructures are no longer operating.

Sudan is only four months away from a crucial referendum in which the South can vote to break away from the North.

The last 21 years have seen the mainly Muslim North and the animist and Christian South continually battling each other in a savage civil war that has killed millions of civilians and displaced even millions more.

In 2005, however, the two sides signed the Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended the war. This peace agreement laid out plans for a government of national unity to be formed over a transitional period of six years. After this transitional period has been completed, which is January 2011, the South could then vote to be independent. Experts seem to think that the South will indeed vote for independence on January 9, 2011.

The ending of the war allowed organizations such as Mustard Seed International to begin working in the region. They set up the Akot Medical Mission in 2006. The clinic provides the only medical care in an area where only bush surrounds them.

“For us to build this facility was nothing short of a miracle,” says Deans, who noted the only building material on the site was the dirt. Every other material – from cement to nails – for the clinic transported from Kenya or Uganda.

“It is just a miracle that a facility like that can exist in the bush of South Sudan,” he remarks. “The people say it is the best facility in the whole country. But we have nothing to gauge that on because we have not been all over the country.”

In South Sudan, there is an average of one doctor per 100,000 people.

According to a report published by UNICEF in 2004, the infant mortality rate in South Sudan is 15 percent while the child mortality rate is 25 percent. About one in nine mothers die during pregnancy or childbirth and only five percent of births are attended by trained health care workers. The malnutrition rate, meanwhile, stands at 48 percent and severe malnutrition is over 21 percent. A U.N. official recently called South Sudan the hungriest place on earth.

Every year, the Akot Medical Mission provides direct medical attention to more than 30,000 people.

Alien baptisms and other scientific news

Guy Consolmagno is a trained astronomer and planetary scientist, who works as one of the pope's astronomers, recently stated in an interview that he would be 'delighted' if intelligent life was found among the stars.

This Vatican scientist also said that aliens might very well have souls as he said that
the traditional definition of a soul was to have intelligence, free will, freedom to love and freedom to make decisions. During an interview at the British Science Festival in Birmingham he jokingly replied to a question on this subject that "Any entity – no matter how many tentacles it has – has a soul." Would he baptise an alien? "Only if they asked."

The Vatican official also dismissed intelligent design as "bad theology" that had been "hijacked" by American creationist fundamentalists.

Consolmagno said that: "The word has been hijacked by a narrow group of creationist fundamentalists in America to mean something it didn't originally mean at all. It's another form of the God of the gaps. It's bad theology in that it turns God once again into the pagan god of thunder and lightning."

Brother Consolmagno did urge caution with the line of questioning around religion’s response to life beyond this planet when he said:

"But the odds of us finding it, of it being intelligent and us being able to communicate with it – when you add them up it's probably not a practical question."

Consolmagno also said that the Vatican was well aware of the latest goings-on in scientific research. "You'd be surprised," he said.

The Pontifical Academy of Sciences, of which Stephen Hawking is a member, keeps the senior cardinals and the pope up-to-date with the latest scientific developments.

Consolmagno was asked to respond to Hawking's recent statements that the laws of physics removed the need for God. Consolmagno said: "Steven Hawking is a brilliant physicist and when it comes to theology I can say he's a brilliant physicist."

Consolmagno's comments come at a time when the pope himself made comments regarding science at St Mary's University College in Twickenham as part of his British tour. Speaking to pupils, the pontiff encouraged them to look at the bigger picture, over and above the subjects they studied.

"The world needs good scientists, but a scientific outlook becomes dangerously narrow if it ignores the religious or ethical dimension of life, just as religion becomes narrow if it rejects the legitimate contribution of science to our understanding of the world," he said.

"We need good historians and philosophers and economists, but if the account they give of human life within their particular field is too narrowly focused, they can lead us seriously astray."

Pope meets with child abuse victims

Pope Benedict XVI spent 40 minutes with 5 people who had suffered abuse as children from Catholic priests, and their experiences reportedly filled him with “sorrow and shame”. The pope carefully listened to their stories and then spent time praying for them.

A spokesperson for the pontiff said that:

“He (the pope) was moved by what they had to say and expressed his deep sorrow and shame over what victims and their families had suffered.”

“As he has done on other occasions, he prayed that all the victims of abuse might experience healing and reconciliation, and be able to overcome their past and present distress with serenity and hope for the future.”

The pope also gave strong assurances to the victims that the Catholic Church would continue to implement “effective measures” to ensure the proper safety and care for young people in the future, and that the church would fully co-operate with civil authorities to bring abusers to justice.

Just before this meeting, the pope delivered his strongest-yet apology for the abuse scandals wracking the Catholic Church during a mass he conducted at Westminster Cathedral on Friday.

