What is the situation of Iraqi Christians today?
"The situation is the same for all Iraqis, Christians or Muslims, and it is a tragic one. Bullets do not discriminate between religions. Every day terrorist attacks are targeting people who could be the cornerstone of a new Iraq: professionals, physicians, and engineers. And this is resulting in an across-the-board brain drain, which is a shame since it takes decades to train qualified people."

Are Christians being targeted because of their religion?
"Not as such, except lately when Christians living in a certain area of Baghdad have been ordered to leave or be killed. The violence is targeting everyone in the same way. Of course, in a context of complete lawlessness, some thugs do whatever they want. They can threaten you, kidnap or kill you".

JUAN MICHEL speaks with Archbishop Avak Asadourian, primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church (See of Etchmiadzin) in Iraq and general secretary of the Council of Christian Church Leaders in Baghdad...| more...|

There are numerous passages in the Bible which speak of Jesus either addressing crowds of thousands or following up with people one-on-one.

      For Rob Douglas, the Jesus. All About Life campaign provides a similar opportunity.

      Douglas, who chairs a Western Australian committee of church leaders spearheading the campaign in the state’s west, says that while Jesus spoke to crowds of thousands of people at a time, “in the 21st century we have methods of reaching large numbers of people that weren’t available in Jesus’ day”.

      He says that, just as Jesus addressed crowds of thousands and was able to follow it up with conversations with individuals, “in a similar way, the TV commercials become a catalyst for quiet Christians to talk to individuals about matters of personal faith”.

      DAVID ADAMS reports... | more...|

Used during conflicts from the Vietnam War to Kosovo, the war in Iraq and in the recent 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah, cluster bombs have been responsible for the deaths and maiming of thousands of people across the world.

      Consisting of a single bomb which opens up in the air to produce anywhere between dozens and hundreds of “bomblets”, they are can cause damage across a broad area as well as leave behind a legacy of dud bomblets which failed to initially explode.

      Dr Mark Zirnsak, national coordinator of the Australian Network to Ban Landmines - a group which includes numerous churches and church organisations, says that cluster munitions have a deadly and ongoing potential for harming civilians.

      “Obviously this is a weapons system that because of its broad area of effect, because of the number of submunitions involved and because of the legacy they leave behind of unexploded duds, their potential for misuse is enormous,” he says.

      DAVID ADAMS reports... | more...|

American singer, songwriter and musician Michael Olson recently took time out from his twenty-gig concert tour to talk about his second album, released earlier this northern hemisphere spring. Relaxing in his home in Nashville in the midst of a 20-gig tour to promote the album the affable Olson talked about the songs and creating the new disc.

     “This record is titled Where Fear And Faith Collide, and this past year-and-one-half, especially the past six months have been extremely challenging,” he says.

     “There has been more transition than I have ever experienced before in my life.”

      He recounts how he’s recently moved to Nashville from the US’ midwest, his recent marriage to wife Ashley, moving into a new house, a new career path and finding a new church to attend. There were also some difficult issues to deal with in his extended family that caused his faith to stretch.

      JOE MONTAGUE speaks to Michael Olson about the inspiration behind his second album... | more...|

The world is mourning the loss of Ruth Bell Graham, wife of renowned US evangelist Billy Graham, who died in the US at the age of 87 earlier this week.

      Speaking after her death, her husband - in a statement released to the press - described her as his “life partner” and said the couple were “called by God as a team”.

     “No one else could have borne the load that she carried,” he said. “She was a vital and integral part of our ministry, and my work through the years would have been impossible without her encouragement and support.

     “I am so grateful to the Lord that He gave me Ruth, and especially for these last few years we’ve had in the mountains together. We’ve rekindled the romance of our youth, and my love for her continued to grow deeper every day. I will miss her terribly, and look forward even more to the day I can join her in Heaven.”

      DAVID ADAMS reports on the death of Ruth Bell Graham... | more...|

The end of June is looming and, while for many of us that may mean a few hours spent digging out those elusive receipts for the taxman, for those in business it symbolises an important marker - the end of one financial year and the start of another.

      This year, Brisbane-based organisation Business Blessings are hoping to mark this year’s transition from one financial year to the next with a national day of prayer for business people.

      Founder Wesley Leake says the fact that 1st July falls on a Sunday this year was a significant factor in the decision to call for a day of prayer for business.

     “It’s unusual for that to happen - I looked back and it’s been six years since that happened and it will be another 11 years before that happens (again),” he says.

      DAVID ADAMS reports on a call for Christians to observe a national day of prayer for people in business... | more...|

SUMMIT A "MISSED OPPORTUNITY" SAY HUMANITARIAN GROUPS AND ANTI-POVERTY ADVOCATES

Humanitarian groups and anti-poverty advocates have described last week’s G8 summit in Germany as a “missed opportunity” in the global fight against AIDS.

      In a communique issued last week, the G8 nations - US, Russia, Germany, Japan, Italy, France, Britain and Canada - pledged $US60 billion towards fighting AIDS. The money will also be used to fight other diseases - such as tuberculosis and malaria - and to be put toward the cost of strengthening Africa’s health systems in an unspecified timeframe.

