Religion Today Summaries - Sept. 13, 2007

Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff | Crosswalk.com | Published: Sep 12, 2007

Religion Today Summaries - Sept. 13, 2007

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

  • Christians Urged to Pray for Muslims During Ramadan
  • Homosexuality Dispute Could Cut Attendance at Key Anglican Meeting
  • Archeologists Press Israel to Halt Destruction on Temple Mount
  • Scientists Claim Noah's Flood Caused Global Warming

Christians Urged to Pray for Muslims During Ramadan

The Christian Post reports that Christians have been urged to pray for Muslims during Ramadan, Islam’s holiest month, which in some countries began Wednesday. During Ramadan, Muslims around the world will fast, pray, give to charity, and put more effort into following the teachings of Islam. “With Islam in the news almost every night, the time is now to begin praying that God would draw Muslims to Himself,” wrote Greg Yoder, executive director of Mission Network News, which is organizing the Muslim prayer effort. Sammy Tippit, an evangelist who is focusing on reaching Muslims, explained the significance of praying for Muslims during Ramadan. “It’s kind of a time of seeking in a certain sense, when they’re fasting and they’re more geared toward spiritual things,” said Tippit, according to MNN. “And it’s out of a sense for God – a thirst for God and a hunger for God. And during these times of Ramadan, many will have dreams about Jesus.”

Homosexuality Dispute Could Cut Attendance at Key Anglican Meeting

CNSNews.com reports that some sections of the global Anglican Church opposed to the consecration of homosexual bishops will stay away from next summer's Lambeth Conference, a once-a-decade meeting of bishops from around the world, Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi of Kenya has confirmed. The conference in England is where policy issues that will guide the Anglican Church for the next decade are decided. "Some provinces [country branches] are saying they will not attend a meeting where decisions are agreed upon but are not implemented," Nzimbi told Cybercast News Service. "We agreed [at the last Lambeth, in 1998] that we should delay the consecration of gay bishops but the American church went ahead and did it." He said the reason given by those thinking about or planning to stay away is that the homosexuality issue has splintered the unity that bound the Anglican Communion together. "Our unity is based on common faith in Jesus Christ but gay priesthood has broken that so we may have nothing in common." Nzimbi did not name the countries or regions that may refuse to attend. He said the Anglican Church in Kenya would make its decision by December.

Archeologists Press Israel to Halt Destruction on Temple Mount

Archeologists in Jerusalem are calling on the Israeli government to stop what they consider the wanton destruction of thousands of years of archeological artifacts by Islamic religious authorities on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, CNS.com reports. The WAKF (the Islamic religious authorities in charge of the Temple Mount) has been digging a five-foot trench with a bulldozer on Jerusalem's Temple Mount for more than a month. They say it is necessary to replace decades-old electrical cables. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office and the state-run Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) have given their approval for the work, but independent Israeli archeologists have condemned the move, charging that accepted archeological practices are not being followed at the site.

Scientists Claim Noah's Flood Caused Global Warming

A release from Grizzly Adams Productions asks: Is our changing climate a result of man's dependence on fossil fuels? Are we headed for a worldwide flood on the same par as Noah's Flood? Or is there more behind the headlines than even environmentalists tout? Miraculous Messages: From Noah's Flood to the End Times, a new documentary from Grizzly Adams® Productions, confronts the issue of Global Warming head-on with both religious and scientific experts who maintain that man's contribution is minimal — and that Global Warming trends may primarily be a result of Noah's Flood. The documentary explores how Noah built his massive Ark, the number of animals aboard, and where the Ark landed, based on research from scientists in various fields. In addition, Miraculous Messages explains in depth how a catastrophic worldwide flood could have happened and the current evidences left behind from this event — 25 mysterious anomalies found on Planet Earth. When it comes to climate change, however, "It's important to step back from the headlines and clarify what we're really dealing with when we talk about Global Warming," says David Balsiger, senior producer at Grizzly Adams Productions. In Miraculous Messages, Dr. John Baumgardner, retired geophysicist and climate researcher, does not dispute the Earth's experience of increasingly warmer temperatures — but he contends the primary cause is not related to man's burning of coal and oil. Dr. Baumgardner spent 12 years working on a Global Ocean Model at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and was directly involved in climate research. Dr. Baumgardner notes that the earth has experienced warming and cooling cycles several times since Noah's Flood approximately 5,000 years ago.

Religion Today Summaries - Sept. 13, 2007