c. 1997 Religion News Service

Update: Alabama Supreme Court delays Ten Commandments removal

(RNS) The Alabama Supreme Court on Wednesday (Feb. 19) granted a temporary reprieve to a judge who was facing possible contempt-of-court charges for refusing to remove a wooden replica of the Ten Commandments from his courtroom.

The state supreme court voted 5-0 _ with four abstentions _ to delay a lower court’s order that Circuit Judge Roy Moore of Gadsden, Ala., remove or change the Ten Commandments display by Thursday (Feb. 20). The lower court said if Moore failed to meet the deadline, authorities would be forced to remove the display.

Chief Justice Perry Hooper and three other justices abstained from Wednesday’s vote to delay the order.

Moore has generated a national church-state controversy over the appropriate role of religion in the courtroom. The Etowah County Circuit judge has been opening his court with prayer by a Protestant minister and has posted a hand-carved replica of the Ten Commandments behind his bench.

The American Civil Liberties Union claimed the prayers and the Ten Commandments display were unconstitutional and sued to eliminate them.

Moore is supported by Alabama Gov. Fob James, who said publicly that federal authorities would have to”run over the state troopers and the National Guard”if they tried to remove the plaque.

Judge Charles Price of Montgomery County Circuit Court ruled Nov. 22 that Moore must stop the prayers, but that order was also delayed by the state supreme court earlier this month. Both rulings are being appealed.

Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor, who also supports Moore, told the Associated Press he was”pleased that the status quo will remain until it can be ultimately resolved”by the courts.

Moore has vowed to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Pat Boone’s”Gospel America”axed by network

(RNS) The Trinity Broadcasting Network has pulled Pat Boone’s gospel music show after receiving hundreds of calls from opponents of his involvement with making and promoting a new record using of heavy-metal lyrics.

Colby May, a spokesman for the network, said”Gospel America”would be”discontinued for the next several weeks.”The half-hour program has aired weekly for more than four years.

May said the decision was made earlier this week after the network was inundated with calls and after Boone had”very sincere conversations”with Trinity President Paul F. Crouch.”We’ve received a number of calls and the preponderance of the calls have been in support of the discontinuance of the program and in complaint of some of the changes that people have observed in Pat Boone,”May said in an interview with RNS.

The 62-year-old Christian singer provoked controversy when he appeared on the American Music Awards Jan. 27 in biker gear _ including a studded dog collar _ to promote his new recording,”Pat Boone in a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy.””The genre of the (`Gospel America’) program is for traditional gospel music,”said May, citing”Amazing Grace”and”Blessed Assurance”as examples.

He said music such as Led Zeppelin’s”Stairway to Heaven,”which is featured on Boone’s new album, would not be appropriate on the show.”The difference between `Amazing Grace’ and `Stairway to Heaven’ is dramatic,”said May.

And even if Boone’s recording features gentler orchestrations than the original music, May said of the heavy-metal words:”The lyrics are the lyrics.” Boone is scheduled to appear on the network’s flagship program”Praise”with Crouch on April 15 to discuss the change in his musical emphasis. Boone’s pastor, the Rev. Jack Hayford of The Church on the Way in Van Nuys, Calif., also has been invited to appear on the show.

May could not say if Boone’s program would return to the air after his appearance on”Praise.””I think that all remains to be seen,”said May.”Nobody’s closing any doors.” In a statement issued by Trinity, the network said it believed the upcoming show”will be a revealing and sincere time for Pat and all of those participating.” Boone, in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, said some of his fans don’t think the heavy-metal lyrics and the hard-rock attire fit the entertainer they know.”The only reason they took the show off the air was not because Paul and Jan Crouch don’t get what I’m doing, but because they got hundreds of calls from their `little partners,’ little old ladies and folks who contribute to TBN ministries who were so concerned about me in heavy-metal clothing,”said Boone.”They didn’t get the joke.” Trinity Broadcasting Network, based in Tustin, Calif., one of the largest producers and distributors of Christian programs in the country, is on nearly 400 TV and cable systems nationwide.