     The pledge, made at the Baltic town of Heiligendamm, comes in the wake of a pledge made by the G8 nations at their meeting in Gleneagles, Scotland, to raise annual aid levels to Africa by $50 billion by 2010, half of which is for Africa.

    DAVID ADAMS reports... | more...|

ESSAY: A BETTER DEAL FOR AFRICA?

When I was in Africa’s Democratic Republic of the Congo, last month, I was struck down by malaria.

      It is not unusual when you consider that Africa is still ravaged by diseases such as malaria. I had simply joined the ranks of 300 million people succumbing to the disease each year.

      What was unusual is that I was able to access simple medication at the Goma Hospital to help me recover. It is a medication that is still today denied most people across Africa and tens of thousands of Congolese children die each year because they can’t afford the treatment I took for granted.

      A curse of geography means that many African countries have the malaria-carrying mosquito species and the weather conditions that allow it to thrive.

      Up to 1.5 million people die every year from malaria, millions of others are debilitated, costing the African continent an estimated $US12 billion in lost productivity and expense. Every day 3,000 people die from malaria in Africa, mainly children. It is the biggest killer of African children and it is so easily preventable with $4 mosquito nets and cheap medication.

     In an article first published in The Age newspaper, World Vision Australia chief executive TIM COSTELLO says any moves made by world leaders attending this week's G8 summit in Germany to create a 'better deal for Africa' must include honoring the promises made at Gleneagles two years ago... | more...|

OK, so The Big Donorshow was an elaborate hoax.

      Dutch viewers of the controversial reality TV show, from the makers of Big Brother, were treated to what at first appeared to be a prime-time contest between three prospective recipients of a kidney transplant.
      The donor, in fact, turned out to be an actress. All of the contestants - genuine would-be organ recipients - were in on the hoax and took part to raise awareness of the issue of organ donation.

      Big Donor was used as a Trojan horse to make what is essentially a valid point: that people awaiting organ transplants have a very tough time of it. The point is certainly worth making. There are large numbers of people who are unable to get the surgery they need to carry on largely because of public unawareness of the need.

      Following revelations that The Big Donorshow was a hoax, MAL FLETCHER says his initial question about what's next still stands... | more...|

TIME TO TURN OFF REALITY TV

You've got to be in it to win it. Today's prize: a human kidney.

      It sounds like the opening line from a tasteless comedy sketch. In fact, it could be the introduction to a new reality TV program called The Big Donorshow which goes to air in the Netherlands this week, despite protests from political parties and other prominent groups.

       Produced by Endemol, the company behind Big Brother, the concept of the show takes the so-called reality genre to new depths of tastelessness.

       Three contestants will compete in front of a prime-time audience for a life-saving kidney operation.

      A terminally ill cancer patient, aged 37, has agreed to donate a healthy kidney. She has said that her decision to take part in the program was based on a desire to avoid the anonymity normally associate with organ donation. She wants to meet the recipient of her kidney.

      Amid a furore over a new show in which contestants compete for a kidney operation, MAL FLETCHER says it's time to turn-off demand for reality TV... | more...|

Change is in the air for the Body of Christ - and the latest survey of Australian churches show that people are increasingly happy to move with the times.

      Initial results from the National Church Life Survey - Australia's national church 'census' - reveal that growing numbers of church attenders believe their local church is ready to try something new (17 per cent versus 13 per cent when the survey was last done in 2001) while two-thirds agree that their local leaders encourage innovation.

      Conducted last year, the survey of 400,000 church attenders from more than 22 denominations also shows that 70 per cent of those attending churches say they are aware of the vision, goals or direction of their local church while as many as 73 per cent said they had a strong, growing or stable sense of belonging to the church body.

      A quarter of attenders commended their local churches for nurturing “much growth in their faith” in the past year while greater proportions of people indicate they always experience inspiration, joy, awe or mystery and a growth in understanding of God during their church worship services.

      DAVID ADAMS reports on the findings of the latest national church 'census'... | more...|

ALL FILMS ARE NOW POSTED!

SIGHT SPECIAL: In a series of six short films by COLIN McGAIN, Robyn Casey talks about her work in Malawi...  | more...|

It’s the deaths of the babies that get to Robyn Casey the most.

     “Especially when they can die within 48 hours,” says the 52-year-old Australian who works as a missionary and humanitarian aid worker in the south-eastern African nation of Malawi, known as the "Warm Heart of Africa". “You can be nursing a happy, little, fat, healthy baby and then it’s either malaria or...(even) diarrhoea which can kill them so quickly.”

      Casey says it can be hard to get the message across that these are living people; more than mere statistics. She recalls, for example, a conversation she had with a man she was sitting next to on one plane trip during which he suggested that HIV/AIDS was “nature’s way of culling out people”.

     “These are actually loved babies,” she says. “Children that have got their own little personalities...”

