Four Killed in Congo Christian Concert Crush

Four dead, 30+ injured at Christian concert A concert featuring the German-Zairian Christian band Makoma (English machine translation) resulted in a massive stampede that killed four and injured more than 30 in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo.

“Troops fired shots to allow the singers to leave first as thousands of people were already pushing to leave through the stadium’s only exit, which led to shoving and trampling,” said a witness. The shots sent panic through the crowd, and further panicked the crowd.

The concert was sponsored by the Congolese Rally for Democracy, a Rwanda-backed rebel movement than began fighting the government in 1998 and now controls much of the country.

Harvard challenges InterVarsity chapterChapters of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship have been challenged at several schools lately, so it’s not terribly surprising that Harvard University’s Undergraduate Council is facing a challenge over whether the group should receive support. But at the other schools, the challenge has come over whether the organization discriminates against homosexuals, and thus violates university anti-discrimination policies. At Harvard, it’s still about the school’s anti-discrimination policy — but this time, critics complain that only Christians can lead the Christian organization.

“The sense of the [Committee on College Life] on this matter was quite clear: student groups should not discriminate for membership or in the choice of officers,” Associate Dean of the College David P. Illingworth told The Harvard Crimson. “I have let the [Harvard-Radcliffe Christian Fellowship] know of this opinion. I have offered to work with them to develop constitutional changes which would bring them into compliance.”

“We were very surprised,” said Deborah C. Morton, a member of the chapter’s executive board. “HRCF makes every effort to be a diverse and welcoming group.” She says membership is open to students of all faiths, and that the university’s actions amount to “discriminating against religious organizations.”

For now, Harvard’s Undergraduate Council has postponed its grant to the organization, as well as a grant to the Harvard Asian Baptist Student Koinonia for the same reason.

Merry Christmas! Weblog will return Thursday, December 26. Do check our site Friday and Monday for other great articles, including a Christmas interview with J.I. Packer, and Tom Oden, and essays by Kathleen Norris on Mary, Tim Stafford on reading the Apocrypha at Christmas, further discussion of The Lord of the Rings, and other topics.

Public observance of religious holidays:

Remember what Christmas stands for | Unfortunately, like every year for the past 20 to 30 years in this country, there is a continuing move to water down and de-Christianize the Christmas season (Bill Stamps, Long Beach [Calif.] Press Telegram)
Free speech is messy, but restricting it is messier | Just ask Cincinnati, where efforts to control holiday displays have turned into a legal quagmire (Charles Haynes, Freedom Forum)
We wish you a merry lawsuit | Santa brings lots of litigation on religious symbols (Jonathan Turley, Los Angeles Times)
Gap employees allowed to acknowledge Christmas | Retailer Gap Inc. has scrapped its policy of encouraging staff to wish customers “happy holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” (Ottawa Citizen)
Santa display criticizes holiday’s commercialism | Boise resident stands by cross after complaints (The Idaho Statesman)
Crusade gets manger into county building | Miami-Dade County government building already had a Christmas tree, a Hanukkah menorah, six dreidels and a Kwanzaa candelabra (The Miami Herald)
Supreme Court turns away dispute over menorah in city plaza | On Nov. 29, Justice Stevens vacated lower court’s order that would have prevented Hanukkah display in Cincinnati’s Fountain Square (Associated Press)
Bah, humbug to that! | It seems that we all have bought into the PC ruling that the only way to avoid any possibility of insult is to offer the utterly bland ”happy holidays” greetings to any and all (Cindy Richards, Chicago Sun-Times)

Other Christmas stories:

Missing from manger | Baby Jesus statue kidnapped; thieves demand ransom (The Trentonian, N.J.)
Who was the real Virgin Mary? | She is the ultimate icon of womanhood — with 2,000 years of myth-making attached (Helen Bond, The Guardian, London)
Nativity film ban at Norfolk school | More schools include measures out of fear of pedophiles (BBC)

Ten Commandments:

A cadet hopes to honor a father killed in combat | The most straightforward of the commandments — one that many can fulfill without great sacrifice — profoundly shaped Jeremy Scott’s destiny (The New York Times)
Decalogical | A Ten Commandments slide show (Slate)
300 show support for Moore, monument | The pro-monument crowd included three busloads or about 120 people from Kentucky and Tennessee who had organized in support of displays of the Ten Commandments in public buildings in those states (The Birmingham News)
Also: Hundreds rally in Ala. for religious monument (Associated Press)
Ten Commandments for sale? | Hamilton County considering auctioning plaques (Associated Press)

