Just eight months after being unveiled, a controversial statue of Pope John Paul II in Rome is receiving a major makeover.

The 16-foot statue stands just outside the city’s main railway station but, since last May, it has been met by harsh criticism by locals and art experts alike.

The Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, criticized it for bearing “little resemblance” to the image of the late pope and described the head as “excessively spherical.” Federico Mollicone, president of Rome’s city council culture commission, called the statue “a permanent and sacrilegious mud stain” on the memory of John Paul II.

More than eight out of 10 people who responded to a poll by the newspaper Il Messaggero said they didn’t like the statue, and Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno was forced by the criticism to form an “experts’ commission” to evaluate its fate.

Now, scaffolding has surrounded the statue, and in the coming weeks it will get a new head, the pope’s cape will be modified and the sculpture will be placed on a higher pedestal. Its outer layer of paint will be restored after rain and smog turned the bronze green, and new lighting will be set up around it.

Last May, sculptor Oliviero Rainaldi responded to criticism saying the foundry didn’t adequately execute his design.

The statue is hollow inside, leading many to compare it to “a sentry box.” Rainaldi said the design was meant to showcase the late pope’s desire to welcome humanity.

Zondervan, the world’s leading publisher of the Bible and other Christian books, purchased recently through its Zonderkidz division, The Beginner’s Bible.

The Beginner’s Bible, originally published by Mission City Press, has been among the top 10 bestsellers of Christian children’s books for the last 20 years. It has stood out for its unique artwork and simple storybook-telling style, and is today considered a classic.

The Beginner’s Bible is geared to children age six and younger. It presents Bible stories in a way that is both entertaining and educational, and is widely considered to be a pioneer in this category.

Robust product line

Zondervan has had since 1997 a distribution agreement with Mission City Press. In 2004 Zondervan became the exclusive publisher of the book through Zonderkidz.

Zonderkidz has since then fully revised and updated the text and illustrations of The Beginner’s Bible. It also added a robust product line including various Bible storybooks, devotionals, children’s books, Bible covers, audio products, I Can Read Bible stories and others.

To date, all editions of The Beginner’s Bible (now available worldwide in over 20 languages) have cumulatively sold six million copies. The entire product line (including storybooks, audio products, et. al.) has sold over 18 million units.

“Zondervan has enjoyed a great partnership with Mission City Press as both organizations have long shared a common vision to bring God’s Word to life to the youngest generation,” Scott Macdonald, President and CEO of Zondervan, said.

“We are honored that Mission City Press trusts us to carry forward this wonderful brand, and we intend to continue to enhance and develop it to impact more young hearts for Christ,” Macdonald said.

Tim Lyles, President of Mission City Press said, “There are times when a highly successful past turns out to be just the warm-up for an even more astounding future.  We feel that way about The Beginner’s Bible.”

Lyles added, “[The Beginner’s Bible’s] amazing legacy as a No. 1 bestseller for over 20 years was preparation for the best that is yet to come. There is no better company than Zondervan, our longtime publishing partner, to take [this] brand to new heights.”

Zonderkidz has produced over 55 products for The Beginner’s Bible brand, including an interactive website with games and teaching resources. Zondervan is also planning new products for the brand including:

• The Beginner’s Bible: Kid-Sized Devotions for children to use daily.
• The Beginner’s Bible Book of Prayers, which includes a Bible verse and a biblical character per prayer.
• Heroes of the Bible, from the I Can Read series. Hardcover editions will also have an audio CD.

A popular Christian band cheated death recently through the intervention of a Myanmar general after they had illegally sneaked into the country to perform in a concert, according to CNN News.

The Irish Christian band Bluetree cheated death when they slipped into Myanmar through Thailand to sing for the Karen Christians, CNN reported.

Bluetree’s popularity soared in the United States last year when Chris Tomlin covered its praise song “God of This City” and videos of American Idol winner Kris Allen singing the tune were posted on YouTube, according to CNN.

After the concert for the Karen Christians, the band became the point of dispute between high ranking members of two different military units, both of them screaming, yelling and pointing at one another.

The band’s interpreter fell silent, and Jim Jacobson, president of Christian Freedom International (CFI), the NGO that had brought the band there said, “This is bad. This is really, really bad.”

It was only when they were back in Thailand that the band members were told it was their fates that was being debated by the troops.  “We were told later their general said ‘we’re not even going to waste our bullets with them, we’re just going to slice their throats,’ ” Boyd told CNN.

