Russian Information Agency: "Russia views Gibson's film not as totally exotic, but rather as yet unseen apo-theosis of suffering shown through the 'Catholic-Protes-tant perspective.' Those who have seen this movie, which has stirred critical passions in the West, know that Christ is being turned into a bloody pulp throughout the film. Audiences shudder in horror at every whip (which always comes unexpectedly). Masterly applied face-paint and special effects help enhance the impres-sion. Many spectators shut their eyes, cry or bless themselves, but do not leave. What I saw in the cinema during the show of The Passion of Christ and nearby gives no less food for thought than the film itself."

AP via Baltimore Sun: "Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamic-rooted governing party says it is on a mission: to prove that Islam is compatible with democracy. So, Turkey appears to be an ideal host for a two-day summit that began Tuesday at which political and civil leaders from Muslim countries are addressing the struggle for democracy in the Islamic world. Yet, even within Turkey the idea of combining democracy and Islam is a tense issue. Erdogan's push has been hailed by some in the West who are looking for an example of an overwhelmingly Muslim country that has embraced democracy."

Robert Novak via CNN: "There is hardly a more reso-lute supporter of Israel in Congress than Rep. Henry Hyde [which] is why his March 25 letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell is so important. It is a plea to deflect Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's wall around the Holy Land from its planned position blocking the Scriptural pathway of Jesus Christ. 'I fear that impor-tant religious sites will become museums for commer-cial purposes and will no longer be maintained as places of spiritual worship shared by billions across the world,' Hyde, a prominent Roman Catholic layman, told Powell....That raises the question of whether the Bush administration will confront Israel on this issue."

In Christianity Today: "'I want to articulate as best I can the university expectation that, with respect to employment as well as student behavior, we will continue to follow our policy that sexual relationships are reserved for a man and a woman in marriage,'
[EMU President Loren Swartzendruber] told the Richmond Times Dispatch. 'That is the expectation of the Mennonite Church U.S.A, which is the denomina-tion to which we are accountable.' ... Last year, two EMU professors were fired for engaging in homosexual behavior. Swartzendruber emphasizes that they were not fired for homosexual orientation."

Gerald Warner in The Scotsman: "How could one persuade a moderate Muslim, from Iraq or anywhere else, who has a deep-seated religious faith, prays at set hours of the day, enjoys a secure family life and lives in a community where these conditions are universal, of the benefits of embracing the western lifestyle? ...It is an historical fact that the sexual mores of ‘liberated’ western women that are promoted in teenage magazines were, in every previously record-ed human society, peculiar to prostitutes. Muslims are keenly aware of that. When we go to war, we tell the rest of the world we are fighting to export our ‘values.’ That is exactly what they are afraid of."

AP via Yahoo News:- "Most Americans oppose gay marriage and many believe homosexuality is 'against God's will,' but otherwise consider themselves tolerant of gays, according to a Los Angeles Times poll. By a margin of 55 to 41 percent, those polled agreed with the statement that 'if gays are allowed to marry, the institution of marriage will be degraded.' About half favored a U.S. constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union between a man and a woman, while 42 percent opposed it.... Other recent surveys have found at least half of Americans oppose gay marriage, but fewer support amending the Constitution to ban it."  

Calgary (Can.) Herald: "Portions of the Bible are in danger of being condemned as hate literature, say religious groups opposed to changes in the Criminal Code to be debated next week... [T]he Canadian Con-ference of Catholic Bishops said that Bill C-250 pro-poses changes that could lead to the church being prosecuted for its teaching that 'sexual conduct be-tween people of the same sex is morally wrong. Parti-cipation in the current public debate on marriage has demonstrated there are individuals who believe that Catholic Church teaching on homosexual behaviour is hatred....this bill as presently drafted could be used in an attempt to silence Church teaching in this....'"

Brown Daily Herald: "Religion and higher education are often considered enemies in the battle for the hearts and minds of America's youth. But a recent study conducted at the UCLA Higher Education Research Institute shows that religion is alive and well on college campuses nationwide. The goal of the study, which is being headed by HERI directors and UCLA professors...is to track the spiritual growth of students during their college years, according to the HERI Web site. ...According to the study, 77 percent of college juniors agreed with the statement that all humans are spiritual beings and 71 percent said they find religion to be personally helpful to them." 