Anglican bishop gives up Bible for Lent

(RNS) Like millions of Christians around the world, a bishop from the Church of England has decided to give up something he enjoys for Lent, the 40-day preparation period before Easter that began on Ash Wednesday (Feb. 12).

But instead of forgoing coffee, ice cream or other personal favorites, Bishop Alan Smithson of Jarrow, England, chose to give up most of his Bible reading. He plans to read the Koran, the Muslim holy book, instead.

Smithson usually reads the Bible for two hours each day, but decided to study the Koran to help him”take seriously the beliefs of other traditions and religions.” He believes Western churchgoers can learn from the Islamic emphasis on the qualities of commitment and holiness, according to Ecumenical News International, a Geneva-based religious news agency.”I am passionately concerned that we help the church to move into a wider scene where we are not just preoccupied with Christian issues, but understand other faiths, not as rivals, but as fellow travelers,”he said.

Along with the Koran, Smithson plans to study the Gospel of John, which is traditionally read by Christians during Lent. He said he will read 20 pages of the Koran each day, and resume his study of the Bible after Easter.

Another English clergymen has criticized Smithson’s decision to stop studying the Bible. George Curry, a”traditionalist”Church of England clergyman, was quoted in the British newspaper The Guardian as saying,”It is a crass suggestion. It means he is cutting himself off from the prime source of personal communications between God and His people.”

Black denominations enter energy industry

(RNS) Revelation Corp. of America, a consortium of five black church denominations that hopes to enhance economic development for African-Americans, has moved into the energy industry.

Revelation Energy Resources, a new subsidiary of Revelation Corp., announced Wednesday (Feb. 19) that it will partner with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) to provide energy on a nationwide, wholesale basis. The subsidiary was licensed by the Federal Regulatory Commission on Jan. 31.

Revelation Corp. is taking these new steps in preparation for energy deregulation.”DWP is acting now to generate new revenue streams that will become increasingly necessary in the competitive environment of deregulation,”said Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan.

Revelation Corp. was formed in January 1996 as a for-profit corporation offering a variety of services to members in hopes of earning money for participating churches and aid a national development fund for African-American neighborhoods. Among its offerings are discount coupons, automobile insurance, special catalog sales and financial services. Proceeds from the various services are divided between the development fund and member churches according to a 70 percent-30 percent formula.

The proceeds from Revelation Energy Resources _ which hopes to sell its power to governments, individuals, companies and other institutions _ also will be split at the same ratio.”The relationship between Revelation Corporation and the DWP offers a prime example of the high caliber of alliances we are initiating in order to best serve our members,”said the Rev. Henry Lyons, president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, and CEO of Revelation Corp.

In addition to the National Baptist Convention, USA, the denominations affiliated with Revelation are the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, the National Baptist Convention of America and the Progressive National Baptist Convention.

Report: Hundreds of Rwandans killed in 1997

(RNS) A new Amnesty International report from Rwanda estimates that hundreds of unarmed civilians and young children already have been killed in 1997.

On Wednesday (Feb. 19), the London-based human rights group said Rwandans were afraid to speak out against the murders and were terrified of traveling in certain areas of the country. “There have been killings in Rwanda on an almost daily basis, especially in the northern and western regions,”an Amnesty team said after returning from Rwanda.

According to the Reuter news agency, the team cited several situations that demonstrate increased illegal executions by the Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA) and continued killings that are believed to have been initiated by former Hutu soldiers, militiamen, and Tutsi civilians.

Amnesty International linked the deaths of at least 20 Tutsi civilians on Jan. 25 to Rwanda militiamen, and reported that in a reprisal attack the next day, Tutsis were believed to have killed at least 140 people in the presence of government soldiers who apparently watched without assisting the victims.

After their investigation, the team called for the Rwandan government to take responsibility for its forces and to prevent acts of extreme violence from becoming everyday occurrences.

Quote of the Day: The Dalai Lama

(RNS) The Dalai Lama, the exiled leader of Tibetan Buddhism, speaking in an interview to the Tibetan service of Voice of America, commented on the death of Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping:”Thinking about it from the point of view of a Buddhist monk, we have to lead life after life, so whatever he has done, before we say it is good or bad, it has to be on the basis of karma, and I personally pray for a good rebirth for him.”

END RNS