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Be Alert! - March 27, 2007
Greetings in Christ Jesus,
Joel 2:31
"The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.
Matthew 24:9
"Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.
1 Peter 4:12-14
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
Ephesians 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Revelation 6:9-11
When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.
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1) MAY GOD ACT SOON !
MORIEL MINISTRIES - By J. Jacob Prasch - March 24, 2007
MORIEL urges prayer that God will act against the now passed Sexual Orientation Regulations (http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2007/draft/200759 20.htm#3) of Tony Blair and his government backed by many Conservative members of parliament including the Conservative leader David Cameron. This legislation forces religious institutions to provide services including homosexual and lesbian adoption of children, with steep financial penalties against those responsible for the care of these children and these services.
As we see the New York City School System outlawing Nativity scenes at Christmas all the while allowing Islamic symbols at Ramadan, The Supreme Court refuses to act. Street preachers are now being arrested for so called ‘hate crimes’ in Britain and America and the persecution Jesus warned would come is arriving, but the promised revival of the Toronto Experience & Pensacola advocates has not. Instead of falling on the floor to weep and repent at what is happening in our nations and around the world, religious liars in pulpits told their congregations to fall on the floors as if drunk and laugh.
With the UK Conservative party leader voting in active support of anti Christian pro-homosexual legislation depriving Christians of their rights, add to this that all 3 of the leading Republican presidential candidates Giuliani, Romney, and McCain are pro abortion, then combine this with the Ronald Reagan appointed Republican Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor writing the decision ordering The Ten Commandments out of the Judicial building in Alabama reality is taking hold our situation is dire. To our further dismay we have seen President Bush placed a Koran (a book declaring ‘God has no Son’ and John declares is Antichrist) in The White House. He further compounds his error by singing the praises of Islam, lying to the American people and the world that Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance. Any person with a moderate amount of sense realizes that it was Islam that guided and directed those responsible for the September 11th tragedy, the London subway and Spain’s train bombings as well hundreds of other destructive acts worldwide. This fact is backed up by the boasts of many Islamic preachers themselves! Moriel asks when will the naïve and undiscerning Christians wake up to the ridiculous myth that the Conservative party or Republican party politicians are somehow more Christian? How many more babies have to be aborted, how many more bombs have to explode, how many more of our rights have to be taken away before Christians will realize that these politicians are not our friends and are actually bringing judgment on our nations? Their lies are cheap and stand debunked as they have always have and will be.
At the same time Condoleezza Rice with her oil industry background continues her silence on the real apartheid in The Middle East in Saudi Arabia where even the Bible is outlawed and non-Moslems have no human or civil rights. All the while she propagates her lie comparing Israeli policies to apartheid and demanding implementation of her Chamberlain type policies that Israel forfeit more land to Islam in return for peace. These appeasement policies did not work with Hitler and will not work with Islam. We have already seen that the land Israel has forfeited in Gaza was and is simply being used to continue rocket attacks against Israel with the further aim of getting more land from them and their ultimate destruction. Without doubt these actions incur divine judgment on the basis of Genesis 12:3 and we will continue to see Americans sent home in body bags by Islamic terror. As American and British leaders continue their appeasement policies of Islam and sell Israel out to Islamic terror for the sake of international oil interests and a cheap gallon of gas, the judgment of God is looming and drawing near.
It is our prayer that the judgment of God will fall mightily upon the evil political forces being animated by Satan in The White House and in Whitehall and not on our nation or our precious soldiers. These wicked men and women currently holding high political office are indeed the enemies of God. Forcing Christian institutions to hand over orphans to homosexual and lesbian couples for adoption against their convictions is a wickedness that will place those responsible in eternal hell lest they repent. The blessings of the White House and 10 Downey Street to an intolerant Saudi funded Wahhabism that engenders support for terror and persecutes Christians and promotes Jew hatred is demonic. May The Hand of God rise up in anger against them and may His wrath upon them come quickly, lest His judgment fall upon all of us (1 Peter 4:17) and His wrath upon our nations because of these sons of darkness in high places.
