OUR COLUMNISTS The Mature and Holy Hope of a Nation Commentary by Matt Friedeman Over a Nigerian dinner a few moments ago, I asked a missionary deep into his second decade about the health of the Church in this nation. I was glad I did. Condoms: Context Counts Commentary by Jane Jimenez Even with the technical expertise of Consumers Union, their report on the reliability of condoms cannot tell us what we need to know about condoms. Evidences of Faith Commentary by Brad Locke As an old year fades away and a new one blossoms, it's evident that, despite the best efforts of some, Christianity remains a timeless element in today's culture. Just a scan of recent sports headlines gives us evidence of that. Christmas As It Was Originally Celebrated Commentary by David Sisler Christmas used to mean more than great deals on computers and peripherals. The conception of Christmas used to be a teenaged girl, pregnant before marriage, drenched in sweat. She had just pushed her first child into the cold night air of an unheated, smelly barn. Tsunami -- Why God, Why? Commentary by Mark Creech If God is a loving and merciful God, why would He allow such a disaster? The Scriptures teach God didn't create the world in the state in which it is today; suffering was the result of man's rebellion against God.

...A federal judge says he will rule today on an atheist's lawsuit to prevent prayers from being recited at President Bush's inauguration. Michael Newdow, who is best known for challenging the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, told federal judge John Bates that allowing an overtly Christian prayer at next week's ceremony would violate the Constitution by forcing him to accept unwanted religious beliefs. Attorneys representing Bush and his inaugural committee responded that prayers have been widely accepted at inaugurals for more than 200 years and that Bush's decision to have a minister recite the invocation is a personal choice the court has no power to prevent. Much of the hearing centered on whether the lawsuit should be thrown out because Newdow lost a similar challenge to prayers recited at Bush's first inauguration. [AP]

...In another inauguration-related legal battle, the Christian Defense Coalition is going to court in hopes of forcing the U.S. Secret Service to rescind its ban on crosses being displayed along the presidential inauguration parade route. Coalition founder Rev. Pat Mahoney was outraged when he received a letter from the Secret Service telling him no crosses could be displayed during his group's demonstration at President Bush's inauguration. "Why is it that only a Christian religious symbol -- not just any symbol of Christianity, but the very heart of Christianity, the most sacred and identifiable symbol of Christianity -- is banned from the inauguration parade?" the Christian activist asks. "I think this should anger [not just] Christians, but any person who believes in religious freedom." Mahoney hopes to get injunctive relief from the courts over this matter. (See earlier article) [Bill Fancher]

...A Virginia-based missions agency says it has found a successful new formula for spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ to lost souls in some 80 countries. Oliver Asher is vice president for projects and foundations at Advancing Native Missions, which has several teams assisting with the relief efforts in tsunami-devastated South Asia. Asher says ANM is a different missions paradigm: instead of being a sending agency for Western missionaries, it enters into relationships with Christians already in a particular country. "It was necessary two hundred, even a hundred years ago to send out missionaries to plant those first gospel seeds," he says, "but now in many of these countries, of course, those gospel seeds have been planted and watered and [have] grown up to be fine, indigenous Christians and Christian groups that are doing a great work for the Lord Jesus Christ." This approach, says Asher, is efficient and cost-effective. "These people know the language, the culture, the customs, so they can easily present the gospel," he notes. "And many times, for $50 or $100 a month, a person can be a missionary and can be supported full time in their occupation of church planting and evangelism." Asher says in fact more than 80 percent of world evangelism is done by native missionaries. [Chad Groening]

...According to the Beverly LaHaye Institute, sex trafficking of children, orphaned by the tsunamis in South Asia, could be a bigger problem than was first thought. Institute director Dr. Janice Crouse feels the sex trafficking of children in the wake of the tidal waves demonstrates the depravity of those involved in the awful industry. "It's just unconscionable that there are people who would prey on children who are in that frame of mind -- children who've lost so much already [and] whose whole way of life is gone, in addition to losing their parents," she laments. The sex trafficking industry is well established in that region of the world, according to Crouse. She says the tragic events in South Asia could provide a huge source of young victims, some of whom may be thought to have died in the tragedy. [Bill Fancher]