Politics and law:

Judge me by my work, not my faith | Why can’t a practicing Catholic sit on the federal bench? (Douglas W. Kmiec, The Wall Street Journal)
Mom brings ‘under God’ crusade to area | Marcus Pointe church weighs in on school pledge case (Pensacola [Fla.] News Journal)
Salvation for report on Bible | School district changes its stance after lawyer threatens rights lawsuit (Rocky Mountain News, Denver)
To school: Give hymn its marching orders | Band director Alfred Watkins called the 10-minute program “Liturgical Sketches.” From here, it looks like an end run around the constitutional separation of church and state (Lee McAuliffe Rambo, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Christianity: Lake’s official religion? | The County Commission has never been shy about promoting the Christian beliefs of its five board members (The Orlando Sentinel)
Baptists get permit for Grace Christian but ACLU says suit not over | Second Baptist and the ACLU are suing the borough, alleging that its zoning hearing board wrongfully denied the church’s purchase of Grace Christian Ministries (The Daily News, McKeesport, Penn.)
Holy Moses! School can’t nix Exodus | The district’s policy is clear: Religious institutions are central to the human experience, and a person who knows nothing about religion is incompletely educated (Clint Talbott, The Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo.)
Symbols vs. free speech | A ruling that removed burning crosses from lawful discourse would give that symbol a unique status in modern American free-speech jurisprudence (Adam Liptak, The New York Times)
Oregon court rejects ban on Boy Scout recruiting | Atheist mother had sought to prevent scouting presentations in schools because the organization requires belief in God (Associated Press)

War, Iraq,terrorism, etc.:

Rumsfeld consults with religious leaders on war, peace | Clergy participants described the two-hour gathering as a “good exchange” during which Pentagon officials updated them on their efforts in Afghanistan and beyond and took questions from faith leaders about the religious and moral implications of the military efforts (Religion News Service)
Iraq’s Christians | Assyrians may tip the balance toward stability after the liberation of Iraq (Jonathan Eric Lewis, The Wall Street Journal)
Samoans ban Jesus? | American Samoa has decided to ban entrance to its territory to all persons of Middle Eastern descent (Claude Salhani, UPI)
Tolerance in a post-911 world | Exporting religious freedom (William E. Swing, San Francisco Chronicle)

Crime and violence:

Four sect members nabbed after clashes with Muslims in Malawi | “I was just comparing the two religions when the Muslims snatched my books and forced me to follow them to the mosque where they said I would be killed. I was dragged to the mosque before people who attended the prayers rescued me,” says leader Nathaniel Nazombe (SAPA)
Acquittal in shooting of priest splits a city | Residents of Baltimore are divided over a man’s acquittal on felony charges in the shooting of a priest who he said sexually abused him 10 years ago (The New York Times)
Slain priest breathed new life into city |Gulas’ hope was to make the church a center for immigrants (Associated Press)
Seventh Day Adventist youths demolish new church building | Accused the congregators of attempting to form as breakaway church (The Times of Zambia)
Two sentenced for pushing pastor off bicycle | Will spend Christmas with their families before serving anywhere from 3-1/2 to almost 8-1/2 months in juvenile detention (The Seattle Times)

Interfaith relations:

Police program reaching out to non-Christian churches | Deputy Ronda DeLuna is contacting churches, temples, and mosques to learn their public safety needs. She also wants religious leaders to come together and get acquainted (The Tampa Tribune)
Scholar says respect central to religious toleration | “The proselytizing of evangelicals is seen by local Islamic peoples as an insult and disrespect of their fundamentalist religious values” (The Ann Arbor [Mich.] News)
Ancient question continues after another round of debate | Whether a televised debate changed anyone’s mind about the existence of God is doubtful, but those who attended say it was not a waste (Advance Newspapers, Michigan)

Utah Temple Square controversy:

