Religion Today Summaries - June 6, 2007

Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff | Published: Jun 05, 2007

Religion Today Summaries - June 6, 2007

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.
 
In today's edition:

  • Biblical Worldview Critical to Survival of Christianity in America, Says Parsley
  • Poll Shows Liberal-Conservative Gap on Sexual Morality Issues
  • Company Helps Churches against Predators
  • Two Assyrian Baghdad U.S. Embassy Employees Killed by al-Qaeda

Biblical Worldview Critical to Survival of Christianity in America, Says Parsley

Rod Parsley, the founder of the Center for Moral Clarity, says Christians in America must be equipped to stand against secular humanist worldviews and choose to get involved in the culture war, OneNewsNow.com reports. Otherwise, within a generation the U.S. could end up a lot like Europe. Parsley's book Culturally Incorrect; How Clashing Worldviews Affect Your Future shows how liberalism and post-modern thinking have crippled America. As one example of the logical extreme of post-modernism, Parsley cites an example from Austria, where "scientists appealed to the government of Austria to give apes human rights, since [they believe] we are descendants of apes."

Poll Shows Liberal-Conservative Gap on Sexual Morality Issues

Homosexual relations and doctor-assisted suicide are the top most controversial and divisive issues in the country when it comes to moral acceptance, a new Gallup poll cited by The Christian Post found. Of the 16 social issues Americans rated, the gap between liberals and conservatives were starkly large on issues around sexuality. 83 percent of liberals called homosexual relations "morally acceptable," compared to only 23 percent of conservatives. The poll also showed that 89 percent of liberals believe heterosexual sex outside of marriage is morally acceptable, while only 34 percent of conservatives say the same. Another 83 percent of liberals say it is morally acceptable to have a baby outside of marriage while only 33 percent of conservatives agree.

Company Helps Churches against Predators

The Louisiana Baptist Convention has begun offering its churches the services of a Texas-based company as a way to combat child sexual predators, Baptist Press reports. Child Guard Systems, Inc. provides a comprehensive child protection program for churches via a simple, web-based compliant program. The company seeks to keep sexual predators out of volunteer and staff positions. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry approximately 80,000 cases of sexual molestation are reported every year. "We want every local church to be a positive experience for every child," said David E. Hankins, executive director of the Louisiana Baptist Convention.

Two Assyrian Baghdad U.S. Embassy Employees Killed by al-Qaeda

According to ASSIST News Service, an Assyrian couple that worked for the U.S. embassy in Baghdad has been killed by an al Qaeda-led group. The couple was killed on May 28. After the husband went missing late last week his wife went to look for him and then she too appeared to have been abducted. Anonymous U.S. officials said the couple's car was stopped and the husband was abducted while the terrorists screamed "you filthy Christian traitor." When the wife, Amal, attempted to deliver the ransom to the kidnappers, described as a Sunni group, she was killed. According to AINA, the self-styled "Islamic State of Iraq" said in a statement published on the Internet "God's ruling has been implemented against two of the most prominent agents and spies of the worshippers of the Cross."

Religion Today Summaries - June 6, 2007