May The Lord God Avenge His People Quickly (Revelation 6:10), May God Remove These Wicked Kings (Daniel 2:21), and May The God of Israel Destroy The Enemies of Israel (Psalm 83:9-18).
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2) Gay laws 'a major step forward'
BBC NEWS - March 22, 2007
New gay equality laws which are opposed by the Roman Catholic Church are a "major step forward", the Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly has said.
Peers voted against an amendment to throw out the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations, brought by Tory peer Baroness O'Cathain.
Ms Kelly, herself a Catholic, said the measures would deliver "dignity, respect and fairness for all".
The Catholic Church argues the move may lead it to close its adoption agencies.
However the vote, which saw the amendment defeated by 168 votes to 122 in the House of Lords on Wednesday, was hailed by Ms Kelly.
Tackling prejudice
She said afterwards: "This is a major step forward in ensuring dignity, respect and fairness for all.
"These measures will help tackle the practical barriers and real, every day problems faced by lesbian, gay and bisexual people."
Ms Kelly added: "It cannot be right in a decent, tolerant society that a shopkeeper or restaurant can refuse to serve a customer because they are gay.
"It cannot be right for a school to discriminate against a child because of their parents' sexuality or not to take homophobic bullying as seriously as they should."
'Unseemly haste'
Among implications of the new laws are that Catholic adoption agencies would be forced to place children with gay couples.
The Catholic Church has said it will be forced to shut its adoption agencies, which handle some of the most difficult-to-place children, rather than act against church teachings.
Some backbench Tory MPs have complained that the draft regulations were being "rail-roaded" through Parliament with "unseemly haste".
Several hundred peers attended the debate. Conservative peers were allowed a free vote as it was an "issue of conscience".
At prime minister's questions earlier, Tony Blair said critics were effectively backing discrimination.
Tory MP Bill Cash told him: "You have given more preference to those who stand for gay rights than those who are concerned with conscience, with family and with religion."
But Mr Blair denied the equality laws were being "rail- roaded" through Parliament, saying there had already been much debate.
Waiting game
The government has refused to grant Catholic agencies an opt-out, but will give them a 21-month transitional period to prepare for the new laws.
The hope is that extra time would allow expertise and knowledge to be passed onto the secular sector, rather than being lost altogether.
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the most senior Catholic in England and Wales, has said it "remains to be seen" whether the church will cooperate.
Some members of the Church of England's General Synod had written to bishops in the Lords asking them to oppose the measures in Wednesday's debate.
The Equality Act is due to come into effect in England, Wales and Scotland in April.
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4) Parliamentary Report Into SORS Represents Huge Concerns For Christian Freedoms
2nd March 2007
Summary
On Wednesday 28 February the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) reported their findings on the Northern Ireland SORs and the proposed England, Wales and Scotland SORs (see link below for their full report). The highly concerning content of the Committee’s report is all the more significant because it will be used by the Government and politicians when finalising the content of (and voting on) the England, Wales and Scotland SORs in the next few weeks.
WE URGE EVERY CHRISTIAN TO READ AND FORWARD THIS INFORMATION TO OTHERS SO THAT THE FULL POSSIBLE IMPLICATIONS OF THE SEXUAL ORIENTATION REGULATIONS CAN BE UNDERSTOOD (further details on action that can be taken are given below). The importance of what this report reveals and the thrust of the secularist agenda cannot be underestimated. We need to understand this and communicate our concerns as widely as possible. We need to pray for a miracle that the Sexual Orientation Regulations would not become law.
The JCHR report says the following:
1. “In our view, the prohibitions on discrimination in the Regulations limit the manifestations of religious beliefs and limitation is justifiable in a democratic society for the protection of the right of gay people not to be discriminated against” (paragraph 44).
The Committee could not be clearer in saying that they believe the freedom to live a practising homosexual lifestyle trumps the freedom to live a religious lifestyle.
The JCHR not only say that this is the position taken by the SORs, and that it is right that the SORs do so, but also that in their view, it would be unlawful to reverse the position and to allow the right of Christians to manifest their faith to override the right of homosexuals to practise their lifestyle.