During his sermon, the pope articulated his sense of sorrow at the “immense suffering” caused by pedophile priests.

"I express my deep sorrow to the innocent victims of these unspeakable crimes, along with my hope that the power of Christ's grace, his sacrifice of reconciliation, will bring deep healing and peace to their lives," Benedict said.

According to reports, there are 28 nations in which Roman Catholic priests have been accused of child abuse.

Mixed feelings regarding Pope's visit to Britain

The Pope’s long awaited visit to Britain finally began yesterday in Edinburgh amidst mixed feelings that have divided the nation along both religious and secular lines.
The Pope was received at Holyrood Palace shortly after his arrival, and among the dignitaries in attendance were the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, the Rt Rev John Christie, and Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg.

Pope Benedict XVI’s four-day visit is the first-ever state visit by a Pope to Britain, and the first visit by a Pope since Pope John Paul II in 1982.

Cardinal Keith O’Brien, head of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, stated that the four-day visit was a moment of “great pride and joy”.

He believed that the visit was an “economic boost in austere times” for Scotland but also spoke of the opportunity for the country “to show its best face to the world.”

“There have been objectors and detractors to the visit but one only needs to look at those involved to realize that they are in no way representative of the overwhelmingly welcoming majority of Scottish citizens,” he said.

However, those “objectors and detractors” have strong feelings regarding the Pope’s visit, and may yet have opportunity to make those feelings known. Opposition has come from atheists, secularists and child abuse survivors. Some of the more famous of those opponents have been figures such as Richard Dawkins, Stephen Fry and Terry Pratchett, who said in an open letter yesterday that while the Pope was welcome to visit Britain as a European citizen, he “should not be given the honor of a state visit.”

Child abuse victims are also planning to stage protests along the route to be taken by the Popemobile later in the day. Joining them are some Christians, including the Rev Ian Paisley and around 50 members of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, who plan to unfurl a banner stating their objection to the visit.

Rev Paisley said: “We’re making a legitimate protest about something that is entirely wrong, and I am looking at myself as a person who is prepared to champion those who have been very, very badly treated by these priests of Rome.”

However, other denominations have been more welcoming, including the Archbishop of Canterbury and Salvation Army Commissioner Betty Matear, who said it was a “cause for hope” for all Christians.

The Evangelical Alliance stated that the visit came at a vital time for Britain, as Christians face increasing antagonism from a relatively small yet influential secular wing.

Interview with John van de Laar (part two)

We have been interviewing John van de Laar who is the founder of Sacredise.com, an international worship training and resourcing ministry. John is one of the leading thinkers in the area of Christian worship, and has recently completed a book called “The Hour that Changes Everything: How worship forms us into the people God wants us to be,” (see our book review section for more).

This is the second part of our interview with John.

SW: John, what would you like to say to people, who for example, might hate singing? What would you say to them about worship?

John: I would ask them to put the singing and music to one side, and explore what it would mean for them to recognise that worship and music are different things. Music is simply one possible way to express worship, but it's certainly not the only way. For those who find music unhelpful, I would encourage worship through silence, meditation, liturgy, Scripture reading, prayer, posture, writing, poetry, art, flower arranging or any other of a number of expressions. I would encourage them to explore the ways in which they most easily open to God, and most powerfully encounter God, and then I would invite them to develop a discipline in which they engage in that activity as often as possible, preferably in the context of a faith community of some kind - since worship is never only an individual activity.

SW: What would you like to say to people who are threatened by the worship styles of others?

John: We have turned worship into a place of disputes and arguments because we focus on the outward forms of our worship - do we use organ or guitar or choir? Is our worship structured and liturgical, or spontaneous and "free"? And then we try to squeeze others into our preferred "style" of worship. The truth is that we all seek the same thing when we worship - intimacy and encounter with God. We all use the same practices to facilitate and express this encounter - praise, confession, intercession, sacraments, Scripture reading etc. Where we differ is on the smallest and least significant part of our worship - what I call the "packaging" or "style" of worship. Once we recognise that style is just that - packaging - we are able to hold it much more lightly and acknowledge that what we like others may not like and vice versa. Then we are able to open ourselves to the styles of others, and learn that, even if we aren't comfortable in that style, God is nevertheless at work there. The natural consequence of this, then, is that we begin to make space for the styles of others, because we long for them to have the same encounter with God that we have had, and if a different style helps that to happen for them, we are happy to embrace that style.

SW: Finally, John if there is one thing you would like people to remember about this book, what would it be?

John: It's that worship is not about what happens in Church so much as it is about what we do when we leave the Church. If there is injustice in our world, we have failed to worship rightly. If there is poverty and war in our world, we have failed to worship rightly. This is because worship should change us into true followers of Christ who live out his sacrificial calling in our world. To put it into one sentence - how you worship defines how you live.

