De-Baptism Gains a Following in Britain

More than 100,000 former Christians have downloaded "certificates of de-baptism" in a bid to publicly renounce the faith, according to the London-based National Secular Society (NSS).

Terry Sanderson, the society's president, says the group started the online de-baptism initiative five years ago to mock the practice of baptizing infants too young to consent to religious rites. Their web site invites visitors to "Liberate yourself from the Original Mumbo-Jumbo that liberated you from the Original Sin you never had" and allows them to print out a paper certificate that uses quasi-formal language to "reject baptism's creeds and other such superstitions." But in recent months, as tens of thousands began to download the certificate, organizers realized that they had struck a chord with atheists and once-devout church members who are leaving churches they see as increasingly out-of-tune with modern life. "Churches have become so reactionary, so politically active that people actually want to make a protest against them now," Sanderson says. "They're not just indifferent anymore. They're actively hostile."

The campaign has become so popular — with nearly 1,000 certificates downloaded each week — that the NSS has started taking orders for certificates printed on parchment, at $4.50 each; they've sold nearly 2,000 in just three weeks. "Every time the Pope says something outrageous we get another rush on the certificate," Sanderson says, noting that traffic to the site skyrocketed last month following Pope Benedict XVI's comment that condoms could worsen the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa.

Public gaffes like that one may explain the anti-Catholic backlash driving similar movements elsewhere in the world. In October last year, Italy's Union of Rationalist Atheist and Agnostics sponsored the country's first-ever "De-baptism Day," when the no-longer faithful attended protests and passed out de-baptism forms to areligious people who didn't have internet connections to download them. More recently, on March 2, atheists and feminists in Argentina teamed up to launch the "Not in my Name" Internet campaign which encourages Roman Catholics to notify their local bishops of their desire to officially leave the church. So far more than 1,800 have joined their Facebook group or signed the petition on their website

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Source: TIME

Policeman shoots pastor

A policeman at the weekend shot dead a pastor of a Pentecostal church and critically injured a bishop in Nakapiripirit district before turning the gun on himself.

Julius Atuhairwe, attached to Tokora Police Post on the Mbale- Nakapiripirit road, reportedly opened fire on Pastor Eric Barasa of Amudat Pentecostal Assemblies of God church at 11:00am moments after being granted a pass leave.

The attack injured bishop George Omara, the head of churches in Karamoja sub-region.

Atuhairwe then shot himself in the chin and died instantly. The north-eastern regional Police chief, Okot Obwona, said the reason for the attack remains unclear.

“We cannot tell why Atuhairwe shot at the two people randomly,” he said.

“After receiving permission, he went to the barracks, picked his gun and on getting to the town council, he shot the pastor and the bishop.”

Obwona appealed to Police officers confide in their supervisors when they have problems so as to avert such incidents. “I also request that when you come across a colleague with problems, inform us about it in time. ”

Police spokesperson Judith Nabakooba yesterday said Omara had been admitted to Matany Hospital in Moroto district while the bodies of Barasa and Atuhairwe were taken for postmortem examination.

Witnesses said they saw Atuhairwe raise his gun and open fire on the duo without saying a word.

“We got shocked when we saw people falling down before we scampered for our dear lives,” a witness said.

Pastor Robert Olupot of the Pentecostal Assemblies of God Church in Moroto said Omara was in Nakapiripirit for a leadership training.

“It is unfortunate that when Barasa went to receive Omara, they met the frustrated Police officer who showered them with bullets,” he said.

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Source: The New Vision

Decatur Church Being Built In 24 Hours

FORT WAYNE, IN (Indiana's NewsCenter) - While a slow economy has slowed or stopped some construction projects recently, that is not the case in Decatur.

A few hundred workers have converged on the town to build a church in 24 hours.

The United Pentecostal Church's Home Missions Department has built nearly 100 churches around the country and this is the 5th in Indiana. The Decatur church purchased the materials for around $80,000 and all the labor is donated.

Pastor Bruce Bush said it would have cost his church over four times that amount and 4 months to construct the building.

Workers came from as far away as Las Vegas to donate their services.
They started with a concrete slab at 7am and will have the church finished by 7am on Saturday.
The first service is Sunday morning at 10am.

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Source: Indiana's NewsCenter: Fort Wayne WPTA-TV

Egyptian Christian burned alive

A young Christian man was set on fire by a Muslim man in Egypt after a rumour circulated that he had had a relationship with the Muslim man’s sister.

Yasser Ahmed Qasim approached 25-year-old Sabri Shihata and poured gasoline on the Coptic Christian and then set him on fire, reported the Voice of the Copts on Friday. The young Copt tried to put out the fire by throwing himself into a nearby canal, but the burns were too severe and he later died.

His 60-year-old father, Sabri Shihata, later arrived at a village rally where a group of Muslims stabbed him to death. One stab reportedly entered his back and came out of his abdomen below the rib cage, according to Voice of the Copts. The elder Shihata was taken to the hospital but died from the attack.

The Muslim group also attacked the Coptic man’s younger brother, 22-year-old Rami Sabri Shihata, causing a serious injury to his head.

Local police have arrested those involved in the attack, including Yasser Ahmed Kassem. The perpetrators are charged with deliberate homicide.

Security forces have also surrounded the victims’ house and extra security has been deployed throughout the village of 60,000 people.

A media blackout has been put in place as the prosecution and the State Security Services continue investigation.

In Egypt recently, sectarian violence has been on the rise as Christian-Muslim relations have been strained by conversions to Christianity and government opposition to recognising the conversions.

