OUR COLUMNISTS Thanksgiving: Thanking God for That Dead, Liberal Church Commentary by Matt Friedeman If nothing else happened with those I remember while growing up in a dead, liberal church, those holy moments of righteousness and the sweet community that I shared them with helped seal me for God. Long After the Turkey Is Gone Commentary by Jane Jimenez This year’s turkey is gone. It’s in the pot. And there’s a lot to think about as I stir the soup. Getting the Straight Story Commentary by Brad Locke Objective reporting can at times seem heartless, even detached, to the reader. But objectivity should not be confused with negativity. All that to say, the messenger needs to stop getting shot. Amnesia Commentary by David Sisler What would it be like to wake up and not remember the evil that you had done, the people you had hurt, the sins you had committed? What would you pay for a little selective amnesia? A Lighthouse for the Great Ships of Zion Commentary by Mark Creech Few sins have done more of late to wreak havoc among God's people as homosexuality. The State Baptist Convention of North Carolina recognizes that, and has essentially agreed that no member church should ever show sympathy to the homosexual agenda.

...A Pentecostal pastor accused of hate speech and sentenced to one month in jail has been acquitted by Sweden's highest court. During a 2003 sermon on the topic of homosexuality, Ake Green denounced that lifestyle as a "cancerous tumor." Sweden's Supreme Court has now found that Green's remarks are protected by freedom of speech and religion under the European Convention on Human Rights. Green was the first clergyman convicted under Sweden's hate crimes legislation, when a lower court found him guilty of inciting hatred against homosexuals. An appeals court overturned the ruling earlier this year, but Sweden's chief prosecutor appealed the acquittal to the Supreme Court. Green says the Supreme Court ruling is a relief both for him and other preachers. Benjamin Bull, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, which assisted Pastor Green, stated prior to the ruling that homosexual activists in Sweden and throughout Europe had wanted to make an example of the pastor. In addition, stated Bull, the outcome of the case was "critical for freedom of religious expression in America" because of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent tendency to take into account international law in some of its rulings. [AP/Allie Martin]

...Pro-family groups are praising a Vatican decision to toughen up its policy against allowing homosexuals to be priests. The Roman Catholic Church has been rocked by decades of scandals involving homosexual priests molesting young boys. Now the Vatican's ruling -- labeled as "Instruction on the Criteria for Priestly Vocational Discernment" -- basically states there should be no homosexuals in the priesthood. Robert Knight of the Culture and Family Institute insists the Catholic Church has learned a hard lesson. "The scandals of homosexual priests that have rocked the church in recent years taught them the lesson that they can't mess with this stuff," Knight says. "If someone has that recurring temptation, they probably shouldn't be in the priesthood." Catholic activist Judie Brown says it is now up to the church's seminaries to enforce the policy. She says rectors of seminaries who have an opportunity to interview individuals who are trying to discern whether they have a vocation to the priesthood "are not doing the homosexual any favors if they accept him into the seminary." The instruction confirms what the Vatican has said in the past on this issue, even though the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has been more tolerant in dealing with homosexual priests, making provisions for some. [Bill Fancher]

...A coalition of Christian groups has taken action to try to diffuse the influence of radical environmentalism that has crept into many American churches. David Rothbard, president of the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, says liberal environmentalists have been sneaking their views into the churches for some time. "[T]hose who support a more radical environmental view have been coming into America's churches and synagogues and promoting what really amount to liberal environmental policies under the guise of biblical stewardship," he explains. But Rothbard says that is changing. Evangelical Christian leaders, along with Jewish and Catholic scholars, have created and signed onto "The Cornwall Declaration of Environmental Stewardship." The document presents a conservative, biblically based view of environmentalism and offers other views on many issues such as global warming. [Bill Fancher]

...A former presidential candidate is not at all impressed with President Bush's recent trip to Communist China. Michael Peroutka of the Constitution Party says he was disappointed with the chief executive's journey to Beijing. "I believe Mr. Bush's trip accomplished nothing that actually benefits America -- that is to say, the American people -- or [that] secures American sovereignty or benefits America economically," says Peroutka. The Constitution Party's 2004 candidate feels the trip was wasted time and money, but adds he found an even greater problem with the excursion. "The president's call for religious liberty in Communist China is rendered completely incredible by his attending one of the few Communist-approved, state-authorized churches," he says. According to Peroutka, Bush's visit to the state-run church must have been a "terribly demoralizing thing" to the millions of Chinese Christians who risk their lives to attend underground churches. [Bill Fancher]

...The Secretary of the Interior believes that allowing oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would help America in several ways. Despite record high gas prices this past summer, environmentalists have managed to get House members of both parties to block efforts to open a portion of ANWR to oil drilling. Interior Secretary Gale Ann Norton says drilling in one percent of ANWR would be a big help to America. "We have the potential for producing a million barrels [of oil] a day...and that is as much as is offline right now because of the hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico," Norton says. "That gives us an increase in our domestic production that would amount to 15 or 20 percent." The secretary says that would allow the U.S. to keep about a billion-and-a-half dollars a month it typically spends on foreign oil -- and over the lifetime of the project, she adds, that would amount to perhaps half a trillion dollars. [Bill Fancher]

...A conservative congressman who received a 100-percent rating from the Christian Coalition has resigned after admitting to taking $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors to steer business their way. Emerging from a federal court where he pleaded guilty yesterday, California Republican Randy "Duke" Cunningham said, "I can't undo what I have done, but I can atone." The 63-year-old Cunningham apologized and told reporters, "I intend to use the remaining time that God grants me to make amends." He added that "with God's grace," he will now face the consequences of his actions "like a man." Cunningham could get up to ten years in prison at his sentencing early next year. [AP]

...The founder of the first Arabic Christian channel in the U.S. says he is getting many calls from curious Muslims. The channel Alkarma -- which means "vineyard" in Arabic -- premiered last month. The founder, Samuel Estefanos, says there are about 35 Arabic language channels available, but none were Christian until his went on the air. Estafanos says he gets about 10 to 15 calls a day from Arabic speakers who say they are Muslim and need to know more about Christ. He says he has families call him and say they have met Jesus through the programming of Alkarma. Estefanos, an Egyptian-born businessman, has produced some of his own Arabic programming for the channel in different dialects of Arabic, including Syrian, Iraqi, and Egyptian. He also uses some English programs. Estefanos says his goal for Alkarma is two-fold: to provide solid biblical teaching, and to provide family-friendly programming. [Mary Rettig]

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