The American Atheists rented a large billboard just outside the Lincoln Tunnel in North Bergen, N.J. with a nativity scene and the words, “You KNOW it’s a myth, this season, celebrate reason,” according to Fox News.

The $20,000 billboard is 14 by 18 feet in size. David Silverman, president of American Atheists told The New York Times that it would be up at least until Dec. 21, and hopefully, even after Christmas.

Silverman told The New York Times the location is perfect because commuters “drive by this sign very slowly every day for a month, right in the Christmas season. And when they go into New York to go shopping, they’re going to see it.”

Atheists defined

According to the website of American Atheists, atheism encompasses terms such as freethinker, humanist or agnostic, essentially encompassing the belief that there is no god.

The website said their goal is total separation of church and state, and equality for atheists. According to New American, the group claimed that the billboard was not designed to convert, so much as to encourage atheists who “go through the motions of celebrating Christmas to stop.”

Silverman said the billboard aims primarily to reach out to “closet atheists,” and secondarily, to “call Christians out on their own history. Christmas is not the first nor the fifth nor the tenth holiday that places a god in the winter solstice. Many religions have placed their gods to be born on the winter solstice. Christianity is not unique in this subject and people need to understand that while Christmas is a Christian holiday, the season belongs to everyone,” the New American said.

According to New American, Silverman said Christians were the main targets because Christians tend to say “Merry Christmas” rather than “Happy Holidays,” which they say is more harmless.

Silverman told The New York Times, “Every year, atheists get blamed for having a war on Christmas, even if we don’t do anything. This year we decided to give the religious right a taste of what war on Christmas looks like.”

A number of religious groups in the area have decried the controversial billboard. However, it looks like the atheists don’t plan to let go of billboard advertising soon. They have done a number of anti-faith billboards in the past, New American said.

Earlier this year some $100,000 was spent by the United Coalition of Reason to post billboards nationwide saying, “Are you good without God? Millions are.” Last year signs on New York City buses said, “You don’t have to believe in God to be a moral or ethical person,” New American reported.

Historical accuracy

Still, New American noted that while American Atheists contends that the birth of Jesus Christ is a myth, there are many groups that don’t accept Jesus Christ as lord, but still believe he lived, such as Jews and Muslims.

New American also cites the work of Jewish historians and Roman historians, as well as the unearthing of the Nag Hammadi Gnostic materials, and most recently, the discovery of the burial cave of Caiaphas which historically prove that Jesus lived and died at the place and time that was stated in the New Testament.

In light of this, New American contends that atheists should “at the very least view the celebration of His birthday in the same vein as celebrating the birth of Martin Luther King or Abraham Lincoln.”

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Christopher Hitchens, a world renowned atheist who is afflicted with cancer, and the author of God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, went head to head with William Dembski, a leading proponent for intelligent design, senior fellow of the Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture, and research professor of theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, according to The Baptist Standard.

No proof of God

Hitchens called upon his usual sources of argument—history, science, philosophy and even scripture, according to Dallas News. There is no god, Hitchens said, because there is no proof that someone designed the cosmos, or the human body. There is no historical proof of a god who loves what he supposedly created, The Baptist Standard reported.

According to The Baptist Standard, Hitchens said, “It’s not exactly accidental that 99.8 percent of all species ever to appear on earth are extinct. That does not give evidence of design or allow us to trace the finger of any god, let alone one who wishes us well.”

He said human beings are poorly evolved and “half a chromosome away from being chimpanzees,” according to The Baptist Standard.  Dallas News said his most passionate rejection of Christian salvation came from his own perspective as one who is afflicted with esophageal cancer, saying, “To me, the offer of certainty, the offer of complete security, the offer of an impermeable faith that can’t give way is an offer of something not worth having.”

While still alive, Hitchens said, “I want to live my life taking the risk all the time that I don’t know … enough yet. That I haven’t understood enough. That I can’t know enough,” Dallas News reported.

Intelligent design

Dembski cited specified complexities and patterns in nature which lend credence to intelligent design rather than random accidents. While atheism is trapped in an intellectual straitjacket that demands evolution without purpose, theists may say God used evolution even on a small scale, as an instrument in his creation, The Baptist Standard reported.

Dembski said, “Secularism can be just as ideologically driven as religion,” while theists are not constrained into blindly accepting purposeless evolution, The Baptist Standard reported.

