NEWS

Churches strategize to lessen parishioners' financial woes
by Randy Cordova - May. 25, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
In the current economic climate, churches are being squeezed. They need to do more for their members at a time when it's not necessarily easy to do more. Here are ways three churches are coping:
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/arizonaliving/articles/2009/05/25/20090525churchhelp0525.html

Use of Scripture linked to war documents troubles Jewish, Christian leaders
Classified files prepared for Donald Rumsfeld, George W. Bush reportedly quoted Bible

By Manya A. Brachear Tribune reporter

May 25, 2009

One passage plucked from the New Testament's Epistle to the Ephesians instructs believers to "put on the full armor of God." An excerpt from the Old Testament's Isaiah directs them to "open the gates that the righteous nation may enter."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-rumsfeld-25-may25,0,4197784.story

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Should Malaysian Christians be allowed to refer to God as “Allah”?
An ongoing debate, now before a court, has been raging in Malaysia over whether Christians should be allowed to refer to God as “Allah”. Christians argue that this is the usual word for God in their native language and so they should be allowed to use it. Muslim leaders, on the other hand, contend that that referring to God as “Allah” should be restricted to Islam, concerned its use in other religions could lead to confusion and possible conversions from Islam to Christianity. As this BBC report rightly points, this is more than just a row about language, it is a matter of religious freedom.

http://persecutedchurch.blogspot.com/2009/05/should-malaysian-christians-be-allowed.html