Nigeria death toll much higher than previous claims In a letter to the president of the Nigerian Senate, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) says 3,000 Christians died in this month’s Plateau State violence. Earlier estimates put the figure at about 1,000—a number that includes both Christians and Muslims.
“The group, citing ‘information available’ to it, alleged that 30 churches and over 200 houses belonging to Christians have been destroyed while over 90 Christian students were killed at the Bayero University [in] Kano and the Federal College of Education [in] Bichi,” reports The Daily Champion, a Nigerian newspaper based in Lagos. “Another six Christian lecturers from the institutions were also allegedly killed.”
And, sadly, the violence continues. Despite a declaration of a state of emergency in Plateau State, at least 25 (or 30) people have been killed in the last few days, especially in the remote town of Sabon Gida. The number may be more.
“Seven villages have been attacked, they killed 25 people,” local CAN head Mangmwos Tangshak told the AFP news service. ” I saw 25 dead bodies myself.”
Another development in the story is that news agencies are now examining the secular and ethnic reasons for the conflict. Apparently the murders aren’t just about Islam and Christianity.
“The attack on Sabon Gida and neighboring Christian communities is the latest atrocity in a three-year-old battle between rival religious and ethnic groups for control of Plateau State’s fertile farmlands,” says AFP. Likewise, the Associated Press headlines its story, “Nigeria to Crack Down on Ethnic Violence.”
The reporters are apparently taking the cues from Chris Alli, a retired Nigerian army general who has been appointed to govern Plateau State during the state of emergency. The Associated Press reports that the violence pitted “predominantly Muslim herdsmen and traders against Christian farming groups in what Alli called ‘a competition for scarce resources.’ ‘The problem is not a religious problem,’ Alli insisted, saying persistent drought has fueled the battle over land.”
More on the Nigeria riots:
- Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria chides emergency rule in Plateau | Group calls for sovereign confab (Vanguard, Nigeria)
- Also (and contradictory?): PFN seeks emergency rule in Kano | In a release made available to THISDAY, PFN hinged its call on the fact that the same scenario which prompted the declaration of state of emergency in Plateau occurred repeatedly in Kano (This Day, Nigeria)
- Christians, Muslims divided in Kaduna | The declaration of a state of emergency in Plateau State by the federal government has further polarised the people of Kaduna State along ethnic and religious lines (P.M. News, Nigeria)
- Ex-general promises democracy for Nigerians | The retired general assigned to stanch a cycle of violence in Nigeria pledged to fortify security and enable thousands of displaced people to return home (The New York Times)
- Soyinka slams Nigeria ‘inaction’ | Nigeria’s Nobel prize-winning author Wole Soyinka has blamed President Olusegun Obasanjo for failing to ensure security in a recent spate of violence (BBC)
More articles
Religious freedom:
- Army rescues Kitgum bishop | The army on Tuesday night rescued the Anglican Bishop of Kitgum Diocese, Benjamin Ojwang, from Lords Resistance Army rebels who had abducted him from his house in Mican area in Kitgum town council (New Vision, Kampala, Uganda)
- Earlier: LRA abduct Kitgum bishop (The Monitor, Kampala, Uganda)
- Four Christians jailed in Vietnam | Authorities in Vietnam say four ethnic Hmong Christians have been jailed for “disturbing public order” (Radio Australia)
War & terrorism:
- Baptism in Iraq spawned opposition to war, sergeant testifies | Taking the stand in his own defense Thursday, accused deserter Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejia said his objection to the Iraq war germinated when he was baptized for the first time in the Euphrates River by a military chaplain last year (Chicago Tribune)
- Faiths probe forces of evil | Scholars probe the ‘enigmatic forces’ of evil in modern life (Religion News Service)
- For Iraqi Christian, road home from base brings blast, blindness | Nahrain Yonaan loved her job. But working for the U.S. turned her and others into victims of a war of retribution. She survived; others didn’t (Los Angeles Times)
- The same General Boykin? | The Pentagon official, an evangelical, was nearly fired for insulting Islam. So far, conservative Christians stand by him (Beliefnet)
Prison abuse:
- Significance of a little folly | A few reflections on Abu Ghraib (Andree Seu, World)
- New details of prison abuse emerge | Abu Ghraib detainees’ statements describe sexual humiliation and savage beatings (The Washington Post)
Abortion & life ethics:
- The party of Abu Ghraib in the womb | Will John Kerry allow the Red Cross to visit Planned Parenthood clinics? (George Neumayr, The American Spectator)
- Abortion foes sue over permit | Rally at Jeff clinic did not get approval (The Times-Picayune, New Orleans)
