Christianity

Algeria: Four Condemned to Prison for Becoming Christian

June 6, 2008

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Catholic Information Service for Africa

http://allafrica.com/stories/200806060879.html

Four Algerians who converted to Christianity have been condemned to prison and heavy fines, while two others were set free after renouncing their conversion.

The defence lawyer said the four were charged with "illegally practicing a non-Muslim faith," the French news agency AFP reported.

Attorney Khelloudja Khalfoun said...

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Muslim Leaders Affirm Saudi King's Interfaith Effort

June 6, 2008

Author: Caryle Murphy

Source: Religion News Service/The Pew Forum

http://pewforum.org/news/display.php?NewsID=15791

Hundreds of Muslim leaders from around the world have endorsed Saudi King Abdullah's recent call for intensified interfaith dialogue in order to dampen global conflict and demonstrate Islam's commitment to solving world problems.

The declaration came on Friday (June 6) at the close of a three-day conference in Islam's holy city...

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St. Maarten a Terrific Candidate for Tapping Faith Tourism Market

June 3, 2008

Author: Judy H. Fitzpatrick and Hazel Durand

Source: The Daily Herald

http://www.thedailyherald.com/news/daily/l010/faith010.html

St. Maarten may be only sixteen square miles, but its varied facilities, natural Caribbean setting, strategic location and cultural and religious diversity make it a prime candidate for faith tourism, a multibillion-dollar industry beckoning to be exploited.

With the pressure to find new niche markets to...

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Iran Releases Two Christian Prisoners on Bail

June 3, 2008

Author: Staff Writer

Source: One News Now/Compass Direct News

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Persecution/Default.aspx?id=130506

Two Iranian converts to Christianity jailed for the past few weeks have been released by security police, who demanded valuable property deeds as bail collateral.

Authorities in the southern city of Shiraz set free 21-year-old Mojtaba Hussein late yesterday afternoon, requiring a bail guarantee worth US$20,000...

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Aomori Aillage Holds Ceremony Beside 'Christ's' Grave

June 2, 2008

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Mainichi Daily News

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20080602p2a00m0na009000c.html

The "Christ Festival," marking a town which claims to be the location where Jesus Christ spent the rest of his life after avoiding crucifixion, was held over the weekend.

Shingo's association with Christ began in the 1930s with the discovery there of a letter claiming to contain the last testament of Christ....

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Christian Leaders Petition China to Allow Protestant Chaplains at Olympics

June 1, 2008

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Ecumenical News International

http://www.anglicanjournal.com/issues/2008/134/jun/06/article/christian-leaders-petition-china-to-allow-protestant-chaplains-at-olympics/

A Hong Kong Christian leader who works in a sports ministry says Chinese authorities should allow foreign Protestant clergy and faithful to serve as volunteer chaplains at...

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Jesters of Different Faiths Use Laughs to Bridge the Divide

May 31, 2008

Author: Marek Fuchs

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/31/us/31religion.html?_r=1&em&ex=1212379200&en=93d9f037fa917cc8&ei=5087%0A&oref=slogin

The Jewish comedian began with a routine about raising adolescents. “There was a reason Abraham was asked to sacrifice Isaac at 12 and not 13,” he said. “At 13, it wouldn’t have been a sacrifice....

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Students Protest Order to Remove Statue of Jesus

May 31, 2008

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The News Tribune

Wire Service: AP

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/religion/story/377020.html

Two students who put up a small statue of Jesus in their high school said their freedom of speech was violated when they were asked to take it down.

Mount Abraham Union High School Principal Paulette Bogan said the statue violated a policy requiring student displays to exhibit...

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Longtime High School Wrestling Coach Says Religious Controversy Sparked Firing

May 30, 2008

Author: Diane Macedo

Source: Fox News

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,360383,00.html

A high school wrestling coach in a Michigan city known for its large Arab community says he’s being forced out of his job of 35 years on trumped up allegations he allowed his assistant, a local clergyman, to try converting students to Christianity.

The coach, Jerry Marszalek, told FOXNews.com he thinks the decision to not renew his contract with...

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Tiny Amish Sect in Pennsylvania Clashes with State Over Unlikely Religion Issue: Outhouses

May 30, 2008

Author: Genaro C. Armas

Source: Star Tribune

Wire Service: AP

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/faith/19385369.html?location_refer=Faith%20+%20Values

Amish farmer Andy Swartzentruber is determined to live the simple life of his forefathers, plowing his field with a horse-drawn tractor, getting around in a horse-drawn buggy and offering eggs for sale to help support his family....

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Interfaith Pep Rally for Israel Rocks the Forum

May 29, 2008

Author: Brad A. Greenberg

Source: Jewish Journal

http://www.jewishjournal.com/los_angeles/article/interfaith_pep_rally_for_israel_rocks_the_forum_20080528/

Karen Lyons kept smacking my leg and acting as if she was going to jump out of her seat. She's a church-going Christian from Pacific Palisades, married to a temple-attending Jew, and she's prone to such reactions when asked why she loves Israel...

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Young Muslims More Open to Interfaith Dialogue Says Vatican

May 28, 2008

Author: Bess Twiston Davies

Source: Times Online

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article4023109.ece

Younger Muslims are radically altering the "climate" of interfaith dialogue, the head of the Vatican's Council for interreligious dialogue has said.

"There is a change of climate [in interreligious dialogue] now" said Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue said on...

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Seventh-Day Adventist Church Invites Hindu Leader Zed to its World Headquarters

May 28, 2008

Author: Staff Writer

Source: News Blaze

http://newsblaze.com/story/20080528150555tsop.nb/newsblaze/WORLDNEW/World-News.html

As a remarkable interfaith gesture, Seventh-day Adventist Church has invited acclaimed Hindu leader Rajan Zed to its world headquarters in Maryland (USA) and meet its leaders.

Carol E. Rasmussen of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty department of the Church, in a communique to Zed,...

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