c. 1996 Religion News Service

Evangelicals tackle issues of identity, unity

(RNS)-The National Association of Evangelicals unveiled an”Evangelical Manifesto”this week, defining beliefs and detailing goals for unity among evangelicals in the coming century.

David Melvin, vice president of the Illinois-based organization, said the manifesto aims to define evangelicals at a time when they are often misunderstood by the general public.”It’s an attempt to clarify what evangelicalism is, who evangelicals are,”Melvin said.”It is an attempt to shed all of the baggage that has somehow creeped into the perception of evangelicalism, whether it’s political or cultural.” NAE officials have stressed recently that contrary to prevailing stereotypes, not all evangelicals consider themselves political conservatives.

In addition, the manifesto calls on evangelical Christians to pray, repent, work towards racial and ethnic reconciliation, and cooperate in evangelism.”We confess that although we have been conscientious in our response to the mandate of the Great Commission to go and make disciples, we have too often failed to live out and actualize the mandate of a loving unity which testifies to our Lord Jesus,”the statement says.

Although the association is a disparate body of conservative Christians, with a variety of theological and political beliefs, the manifesto points out that they all agree with a statement of faith that describes the Bible as”the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.” Founded in 1942, the National Association of Evangelicals includes 47 member denominations, churches from an additional 26 denominations, and 245 ministries and educational institutions, representing more than 20 million people.

The manifesto, developed over the last three years, was unveiled during this week’s annual meeting of the association in Minneapolis. Also during the meeting, held March 3-5, evangelist Billy Graham was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award and Promise Keepers founder Bill McCartney received the Layperson of the Year Award.

Moroccan women’s group wants divorce law changed

(RNS)-A Moroccan women’s lobby plans to launch a campaign to force changes in the Islamic-based divorce law the group believes discriminates against women.

The Women’s Action Committee has invited professors, politicians, lawyers, psychologists and human rights activists to a symbolic tribunal on Saturday (March 9) to gain support for its cause, Reuters reported.”The tribunal will mark the beginning of a nationwide campaign to amend the Moudawana (family status law),”said Latifa Jebabdi, leader of the committee.”Women were not consulted and their point of view was not taken into account on divorce and other family issues.” The family status law was created by a group of Muslim scholars, with supervision from the royal palace in 1958. The government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Abdellatif Filali, amended the legislation dealing with women’s rights two years ago, but feminist groups say it needs further changes.

Since the amendments were made, women can no longer be forced into marriage against their will and men cannot take a second wife without the approval of their spouse.

Conservative Christians ask GOP to keep antiabortion stance

(RNS)-More than a dozen conservative Christian leaders have sent a letter to Republican National Committee chairman Haley Barbour, House Speaker Newt Gingrich and some GOP presidential hopefuls urging them to uphold the Republican Party’s antiabortion plank.

They especially encouraged the party to continue to support a proposed constitutional amendment banning abortion.”The Republican party will absolutely doom its own credibility if it chooses to abandon the pro-life amendment because it will become pro-choice as a matter of law, and pro-life only in its rhetoric,”the leaders wrote.”This is not only moral schizophrenia but a classic example of political double-talk and it will not go unnoticed by the American people.” Among the signers of the letter are James Dobson, president of Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs, Colo.; Brandt Gustavson, president of the National Religious Broadcasters in Manassas, Va.; Jim Henry of Orlando, Fla., president of the Southern Baptist Convention; the Rev. Richard John Neuhaus, president of the Institute on Religion & Public Life in New York; and George Weigel, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington.

U.S. Catholic, Protestant leaders call for prayer for N. Ireland

(RNS)-Catholic and Protestant leaders in the United States are urging their congregations to make Sunday, March 17, a day of prayer for peace in Northern Ireland.”By joining in prayer on March 17th, Americans will be offering spiritual and moral support to the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland who yearn to be free from violence and to build a lasting and just peace,”the statement says.”We urge Americans to offer special prayers on this day for an end to violence and progress toward peace in Northern Ireland.” The statement was signed by Bishop Daniel P. Reilly, chairman of the U.S. Catholic Conference International Policy Committee; Bishop Melvin Talbert and the Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, officers of the National Council of Churches; the Rev. Henry J. Postel, chairman of the Northern Ireland Working Group of the Presbyterian Church (USA); Bishop Edmond Browning, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church; and Bishop Joseph H. Yeakel and Rev. Thom White Wolf Fassett, officers of the General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church.

Ultra-Orthodox leader dies in Israel

(RNS)-Rabbi Pinhas Menahem Alter, an ultra-Orthodox Israeli religious and political leader, died Thursday (March 7) at age 69.

Alter was the head of the Ger-also spelled Gur-Hasidic sect, one of the largest in Israel with tens of thousands of followers. The group, founded in Poland, where Alter was born, also has members in Europe and the United States. Its American members live primarily in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn, N.Y. During the Holocaust, the Ger sect was all but annihilated.

Alter was president of the Council of Torah Sages, a body of rabbis that directs the Agudath Israel political party. The right-wing party has played a pivotal role in Israeli politics for years.

Rabbi Moshe Sherer, president of Agudath Israel of America, called Alter’s death”a tragedy”for all Jews.”In these frightening times for our people,”Sherer said in a statement from his New York offices, Alter offered”powerful comfort”and”access to wellsprings of wisdom and true Jewish leadership.” Alter, who was not known to be ill, was found dead at his home. The cause of death was not immediately determined. He is survived by a wife, four sons and a daughter.

Israel tourism suffers in wake of bombings

(RNS)-The recent suicide bombing in Israel is beginning to affect the country’s tourism industry, with 2,000 people canceling trips in the last few days.”We are worried,”a ministry spokeswoman said Thursday (March 7).”But it is not that serious.” She said the cancellations were for trips planned during the next six months, the Reuter news agency reported. New reservations are still being made, she added.

Israel’s tourism industry is about to enter a crucial time. Its busiest seasons are during the Easter and Passover holidays in April.”We are still overbooked for Passover,”the spokeswoman said.

Last week’s three attacks by Palestinian suicide bombers in Jerusalem and Ashkelon apparently had little effect on tourists’ plans. Only after the bombing Monday (March 4), when 13 people died in the center of Tel Aviv, did people begin canceling reservations, she said.

More than 60 people were killed in the four attacks.

Following the Tel Aviv attacks, American Jews were urged not to cancel planned trips to Israel to show solidarity with Israelis.”To do otherwise,”the Council of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations said in a statement,”would be to give the terrorists a victory.”

Quote of the Day: Jay Sekulow, American Center for Law and Justice

Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, a Virginia-based religious liberty advocacy group founded by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, condemned an anticipated court decision in Hawaii that might prompt the state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Speaking to a national meeting of the Southern Baptist Christian Life Commission, Sekulow said:”This is an attack which could destroy and undercut this culture so significantly that it could alter the way we view ourselves as a people. … We are now faced with what I think is perhaps the greatest challenge to religious liberty: The growing movement for same-sex marriage and the shift in our culture toward a view that says the family can be defined however one wants us to define it.”

MJP END RNS