Religious News: Nigerian Preacher has 86 Wives

From BBC News: Africa

A Nigerian man with 86 wives, Mohammadu Bello Abubakar, has been arrested by an Islamic court for refusing to divorce all but four of them.

He was picked up in a pre-dawn raid on his house in Bida, Niger state and charged with "insulting religious creed" and "unlawful marriages".

A Sharia court judge denied him bail until another hearing on October 6.

Last week he won a court injunction preventing authorities banishing him if he refused to divorce his wives.

Mr Bello Abubakar, an Islamic preacher, has more than 170 children.

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4 Minute Devotions: Doctor Who Devotional

Ever since I started watching Doctor Who as a boy, I have loved the notion of Time Travel. Nowadays, as a Christian, I am confident of placing my future in Christ's hands.

Podcast version here

I love the idea of Time Travel. I’ve watched practically every episode of Doctor Who and I think that the new series is absolutely terrific. In case you don’t know what I’m talking about, Doctor Who is a science fiction television series that began in Britain in 1963. I remember, as a six year old, watching the very first episode on a grainy black and white TV, whilst eating Heinz spaghetti and chips (French fries). I was absolutely captivated by the hero, Doctor Who, a Time Lord, who travels throughout space and time in his amazing vehicle called the Tardis. The series introduced me to my love of science fiction, as well as teaching me about British and World history.

Ecclesiastes 8:7 Since no man knows the future, who can tell him what is to come?

I’ve always wanted to travel into the future and see the wonders of the world hundreds of years from now. I know that the environmentalists are predicting gloom and doom for all of us, but I still believe that human beings have the intellect and innovative capacity to reduce greenhouse gases and invent new ways of creating energy. I’d love to see how the earth will look in five hundred, five thousand, or even five hundred thousand years, and see how humankind fares. I guess I’ll have to build my own Tardis if I ever want to see it happen.

None of us know what each day will bring. We can make plenty of plans and be anxious about the future, but as Jesus once said, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34)

We do not know what the future holds for any one of us, and perhaps we’re better off not knowing anyway. As Christians, we have faith in Christ and the assurance that He holds our future in His Hands. No matter what we experience or endure, Jesus will travel through Time with us. And if we trust Him completely, He will lead us beyond the shores of Time and into the realm of Eternity.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we are glad that You are with us throughout each day of our lives. Your guidance and presence reassure our faith and hopes. As we journey through Life and travel through Time, grant us Your mercy and grace, love and leadership. In Your Holy Name, we follow and pray. Amen.

Tony Blair: Seek Faith, Not War

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has called for faith to be given a central role in tackling the world's problems.

Mr Blair said faith should be rescued from extremism and be a force for progress, in his first speech on faith since becoming a Catholic.

He said politicians found it difficult to talk about faith because they "may be considered weird".

His speech was accompanied by a noisy anti-war protest and silent vigil by Catholic peace group Pax Christi.

Mr. Blair, who converted to Catholicism months after stepping down as prime minister last summer and is now a Middle East envoy, told an audience of 1,600 at Westminster Cathedral he was often asked if faith was important to his politics.

"If you are someone 'of faith' it is the focal point of belief in your life. There is no conceivable way that it wouldn't affect your politics," he said.

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Non-Believers Should Not Receive a Christian funeral, says Church of Scotland Minister

A LEADING Kirk minister has said conducting funerals for non-believers is a time-wasting burden on the church and that non-religious services should be provided by the state.

Rev Johnston McKay, BBC Scotland's former editor of religious broadcasting, said ministers were conducting more than 70 funerals a year and at many of them there was "no interest whatsoever" in the Christian faith.

McKay said one funeral he conducted was marred by constant noise from the congregation, one of whom shouted a stream of swear words before rushing behind the curtain with the coffin.The minister, writing in the Church of Scotland magazine Life and Work, said state-run funerals would be welcomed by many mourners, who feel their presence in church is "at best inappropriate and at worst hypocritical".

McKay, a minister for 40 years and clerk to the Presbytery of Ardrossan, stressed he would not refuse to conduct a funeral service for a non-believer, but his comments drew criticism from fellow clerics who pointed out it was "not for human beings to decide who is worthy of God's grace".

As the recognized national church, the Church of Scotland routinely conducts parish funerals for all, regardless of their religious beliefs.

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Religious news: Egypt Torturing HIV Sufferers

HIV-positive Egyptian men are tortured and chained to hospital beds while awaiting unfair homosexuality trials, a human rights group has claimed.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) decried the "ignorance and injustice" of a case in which a group of arrested men were given HIV tests without their consent.
They were also subjected to anal tests to "prove" their homosexual conduct.

Two of the men tested HIV-positive and are now handcuffed to hospital beds for 23 hours a day, HRW said.
"These men have been subjected to anal examination without their consent which amounts to torture," Gasser Abdel-Razek, HRW's acting director of regional relations in the Middle East, told the BBC on Wednesday.

"Egypt should release the men unconditionally and put a system in place that does not deal with HIV-positive individuals as criminals but as patients who require medical care and attention."

Egypt's Interior Ministry had no immediate comment on the case.

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Blogging Can Get You Arrested

So Much for Freedom: Saudi Arabian blogger arrested

From BBC World News

Saudi officials revealed on Tuesday that they had detained leading blogger Fouad al-Farhan. BBC Middle East analyst Roger Hardy looks at the influence and aims of the country's more than 500 bloggers.

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Toy Weapons Help Boys to Learn.

Latest news from BBC in London highlights a government report that suggests boys and toy guns help them to be more active learners.

Boys in nursery schools should not be discouraged from playing with toy guns and other weapons, the government says.

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