(You can visit www.sacredise.com to order a copy of his book or for more articles by John, as well as resources for personal and public worship – music, prayers, liturgies, images and drama scripts).

Interview with John van der Laar

John van de Laar is a Methodist minister, liturgical consultant and the founder of Sacredise.com, an international worship training and resourcing ministry. John is also an author, having recently completed his second book – “The Hour that Changes Everything: How worship forms us into the people God wants us to be,” which you can read about in our book review section.

John is one of the leading thinkers in the area of Christian worship in South Africa, and so we decided to interview him to gain a little more perspective and insight into this vital topic. The interview will be released over two parts, and this is the first of them.

SW: John, I really enjoyed reading your book, and found it really helpful to me personally as a leader of worship. What inspired you to write this book?

John: I've been leading worship, and training leaders and congregations for a long time. I've had really good responses to my material, and I've given the act of worship a lot of thought and prayer, and done a lot of research over the years. Last year someone at one of my seminars asked me if I had put any of my material in writing, and I realised that I hadn't really done that yet, which felt strange to me, since I am a writer. So, this year I decided the time was right to finally put my ideas down on paper, and hopefully share them with a wider audience.

SW: Can you share a little about what worship means to you personally?

John: Personally, worship is the defining act of my life. It's not an escape from the world into a weekly retreat where I am "blessed". Rather, it's my primary spiritual discipline - a constant opening of myself to God's Presence, God's challenge and God's purpose. Worship is what drives and empowers everything I do. The act of encountering God defines me and leads me into my daily life with a desire to recognise God's work in every moment, every situation and every person, and then cooperate with that work in whatever way I can. I guess, worship is what "wakes me up" to the world and God's work in it, and it's what inspires and empowers me to contribute to the world in whatever small ways I can.

SW: Who has been the biggest influence on your life in terms of shaping and challenging you as a worship leader?

John: As a Methodist, the Wesley brothers have been a huge inspiration. Learning about the history of the Methodist movement, and how England was changed - some say saved from a bloody revolution like the one in France - through the early Methodists has been a huge challenge to me. Of course, the way they used hymnody and worship to impact their society has been a massive inspiration. Charles Wesley's hymns, and the high value John Wesley placed on worship was a very big part of the impact they had on their nation. In my own way, I pray that I can have at least some fraction of that kind of impact through my work. In addition, there are some great thinkers and writers today who have influenced how I think about faith, and by extension, the worship that expresses my faith and nurtures it. People like Brian McLaren and Matthew Fox - who both do incredibly creative things with worship gatherings - and others like Marcus Borg and, more recently, Peter Rollins have also had a big influence.

(You can visit www.sacredise.com to order a copy of John's book or for more articles by him, as well as resources for personal and public worship – music, prayers, liturgies, images and drama scripts).

The second part of the interview will be released shortly.

World hunger stats for 2010 are released

The Food and Agriculture Organisation recently released its 2010 statistics concerning global undernourishment and said that the overall figure has dropped for the first time in 15 years. However, this welcome drop should only be viewed alongside the harsh truth that last year’s statistic was a record high.

As of this year, some 925 million people are undernourished, while last year, the figure stood at 1.02 billion.

This is why the FAO emphasized that the new number of hungry people in the world is far from the ultimate goal.

There are eight social goals agreed by the 189 U.N. member states in 2000, one of which included halving the proportion of people who suffered from hunger in 1990 by the year 2015.

In 2010, however, people living under conditions of extreme hunger make up 16 percent of the world’s population, while in 1990, about 20 percent of the population was undernourished.

“The fact that nearly a billion people remain hungry even after the recent food and financial crises have largely passed indicates a deeper structural problem,” the FAO remarked in its report.

“Governments should encourage increased investment in agriculture, expand safety nets and social assistance programs, and enhance income-generating activities for the rural and urban poor,” the agency recommended.

David Beckmann of Bread for the World, explained in a press conference on Monday that most people who are hungry are simply so because they are poor.

“Globally, we tend to focus on these disaster situation and they are important,” said Beckmann, who worked at the World Bank for 15 years. “But 95 percent of the hungry people are just out in remote Mozambique [for example] and they’re just damn poor and kids just die and there are no TV cameras. That’s the way it’s always been.”

Beckmann, who is a 2010 World Food Prize laureate, said that both individuals and companies should not only donate, but also advocate strenuously on behalf of the hungry and poor, since so much of world hunger is caused by structural problems.

An ActionAid report released this week stated that out of the 28 developing countries it studied, the majority were failing to halve hunger by 2015.