2. “Where the manifestation of a belief conflicts with the right of gay people not to be discriminated against in their access to services as important as adoption services, it is in our view necessary and justifiable to limit the right to manifest the belief” (paragraph 52).
3. “In our view the Regulations should clearly apply to the curriculum, so that homosexual pupils are not subjected to teaching, as part of their religious education or other curriculum, that their sexual orientation is sinful or morally wrong”, and “We welcome the Government’s acceptance that [the Regulations] should apply to all schools [---] without any exemption for particular types of school such as faith schools” (paragraphs 65 and 67).
The Committee are explicit in their view that no Christian schools should have the right to promote marriage over homosexual relationships or hold to a Christian ethos that sex is only right in a heterosexual monogamous marriage. Rather, the JCHR want the Government to go further than their current proposals (the Government have argued the SORs do not apply to the curriculum) so that it would be illegal for a school to suggest in their teaching that extra-marital sexual relationships are morally wrong. - - - -
See Full Post at the Be Alert Blog Here
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6) 9th Circuit endorses censoring Christians
WORLDNETDAILY - March 8, 2007
A ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has concluded that municipal employers have the right to censor the words "natural family," "marriage" and "family values" because that is hate speech and could scare workers.
The ruling came in a case being handled by the Pro- Family Law Center, which promised an appeal of the drastic result.
"We are going to take this case right up the steps of the United States Supreme Court," said Richard D. Ackerman, who along with Scott Lively argued the case for the Pro-Family Law Center.
"We are simply unwilling to accept that Christians can be completely silenced on the issues of the day – especially on issues such as same-sex marriage, parental rights, and free speech rights," he said.
"If we fail to get U.S. Supreme Court review, however, it will be up to each individual Christian in the United States to stand up for their rights to be heard on the issues of the day. If we choose to be silent, silenced we shall be," he said.
The decision came in an unpublished "memorandum" from the court, and was in a dispute over the promotion of the homosexual lifestyle within the city offices of Oakland, Calif.
It found that municipalities have a right to dictate what form an employee's speech may take, even if it is in regard to controversial public issues.
"Public employees are permitted to curtail employee speech as long as their 'legitimate administrative interests' outweigh the employee's interest in freedom of speech," said the court's opinion by judges B. Fletcher, Clifton and Ikuta, who noted that their writings are "not appropriate for publication."
"The district court appropriately described [the Christians' speech rights] as 'vanishingly small,'" the opinion continued.
However, as the Pro-Family Law Center noted, the court "completely failed to address the concerns of the appellants with respect to the fact that the City of Oakland's Gay-Straight Employees Alliance was openly allowed to attack the Bible in widespread city e- mails, to deride Christian values as antiquated, and to refer to Bible-believing Christians as hateful. When the plaintiffs attempted to refute this blatant attack on people of faith, they were threatened with immediate termination by the City of Oakland. The Ninth Circuit did not feel that the threat of immediate termination had any effect on free speech."
The case had developed when two city employees who wanted to launch a group of people who shared their interests posted a notice on a city bulletin board – after a series of notices from homosexual activists were delivered to them via the city's e-mail system, bulletin boards and memo distribution system. - - -
But Robert Bobb, then city manager, and Joyce Hicks, then deputy director of the Community and Economic Development Agency, ordered their notice removed, because it contained "statements of a homophobic nature" and promoted "sexual-orientation-based harassment."
U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker had ruled in 2005 that Oakland had a right to prevent the employees from posting that Good News Employee Association flier promoting traditional family values on the office bulletin board.
That decision was made even though homosexuals already had been using the city's e-mail, bulletin board, and written communications systems for promoting their views. In fact, one city official even used the e-mail system to declare the Bible "needs updating," but no actions were taken against those individuals.
The case was argued recently at a special session of the 9th Circuit at the Stanford University Law School.
