c. 1997 Religion News Service

Texas church ordered to return tithes to bankrupt member’s creditor

(RNS) A Southern Baptist church in Texas has been ordered by a state judge to relinquish tithes contributed by a bankrupt church member and owed to a creditor.

Harris County Civil Court Judge Tom Sullivan ruled Sept. 10 that Cedar Bayou Baptist Church in Baytown, Texas, must give four years of tithes from church member Leland Collins to creditor Bill Gregory.

The ruling gave Gregory $27,687.23 _ the sum Collins gave the church between Oct. 15, 1988, and Oct. 13, 1992 _ plus interest. The church plans to appeal the decision, reported Associated Baptist Press, an independent Baptist news service.

Collins and two other former employees were sued by Gregory’s company, Gregory-Edwards Inc., in 1990. The company claimed they had been overpaid by $90,000.

Gregory-Edwards won that case and Collins declared bankruptcy to protect his personal assets, including a vehicle, home and retirement accounts. In 1994, the bankruptcy case was settled.

The company sued Cedar Bayou Baptist Church in June 1994 for the tithes Collins donated during the period he owed the firm money.

The judge’s ruling rested on the contention that Collins donated to the church”without receiving a reasonably equivalent value in exchange.” Richard Steel, pastor of the church, said his church refused to settle the case because it violated the congregation’s notions about separation of church and state.”If a court can declare that a church member does not receive any `reasonably equivalent value’ for his tithes to this church, then the court is defining how one can practice his religious faith and oversteps its dominion in the realm of that relationship between church and state,”Steel said.”No court has the right to define one’s practice of religion and his attendant gifts in support of his religious faith.” Gregory, on the other hand, viewed the case as one dealing with fairness. He said Collins owed him the money before filing the bankruptcy petition.”The money he paid to the church was my money, not his money,”said Gregory.”If someone had taken a pistol and robbed me and donated the money to the church, would the church have to return the money? Yes.”

Update: Controversial religion bill signed into law

(RNS) As expected, Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed into law Friday (Sept. 26) controversial legislation designed to protect the Russian Orthodox Church from foreign missionaries and new religious groups.

Critics say the law could severely hamper the activities of such groups as Mormons, evangelical Protestants, Hare Krishnas and others who have gained support in Russia since the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991 loosened Moscow’s grip on religious expression.

The law _ which passed both houses of the Russian parliament with overwhelming support _ gives special status to Russian Orthodoxy, the nominal faith of the vast majority of Russians. Given somewhat lesser status are Islam, Buddhism, Judaism,”Christianity”and”other religions and creeds which constitute an inseparable part of the historical heritage of Russia’s people.””Today’s law is yet another step toward improving the legislative protection and defense of the rights of Russia’s religious citizens,”Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexii II told the Russian ITAR-Tass news agency.

Because both”Christianity”and”other religions and creeds”are not defined, critics fear the law’s restrictive measures will be applied unevenly across the vast Russian nation. For example, Baptists or Pentecostal groups might be outlawed in one area while being accepted by another local jurisdiction.

Among the law’s provisions is one saying religious groups must be officially registered for 15 years before they can publish or distribute materials or invite foreign missionaries to Russia. The law would also prevent these groups from opening schools or holding worship services in schools, prisons, orphanages and other public settings.

Because few religious organizations were allowed to legally operate during the Soviet era, most groups currently in Russia would not qualify under the 15-year rule.

Among the law’s critics is the Vatican, which Friday said the new rules will complicate relations between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Vatican’s top doctrinal officer, said the law”will make dialogue with the Russian Orthodox Church more difficult,”the Associated Press reported.

Said Vladimir Zinchenko, pastor of the Moscow Evangelical Christian Church:”With this law signed, you can’t really speak about Russia as a democratic country. If there is no freedom of conscience, that means there is no democracy.” Lawrence Uzzell, Moscow representative of the Keston Institute, a British-based think tank that monitors religious freedom in Russia and other former communist lands, called the law”the most sweeping legislative setback in human rights since the collapse of the Soviet Union.” The White House and Congress have also criticized the bill as a throwback to undemocratic Soviet ways and a violation of the Soviet constitution. Congress had threatened to cut off U.S. aid to Russia over the law, a reworked version of an earlier religion bill vetoed by Yeltsin.

Neutral”diamond”may join Red Cross and Red Crescent symbols

(RNS) The international red cross and red crescent symbols signifying humanitarian aid may be joined by a third”neutral”symbol because of problems connected to the religious associations of the cross and crescent.