In Myanmar, Christians are targeted and killed.  The conflict between the government and the Karen and other ethnic groups such as the Karenni, Mon and Shan is considered to be the longest-running civil war in the world.

CFI’s Jim Jacobson is a wanted man in Myanmar.  He and Bluetree chose a time when the riverbeds dry up to slip into Myanmar. They brought food, clothing, Bibles and whiskey–to bribe the militia that, according to Boyd, threaten to burn down Christian villages and kill the men.

They gave the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) the booze and food in exchange for access to a refugee camp where Bluetree sang and listened to the children sing some songs, Boyd told CNN.

They could only stay a few hours, lest the Myanmar army detect them, label them as spies and execute them.  But the DKBA general who had allowed their safe passage asked them to come up to his office and demanded that they sing for him, CNN reported.

“They didn’t ask politely,” Boyd said.  They were on a balcony and even before they could sing, members of the Myanmar army saw them, and the screaming match between the generals occurred.

Boyd believes the DKBA general offered the army troops part of the bribe to dissuade the military regime’s general.  Later the general even showed Jacobson the school where his troops’ children were being educated, according to CNN.

The general “asked Jim for his help in bringing up his kids,” Boyd said. ”This, from a guy whose mission in life is to kill Christians,” CNN reported.

Jacobson and the band members left as quickly as possible, driving the five hours back to Thailand in silence.

The trip was recorded and will be released in July as a DVD documentary, Boyd said. An audio recording of the Karen children is also an added track to a live album the band recorded in Belfast in March.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited the Bible recently to justify the Jewish state’s contested claim on the city before a parliamentary session.

According to Reuters, Netanyahu said “Jerusalem” and its Hebrew name “Zion” appear 850 times in the Old Testament, Judaism’s core canon.

In the Christian New Testament, Jerusalem is mentioned 142 times, Netanyahu said. He noted that none of the 16 Arabic names for Jerusalem is mentioned in the Koran.

However, in an expanded interpretation of the Koran from the 12th century, one passage is said to refer to Jerusalem, Reuters reported.

Netanyahu’s comments came on Jerusalem Day, an Israeli national holiday marked by tens of thousands of Israelis marching through the city singing, dancing and waving Israeli flags.

Jerusalem Day commemorates Israel’s capture of East Jerusalem in June 1967, marking the unification of their ancient capital.

However the Palestinians consider the annexation of East Jerusalem illegal. They anticipate East Jerusalem to be the capital city of a future Palestinian state. Israel has pledged that Jerusalem will remain united as their capital city.

Jerusalem lies within Israel’s boundaries.  Mayor Nir Barkat added that the city’s boundaries are “nonnegotiable” according to Aol.News.

Holy sites

Jerusalem is holy to Judaism, Christianity and Islam.  For the Jews, the Western Wall, which is part of Solomon’s Temple that was destroyed in 70 AD, is the holiest site in Jerusalem.

For Christians the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the traditional burial place of Jesus and a regular pilgrimage place.
For Muslims, the gold-topped dome of the Rock, is believed by them to be where Muhammad ascended to heaven, Aol News reported.

Also, the Al-Aqsa mosque makes Jerusalem the third holiest site after Mecca and Medina.

However, the Al-Aqsa mosque stands on a plaza that Jews revere as the vestige of two biblical Jewish temples, according to Reuters.

In the international community a united Jerusalem under Israel is not recognized.

Many countries agree that East Jerusalem should be the future capital of a future Palestinian state.

Indirect peace negotiations with the Palestinians resumed this month after one to one and a half years of U.S. trouble-shooting.

However, the Israel and Palestine remain at odds over the issue of Israel which Palestine refuses to formally recognize as a Jewish state, Reuters reported.

Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said of Netanyahu’s recent comments, “I find it very distasteful, this use of religion.

East Jerusalem is an occupied Palestinian town, and East Jerusalem cannot continue to be occupied if there is to be peace,” according to Reuters.

Netanyahu promised that while Israel would retain control over all of Jerusalem, they would ensure freedom of worship at its holy sites.

However, Palestinians over the last decade have had limited access to al-Aqsa.  Christians in the West Bank also note similar problems in Jerusalem churches, Reuters reported.

There are 750,000 people in Jerusalem, two in three of them Jews with the remainder mostly Muslim Palestinians.

Some Palestinians are aligned with the Islamist Hamas, while those who would like peace blame Israel for sabotaging peace prospects because they insist East Jerusalem is a Jewish birthright, Reuters reported.