"The city of Oakland has interpreted this district court's ruling to mean that Christianity has no place in our society and should be subject to punishment. I want to believe that our Supreme Court will ultimately decide this case on the values and instructions set forth in motion by the nations Founders," said Ackerman. - - - -
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7) The Supreme Court Or The Supreme Being - by JJ Prasch
MORIEL MINISTRIES - By James Jacob Prasch
When the New York City School Public / tax payer funded School System outlawed nativity scenes from school property as religious symbol but allows Islamic religious symbols and Jewish Menorah's for Chanukah, the discrimination was legally challenged. As a pro Jewish Christian ministry supportive of Israel's right to exist Moriel has agreed with the celebration of Chanukah (as Jesus celebrated it in John's Gospel chapter 10), and we have no policy on Christmas (as it is not in The New Testament). The Nativity is however in The New Testament and we do not agree with anti Christian discrimination. Moslems can have a religious symbol and others can also - unless you are a Christian. It was decreed by the educational establishment bureaucrats that Christians could only display a non-religious symbol like a Christmas tree (which many Christians in fact are uncomfortable even having).
So-called "Christian" leaders in New York such as Rev. Al Sharpton (who campaigns against 'homophobia' on behalf of homosexuals and lesbians) and New York's Roman Catholic Cardinal have predictably done little if anything. Meanwhile, the Second District Federal Court admitting a dual standard upheld the school board's right to religious discrimination, and The US Supreme Court has refused to even hear the case on appeal.
Thanks to perhaps the most evil institution in the USA representing the greatest threat to American democracy and freedom, the same wicked judicial house of horrors that dehumanized Blacks in the Dread Scott Decision, and dehumanized the 47 million aborted human fetuses with its Roe v Wade decision has turned its back on a clear case of discrimination aimed solely at Christians and Christianity while the useless ostensibly Christian clergy say and do practically nothing.
The decision not to hear the case means that at least 1 of the allegedly Republican pro constructionist justices voted not to. The Republican appointed justices are Roman Catholic and once again the myth and the lie that The Republicans are more sympathetic to Christian values than Democrats and the Chuck Colson lie that Roman Catholics share the same values as conservative Evangelicals. Indeed many of the main three present Republican presidential candidates none are solidly pro life as Reagan claimed to be.
Ronald Reagan was so pro life that he appointed a pro abortion justice to the Supreme Court, Sandra Day O' Connor, the Reagan Republican Justice who wrote the court's decision banning The Ten Commandments from the Judicial building in Alabama despite polls indicating more than 75% of Americans wanted it there. O’Connor has since retired from The Supreme Court to be Chancellor of William & Mary College in Williamsburg, Virginia which with this Reagan Republican as Chancellor removed a the cross from the Christian chapel so as not to offend other religions such as Islam and last week hosted an art exhibition on sex workers.
How long will so many Christians remain naive and undiscerning? Christianity has nothing to do with being a Democrat or a Republican or with party politics or the misuse of the pulpit to endorse various candidates.
We should pray for whoever gets elected but realize that the world is in the power of the wicked one and we have political in the congress, The White House, and in our legislatures, along with juridical defiled theocratic riffraff in our pulpits and on so called "Christian" TV in a backslidden church that it is no longer capable of being salt & light. The Day will come however, when Sandra Day will realize that The Supreme Court is not The Supreme Being and she and her ilk will stand before an even higher court lest she repents.
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8) Minister beaten for praying for the sick
WORLDNETDAILY - March 22, 2007
A pastor from Good Shepherd Community Church who traveled to a nearby region to pray for the sick was beaten by an anti-Christian mob, and since police then refused to accept his complaint, the area's doctors would not treat him, according to a new report from Voice of the Martyrs about persecuted Christians.
The attack happened to Pastor Reginald Howell, who had traveled from his home region in India to the nearby city of Hanumangarh in Rajasthan. Voice of the Martyrs sources there reported that he was visiting Christians in the area as well as praying for the sick.
"He was beaten with an iron rod and suffered severe injuries on his back," the persecution report said. "The police refused to register his complaint and as a result, doctors denied him treatment."
More and more such incidents are being reported in Indian states even as they adopt various pieces of "freedom" legislation concerning religion.