Red Cross and Red Crescent officials will meet in Seville, Spain, Nov. 26-27 to consider adding a”red diamond”_ a rectangle standing on one of its points _ to the list of accepted symbols used to protect medical and humanitarian non-combatants in conflict situations.

Doris Pfister, a spokeswoman at the International Committee of the Red Cross headquarters in Geneva, said Friday (Sept. 26) the cross and crescent symbols have proved problematic in situations where Christians and Muslims have been in conflict, such as Bosnia and Lebanon.

A third, neutral symbol with no religious ties _ no matter how unintended _ might better serve Red Cross and Red Crescent movements’ nonpartisan image in such situations, she said.

Nations favoring neither the Christian-associated cross nor the Muslim-associated crescent are another reason for adopting a neutral symbol, Pfister added. One example is Israel, which uses the Jewish Star of David as its a symbol.

Both the cross and crescent were officially recognized as symbols of neutrality by the 1949 Geneva Convention, which gave them international legal standing. The Iranian red lion and sun was also recognized by the Geneva Convention, but is no longer in use.

Pfister said individual nations would be free to keep the symbols they already use or adopt the neutral rectangle. Or they might only use the rectangle in appropriate conflict situations, she said.

For the”red diamond”to be officially accepted, the 188 nations that signed the Geneva Convention all would need to individually approve its use.

Pfister said the red cross emblem”was never meant to have any religious connotation,”but was, instead, a reversal of the Swiss flag’s colors. The red cross has been a symbol of neutrality since 1863.

Boesak trial postponed, bookkeeper pleads guilty to some counts

(RNS) The fraud trial of Allan Boesak, once one of South Africa’s most prominent clergymen and anti-apartheid campaigners, has again been postponed _ this time until next February.

Boesak, along with bookkeeper Freddie Steenkamp, faces 20 charges of theft and 12 of fraud arising from his alleged misuse of funds donated by European religious and aid groups to his Foundation for Peace and Justice, established to fight apartheid and aid its victims.

The trial of the two men was to begin next month, but in a court appearance in Cape Town, South Africa, on Sept. 23, it was announced Steenkamp had decided to plead guilty to some of the charges and lawyers for Boesak _ who has denied all charges against him _ asked that the case against the former clergyman be separated from that of the bookkeeper, Ecumenical News International, the Geneva-based religious news agency reported.

According to the indictment, issued in April, Boesak and Steenkamp misappropriated $2 million in funds donated to the foundation by DanChurchAid, the Swedish Development Agency, and the Church of Norway.

Boesak, a leader in Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress who was jailed on charges of subversion during the apartheid era, and a former president of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, withdrew from the ministry in 1990 after reports that he was carrying on an extramarital affair.

Mandela had named him to be South Africa’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva but he was forced from the post after the fraud allegations were made public.

Boesak’s new trial is set for Feb. 20.

Evangelical leaders plan welfare reform efforts

(RNS) Leaders of 14 evangelical Protestant denominations agreed at a Washington meeting Thursday (Sept. 24) to respond to a new welfare reform law by helping churches develop ways to care for the poor and train people to help them get employment.

The consultation was sponsored by World Relief, the international assistance arm of the National Association of Evangelicals.”(We are) saying that helping the poor is a part of preaching the gospel,”the Rev. Clive Calver, World Relief president told Religion News Service.”It’s actually making visible the message.” In addition to determining theological reasons for their efforts, the leaders discussed practical ways to help their communities. One possibility is to use the work of churches in a few cities as models for future work by other congregations.

Although many churches already sponsor homeless shelters and food kitchens, Calver said more long-term efforts are needed.”We have to try to give to people much more understanding of what they can do, how they can receive training, how they can get into employment,”he said.

The interest in welfare reform stems, in part, from the inclusion in the new law of a”charitable choice”clause allowing religious groups to compete for social service money to help welfare recipients.

Calver said the”conscience clauses”in the provision have convinced many churches they won’t have to compromise their religious identities to help the poor.”I actually believe church and state ought to be partners while maintaining their autonomy,”he said.

Among the denominations participating in the daylong meeting were representatives of the Church of God (Cleveland, Tenn.), Salvation Army, Assemblies of God, Christian and Missionary Alliance, Wesleyan Church, Church of the Nazarene and Presbyterian Church in America.

Quote of the day: President Clinton

(RNS)”We have to decide … will we stand as a shining example or a stunning rebuke to the world of tomorrow? For the alternative to integration is not isolation or a new separate but equal, it is disintegration. … All of us should embrace ethnic pride, and we should revere religious conviction. But we must reject separation and isolation.” President Clinton, speaking in Little Rock, Ark., on the 40th anniversary of the integration of Little Rock’s Central High School.

MJP END RNS