And while intelligent design “doesn’t get you the gospel, the tomb or the resurrection,” one is led to the suggestion of God’s goodness and the concept of right and wrong in the universe, according to The Baptist Standard.

Such objective moral standard is not given in materialism, and Dembski said, “The atheist is cheating when he makes a moral judgment, acting as if it has an objective standard,” The Baptist Standard reported.

No morality by deity

Hitchens said having a deity dictate morality is unacceptable and tyrannical. “For centuries, the struggle for freedom was against the worst type of dictatorship—the theocracy of the divine right of kings. The totalitarian temptation has to be resisted, and I believe this is one of its core origin points,” The Baptist Standard reported.

He questioned the biblical view of God that “you are created incurably sick and then ordered under pain of death and eternal punishment to be well,” according to The Baptist Standard.

Overall, Dallas News said the Oxford-educated Hitchens sparred amicably with Dembski and said pointedly to the students that they need not accept an absolute authority. He added, “Don’t think of that as a gift. Think of it as a poison chalice. Push it aside, however tempting it is.”

Not incurably sick

Dembski said, “We are not incurably sick. The cure is Jesus Christ.” Regarding the historical events cited by Hitchens, Dembski admitted religion can be a problem, but it has also accomplished a lot of good. He said, “We are sick, yes, but I’d say not incurably so. In fact, the cure is there,” Dallas News reported.

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Dirk Frans, executive director of International Assistance Mission said the murders of six Americans, one nonreligious Briton, one German and two Afghans were “devastating.”

Still, after 44 years of working openly as a Christian aid group in this traditionalist Muslim nation they will not be daunted by the tragic deaths, The Washington Post said.

Among the deceased were team leader Tom Little, a New York optometrist who had been in Afghanistan for decades, and Karen Woo, a nonreligious British surgeon who only joined the group last year and planned to leave within two weeks to get married, The Washington Post said.

Woo, a humanist, went with the group because she had a personal desire to “make a difference.” Her close friend, BBC World Service journalist Firuz Rahimi said she felt confident because she was going with an experienced group, The Guardian said.

Rahimi said on the night Woo was going on the trip she expressed more concern about the physical challenge of travelling through the mountains, but was confident because they were taking a safe route, The Guardian said.

The lone survivor of the attack was the group’s Afghan driver Saifullah who is currently with the Interior Ministry for questioning, The Washington Post said.

The Taliban, who has claimed responsibility for the murders, said the aid workers did not obey an order to stop, and they were shot while attempting to flee. They claimed that the group’s belongings revealed a bible in Dari (the local language) and maps that pinpointed Taliban hideouts indicating they were spies who planned to convert Muslims, The Guardian said.

Dr. Tom Little was an IAM aid worker killed in Afghanistan.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said, “We are heartbroken by the loss of these heroic, generous people. We condemn in the strongest possible terms this senseless act. We also condemn the Taliban’s transparent attempt to justify the unjustifiable by making false accusations about their activities in Afghanistan,” The Washington Post said.

Frans denied the medical team was proselytizing. A press release on the IAM website addressed these claims:

“IAM is a Christian organization – we have never hidden this.  Indeed, we are registered as such with the Afghan government. Our faith motivates and inspires us – but we do not proselytize.  We abide by the laws of Afghanistan.  We are signatures of the Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs Disaster Response Programmes, in other words, that, “aid will not be used to further a particular political or religious standpoint.”

“But more than that, our record speaks for itself.  IAM would not be invited back to villages if we were using aid as a cover for preaching.  And in particular, this specific camp led by Tom Little, a man with four decades experience in Afghanistan, has led eye camps for many years to Nuristan – and was welcomed back every time.”

Frans said the group chose the safest route and had been to the area six times before. They also had documents from Nurestan’s health directorate endorsing the group’s visit. Two members among the deceased had worked in the country for decades.

IAM has 50 foreign volunteers and 500 Afghan staff. The group’s members work in seven provinces in the country. They have a mental health education program, an English school and minor hydroelectric projects in depressed rural areas, The Washington Post said.

The organization’s main focus of work is its National Organization for Ophthalmic Rehabilitation project which last year treated some 180,000 patients in blindness prevention, no small feat in a country where one is considered blind if one has only a single cataract.