"Rajasthan State has a so-called 'Freedom of Religion Bill' that is used as a tool in the hands of fundamentalists to harass Christians," said the VOM contacts, who report on the various attacks, discriminations and persecutions of Christians because of their beliefs.
"The cases of anti-Christian attacks in this area keep increasing, and the State Administration turns a blind eye to the persecution," they said, according to Voice of the Martyrs. - - - -
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9) NIGERIA: Abduction of boys and girls by Islamists in a northern state is increasingly common
VOM PRAYER WATCH - March 19, 2007
Source: Compass Direct
Beginning in November of last year, 13-year-old Victor Udo Usen, a member of the Christ Apostolic Church in Sokodo went missing.
On 20 February, news that young Victor was spotted in a Muslim neighbour"s house jolted his family. A young Christian girl had raced to the Usens" home in the Mabera area of Sokoto city with the news.
Victor"s mother, Esther Udo Usen, told Compass that she ran to the house where her son had been seen. She met him, however, even as he was making frantic efforts to escape from the house where he has been held incommunicado for six months.
"I quickly held his hands and dragged him along with me towards our house," she said. "But within a twinkle of an eye, I heard shouts of "Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar [God is great]!" I was shocked as I saw a large number of Muslims rushing towards us."
The mob surrounded them and snatched her son away from her, she told Compass with tears in her eyes.
Before she could send for her husband, who was not home at the time, members of the mob told her that her son was now a Muslim and that she and her husband were no longer his parents.
"They abducted him in November last year, and I only saw him today," she told Compass. "How can someone force my son into his religion?"
Victor"s father, Udo Usen, told Compass that when he received the distressed call from his wife, he rushed home only to discover that the boy had been abducted anew.
"I thought, If I force myself into the house of that Muslim to get my son, I will not only be placing the lives of my family at risk but also creating room for them to attack other Christians in Sokoto," Usen said.
Instead, Usen contacted his pastor, and together they reported the matter to other Christian leaders - as well as to police and the state security service.
"The police told us that they cannot do anything at the moment until the Sultan of Sokoto, the leader of Muslims in Nigeria, returns from his trip," he said. "They have held this boy for six months without our consent. They have forced him into Islam. How can they do this to a 13-year-old child?"
The Usens are not the only Christian family in Sokoto who have had one of their children abducted and forced into Islam; Christian leaders there say abduction of teenage Christian boys and girls has become a common phenomenon in majority-Muslim Sokoto state.
Christian leaders are worried that the kidnapping trend is on the increase, creating tensions between Muslims and Christians. The Nigerian government knows of the abductions but has done nothing to protect Christian children from religious predators.
Pray Victor will be reunited with his family. Ask God for strength, patience, wisdom and faithfulness in the meantime. Pray for the protection of Christians in Nigeria. Pray the church in Nigeria continues to grow and be strengthened.
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10) Court orders preacher into 'exile'
WORLDNETDAILY - March 15, 2007
A Christian leader under persecution for his faith has been ordered exiled by the Uzbekistan government, after prosecutors alleged he was preaching without government authorization, a new report from Voice of the Martyrs has revealed.
The organization, which advocates on behalf of persecuted Christians worldwide, said Pastor Dmitry Shestakov was sentenced at a court hearing just days ago to four years in exile. - - -
The report follows by just a week a report of another instance of persecution in Uzbekistan, also documented by VOM. In that case, police officers were dispatched to break into the meeting of a church in Qarshi and confiscate literature. They also demanded to know who was providing funds for the meetings and why people chose to be Christian. - - -
"According to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts in Uzbekistan, the location to which he will be exiled has not been determined. It is not clear if his family will be able to go with him," said the organization founded by a man who endured prison and punishment for his belief in Christ.
Pastor Shestakov had been arrested in a raid of his congregation in Andijan in January, officials said.
"Uzbekistan's Religious Affairs Committee claims Shestakov, an evangelical pastor, is not an authorized leader of any officially recognized religious organization in Uzbekistan. They describe him as an 'imposter' leading an underground group identified as 'charismatic Pentecostals' engaged in proselytizing under Shestakov's leadership," VOM officials confirmed.