Furthermore, changes in living arrangements have also contributed to increased tension between the two groups. Previously, Christians and Muslims used to live peacefully in mixed communities, but recently the two groups have tended to live separately only among their own religious communities and there have been less interaction between the two groups.
Egypt has the largest Christian population in the Middle East with an estimated 10 million Copts in Egypt, making up about 10 percent of the country’s population.
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Source: Christian Today

Three Christians killed in Eritrea for refusing to denounce faith

International Christian Concern (ICC) reports that three Christians have been tortured and killed in Eritrea for refusing to denounce their faith.

Eritrea's one-party communist regime has reportedly arrested around 2,000 Christians since 2002 and often imprisons them in metal containers. The country is listed ninth on the ICC Hall of Shame, which lists the worst persecutors of Christians in the world.

The three latest victims of the regime were arrested because they were not members of one of the approved Christian churches in the country - the Roman Catholic Church, the Eritrean Orthodox Church and the Eritrean Lutheran Orthodox Church.

ICC said one of those killed was a woman who was tortured until she was given the option of being killed or signing a document denying her faith. Two men were also given the same choice.
Two of the three victims were deliberately exposed to malaria and offered medicine if they denied their faith. ICC said all three refused the offer and have been killed.

ICC is calling on Christians to remember the victims of persecution and their families in their prayers.
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Source: Christian Today

Megachurch Pastors Joel, Victoria Osteen to Release 'Hope for Today' Bible

Megachurch pastors Joel and Victoria Osteen will release their very own Bible next month ahead of their church’s 50th anniversary.

The Hope for Today Bible, scheduled to hit the shelves on Mar. 10, is presented in the New Living Translation and features insights, notes, and encouragements from the ministers of the 38,000-large Lakewood Church in Houston – the largest church in the nation.

Also included are specific verses to guide people in prayers for their relationships, their children, their finances, and their health, as well as "HopePoints" – key words and supporting scriptures related to topics such as favor, forgiveness, anger, depression, loneliness, and self-control, among others.
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Source: The Christan Post

$6.9M Awarded to USC for Pentecostalism Research

LOS ANGELES -- A $6.9 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation will allow USC to establish the Pentecostal and Charismatic Research Initiative, university officials announced Monday.

The initiative will be housed in USC's College of Letters, Arts and Sciences' Center for Religion and Civic Culture. As much as $3.5 million of the grant funds will be spent on social science research in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Russia.

"Our goal is to inspire research partnerships around the globe and fund projects that will shape the discussion for years to come," said Donald Miller, executive director of the Center for Religion and Civic Culture.

"We are interested in understanding why Pentecostalism is growing so rapidly, what impact it is having on society and how it is different in various cultural settings."
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Source: NBC

GodTube Changes Name to Tangle.com

Christian video and social networking site GodTube.com has changed its name and purpose.

The popular Web site is now called tangle.com and is no longer catering toward only Christians, the Dallas Morning News reports.

Tangle.com's new aim is to be a "family-friendly" social networking site, according to CEO Jason Illian, who replaced GodTube's first CEO Chris Wyatt last year.

"We think that's a pretty big space that nobody's really playing in," Illian told the Dallas Morning News.

"The old name 'GodTube' was a little polarizing. We wanted a name that was more encompassing," he said. "We don't shy away from our faith-based community, but we wanted to expand that."

The CEO claimed that tangle.com still retains "Christian underpinnings" without promoting any specific theology.

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Source: The Christian Post

New Library Rules May Keep Bible Out of Reach

LONDON – Librarians have been told to place all religious texts on the top shelves of bookcases, following complaints from Muslims about the positioning of the Koran on shelves.

The move came about after Muslims complained about the Koran being placed on lower shelves, reports The Daily Mail. They said that it should be put above "commonplace things," as is the practice in many Muslim homes.

Muslims in Leicester had moved copies of the Koran to the top shelves in libraries, as they believe it to be the word of God.

In a report, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council explained that the librarians in Leicester had spoken to the Federation of Muslim Organizations and were advised that all holy books be placed on the top shelf.

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Source: The Christian Post

Christians to fast 40 days over child sacrifice

CHURCHES countrywide will pray and fast for 40 days starting on Wednesday over the increasing cases of human sacrifice.

The prayers will be guided under the theme ‘Weeping for Uganda’s children who are no more.’

The Anglican Archbishop, Henry Luke Orombi, yesterday made the announcement at the provincial offices in Namirembe at a conference with leaders of Pentecostal churches.

Orombi said the leaders of the Orthodox, Catholic and the Seventh Day Adventist churches had already assented for the campaign.

He said the drive was aimed at making Ugandans repent and ask God to forgive and heal the land.

“There is greed, corruption and an inhuman thirst to spill innocent blood because our society is degenerating owing to greed, Godlessness and moral corruption,” he said.

Orombi appealed to head teachers to make convenient reporting time for children and let them go back home before dark.

He also counselled parents: “Parents must understand that they have limited chance to turn their children into responsible people. Once a child grows up, it is no longer your responsibility. Do not leave your children to ‘yayas’ who cannot instill in them the good morals you want.”

Pastor Joseph Sserwadda of Victory Christian Centre appealed to the Government to ignore the traditional healers request to have a law legalising their activities.

Sserwanda critised herbalists and healers whom he said claimed to promote African practices through healing, yet they had turned it into business by using demonic spirits and sacrificing human beings.

He called for deterrent punishments for those convicted of human sacrifice
Source: The New Vision