       Casey is the director of the Mphatso Children’s Foundation, a mission based in Kande village, a small community located on the western shores of Lake Malawi. Named for the local word meaning ‘gift’ (it was the name given Casey by the locals she worked alongside), Mphatso was formerly established last year.

      DAVID ADAMS reports on how Australian Robyn Casey is helping to change lives in the African nation of Malawi... | more...|

Amid hopeful signs that the worst drought in recent memory in Australia may be starting to come to an end, we're calling for your thoughts, reflections and perspectives on the 'big dry'. Whether it's whether it's through an encouraging word for farmers, a poem, short story or photographs, we want to hear what you have to say about the drought. To have Your Say or to see what others are saying, click here...

LATEST:

Scenes around Yass, New South Wales

In the couple of weeks surrounding the National Day of Thanksgiving (held on 26th May), Sight is inviting you to leave a comment on what you're thankful for.     

      It could be for the difference Jesus has made in your life. It could be for an individual or a group - such as those being particularly honored this year including senior citizens, indigenous people, volunteers, and people working in service organisations. It could be for the land in which you live or for the job you're working in. In fact, it could be for anything at all!

     To leave your message (and to find out more about the National Day of Thanksgiving), follow the link... | more...|

“We can’t beat poverty without business doing its part.”
      That’s the reason, according to World Vision Australia chief executive Tim Costello, that the humanitarian organisation recently facilitated the creation of a new group known as the Business for Poverty Relief Alliance.

      Initially comprised of five Australian companies - ANZ Bank, Grey Global Group, IAG, Pfizer and Visy Industries - the alliance was formed with the aim of putting the issues of development, aid and poverty relief firmly on the Australian corporate agenda.

      One of the group’s first actions has been to commission a report to detail the business case behind why both business and the Federal Government should boost their efforts toward helping alleviate global poverty.

      DAVID ADAMS reports on a new initiative to encourage corporate Australia to contribute to the battle against global poverty in a greater way... | more...|

Eritrean Christians from around the globe will gather in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi this weekend to participate in the first National Day of Prayer for the small nation of almost five million people located in the Horn of Africa.
      The event has been organised by the Eritrean Evangelical Fellowship in Africa and the Middle East (EEF-AME), a Nairobi-based organisation which was formed late last year to empower the church in the region and advocate for those suffering persecution inside and outside Eritrea.

      The organisation expects hundreds of people to attend the day which its general secretary hopes will help the country’s government to begin to see Christians “not as the enemy, but as friends who are loyal to the nation”.

      DAVID ADAMS reports... | more...|

IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE KILLINGS, GOD BEGINS HIS REDEMPTIVE WORK

When Necati Aydin accepted Jesus his Muslim family rejected him. His boldness as a pastor led him to pass out Bibles in villages throughout eastern Turkey - and two trips to jail based on fabricated charges. After he played the role of Jesus in a passion play, he shared in the Lord’s sufferings and untimely death.
      Aydin, 35, was one of three men martyred for their faith on 18th April in the city of Malatya, following a gruesome attack that involved several hours of torture partially recorded on their young assailants’ cell phones. Also killed was a 46-year-old German missionary, Tilmann Geske, who was preparing notes for a new Turkish study Bible.

      The third victim, Ugur Yuksel, 32, also arrived that bloody morning for what he thought was a Bible study at the offices of Zirve Publishing. Zirve prints and distributes Bibles and other Christian literature throughout eastern Turkey. As early as February 2005, a local newspaper warned that Zirve was under threat due to its activities.

     In an article first published on Assist News Service, MARK ELLIS tells the story of Necati Aydin... | more...|

CALLS FOR THE 'UGLINESS' OF RELIGIOUS HATRED TO BE EXPOSED

It made headlines around the world, not just for the fact that it took place but for the barbarous way in which it occurred.

      When three men - German missionary Tilmann Geske, 46, and Muslim converts Necati Aydin, 36, and Ugur Yuksel, 32 - working at a Bible publisher in the town of Malayta, central in Turkey, were brutally killed on April 18 at the hands of five Muslim nationalist youths, the details of how they died - repeatedly stabbed and tortured before their throats were cut - shocked people across the globe.

      But are they part of a wider anti-Christian sentiment in the country?

      Elizabeth Kendal, principal researcher and writer for the World Evangelical Alliance’s Religious Liberty Commission, condemns the most recent killings as a “barbaric act” and notes that they came “hot on the heels” of the murder of a foreign Roman Catholic priest, Andrea Santano - shot in the back as he knelt praying in his church in Trabzon in February last year - and an Armenian Orthodox journalist, Hrant Dink - charged with "insulting Turkishness", he was shot outside his office in Istanbul in January.

     DAVID ADAMS reports on calls for religious tolerance in the aftermath of the murder of three Christians last month... | more...|

ESSAY: ELECTION, A MILLION MARCHERS AND A MASS MURDER

Events in the Republic of Turkey have attracted recent media attention. Three events raise important questions for Turkey’s political future, for the small minority of Christians who live and work there, and for every community threatened by radical Islam.