That conclusion was delivered by the government even though the church he works with is affiliated with the Full Gospel Church, which is documented as a registered church. - - - -
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11) Christians jailed for walking near Olympic hotel
WORLDNETDAILY - February 22, 2007
A Christian house church leader in China and his mother are facing a criminal prosecution that appears to be part of that government's campaign to eliminate messages that are contrary to the official publicity releases as the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing approach.
According to reports from Voice of the Martyrs, a Christian organization that works in support of persecuted Christians around the world, house church leader Hua Huiqi has been formally arrested and his 76-year-old mother arrested a second time for the offense of walking near a construction site for a hotel being built in preparation for the Olympics.
VOM said Hua was arrested by the Beijing Public Security Bureau Chaoyang Branch and his mother arrested by Beijing Security Bureau Chongwen Branch. They had been injured in January when seven police officers attacked them while they were walking near the hotel construction site in Beijing.
"We are deeply concerned about Brother Hua and his elderly, ill mother. They are faithful Christians seeking only to serve the Lord in accordance with their conscience," said Todd Nettleton, a spokesman for Voice of the Martyrs.
"We encourage Christians around the world to pray for their family, and we strongly urge the Chinese government to release them immediately," he said. - - -
He and his mother were attacked, and while on the ground, kicked. Then later they were taken to a police station for questioning, according to reports. "When Hua asked the police to release his sick mother and explain the legal ground for the detention, he was beaten repeatedly. While the temperature in Beijing was in the 20s, cold water was poured on him. He was later taken to a detention center," the organization said.
"The Chinese government says they ensure freedom of religion, but this case clearly shows the truth," Nettleton said. Police from the Olympic Sports Stadium Police Station also threatened to arrest Hua's brother, officials reported.
Authorities in China told CAA that Hua was under criminal detention on the charge of "intervening public affair," essentially damaging public and private property at the construction site. - - - -
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12) Photos document persecution of Christians!
Government says it 'tolerates' beliefs, but police actions don't
WORLDNETDAILY - March 8, 2007
Authorities in Uzbekistan still are attacking Christians who participate in unregistered churches, in direct contradiction to the government's official stance that "religious toleration" is part of its policy, according to new documentation from Voice of the Martyrs.
Even though the Uzbek government has a formal statement that "religious toleration and forbearance have always been and remain to be the most important component of the state policy of the Republic of Uzbekistan," the VOM photographs prove police still are targeting and harassing Christians.
According to VOM, which works in support of persecuted Christians worldwide, the photographs come from an invasion of a church meeting by police officers only days ago. The officers burst into a church meeting in Qarshi, confiscated literature and demanded to know who was providing the funds for the meetings.
"Police also brought video cameras to videotape the worship service," the report said. "When police started to film, Pastor Sergei Shandyyayey didn't panic, but simply continued the worship service."
"After the service finished, the officers shut the doors and began to question the believers gathered there, especially asking why they had become Christians," the report said.
Since, the church is not registered with the government, "the Christians expected to be summoned to court for a hearing," the report said.
According to the U.S. State Department, Uzbekistan is a "country of particular concern" when it comes to religious freedoms. And while the government issues denials that there is a crackdown on Christians, the incident in Qarshi is just the latest to be reported in recent months.
Just a few weeks before Christmas, the Justice Department in the Tashkent region issued a formal warning to the Full Gospel Pentecostal Church in Yankgiyul to re-register within four weeks or be stripped of that registration. However, church leaders say the process of re-registration takes more time than that.
And a short time after that, 30 police officers raided a Pentecostal church in Tashkent, confiscating hundreds of video and audio recordings and a stack of books, including some Bibles. Several young people were taken by police to their headquarters to give a statement in that case, and one member, Risto Dyachkov, was convicted of violating Uzbekistan's "religion law" and fined $62, reports said.
There also have been reports of 40 Protestants being interrogated over a period of 18 days because of their participation in a church, and of Christians who were in a café discussing their faith being ordered by police to state that they were not authorized to hold that religious meeting.