- Prolife lobby touts fetal-pain bill | The next big rallying point for the pro-life movement on Capitol Hill appears to be legislation introduced yesterday that would require doctors to inform women seeking abortions that the procedure will cause pain to their unborn children (The Washington Times)
- What is a mother? | The California “egg donor” case gets it wrong (Sherry F. Colb, FindLaw)
Catholic lawmakers respond to bishops:
- Q&A on Catholicism, politics | Last week, 48 Roman Catholic Democrats in the U.S. House sent a protest to Washington’s Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who chairs a special committee that is considering sanctions against politicians who oppose church teachings (Associated Press)
- Catholic leader open to hearing from lawmakers | The head of a task force of bishops “is open to hearing” from Catholic members in Congress concerned that church leaders may trigger a backlash if they deny Communion to politicians who support abortion rights, a spokeswoman said on Thursday (Reuters)
- GOP peer hits Democrats’ letter to prelate | “Anyone who knows anything about Catholic theology knows you cannot equate abortion with the war in Iraq,” said Rep. Peter T. King, a New York Republican (The Washington Times)
- Bordallo’s office maintains Congresswoman opposes abortion | Guam delegate was among those writing to Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. Her office says she’s staunchly against abortion, but signed the letter because of her concerns about the separation of church and state (KUAM, Guam)
Communion & politics:
- Catholic politicians face US church ban over abortion laws | Bishops’ threat adds to pressure on Kerry (The Guardian, London)
- The bishops and the pols | The bishops are stuck with a Catholic governing class uninterested in the tenets of its own religion. They probably should raise their voices a bit and just keep trying to persuade Catholic pols, present and future, to take their religion seriously (John Leo, U.S. News & World Report)
- We’re all forgiven the sins of the voting booth | Bless me Father for I have sinned. It’s been two months since my last election (Marilou Johanek, The Toledo Blade, Oh.)
Catholicism:
- Catholic group committed to change | God seems to be raising up a new thing called The Voice of the Faithful from the dregs of the ghastly sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the church (Steve Gushee, Palm Beach Post)
- A church dedicated to Mother Mary attracts all communities | Christians, Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists flock to Velankanni church at Besant Nagar (ANI, India)
- Cardinal’s story lacks substance | While we must commend the Archdiocese of Los Angeles for making public the reasons a popular priest was abruptly yanked from the pulpit at St. Louise de Marillac Catholic Church in Covina, we agree with parishioners. It seems more smoke screen than substance (Editorial, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Ca.)
Christian activists:
- Born-again ecologists | Evangelicals sign on to a worthy cause (Editorial, The Dallas Morning News)
- Tony Campolo joins PETA in calling for KFC to end worst abuses | “I know that you are a God-fearing man, and I hope that you will heed God’s word in this matter,” he says in letter to David Novak CEO of KFC’s parent company, Yum! Brands (Press release, PETA)
Ten Commandments:
- Copyrighting the Decalogue | Does Roy Moore love the Ten Commandments so much that he wants to own them? (Timothy Noah, Slate)
- Brown ad criticized for touting role in commandments issue | The campaign of a candidate for the Alabama Supreme Court says a nonprofit corporation’s mail-out touting Justice Jean Brown’s role in placing a display of the Ten Commandments in the state judicial building was “desperate and pathetic” (The Birmingham News, Ala.)
Church & state:
- Pastor’s remarks spark furor | Female lawmakers with young children at home are sinners, he says. The comments may threaten his Bible classes at the Capitol (Los Angeles Times)
- Lemon plaintiff, out of limelight, still tracks church-state issues | Alton Lemon reflects on his role in Lemon v. Kurtzman, 1971 Supreme Court case that created a legal test for determining whether government is too involved in religion (First Amendment Center)
- Several EU countries want Christianity mention in EU constitution | Several EU countries, including Italy and Poland, have launched an initiative to incorporate a reference to Christianity in the EU constitution, a Polish foreign ministry spokesman said Thursday (EU Business)
Education:
- GR Baptist becomes NorthPointe Christian | Grand Rapids Baptist Schools is changing its name to NorthPointe Christian Schools to reflect the various faiths of the 700 students and broaden its appeal to families (The Grand Rapids Press)
- Cardinal points to use of prayer | Scotland’s Catholic leader has urged the country to celebrate its different faiths and include prayer in schools (BBC)
- Public schools no place for teaching religion | Too many nuts believe that religious freedom means they can go anywhere and preach any thing because of this constitutional right (Editorial, The Decatur Daily, Ala.)