Deal sought on Salt Lake City Plaza | Mayor Rocky Anderson proposed that the city give up a sidewalk pedestrian easement it retained when it sold the block-long section of Main Street to the church, in exchange for 2.17 acres of church-owned land on the city’s west side (Associated Press)
Rocky’s plan wins public support | Citizens of Salt Lake City and elsewhere turned out in large numbers Tuesday night to tell the City Council their opinions on the latest plan to solve the LDS Main Street Plaza controversy (The Salt Lake Tribune)

Sexual ethics:

Cohabitors’ pacts tie legal knot unwed | As America’s cohabitation rates soar, live-in couples are increasingly drafting legal documents to clarify their financial arrangements if they split up (The Boston Globe)
Blessing for gay wedding threatens Anglicans | A small parish in Vancouver is poised to make history and hasten schism in the worldwide Church by holding Anglicanism’s first officially sanctioned blessing of a homosexual “marriage” (The Daily Telegraph, London)
Gay-rights act galls church | Lobbies state Senate on today’s vote (New York Daily News)
Same-sex blessing planned for new year | It will likely be a quiet, low-key affair—with repercussions that some suggest could split the church and re-ignite a volatile debate around the world on the direction of the Anglican Church (Canadian Press)
Out lesbian retains status as minister | Investigating Committee appointed by the Presbytery of the Redwoods votes not to file charges (Press release)

Science and health:

Medicine with a dose of Scripture | Biblical counseling, an evangelical response to secular therapy, tries to raise its profile (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Forgive and your health won’t forget | New research on forgiveness is spurring a shift in the medical treatment of patients (The Christian Science Monitor)
Why are men less religious? | It may be form of risk-taking just as criminal behavior is (Press release)

Books:

More than fire and brimstone | Mark A. Noll’s America’s God presents a powerful case for the centrality of religion in American life, but it is first and foremost a history of American theology, from the colonial period to the Civil War. (The Wall Street Journal)
How two songs found their place in a nation’s voice | “White Christmas,” an ode in celebration of a Christian holiday, was the work of a Jew, Irving Berlin. “Amazing Grace,” a hymn of Christian redemption written by an 18th century English slave trader, became a favorite of slaves and was transformed in the 20th century into a secular anthem in praise of triumph over adversity (Newsday)

Television:

PBS, recruiting for Islam | This documentary is especially odd when contrasted with the 1998 PBS documentary, “From Jesus to Christ,” which focuses almost exclusively on the work of cutting-edge scholars and presents the latest in critical thinking on Jesus (Daniel Pipes, New York Post)
Atlanta’s niche news | New TV news network aims for independents (Atlanta Business Chronicle)

Money and business:

More Christians are finding fun fighting Satan on a PC | In these videogames, foes don’t die, they pray (The Wall Street Journal)
Christian retail industry defies market trends | Economists and analysts tend to ignore the Christian retail industry when they examine holiday sales. (Dayton Daily News)
Which religion is best for the economy? God knows | Nearly a century later, academics are putting Weber to the test, employing modern scientific analysis in an effort to prove – or disprove – his theories (Financial Times)
New weapon for the Salvation Army | The Salvation Army’s bright, red-kettle campaign has moved to cyberspace, including its bell ringers (The Washington Times)

Archaeology:

Experts rebut claim of biblical bathhouse | An ancient bathhouse unearthed beneath a Nazareth souvenir shop dates back to Crusader times and is not, as the shop owner believes, a Roman bath which may have been used by Jesus, archaeologists and Bible scholars said Tuesday (Associated Press)
Archeologists excavate ‘unluckiest church’ | Site hit by floods, landslide, earthquakes (The National Post)

Church life:

A bare church cupboard | The color of Christmas may be red ink this year for many of the nation’s churches (USA Today)
Children put on a play with spirit | A church plans a street-smart holiday show (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Clerics lean on each other | Church leaders sometimes feel lonely and isolated in their jobs (The Charlotte Observer)
Faith put to a test | Last February, a Bible study group on Block Island, 150 miles from Westchester County, gathered for its weekly discussion. The conversation that day focused on magnetic personalities within the church, people who drew others toward them and generated almost cult-like devotion. Had anyone there ever met such a charismatic figure? (The New York Times)
How to wash 11,000 panes? Ingeniously | For Garden Grove’s Crystal Cathedral, a company’s solution is design and sweat (Los Angeles Times)
Grace Ministries project approved | Fullerton council OKs development by the Korean-American denomination (Orange County Register)
Cleveland priest arrested on gambling charges | Charged with three gambling misdemeanors at a church fund raiser (WKYC, Cleveland)
Injured minister takes painful road to forgiveness | Despite a punctured lung, five broken ribs and a shattered right arm, the Rev. David Tinney made no secret about his feelings soon after two Issaquah teenagers shoved him off his bicycle in March (The Seattle Times)
Immigrants worship in own tongues | Sub-congregations in Fremont help maintain cultural identity (The Oakland [Calif.] Tribune)