...Episcopal bishops are expressing "sincere regret" for consecrating a homosexual bishop without full consideration for overseas Anglicans who objected. In a statement after a two-day meeting in Salt Lake City, the Episcopal bishops also said they prayed for forgiveness so they could maintain ties with sister churches around the world. Utah Bishop Carolyn Tanner Irish says the statement is not an apology for consecrating New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson, who lives with his homosexual partner, but for the tensions that his election created within the Communion. The Episcopal bishops did not act on requests from Anglican leaders for a moratorium on consecrating bishops in same-sex relationships and blessing ceremonies for same-gender couples. Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan, who leads a network of dissenting conservative dioceses, said the bishops use "graceful language" but their inaction "contradicts the words." [AP]

...An Arkansas pro-family advocate says homosexual supporters will sacrifice the welfare of innocent children to further their own agenda. An Arkansas judge recently ruled that that the state's child welfare agency had no right to require that children under the state's care not be placed in homosexual households. Jerry Cox, president and executive director of the Arkansas-based Family Council, says it is ludicrous to use children in an attempt to legitimize the homosexual lifestyle. He says the placing of foster children in regular homes with a mother and a father is not a "gay" issue. "This is a child welfare issue. Anybody with half a brain knows that a child who is in foster care has probably been through some bad stuff already," the pro-family leader says. "To .. put that child in another dysfunctional situation is horrible for the little child. What's happened is that a bunch of grown-ups who are trying to further their gay-rights agenda are doing it at the expense of little kids." Cox says in the ruling Judge Timothy Fox of Little Rock ignored the testimony of medical experts and issued what Cox calls a "politically correct, pro-gay ruling." [Rusty Pugh]

...A military watchdog organization is questioning the judgment of the North Carolina National Guard for failing to discharge a soldier who admitted to having homosexual relations with a 17-year-old Iraqi soldier. The Guardsman was given a dishonorable discharge and 25 years in prison for murdering the Iraqi teenager. According to The Charlotte Observer, 21-year-old Private Fredrico Merida plead guilty to shooting the Iraqi private 11 times while they stood guard duty together last May. But Merida was not found guilty of dereliction of duty for having consensual relations with the Iraqi. Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Military Readiness says the American soldier should have been kicked of the service for his homosexuality. She maintains the National Guard needs to apply the law that says homosexuals are not eligible to serve in the military -- and aside from that, she adds, such sexual misconduct is wrong for heterosexuals and homosexuals in the service. "It does make you wonder what the circumstances were," Donnelly says. "He certainly should have been punished for [the sexual misconduct] as well. But if this young man is homosexual, then he had no business being in the Army in the first place." The CMR spokeswoman says the reason this sort of thing happens is because of the confusion created by former President Bill Clinton's "don't ask, don't tell" regulations. "That's why the administration should get rid of [those regulations]," she says. "We need to vigorously defend ... in any court setting the law that Congress actually passed in 1993, which says that homosexuality is incompatible with military service. It's a sound law and it needs to be defended in court." [Chad Groening]

...A new review of state academic standards finds that math standards in most states in the U.S. are inadequate. The review by the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation reveals a slight improvement in English standards from 2000-2005, but a decline in math standards during that period. Only three states -- California, Indiana and Massachusetts -- were given an "A" grade for their math standards, while eleven states received an "F." Fordham research director Justin Torres says the average grade for math standards across the country is a high "D," which indicates there is a lot of work to be done. "Many states are requiring and even mandating that calculators be used to learn basic kinds of mathematical operations, down to the first grade and kindergarten," Torres explains. The result, he notes, is that children in the lower primary grades are learning basic arithmetic operations, like skip counting and forward counting, using calculators. But "that's a real problem in terms of building fundamental math skills," he says. The math report also found that several states have problems with arithmetic standards, algebra, and an overemphasis on topics like statistics and probability. [Jim Brown]

...More than half a million Michigan residents have voiced support for a proposed constitutional amendment that would end race and gender preferences in the state's public institutions. The Michigan Civil Rights Initiative has collected more than 508,000 signatures and turned them over to the secretary of state's office. It is the largest number of signatures collected for a constitutional amendment in the state's history. Initiative spokesman Chetly Zarko says voters clearly want the issue on the November 2006 ballot. "It's our position that using race and gender preferences divides people unnecessarily, creates tension, and doesn't help the people [those measures] are really intended to help," Zarko says. "As a result, this is why we wanted to end these types of programs." The Michigan Secretary of State's office says it may take until April to certify the signatures. [Jim Brown]

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