CP World Report: Middle East Violence, India Bible Study Attack, Steven Curtis Chapman
With the unleashing of violence in the middle east, said to be over a film insulting to Islam, the world has changed for Christians. That is the warning of Founder and president of the Christian Emergency network. Mary Marr asked the question: if the US cannot or will not defend its embassies then what will be defended. As for the future security of Christians, Churches and missionaries globally, the current events weigh heavily. Marr also noted that this organized outrage was brewing for some time and is it not simply due to any film. Just this week the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a rare security bulletin putting faith-based organizations on alert . Marr added that Erecting the Islamist flag over U.S.embassies has meaning in that it makes the statement the Islamist flag has replaced the sovereignty of the country.
The State Department has now ordered non-essential staff from its embassies in Sudan and Tunisia to leave with all of their family members. And an advisory has been issued to US citizens against traveling to those countries due to the anti-American violence.
President Obama is now working with other nations to protect U.S. diplomats. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton phoned top officials from seven countries to discuss the situation. Leaders in: Libya, Somalia, Britain, Egypt, France, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Meanwhile….
The World Evangelical Alliance has condemned the violence being perpetrated across the Middle East by Muslims angry over a video defaming Islam. While the alliance also condemned the film, it issued a statement saying, the organization is quote….. "convinced that there can never be any justification for such violence." The WEA called upon Christians and Muslims to press for calm and build mechanisms for peaceful co-existence.
As the violence rages on in the middle east, Israel was not exempt. Outrage exploded in the Palestinian territories as Palestinians in Gaza burned American and Israeli flags after their Friday prayers. Protests even erupted in Jerusalem.
An unprovoked attack during Bible study in a village in India has left one Christian dead and a dozen others wounded. The attack was reportedly conducted by Hindu nationalists with the Bharatiya Janata Party during a prayer service at a Church of South India. Seven of those party members have reportedly been arrested. Local reports also say the attack happened because word spread to local Hindus that a Hindi woman was invited by a friend to attend the prayer service. The attackers began demonstrations, and they accused the minister of trying to convert Hindus to Christianity.
Britain could become the first country in the world to legalize a genetic engineering technique of creaating babies with three biological parents following a government-commissioned consultation . Scientists want ministers to give the green light to thecontroversial fertility treatment that eliminates a host of genetic conditions, such as muscular dystrophy. Government ministers have ordered the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority to explore the issue and make recommendations on whether the benefits outweigh any ethical concerns.
A national survivor's group wants a Catholic bishop to resign after being convicted of criminal charges.
Earlier this month, a judge found Bishop Robert Finn guilty of failing to report suspected child abuse.
Now, Lisa Benson reports critics want him to vacate his position in the Catholic church.
The scandal over topless pictures of Britain's Duchess of Cambridge—Kate Middleton-- is about to get legal. Lawyers for the Royal Family are set to open a case in court in Paris - to try and stop the photos being published more widely. Prince William and Kate are also seeking a criminal charge against the photographer-- claiming invasion of privacy. A French magazine already published the photos and now an Italian one is following suit. They were taken while the duke and duchess were on holiday at a family-owned house in the south of France.
IN ENTERTAINMENT:
Steven Curtis Chapman, actress Katherine Heigel, her husband Josh Kelley and Ne-Yo attended the recent annual gala at the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute in Washington . Most of this year's 113 "Angels in Adoption" honorees were not celebrities. Angels in Adoption Program provides Members of Congress the opportunity to honor an individual, couple, or organization from their district that have made an extraordinary contribution on behalf of children in need of homes. Steven Curtis Chapman, is an award-winning Christian music artist. He has adopted three children with his wife, Mary Beth and started a ministry for orphans called "Show Hope".