Saifullah said they were attacked by 10 bearded gunmen who covered the relief worker’s faces and who communicated only with hand gestures. The gunmen lined the team up and executed the members of the group as they pleaded for mercy, The Washington Post said.

Saifullah survived because he recited a verse from the Koran, “There is no god but god and Muhammad is the messenger of god,” and said he was Muslim, according to The Washington Post.

As the gunmen led him uphill he continued to recite from the Koran and swore he was a devout Muslim, The Guardian reported.

Saifullah said he was beaten and kept overnight and that the men spoke in code or languages that he did not understand. He was set free the following day.

More information about those murdered:

Mahram Ali, 50, Afghanistan
Mahram Ali worked as a watchman at NOOR’s maintenance workshop since the end of 2007. He stayed guarding the vehicles in Nawa when the rest of the team walked over the pass into Nuristan. He leaves behind a wife and three children, at secondary school age and below.

Cheryl Beckett, 32, U.S.
Cheryl Beckett was working as an aid worker in Afghanistan since 2005 and had been involved in community development with a focus on nutritional gardening and mother-child health. She had been asked to assist the IAM medical team as a translator for women patients. Cheryl was a Pashto speaker who worked in a clinic in Pul-e Charkhi on the outskirts of Kabul. She is survived by her parents and 3 siblings.

Daniela Beyer, 35, Germany
Daniela was a linguist and a translator in German, English, and Russian. She also spoke Dari and was learning Pashto. She worked for IAM from 2007-2009 doing linguistic research and joined the eye camp so that she could translate for women patients. She is survived by her parents and 3 siblings.

Brian Carderelli, 25, Pennsylvania
Brian Carderelli was a professional freelance videographer.  Brian served a number of other organizations in Afghanistan active in development and humanitarian efforts throughout the nation.  Brian quickly fell in love with the Afghan people and culture and hoped to stay within the country for another year.

Jawed, 24, Afghanistan
Jawed was employed as cook at the Ministry of Public Health’s Eye Hospital in Kabul and had been released from there in order to attend the Eye Camp. He leaves behind a wife and three children below school age. Besides being the team’s cook, he also assisted with the dispensing of eyeglasses. Jawed had been on several eye camps into Nuristan in the past, and was well loved for his sense of humor.

Dr. Tom Grams, U.S.
Dr. Tom Grams was a dentist and personal friend of Dr. Tom Little and had come to Afghanistan specifically for this trip to Nuristan.

Glen Lapp, 40, U.S.
Glen trained as an intensive-care nurse and worked in Lancaster, New York City and Supai, Arizona, and had previously worked in the responses to hurricanes Katrina and Rita. He came to Kabul in 2008, and initially worked in the IAM HQ. Then after five months of Dari language training he began his work with NOOR, he was responsible for organizing the mobile eye camps that reached the remote areas of Afghanistan.

Dr. Tom Little, 61, U.S.
Tom was affectionately known as “Mister Tom” amongst the many staff at the National Organization for Ophthalmic Rehabilitation (NOOR). He arrived in 1976, with his family, and worked as an Optometrist and Manager at NOOR, setting up clinics and ophthalmic workshops. He was much loved by both foreigners and Afghans, and was the inspiration for other IAM team members coming to Afghanistan. Tom leaves behind his wife and three daughters.

Dan Terry, 63, U.S.
Dan came to Afghanistan in 1971; he had a heart for the rural areas of Afghanistan and worked for many years in Lal-wa Sarjangal. Dan specialized in relating to local communities and liaising with aid organizations and the government to improve services in remote areas. Dan is survived by his wife, three daughters, and one granddaughter.

Dr. Karen Woo, U.K.
Karen was a General Surgeon who came on the Nuristan Eye Camp to be the team doctor and to bring maternal health care to the communities in Nuristan.

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In an interview McCausland said, “There are a range of perspectives and I want simply to have in there consideration given to reflecting the diversity of views in Northern Ireland.

“It’s also in fact a human rights issue and an equality issue because culture rights, the rights of people in Northern Ireland, should be implemented.”

McCausland also asked museums to give more prominence to Ulster-Scots and the Orange Order, the BBC reported.

While his letter did not specifically mention creationism, it does open the door to the option of a creationism exhibit.  McCausland’s party colleague and North Antrim assembly member Mervyn Storey has actively campaigned to urge museums in Northern Ireland to add exhibits on creationism, according to The Guardian.