      First, Turkey is in the midst of presidential elections. The nation has been a secular democratic republic since its establishment in 1923 under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk following the fall of the Ottoman empire. In recent years Turkey has sought increasing political integration with Western Europe while remaining socially and culturally Islamic. According to government statistics, over 99 per cent of the 70 million people living in Turkey today identify as Muslim, and less than one per cent as Christian. Officially Turkey is a secular state, but Islam retains strong popular support, and that support may be taking a radical turn.

      In the first round of presidential elections on Friday, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, a “former Islamist” from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), narrowly missed being elected to the top job. The AKP dominates the 550-seat parliament but lacks the required two-thirds majority it needs to elect Gul. The opposition boycotted the parliamentary vote on the basis of Gul’s Islamist past.

      In an article first published in Soundings, ROD BENSON takes a look at the bigger picture in Turkey... | more...|

The beautiful vocals of Blanca Reyes from the US-based Group 1 Crew immediately capture your attention as she sings Love Is A Beautiful Thing. Sung with feeling, the song mirrors the testimony of the members of Group 1 Crew whose hip music has been breaking down barriers as they minister to youth inside and outside the church.

      Group 1 Crew has been compared to Out of Eden and Mary, Mary whose music was good but not at the same level as Group 1 Crew. The two girl groups lacked the showmanship possessed by Reyes and the two males in the band - Manwell Reyes (no relation to Blanca) and Pablo Villatoro. These cats have the unique ability to combine melody with beats resulting in layered and textured music.

      The trio - who have just released their debut, self-titled album - have become known for the many choreographed dance moves they've worked into their stage performances, something that has captured the imagination of the students they speak to and perform for in public middle schools and high schools across America.

      JOE MONTAGUE speaks with hip trio, Group 1 Crew... | more...|

A young boy smiling as he goes about the daily task of collecting water in South Africa. Children peering curiously through a wire fence in Botswana. A boy sitting by the river in Vanuatu.

      All the work of amateur photographer Paul Mergard, the images are among those featured in a coffee table book he’s produced as part of a personal mission to tackle issues such as human trafficking and slavery.

      A former accountant, for the past five years the Queenslander has run a Salvation Army missions program called Project 1:8. Named for a verse in Acts 1:8 - "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" - the mission sends out teams to the developing world nations for short- term mission trips, lasting between two weeks and six months.

     Looking for Hope: Shining Light in the Darkness was launched last August by Hillsong worship pastor Darlene Zschech and features images Mergard took on trips over six years or so from 2000.

      DAVID ADAMS reports... | more...|

ESSAY: APPROACHING ANZAC DAY WITH MIXED EMOTIONS

As another Anzac Day comes around, I find myself once again with mixed feelings. As I watch the solemnity of the ceremonies, I cannot help but feel moved at the selfless sacrifice of the diggers who gave their lives so willingly. At the same time however, I cannot bring myself to fully embrace the pride of the occasion. As I watch movies like Gallipoli and see the idealism of youth going out to fight the enemy and save our country, I am struck by the idea that there must have been a better way. Couldn't there have been an alternative than to have our young men die so that we might be free? Dare I say it, do we have to be thankful for this?

       In the minds of many people, including many Christians, if ever there was a justification for war it was World War II and the fight against Hitler's madness. Common sense says that if we had followed the path of appeasement in the face of Hitler's plans, then it would have been too late, many more lives would have been lost and Europe would have been overrun by a fascist dictatorship. However the Gospel is not one of common sense, and I dare to believe that there could have been a better way; incredibly naive and arrogant as that may sound coming from one who was born half a generation after the war ended and who did not have to live through it.

      NILS VON KALM finds himself challenged by the meaning of Anzac Day... | more...|

OUT OF THE ARCHIVES - ESSAY: FINDING THE ANZAC SPIRIT

   "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends."
      Have you ever wondered why there is a huge resurgence of interest in the ‘Anzac Spirit’? I believe it is because it touches the heart of every red-blooded Aussie. When I speak at schools, churches and so on, I ask the young people what could we learn from these young men (and women) who lay down their lives for us.

      Two things come to mind immediately, the first is courage, the next is their wonderful unselfish spirit of mateship, both of which are Christian virtues. It’s sad to say but most Australians are completely unaware of how courageous and effective our soldiers were. It was our Light Horsemen who were largely responsible for the liberation of Jerusalem from centuries of Muslim rule. The first defeat of the mighty ‘Desert Fox’ - Erwin Rommel in World War II was by ‘The Rats of Tobruk’ - comprised mainly of Aussie Diggers.
      COL STRINGER goes in search of the 'Anzac Spirit'... | more...|

HAVE YOUR SAY:

What does Anzac Day mean to you? Have your say in our forums...

The world this week heard the horrifying news of yet another mass shooting in an American education institution.

       The shootings at Virginia Tech University, which claimed the lives of 32 people, registered as America's deadliest peacetime shooting incident.