Liat Collins wrote in The Jerusalem Post that no other city in the world inspires its own medically recognized syndrome.  She refers to the Jerusalem syndrome, a psychosis where normally sane tourists begin to hear voices and believe they are people in the Bible.

The JTA mentioned an episode of The Simpsons, where Homer Simpson traveled to Israel, and was diagnosed with the Jerusalem syndrome.  Homer, dehydrated, believed he was chosen to bring Jews, Christians and Muslims together in a new religion called Chrisjumas.

JTA quoted Dr. Gregory Katz, a psychiatrist of Jerusalem’s Kfar Shaul Mental Health Center, who said 30-40 patients a year are treated with the Jerusalem syndrome.

Most of them have had a history of mental illness, but a few experience it for the first time, likely triggered by experiencing biblical Jerusalem for the first time.  For many, it is a way to reconcile their biblical impressions of the city with the modern city that Jerusalem is today.

According to JTA, Christians predominantly tend to get the Jerusalem syndrome, specifically Protestant tourists from the United States and Scandinavia.  However, Jews and Israelis have been treated, too.

Commonly, they identify with a character consistent with their faith.  Jews will identify with King David, Christians with Mary Magdalene or John the Baptist.  Jews fantasize about bringing redemption.  Among Israelis, the Jerusalem syndrome is gradual, most commonly afflicting Jews who want to build the Third Temple, JTA said.

Christian Today Australia said the syndrome is believed to affect 100 people annually.  Quoting Mark Tronson, chairman of Well-Being Australia, it is a type of obsession, similar to “overboard enthusiasm” for a sport or hobby.

Which leads to the question:  Is Jerusalem a city that drives people crazy?  Considering that most of those afflicted with the syndrome have a history of mental illness that is not likely.

As for the minority who get the syndrome for the first time, one must note that unlike other tourist sites, which people are drawn to for shopping, or adventure or a love of history, people come to Jerusalem primarily for religious reasons.

In religion you will find passion.  And too much passion can drive a very small minority overboard.  The Jerusalem syndrome therefore could well be a natural outflow of a small population of tourists who are drawn there because of the religious links to the city and whose passion may have gone berserk.

The Interreligious Solidarity Movement for Peace appealed for harmony after the Abu Sayyaf, a militant Islamic group, set off two bombs in the Philippines Tuesday, killing 14, injuring 15 and destroying a Catholic Cathedral.

The IRSMP joined forces with the civilian Peace Advocates Zamboanga and the Consortium of Bangasamoro Civic Society  in their appeal for peace.

Of the total deaths, seven were civilians, three soldiers, three Abu Sayyaf men, and one policeman.  Another bomb that was found in front of a judge’s house and near a bus terminal was detonated by the military.

Even as the military claimed recently that Isabela, the city in which the attacks took place,  is now clear of Abu Sayyaf terrorists and that life in the Philippine province of Basilan is starting to normalize, questions are being raised as to why the attack took place, and who or what is behind the bombing.

An editorial by the Philippine Daily Inquirer  quoted senior superintendent Antonio Mendoza, Basilan police chief as saying, “Based on some accounts, they were hired, forced to wear the police uniforms and were directed to implement some attacks.  And of course, there’s money involved.”

However the PDI also noted that it is possible the police chief’s sources are at least two captured Abu Sayyaf members who could lying.

Reportedly, the two mentioned prominent political personalities behind the attack, which could be a ruse to conduct terrorism by other means or could be the truth.

Political feuds are not uncommon in Basilan, including the assassination of Rep. Wahab Akbar (himself a former Abu Sayyaf member) in Quezon City which is believed to be traced to political enemies.

Another very plausible possibility was raised by Rear Adm. Alex Pama who speculated that, based on the likely operations plan the Abu Sayyaf attempted to carry out, the objective of the group may have been to replicate the 1995 Ipil raid (now Zamboanga Sibugay) which left 50 people dead, a billion pesos looted from banks and a town center in ruins.

Pama said the Isabela attack was “a major, well-planned attack that luckily went bad in their own hands.”

The Abu Sayyaf started in the 1990s.  It is well known in America as the group that kidnapped American missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham.

Upon the Burhamms’ rescue Martin was killed in the crossfire, while Gracia survived and now lives with her children in Kansas.

Sources:

http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/editorial/view/20100416-264492/Behind-the-raid

http://www.christiantelegraph.com/issue9496.html

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=566936&publicationSubCategoryId=200