Sizzling sex and Christian marriage

Can the phrases ‘sizzling sex’ and ‘Christian marriage’ be used together in the same sentence?

For many, those two thoughts seem opposable rather than naturally linked together. Hot, passionate sex is not normally associated with Christianity in any way or form, but according to an article written by Jonathan Acuff, a Belief Blog contributor, this is a crying shame.

Acuff begins his article by taking issue with something that “pop princess” Katy Perry (the daughter of a pastor) recently said:

“I think when you put sex and spirituality in the same bottle and shake it up, bad things happen.”

Acuff argues that this type of thinking is incorrect and that Christians should do a much better job in connecting God with vibrant and passionate sexuality because divorcing the two is intrinsically harmful. He writes:

“That’s what we’ve been told. That God and sex don’t go together. And if you say something enough times, people start to believe it’s true…. You can’t have both in the same bottle. They’re oil and water. Cats and dogs. Spencer and Heidi. They just don’t go together.”

Acuff says that while the church is right to teach that sex outside of marriage is not right, it also should teach that “sex when you’re married is awesome.”

Acuff mentions that Christians harm sex in four fundamental ways:

1. They teach guilt, not abstinence.
2. They have very few ways to discuss it.
3. They write 10 books about lust for every one book about the gift of sex.
4. They've "made the crayon box pretty small" (they're afraid of being creative during sex).

Acuff argues that it is about time that Christian couples come to a realization that passionate sex is God's idea.

“We’ve bought the lie that the world gets to have wild, crazy sex and Christians, holy folks like us, have to have black-and-white, two-dimensional sex. But what if that’s wrong? What if the God who overflows us with love and hope and mercy wants that part of our lives to be as big and as colorful as two married people could possibly imagine?”

(You can read Acuff's article on www.stuffchristianslike.net)

The memories of 9/11 should be used to overcome evil

A number of 9/11 memorial services were held this weekend, and most of them encouraged Americans to remember the acts of courage and selflessness that marked so many in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

In a sunset memorial service held at the temporary Flight 93 memorial, First Lady Michelle Obama asked people to remember the courageous acts of passengers which may well have saved the lives of countless others. Flight 93 was the only airplane hijacked by Al Queda that did not crash into its intended target. Although reports over what actually happened are unclear, it is believed that passengers learnt about the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and so decided to storm the hijackers to ensure that their plane did not crash into a populated area.

“They came from all different backgrounds and all walks of life, and they all took a different path to that September morning,” said Michelle Obama during the memorial ceremony.

“But in that awful moment when the facts became clear, and they were called to make an impossible choice, they all found the same resolve. They agreed to the same bold plan,” Obama continued, referring to the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93.

“They called the people they loved –- many of them giving comfort instead of seeking it, explaining they were taking action, and that everything would be okay,” Obama recalled.

“And then they rose as one, they acted as one, and together, they changed history’s course.”

President Barack Obama spoke at the Pentagon Memorial service, and used the opportunity to try to heal the ever-growing rift between many Americans and the religion of Islam.

Obama emphasized that Americans “are not – and never will be – at war with Islam.”

“It was not a religion that attacked us that September day - it was al Qaeda, a sorry band of men which perverts religion. And just as we condemn intolerance and extremism abroad, so will we stay true to our traditions here at home as a diverse and tolerant nation,” the president stated, as anti-Muslim sentiments threatened to mar Saturday’s 9/11 observations.

Obama exhorted the people of America not to allow “a small band of murders” to “distort” who they are.

“They may seek to exploit our freedoms, but we will not sacrifice the liberties we cherish or hunker down behind walls of suspicion and mistrust. They may wish to drive us apart, but we will not give in to their hatred and prejudice. For Scripture teaches us to ‘get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice,’” the president urged.

“Those who attacked us sought to demoralize us, divide us, to deprive us of the very unity, the very ideals, that make America America – those qualities that have made us a beacon of freedom and hope to billions around the world,” Obama added.

“Today we declare once more we will never hand them that victory. As Americans, we will keep alive the virtues and values that make us who we are and who we must always be.”

The Lausanne Conference in Cape Town is set to make history

Over the last four decades, The Lausanne Movement, has proved to be one of the most important Christian movements in modern history. The renowned evangelist, Billy Graham, was responsible for convening the first conference in Lausanne in 1974 and drew some 2,700 participants from over 150 countries. Out of this conference came the Lausanne Covenant, an evangelical manifesto that addressed issues surrounding worldwide Christian evangelism. This document became one of the most vital in the history of modern Christianity.