      Police say the gunman was Cho Seung-hui, a young English major student from South Korea, whom a university official has described as ‘a loner’. Not much is known about the mental state of this man, but what is already clear is that these events have sparked a new level of debate on the vexed issue of gun rights in America.

      Outside the US, people are left to wonder how the world's most prosperous country and one which is billed as the world's model democracy can allow events like this to take place. If this were the first such event, things might be different; but we all remember the mass killings at Columbine high school just a few years ago and others before that.

    In a response to the Virginia Tech killings - in which 32 people died this week - MAL FLETCHER argues that US politicians need to address the nation's gun culture, regardless of the political fallout...  | more...|

HAVE YOUR SAY:

We've created a space to share your thoughts on the Virginia Tech tragedy and its aftermath in our forums...

It’s two weeks since a deadly earthquake shook the Solomon Islands but for those helping with relief efforts, the work has only just begun.

      The tsunami, which was reported as causing a surge of water as high as five metres in some places, was the result of an earthquake, measuring as high as 8.0 on the Richter scale, which occurred at 7.40am on 2nd April on the seabed about 45 kilometres off the coast of the island of Gizo, in the west of the Solomon Islands.

      Latest figures show that as many as 52 people have now perished as a result of the tsunami but officials now say they don’t expect it to significantly rise further.
      As many as 6,000 people were made homeless in the disaster and it’s suggested that tens of thousands more have been affected through such things as the loss of their livelihood. Many of those affected are children with more than 40 per cent of the population aged under 15.

     DAVID ADAMS reports on the challenges now facing the Solomon Islanders in the wake of the tsunami...  | more...|

The best thing that could happen to Christians in the Western world is a good dose of persecution, according to a pastor who was at the heart of a significant revival among the Gypsies of Britain in the early 1990s.
      Roy Warren - now based in Ashburton on New Zealand's South Island where he does consultancy work for the Baptist Union of New Zealand - says too many Christians put church in a neat box

     “If revival came, it would be an inconvenience to them, they would not be happy with it,” he says.

     “For me, revival is where God moves in such a way that he changes communities. It’s not a case of more people going to a church - that’s renewal.

     “Revival is changing cultures and whole communities. In the Gypsy revival in England, their communities were dramatically changed.”

     In an article first published in New Zealand's Challenge Weekly newspaper, JOHN McNEIL speaks with Roy Warren about his experiences with the Gypsies of Britain and revival in Western nations...  | more...|

ESSAY: WHY CHRIST'S SACRIFICE COMPELS US TO FREE MODERN SLAVES

 We are all familiar with the purchase and consumption of hot cross buns and chocolate eggs, but the greatest Easter tradition is to reflect on the selfless sacrifice of Jesus for our freedom.

    The death and resurrection of Jesus offers new life, hope and freedom for people everywhere.

      This year is the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in Britain, the culmination of a long campaign of Christian social justice by William Wilberforce.

      Twenty-one years earlier, Governor Arthur Phillip, launching his vision for the new colony of New South Wales, declared that “there can be no slavery in a free land, and consequently no slaves.”

      We give thanks to God for a slavery-free Australia, and for the end of institutional injustice elsewhere that degraded the bodies and crushed the spirits of so many innocent persons.

      But the moral blight of slavery continues in other forms.

     In his Easter message, Rev Dr Ross Clifford, president of the Baptist Union of Australia, says Jesus' sacrifice compels us to help break the chains of others...  | more...|

INSIDE THE BIBLE - A LOOK AT SOME KEY EVENTS OF THE EASTER STORY IN MARK'S GOSPEL

WITNESSES TO DEATH AND NEW LIFE
The women were given a task no-one else could do. We can say that if God hadn't given them the strength and faith to do it we would not be reading Mark's Gospel. That's how important it was. They are just like everyone else - they are not capable of doing it out of the resources and abilities of their own lives. Yet, they are called to be witnesses to the resurrection. Before Peter and any of the other disciples had confronted the evidence, God commissioned these women to be witnesses. They had only minor status as witnesses in a Jewish court and no status at all in the Roman legal system. But in God's jurisdiction they are called to be witnesses to the resurrection of the Son of God. That is what they are called to be: witnesses. And as such they helped change the world.

      These women who had followed Him from Galilee were the first to be told that they would see Him again in Galilee. And so, their witness was important for how Mark later collected data for the writing of this Gospel.
       In the final of the series, BRUCE C WEARNE looks at who God choose to spread word of Jesus Christ's resurrection...  | more...|

FOR PREVIOUS:

     In the first of the series, BRUCE C WEARNE takes a look at why Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey...  | more...|

In the second of the series, BRUCE C WEARNE examines the story of Christ's anointing at Bethany...  | more...|

In the third of the series, BRUCE C WEARNE takes a look at Mark's role at the arrest of Jesus...  | more...|

In the fourth of the series, BRUCE C WEARNE examines what Mark says about the trial of Jesus...  | more...|

  In the fifth of the series, BRUCE C WEARNE writes about what happened the day after Christ's crucifixion...  | more...|

20/20: AN EASTER REFLECTION

Have you ever had a friend who would be willing to give up their own life to save yours?

