NewLife Faith News - April 24th
Compiled and Edited by Stan Hunt
Churches across Australia have called for ‘peace and understanding’ after the stabbing of a bishop during a church service in Sydney last week. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel of the Assyrian Christ the Good Shepherd Church was stabbed during his live-streamed sermon.
The teenage attacker allegedly spoke in Arabic about the Prophet Muhammad following the attack. Four people, including the bishop and a priest, suffered non-life-threatening injuries, and the bishop has offered forgiveness to his attacker.
Rev John Gilmore, President of the National Council of Churches in Australia has encouraged Christians to respond with a "prayerful commitment to peace". He told Premier News that with all our differences, we are calling for peace with understanding and a calm spirit.
Christ the Good Shepherd Church also reminded Christians of the importance of "unity, peace and solidarity." In a statement, it encourages people to adopt the spirit of humility, love and peace".
Source: Premier Christian News
Bible translation continues in 7 language groups of Papua New Guinea. Bible Society PNG is supplying financial, material and hands-on assistance. These Bible translation projects have the potential of reaching 200,000 people.
Solar energy and computers are being supplied to rural projects, with training and professional consultants for checking accuracy. The consultants also lead training workshops and provide equipped Translation Centre facilities.
A spokesman for Bible Society PNG says translating the Word of God into native languages establishes a strong foundation for community and family life and literacy. Seventeen translators have been trained in the use of software for their mother tongue projects.
Ten Old Testament books have already been typeset for the Yuna language, scheduled for publication this year. Bible translation is an urgent need in PNG with a population of 8.9 million and more than 800 languages, 300 of which have no Scripture.
Source: Sower: Bible Society Australia
The Salvation Army has found that 9.6 million Australians (46%) were significantly impacted by financial pressures in 2023. One in three were impacted by rising interest rates and 32% were similarly affected by increased rent or mortgage costs.
The Salvo’s research also found that 31% of people used a credit card (up from 18% the previous year) and 15% relied on buy-now, pay-later options (up from 7.6%) to pay for Christmas.
Kristen Hartnett with The Salvation Army's Moneycare financial counselling team says many Australians are struggling to manage their finances. But people don't need to be in a crisis to receive support and advice from the Salvos, she says. There is no shame in asking for a hand.
Through Moneycare, The Salvation Army offers a free and confidential financial counselling service. It supports thousands of Australians each year to assess and get on top of their financial situation.
Source: The Salvation Army
Finnish parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen will stand trial a third time for her Bible-based, so-called “hate speech”. The State prosecutor appealed the case despite the Christian grandmother of 11 being acquitted unanimously of “hate speech” charges before both the Helsinki District Court, and the Court of Appeal.
Finland’s Supreme Court has agreed to hear the appeal on a date to be set, according to a My Christian Daily report. Ms Räsänen stands charged for sharing her faith-based views on marriage and sexual ethics, centred on the Biblical text, “male and female he created them”.
Ms Räsänen says she has a “peaceful mind” and is “ready to continue to defend free speech and freedom of religion before the Supreme Court. The prosecution is demanding tens of thousands of Euros in fines and insisting that Ms Räsänen’s publications be censored.
Source: My Christian Daily
The Bible that Jacqueline Kennedy turned to for solace immediately after President John F. Kennedy's (JFK) assassination is set to be auctioned. Just hours after JFK's tragic death on 22nd November 1963, the grieving widow sought refuge in this leather-bound volume, selecting a passage from Ecclesiastes for his funeral service.
According to Heritage Auctions, the Bible is anticipated to attract bids as high as US$50,000 (more than Au$77,000). Curtis Lindner with Heritage Auctions says the Bible is a sad piece of history but a piece of history nonetheless.
He told Premier News How this was not the family Bible used by JFK during his presidential oath but still holds significant value. The Bible features a note from Mrs Kennedy with the presidential seal, confirming it as the "Bible we used the night Jack died”.
Set for live auction this week, the bidding has already reached US$19,375 (almost AU$30,000).
Source: Premier Christian News
Global hunger experts are alarmed by how rapidly starvation is spreading through the population of the war-torn Gaza. Many people who have so far dodged Israeli bullets and bombs are dying from starvation and other medical consequences resulting from severe malnutrition.
Alex de Waal, with the World Peace Foundation spoke with other food security leaders in an online discussion hosted by Refugees International. Mr de Waal says uniquely distressing about the Gaza situation is the speed of deterioration.
He told Baptist News Global severe acute malnutrition six months ago was very low. The deterioration is progressing at an unprecedented speed, he says. More than 80% of Gazans were dependent on humanitarian assistance before the war began on October 7.
The global system for monitoring famine puts the total population of Gaza between “acute food crisis” and “outright famine”. More than 1 million Gazans are experiencing catastrophic famine conditions.
Source: Baptist News Global