The Lausanne Conference met again in 1989 in Manila, Philippines and now will meet for a third time on the shores of South Africa in what is being billed as the Lausanne/ Cape Town 2010 Conference. Approximately 4,000 Christian leaders from 200 nations will attend Lausanne III to focus on the future of the Church and evangelization in the 21st century. Delegates will struggle with various challenges to the Church today such as issues of secularization, the threat of terrorism, and HIV/AIDs.

To promote and prepare for the conference, the Lausanne Movement has launched a global chat room in eight languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish) to draw mission-minded Christians into dialogue about issues facing the global church. This means that even Christians who cannot attend the event can still participate in its conversations.

At the conclusion of the conference, Lausanne leader’s intend to adopt a new document modeled after the historic Lausanne Covenant, which will be termed the Cape Town Commitment. Organizers hope the document will provide Christians with a clear understanding of the call of the Church in the 21st century.

“I sense there is growing excitement and anticipation around the world,” said Dr. Geoff Tunnicliffe of the World Evangelical Alliance, which has partnered with Lausanne for the third congress. “This Congress has the potential for shaping and impacting a whole new generation of leaders.”

Cape Town 2010, also known as Lausanne III, will take place Oct 16-25 at Cape Town International Convention Center in Cape Town, South Africa.

Cape Town 2010 will mark the first time that a Lausanne conference is held in Africa.

To find out more about Lausanne Cape Town, go to http://www.lausanne.org/cape-town-2010

Quran Burning Controversy: Will he or won’t he?

The pastor at the centre of the now global controversy that has raged over his church’s plans to stage a ‘Burn a Quran Day’ on the anniversary of 9/11, has temporarily placed these plans on hold.

Yesterday, Rev. Terry Jones was convinced to cancel these plans by an Orlando imam, Mohammed Musri, who told Jones that if he called off this event then the project of building an equally controversial ‘mega mosque’ near Ground Zero in New York would be rethought and the mosque would be relocated.

However, since then the imam leading the mosque building project, Feisal Abdul Rauf, has firmly denied that any such agreement had his authorization, and said that the project would go ahead as originally planned.

Jones claimed that since he had been promised the mosque project would be relocated that he was left with no choice but to step back from his earlier promise, and place the the Quran burning event on temporary hold rather than cancelling it outright, pending a meeting with the imam in charge of the project.

“We put a suspension on it because right now we are actually really disappointed and very shocked because if this turns out to be true, he (Musri) very clearly lied to us,” Jones said.

There have been daily updates in most major media publications detailing the latest twists and turns in the Quran burning controversy generating world-wide attention. World opinion is almost unanimously against the event, asides from small pockets of ultra-conservatives.

It seems though that there will be at least one more twist in this tale before its conclusion.

Islamic Group Intends to Replace Any Burnt Qurans

Cnn.com reports that a major Islamic group intends to distribute around 200,000 Qurans to replace the approximately 200 copies that will be burnt as part of a Florida church’s controversial plans to host a ‘Burn a Quran Day’.

The Pastor of the church, the Rev. Terry Jones, is resisting pressure from both religious and political heavyweights, and says he intends to proceed with plans to burn Qurans on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

President Barack Obama, Gen. David Petraeus (the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan), Hillary Clinton and other leading political and military figures have warned that Jones’ plans could have detrimental effects not only on American troops overseas, but also on Christians living in Muslim dominated countries.

On Wednesday, the Vatican joined the chorus of Christian groups from around the world, such as the World Evangelical Alliance, who have urged the church to reconsider the burning. Various Christian groups have continually challenged the theological ethic behind their plans, saying that these actions could hardly be described as being faithful to Jesus’ call to love others.

Rev. Jones, however, has repeatedly stressed his belief that if anyone is targeted by Muslim reactions because of the Quran burning day, it will not be his fault but the Muslims involved.

In response, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil liberties and advocacy group, plans to hold a news conference in Washington on Thursday to address the issue. The group's "Learn, Don't Burn" initiative includes the distribution of of 200,000 Qurans and other activities planned for Friday and Saturday.

"This educational initiative is designed for those who seek a proactive and constructive response to the church's very un-American actions," said Nihad Awad, CAIR national executive director.

"The tiny group of extremists carrying out the book burnings clearly do not represent our society or its values and have been repudiated by all mainstream religious and political leaders."

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which is dedicated to protecting U.S. troops from religious intolerance, has promised to buy one new Quran and donate it to the Afghan National Army for each one burned in Florida.

(Image is of Rev. Terry Jones standing outside his church in Florida).

Did God Drink Beer and Other Important Archaeological Questions?

In a recent article for the Biblical Archaeology Review, the scholar Professor Michael Homan writes that ancient Israelites, with the possible exception of the Nazirites, routinely drank beer – and lots of it! Beer was a staple in the Israelite diet, just as it was in other ancient Near East cultures who grew grain. Men, women and even children of all social classes drank it regularly.