    In our day and age it’s hard to imagine a scenario where a friend could be placed in such a position.

      For earlier generations who lived in less secure and comfortable circumstances, this may have been a real and genuine occurrence.

    NICK HODGSON reflects on the meaning of Easter... | more... |

It’s a nation devastated by genocide. More than 800,000 died in an ethnically motivated 100 day killing spree in Rwanda in 1994 which shocked the world. Yet for Dr John Steward, the central African nation is also becoming increasingly characterised by hope.

      Dr Steward, who first went to Rwanda in the mid-Nineties to work in the area of reconciliation and healing, says he has encountered numerous stories which illustrate just that.

     “As people came to tell us stories, we began to realise that if we listened to the stories we can hear the hope,” says Dr Steward, who has just returned from a three week trip to Rwanda - his 15th visit - where he consults with organisations like World Vision on how to run a series of reconciliation and healing workshops.
     DAVID ADAMS reports on how Rwandans are finding forgiveness and rediscovering hope in their lives...  | more...|

One would have to live in a monastery tucked away in some remote corner of a long forgotten country to have not heard about the James Cameron documentary detailing the astounding “discovery” of the Jesus family tomb. And yet, even then, the multi-million dollar Hollywood publicity machine would find a way to get the message out.

    I use the word documentary lightly, since what is presented as fact is largely based on conjecture and supposition, hardly deserving to be recognised as factual reporting. Similarly, the use of the term discovery is somewhat superfluous since the tomb was actually discovered in 1980, some 27 years previously, and discounted at the time as the tomb of Jesus Christ by most archaeologists and Biblical theology experts.

      How then can Cameron claim this is the family tomb of Jesus with any sense of credibility? Indeed, he is only able to make such a claim because people are ill-informed and tend to believe anything Hollywood thrusts down their throats, as they gaze numbly into the major source of theology in their lives, the television.
     RUSSELL STUBBINGS finds an empowering way to look at what some perceive as a challenge to the Christian faith...  | more...

“When I first started as a solo artist I had a passion to ignite the party,” says tobyMac, the former member of dc Talk who is now pursuing a solo career.

     “I think that is partly still there. Coming out of dc Talk I just had this desire to ignite a party. I felt like in Christian music there was a lot of worship and a lot of heartfelt lyric but I felt there were very few things that said ‘Let’s just express our joy. Let’s drop a joy bomb on this joint and get the party popping’.”

      Most music fans would agree that tobyMac has indeed partied his way to the top of the charts.

      As One World comes roaring through your speakers you become instantly aware that the CD Portable Sounds may be the biggest ‘joy bomb’ dropped on the music scene in 2007. tobyMac brings back Joanna Valencia who first appeared with him on the CD Momentum (2001) and the duet serve up some cool rhymes. The opening track serves as a great introduction to this collection of rap, funk and urban beats.

     “I wanted to do that without sounding trite,” tobyMac says of creating a party atmosphere with his music. “I wanted to have purpose in doing that. That is what I set out to do. I guess that has been satisfied.”
     JOE MONTAGUE speaks to tobyMac...  | more...|

Burma’s ethnic groups demand equality, autonomy and self-determination. But these demands are denied by the regime and met with systematic human rights violations, which include forced labor, forced relocation, religious persecution, arbitrary arrest and detention, destruction of thousands of ethnic villages, the driving out of hundreds of thousands of ethnic civilians to neighboring countries, and forcing an estimated one million peoples to be internally displaced persons.

      Worse yet is that Burmese military soldiers are raping the ethnic women and girls with impunity. Ethnic women and girls from Shan, Kachin, Chin, Karen, Mon, Karenni and Arakan States have long suffered from state-sanctioned sexual crimes perpetrated by the Burmese military. Rape incidents in ethnic areas are higher because it is a part of the regime’s strategy to punish the armed resistant groups or to the suppression of various ethnic peoples as a tool for ethnic cleansing. Although rape has been used by the regime to control the population for decades it took years and courage of many women to document these crimes.

     In a speech given to a UN conference late last month, CHEERY ZAHAU, co-ordinator of the Women’s League of Chinland, calls for the United Nations to act on the situation in Burma...  | more...|

Controversial claims that the tomb of Jesus and his family may have been discovered in Israel have been met with scepticism by Biblical scholars and archaeologists with some even suggesting it may be a well-crafted publicity stunt riding on the success of the recent novel, The Da Vinci Code.

      The claims will be aired in a television documentary on the Discovery Channel in the US on Sunday. Called The Lost Tomb of Jesus, it was produced by former Titanic director James Cameron and centres on claims that a tomb discovered in Jerusalem more than two decades ago may have once held the remains of Jesus of Nazareth and his family.

      The tomb in question, which dates from the first century, was accidentally discovered in the suburb of Talpiot during a construction project in 1980. It contained 10 limestone ossuaries or coffins, six of which inscribed with names. These have since been deciphered as “Jesus son of Joseph”, “Maria”, Mariamene e Mara”, “Matthew”, “Yose” and “Judah, son of Jesus”.