San Francisco Chronicle: "During his years in Scien-tology, [Gerald] Armstrong says he worked as an intel-ligence officer and communications officer and compil-ed documents for a church-sponsored biography of [Scientology founder L. Ron] Hubbard. He says he has been in Scientology's sights since the church filed its 1984 lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court to get control of Hubbard's private papers. Judge Paul Breckenridge Jr., who presided over that case, issued a ruling in which he called Hubbard 'virtually a pathol-ogical liar when it comes to his history, background and achievements.' "  

J. Grant Swank, Jr., in MichNews: "Of course Kerry, who basically has gotten on his terms what he wants from life, thinks that when it comes to Christian-ity, he can write his own religion. Those who adhere to Holy Scriptures as the base for all doctrinal truth know that that can't be done. Scriptures are divinely revealed truth' one must not take away from nor add to the revelation. When it is attempted, it is known as Pharisaism; that is, claiming to be defender of right-eousness while practicing sin. When it is tried, it is regarded as hypocrisy."

EUbusiness: "Poland, one of 10 mainly ex-communist countries to join the European Union on May 1, will elect 54 representatives to the...assembly. The church urged Poles to turn out and vote on June 13, warning against opting for those who 'attack human life and the family.' More than 90 percent of Poles say that they are Catholic, but some...candidates to the European Parliament are supporters of [liberalizing] Poland's strict anti-abortion law. 'The bishop's conference... continues to protest against the legalisation of abortion and euthanasia, as well as homosexual partnerships whose legalisation attack the...institution of marriage and the family,' the bishops said."

Brown Daily Herald: Judge Guido "Calabresi con-trasted the First Amendment's egalitarian idealism with the 14th Amendment's pragmatic realism. The 14th Amendment recognized slaves' status as out-siders and called for 'affirmative action' to integrate them as equals, Calabresi said. The 14th Amendment lacks the perfect egalitarianism of the First Amend-ment and embraces the reality that outsiders exist. 'Sometimes you have to treat people in a different way in order for them to be equal,' he said. Calabresi ap-plied this theory to modern issues of equality, such as gay rights and women's rights, and asked which kind of equality these groups should seek."

Albert Mohler in Crossroads: "On abortion, [Carter] went back to his position in the 1976 campaign. '....It's not possible in my own concept of Christ to believe that Jesus would favor abortion. But at the same time, I have supported the Supreme Court ruling of our coun-try as the law of the land. And the present arrange-ment, whereby a woman is authorized to have an abor-tion in the first trimester of the pregnancy, or when the pregnancy is caused by rape or incest—these...[I] accept...' That statement is both inaccurate and incon-sistent....the 'present arrangement' on abortion does not limit a woman's right to abortion to the first trimester, or to cases of rape or incest...."

Brian Wiele in Modesto Bee: "Homosexual marriage is the subject...and it's likely public opinion will sooner or later relax about one more concession to the tides of societal change. Gavin Newsom, Rosie O'Donnell and friends will eventually 'win,' but at what cost to us all? The debate has already been won...because the advocates have managed to shift the focus. No longer is it simply a moral issue; they claim that their civil rights are being withheld, and that's the trump card today. ...The moment some fool like me voices his opposition—especially if he has religious affiliations—he is [put in] the camp of fundamentalist reactionaries and a name tag is pinned on him: 'homophobic.'"

Focus on the Family: "Several well-known liberals— including ultra-liberal documentary producer Michael Moore—will reportedly release movies just ahead of the November elections. The liberal movie offensive follows one already happening in entertainment TV. According to Christian producer Phil Cooke, things will get even more intense. 'There's no question that we're going to see a lot of liberal issues projected into programs as we ramp up to the election in November,' Cooke said. Now, there are reports of movie projects designed to harpoon conservatives. 'A lot of people in Hollywood are angry (people),' says Ted Baehr, chairman of the Christian Film and Television Commission."

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