Homan then points out that even Yahweh, according to Hebrew Scriptures, drank at least half a ‘hin’ of beer (roughly equivalent to a six-pack) on a normal day, and even more on a Sabbath. Of course, this was through the cultic practice of libation, which involves the pouring out of a drink on an altar as an offering to a deity.

Homan believes that ancient Israel’s fondness for beer has largely been ignored because of the confusing of the Hebrew word for beer, and also a general “snobbery in academia causing scholars to scorn beer drinking while celebrating wine culture.” He also points out the huge health benefits that came from producing and drinking beer, and that it could well have been a major player in numerous technological and cultural developments through the ages.

Homan does remind his readers that the Hebrew Bible warns against consuming too much beer and calls for moderation.

To read the full article, please go to http://www.bib-arch.org

Top U.S. Military Commander Pleads with Florida Church to Cancel their ‘Burn a Quran Day’

General David Petraus, the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, said in a statement on Monday that a Florida church’s plan to burn Qurans on Sept. 11 could be detrimental to American troops overseas, and also negatively impact other innocents in Muslim dominated countries.

"It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort in Afghanistan,” said Gen. Petraeus. “It is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems. Not just here, but everywhere in the world we are engaged with the Islamic community."

As previously reported in 'So What?', an inter-denominational Florida church called the Dove World Outreach Center plans to burn copies of the Quran on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Petraeus’ plea has been joined to numerous other Christian voices from all over the world urging the church not to go through with their plans. This includes the largest evangelical body in the U.S., the National Association of Evangelicals as well as the National Council of churches.

Protests around the Muslim world from Afghanistan to Indonesia have already been held in anticipation of this event. Protestors in Afghanistan burnt American flags and chanted “Death to America” and “Long live Islam.” They also burnt an effigy of the Dove World Outreach Center’s pastor, Terry Jones.

Open Doors, a ministry that works with persecuted churches, warned that the Quran burning could have severe repercussions for Christians living in Muslim dominated countries.

“The burning of Qurans will only confirm what many Muslims believe – that Christians hate Muslims,” said Dr. Carl Moeller, president/CEO of Open Doors USA. “That is exactly the opposite message we as Christians want to send. We want to reach out in love to them.”

In countries such as Pakistan, there is already a history of Christians being falsely accused of desecrating the Quran by Muslims and sent to jail, because under that country’s controversial blasphemy law, a Muslim can accuse a Christian of insulting Islam’s holy book without evidence.

Abdul Shakoor, an 18-year-old high school student who said he joined the Kabul protest after hearing neighbors talk about the Quran burning, commented, “We know this is not just the decision of a church. It is the decision of the president and the entire United States," as reported by The Associated Press.

Flood Crisis in Pakistan Worsens

It is over a month since floods initially ravaged Pakistan’s northwest region, and aid workers on the ground believe that the crisis will “get worse before it gets better.”

Almost 50% of the affected population – 17 million – have still not been reached since both urban and rural areas in the region were flooded by water from the excessively heavy monsoon rains, and their circumstances are continuing to deteriorate.

Unsafe water and generally unsanitary conditions are resulting in outbreaks of diarrhea and raising concerns about cholera. The World Health Organization said on Tuesday that more than 500,000 cases of acute diarrhea and nearly 95,000 cases of suspected malaria have been treated since the floods first hit.

Other problems include young children, who are forced to wear the same muddy clothes for days on end are developing skin diseases, and many people are unable to bury their dead properly because there is simply not enough dry land on which to intern them.

"What we hear from the people living in the camps is that they are hanging on, surviving on what little food and water they receive, wearing the clothes they escaped the floods in, and trying to keep their children and livestock alive," said Mike Bailey, regional advocacy manager for Christian relief group World Vision. "The truth is that, despite of the amount of aid that has already been provided in some places, many people are in worse shape now than they were two weeks ago."

In their report World Vision said that entry into the worst-hit areas remains one of the chief obstacles in providing appropriate relief in this disaster. Many towns, such as those in Punjab, are still unapproachable over a month after the flooding began due to significant damage to transport systems such as roads and bridges. Communication networks have also been affected so further increasing the difficulties in providing sufficient aid.

Although the relief work has been a joint effort between the United Nations, the Pakistani army and a host of local and international relief groups, their combined resources have so far proved insufficient to provide medicine, food and water to the worst affected regions,. It is estimated that there are about eight million people who are in need of emergency assistance that cannot be reached.

"It's still difficult to assess the full extent of the damage, but we know that children and families are still in desperate need of the most basic things like food, clean water, and shelter," said Bailey. "Even when we focus on providing the most urgently-needed relief supplies, we've still been able to reach just one-tenth of the people we're trying to help in the next three months."

