c. 1999 Religion News Service

Christian, Jewish leaders issue statement supporting public schools

(RNS) Top officials of the National Council of Churches and the Central Conference of American Rabbis have issued a statement supporting public education to mark the start of the new school year.”We call upon our leaders of government at all levels, and people of all faiths and backgrounds to commit themselves to the protection, financial security and continued reform of our public school system,”reads the statement.

It was signed by Rabbi Charles Kroloff, president, and Rabbi Paul Menitoff, executive vice president, of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, a Reform Jewish group. It was also signed by Bishop Craig Anderson, president, and the Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, general secretary, of the National Council of Churches, an ecumenical organization of Protestant and Orthodox denominations.”We call upon all people to stand up for justice and equality when it counts most _ in the formative years of our children’s lives,”the leaders wrote.”Though we are rooted in significantly different traditions, we are united in our conviction that how well children are treated in this nation is a faith issue.” The statement cites several examples of how”public education is under attack,”including reduced government funding, the development of voucher programs and the criticism of public schools when some are doing well.

It also cites values of public education, including how it has helped move children beyond poverty and prepared young people for citizenship and public responsibility.

The statement credits teachers for their role in nurturing children in public schools.”Teachers, and other school workers, must be afforded the respect that we, as parents, need,”the statement reads.”The nation’s teachers deserve our thanks and recognition for the critical role they play in the lives of our children.”

Alabama judge displaying Ten Commandments cleared of ethics charges

(RNS) An Alabama judge who displays the Ten Commandments in his courtroom credited his faith after he was cleared of possible ethical wrongdoing regarding a legal defense fund.”I feel like today we’ve been delivered by His righteousness,”said Circuit Judge Roy Moore on Wednesday (Sept. 1).

Moore commented on the decision to a courtroom filled with supporters after St. Clair County District Attorney Van Davis said there was no evidence to support an Alabama Ethics Commission complaint that alleged the judge may have broken state law.

Davis concluded that Moore neither controlled the defense fund nor solicited donations himself, the Associated Press reported.”Our investigation revealed no evidence that Judge Roy Moore used his office for personal gain,”said Davis.

In June, commissioners voted 5-0 that there was probable cause that Moore illegally profited from the defense fund, created by friends who supported his legal fight to keep the Ten Commandments on display in his courtroom.

More than $100,000 was donated to the fund during his fight against the American Civil Liberties Union, which challenged his display and his practice of beginning court sessions with prayer.

Moore said the ethics case was prompted by the highly publicized court fight against the ACLU.”This is not about ethics,”he said.”This was an effort to stop the message that the acknowledgment of God … is not now nor has ever been nor ever will be a violation of the First Amendment.” The ACLU contends the judge’s religious expression in the courtroom violates the doctrine of separation of church and state.

The Alabama Supreme Court dismissed the ACLU’s case without ruling on the merits.

New killing of Christian in eastern India

(RNS) Unidentified assailants using poisoned arrows killed a Christian man in remote eastern India Thursday (Sept. 2), not far where an Australian missionary and his two sons died in January when their jeep was set afire.

Initial reports alternately identified the latest victim as a Christian missionary and a local Roman Catholic priest. There was also confusion over his name.

Ajit Tripathy, an Orissa state security official, was quoted by the Associated Press saying”whether (the dead man) was a priest is not known, but he is a Christian.” Press Trust of India news agency said the dead man _ whose name was given in various reports as”the Rev. Aruldoss,””Arun,”and”Arum Doss”_ was camping in a village where 15 Christian families lived some 700 miles southeast of New Delhi, the Indian capital. Another news agency, United News of India, said a second person was also injured in the attack.

Hindus, who account for more than 80 percent of India’s nearly 1 billion people, have clashed repeatedly with Christians across the vast Indian subcontinent. Christians say Hindu extremists are at fault; Hindus say Christians bribe or pressure poor Indians to convert to Christianity.

Christians _ both Catholics and Protestants _ are roughly 2 percent of India’s population.

In January, also in Orissa, Australian missionary Graham Staines, 58 and his two sons, 10 and 8, were burned to death while sleeping in their jeep following a Bible study class. An official investigation blamed a lone Hindu religious fanatic for the murders.

Iranian leader: Death to those who question the death penalty

(RNS) Iran’s supreme leader says anybody who questions the Islamic rationale for capital punishment deserves the death penalty themselves.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei upheld the Islamic principle of”qisas”during a speech Wednesday (Sept. 1) to members of a paramilitary volunteer militia. His remarks, quoted by Teheran radio, came a week after a reformist newspaper urged the end of the death penalty in Iran.

The qisas principle, which is included in the Koran, Islam’s scriptural basis, allows, in some cases, for the death of killers and apostates.

Khamenei said”if anyone denied religious stipulations such as Islamic qisas, this person is an apostate and the punishment for such a person is clear,”the Associated Press reported.

The Neshat newspaper, in an article, did not mention qisas, but called capital punishment”the most prominent type of governmental violence.”

Campus Crusade contributes inspirational”survival kits”to freshmen

(RNS) As they hit the books and adjust to dormitory life, some college freshmen will receive a gospel-oriented gift from Campus Crusade for Christ.

The evangelical ministry plans to dole out 111,000″Freshman Survival Kits”to 250 campuses across the country. Each kit includes a Bible, a Christian music CD, an evangelistic video that addresses drinking on campus, and other inspirational items.”Students are surviving many life issues as they enter college,”said Dan Hardaway, national coordinator for the kits for the Orlando, Fla.-based ministry.”We want to provide the freshmen with a gift that will speak to them in their world and help them address their spiritual needs.” Hardaway said the kits were available the past two years but there has been an increase in the demand for the 1999-2000 school year.”The demand for the kits nationwide this year is far exceeding our supply,”he said.

The project is funded through national and local contributions. Some individual campus ministries raise the money to provide the kits and churches and local business also pay for the kits to be distributed at universities in their local areas.

The ministry estimates that about $1 million will be spent on providing the kits during the school year.

Quote of the Day: Molecular biologist Joe Tsien

(RNS)”We’re in an era when breakthroughs in biology and intelligence are outpacing the culture’s capacity to deal with the ethics.” _ Joe Tsien the Princeton University molecular biologist who led a team of researchers that created a smarter strain of mice by manipulating a gene involved in memory formation.

DEA END RNS