Crime & abuse:
- ‘Liquid gold’ drinks conman jailed | In an apparent bid to salve his conscience, swindler made a couple of donations to charity, including £45,000 to an evangelical church (PA, U.K.)
- Bible argument spurs boiling-oil charge | A woman is accused of pouring boiling oil on her boyfriend’s face in an argument over a Bible verse (Associated Press)
- Women accuse priests of abuse | In the same week that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane learned that clergy sexual abuse victims want at least $58 million in compensation, two more lawsuits were filed Thursday alleging sexual misconduct—this time, by female victims (The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wa.)
- Secrecy shrouds priest’s church trial here | The first of what could be as many as 12 secret church trials of Roman Catholic priests from the Chicago archdiocese accused of sexual misconduct with minors is under way (Chicago Sun-Times)
Weigh Down raid:
- Franklin officials finish search at Weigh Down Workshop | Detective not revealing purpose of police investigation (The Tennessean, Nashville)
- Weigh Down Workshop will be back in business following raid | Franklin Police removed file boxes and flattened boxes after executing several search warrants in the 29-hour takeover of the Weigh Down Workshop headquarters (Williamson County Review Appeal, Tenn.)
- Christian ministry raided in boy’s death | Officials with Weigh Down Ministries and Remnant Fellowship Church said they’ve done nothing wrong and believe the October death of Josef Mykel Smith was an accident (Associated Press)
Missions & ministry:
- Feud threatens to close AIDS hospice in city | Church sues nuns, wants majority control of Richey; 3 board members countersue; Extent of spiritual role at center of long dispute (The Baltimore Sun)
- Campus Christian groups carve out niche | Students are drifting away from large, homogenous Christian fellowships and gravitating toward new “niche” groups catering to their interests, age or ethnicity (Religion News Service)
- Building a foundation for education | Youth missionaries from Glendale head to Mexico to do more work on preschool they helped build (News-Press, Glendale, Ca.)
- Religion in the news: The church garage | Many churches across the nation have mechanics ministries, where single women, the elderly, poor and others can get a hassle-free fix-up for a low price. Some of the ministries even refurbish donated cars then give them away or sell them at a bargain rate (Associated Press)
Church life:
- Religion Today: Holding the Anglican Communion together | A written constitution, new powers for the archbishop of Canterbury, a looser federation of national churches — these ideas reportedly are among proposals being considered by the Eames commission (Associated Press)
- United Methodist Church bucks the trend on employee pensions | The United Methodist Church recently voted to start a defined-benefit pension plan for its 25,000 American pastors and lay employees (The New York Times)
- Conservative Presbyterian church sought | Conservative Presbyterians won’t find a fitting church family in the city of Conroe, some local Presbyterians say (The Courier, Conroe, Tex.)
- Stand-up guys turn out to be men of the cloth | A minister, a priest and a rabbi walked into a place of worship and brought smiles with them (Chicago Tribune)
- Churches growing in Berlin | Two Protestant churches are nearly tripling the size of their buildings in order to accommodate growing congregations and ministries (New Britain Herald, Conn.)
- Reverend to celebrate 50 years of service | Everett Hiller, a priest, educator and pilot, will mark anniversary Sunday in Stockton (The Journal-Standard, Freeport, Ill.)