God gives the divine spark to Adam. Northern Ireland's culture minister urges national museums to include alternative views on universe's origins

McCausland noted that around one third of Northern Ireland’s population believed in creationism and intelligent design.

He said, “I have had more letters from the public on this issue than any other issue,” according to The Guardian.

In his letter, McCausland said he had “a common desire to ensure that museums are reflective of the views, beliefs and cultural traditions that make up society in Northern Ireland,” The Guardian reported.

McCausland’s letter has prompted strong opposition from some members of the media, the academe, and the government spheres.

Richard Dawkins, evolutionary biologist said “Scientific evidence can’t be democratically decided,” according to The Guardian.

Social Democrat and Labor Party spokesman Thomas Burns said it was “a mark of a liberal society that its cultural institutions should be free of party-political interference,” the BBC said.

Storey, who has chaired the Northern Ireland assembly’s education committee, has denied that man descended from apes, according to The Guardian.  He believes in creationism and intelligent design.

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She told the president that Muslims in the United States are treated much better than Copts in Egypt, Compass Direct News (CDN) reported.

Dina Maher Ahmad Mo’otahssem and her father have been on the run for two years due to religious persecution in Egypt.

Dina Maher Ahmad Mo’otahssem, 16, has been in hiding since 2008 with her father, Maher Ahmad El-Mo’otahssem Bellah El-Gohary.  They have suffered constant persecution whenever people discover their identities, CDN said.

Dina asked Obama to pressure the Egyptian government to ensure religious rights, and expressed hope that she and her father could migrate to the United States, CDN reported.

Last week Dina and her father lived in a tiny, two-bedroom apartment in an unidentified city in Egypt.  The floor was littered with grime and trash. Clumps of dust and used water bottles were everywhere.  El-Gohary had taped over the locks and the inside of windows and doors to guard against eavesdroppers and intruders.

He taped over all the drain holes of the sinks and the shower so no one could pump in natural gas at night.  When the neighbors learned he was a Christian, they threw rocks and pebbles at his home, enough to litter the porch.  El-Gohary couldn’t open a window because rocks might get thrown in, according to CDN.

Whenever he leaves, he padlocks the door, wraps it with a small plastic bag and melts the bag to the lock with a match.  But he rarely leaves the place because it is not safe to go out.

Last month while walking to a market with Dina, someone poured acid over her jacket.  When El-Gohary saw it sizzle and dissolve he immediately ripped it off of her and threw it away before she was hurt, CDN said.

He can’t work and relies on other Christians to bring him food, water and the occasional donation. He cannot count on his own family for help.  When the food runs out, he has to brave going outside.

El-Gohary can’t attend a church more than once, nor can they go to a supermarket more than once.  He has been a Christian for 36 years, but he was forced to go into hiding after August 2008, because he sued the national government to allow him to change the religion listed on his state-issued ID from Islam to Christianity, according to CDN.

El-Gohary didn’t want his daughter to be forced to take Islamic education classes or have her declared an “apostate” by Egyptian Islamic authorities if she decided to stay a Christian into adulthood.  This is why he asked for the ID change.

Dina is required by law to possess an ID card, which is used for everything from opening a bank account to receiving medical care. The ID also determines whether Egyptians are subject to Islamic civil courts.  Dina is considered to be a Muslim because her father was born a Muslim, CDN said.

Conversion

El-Gohary became a Christian after he read the account of Jesus meeting a woman caught committing adultery.  He was touched by the level of mercy that Jesus showed her, CDN said.

El-Gohary said. “The basis of Christianity is love and forgiveness, unlike Islam, where it is based on revenge, fighting and war.”  He also said of the two religions’ versions of heaven, that the Islamic heaven is about physical pleasure, while for Christians it is about being with God, CDN reported.

El-Gohary was forced to hide because the State Council, a consultative body of Egypt’s Administrative Court, charged him with apostasy, the penalty for which is death, CDN said.  The case is still ongoing.

El-Gohary believes that he and his daughter are being used to set an example to other Muslims who want to convert.  Also, he thinks they fear that if he is allowed to leave the country, he will talk about how Egypt persecutes Copts.

He said, “We are trapped in our own country without even the rights that animals have.”  When the mosque across the street learned of his identity and of his case, they began to blast messages from their minaret megaphones on how to deal with Christians, CDN reported.