The World Food Program has said that at least 40 heavy helicopters are needed to assist. The United States has promised to provide a further 18 helicopters to work alongside the 15 already working in the region.

However, aid agencies are still struggling to raise the funds needed to properly assist those stricken by this massive humanitarian crisis. Only about two-thirds of the $460 million the U.N. requested for emergency aid has been raised, according to the head of the World Food Program. But the food agency itself has less than half the money it needs to feed those affected.

The scale of the disaster has raised concerns about the stability of nuclear-armed Pakistan, which is already reeling from al-Qaida and Taliban violence and massive economic woes.

Pope Will Try To Prevent Stoning of Iranian Woman

Pope Benedict XVI is keeping a close eye on the case of an Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning and may involve himself in trying to prevent her punishment through the appropriate diplomatic channels, the Vatican said on Sunday.

The pope has made similar moves in the past in humanitarian cases, but his intervention is dependent upon being asked by authorities in another country and also great care is given to ensure the matter goes through proper diplomatic channels, and not publicly, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said in a statement.

"The Holy See is following the case with attention and participation," Lombardi said. "The position of the church, which is opposed to the death penalty, is that stoning is a particularly brutal form."

Presently, the Italian government is at the forefront of pleading clemency for the woman, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani.

Ashtiani was condemned to death by stoning after she was convicted of adultery, although the Iranian judiciary have yet to confirm that this is considered a final verdict on her case, reports CNN.com.

A large photo of Ashtiani has been hung outside Italy's Equal Opportunities Ministry to increase public awareness of her predicament.

"'This unprecedented act aims to mobilize opinion and contribute to saving Sakineh from a brutal, unacceptable sentence,'' Foreign Minister Franco Frattini and Equal Opportunities Minister Mara Carfagna said in a joint statement.

''The case is being followed closely by the foreign ministry and personally by Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, who has given instructions for close bilateral relations to be maintained with the Iranian authorities so that they consider clemency in this specific case,'' a recent ministry statement said.

Italy has some leverage with Iran since it is a key trade partner, with bilateral trade exceeding $8 billion in 2009 alone.

In other news related to this case, Ashtiani has also been sentenced to 99 lashes because her lawyer inadvertently allowed the publication of a picture of her without a headscarf. She was sentenced to this further punishment by a prison judge for spreading “corruption and indecency” with the photo.

Has Hawking Really Disproved God?

Headlines are boldly proclaiming it, talks shows are happily buzzing, and the comments columns on internet sites have been heating up steadily ever since news broke on world famous physicist Stephen Hawking’s latest book which apparently disproves God entirely. Or more correctly, disproves the need for there to be a God actively involved in the creation of the universe.

Hawking says in his book "The Grand Design" that, given the existence of gravity, "the universe can and will create itself from nothing," according to an excerpt published on Thursday in The Times of London.

"Spontaneous creation is the reason why there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist," he says.

"It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper [fuse] and set the universe going," he writes.

Hawking co-wrote the book with science writer Leonard Mlodinow, and their answer is what they have called the “M-theory,” which posits 11 space-time dimensions, "vibrating strings, point particles, two-dimensional membranes, three-dimensional blobs and other objects that are more difficult to picture and occupy even more dimensions of space."

If you are confused about why exactly this may disprove God, then read on.

Hawking says that while he understands the feelings of the renowned English scientist Sir Isaac Newton - that God did "create" and "conserve" order in the universe and designed it uniquely to be comfortable for human life - the discovery of other solar systems outside our own in 1992 undercuts this key idea.

Hawking argues that if there are untold numbers of planets in the galaxy, it's less remarkable that there's one with conditions for human life. In fact, according to Hawking, any form of intelligent life that evolves anywhere will automatically find that it lives somewhere suitable for it.

Hawking then introduces the idea of multiple universes, saying that if there are many universes, one will have laws of physics like ours - and in such a universe, something not only can, but must, arise from nothing. Therefore, he concludes, there's no need for God to explain it.

However, many of Hawking's Cambridge colleagues believe that the famous physicist is missing a vital point in his arguments and that as a result he is debunking the wrong God.

"The 'god' that Stephen Hawking is trying to debunk is not the creator God of the Abrahamic faiths who really is the ultimate explanation for why there is something rather than nothing," said Denis Alexander, director of The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion.

"Hawking's god is a god-of-the-gaps used to plug present gaps in our scientific knowledge.”

Fraser Watts, an Anglican priest and Cambridge expert in the history of science, said that it's not the existence of the universe that proves the existence of God. And, he said, "a creator God provides a reasonable and credible explanation of why there is a universe, and ... it is somewhat more likely that there is a God than that there is not. That view is not undermined by what Hawking has said."

