eChurch Blog

This is not good.  Get praying folks, there could be as many as 40 hostages including women and children.

Baghdad, Oct 31 (DPA) Members of the Al Qaeda affiliated Islamic State of Iraq were holding hostages inside a church in central Baghdad Sunday and had threatened to kill them if security forces, who have surrounded the building, tried to enter.

‘An armed attack targeted the Sayedat al-Najah Church in al-Karrada, central Baghdad,’ Qassem Atta, spokesman for Baghdad Operations Command, told state-run Iraqiya TV. ‘Security forces are cordoning off the church and dealing with the situation,’ he added.

The militants were demanding the release of Al Qaeda members in Iraq and Egypt, Al-Baghdadiya TV reported.

Witnesses told DPA that the church was targeted during the Sunday service, adding that the sound of gunfire could be heard across al-Karrada.

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It was not clear how many people were being held inside the church, but women and children were reportedly among the hostages.

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Further Media Links:

AlJazeera – Attackers set off three bombs in Christian church in central Baghdad before clashing with security forces.

BBC – Gunmen have taken around 40 worshippers hostage in a central Baghdad church, Iraqi police say.

UPDATE: It looks like police may have stormed the church, no concrete details yet:

Associtaed Press – Iraqi police stormed a Catholic church Sunday night in downtown Baghdad in pursuit of gunmen who were holding as many as 10 people hostage inside.

Aswat al-Iraq – Security forces besiege church where gunmen keep hostages

BBC ticker tape is currently reporting:

BREAKING NEWS: Iraqi forces storm church where around 40 Christians were being held hostage, reports say

Keep praying folks.

Associated Press reporting the siege has ended with as many as 100 hostages freed, no details on casualties as yet.

It looks as if there were some tragic losses:

CNN – Iraqi forces storm church to end standoff; 7 hostages killed

The Sydney Morning Herald has the number of hostages dead as 37 and Yahoo has the figure at 52. Either way it turned into a bloody massacre.

OK, get your tin hat on folks it’s legal challenge time.

The Telegraph is reporting on the the case of Christian foster carers Eunice and Owen Johns, who had their fostering application withdrawn due to their stance on homosexuality. Put simply, the council discovered they would not teach a child that homosexuality was acceptable and normal.

Well, on Monday, Eunice and Owen Johns will have their day in court

On Monday 1 November 2010 the Johns are going before the High Court to ask for clarification on the council’s position on the suitability of foster carers who have traditional beliefs regarding sexual ethics. This is a vital case for Christian freedoms. The council has an obligation to respect the Johns’ religious beliefs, but also to comply with equality law, which prohibits discrimination because of sexual orientation. The case will decide whether the Johns will be able to foster without compromising their beliefs.

This is the first time that a court have been asked to decide how local authorities should deal with foster carers who have traditional views on sexual ethics. The implications are huge. It is no exaggeration to say that the future of Christian foster carers and adoptive parents hangs in the balance, and that the outcome of Monday’s case will have a direct effect on whether Christians decide to apply to be foster carers or adoptive parents. It may not be long before local authorities decide that Christians cannot look after some of the most vulnerable children in our society, simply because they disapprove of homosexuality.

The premise of the case appears to be sexual equality legislation trumping religious freedom.

It is of course the Christian legal Centre representing the couple.

Whichever way this decision goes, it will make big news. If the Johns’ fail, then the persecution narrative is further reinforced leading to more legal cases. If they win, then the LGBT community will be up in arms.

UPDATE: Bad news. Lord Carey has personally jumped into the fray:

Telegraph – Senior bishops have warned that the freedom of Christians to express their beliefs is being eroded following the introduction of equality laws.

Lord Carey’s intervention in the last legal challenge was counterproductive at best!

David over at Anglican Samizdat has the story.

You can find more on CNN.

Yep, tomorrow is Reformation Day:

This coming Sunday, Reformation Day, many Baptists will join millions of other Protestant believers around the world in celebrating an event that took place on Oct. 31, 1517. On that day, an obscure Augustinian monk named Martin Luther posted (whether by nail or by mail is a matter of dispute) his “95 Theses” on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany.

….continue reading

Here’s an historically faithful rendering of how it all transpired:

And where will I be on this commemoration day?

In a Catholic Church!

I don’t think I’ll mention it’s Reformation Day….

Being a little slow-witted today, I missed off a link to the Grain of Sand blog on my earlier “A few good links” post.

As it’s an intriguing post, instead of belatedly adding the link to my previous post, I thought I’d highlight it in isolation, as this is a new blog and worth keeping an eye on.

Hop over and check out this insomniac Scots Calvinist.

Here’s a few links I found interesting for one reason or another:

Changing Worship – All Hallows’ Eve – The Jesus Pumpkin

Charlie Peer – The evangelicals are already here – which was in response to this: Guardian: Comment is Free – Alan Wilson – The evangelical identity crisis

Connexions – When Christians disagree

Protect the Pope – Catholic Voices hold ‘secret’ dialogue with humanists

Peter Saunders – New survey reveals widespread ignorance about the level of abortion in Britain

Massive Hat-tip to Marc Cortez:

Good.

This from the Advertising Standards Authority:

A magazine ad, for ice cream, appeared in Look magazine. It showed two priests in full robes who looked as though they were about to kiss. One of the men also wore rosary beads and held a spoon in his hand; the other held a tub of ice cream. The ad included text that stated “We Believe in Salivation”.

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Assessment

Upheld

The ASA noted the CAP Code stated that ads “should contain nothing that is likely to cause serious or widespread offence. Particular care should be taken to avoid causing offence on the grounds of race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or disability”.

We noted the ad used the text “We Believe in Salivation” as a theme to refer to the taste of the product and to the image of the priests, who were portrayed in a seductive pose as if they were about to kiss passionately. We considered the portrayal of the two priests in a sexualised manner was likely to be interpreted as mocking the beliefs of Roman Catholics and was therefore likely to cause serious offence to some readers. We concluded that the ad breached the Code.

The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 11) clause 5.1 (Decency).

This is not an example of mildly satirical advertisement, nor blasphemy laws in through the back door, as Terry Sanderson of the National Secular Society suggests.

This was not an attempt to “challenged the Catholic Church” as the manufacturer has offered in their defence.

This was deliberate, inappropriate, opprobrious, contemptuous advertising, designed to affront, create controversy, and sell more ice cream.

British Religion in Numbers and Archbishop Cranmer have both blogged on this today and as I’ve nothing constructive to add, I’ll leave you to hop across if you so wish.

UPDATE: Church Mouse has now posted on this also:

BHA’s census campaign – that wouldn’t be misleading at all would it?

UPDATE 2: Revd Lesley has now posted on this:

Humanists ‘no religion’ campaign

According to Transparency International the UK is in 20th position on the Corruptions Perceptions Index, sandwiched between Qatar and Chile.

Not great is it?