The imam shouted, “Do not shake their hands. Do not go into their homes. Do not eat their food.”  Since he has become a Christian, El-Gohary has been beaten, forcibly detained, endured death threats and poverty.

Still, he and Dina have no regrets about having become Christian, and they have no dreams to become Muslim again, the CDN said.

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According to the BP Marzieh Amirizadeh, 31,  and Maryam Rostampour, 28, were charged with apostasy for converting to Christianity.  They spent more than 250 days in jail for their faith.

While in prison Amirizadeh and Rostampour were repeatedly placed under great pressure to recant and deny Jesus Christ. They faced repeated interrogations, weeks in solitary confinement, and unhealthy prison conditions. Both became seriously sick during their imprisonment and did not receive the treatment they needed. Senior judges and officials also intimidated them.

Amirizadeh said, “We have seen the Lord do miracles over and over again.  He sustained us during a very difficult period.”  She also thanked those who prayed saying, “I have no doubt that God heard the prayers of His people,” the BP reported.

Rostampour, 28, said “I believe our arrest, imprisonment and subsequent release were in the timing and plan of God and it was all for His glory.  The prayers of people encouraged and sustained us throughout this ordeal,” according to the BP.

The two women faced possible death sentences for converting to Christianity and for reportedly engaging in evangelistic activities and Bible distribution.  They were arrested in March 2009 and held in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison until Nov. 18 when they were given a conditional release, the BP said.

The apostasy charges however were not dismissed, and Amirizadeh and Rostampour endured a difficult six months waiting for their case to be heard in an Islamic court, where they could have been sentenced to prison again, the BP reported.

According to the BP, both young women told an Islamic judge that they would never deny their faith in Christ.  The International Christian Concern (ICC), a human rights organization, helped publicize the women’s plight.

According to Aidan Clay, ICC’s Middle East regional manager, “Their faith and endurance has been an encouragement to countless believers throughout the world,” the BP reported.

The women were warned that any future Christian activity in Iran would be seriously dealt with.  It has not been specified to which country Amirizadeh and Rostampour traveled, the BP said.

Rostampour was quoted as saying, “We hope to eventually share some of what the Lord allowed us to go through to highlight the need and the opportunity for the church in Iran, but right now we will take time to pray and seek the Lord for His will,” the BP reported.

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The Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) faith staff of six has now dwindled to one part-time slot–a huge difference from the 2008 elections when the democrats hired faith consultants, advertised regularly on Christian radio and featured candidates, including President Obama, who spoke openly about their relationship with God, the Washington Post said.

Faith progressives are apprehensive after high-profile losses in the November Virginia gubernatorial race, and in a special election to fill the US Senate seat of the late Edward M. Kennedy in Massachusetts in January.  In last week’s Democratic Senate primaries, there was little visible new faith outreach, to the dismay of party religious activists, the Washington Post reported.

New strategy

When Obama took office he expanded the faith office that was established by President George W. Bush, which includes branches in a dozen federal agencies and a core staff that communicates with faith leaders about policy issues, according to the Washington Post.

Office director Joshua DuBois declined to comment on Democratic political outreach, but did say the White House is in frequent contact with faith leaders.

However, Timothy M. Kaine, chair of the DNC, and other party leaders attribute the decrease in paid faith staff to a new strategy in how the party does outreach, the Washington Post said.

The White House has opted to expand its network of grass-roots volunteers and shrink its national staff of organizers who were in the past broken down by race and religion, the Washington Post reported.

Patrick McKenna, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, said that the current economic climate has led to more focus on issues of recession rather than on faith based issues such as abortion, according to the Washington Post.

Faith vote

In the past many major democratic wins were credited in part to spending by national democratic organizations on faith outreach and by recruiting candidates who framed policy positions in terms of religious morality, the Washington Post said.

Notable among these were the 2005 victory of Kaine as governor of Virginia in 2005, a number of anti-abortion congressional Democrats in 2006, and Obama, who won more churchgoing voters in 2008 than any other Democratic presidential candidate in a decade, the Washington Post reported.

The Republican Party has a far more extensive infrastructure to connect with religious voters, especially evangelical Christians.  It has databases filled with tens of millions of e-mail addresses as well as long-standing ties to religious broadcasters and conservative religious groups such as the Family Research Council and Focus on the Family, according to the Washington Post.

