Flying the flag for Islam and Hinduism
Local councils are flying the flag for Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism to mark days in those faiths’ calendars, but church groups have faced opposition simply for placing posters in public libraries. The plethora of causes supported by local councils was revealed in a new survey for The Sunday Telegraph. See this must read report: It shows that as well as flying the homosexual rainbow flag at least once a year, Brighton and Hove Council also hoist the Transgender Pride flag on Transgender Day in November. In Brighton last year a Sunday school teacher was told she couldn’t put up a poster at her local library to advertise a church children’s event because it ‘promoted religion’. The survey also revealed that councils are showing endorsement for such diverse occasions as Rastafarian days, the Tibetan Independence Day and the winter and summer solstices, while a Druid flag is hoisted by a Leicestershire council. Pray: that as Christians we are given divine strength and guidance to fight back against marginalisation. (Ro.10:14) More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/councils-happy-to-fly-the-flag-for-islam-and-hinduism/
Outrage over BBC’s new lesbian show
A controversial new BBC lesbian drama which showed two women having sex next to a corpse has left TV viewers appalled. BBC 3’s Lip Service, aimed at viewers as young as 16, began airing this week and has attracted complaints from scores of viewers. Actress Laura Fraser, who plays a character called Cat, said: ‘I started to feel like I was making a porno film. At the end of a day I was thinking ‘what am I doing for a living?’ The BBC describes Lip Service as being a ‘bold’ drama ‘about the sex lives and love affairs of twenty-something lesbians living in contemporary Glasgow’. The show has attracted a number of complaints, one viewer describing the funeral parlour sex scene as ‘stomach churning’. Harriet Braun, the show’s creator, claims that the show is as realistic as possible. She said: ‘It was important, I wanted it to reflect real life.’ Pray: that the BBC comes to recognise that it should set standards rather than follow minority foibles. (1Ti.6:20) More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/viewers-outraged-over-bbcs-new-lesbian-show/
'Multikulti' has failed in Germany
Germany's attempts to build a post-war multicultural society have ‘utterly failed’, the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has said. She broke a long standing taboo in Germany to address the immigration issue in a speech at Potsdam near Berlin. Mrs Merkel told a meeting of the youth wing of her party at the weekend: ‘Multikulti, the concept that we are now living side by side and are happy about it, this approach has failed, utterly.’ She spoke days after a poll showed that a third of all Germans viewed immigrants as welfare cheats. Mrs Merkel said: ‘We feel bound to the Christian image of humanity. That is what defines us. Those who do not accept this are in the wrong place here.’ Mindful of the legacy of the Second World War and racial policies that cost millions their lives, German politicians have tended only to speak in broad positive terms of the ‘multikulti’ society. Pray: that Germany continues to emphasise its Christian heritage to all. (Ro.15:16) More:http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Multikulti+failed+Germany+says+chancellor+Angela+Merkel/3684846/story.html#ixzz12tmKfCX7
Pope’s effort to revive Christianity
Pope Benedict XVI has formally created a new Vatican office to revive Christianity in Europe, his latest attempt to counter secular trends in traditionally Christian countries. In a decree, Pope Benedict said the new office would promote Church doctrine, use the media to get the Church's message out and mobilize missionary-type activities. But even on its first day of existence, the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization ran into a snag: The four-page decree instituting the office was issued in only Latin and Italian. The head of the new office, Monsignor Rino Fisichella, stressed that he planned to have language sections in his department to deal with the faithful in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, German and Slavic languages. He denied the creation of the office was a mere bureaucratic attempt to fix a complex cultural phenomenon, saying the Pope had made an astute, pastoral decision to focus attention on a growing problem that had preoccupied popes for decades. Pray: for the Pope’s initiative to be successful, leading nations to follow Christian precepts. (Eph.3:8)