Rowan Williams:

Church and state | There have been complaints over recent decades that Anglicans have lacked intellectual leadership. On the basis of the Dimbleby Lecture Dr Williams is to broadcast tonight, there can be no doubt that the Church is now being led by a man who will stretch the most dedicated of intellectuals (Editorial, The Times, London)
Religion can challenge the market, says Williams | Religion deserves space in an increasingly market-led society, and could become increasingly important because it can transcend consumer values, says Archbishop of Canterbury (The Daily Telegraph, London)
Archbishop launches moral crusade | The new Archbishop of Canterbury has accused politicians of putting too much emphasis on the short-term needs of voters and ignoring moral issues (BBC)
Number at Church of England services recovers to 1 m | In 1998 churchgoing fell below one million for the first time, but it has recovered across the country (The Times, London)

Catholicism:

No longer for scholars’ eyes only | But nearly five centuries after the Reformation, the Vatican is doing its part to distribute writings by Luther worldwide on the Internet (Wired News)
A fallen ally | Is the Pope losing his grip on the American church? (U.S. News & World Report)
Is the Pope a Catholic? | Rome is in meltdown, and part of the problem is that in some respects John Paul II is scandalously liberal (Gerald Warner, The Spectator, U.K.)
Priests begin public penance in Orange County | Sixteen clerics perform acts of contrition meant to apologize for their colleagues’ sex abuses (Los Angeles Times)
Pope to move Mother Teresa closer to sainthood | Due to approve on Friday a miracle attributed to Mother Teresa (Reuters)
Mother Teresa’s beatification decree on Friday (PTI)
Rome has spoken, again | The Vatican signs off on a revised abuse policy (Editorial, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Death saint popular in Mexican frontier | La Santisima Muerte, or Saint Death, is a spirit representing death worshipped by everyone from drug traffickers to jealous housewives in Mexico’s borderlands (Associated Press)
I couldn’t risk meeting Maria, says Milingo | Feared media misinterpretation if he met his former wife (The Post, Lusaka, Zambia)
Also: Reconcile with church, Milingo tells ex-priests | “I had sinned but now I am reconciled with the church so there is no need for other priests to be stubborn” (The Times of Zambia)

Other stories of interest:

Clergy scandal biggest story of ’02 | Religion Newswriters Association votes (The Washington Times)
A rough year for God? It is business as usual (Rosalind Kent-Braxton, Savannah Morning News)
Schools ‘failing to teach pupils basic message of Christianity’ | Almost half of Britain’s 12-year-olds are so ignorant of basic Christian teaching that they are unaware that Easter celebrates the Resurrection, according to a new study (The Daily Telegraph, London)
Getting religion | Stop me if you’ve heard this one: A rabbi, a priest and a minister are on the 1st tee at Merion (Sports Illustrated)
Banishing Armageddon | It is time for a doctrinal regime change (Stewart Dakers, The Guardian, London)
Jesus at the wheel of an SUV | The buyer of an SUV is not necessarily a bad Christian, and nor is the driver of a small compact necessarily the sworn enemy of market freedom (Pentti Sadeniemi, Helsingin Sanomat, Helsinki, Finland)
Dear God: The world is a mess | If you could look after those who love you the most, those willing to kill for the passion they have for you, I will go on trying to understand why they do such (Daryl K. Tabor, Kentucky New Era)
‘Dying’ apostle is on holiday | Freddie Isaacs, the Reformed Apostolic Church apostle who has been on his “deathbed” since the beginning of the year, is alive, well and on holiday with his wife (Die Burger, South Africa)
In tragedy, he finds strength | Sept. 11 survivor tells how belief in God bloomed after attacks (The Morning Call, Allentown, Penn.)