All Clergy Should Undergo HIV Tests, Says UN Adviser

CHURCH LEADERS should con­sider being tested for HIV to help banish the stigma attached to testing, an expert at UNAIDS (the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS) has said in advance of World AIDS Day next Monday.

A Lambeth Palace spokeswoman, responding on Wednesday, said that African bishops had already had themselves tested as an example to others, and that the Archbishop of Canterbury believed that church leaders should take a lead in educat­ing people about the issues.

In part of a statement expected on Monday, Dr Williams will say: “Recognizing that people living with HIV is us not them, whether its leaders and congregations, congrega­tions and ‘outsiders’, it’s us. It’s all of our business . . . church leaders and church congregations taking responsi­­bilities for educating the wider public.”

Sally Smith, the Geneva-based UNAIDS partnership adviser who called for the testing, said: “This is an important way for religious and community leaders to break down the stigma often associated with HIV and testing.”

Everyone should know their HIV status, to make informed health decisions, she said in an interview published in full on the Church Times website today.

Read the rest of the story here…

Political Cartoon: Holy Hypocrisy

Ahmadinejad is one of the biggest hypocrites on the planet...



he should practice what he preaches in his own country first...

United Nations Warns of New Food Crisis

Conservative Leader says that Food Security should rank alongside Energy Policy and National Security.

THE UN World Food Programme (WFP) is to hold an emergency meeting in Rome today, as rising food prices across the world threaten to create a new constituency of millions of city-dwellers who are unable to afford basic foodstuffs.

The Organization for Economic and Co-operative Development (OECD) has warned that food prices could rise by between one fifth and one half over the next ten years.

The sudden leap in the worldwide price of grain and other basic foodstuffs could mean that millions of hitherto relatively affluent people in cities would not be able to afford food, Greg Barrow, a London-based spokesman for the WFP, said on Tuesday.

He said the key factors behind the price-shift were:

• demand for meat from India and China, as their economies grow. Feeding livestock diverts grain stocks from markets;
• high oil prices, which have pushed up the costs of oil-based fertilizers and the cost of transport;
• arable land that has been switched to bio-fuel production, and so is lost for food supplies;
• weather extremes caused by global warming, which have damaged farming in the developed countries that supplied the global market.

Read the rest of Bill Bowder’s article here…

Britain Becoming An Atheist Society

London • Freedom from religion in Britain is becoming as important as freedom of religion, according to a United Nations investigation into religion in the UK.

In a 23-page report published yesterday, a UN rapporteur claims the 2001 Census findings that nearly 72 per cent of the population is Christian can no longer be regarded as accurate. The report claims that two-thirds of British people now do not admit to any religious adherence.

The report also calls for the disestablishment of the Church of England. The role and privileges of the established Church are challenged because they do not reflect "the religious demography of the country and the rising proportion of other Christian denominations."

The report also warns that measures to combat terrorism in Britain could be undermined because of discrimination against Muslims.

According to the report into the freedom of religion and belief in the UK, there is an "overall respect for human rights and their value." But the report warns that Muslims in particular face screening, searches, interrogation and arrest.

Read the rest of the article here…

Daily Devotion: Burma's burning and the UN is full of doormats, not diplomats

John 12:42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; (NIV)

I wonder how many of us today would stand up and risk our lives for our faith? It’s so easy to condemn the people of the past for not wanting to show their faith in Jesus. They didn’t want to lose their livelihood, respect, or esteem. They didn’t know where His ministry was heading either. I guess they felt in their hearts that Christ was speaking the truth – they were just too afraid to show it.

The eyes of the world are upon Burma right now, where thousands of Buddhist monks are standing up and risking their lives for freedom. The Burmese people have been oppressed by a military tyranny for decades and our world has done nothing about it. Once again, the mighty United Nations has proved to be ineffective because they are too afraid to intervene. The Council knows what is happening and have been confronted with the truth – they are just unwilling to do anything about it.

The old saying is true: “Evil triumphs when good people do nothing.” It’s true about Iran and North Korea; it’s true about Burma and Sudan. There are areas and nations in the world where democracy doesn’t exist and freedom is suppressed. Just as the Pharisees managed to eliminate Christ and His followers through fear and control, so these tyrannical governments seek to do the same.

So what do we do as Christians? Several things. We can earnestly pray for God’s Spirit to move amongst these far away peoples and restore them to the freedom that they long for. We can pray for these despots and juntas to be torn down and overcome by the collected will of the people. And we can pray that the United Nations starts to do what it was called to do – to intervene and become proactive diplomats in the world, instead of a bunch of ineffective doormats.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are the Prince of Peace, so we call upon You to restore democracy, freedom, and justice to many areas in the world. We especially pray today for the noble Burmese people who are struggling to win back their country from the hands of evil and corrupt leaders. Grant them success in their revolution and let the sacrifices, which have already been made, give the people the will, resolution and power to restore their nation. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

Peace and Security

Scottish audio version here

Jeremiah 33:6 Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security. (NIV)

Explosions in Afghanistan. Fighting in the streets of Baghdad. Brutal slayings in Gaza. And genocide still going on in Darfur. When, o when will all this warring madness end?

We all want abundant peace and security, but the forces of greed and evil, pride and power are corrupting the earth.

We all want wars to cease and killing to stop, but men with guns in their hands and leaders with hatred in their hearts want to obliterate their enemies, opponents, and competitors.

The old prayer of Jeremiah falls upon deaf ears – when was the last time we heard that the UN was getting involved? When did they last reconvene to hold emergency meetings over these current crises? When did they send out people to bring about a lasting peace?

And what about our churches? We’re so tied up with our own theological problems, issues, and divisions that our voice is no longer heeded, heard or hoped for. We’ve become so insular that we forget there’s a world out there full of starving and suffering men, women, and children.

We need to do something more than just hoping for the best and praying for peace. We have to tear down the walls of indifference in our hardened hearts and begin to care about these issues. We cannot let another day go by just being thankful to get through it. We must begin to apply Christ’s message in our lives, so that, instead of ignoring these problems and switching off our compassion, we get agitated about the injustice, indifference, and inhumanity that billions are experiencing in our world today.

For too long, we’ve become cozy Christians who seek comfort in our own isolated world. Christ didn’t come to be among us just to set up a private faith and personal spirituality. He came to call us to be servants of God’s Kingdom, to agitate the world, to confront evil, and to bring a healing across the nations.

We all want abundant peace and security – so what are we going to do about it?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are the Prince of Peace and we are Your servants, therefore we are called by You to be instruments of peace, reconciliation, and compassion. Shake us from the tree of coziness that we shelter in. Take us out of our comfort zone and make us into the peacemakers that You want us to become.

And at the end of this day, may our hearts and minds be open to what’s going on in the world, instead of casting it aside as just another day. In Your Holy Name, we seriously pray. Amen.