     DAVID ADAMS reports on the controversial claims in a new documentary, The Lost Tomb of Jesus...  | more...|

They’re the sort of provocative, in- your-face kind of messages that demand for a response.

     “Feeling Ugly? - God thinks you’re to-die for,” says one. "Would you worship Jesus if he scored 10,000 test runs?" asks another. Then, of course, there’s the most controversial of them all, the “Jesus Loves Osama” poster which sparked headlines around the world.

    Malcolm Williams, director of the Fellowship for Evangelism and the Visual Arts (FEVA), says the posters - which also include a Bible verse - they’re all about provoking discussion.

     “(T)hey are designed to help churches dialogue with their community...” he says. “However this comes under the greater goal of evangelism. Essentially, they're designed to help local churches evangelise...Our primary motivation is we want to see Jesus proclaimed.”

     DAVID ADAMS reports...  | more...|

The sad lives of two young women in the news recently should serve as a cautionary tale for all who aspire to celebrity - and for those who feed off its soap opera narratives.
      The mysterious death of Anna Nicole Smith and the appearance of a new look Britney Spears, minus her golden locks, offer a reminder (if we needed one) of the vacuous and destructive nature of modern celebrity.

      Ms Smith was best known for her appearances in Playboy magazine, followed by her marriage to an oil magnate 63 years her senior. When her husband died, arguments within his family about his estate captured headlines around the world.

      Ms Smith remained in the public eye through a reality TV series based around her frenetic lifestyle. The attention grew with the death of her 20-year-old son from apparent drug-related causes.

      Even then, Anna Nicole was paying a high price for a celebrity.

     MAL FLETCHER takes a look at where the "culture of celebrity" is leading us...  | more...|

To many, her career had the makings of a dream come true. Yet after spending more than 13 years and half her life making hit records, performing before sold out crowds and jet-setting around the globe, Leigh Nash called it quits.

      Co-founder and lead vocalist for the colossally successful pop band, Sixpence None the Richer, Nash was known for her pixie-like appearance and distinctive, signature vocals. Formed with guitarist and songwriter Matt Slocum, the group went on to record six albums - garnering them critical acclaim, numerous Dove Awards and a Grammy nomination.

      The band’s biggest hit, Kiss Me, catapulted Sixpence into the spotlight. Soon their songs were featured on movie and TV soundtracks and they had guest appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show with David Letterman and the US Today show.

      So why give all that up? According to Nash, there were many reasons.

      AMY HAMMOND HAGBERG speaks to Leigh Nash, co-founder of Sixpence None the Richer, about her solo debut and motherhood...  | more...|

Scores of churches around Australia recently displayed large posters with the words, “Jesus loves Osama". The poster is part of a series of advertisements designed by Outreach Media to promote what it sees as “the heart of the gospel.”

      But the notion that the Son of God would demonstrate affection for the world’s most wanted man, and that Christian churches might want to point out this Gospel truth to commuters and pedestrians, is news to Australia’s news media.

      Sydney tabloid journalist Luke McIlveen broke the story in the Daily Telegraph, and various news media have followed his lead. To my knowledge, McIlveen had not spoken to a spokesperson of the Baptist Union of NSW, and incorrectly assumed from a conversation he apparently had with an administrative support person that the Baptist Union of NSW distances itself from the signage. In fact it does not; to do so would be an implicit denial of the validity and significance of the teaching and example of Jesus.

      In an article first published in Soundings, ROD BENSON takes a look behind the controversy surrounding the recent signs 'Jesus Loves Osama'...  | more...|

    Thanks to all those who contributed images. See all the images in our photographic series "Summer in Australia" here...  | more...|

“Going against the flow is something that comes naturally to me," says provocative US-based Christian author Matthew Paul Turner.

     "If there was a group of people going in one direction, I was the one who would buck the system and go the opposite direction just because I could and wanted to be different. I think that was definitely true for a long time. It became a part of who I was. I didn’t like fitting in just because it was the right thing to do. I wanted someone to look at my culture and my world. I wanted there to be a reason behind why I said what I said and did what I did and the things that I stood for."

      A former editor of CCM Magazine and now an in-demand author, the 33-year-old's writing style could be described as quirky, in your face, controversial, humorous and intelligent.

      Turner’s first book was the satirical Christian Culture Survival Guide. It was so well received that it soon prompted invitations from other publishers to tackle other themes.

      JOE MONTAGUE speaks to US author Matthew Paul Turner...  | more...|

Do you know how many Christians there are in Burma today?
“The regime claims six per cent of the population are Christians, but it typically underestimates the figures for non-Burmans and non-Buddhists. It is possible that up to ten per cent are Christians in a population of about 50 to 55 million.”

