Religion Today Summaries - Dec. 5, 2007

Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff | Crosswalk.com | Published: Dec 04, 2007

Religion Today Summaries - Dec. 5, 2007

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

  • Robertson Hands Over CBN to Son
  • Faith-Based Nonprofits Must Maintain Trust as Grassley Inquiry Moves Forward
  • Islamic Militants Sentenced for 2005 Attacks, Beheadings in Indonesia
  • Pope's Second Encyclical Invites People to Personally Encounter Jesus

Robertson Hands Over CBN to Son

Another "founding father" of Christian broadcasting has turned over the baton to his son. ASSIST News Service reports that Pat Robertson announced at the quarterly meeting of the CBN Board of Directors his desire to continue as Chairman of the Board, but to relinquish his duties as Chief Executive Officer of The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), effective immediately. Robertson, who will be 78 in March, founded CBN in 1960. He has been the ministry’s Chief Executive Officer since its founding. His son Gordon will assume the reigns.

Faith-Based Nonprofits Must Maintain Trust as Grassley Inquiry Moves Forward

Faith-based nonprofit organizations need to make sure they share power within their organizations and are members of outside accountability groups to ensure they maintain the trust of donors as they move forward in future fundraising efforts, Douglas Shaw, chairman and chief executive officer of Douglas Shaw & Associates Inc., advised, according to a Religion News Service release. Shaw made the comments in the wake of the inquiry launched by U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) of six prominent televangelist ministries for possible financial misconduct.  The ministries have been asked to submit financial statements and records to the Senate Finance Committee by Dec. 6.

Islamic Militants Sentenced for 2005 Attacks, Beheadings in Indonesia

Three Islamic extremists were sentenced yesterday to 19, 14 and 10 years in prison respectively for beheading three Christian teenage girls and shooting two others non-fatally in 2005, Compass Direct News reports. A South Jakarta district court sentenced Rahman Kalahe to 19 years in prison, Agus Nur Muhammad to 14 years and Yudi Heryanto to 10 years after finding them guilty in the beheading of Theresia Morangke and Yarni Sambue, both 15, and 17-year-old Alfita Poliwo as the girls walked to school in Poso district in Sulawesi on October 29, 2005. Kalahe was also found guilty of involvement in a Dec. 31, 2005 bomb attack on a market in Palu that killed at least eight people. Abdul Muis was also convicted for this crime and likewise received a sentence of 19 years. The two men were also convicted of murdering the Rev. Irianto Kongkoli and two high school students in 2006. The court also found Syaiful Anam and Amril Niode guilty of bombing a marketplace in the Christian-inhabited town of Tentena, in Poso district, in May 2005, with Anam receiving a prison sentence of 18 years and Niode one of 15 years.

Pope's Second Encyclical Invites People to Personally Encounter Jesus

According to Catholic News Service, though Pope Benedict XVI's latest encyclical is difficult to categorize or summarizing in a single line, a fundamental point is that Christ's sacrifice overturned the pagan worldview of the early Christian era. In Christianity's new vision, the universe was governed not by the laws of matter but by a personal God who revealed himself in the person of Jesus Christ. "And if we know this person and he knows us, then truly the inexorable power of material elements no longer has the last word; we are not slaves of the universe and of its laws, we are free," the Pope said.

Religion Today Summaries - Dec. 5, 2007