Judges have concluded in their decisions that national law does not allow unregistered religious groups to operate, so any musical equipment, books, literature or other items that are confiscated are not returned. That, authorities concluded, was "material evidence." - - - -
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13) Girl, 15, begs to return to homeschooling parents
Held in psych ward, foster care when accused of violating Hitler-type rule
WORLDNETDAILY - By Bob Unruh - March 15, 2007
A teenager taken from her home and parents by German police officers and institionalized in a psychiatric ward for homeschooling is pleading with the international community for help so she can return home.
"I want to ask you for help, to get my right to go back to my family, as I wish," Melissa Busekros wrote in an English letter hand-delivered to the International Human Rights Group, whose lawyers have been working on her case.
More than six weeks ago she was taken "with more than 15 police men" from her home to a psychiatric hospital in Nuremberg, she wrote, and about a month she was placed in a foster home.
"I am not sick as the doctor said and my family is the best place for me to live," she said her letter.
WND reported earlier this week a German appeals court affirmed the lower court's decision to remove the 15-year-old from her home and keep her in foster care, despite a lower court's proposal accepted by the parents for her to return home under state supervision.
Part of the appeals court ruling included a requirement for her parents, Hubert and Gudrun Busekros, to also be given state-sponsored psychiatric tests, and Joel Thornton, president of the IHRG said there was a high concern that the government will use those tests to remove the other five children from the family.
There also is the fear "Melissa will be returned to the psychiatric clinic system in Germany and 'disappear.' This would leave the family with no way to know where Melissa is or how she is doing. She could become a ward of the state and completely lost to her family," Thornton said.
"The trouble is this emboldens the state again, only now it's at a higher level, and the courts still are agreeing with them. This could put Melissa back into the psychiatric system where she could disappear from sight entirely," Thornton told WND.
The appeals court ruling came despite the fact that all three of the lawyers representing Melissa told the higher court the family had accepted a compromise offered by a lower court for her to return home under government supervision.
"In spite of [that] --- the appeals court held that the family refused the court's initial compromise to let Melissa become an outpatient," Thornton said.
Thornton also suggested that the case even could end up extending its impact beyond the Busekros family.
"There is an increased fear among homeschoolers about whether their children are next," he said.
Even those German families who already have fled to other countries because of Germany's homeschool ban are moving into hiding because of the possibility they could be returned to face German fines or jail time for homeschooling, he said.
The IHRG reported it is working on several fronts to try to help Melissa and her family, with several German lawyers evaluate their options for an appeal, all the way to the European Court of Human Rights if needed.
Thornton also said the IHRG is working to bring international pressure on Germany to resolve the case in the family's favor, through efforts such as an international boycott on German goods.
The case has gotten the attention of the German community already.
"Christian activists say the case is an assault on religious liberties and the right of a Christian family to homeschool their daughter," said Speigel Online International's English-language edition.
"The case has been widely reportd in Christian and conservative media in the United States, with some commentators comparing the authorities to Nazis. Activists are being encouraged to pray for the girl and petition German Chancellor Angela Merkel, while one Web site is even calling for a boycott on German goods," the report continued.
"However the German authorities deny that the case is an assault on homeschooling and say the decision to remove the girl from her family was motivated by concern for the girl's welfare."
The Spiegel report said a medical diagnosis for Melissa that was posted on the Internet reported she was suffering from "emotional disturbances" and "school phobia" and recommendation she be taken away from her parents.
Edeltraud Hollerer, of the Erlangen Youth Welfare Office which facilitated Melissa's removal from her family, also told the German publication the case couldn't be discussed for legal reasons. "The case has nothing to do with homeschooling," Hollerer went on to explain.
Although that state agency didn't explain, there were some comments from Wolfgang Drautz, consul general for the Federal Republican of Germany, who responded on a blog to a letter expressing concern over Melissa's case. He said the government "has a legitimate interest in countering the rise of parallel societies that are based on religion or motivated by different world views and in integrating minorities into the population as a whole." - - - -
See Picture: Letter from a Persecuted German Homeschooler at the Be Alert Blog
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