According to Kaine, a staff mem

Are Democrats bungling their faith outreach?

ber who also does African American outreach has been assigned to oversee faith as well, but had been on medical leave.  Kaine said the party will be hiring more faith staff and crafting a faith outreach plan as the fall election season gets close, the Washington Post said.

Brian Jones, a strategist and former communications director for the Republican National Committee said, “It’s not done in one or two or three political cycles.”  The Republican party’s faith outreach dates as far back as the presidency of Ronald Reagan, the Washington Post reported.

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The Vatican issued the warning after an announcement from the United States that researchers had produced a living cell containing manmade DNA.

The scientist, genome-mapping pioneer J. Craig Venter, said this opens a path for designing organisms that may work differently from how nature intended, according to The Herald, Scotland.

The Church warned scientists of the ethical responsibility of scientific progress and said that the manner in which the innovation is applied in the future will be crucial, according to the Associated Press.

“If …it is for the good of all, of the environment and man..we’ll keep the same judgment (that it is a great scientific discovery),” said Monsignor Rino Fisichella.

“If, on the other hand, the use of this discovery should turn against the dignity of and respect for human life, then our judgment would change,” the AP reported.

Fisichella, who heads Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life, stressed there is no necessary clash between science and faith.  “But we think above all about the meaning that must be given to life,” Fisichella said.  “We need God, the origin of life,” the AP reported.

Venter’s synthetic cell is actually Mycoplasma mycoides, a type of living bacteria that is commonly associated with mastitis in goats, according to The Herald, Scotland.

Venter’s Mycoplasma mycoides are synthetic because it was made with synthetic chemicals, transplanted and activated into a cell with manmade genetic instructions.  Venter’s team is now considering creating algae that can capture carbon dioxide from the air and produce hydrocarbon fuels, according to SiliconIndia.

Naysayers however doubt that making Mycoplasma mycoides is tantamount to the creation of “artificial life.”

On the other hand, Julian Savulescu, Professor of Practical Ethics at Oxford, said “We need new standards of safety evaluation for this kind of radical research, and protection from military or terrorist misuse and abuse,” according to SiliconIndia.

The Catholic Church teaching holds that human life is God’s gift, created through natural procreation between a man and woman.  The Vatican said the first synthetic cell “must have rules, like all the things that touch on the heart of life,” according to the AP.

U.S. President Barack Obama asked that the commission develop recommendations about any actions the government should take “to ensure that America reaps the benefits of this developing field of science while identifying appropriate ethical boundaries and minimizing identified risks,” SiliconIndia reported.

Meanwhile Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, said “Any form of intelligence and any scientific acquisition must always be measured against the ethical dimension, which has at its heart the true dignity of every person.”

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Dale Mcalpine, 42, was charged with breaching section 5 of the Public Order Act by allegedly using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behavior likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress, the BBC said.

The arrest occurred while Mcalpine was preaching to shoppers in Workington, Cumbria on April 20.  He was approached by a public community support officer (PCSO), who told him he was a liaison officer for the local lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, the BBC reported.

“He told me he was homosexual, [so] I said ‘the Bible says homosexuality is a sin’. He said ‘I’m offended by that and I’m also the LGBT liaison officer within the police.’  I said ‘it is still a sin’,” according to BBC News.

Three uniformed police officers then appeared.  Mcalpine said, “Then they said it is against the law to say homosexuality is a sin.  I was arrested.  It’s crazy isn’t it?”  Although he was scheduled for trial this year, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has now confirmed they will not be prosecuting, the BBC reported.

Veteran gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell condemned the arrest, calling it “heavy handed” and “a step too far.”  He urged the home secretary to issue new guidelines to the police, according to EDGE.

Tatchell said, “Although I disagree with Dale McAlpine and support protests against his homophobic views, he should not have been arrested and charged,” said Tatchell. “Criminalization is a step too far. Despite my opposition to his opinions, I defend his right to freedom of expression,” EDGE reported.

Tatchell went on, “I am surprised and shocked that the CPS allowed the case to proceed at all. The Public Order Act is meant to protect people from harm. The police should concentrate on tackling serious, harmful crimes, such as racist, homophobic and sexist violence,” according to EDGE.

Of the dropped charges, Mcalpine said, “This is a victory for freedom of speech.  I hope we are not going down the road towards a police state and the thought police.” Added Mcalpine, “I can’t wait to get out on to the streets again and preach the word of God,” according to EDGE.

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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.

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