In his blog, The Cosmic Log, the science editor and author Alan Boyle underscores these sentiments by writing:

“Does Hawking's view mean that modern physics "leaves no place for God in the creation of the universe," as the Times suggests, or that "God did not create the universe," as The Guardian claims? Not unless you need a "God of the Gaps" to step into science's place. A more sophisticated view would hold that physics (and evolutionary biology, to cite another example) are the not-always-mysterious ways in which God routinely works. In fact, Soren Kierkegaard would say that God's workings have to be transparent — and I tend to side with Soren.”

While controversy will continue to rage because it sells newspapers, and ‘evangelical’ atheists like Richard Dawkins will be quick to jump on this particular bandwagon (and indeed, already have), it does need to be clearly stated that Hawking’s suppositions about why God may not NEED to exist have already been argued for decades now. Which is why cynics might well wonder if the sensationalist angle of Hawking’s book is being deliberately worked to sell more copies! Yet, it is important for Christians to enter this debate in a manner that is gracious, thoughtful and sensitive rather than being angrily reactional. It is also important to remember that Hawking clearly has not disproved God once and for all, and that respected Christian scientists have serious grounds to argue that even if every mystery of the universe is explained by science, it will not explain away the God who may use (as he always has) the ‘not-always-mysterious ways’ to routinely work in the universe.

Hawking's book will be published on September 7 in the United States and on September 9 in the United Kingdom.

80% of Adults Worldwide Say Religion is of Personal Importance

Eight in ten adults globally state that religion is an integral part of their daily lives, according to Gallup surveys conducted in 114 different countries.

Just as in previous surveys, however, there is a direct correlation between socioeconomic status and religiosity, with the world’s poorest countries reporting higher percentages of those who claim religion is important in their daily lives, reported Gallup on Tuesday.

The globe’s poorest countries are those with an average per-capita income of $2,000 or less where the median proportion who state that religion is important in their daily lives is 95 percent.

This is in stark contrast with a median of 47 percent for the richest countries (those with an average per-capita income of over $25,000).

“Social scientists have put forth numerous possible explanations for the relationship between the religiosity of a population and its average income level,” said Gallup editor Steve Crabtree.

“One theory is that religion plays a more functional role in the world's poorest countries, helping many residents cope with a daily struggle to provide for themselves and their families. A previous Gallup analysis supports this idea,” he added.

In Gallup’s analysis of their surveys, they discovered that a relationship between religiosity and emotional well-being is stronger among those in poor countries than among those in the developed world.

Countries such as the United States buck this trend. This is because according to Gallup, 65 percent of Americans say religion is important in their daily lives. Other high-income countries which emphasise the importance of religion include Italy, Greece, Singapore, and countries in the Persian Gulf.

The top six countries with the highest percentage of people placing importance on religion were found to be Bangladesh, Niger, Yemen, Indonesia, Malawi, and Sri Lanka – with at least 99 percent in each reporting religion as important in their daily lives.

The six countries with the lowest percentages were Estonia (16 percent), Sweden (17 percent), Denmark (19 percent), Japan (24 percent), and Hong Kong (24 percent).

Christian Relief Worker Freed After 105 Days in Captivity

After 105 days spent in captivity in Sudan, a 35 year old aid worker for the Christian relief organization, Samaritan’s Purse, was released on Monday.

Flavia Wagner was greeted enthusiastically by Samaritan’s Purse co-workers and international security personnel as she arrived at the Khartoum airport. Wagner was clearly exhausted but in good health despite her ordeal.

In May, Wagner and another Samaritan’s Purse employee and a local driver were abducted after their convoy was halted by eight armed men in Sudan’s Darfur region. The three were part of a ten person team engaged in educational assessments in local communities but Wagner was the only non-Sudanese person abducted.

Seven days later the two Sudanese men were released unharmed and without further explanation. Wagner remained in captivity but was allowed to contact family and friends on more than one occasion. Since then the Samaritan’s Purse has worked alongside the U.S. and Sudanese government in efforts to secure her release.

“We thank God that Flavia is safe and free,” stated Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse and son of the famous evangelist Billy Graham. “We appreciate the help of the government of Sudan and the United States government.

“People around the world have been praying for her safety and her release. Today, those prayers have been answered,” he added.

At this stage it is not clear exactly when Wagner would be returning home, although she said she is looking forward to being reunited with her family in the U.S.

The Samaritan's Purse, a non-profit organization, has about 548 national and expat staff in the Sudan and seeks to provide immediate response to the physical and spiritual needs of individuals in crisis situations. They work in more than a hundred countries around the globe.

(Photo: Samaritan's Purse)