- Headhunter firm offers services for finding clergy, church staff | The church needs a new pastor. The old way: call a search committee. The new way: call a headhunter (Religion News Service)
- Shock as bishop resigns | The Anglican church is reeling with shock over the abrupt retirement of an Australian-born bishop whose quit notice has generated a lot of controversy (The East African Standard, Nairobi, Kenya)
Marriage:
- Should interfaith marriages be discouraged? | Religious leaders respond (Los Angeles Times)
- Let no man put asunder | Evidence that religious counseling prevents divorce (Dale Buss, The Wall Street Journal)
- Prenuptial jitters | Did gay marriage destroy heterosexual marriage in Scandinavia? (M.V. Lee Badgett, Slate)
- Debate on gay marriage tortures traditional bliss | The heterosexual divorce rate as a rebuttal to gay marriage opponents falls utterly flat, but it is a useful reminder that this is not the first time there has been a heated debate over the effect of fundamental reform on traditional marriage (Robert Robb, The Arizona Republic)
Gay marriage:
- Gay marriage: Another Thirty Years War in the making? | The first legal same-sex marriages have finally taken place. A long struggle between gay activists and social conservatives lies ahead (The Economist)
- Conservatives hope gay marriage strikes chord at local level | It seems that gay marriage may not end up being as big a political issue this year as most would have predicted (CNN)
Gay marriage in Mass.:
- Romney turns to AG for halt to licensing | Targets marriage by gay outsiders (The Boston Globe)
- Governor seeks to invalidate some same-sex marriages | Gov. Mitt Romney began cracking down on same-sex marriages by out-of-state couples, taking steps to invalidate their marriage licenses (The New York Times)
- Handful of gay marriage licenses to be reviewed | Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney on Thursday asked the state’s top prosecutor to look at whether clerks in a handful of communities broke the law by issuing marriage licenses this week to gay couples from out of state (Reuters)
- Dozens of same-sex couples marry in Mass. | Dozens of gay couples rushed to tie the knot at chapels, parks and beaches across Massachusetts on Thursday as the end of the three-day waiting period under state matrimonial law led to a marathon of same-sex weddings (Associated Press)
- History suggests race was the basis for 1913 law | Some legal analysts believe that Harry Ney Stearns’s intention may have been to prevent out-of-state interracial couples from marrying in Massachusetts to avoid their home state’s ban (Scott S. Greenberger, The Boston Globe)
Homosexuality & religion:
- Methodists face ‘tension’ on gays | A group of local evangelical United Methodists is organizing to make sure local church leaders follow newly tightened church laws and teachings on homosexuality and gay clergy (Seattle Times)
- Baptists aren’t worried about history | Southern Baptists are unapologetically opposed to same-sex marriages. We are not worried about what history will say about our stand on this issue (Patrick W. Bullock, The Wichita Eagle, Kan.)
Film & television:
- Rowdy Python classic resurrected | Upon its 1979 release, “Life of Brian” went whistling to its crucifixion as utter blasphemy. Twenty-five years later, none of it should offend Christians, just as it shouldn’t have then (The Denver Post)
- Joan of Arc leaves indelible mark | Barbara Hall has been fascinated with the life of Joan of Arc since childhood. As the creator and executive producer of the CBS series “Joan of Arcadia,” she has created a modern interpretation of the Catholic saint (The Washington Times)
- FCC sows confusion in ‘holy war’ on profanity | In spite of all the bluster and the millions of dollars in fines being handed down, the FCC still refuses to tell broadcasters like myself what (if anything) we need to do to avoid the wrath of the FCC’s jihad (Scott Allen Miller, The Boston Globe)
Books:
- Christian books hit secular stores | Wider recognition for Christian books has actually hurt Christian booksellers (Associated Press)
- Christian books | For many Americans, this summer’s reading list has a biblical bent. One of the hottest novels is the latest in the evangelical Left Behind series. Why stories of good and evil have captured the best-seller lists (Talk of the Nation, NPR)
More articles:
- Getting religion at work — a guide | Seven spiritually edifying things you can do while simultaneously eating a frozen Lean Cuisine, surfing the Internet, and ignoring the blaring cell phone for a few minutes — all without leaving the comfort of your work station (Cathleen Falsani, Chicago Sun-Times)
- A test of her faith | A Yemeni exchange student living in York reflects on Islam, Christianity and America (York Daily Record, Pa.)
- Religion news in brief | Why Episcopal bishop was suspended for gay marriage; Catholic college rescinds honorary degree promised to White House official; Indiana state trooper seeks reinstatement in religious flap; Heads of Orthodox churches attend liturgy for Communist terror victims; and other stories (Associated Press)
- No sects, please | The decline of Jerusalem Syndrome raises the question whether the phenomenon ever posed a threat (Jerusalem Post)
- More teen girls having sex, study shows | Teen sexual activity has stabilized, although more teenage girls are saying they have had intercourse, a federal report says (The Washington Times)
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