RELIGION

6th Oct 2009

Medieval fakery involved in making of Shroud

An Italian scientist, in managing to reproduce the Shroud of Turin, has declared the original article a fraud.

He has said his construction proves definitively that the original linen, bearing the human shadow that some Christians revere as Jesus Christ’s burial cloth, is a medieval fake.

The scientist, Luigi Garlaschelli, has said he has shown it is possible to reproduce an image which has the same characteristics as the Shroud.

Professor Garlaschelli, an organic chemist, reproduced the full-sized shroud using materials and techniques that were available in the middle ages.

To emulate the image of the original shroud, a linen sheet was placed flat over a volunteer before it was rubbed with a pigment containing traces of acid. The pigment was then artificially aged, leaving the cloth with a fuzzy image similar to that of the Shroud.

The Shroud of Turin shows the back and front of a bearded man with long hair, his arms crossed on his chest.

Carbon-dating tests in the past have shown the original dates back to around the 1300’s.

The Shroud is in the Guarini Chapel of the Turin cathedral.

www.barbadosnews.net

17 June 2009

Domonica Roman Catholic Church Bans Handshakes

The Roman Catholic Church has banned handshakes among its worshipers as a means of preventing the spread of the deadly influenza A (HINI) virus after Dominica recorded its first case last week.

Bishop of Roseau Gabriel Malzaire said that the church had adopted a number of measures with immediate effect to lessen physical contact between members of the public.

He said as a result, communion would only be distributed “on the spices of the consecrated bread” and that “during the sign of peace instead of shaking hands, kissing or embracing, you are encouraged to nod your head to the person to whom the sign of peace is given”.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the first global flu pandemic in 41 years after a dramatic increase in cases of the Influenza A (H1N1) virus, more commonly referred to as Swine Flu.

The Roman Catholic Church said it would also suspend other long standing traditions like drinking wine from the chalice and giving communion on the tongue. It said it was also praying for those suffering from the virus.

The WHO said that as of 15 June 2009, 76 countries have officially reported 35, 928 cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection, including 163 deaths.

Source: www.dominicanewsonline.com

 

14 April 2009

Christain Worker Suspended For Saying He Did Not Believe In Same-Sex Marriage

A charity worker was suspended after telling a colleague about his Christian beliefs against homosexuality, it has emerged today.

David Booker, 44, was chatting about his faith with co-worker Fiona Vardy during a late shift at the hostel in Southampton, Hants on March 26.

He told her he was opposed to same-sex marriages and to homosexual clergy but denied being homophobic and said that he had homosexual friends.

The next evening, Mr Booker was suspended from his £19,000-a-year post as a hostel support worker with Society of St James where he has worked for the last four years.

His employers told him the action was taken for ‘events that happened last night’.

On March 30 he received a formal suspension notice which alleged that he ’seriously breached’ the charity’s code of conduct ‘by promoting your religious views which contained discriminatory comments regarding a person’s sexual orientation…

‘The action has been taken to safeguard both residents and staff” at the Southampton Street hostel.

Mr Booker, 44, a born-again Christian from Southampton, turned to the Christian Legal Centre (CLC) which instructed human rights lawyer Paul Diamond to represent him.

Andrea Minichiello Williams, barrister and director of CLC, said: ‘Mr Booker has been suspended since March 27 for two weeks pending investigation.

‘No date has been set for the investigation and disciplinary hearing.

‘This case shows that in today’s politically correct, increasingly secularised society, even consenting reasonable discussion on religion between two employees is being twisted by employers to discriminate and silence the Christian voice and freedom of expression.’

Source: dailymail.com

1 April 2009

Asserting  “Rights” Or Undermining Hetrosexual Society?

Martyn Hall, a homosexual living with his civil partner Steven Preddy, has lodged an unprecedented county court claim for £5,000 in damages, alleging ‘direct discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation’ against the Christian hotel owners, Peter and Hazelmary Bull.

The claim is under the new Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007, which made it unlawful to refuse a person goods or facilities on the grounds of their sexual orientation.

Martin Hall and Steven Preddy, from Bristol, booked a room at the Chymorvah Private Hotel in Marazion, Cornwall, in September 2008, but when they arrived at the location, they were told that only married heterosexual couples could stay in the same room.

The booking page of the hotel’s website explains: ‘Here at Chymorvah we have few rules but please note that out of a deep regard for marriage we prefer to let double accommodation to heterosexual married couples only’.

This policy has been in place since Mr and Mrs Bull took over the business in 1986, and is founded on their strong Christian faith. Mrs Bull, 62, said that even her brother and his girlfriend had to comply with the policy and stay in separate rooms when they decided to visit the hotel.

In August 2008, the hotel owners received a letter from Stonewall, the homosexual lobby group, saying it had received a complaint and warning the hotel it was breaking the ‘equality’ regulations. Within a short period of time, Mr Preddy rang to book a double room for two nights.

Mrs Bull, who answered the call, explained that she had wrongly assumed that the new guest would be staying with his wife before she accepted the booking. When Mr Preddy and Mr Hall arrived, they were told by the manager, Bernie Quinn, that the hotel could not honour the booking. The homosexual couple told him he was acting illegally before leaving and reporting the incident to police.

Commenting on the case, a spokesman for Stonewall said: ‘We look forward to the hotel changing its policy to reflect equality, the 21st Century and the law.’

However, Mrs Bull said: ‘I have had people clearly involved in affairs and under-age people who have tried to book in here for sex, and I have refused them the same as I refused these gentlemen because I won’t be a party to anything which is an affront to my faith under my roof.’

‘In 26 years we have never really had a problem with it. I have found people to be very good and understanding. They realise that they are pursuing one lifestyle while we are pursuing another.’

‘I suppose we knew there would be problems with the new law, but I can’t change my beliefs and faith because of that.’

Tom Ellis, solicitor for Mr and Mrs Bull, argues that the Equality Act infringes their human rights as Christians. He said: ‘Under the European Convention on Human Rights, people are able to hold a religious belief and manifest it in the way they act.’

There are a number of other hotels in the area and no unmarried heterosexual couple has had problems with the hotel’s policy.

The new proposed European Directive is rapidly in the process of going through the various stages of the European Parliament. This Anti-Discrimination Directive creates further threats to Christian liberty and builds a wide scope for interpretation to promote the homosexual lifestyle.

Source: ccfon.org

 3 March 2009
 

Suspended Over Christain Music

In a lawsuit filed earlier this month (February), a veteran group home counselor says she was suspended for exposing teenagers to Christian music.

A veteran group home counselor is suing a California children’s home that suspended her for exposing four teenagers to Christian music.

In the lawsuit filed on Feb. 13, Maureen Loya accused Orangewood Children’s Home of religious discrimination after she was given a six-week suspension for “exposing children to unapproved religious activities.”

According to the lawsuit, during the summer of 2006 Loya took four teenage girls on an approved outing to a 5K run and then to Huntington Beach. At the beach, the group encountered the Surfrider Foundation’s Celebrity Surf Jam, where they overheard Christian music for roughly 10 minutes while eating lunch.

After the field trip, the counselor, who had worked at Orangewood for 18 years, was summoned to a disciplinary meeting about the Christian music. Several months later, the incident was brought up again, and the counselor was suspended.

According to the Pacific Justice Institute, which is representing Loya along with attorneys John and Laurie Messerly Stewart, Moya is suing to recover financial losses from the suspension and to defend her constitutional rights.

“What happened to this counselor was insane and unjust,” said Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute. “Allowing teenagers to overhear a few minutes of Christian music while at the beach should not result in a six-week suspension.”

Source: charismamag.com