Your report - Carrying the Cross - says Christians in Burma are facing "vary degrees of discrimination, restrictions and in some places violent persecution". Can you describe some of the ways in which this persecution occurs?
“It varies from subtle restrictions, discrimination and inconveniences, such as the denial of promotion for Christians in government service, the deliberate use of forced labour on Sundays and Christmas and Easter in Christian areas, to more violent forms such as destruction of churches, crosses, forced conversion, arrest, torture and even killings of pastors.”

      DAVID ADAMS speaks with Benedict Rogers, author of a recent Christian Solidarity Worldwide report, Carrying the Cross - The military regime's campaign of restriction, discrimination, and persecution against Christians in Burma...  | more...|

Actor Forest Whitaker took a step closer to being named the next Oscar best actor, after beating Leonardo DiCaprio, Will Smith and Peter O'Toole, for his role as Idi Amin in The Last King Of Scotland at the recent Screen Actors Guild Awards in Beverly Hills, California.

       On hearing this news, memories came flooding back to me of how Idi Amin took my life in a completely different direction at a time when my future was looking bleak.

      Amin died at the age of 78 on August 16th, 2003, in King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he had been in a coma and on life support since his admission on July 18th of that same year. The crazed Ugandan dictator had ruled by terror for eight terrible years in from 1971 to 1979, and whose regime was reported to have been responsible for the deaths of 500,000 of his countryman.

      But strangely enough, it was Idi Amin, a former heavyweight boxer, who stood at more than 1.9 metres tall and weighed 122 kilograms, who changed my life and helped me find a new mission - helping the persecuted church.

      DAN WOODING, founder of Assist News Service, tells of how spending time in Uganda in the aftermath of the terrible rule of Idi Amin changed his life...  | more...|

Paul Daniel knows all about hate. Up until the beginning of last year it was, he says, one of the driving forces of his life.

      But these days the 28-year-old professional bull rider also knows what love means. Last year he found Jesus Christ and since then, his life has been transformed.

      Gone is the hatred, the swearing, his addiction to smoking, his problem with alcohol. He has changed, as he puts it, “from black to white”.

      Daniel spent the first 14 years of his life in Traralgon and then two weeks after his fourteenth birthday, he told his parents he was either leaving school or running away.

     “So they sort of had no option and so yeah, off I went to Melbourne to work full-time at 14 years old,” he recalls.

      During the next 14 years, Daniel travelled across much of Australia picking up various jobs, getting in and out of trouble with police and, in his words, “just existing”.

      DAVID ADAMS speaks to cowboy Paul Daniel about how an encounter with God redefined his life...  | more...|

Can a good leader make monumental mistakes? Can a man who leads a country, who allegedly prays about major decisions, and who comes across as a reasonably nice guy  - can someone like that make huge errors of judgment?

      The answer, of course, is yes.

      Three years ago, Australia, under John Howard, went to war. Along with the US, Britain, and other nations, we went off to fight Saddam Hussein in Iraq. John Howard, I am told, is a sincere Christian. He is a good caring man. He is a regular church attendee. Surely a good prayerful church going leader won’t make monumental mistakes?

      When I question the government’s decision to go to Iraq and be a part of starting a war - a war that has killed some 600,000 Iraqis now, and where hundreds of civilians are dying every month - some fellow Christians come back with lines like: “Of course it was the right thing to do!” and “We have to fight terrorism!” Or: “God used wars in the Bible, so of course it is OK.”

      As US President George W. Bush seeks to increase his country's commitment in Iraq, JIM REIHER argues that he believes the war was - and is - a mistake...  | more...|

As much of Australia continues to suffer the worst drought on record, the Australian prayer movement has called for Christians across Australia to take part in a “national solemn assembly” to be held in Canberra late this year.

     The assembly, which will be held in over the weekend of 9th to 11th of March in Canberra, is being organised by the Australian Prayer Network on behalf of a number of national prayer networks in Australia - including the Children’s Prayer Network, the Indigenous Prayer Network, the Parliamentary Prayer Network, Rise Up Australia and The Cause Australia.

      Brian Pickering, the Australian Prayer Network’s national co-ordinator, says the purpose of the assembly is to gather Christians for a time of “deep repentance and to ask for (God’s) forgiveness for our errant ways and to seek His help for the future”.

   DAVID ADAMS reports...  | more...|

FOR PREVIOUS:

The Big Dry: Seeking God in a time of drought...  | more...|

“When God has given you a desire, chase after it and walk through every door that God opens for you.”

      American singer/songwriter Tammy Trent may have been comparing her infant days in the music industry with the recent recording of her CD I See Beautiful, but the words paint a bigger picture. They make a statement about the way she approaches her life.

      Twelve years ago, Trent adopted her husband Trent Lenderink’s first name as her surname for stage purposes. On 10th September, 2001, her world was rocked when her husband died in a diving accident. After stepping away from the music scene to heal, Trent slowly made her way back through music and sharing her story from the platform of conferences such as Revolve (for teenage girls) and Women of Faith. The release of I See Beautiful in 2006 signals that the dance music queen had returned and done so in style.

    JOE MONTAGUE talks to US singer/songwriter Tammy Trent about her return to the music scene following her husband's death...  | more...|